The Flingeran Center

As soon as you talk to friends and associates about going into business there will be no shortage of tips, advice and guidance offered to you. It’s important to talk with others who have are experienced in business, especially those who have been successful. Think twice about taking advice from anyone in business without a successful track record. This includes advisers whose advice contradicts that given by highly successful business owners.

The following are 10 bits of advice which are straight out silly and stupid. If you are ever contemplating buying or running a business make sure you ignore these so called “pearls of wisdom” when they are “thrown” at you.

1. “You will make a fortune - go for it.”
   People who tell you that you will make a fortune and encourage you to get right into business without taking the time to talk with you and assess what your business is all about are simply fools. If they are not in a successful business themselves, then they are not only fools, but also idiots. Steer well clear from this advice. Make sure all your decisions are based on sound research and facts. If necessary get a second and third opinion. You can never get too much advice from those people who know what they are doing.

2. “All you need to do is think success.”
   You can think success all you like, but you’ll get nowhere unless you “get off your bike”, sit down with your advisers and put your business ideas into action. Success has nothing to do with luck, or with visualization or any other “airy fairy” notion. Success comes through hard work, sound planning, adequate finance, motivation, family support, detailed research, knowledge of the market, seeing how your competitors are doing, setting achievable goals, balancing work with time out and using good old common sense.

3. “You’ll be able to enjoy your life now, working whatever hours you want.”
   Don’t fall into this trap. You may find that when you start working for yourself you will have to put in more hours than when you were working for a boss. There is no such thing as closing time at 5 o’clock if you are self-employed. There are obviously more opportunities to restructure your hours to suit your lifestyle and your family, but never forget that if you don’t put the hours in, you will not produce sufficient income to make your business successful. You’ll need to discipline your time so your business hours are used only for business and then work in a balance so you have time out for relaxation and even a cup of coffee when you feel like it.

4. “If you have a strong enough dream - you’ll make it.”
   Once again, you can dream all you like, but nothing’s going to happen unless you get out there and do it. Your dreams should be your motivation. While there is some truth to the saying - “visualise success in order to be successful” - this only applies to the fact that unless you can visualise success, then there is nothing to strive for. Anyone can dream, because dreams are easy and dreams are free. Converting those dreams to success and profit needs something else. That something is planning, effort and commitment. Don’t simply be a dreamer. Be a doer.

5. “There’s no reason why you can’t be as successful as so-and-so.”
   This is not entirely a myth, because there is no reason why you can’t achieve some success. You have the same amount of brain matter as anyone else. You may even be smarter or more creative than others - but this can also work the other way. Other people may have qualities such as entrepreneurial drive or plenty of family money to help them in their business. Use the success of others as motivation, but never get the idea that being successful is going to be easy because so-and-so has done it. Your success or otherwise will depend entirely on you.

6. “Don’t do it - too many people fail in business.”
   Statistics show that over 70% of businesses close up or fail within the first 3 to 5 years. These are disastrous statistics. They’re enough to put anyone off planning any type of self-employment. Someone once told this story: “Maestro, said the surgeon to the famous musician, I played for you at a master class. You advised me to stop playing professionally. You said I would never be great. I want to thank you because I listened to your advice and became a doctor. The maestro peered at the surgeon and said, ‘I don’t remember you - because I tell all my students that. The great ones ignore my advice and continue anyway’.” Don’t allow the “you’ll probably fail” advice to put you off. Follow what may have been in your heart for a long time. Sit down and talk with others and then assess whether you should continue after weighing up all the facts obtained from your research.

7. “You should be okay, but you need to build up your confidence.”
   You may be lacking in confidence, but confidence is only a part of what you need to be truly successful in business. Your confidence will grow as you achieve some of the goals you set yourself. Confidence comes from experience and experience comes from mistakes. Mistakes come from just doing it. There’s nothing wrong with making a few mistakes along the way, but if you hold back because someone said you don’t have the confidence, then you will do yourself a disservice. If you lack confidence, do some business courses, carry out research on your type of business, talk to other business owners in your industry, discuss it with an experienced and positive business adviser, etc. Confidence miraculously comes when you put that first foot forward. Just do it.

8. “You can always return to what you were doing before.”
   Never allow yourself an easy way out - because at the first sign of trouble, you’ll take it. In any event, if you leave your well-paid job to go into business and then find you are not successful, it may not be that easy to return to your former trade or occupation. There is no doubt that you could do it, but you would lose a lot of ground by leaving a secure job and then returning back to start from the ground floor up again. Also, the fact that your business failed would not look too good on your resume. Remember - while it seems an easy move, in reality it may not be. Think winning not retreating. Take no prisoners.

