July 17, 2008
Posted by juliusp at 03:54 PM
July 14, 2008
disaster restoration
I find it so sad when I hear the stories and see the pictures of the after effects from natural disasters that have taken place all over the world. I just think that it must be totally devastating to have a natural disaster come through and tear up the area of the world that you call home. For the most part these events take place with little or no warning at all, which perhaps is the most devastating part of it all. Let's face it, you can't just lift your house out of the way and quick move it someplace else, it is just a sitting target, and for most people this holds all that they own and all the equity that they have in the world. I think that the governments of all the countries should have a plan for disaster restoration in place, so that an area ravaged by tragedy can receive immediate relief. There definitely need to be funds set aside for these emergency events, much in the same way a family needs to have emergency plans in place, and monies set aside just in case.
It seems that the occurrence of these events is becoming more and more frequent, and it is leaving a lot of people in a hopeless situation. I just really can't imagine watching all that devastation taking place and not being able to do anything but watch it destroy your world. Then to make the whole experience even more frightening is the idea that after all that devastation you will be left alone and without help or hope. One would think that someone would care enough to help, but no one does. The government sends some initial aid to the area, and then forgets all about the fact that you have been left homeless and penniless and even worse yet hopeless. Those few who want to help, have so little in the way of resources that it will take about a decade or more to get all the residents of the ravaged area into some sort of decent living situation again.
I guess it truly amazes me that countries who spend so much time worrying about everyone else in the world, and spending so much money to protect them, think so little of their own citizens. In this country we really need to look at that. Who pays the government in tax dollars, the Iraqi's or the residents in Louisiana? So who should we help first? Is this really a question that we need to ask?
Posted by juliusp at 09:31 AM
July 10, 2008
insurance quotes
I recently heard an advertisement on television telling people to update their insurance every few months to check and make sure they are getting the best rate available. Well, honestly I have been with the same insurance company since I started driving and never really thought about calling around and getting insurance quotes. You would think that it seems obvious, however, I just didn't really think about it. This morning I sat down on the computer and looked up a few of the well known insurance companies that I could think of. I had a copy of my policy, so I knew what insurance coverage I was currently paying for, and I was amazed at the cheap insurance quotes I got. I always thought that my insurance rates were just the going rate, and I thought I was getting the most insurance for my money. Well, I was wrong. There were lots of insurance policies that were going to charge me less, so I contacted my insurance company to tell them that I was going to switch companies because I could save over $500.00 per year. I really thought that they were going to at least try to match the rate I was getting, but they didn't even bother. What a disappointment! I guess my business wasn't really that important to them, so I will be switching insurance companies as of tonight. Now, in the short term I will have to pay the new insurance company and then wait for a refund check from the old insurance company, but still, I didn't want to wait until the term of my policy was over. After all, why keep paying too much for my insurance now that I knew that I didn't have to.
As for that advertisement I saw on television, I am really grateful for the suggestion that I check into lower rates for my insurance. I never knew that it would be so simply to check into other rates and make the switch. Saving $500.00 per year is a huge savings and I have decided that to reward myself I am going to put that savings aside for a rainy day. After all, it is money that I could have been paying for car insurance, and now it is back in my pocket...FREE MONEY!
Posted by juliusp at 08:42 AM
July 01, 2008
basement windows
A friend of mine recently had her house destroyed by the people who were renting it. When she got them in, they seemed like the perfect tenants. They had a family and were nice and clean cut and paid their rent on time every month. The house was in good condition and my friend stopped worrying about the house and occasionally drove by the house to take a look and all seemed well. Then all of a sudden she started getting the rent checks late and then not at all. When she would drive by the house things were looking a mess, unsightly with garbage in the yard and she could not even believe these were the same people that she had originally rented to. Well, she had to go through eviction proceedings and through this and talking to a few of the neighbors apparently the husband had a drug addiction problem. She finally got them evicted and when they moved out the house was trashed. This man had gone on a rage and trashed the house. He took what looked like a sledge hammer to the windows even the basement windows and the doors. When this psycho got done with the place, it looked like swiss cheese. What was such a cute little house, is now quite frankly an eye sore.
