My 7 Most Important Business Lessons
Millions of people start new small businesses in the United States every day. Many fail at running a small business every day. What causes one business owner to succeed where another fails? There are seven key areas to focus your efforts for a successful small business. It starts with knowing oneself and ends with not being afraid to ask for help.
1. Know Yourself
Having your own business is more than just creating a job for yourself. To be a successful small business owner, there are many personal sacrifices you will be required to make. You have to be willing to make them. By knowing yourself and what is truly important to you, you will be able to make these choices far easier than if you have never considered your priorities.
Your basic roles in a small business are in marketing, planning, finance, and administration. To get the best results, it is rare for one person to play all these roles equally well. You must know which parts you can handle yourself and which parts you’re going to need help with. That’s why it’s so important to be objective and take a close look at your overall strengths and weaknesses. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you plan before you take action?
- Are you willing to hustle for the sale?
- How financially savvy are you?
- Do you have a well thought out plan? And, do you work the plan?
- Do you know how to make sales happen? Can you ask for the sale?
In those areas where you assess yourself as weak, you can ask for help.
2. Ask For Help When You Need It
When you’re young and unseasoned, you tend to think you can do anything. This is a recipe for disaster for the small businessperson. If you insist on doing everything yourself, you will work 16 hours a day and not do some things well.
Remember, getting results is what counts! With outside advice and assistance, your quest for a successful business can be accomplished faster and with far fewer bruises than doing it yourself. When I started my first online business, I even created by own website. In retrospect, this was a big mistake. It took me far longer to create my site than having a more experienced person do it. Start equating every second of your time with money. Your time isn’t free. While you are trying to do everything, what’s falling through the crack?
Don’t be too proud to ask for help, we all need help sometimes. With the Internet, the small business owner has a wealth of experience available to them. Why not take advantage of the many resources, paid and otherwise, available to you? Join a small business forum, like the Small Business Forum (www.smallbusinessbrief.com/forum/) where you can exchange knowledge with other small business owners. Access the millions of online articles on every business subject you can think of at EzineArticles.com.
Qualified sources are also available from your local government offices and other professional services. It is important to recognize — what you don’t know can end up costing you money and greatly reduce the chance of achieving your business goals.
With all that knowledge, you need a plan of action.
3. Action Planning
I like to call it “action planning” rather than “planning”. Action is the only element which turns a plan into reality. Many people are great at planning but they suffer when it comes to follow-through. Successful small business owners are action oriented. But that action starts with a plan.
According to leading authorities, the main reason 80% of all new businesses fail within the first five years is not money, but the lack of planning. If you want to succeed, the trick is to know how to make right the decisions by implementing an effective business plan. Remember, if you fail to plan, you might as well plan to fail.
A business plan should include how you will finance the business, who will perform certain critical business functions, the license and permits required, accounting method, as well as what you know about your prospects and customers.
4. “Mind Meld” Your Customer
Just knowing your customer isn’t enough for long-term success in your small business. In Star Trek, the Vulcan race had the ability to perform a mind meld. At the time of the mind meld, they could see, think, and feel everything their partner was seeing, thinking, and feeling. This is how close you must come to understanding your customer. The closer you get, the more successful you will become.
Are you listing to your customers? Make it your business to give your customers what they want and they will buy from you. They are the reason you are in business, and your future depends on them. The products and services you provide should be a direct reflection of their needs. Think in your customers’ terms; buy, show, sell, and say things that interest them, not you. Don’t forget, it is the customer that determines whether or not you succeed. They vote every day by where they spend their money.
Reflect on the following questions:
- Do you know the reasons why customers shop at your store? (service, convenience, price) If not, ask!
- Do you seek suggestions from your customers on ways you can boost business?
- Do you use a store or online questionnaire to aid you in determining your customers’ needs?
- Do you stay in contact with customers on a regular basis?
- Do you ever try to re-establish a relationship with lost or inactive customers?
A key to success lies in knowing your customer. The other half of the equation is to know your industry.
5. Know Your Industry
You can gain the greatest competitive edge if you intimately understand your industry. You must know the ins and outs of your particular products and industry. You should know every competitor as well as their strengths and weaknesses. It’s in your competitor’s weaknesses where you will most frequently find your own success.
Your competitors size, services, location, marketing approach, type of customers, suppliers, and pricing strategies should be as well known to you as your own. Your local business climate, median household income, level of education, ethnic population, and the other demographics of your potential customers should be second nature to you. To prosper, you must know the game and the playing field intimately.
Many people focus upon these areas but still fail. Why? They focus more upon the product than the finances of the business.
6. Maintain Good Financial Records
If you don’t know where your money is going, it will soon be gone. The “game of business” is played with products and customers, but the score is kept in dollars and cents. Good financial records are like the instrument panel on your car, they keep you posted of your speed, fuel level and engine condition. Without them you’re flying blind trying to pace the other cars. If you know how much you’re spending, buying and selling, you can take control and help your business make more money.
- Do you have basic accounting knowledge? Or, do you have someone you trust to keep the books?
- Do you maintain every receipt you obtain through the running of your business?
- Have you computerized your business to streamline everyday tasks and business procedures?
- Do you use sales forecasts, expense sheets, and financial statements on regular basis to assess the progress or your business?
- Do you evaluate your operating expenses and make necessary changes on a regular basis?
Many people erroneously believe good record keeping is for the government and those financial obligations. They are wrong! Good financial record keeping can help your business succeed. Use the financial information available to make improvements to the operation of the business and improve profits. Remember through it all, the old adage “cash is king” is true.
7. Manage Your Cash
It doesn’t matter how unique your store is, your business can’t survive without good cash flow. Cash is the lifeblood of your business. The money coming into or out of your store is the vital component that keeps your business financially healthy. For profitability, more cash must come into the business every day than goes out of the business. You can have the greatest sales in the world, but if it’s all in receivables, how will you pay your bills?
A monthly Cash Flow Statement is a critical business tool. It shows the amount of money at the start of a period and how much cash was received during the period. It identifies the various sources of incoming cash and the reasons for outgoing cash. Budget wisely. Know the sources of your monthly income and expenses. Then, you won’t have to worry about running out of money. And that is a good thing.
Like any game, the game of business has rules and tools. Those who excel at the game, play it better than their competitors. Keep focused upon these seven critical areas and you will succeed. Remember, Albert Einstein once defined “insanity” as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Isn’t it time you changed the things you are doing so you can succeed? I think the time is now!