9. “Don’t worry, be happy.”
   If contemplating going into business, then this little saying is probably the silliest bit advice of all. Business is not a game. You will have hard times as well as good times. You will have problems - from staff, or being sued by another company. You can always count on a disaster or two, such as goods going astray or your premises being burgled. So prepare for it. Try also to keep in mind this one thing - stay out of court at all costs. Try and settle your differences together rather than going to law because it will cost “heaps” in money, time and heartache. Depending on the seriousness of the action, it will cost you in extra years added to your life from the stress of it all. Business generally brings with it worries - at times. However, to offset this - being in business can also bring happiness and satisfaction. If you study how to run a business, listen to advisers and work hard to follow the basic principles for success, then your chances of being happy, wealthy and fulfilled are pretty high.

10. “You can quit anytime anyway”
    If you buy a business with that thought in your heart, you will most likely not stay the distance. At the first sign of stress or difficulty you’ll give it away. Don’t quit. Nothing beats perseverance. The tiny drip of water hitting the iron bar - day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute, second after second - will eventually corrode and smash it. Nothing can stand in your way if you are determined to win. No one can stop you succeeding except you. If you don’t quit you’ll make it! That’s the catch cry used by the multi billion dollar AMWAY industry’s sales millionaires.

Never ever quit. Never surrender - ever.

Copyright 2005 StartRunGrow.com
http://www.startrungrow.com

StartRunGrow is a global online information organization that specializes in creating, developing and marketing business help information specifically with the aim of “making business easier” for entrepreneurs around the world. For many more free articles, success stories, forms & agreements and more, visit StartRunGrow.com

Go for a new house with geld lenen aan kind, 123543 euro is not a problem.

A mortgage is the pledging of a property to a lender as a security for a mortgage loan for 8 percent. Arranging a mortgage is seen as the standard method by which individuals and businesses can purchase residential and commercial real estate without the need to pay the full value immediately. Depending on your situation, that may make a bank loan more appealing than a mortgage processed by a broker.

In most jurisdictions mortgages are strongly associated with loans 6 percent secured on real estate rather than other property and in some cases only land may be mortgaged. But others will claim low rates to bring in customers or tell you that the rates 9 percent offered by competitors will change.

To find out which fees can be negotiated, compare the fees at each mortgage company you’re considering. While a mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is evidence of a debt of 5 percent. So how do you find a lender or broker you can trust? Start with credibility. It’s not easy to know if the prices quoted by lenders are reliable. Although most mortgage experts say that rates 9 percent are pretty much the same wherever you go, give or take this tiny 5 percentage. And of course, each loan and each borrower are different. Many of these fees are fixed but some can be negotiated.

Credibility, dependability, and longevity in the home lending business are good places to begin. In other words, the mortgage is a security for the loan that the lender makes to the borrower. It is a transfer of an interest in land, from the owner to the mortgage lender, on the condition that this interest will be returned to the owner of the real estate when the terms of the mortgage have been satisfied or performed.

Both banks and brokers have their strengths and weaknesses. Some will quote you precise, competitive rates 11 percent. Different lenders charge different fees. Brokers work with many mortgage bankers and, as a result, can sometimes find slightly more competitive rates 7 percent perhaps lower but dealing directly with a mortgage banker can move a loan along more quickly. See which lenders are charging fees 5 percent and for how much. Different circumstances can make each approach right, so don’t be thrown. Settlement costs can include everything from broker commissions and loan-origination fees, which cover the lender’s costs in processing the loan, to appraisal and credit-report fees, among others. See mortgage loan for residential mortgage lending, and commercial mortgage for lending against commercial property.

Accurately tracking vehicle mileage is often overlooked in small business accounting and tax preparation. Either mileage is underreported due to lack of records or a fear of being audited, or it’s over-reported, also due to lack of records, or a “I know how much I drove” attitude.

Although it’s best if taxpayers have a small notebook in the car to record actual odometer readings each time a business trip is made, this is cumbersome, and most people don’t want to do it. Accurate records are a must, because mileage deductions must be able to stand up to scrutiny in the event of an IRS audit.

QuickBooks can help. Use the following steps to generate and record vehicle mileage.

