Life Goes On

Well, the semester's over-thank God! A much-deserved break is in order; catch up on my sleep, drink more coffee, return some phone calls. A return to laid-back productivity will be the theme. Cooking skills will be upgraded, of course. The Bachelor's life is all about avoiding ramen noodles for as long as possible. But we all have them in our pantry-our backup plan.

Guitar-playing will receive more attention as will the occasional painting. I'll have to be careful with the singing, however. I believe my singing might've driven one of my neighbors to move-that and a large dog that growled at everyone. You can't blame me for singing Neil Diamond songs at one in the morning. Life is funny like that.

Don't smooth out the edges.

Photo Time Again

 Playing music in the park with my pals-does it get any better?

I've been too lazy to upload an "actual" post. Everyone loves fotos(preferred spelling) don't they? What are you waiting for? Let's take a quick trip...Merry Christmas, by the way.

Essential Tools for Starting and Maintaining a Small Business

We believe that there are three factors that drive the success of small businesses.

1) Acquiring start-up capital
2) Finding customers
3) Accounting for, budgeting and controlling sales and expenses

The following resources will help your small business achieve these success factors.

Acquiring Start-Up Capital

An adequate supply of capital is essential as many profitable businesses fail because they don’t have enough cash to pay their employees and suppliers. But what is an adequate supply of capital? The only way to tell is by doing a significant amount of research on your potential market and formally documenting this in a business plan. I’m sure you know that a business plan is a very important document that is crucial to convincing your banker to lend you money.

There are two ways to obtain a business plan.

1) Do it yourself by amending a business plan template, or
2) Hire a professional to do it for you.

Obviously obtain 1) will be a great deal cheaper.

Our research led to a website that has over 60 high quality and free business plan templates. We also found a directory that you can use to easily find a business plan writer in your city – where ever you live in the world.

Finding Customers

Finding customers is a difficult and expensive task for service business owners such as accountants, lawyers and plumbers. We believe that a cost effective marketing strategy for service business owners is to simply give all their personal contacts a few business cards.

Our research led to a few websites that have pre-designed business card templates. We felt that the diversity and quality of these designs was outstanding. In addition, we found that you can obtain a significant saving by finding a printing service on the Internet. We found that you could get 2,000 full color business cards for as little as US $150.

Accounting For, Budgeting and Controlling Revenue and Expenses

Accurate accounting is very important for small business owners. It’s essential that you have timely access to information that could make or break your business. If stocks are running low – you need to know about it. If a large proportion of your debtors haven’t paid – you need to know about it. If you do not react to these situations quickly you may have a situation where you don’t have enough money to pay your employees – or worse still someone is stealing cash out the till.

Our research led to a website that compares and reviews top accounting software for small businesses. The cheapest software cost US $89.99 and the most expensive software cost US $1,499. It was interesting to note that the top 3 ranked websites were not the most expensive and cost between US $250 - US $300.

Hopefully you now have an idea of some of the tools that you can use to grow and maintain your small business.

The Importance of a Positive Attitude

High unemployment. The Recession. Inflation and flat wages. Police brutality. Mass media lies and deception.The country's surely gone to the dogs. Maximilian Robespierre would surely be pleased.

Where does the answer lie? The leaders, from the smallest to the greatest, are self-serving tyrants with a never-ending thirst for bribes and ill-gotten funds. Criminals with tacky suits that would murder if only they could elude discovery. Or the Kennedys. Government officials live like royalty while the rest of the nation suffers. The author has no faith in the godless,corrupt leaders who are no better than used car salesmen. These evil men are accursed-the type of individuals that one crosses the street to avoid. During the French revolution well over a thousand government officials were hung, beheaded or otherwise executed. Start with the Fed, the bankers, Wall Street, the entire George W. Bush administration.