How Do You Fax Something?
Faxing for the first time may seem like a complicated task but with the right tools you’ll learn that faxing is a piece of cake! It is very important to note that although you could use a fax machine it is a lot faster, easier and cheaper to send a fax online.
Internet Fax Services
Technology has brought us many new things and among them is improving the highly used communication tool: faxing. A while ago the only way to fax something either locally or internationally meant you had to use a fax machine. However today you don’t need a machine because you can simply fax from your computer!
Online faxing allows you to quickly fax something through the internet which eliminates the need to print out the document you need to fax and simply send it online just like you would send an email. You can also scan any other documents that need to be attached as well.
How Do You Send Fax?
Sending a fax online is easy with internet faxing services. You simply sign-in to your online account where you can manage all your incoming and outgoing faxes. Simply enter the fax number you are sending to, attach any documents if needed and send away! That’s it! You can fax to any fax number in the world at anytime. Plus since your account is online you have portability which means you can receive and send faxes no matter where you either from your laptop at the airport or through your mobile phone.
How To Impress People?
Do you think its hard to impress someone?
Do you think it’s hard to make someone admire you?
In fact it’s not hard at all. I know what’s going on in your mind right now, I am sure you are telling yourself, “if it was that easy then why do some people spend years trying to get others admiration yet fail?” The answer is, because they are doing it the incorrect way. If you want to know the right way to impress people or to make people admire you then read this article.
Trying to impress people, the Wrong way
When a guy decides to try to let someone admire him he usually makes a false assumption which is:
“What makes me like a person is the same thing that could make another person like me. So I if admire self made millionaires then telling my friends that I am a self made millionaire will let them admire me.”
Then our friend goes, doing everything in the world to convince his friends that he is a self made millionaire yet no one admire him! This happens because, for every one of us there is something that makes him tick, what impresses me may not be impressive at all to someone else.
Who cares about your money as long as I don’t need it? Who cares about your courage as long as I have tons of it? Who cares about your super sized muscles as long as I am as strong as you?
Who are the people you are trying to impress?
People are impressed most by those who do things they can’t do themselves or by those who posses’ things they are badly in need of, that’s why impressing a shy introvert may require a way different strategy than impressing an outgoing extrovert.
If someone fears the unknown then he could be impressed by someone who is having a full control of his life. If someone is trying to be rich he may be impressed by someone who has good money collecting abilities, not necessary a millionaire, but someone who has a skill that he is badly in need of. If someone is feeling helpless he may be very impressed by someone who seems to know how to deal with every life problem he faces.
As you see, impressing people has no general formula but it depends on the background of the person you are trying to impress. Fortunately you are living in the era of the internet where social networking websites can provide you with tons of information about someone you barley know. Collect as much information as you can about the person you are trying to impress using these websites. Try to identify his behavior, his needs and his emotions then show him that you have what he is in need of. This is the simple formula for impressing people.
Nightclub & Party Promoters – A Dream Job
A nightclub promoter is a guy or girl who gets people to attend parties. These events can be at bars, nightclubs, concerts, festivals, or private parties. Club promoters are also called party promoters. Nightclub promoters advertise and promote their events in many different ways, to get as many people to show up as possible. I’ve been a party promoter for over 10 years, and these are some of my favorite promoting tips.
First off, the job of a club promoter is really one of the best jobs there is.
You meet all kinds of people, tell them about great parties, party with them all the time, and get paid well to do it. The job isn’t for everyone though. It entails staying out late on the weekends while being the center of attention. But if you go out all the time with your friends anyway, why not make a living doing it?
Nightclub promoters normally get paid per person they bring to an event. Because of this, nightclub promoting can be a great way to earn some extra money if you can get a bunch of people to show up at events. For example, if a club is paying you $5 per person that you bring to their party, getting 20 people to show up will earn you a cool $100. If you are a friendly and outgoing person, it is pretty easy to get 20+ people to come to an event. If you are really good at it, you can make a great full time living doing it!
The best way to get into club promoting is to get hired on by a promotion company to start. The promotion company contracts out with certain nightclubs for certain nights of the week. So, maybe the company promotes Thursday night with club ABC, and Friday night with club XYZ. The clubs hire promotion companies to get people into their venues, so all they have to worry about is the alcohol sales. Often times, the cover charge that you pay to get in is not going to the nightclub, but the promotion company. The club is making it’s money (and tons of it) from alcohol sales.
For Example:
Let’s say the cover charge at a nightclub is $10 on a Saturday night. The promotion company gets this money in exchange for bringing people to the club. The promotion company hires “sub-promoters” to work for it as independent contractors, and may pay each promoter $5 per head that they get through the door, and the company keeps $5 for itself. Your job as a sub-promoter is to get as many people to come to the party as you can. If you can get 50 people to the club, you walk home that night with $250 cash. If you can do that 3 nights a week, you’ll rake in $750 a week. Once you get the hang of it, 50 people per night is not that hard to do.
Club promoters use many different tools to get people to their events week after week. A combination of email lists, handing out glossy flyers, text messages, active networking, and other tools like MySpace & Facebook can really get the word out about your party.
Once you master working under a promotion company, the next step is to start your own company and hire sub-promoters to work for you. This is where the real money is. Using our same example, let’s say you hire 10 promoters to work for you, and they each bring on average 50 people per night. While you are paying each of them $5 of the cover charge per person, you are keeping $5 for yourself. $5×500 people = $2500 per event. You can see what your income can be if you had 2 or 3 events per week. Many promotions companies clear well over $5000 a week in the right markets, with the right knowhow.
Nightclub promoting can be an extremely fun and rewarding career for certain people. It’s not the type of job that is widely known about either. If you have good business sense, love to party with people, and have a creative side, it can be a dream job. It certainly has been for me.
Tips for Nightclub Promoters:
Tip #1: Customer Loyalty is Everything for a nightclub promoter. Once you’ve made a name for yourself and have a large group of people that come to your parties all the time, make sure you take care of them. If you take care of your customers, they will keep coming back. It is much easier to keep the same people coming back to your events than to spend money trying to attract new customers. One thing I do to keep my customers happy is to buy drinks for the people that come by my events the most. If you regularly see someone at your parties, and they always bring a bunch of people with them, make sure to take care of that person and frequently buy them drinks and get to know them. Keep that person loyal to your parties, and you’ll get more great “word of mouth” advertising, which is the best kind.