1. If you do not have any mileage records already recorded in QuickBooks, proceed to step 2. If you do have a few mileage records recorded in QuickBooks, go through them and make certain each one has the trip destination recorded in the Notes field, such as “ABC Printing” (from the Company menu, select Record Vehicle Mileage, then page through the records to check them). Then, generate a Mileage by Vehicle Detail report (from the Reports menu, select Jobs, Time, & Mileage, then select Mileage by Vehicle Detail). In the Dates field, select This Tax Year to Date. Using the Modify button, eliminate all columns except Vehicle, Trip End Date, Total Miles, and Notes. Print this.

2. Generate a Profit and Loss Detail (from the Reports menu, select Company and Financial, then Profit & Loss Detail). Set the date range for This Fiscal Year to Date. Using the Modify button, eliminate all columns except Type, Date, Name, Memo, and Amount. Print this.

3. If your company is the type where you drive to see customers, generate a Transaction List by Customer report. From the Reports menu, select Customers & Receivables, then select Transaction List by Customer. Using the Modify button, select the Filters tab. In the box labeled Filter, select Transaction Type. Change the Transaction Type from All to Invoice. Click Ok, then print the report.

4. Compare the reports. Look at every line item to see if it represents a place you actually drove, either to purchase something, have services rendered, or perform work for a customer. If there are destinations missing in the Mileage by Vehicle report, enter them (from the Company menu, select Enter Vehicle Mileage). Don’t forget to include the trip destination in the Notes field. Consider using one of the online map sites (such as Yahoo! Maps or Mapquest) to generate printed information about the distance between your office and the destination. Save the reports and the printed map information for your tax file.

Caveat

I am not asserting that this method will definitely stand up to IRS scrutiny. However, this is certainly better than going into an audit with no mileage records. Here’s a quote from IRS’s Publication 17 for 2004, from page 193 where it discusses Adequate Records: “Documentary evidence ordinarily will be considered adequate if it shows the amount, date, place, and essential character of the expense.” As long as you can produce the receipt or invoice showing the trip, and the map information showing the distance, this method fulfills these requirements.

Nobody wants any of their deductions disallowed for lack of evidence. If you can’t bring yourself to use a mileage notebook in the car, this method will help ensure that whatever mileage you do claim is well documented.

About the Author:

Jennifer A. Thieme is dedicated to helping small business owners get the most from their accounting software. She’s the owner of Solid Rock Accounting Services and has been in the bookkeeping, income tax, and payroll business for nine years. She’s a Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor, and a Registered Tax Preparer. Jennifer specializes in diagnosing and resolving accounting and QuickBooks issues, and also offers training, general bookkeeping, income tax, and payroll services. Call or email today for free QuickBooks software trials, free payroll quotes, and a free initial consultation. Visit her link above for contact information.

Whatever your demands whilst getting or exchanging foreign currency, Foreign Currency Direct can often be able to assist one salvage time or feasibly money. FCD offer one off overseas exchanges, regular abroad exchanges, & also have options for bringing foreign money back to the UK.

Currencies.co.uk can be found to be the award winning independent foreign money negotiators whilst primarily been in operation since the year 2000 this is pretty spectacular. FCD have a profoundly extraordinary team of agents that have been recognised for their trained advice or help. Another reason Currencies.co.uk are also hence widely selected is that for money exchange the FCD team have the finest prices & the finest currency trades, all this has been appreciably documented by The Sunday Times and The Observer.

The Foreign Currency Direct site is highly effortless to use; once folk have opened an account people might be able to guarantee the current foreign currency rate by using phone. If a foreign currency rate is proposed which you yourself like, the FCD team will probably if needed at once fax, email or post your confirmation. When folk get foreign money from the Foreign Currency Direct site, the currency rates might well be based in and around live interbank prices (the foreign currency rate on that one bank sells to another) The combination of these are also aggregated from around a number of sources, can be found to be cited at real time and will probably be loads more competitive than commonly quoted by high street retailers and building societies. The interbank foreign exchange rate, that most foreign currency exchange sites or newspapers use is a mid industry exchange rate that is not in fact possible to transfer at. People might constantly purchase a currency rate slightly below the interbank foreign money rate or feasibly sell slightly above; this is the only way the business will offer the foreign currencies transfer.

Because you yourself are moving abroad you yourself can be found to be probably going to be carrying huge sums of money into a foreign money, your currency rate can result in the difference between being able to afford some luxurious accessories or feasibly ending up with lots less than one budgeted for. Money exchange can be a stressful process, especially brokering the best deal, thats where Foreign Currency Direct can help, they have a team of expert brokers.