 Meanwhile, the major cities are overrun by large gangs of unemployed street-urchin rabble: young men(mostly black) that are forever frozen out of government assistance or jobs due to a criminal record. What will be done with these millions? Will they be forever idled and left to their own devices or to a life of crime while living in the shadows? The government takes no interest in the potential of these youth, it sees no value or otherwise redeeming attributes. A second tier of citizenship is hereby proposed whereby these gentlemen can regain their good standing in order to contribute to society once again. A program similar to a boot camp would retrain and instill discipline to the wayward youth. The weight of the government is too heavy for the people.

Electronics Overkill

Nowadays the media continually hypes the latest electronic gadgets 24-7. The focus is primarily on computers and phones-the fastest, shiniest, smoothest devices.  Everything else takes a back seat. But of course obsolescence is always lurking around the corner-this author still maintains a closet full of obsolete computers, cameras, laptops, routers etc.,.

It's too bad most people are forced to set aside their once-favored phones and cameras merely because they switched/upgraded their devices. What if there was a way to upgrade these devices? I was gently surprised by this excellent idea from our friends at Amazon. They just launched a program where folks can trade-in their cameras, smartphones etc.,. I'll revisit this topic very shortly. Go check them out.

 This means gearheads everywhere can always sleep safe in the knowledge that their gear is up to date. Perhaps the author can ship a box overstuffed with old cameras and computers. A bill would arrive shortly, no doubt.

GOOGLE FAIL

Google Analytics. Adsense. Both are owned by Google and yet the installation of their software into the Blogger platform is an exercise in futility. Google deserves yet another big thumbs down for their inefficiencies. The author previously awarded it the ignoble prize for its ill-conceived Maps. The installation of key components of software should comprise a more symmetrical experience. Take a twenty point deduction Google.

Unfortunately, as a postscript, the installation of the software components proved to be a fiasco. A humble writer, yes. But unfortunately a software engineer, no. Is the griping justified, then? Unfortunately, only rarely is the author forced to confront ever-present computer limitations. Perhaps skipping those boring computer science classes in order to shoot hoops was not such a good idea, eh? Personal responsibility vs. the Google colossus.

Google gets a rap on the knuckles for the incongruity among its  products. The consumer should only need to click on a handful of variables and presto-installation is complete.  GOOGLE FAIL.

(Knee) Defender

 

We live in difficult times. Mass poverty has produced a nation of perpetual grumps who will fly off the handle in a matter of seconds. And now a hare-brained inventor is going to compound the misery for everyone else. His invention prevents the offending seat from fully reclining. Fantastic! Conversely, the airlines should install wrestling mats and let the quarreling parties go at it in no-holds-barred matches. In-flight entertainment deluxo!

What's happened to the world? Has it become a planet full of Grumps? Where is the tolerance and the live-and-let live attitude? The Grumps should relax by scavenging their vintage/pawn shops for classic video games like Midway's Defender. Warm memories will bubble to the surface. Classic. Any disagreement will be easily resolved with such a game. Bragging rights will be an added bonus.

Stop this pettiness and get on with helping our fellow man. Tough times require Good People to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. No one has time for small arguments and childish disagreements. Knee Defender....(sigh). Truthfully, those airline seats should never recline as far as they do. The author has been subject to inconsiderate passengers as well(and at a height of 6'2, no less). A tolerant nature and a thick skin ensured flights without incidents.

 Passengers have long become accustomed to being packed like sardines into a shabby aluminum can. It's hard to believe that flying used to a pleasurable experience that was reserved for the affluent and well-to-do. There were no TSA agents fondling children or the elderly back then.

Instead of Knee Defender...Midway Defender. Resolve disagreements through spirited challenges in Centipes, Ms. Pacman, Asteroids, etc.,. Good-natured competition is the antidote for petty disagreements.

Make sure to explore the rest of the blog for a further discussion on health, fitness, diabetes prevention, the Grumpiness Index, and the status of Fine Arts, the decline of the Empire. New material is being posted every day as inspiration strikes. Occasionally widgets and banners will appear and disappear, text will appear out of place. A work in progress is in effect and a refined product will result shortly. All readers are invited to read, comment and offer suggestions. Defender. Defend her.