Tip #2: As a nightclub promoter, do everything in your power to get girls to attend your events. Hire girls to hand out your fliers to other girls, play music that the girls in your area like, have a ladies night, whatever it takes. Once you have a large group of women coming to your parties, the men will follow automatically. One of the biggest mistakes I see new club promoters doing is catering to a niche music genre that only men listen to. These events never last too long, because no money can be made from a sausage fest.
Tip #3: Hire a good photographer to take nightclub photos of your parties. Do this at every event, and post the photos online for people to see later. Every nightclub promoter should be doing this all the time. Party people love to go online Monday morning after a crazy weekend and see themselves out having fun. They share the photos with friends, and this gets more people interested in your parties. Make sure your website or logo is on the photo as a watermark too. It’s great advertising. Humans are very visual creatures. Feed their visual senses and personal egos and they will keep coming back again and again.
The Top Five Traits of a Successful Salesperson
If you’re looking for a successful salesperson to hire — a salesperson who not only CAN sell but WILL sell — look for a salesperson with PRIDE.
PRIDE is an acronym for 5 characteristics that will help ensure that the salesperson you hire will get the job done for you and make the revenue results you desire a reality.
PRIDE stands for:
o Proven
o Respectful
o Innovative
o Decisive
o Enthusiastic
Proven
Proven refers to the candidate’s track record. Have they delivered results? More importantly, who else says so besides them? As you know, resumes can be fact, or they can be fiction. How can you tell the difference?
A person who has been successful producing results should be able to provide you with third party proof. Have the candidate bring in their sales awards, including plaques, trophies and pictures from the trips they’ve earned. Have them show you the stack-ranked sales reports showing their name at or near the top of the field.
More importantly, what do their customers have to say about them? Can the candidate produce testimonial letters from their customers, indicating they were satisfied with the buying experience? Candidates should be able to furnish written recommendations proving that they were able to deliver tangible results.
Respectful
Salespeople should approach being Respectful from two positions. First, they need to be respectful of others. Careful listeners, these salespeople would never be regarded as pushy because they take the time to hear their prospects out. They keep their egos in check, remembering that everyone can make a valuable contribution in their own way and that other team members deserve respect, too.
Second, your salespeople need to respect themselves. Expect them to have a quiet confidence in their own abilities, and a strong desire to use their time, talents, and skills to produce optimal results. They’ll respect their health, physical needs, and family commitments, and as a result be refreshed, well-balanced, and ready for work each day.
Self-respect allows salespeople to be assertive, ensuring that they won’t allow themselves to be used as a doormat by prospects who want to waste their time or abuse a relationship.
Innovative
An Innovative salesperson is a problem-solver. They’re able to quickly assess a prospect’s situation, and then come up with an approach to help the prospect accomplish their objectives. Reactive salespeople need not apply. Proactive salespeople spontaneously look for ways to do the job better, to improve on past successes, to show better results even faster than before.
Innovative salespeople are easy to manage, because they don’t require instructions. They’re pretty much point and shoot; give them an objective to aim for, and they can creatively approach obstacles and move past them.
Because they are innovative, they tend to look at the world through fresh eyes, and hence have a good sense of humor. A willingness to be playful and funny is a good clue that you’re talking with an innovator. Good news! Your buyers would prefer to do business with someone who can make them chuckle and lighten up their day.
Decisive
A Decisive salesperson can make up their mind. They have effective critical thinking skills that allow them to rapidly size up a situation and decide how to best approach it. Decisiveness is truly important for a salesperson, for how can they expect the buyer to make a decision when they can’t make one themselves?
Decisiveness is often related to owning a clear set of key moral values. It’s easy for salespeople to consistently do the right thing when it’s clear to them what the right thing is. You want decisive salespeople who know when to walk away from a bad deal, and can separate good prospects from the time-wasters.
Enthusiastic
Enthusiastic salespeople have become a cliché for all the wrong reasons. Enthusiasm must be more than an induced rush spawned by a rah-rah motivational pep talk. If you want enthusiasm that lasts, you need to find salespeople who are eager to help your customers.
You want salespeople who are excited about what they do and how they do it, so their curiosity is stimulated and they are inspired to continually learn on their own. Enthusiasm comes from believing that you can make a difference, that you can improve someone’s situation when they do business with you.
Enthusiastic salespeople are motivated when they understand the strategy that will help them succeed, when they have access to all the tools they need to allow them to do their job and serve the customer, and when tactical training is available to allow them to skillfully serve the customer as well as the company. Enthusiastic salespeople have every right to believe they can win. And they do.
Hire a Compete Package
From the salesperson’s perspective, PRIDE is about feeling good about your job. It’s about believing in yourself and your ability to deliver. It’s about enjoying yourself, helping the customer, and making the most of your God-given talents and abilities. It’s about recognizing individual contributions and abilities while respecting the value of the team. When you hire salespeople with PRIDE, you, your salespeople, and your customers all win.
Copyright 2007 Paul Johnson
Note: This article is available for reprint at no charge. We only ask that you include our copyright notice in your reprint, along with the About the Author information we provide at the end of the article.
Fortunes of the Goat in Dragon Year 2012-13
Your birth year, the Chinese Zodiac’s Eighth Sign: elegant, refined Goat/Sheep? Are you 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 (and so-on in 12-year increments) between 19th February 2015 and 7th February 2016? (Goat/Sheep Year’s end)? Do partners, friends, relatives, colleagues, parents or children fall into this category? If the answer is ‘Yes’ then this article is for you!
The Current 12-Year Cycle began with Rat Year (2008) and ends With Pig Year (2020). The Cycle’s five Year-Animals and five Year-Elements to date are considered via the following resume of each Year’s features and qualities.
Rat Facts (Rat YEAR ONE 2008)
In the 12-Year Animal Cycle, odd numbers are Yang (Rat no.1) and even ones Yin (Pig no.12). The Rat, with 4 rear and 5 front toes (very odd!) has both Yin and Yang attributes, making it the ideal Animal to ‘bridge’ and link together consecutive Cycles!