Well, thank goodness for insurance. She was fully covered for the whole thing. Unfortunately, now she will have to go through all the trouble of hiring someone to do the work. I know that she went to order some vinyl replacement windows for the house and the company is going to install those for her. She is now working on hiring a contractor to take care of the rest of the work and she has gotten a few estimates, but several of them are actually more than the insurance paid her for the damage. She is seriously considering selling this house after she gets it fixed because she is really afraid of having another nightmare rental. She feels like there is no way that she could have known that this man was a time bomb waiting to go off. All his reference checked out, and the truth is how could she really have known that this was going to happen. Bottom line is she couldn't have, some things are not foreseeable.
Posted by juliusp at 08:50 PM
June 30, 2008
six sigma training
As part of the business department, all of the freshman, like myself, have been told about an awesome new program that the university is offering this year. We are all being offered a basic level training in this efficiency program called Six Sigma. Basically what I gather it to be is a way of getting existing companies to overhaul their system while it is still functioning and increase their efficiency. We will have to pay an extra, small, fee for the training but I think that it seems to be worth it. I would imagine most of us who graduate are not doing so with the intention of starting a business the second we graduate. That is why I think it is a great idea for us to see how internal changes work as well as get and education on starting business from the ground up. I personally know that I want to work in an established corporate office first because I don't think I know enough about relations and how to deal with people enough yet to manage my own startup. That doesn't mean I don't have ideas and I don't see myself as the head of the next Motorola or something. I know, as a young person, that industry today is all about your idea. The old models of internal function of business still work as does democracy. The main difference today is that if you can form an idea that people are going to latch on to then all you need to do is say the word and people will come. At the same time you must be a savvy person and have the quick wits to be able to steer clear of the dangers of the American as well as globalized business markets.
We start in the fall and it will be run as part of an internship style course. Basically we will meet the consultant at an office here in town and we will go through the training as if we were part of the company. That is how she will illustrate her points and get us to honestly see, and not just think about, what our goals are as part of the Six Sigma training.
Posted by juliusp at 09:50 AM
June 26, 2008
health insurance
My brother Jesse is always getting himself into trouble. Like this one time at 8 o'clock pm ,when it was raining, Jesse, Travis, and I walked up to the baseball field. Which is behind our house. When we got there he was so stupid that he climbed up onto a dugout and his friend Travis did too. Travis fell off the dugout onto the mucky ground. He screeched a horrible screech and I had concluded that he broke something. So Jesse and I carried him home being the nice people that we are. But then Jesse stepped on a nail on the way back. So it was up to me to carry them both back. But I couldn't carry both of them so I made them hop back. But I was there to catch them if they were to fall. We have this hill in our back yard thats really steep so I had to help both of them up the hill separately. And then I heard a BOOM! It was lightning. It had just struck a tree in someone's backyard! It was on fire now flames and smoke flew up in the air. Thank goodness someone had called the fire department otherwise it could have led to a forest fire. Anyways back to my story. I brought Jesse and Travis back to the house. And ran next door to get Travis's mom,Mary,and step-dad,Kevin. They rushed him over to the hospital and we brought Jesse to the hospital as well. While we were sitting there, Mary and Kevin took Travis up to the front desk and the nice lady at the front desk asked, "Do you have any health insurance?" And Mary said "Yes, we do have health insurance," as I sat there eavesdropping in on their conversation I thought to myself 'What if we don't have health insurance for Jesse?' Then I asked my father, "Do we have health insurance dad?" He said "Yes, why do you ask?" I said that i was just wondering. And I just sat there quietly until Jesse was done. Luckily his foot didn't get infected. Thank goodness! Otherwise he probably would make me serve him until his foot got better. I mean I know that it isn't gonna heal instantly but at least it wouldn't be as bad as if his foot was infected.