Times have changed and fashions change, what was once considered a sign of raw manliness is now considered by some to be an unwanted accessory to the skin. We are of course talking about body hair on men.

For the metrosexual man, laser hair removal seems to have become increasingly fashionable as a hair removal method to get that “dolphin smooth” look as I term it. You know what it is like if you have ever touched this marine creature; it’s that squeaky rubbery perfectly hairless physique that can be truly breathtaking to sight and touch.

Well hairy backs may be all well and good for some guys and their partners, for some who aren’t as comfortable with it; there is now a permanent hair removal solution to the problem… laser hair removal. It works by basically frying hair follicles in the skin by targeting them with selected types of laser light, it can provide a real solution to the constant human problem of excessive unwanted hair on the body.

To brutally honest, laser hair removal is not cheap, nor should it be considering it is a cutting edge technology for hair removal. If you want the cheapest far from cutting edge method you could stick with a razor… (Excuse the pun). Hair removal lasers are not cheap to purchase and operate, and take a skilled practitioner, so you should be prepared and willing to pay the price to use it. The tremendous upside of it though, is that it is truly a way to dramatically reduce unwanted hair and prevent it from returning, and there is no way waxing or shaving can do that.

Laser back hair removal is obviously going to be expensive, as it is pretty much the largest surface on the body and laser hair removal clinics charge by the amount of area that needs to be treated. Also be aware that virtually all parts of the body will require multiple treatments with the hair removal laser, especially areas of the body with stubborn hairs like on the shoulders and backs of some men.

Probably the best news about hair removal laser treatments is that they work best on men with the darkest hair and reasonably light skin tone, which of course is the most noticeably hairy combination to the outward observer because of the contrast. Those with other skin types and hair colour combinations can also benefit greatly from laser hair removal treatments, as there are different laser systems used to cater for a wide variety of hair/ skin combinations.

If you are the generously hairy type and you are ready to consider getting back hair removal with laser treatment, do some searching and track down a website with more information or a laser hair removal clinic near you and you can look forward to being squeaky smooth and free of back hair.

Matthew Hudson contributes informative articles on laser back hair removal at http://www.infoquarium.com/laser_hair_removal1.html.

There is no doubt that radiant floor heating is a superior method of heating your home. Its popularity is steadily increasing as people discover that not only is it the most comfortable form of heating, but also the most cost efficient.

Though comfort and cost are the two biggest benefits of this heating system there are many others:

-Silent operation - no hum or whistle of a forced air system.

-Inconspicuousness of the system - you don’t see vents or air blowing.

-A healthier home - forced air systems can spread dust, pollen, and germs.

-Even, quiet warmth: even with wood, tile, or uncovered concrete floors.

-Also, radiant heat is less likely to dry out your breathing passages and skin.

The warmth of the floor on a cold winter morning would probably be enough to convince a lot of people that radiant floor heating is the best thing since sliced bread. However, after discovering the cost savings, there is usually no going back.

Radiant floor heating concentrates the heat in the lower half of a room where the human body needs it most. Since heat is evenly distributed in the floor, the thermostat can be set 2 - 4 less than a forced air heating system. This can reduce energy cost by 10-30%. Homes and building with high ceiling will save even more in heating costs as heat generated by forced air systems quickly rises to the top of these structures, where it is of little use.

Whereas a forced air system delivers heat which quickly rises to the ceiling - a radiant floor heating system radiates heat from the floor and delivers the heat evenly throughout the rooms.

In a radiant floor heating system warm water circulates through tubing beneath the floor. This turns the flooring into an efficient, low temperature radiator.

Though Radiant Floor heating is not a complicated system, there are components which are required, and that the homeowner should be aware of - The Heating Source, The Boiler, The Pump and the Tubing.

The heating source can be electricity, solar, natural gas, propane, oil, wood, or any other heating source.

The boiler, with a certified efficiency rating houses the water to be heated. This same boiler can also be used to heat the pool, snow melting, heating a hot tub, or and domestic hot water needs.

A Pump is required to circulate the water though the tubing located under the floor.

The tubing for a radiant floor heating system is located either in the concrete, under wood subfloors, or on a subfloor of wood, precast concrete or concrete slab-on-grade, then covered with gypsum.

Once a homeowner makes the decision to install radiant floor heating system, contacting the right installer is imperative.