The long-ago ‘Animal Olympics’ determined the Animal to start the Cycle, involving a long race, a raging river-crossing and a final sprint home. Smart Rat gave the cat (Tiger) the wrong start time, sneaked a ride across the river on Ox’s back, and sprinted over the finish-line First (Ox was Second). The furious Tiger, arriving late for the race, was Third and has been chasing the Rat ever since! Full results of the competition for the 12 places are given in detail later.
When ‘your’ Animal Year appears, review the previous 12 years, meditating on your experiences, and plan thoroughly for the next 12 (avoiding distractions from this)!
Ox Tales (Ox YEAR TWO 2009):
Earth Ox Year 2009 was the second of the current 12-Year Ganzhi Cycle. The Yellow Emperor, Huang Di (circa 2,700 BCE) instituted the Chinese Calendar in its current form and Ox year was 4706 according to this.
Intelligent, hard-working and natural leaders by nature, Oxen are good-tempered, but should they lose their temper watch out! Prominent Oxen include Barack Obama, a Metal Ox. The Element’s hard, strong and enduring nature suggests his obvious resilience and capacity for prolonged hard work. Lists of famous folk born under each sign precede the individual Horoscopes which follow.
In the Elemental Cycle accompanying the 12-Animal Cycle Elements repeat twice, successively. Ox Year 2009, was second (Yin) of two Earth Years (following Yang Earth Rat Year 2008).
Key Ox-Year qualities include persistence and intelligence. Those who aligned themselves with outgoing Rat Year’s key qualities (hard work and sensitivity) the first of the 12-year cycle should have been able to build (intelligently) on their efforts, through persisting in them for another year.
Turbulent Tiger (Tiger YEAR THREE 2010).
Just when you thought everything was going smoothly, along comes a Tiger! Trouble and turbulence can accompany Tiger appearances. Yang Metal, as Year Element, can strengthen and intensify such effects. National Currencies and Public Finances (Yang/Big Metal) consequently suffered in Tiger Year 2010 and volatility plagued the Banks.
Metal (Gold, Silver) can represent wealth, money and potential expenditure-many individuals and States like the U.S.A., Ireland, Greece and the U.K. experienced tough times in this area during Tiger Year! Metal’s bridging and linking abilities have helped to make this an ongoing issue.
Hare-Raising Experiences! (Rabbit Year Four 2011).
Those who persisted with their efforts throughout the previous year were rewarded with a year of relative calm in Yin Metal Rabbit Year 2011. Life appeared more laid-back, easygoing and relaxed for individuals-a necessary respite, considering volatile Dragon Year to come in 2012.
Personal finance (Yin Metal) remained a key concern, however, and excessive laxity in this area, and in general, should have been consistently avoided throughout Rabbit Year. Consider Fukushima, where careless use of Uranium, a ‘soft’/Yin Metal, has caused Japan tremendous ongoing problems! Siting a Nuclear Reactor on a fault-line, in an earthquake-prone zone and in ‘tsunami bay’ represents laxity indeed!
Regarding Rabbits
Next full Moon, look carefully-you may see (like the Chinese) a Rabbit, under a tree, holding the elixir of life in its paw. We know from their reproduction-rate, there’s never going to be a world rabbit-shortage! Thus, the rabbit is a Chinese longevity symbol. Its Lunar-location further emphasises this, via the Moon’s well-known reproductive cycle links. The Rabbit is also considered the most fortunate or ‘lucky’ of the 12 Animal sign.
Lively ‘Lung’: Volatile Visitor (Year 5 of the Current Cycle–Water Dragon Year 2012-13)
‘When The Dragon (Lung) changes shape it does so quickly, taking those unprepared by surprise!’ This expression refers to China’s well-known penchant for sudden expansion, at certain times (like now!). This should continue and even intensify during Dragon Year 2012-13. Dragon Years tend to be volatile, unpredictable and full of surprise.
Yang Water as Year Element suggest turbulence and strong emotional currents affecting aspects of life, perhaps in the Public Sector in particular. Water also symbolises Wealth and Communications and it will be interesting to note whether any of these issues become inter-linked in Dragon Year 2012-13.
Flexibility and foresight are essential qualities in Dragon Years. Due to their inherent volatility, the strengths and weakness of plans, projects and individuals are magnified and thus some caution is required throughout this Year to avoid being carried away by events.
The Goat/Sheep
Years of the GOAT:
1907 Fire; 1919 Earth; 1931 Metal; 1943 Water; 1955 Wood; 1967 Fire; 1979 Earth; 1991 Metal; 2003 Water; 2015 Wood.
Famous Goats/Sheep Include:
Pamela Anderson, Jane Austen, Anne Bancroft, Chow Yun Fat, Robert De Niro, John Denver, Mel Gibson, George Harrison, Julio Iglesias, Zhang Ziyi, Mick Jagger, Sir Laurence Olivier, Vangelis, John Wayne and Bruce Willis.
Personality
The elegant and refined Goat/Sheep is a creative, thoughtful and contemplative individual, usually an idealist, with little in the way of materialistic tendencies. Most comfortable at home, Goats often express themselves via some form of Artistic discipline.
Goats, however, can be shy and insecure, avoiding confrontation and taking unpopular decisions, sacrificing the achievement of personal goals to keep others happy. Well-mannered and popular, Goats/Sheep need to be more assertive to feel secure.
Ideal Goat/Sheep Occupations Include:
Design, Horticulture, Paediatrics, the Stage, Education, Hairdressing/Styling, Music, Journalism.
Relationships
In relationship terms, those born under the Sign of the Goat/Sheep are most compatible with those born under the Signs of the Rabbit and Pig and least compatible with the Rat or Ox.
Goat/Sheep in Dragon Year
Be patient as conflicts and reverses may thwart this year’s plans-legal and occupational set-backs, especially. Control your temper, be diplomatic and think before speaking. As Goats’ Financial prospects are poor this year, avoid gambling and speculation. and practice relaxation.
Not a good year for Goat romance, rather Goats should practice positive-thinking and be creative.
The Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, Huang Di (circa 2,690-2,590 BC) is credited with creation of the Chinese Calendar in its current form, although it is certain it was in use long before this. Yin/Yang and 5 Elements Theories, fundamentally affecting the way his Calendar operates are also credited to the Yellow Emperor and exert powerful influences on events to this day.
Dragon Year 2012-13 is Year 4,710 by this Calendar, which is also used by many other countries of S.E. Asia. The Chinese who also (not surprisingly) invented History as a Subject for study, have the longest written and consistent, chronological record of events on the Planet (one from which we can learn lots!).