Posted by juliusp at 02:25 PM
June 24, 2008
auto insurance
When researching car insurance there are some important things that you should know. The first thing that you need to research is what type of auto insurance best suits your needs. Once you determine which type of policy you need for example if you use your car for work you may be better suited with a business insurance policy or some companies will offer you commercial car insurance depending on your type of business. If you are not seeking out one of these types of insurance, there are still other things to consider, like whether or not you need collision insurance, comprehensive insurance, rental insurance, towing insurance, glass coverage, etc. Some of these choices will actually be determined by the laws in your particular state, which honestly you should research before determining your coverage choices. I did not list liability insurance, which is normally required by all states and is usually not an option. Then you must determine how much coverage you need. For instance, if you have a loan or lease on your vehicle there will be specific requirements for your level of insurance coverage, but any insurance company should be able to advise you of these requirements. If you have any questions, be sure to ask them and make sure that they are answered to your satisfaction, if they aren't then you are probably with the wrong insurance company. May I advise that if you do have a loan or lease that you definitely take the payoff option that most companies offer. This is a good way to cover yourself as many times after several years of driving a car your loan or lease payoff amount can be more than the amount the insurance company values your car at. When this happens, you wind up making payments on a car that has been declared a total loss, and let's face it no one wants to do that.
After you decide on exactly what kind of coverage you need, then it is time to hop online and research independently the different insurance companies and their rates for the services you desire. It is important that with each company you look at that you enter the same exact levels of insurance for each one. This will give you the most honest look at their rates and will give you a break down of which parts of the policy are costing you more. Cheap car insurance is not easy to find, but it is worth the effort, no one wants to pay too much for their auto insurance.
Posted by juliusp at 11:02 AM
promotional products
Are your sales going down? Maybe you’re losing some customers, or rent prices/bills are going up, or perhaps you are just looking to expand your business and you want to attract more people. How should you go about initiating this very important change?
What you will need is more than a one-time promotional event. You need an ongoing sale, something that will not only make your customers feel comfortable and taken care of but also that will get the word out quickly and easily about your office. Of course, this is a bit of an investment but your profits will be realized in just a short amount of time.
Aside from offering coupons in the newspaper, a very good way of increasing business is through customer referrals. Customer referrals are so effective because the people your customers are referring most likely trust the opinion of your customers. It is even better if your customer has something that can show the results of your services. Your main issue here is figuring out how to convince your customers to refer your office. Good service obviously does work wonders but often people need incentives to really get stuff done, especially something that doesn’t necessarily directly benefit them like referrals. This is where promotional products come in.
If your company is based in the UK or even if you have a corporate headquarters there (like many larger banks and companies do), Ideas By Net is the perfect site for all of your promotional needs. Ideas by Net offers a large selection of promotional items such as the usual pens and mugs to umbrellas and bags. They offer one hour quotations as well as free virtual samples. And you’ll rest easy knowing that you have access to professional design services. The only sad thing is, Ideas By Net is only available in the UK. They do, however, have a page dedicated to referring US customers to trusted websites in the US that offer similar service. In this way, Ideas By Net really tries to appeal to the customer on a global scale.
Whatever you decide to order, make sure it simple yet large enough to put your logo on clearly. If you want to offer it as a prize for offering referrals, make sure it provides ample incentive to actually refer other customers. And while you’re at it, why don’t you find some clothing or desk supplies to distribute to the staff? If your staff members wear clothing with company insignia or use pens with the logo on it, it shows a pride in the brand that will surely mirror to the customers. And if you’re proud to flaunt your logo, your customers will be proud to flaunt it as well and soon the customer referrals will start rolling in! Good luck!
Posted by juliusp at 10:40 AM
promotional items
A friend of mine and I were out to lunch and he was talking to me about a new way that he has found to get his business more exposure. He has added a line of promotional items that he feels is really doing the trick. He said that he found an excellent company online that he orders from and they do the designs and logos exactly the way he wants them. He started by ordering some pens and a representative from the company suggested some of the larger items to give as client give aways and to give to employees for good work etc. He said that doing this would get his company’s information out there and see by the public. The customer service person also advised him that this was a good way to stimulate return business and also employee moral. He told him that employee’s feel valued when they are given stuff and that it would not only help with moral but with employee retention as well.
He told me that he didn’t really believe it at first, but he couldn’t get over the way his employees and clients were reacting to the free goodies. He said that they just lit up when he gave these things away and that the employees liked the stuff so much they seemed to use these items all the time, and that was a great advertisement for him as well.