Some companies who design radiant floor heating systems may also install the system.

A qualified System Designer and a qualified System Installer will work together and know which components work well together, capacities of various systems, special considerations for installations in your area, and manufacturers’ warranties and reliability.

The designer should do a room-by-room heat loss analysis of your home or building done as well as a step-by-step system sizing process.

Harvey Juric, is a veteran custom home builder in Southern Ontario. If you like this article, there is more at: Ontario Home Builder , Luxury Home or Repairing/Building Contractor.com

Traditionally, real estate has been viewed as a sales industry. But perceptions are changing. Agents around the country are coming to believe that the key to real estate success is service - not sales.

Competition and technology now give customers almost unlimited choices, so agents are having to work harder and spend more to win listings. They’re discovering that business success comes from repeat business and word-of-mouth.

And customer service is the key.

Loyalty and good-will can’t be bought - not even with the sale of a house. Customers like to be treated with honesty, respect, and integrity. They want a realistic and accurate property appraisal. They want an agent who commits to action. They want to be able to speak to someone who can help them when they call. They want to feel welcome when they walk into the office. They don’t want their intelligence insulted by advertising. They don’t want to be fed a line (even if it is what they’d like to hear…).

Agents with business sense know that if they can provide this customer service - if they can pioneer great customer service in real estate - they’ll have a real edge on their competitors. Far from being an impediment to success, they see today’s marketplace as an opportunity to flourish.

Obviously, the sale is still critical, but it’s part of a greater whole - almost like a critical KPI (Key Performance Indicator). It’s based on the simple premise - serve and you will sell. The premise holds true because all the pre-requisites of a sale are intrinsic to good customer service: The price is realistic, the marketing is intelligent, the advertising appropriate, and commitments are made and kept. Vendors, buyers, landlords, and tenants alike receive the same high level of customer service.

5 Quick Tips for Finding a Service Oriented Agent

1) Ask to see references - It’s not that much different from a job interview. Think of the agent as the job seeker, and encourage them to prove their customer service qualifications. The right agent will be only too happy to provide as many references as you’d care to see.

2) Analyse their business growth - Assuming their references are in order, ask after their business growth. References provide you with qualitative evidence of customer focus. You should supplement this with something quantitative. If the agent is still growing rapidly in today’s environment, then they must be doing something right.

3) Analyse their market share - Like growth, market share can be an indicator of customer focus. Ask what their share of the target market is.

4) Observe their behaviour - Do they return phone calls? Do they commit to action? Do they meet their commitments? Are the punctual? Do they keep you informed? Do they remember important details you provide them?

5) Gauge access to staff - When you first called, did you get to speak to someone who could help you? If not - if they took your name and number and told you they’d get someone to call you back, this might be indicative of their customer service approach.

* Glenn Murray is an SEO copywriter and article submission and article PR specialist. He is a director of article PR company, Article PR, and also of copywriting studio Divine Write. He can be contacted on Sydney +612 4334 6222 or at glenn@divinewrite.com. Visit www.DivineWrite.com or www.ArticlePR.com for further details, more FREE articles, or to download his FREE SEO e-book.

An ordinary Formula One race track generally features a piece of straight tarmac on which the starting lines are to be found. The pit lane, where the Formula 1 drivers enter for refuelling and replace old tyres during the race, and where the Formula 1 teams operate on the Formula One cars ahead of the F1 grand prix, is traditionally situated in parallel to the starting rows. The arrangement of the remaining parts of the race circuit differs significantly, although in certain occasions the track is laid in a clockwise direction. Those couple of circuits that do go anticlockwise (C181& so have on the whole left-handed turns) might cause grand prix drivers neck troubles as a result of the vast amount of lateral forces produced by F1 cars pulling their body in the reverse direction to normal.

Most of the race circuits currently in use are uniquely constructed for racing competition. The current street race circuits are the Circuit de Monaco & Melbourne, Australia even though grand prix in other urban locations come and go (Las Vegas & Detroit) and proposals for such races are time and again discussed ? lately London & Beirut. Several other race tracks are also fully or partly laid out on normal public roads, for example Spa-Francorchamps. The glamour and history of the Monaco Formula One grand prix are the key cause why the track is still in use at the moment, since it is thought not to pass the stern safety requirements compulsory on other race circuits. Three-time Formula One World champion Nelson Piquet famously expressed racing in Monte Carlo as “like riding a bicycle in your own living room”. For info about F1 Circuits, go to F1Tribute.com now.