How Do You Know If Your Husband is Cheating?
I often have wives ask me how can to know for sure if your husband is cheating. In other words, how do you get from mere suspicion to knowing definitely, beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is really cheating? Short of catching him in the act, you’ll usually need cold, hard proof that neither of you can deny. But, how can you go about getting this information without showing your suspicions (especially if you are wrong) and without hurting the relationship? I’ll tell you in the following article.
Why Accusing Your Husband Of Cheating Or Confronting Him Often Doesn’t Work: Many women who write me have this fantasy that they are going to go to their husband with their suspicions and the guilt of lying is going to overwhelm him, so that he’ll come clean without your ever having to spy on him or go undercover. I sure wish this were true. It would make things a lot easier, but the reality is that this rarely happens.
See, if your husband has been cheating, he’s already gotten over the lying hump. He’s already successfully lied to you and was able to get over any guilt that he felt to continue on. Or, if he is feeling guilty, this usually goes out the window once he’s with her once again.
Alternatively, some women will hope that confronting him with their feeling that he is cheating will somehow make him know that he’s not fooling anyone, that he isn’t going to get away with this, so he may as well stop. Or, they hope that seeing that his wife is catching on will show him that the affair is not worth the risk. Here’s the problem with this thinking. Often, a man will only use your suspicions against you. If you tell him you know he didn’t work late, he’s only going to make sure that he does from here on out so that you’ll look crazy for even wondering.
Sometimes this little talk with your husband may bring out some resolve in him that this affair is just too risky and too much trouble, but then he’ll go back to work or wherever the mistress is, and once she continues on acting in the same way, he’ll be able to justify that he hasn’t actually been caught and now will cover his tracks better and in just an instant he’s back on board, even though he didn’t intend to be. He’s already shown he has poor impulse control, so he isn’t likely to reign that in until he absolutely has to.
Why It’s Better To Wait Until You Know You Are Absolutely Right Until You Confront Him About The Cheating: As I’ve alluded to, it’s better to hold off until you have no doubt at all in your mind of what you know to be true. No more just thinking or suspecting, but knowing. First, there’s always the small chance that you’re wrong and that your suspicions were the result of some other issue between you. Second, even if you are right, tipping your hand too early may just allow him to wiggle or talk his way out of it. You want to be sure and you want to be right. So, gather your evidence before you have this confrontation.
Tools To Help You Catch Your Cheating Husband: So let’s move on to gathering this evidence. There are often two trails to follow – his person and his technology. By his person, I mean the man himself. To cheat, he’s going to have to be with her and not with you. So, any time that he should be with you and you find his absence suspicious, you should ask yourself how you can get to the bottom of this. Is he telling you he has to work late AGAIN? Well, you can find out if this is true. You can park yourself outside his office. (Bring shopping bags so that if he sees you, you can claim you were running errands.) Don’t give him a reason to know what you’re doing until you’re ready.
Don’t want to risk him catching you following him? Put an undetectable GPS tracker on his car and link that up to your personal computer. This way, you’re following him, but not in person. If he tells you he’s going to be in one place, but his car and your computer is telling you something else, then you’ll need to follow up. (Many cell phones also have GPS in them also.)
Speaking of cell phones, this falls under the technology category that I spoke of earlier. Although text messages and outgoing and incoming calls can be erased, they can also be uncovered, just like your computer information can. Speaking of a computer, his is often full of clues and correspondence that will point you right to her. Even if he deletes his in box or his “sent messages,” you can often retrieve them.
And know too that many cheaters will get themselves a free hot mail, gmail, or mail.com account just for this relationship. You can usually find these too as well as the passwords. The same holds true for the prepaid cheap phone that he will often buy just to talk to her only. Sometimes, if he knows you’re on the trail, he will throw the first away, only to get another eventually.
How to Tell a Guy Has a Crush on You – 7 Signs That You Need to Know!
Guys are simply unpredictable. But when it comes to girls and no matter if the guy is outgoing or a shy person, he will send or show all the signals whether he’s got a crush on a girl or not. There are some natural tendencies, which guys exhibit instinctually that are imprinted biologically within their genes.
There are some types of scientific proof, which can help you to further decode that actually the guy has a crush on you. Here they are:
How to tell a guy has a crush on you – sign 1:
When communicating with a guy, pay close attention upon their stance. A guy generally leans in a person to some extent if they are paying attention or listening intently. In addition, they position themselves, in the most pleasing or flattering way. For instance, a guy generally stand straight i.e. taller in order to make themselves look bigger.
This enables them to appear more macho before the girl they got a crush on. It is a male behavior to exhibit the female that they are physically fit and can guard her. While, if a guy is standing by crossing his arms and is shifting his body constantly, he is giving clues that either he is uninterested or uncomfortable.
How to tell a guy has a crush on you – sign 2:
If you want to know that a guy has a crush on you or likes you, look deep in his eyes. It is one of the easiest and simplest portals to know his deepest feelings. There is no definite single look, which tells you whether he is really smitten by you. It is that signal, which you only get to identify when you see it and a guy is not at all subtle when they have to make a eye contact with the one he has a crush.
On clue if you are boggled, he will look at you until and unless you do not look down. A guy who is interested in a female generally gazes in the eyes of the women he like for more time than normal eye interaction. This means that the guy is conscientiously trying to stare at you.
How to tell a guy has a crush on you – sign 3:
Does the guy change his behavior or persona towards you? Few times males get anxious and they laugh or shutter awkwardly whilst some remains quiet or some of them get loud. Every guy is unique and different in his own way for drawing the attention of a woman. It is the job a woman to distinguish the manner and the behavior he is behaving is due to your presence.
How to tell a guy has a crush on you – sign 4:
If you spot him more frequently then normal, he may be giving you hints that he wants to remain near you. He may be finding ways in order to approach you. Thereby if you start noticing him, more number of times than usual, might be it is the time to stop assuming that it is coincidence and the guy really has crush on you and likes you.
How to tell a guy has a crush on you – sign 5:
Observe how the guy acts around your friends and you, has he suddenly started acting all differently in front of you and especially your friends. Guys are well acquainted with the fact that the finest way to impress a girl is through her friends. Making a good impression in front of you friends means he is interested in you.