I inquired as to what type of items he was giving away, and he said the website had tons of different promotional items to choose from. These were just some of the items that he choose and felt had worked really well:
Coffee Mugs
Key Rings
Caps
Highlighter Pens
Carrier Bags
Travel Mugs
Note Pads
Sports Bottles
Umbrellas
T-Shirts
He said these items had been working so well, that he began to offer a client weekly raffle as well as offering some of these gifts to his employees and even began using the free bees for an employee of the month program and he allows the employees to vote for who the employee of the month is. He said that the whole thing has generated a new aspect for his business and everyone is into getting the free stuff. Employees each have been given their own T-Shirt with the name of his business in a design on the front and the back. He was able to lay out the design himself and is very happy with it.
I think I will give this a try, he has given me the name of the company and it is worth a shot. Whatever you can do to build your business, you should at least give a shot at.
Posted by juliusp at 10:12 AM
June 22, 2008
search engine optimization
My father recently wanted more exposure for his business and decided to go onto one of these sites that allow you to buy a domain name and build your own website real cheap. He did a really nice layout and the pages looked great. Then I guess he thought that was all he needed to do, so he kept checking his web site, but no one was looking. He didn’t understand after weeks of having his site up why he was still not getting any traffic and that’s when he called me. I told him I wasn’t really sure why he wasn’t getting any exposure, but that I would talk to a friend I have that runs an online business and see what he did. His business was booming.
When I called him, he informed me about SEO Services and PPC Management Services, and I said you better back up you are losing me. Apparently, what he was trying to tell me was that these company’s give your site the exposure it needs and draw the traffic into your site. He told me that without hiring one of the companies to provide these services then your site will always stay hidden. He said that SEO which means search engine optimization is an important process of improving the amount and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" search results for targeted keywords. Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results or the higher it "ranks", the more searchers will visit that site. He also told me about PPC Management which means pay per click management. This is an advertising model used on search engines and content websites and blogs, where advertisers only pay when a user actually clicks on an ad to visit the advertiser's website. Advertisers bid on keywords they predict their target audience will use as search terms when they are looking for a product or service. When a user types a keyword query matching the advertiser's keyword list, or views a page with relevant content, the advertiser's ad may be shown. Again, this is just another important way to gain attention on the web.
My friend told me, and then I told my father, the only way to really get your website rolling is to hire one of these companies asap. He said the sooner you get it rolling the better the results will be. I gave my father the information and he called the reputable company that my friend has been using for years and they assured him his business will be picking up soon.
Posted by juliusp at 10:46 AM
June 18, 2008
debt consolidation
All right, so much about debt consolidators. Debt consolidation is obviously very handy when it comes to paying a lot to all the various creditors, but what if when you pay various amounts to all the different ones, you are able to do that since you might have paychecks coming from various sources, but what if you have used a way to eliminate debt and now have to pay the huge sum of money all at once? That might become very tough. One big thing that scares me personally is that what are some possible pitfalls that I might encounter, for example, if I consolidate? I mean, I have already – I have combined balances from two of my credit cards onto one – but it has not been that long ago, so I still do not know how that is going to play out. The big number that I now have to pay all at once scares me. When I first came to States seven years ago, I had a very vague impression as to what debt consolidation was. I am originally from Eastern Europe, and there, the notion of debt is rather something that people generally do not accept, although, now, it is starting to be more and more popular to use credit (loans) on things like cars, condos, houses, electronics, etc. However, there, people do not live on credit cards. If they have the money, they will spend it, if not, then not. However, here, I notice debt consolidation on credit cards and other line of credit is very common. Apparently, the notion of consumption is very widespread. I understand it, as, personally, I sometimes feel drawn in by the attractive and vivid images of publicity, ads, and so forth. Sometimes it just feels that it is impossible to resist the temptation of consuming, more, and more, and more, and more. However, since, apparently, there is never enough money, consuming more and more and more and more leads to more and more and more and more debt – as sometimes there are not enough hours in a day to get everything done, so here there is just sometimes not enough money to cover all the desired expenses. What’s worse, for me, at least, is that once I start spending more, I start to see that there is much more to spend on – just like the vicious circle. For example, once I realized that sometimes I can afford to spend a bit of money on this and that home essential (like, buying nicer towels, decorating the apartment a bit more, etc), I soon realized that once our apartment looks a bit better, we, ourselves, deserve to rest a bit more, go out a bit more – the list goes on and on and on. These “bits” accumulate – so do the debts.
Posted by juliusp at 09:54 AM