How to tell a guy has a crush on you – sign 6:
Does his nature changes according to your liking or mood, when you are in good mood, he too looks happy, when you are upset he tries different ways for making you happy indirectly or directly. If he likes you, he will give best attempts and put all his efforts in order to make you smile.
How to tell a guy has a crush on you – sign 7:
Finally, there are several simple hints, which any female knows about a male. He will pass a smile to you when you look at him; he will stare at you when he might be thinking that you are unaware or not looking. In addition, he will never remain busy or too full of activity to assist you with a favor where ever he can by putting his best possible efforts.
The Single Most Important Leadership Ability
The single most important LEADERSHIP ABILITY is the ability to influence people.
Over half a century ago Norman Vincent Peale wrote perhaps the most successful self-help book of all time. Its title: “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” This book, through its immense popularity and widespread usage, influenced millions of people to this day. And, his advice was particularly applicable to the leadership role, with one minor exception. Leaders don’t necessarily need friends, but their position requires an ability to influence.
LEADERSHIP
There are numerous theories of leadership, and many successful examples of leaders. Some believe that “leaders are born not made.” Others feel that leadership can be dissected into its components. Most think that leaders are disciplined, charismatic, inspirational, motivated, “great thinkers,” have vision, or some combination of qualities that elude most mortals.
GREAT LEADERS
Think about it. Modern leaders in business, politics and religion have used their abilities to influence people, and in the process have: achieved success, accomplished their agenda(s), and gained fortune or fame. Likewise, the great leaders of the past have achieved similar results through identical ability and practice.
It does not really matter which leader you wish to examine. Whether it is some of the Presidents: Lincoln, Reagan, Roosevelt, or others. Religious leaders such as Christ or Mohamed. Great despots like Hitler or Mussolini. Social movement leaders like Gandhi or Dr. King. Or American business figures like Bill Gates, Jack Welch, John Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie.
MOTIVATION
Some may consider influence and motivation as the same. They’re not. There is a long-standing argument whether we can really motivate others at all. Are we really capable of causing someone to attain a certain attitude, achieve a specified objective, or perform a particular task? Probably not. What we can do is influence an individual’s attitude and behaviors by creating conditions which will be likely to result in the behaviors and attitudes we wish to promote. Most often these conditions will involve a set of rewards and/or punishments. These rewards or punishments will work best when they are personalized to meet the needs and desires of a specific individual or group.
THE NATURAL LEADER
Rare individuals seem blessed with a profound natural ability to influence others. These natural leaders may have great oratory skills, charisma, attractiveness, bearing, wisdom, or likability. Or a combination of these attributes. The natural leader can influence others to achieve his goal(s) and those goals or aspirations of the “followers” This ability can be used for good or bad purposes.
IMPROVING YOUR ABILITY TO LEAD
Influencing others can be a learned skill. Some leaders feel more comfortable using their charm or personality, whereas others may be more comfortable exerting the strength of their personality or will. Here are some considerations and approaches:
Diagnose your personal strengths and style. Be brutally honest in identifying your weaknesses. While some weaknesses are normal, you will probably want to address those which may be holding you back. Your strengths are another matter, and these assets will prove valuable to you.
Capitalize on your strengths. Once you have identified your strengths it will be essential to refine and hone them. If you’re a good speaker, practice so that you can become a superb one. If you’re a friendly individual become even more outgoing and attentive.
Work on your weaknesses. If you’re a poor speaker join Toastmasters. If you’re reclusive by nature try to become more outgoing by joining clubs, professional organizations, etc.
Cautiously gain feedback. Understand how you are perceived. Often we’re blind to our faults. Ask trusted advisers to give you honest feedback about your performance and efforts to improve. Then act on it.
Select Role Models. Find people who exemplify the style you admire and seek, then try to emulate them.
Thoroughly understand your followers. It is essential to understand your followers. What needs do they have? What are their goals and ambitions? How can you better connect with them? It is far easier to influence followers who agree with you in at least some measure.
In conclusion, there are a few individuals who possess a remarkable ability to greatly influence others. Sometimes this appears to be innate. Others have a more limited capability. But it is fair to say we all have some abilities in this area. The important consideration for a leader, or for those aspiring to be one, is the possibility of change and improvement. Like anything else, it’s easier if you are naturally blessed with these talents. However, the ability to influence people can be acquired and developed.
Copyright ©, 2008, Dr. Ben A. Carlsen, MBA. All Rights Reserved Worldwide for all Media. You may reprint this article in your ezine, newsletter, newspaper, magazine, website, etc. as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, leave my name and bio box intact, and you follow all of the EzineArticles Terms of Service for Publishers.
Indian Textile Machinery Industry
Overview and Trends
Textile industry in India is considered as a pioneer industry, as India’s industrializations in other fields have succeeded through the resources generated by textile industry. Though, from the early 1970s to the beginning of liberalization in 1992, the industry tended to be isolated as measures taken by the Government (with the apparent objective of protecting the cotton growers, the large labor force and the consumers) have constantly eroded its prosperity.
World over, the Indian textile industry is considered as the second largest industry. It has the biggest cotton acreage of 9 million hectares and is considered as the third largest producer of this fiber. In terms of staple fiber production it comes fourth and sixth for filament yarn production. The country reports about one fourth of global trade in cotton yarn.
With over 15 million people employment, the textile industry accounted for 20 percent of its industrial production. Covering textiles and garments, thirty percent of India’s export comes from this sector, in terms of exports it is the largest contributors for the growth of Indian economy. In spite of high capital and power cost, the Indian textile and garment sector’s strength comes from the availability of cotton, lower labor costs, well skilled supervisory staff and plentiful technical and managerial skills.
Although very few countries are endowed with such resources, today’s globalization has brought new opportunities for the India textile industry. Concurrently, it is exposed to threats, particularly from cheap imported fabrics. Thus, India has to fight for her share in the international textile trade. Even if it is assumed that WTO will mean better distribution of the world trade, the benefits for India will not be any different than for the other developing countries. The Indian textile industry would, therefore, have to not only rely on its strengths but should also endeavor to remove its weakness.
India’s apparel exporters, though, have been employing various strategies to make sure that they remain competitive in the liberalized trading environment of 2005 and beyond. Many manufacturers are taking action for improving production efficiency through advanced automation system, re-engineering of production systems, merging separate production units and backward and forward integration of operations and are keen to expand their production capacity in anticipation of enhanced demand in 2005 and beyond Among other manufacture are seeking changes through diversifying their product ranges, exporting high value apparel and improving their design capabilities and some of are planning to raise added value by setting up joint ventures with foreign firms, to take benefit of their technical, design and marketing proficiency. Others are making relationships with foreign buyers to increase their marketing capability.
Support has also arrived from the Indian government in the removal of restrictions on investment by large companies and foreign investors. The Government has also provided assistance to expand the infrastructure for exporters and has given incentives for techno-logical up-gradation. Though, most important restriction is the inflexibility in labor laws, which cause it hard for large firms to cut their workforces when require.
Textile industry in tenth plan
The Tenth Five Year Plan of India (2002-2007) forecasted a GDP growth rate of 8 percent for which an industrial growth of 10 percent is predicted.
The aim of the Tenth Plan is to facilitate the textile and apparel industry to:
. Develop world class state-of the-art production facility to accomplish and maintain a leading global position in production and export of textiles and clothing.
. Withstand demands of import penetration and uphold a dominant existence in the domestic market.
. To accomplish these aims heavy funds are needed in technology and modernization in critical areas particularly in spinning, weaving, knitting, finishing and apparel sectors.
. The technology up-gradation scheme (TUFS) introduced in 1999 intended to make investments component attractive. This scheme has been established to promote modernization and technology up-gradation in the specified sectors of textile and jute industries.
. The Government of India has also declared the National Textile Policy-2000 to expand a sound and vibrant textile industry. The objectives and plunged areas of the national textile policy cover technology up-gradation, enhancement of productivity, quality consciousness, product diversification and so on.
Schemes to strengthen investment in textiles during the Tenth Plan cover:
Rearranging spinning capacity
At present nearly 38 million spindles are already existed. About 10 million old spindles required to be scrapped, and another 15 million spindles to be modernized. Adding on, about 3 million new spindles have to be set up during the Tenth Plan period.
Loomage
The decentralized power loom sector, which reported 68 percent share of the cloth in the country, is in very strong and immediate need of renovation. The textile package declared in the Central Government included renovation of the weaving sector with 2.50 lakhs semi-automatic/automatic shuttle looms and 50,000 shuttleless looms.
Finishing
There are nearly 2324 precessing establishments in the country of which 83 belong to composite units, 165 to semi composite and others 2076 are self-governing processing houses. Among of 227 establishments are modern, 1775 are of medium technology and 322 are obsolete establishments. Reconstruction of finishing units will need a huge financial expenditure.
Schemes for expansion and development of the knitting sector, technical textiles, and woolen and jute industries are to be considered. The textile Engineering Industry is to be encouraged to modernize and offer state-of-the-art technology to the textile industry and through focused textile machinery R&D efforts, domestic reaches and development are to be initiated.
Growth in the textile machinery
Due to high investments on renovation of plant and machinery in the textile manufacturing industry, the manufacturing of textile machinery, their parts and accessories rose last fiscal by 25 percent to Rs 1,668 crore from Rs 1,341 crore in the previous fiscal.
According to the Textile Machinery Manufacturers’ Association of India (TMMAI), the industry also witnessed its capacity of consumption at 55 percent during the year.
But, on the other hand the total projected demand of Rs 4,200 crore of the textile industry, a major contribution was satisfied through imports. This has identified for an urgent requirement on the part of both the user-textile industry and the textile engineering industry (TEI) to start a joint assessment to reverse this movement, said the outgoing Chairman of TMMAI, Sanjay Jayavartanavelu.
On the event of the 45th annual general meeting of Textile Machinery Manufacturers’ Association of India, Jayavartanavelu said the surge in demand for textile machinery has initiated the TEI to make production capacity bigger to satisfy the increasing demand, particularly in the spinning machinery sector. The units in the industry were dynamic to step up production to cut down the delivery period.
This is regardless of the truth that they had to compete with longer delivery schedules from main machinery suppliers. In spite of this, the TEI should make an effort to satisfy the demand in volume/quality and performance with effective after sales service.
The TMMAI Chairman felt amendment in fiscal policy and elimination of hurdles being faced by the TEI required to be effected to make the indigenous textile machinery sector gain strength and scale up its technology and export competitiveness. The areas of fiscal modification needed are letting down the rate of excise duty on textile machinery from 16 percent to the merit rate of 8 percent, continuation of the relaxation in excise duty, which should be extended to inputs required for making of specified textile machines.
The intermediate products required in producing textile machinery as well as spares should be put at four percent excise duty subject to actual-user stipulation. At the same time, the present customs duty concessions on specified machines must be detached and one common rate of import duty of 10 per cent should be charged for all textile machines.
The TMMAI Chairman also emphasize the requirement for early creation of a Rs 2,500-crore development fund for TEI to facilitate the units to use on R&D, infrastructure building, export promotion and plans on environmental protection.
Recent developments in technology
In the international textile and clothing trade, the elimination of decades old quota system has thrown up new challenges as well as unlocks new prospects for the Indian textile industry.
According to the vision statement made by the ICMF for the textile sector, by 2010 the Indian textile industry has the potential to have the market size of worth of $ 85 billion from the present size of $ 36 billion. This development can be gained by the opening of new domestic as well as export segments. Textile export could arrive at $ 40 billions mark by 2010 from current 12 billion dollar level. Result on export side can be measured satisfactory during the last six months. For receiving the prospective business, the textile industry has to move towards value added products. The most value addition in textile segment is created by the apparel segment. Processing, fabric manufacturing and spinning segments in order to make quality apparels will require up-gradation
During last decade, there has been observed fast progress in machinery/technology. A concise representation of modern developments in a range of areas is given below.
Spinning
Manufacturing facility in blowroom line has enhanced to 800 kg/hr with a prerequisite to work 3 mixings all together. To process broad range of cottons, the latest blowroom is provided with automatic bale opener with integrated mixer and cleaning systems. For the latest carding machine as a substitute of one licker-in, multiple licker-ins is built-in serially. And provide more stationary flats. For feed roll, doffer, web doffing, maintenance free digital drives are used. The whole card clothing can be separated with a less function of operation. For full flange of operation, a variety of systems like NEP control, flat control and waste control etc., are integrated.
For modern draw-frame machine, delivery speed up to 1000 mt/minute made possible with an alternative of automatic draft control mechanism which gives out requirement for gear change for controlling draft and delivery speed. In few machines separate deliveries can be restricted without help. Supplier also offers draw frame which can be connected to carding machine. It is stated that owing to digital autoleveller the precision measurement is in its height on an average one meter CV of sliver can be controlled below 0.4 percent.
Combers speed up to 400 nips/min is possible due to technological advancement. From latest comber up to 1.3 tones/day productions is achieved. Touch screens display system also provided with these machines. The display covers production data, process setting, machine parameters setting and fault message display. To save installation time many machines are provided with fully assembled in four modules.
Latest speed frame are offered in atomization system including all the operations. All the functional set ups can be fitted on electronic panel. Bobbin size 6″ x 16″ or 7″ x 16″ can be available. There is an availability of alternative of manual or auto doffing. Machines are provided upto 160 spindles capacity hence considerable saving in the operational cost possible.
In the latest ring spinning system winding geometries are further give to maximize result with less winding tension. Hence, superior draft up to 80 are received with higher spindle speed (above 20000 rpm). A number of other features of modern ring frames are adopted with inverter drive for spindles, independent spindle ring rail and drafting system drives, fast doffing system with no trailing ends. Ring frame up to 1344 spindles are provided. In presents rotor spinning system, diverse yarn can be spun in several part of the machine. It is feasible to get package of changeable density. All the technical factors and machine adjustment can be controlled by computer. In the latest rotor machine it is viable to make a package with 30% higher package density than old rotor machine.
In the latest winding machine path of ring cop from bottom to winding head is further developed. Hence, superior control of winding tension produces lower augmentation in hairiness. The adaptable knotting cycle combined with tailored acceleration dynamics facilitates to alter production system. The immediate controlled cylinder inverter and suction motor inverter are provided for energy conservation. Modern vortex spinning system is available to spin cotton yarn at a speed of 400 mt/min. The technology was previously applied for spinning synthetic blended yarn only.
The latest DREF spinning system can make numerous kinds of multi-component yarns. The drafting unit can manage all kinds of synthetic fibers such as aramid, preoxidised fiber, polyamide, phenol resin fibers and melamine fibers. The machine is able to perform with several cores. The manufacturing facility is achieved as high as 250 mtr/min and fineness of yarn can be from 0.5 to 25 nm.
Weaving
The important aspects of modern weaving preparatory/ weaving machines are reviewed as under:
Machinery producers of both weaving preparatory and weaving machines have received gain in technological aspects to make fault free fabric for the garment sector. Nearly all the machines are provided with electronic control panels and micro-processors controls which monitors and control the machine utility to satisfy the fabric quality need and modification in design styles.
Maintenance of machine has turn out to be stress-free due to proficient lubrication system and improved machine design and substitution of mechanical tools with electronic control system. There is an obvious progress to resource the components and auxiliary equipment from the selected good manufacturers rather than making themselves, hence decreasing the cost of the machines. In latest rapier looms weft insertion rate ranges from 1200 – 1500 mt/min. Many looms are provided with weaving a broad range of fabrics. In many weaving machines weft insertion rate is achieved at higher and ranges from 1800-2500 mt/min.
Latest sizing machine is provided with uniform size pick up facility across the warp sheet and for least amount hairiness and loss in elongation. These are maintained by temperature control and moisture control devices. Squeeze pressure can be maintained by programmable controller to synchronize the compressing at all the speeds. Stretch monitoring instrument is imparted to control the stretch.
Knitting
In recent times the quality requirements imposed on a knitting factory by its customer have become even more precise due to greater emphasis on the reproducibility in case of repeat order. Typically a modern knitting machine has following features as:
Automatic computation of fabric reduces speed, feeders per course, stitch/cm and elongation
Automatically managed thread infeed by inflowing the needed thread infeed per cm
Automatic management of height modification through computer
Automatic supervision of yarn infeed and yarn tension
Through user friendly software, computer helps to make the goods on the selected pattern
Processing
New generation processing machine incorporates microprocessor controls. Various process parameters can be programmed in microprocessor for strict adherence of processing conditions. Apart from good control, machines are also energy efficient and features are incorporated for the reduction of consumption of chemicals, water and steam etc. The developments are also taking place keeping environment requirement and eco-friendly processing while manufacturing the textile products and safer conditions for those involved in the manufacturing.
Process control or quality control
In the area of cotton testing, latest instruments are mostly available as High Volume Instruments (HVI) and are prepared with automatic sampling. They also evaluate short fiber content and maturity index values besides testing of length, strength and fineness parameters. It is stated that maturity values are fairly precise. Instruments are also provided with test color, trash neps and fluorescence values. Few suppliers are offering bale management systems.
For the manmade fibers and its connected instruments offered with the measurement in denier, tenacity, elongation and crimp properties. From the creel, robotic arm can carry the fiber samples automatically.
In the part yarn quality, latest evenness tester can measure, evenness, imperfection and intermittent errors at a greater speed. Many of them instruments are prepared to measure hairiness, diameter variation, shape, and dust as well as trash contents. Single thread strength testing machine are provided with a testing speed of 400 mt/min. The machine is prepared to take out 30000 tests per hour. It is noted that weaving operation of the yarn can be expected advanced with this machine. Some of the single thread strength machines are fitted with automatic yarn count determination device.
Yarn fault classification device has shifted to the winding machine from the laboratory. Data of entire yarn lot can be readable from the winding machines. Electronic check Board can perform the yarn grading, based on yarn output and observed by applying CCD camera and software to measure yarn report. Instrument can also offer fabric simulations if needed.
In fabric testing, automatic fabric inspection device can examine grey and single cotton dyed fabrics for all materials covering air bag fabrics and glass fiber fabrics. The imperfection can be recovered from their reports and images. In the area of process control and management ERP systems are establish which supply 3-tier solution covering the online data acquisition, offline data entry cum reporting device and intelligent business management device.
Conclusion
Today, Indian industry is extremely fragmented. In the organized spinning sector there are nearly 2300 players with 280 composite mills, There are 1000 weaving units and around 1,45,000 independent processing units and innumerable garment makers. The position of machinery technology is not well apart from the spinning sector. Nearly 100000 modern shuttleless looms are needed to set up and to satisfy the target by 2010. Processing sector will also require big amount of up-gradation. It is calculated that a total investment of 35 billion dollar might be needed to achieve the growth intended by ICMF.