Ideas To Financing Your Property Development Project

There are a number of ways for an aspiring property developer - even one who doesn't have a lot to spend-- to get started. Along with individual savings and investment, two standard sources of financing for a venture are loans and investors. A common structure for a development project is 50-80 % debt and 20-50 % equity investment. For credibility and to ensure that there is motivation for the developer, equity investors usually ask a developer to co-invest. Most invest between 5 and 15 % of the cost; a higher investment means more direction and lower rates.

Getting investors takes some work, but it's possible to find them, even for small projects. Local chambers of commerce can point out investment clubs and companies. Search public databases for building permits that contain the names of developers and contractors who may be interested in local investments.

It's important to understand that getting capital is a time consuming, difficult process. In today's financial environment, things aren't like they used to be. Loans have to be secured by cash flow and assets. It doesn't matter who you know, and no matter how good the project sounds to the developer, it will still be evaluated based on its credit risk.

Creating A Lasting Impression

This year at your company party, what sort of impression would you like to make: would you like to be the remembered as the guy who is smart, pleasant and charming, or the guy about whom people say, "ummm, hmm... yeah, I think I remember meeting him... maybe"? You're going to pick the former, of course, as all of us would. No one wants to be remembered as the dull guy, or not even remembered at all. So before you attend any parties this year, take a little bit of time to consider how you will appear to others.

Pay attention to your body language.
Yes, what you say is important. But your body language is even more important because people "read" it before you say a single word. Make sure to smile. Sit or stand up straight, and do not cross your arms in front of you, as this is interpreted as a defensive posture. As you are talking with people, try to make eye contact in a relaxed manner. What I mean by this is, definitely make eye contact with the person to whom you are speaking, but try not to make this person feel as if you are staring or scrutinizing. When you break eye contact, try to do it slowly, without darting your eyes. This helps people to feel comfortable during a conversation.

Avoid Unwelcome Surprises By Doing the Homework Before Buying a Brownfield Site

Land in the UK that has been previously used for any purpose and is no longer in use for that purpose is called a Brownfield site and it is often seen as a good investment for both housing or a more commercial development.

There are several things to consider when considering buying brownfield land, including its previous use and possible contamination, its location, planning permissions that might be needed, any legal restrictions attached to the land and the cost of supplying various utilities to the site.

Buying building land can be expensive, but generally a brownfield site that has previously contained buildings may be a more affordable investment, but this will depend on doing the homework thoroughly before making a decision to buy.

11 Tips To Cope With Stress At Work

In these challenging times, nurses have to do more with less and often feel frazzled and frantic, instead of calm and efficient. Excessive stress can interfere with your productivity and deplete you physically, mentally and spiritually.

It's good to remember that some stress is normal and healthy. Eustress is the "good" stress that every living biological life form has; it allows us to be productive when everything around us is changing. But the U.S. Surgeon General claimed 80% of non-traumatic deaths are stress related.

Stress is literally killing us.

These 11 tips will help cope with stress at work:

1) Breathe. The best stress reducer is slow deep easy breathing. Rhythmic activities, like breathing, laughing, walking, etc release endorphins in our brains and make us feel calmer. No matter where you are you can take 3 minutes to breathe through your nose In-2-3-4 and Out-2-3-4, slow and deep, from your abdomen. Doing this 4 or more times a day and during stressful situations is the easiest and most effective way to reduce stress.

Media Training And Crisis Communication Training: The Myth About 3 Key Messages

Media training teaches the concept of identifying your "3 Key Messages." In other words, what are the 3 most important things you need to communicate during your interview with the reporter?

But what exactly is a key message? Is it a bullet point? Is it a talking point? Is it a set of words that incorporate more spin than truth? Is it a set of verbatim words that incorporate both truth and quotes?

In my world, it is a set of verbatim words that incorporate both truth and quotes. But many media trainers teach only bullet points and talking points. I call this "The Myth About 3 Key Messages."

Let's put this in the context of a U.S. political candidate in a debate with his or her opponent. The moderator of the debate might ask a question such as, "Please give me your thoughts on education."

The candidate, whose strategist may have determined that the key messages should only be about energy, the economy and international relations, is left with nothing to say. Therefore, the candidate will BS his or her way through 50 seconds of a 60 second answer, then conclude by saying, "Education is important and you can get more details on my website."

Negotiating Effectively for Your Deserved Raise

How do you approach your supervisor or boss for a well deserved raise based on your notable achievements and quality performance? Maybe he or she has been busy and needs a gentle, but persuasive reminder. This is easily done if one carefully follows a well laid out plan. If you enlist the steps listed below you are well on your way to a productive and successful meeting.

1. Be Prepared with a Plan: Be armed with data and numbers that clearly demonstrates results of your efforts, performance, achievements and diligence. List specific projects, clients, or documents that have contributed directly to the success of the company as a result of your achievements. For example, introduce documents that clearly illustrate how you may have significantly improved efficiency in a particular process resulting in a cost reduction of 20%. Or perhaps you may have dedicated extra time to improve a process or procedures that clearly benefited overall operations and be prepared back it up with numbers.

2. Schedule a Meeting: Do not just barge into his or her office with fierce determination, but rather set up a scheduled meeting that is conducible to both of you. Be calm, confident, and stay focused on your presentation. Under no circumstance, get emotional or angry...it has no redeeming value to lose your temper and will surely result in an ineffective presentation and possible termination.

Kraft Foods - Philip Morris Companies

Currently, Kraft Foods is one of the biggest makers of confectionery, food and beverage products in the world with over 11 globally reputed brands earning in excess of $1 billion annually. Since its beginning in 1923, it has witnessed unparalleled growth in the U.S. Kraft Foods, as it is currently known, was formed in 1924 following the renaming of the National Dairy Products Corporation. Since then, the main objective of the company has been to grow continuously through meticulously planned acquisitions. However, the tale of this high-profile US IPO begins with the acquisition of the company by Philip Morris Companies Inc.

Philip Morris Companies, one of the largest tobacco companies of the world, acquired Kraft Foods in 1988 in what an attempt to expand its hold in the food industry. The General Foods unit of Philip Morris Companies had been merged with Kraft Foods by 1989. However, in early 2001, in an attempt to raise capital to clear debts incurred during the acquisition of Nabisco Holdings, the company decided to go public with Kraft in the form of an Initial Public Offering. Moreover, the adverse reactions of public to the conglomerate that sold both cigarettes and dairy products had compelled Philip Morris to gradually move away from Kraft and the IPO was the first step towards achieving this. The IPO was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and was underwritten by bigwigs such as J. P. Morgan Securities Inc., HSBC Securities Inc., Morgan Stanley etc. However, at a time when companies hesitated to offer IPOs, Kraft Foods managed to generate remarkable interest in the market.

Racks For Storage Keep Your Things In An Orderly Manner

In the past racks were only installed in the attic or somewhere they could not be seen. This is because they were made from normal wood and they did not have an eye catching design. Today the industry has changed for good. In fact, racks for storage have become a style statement. They can be customized and designed in such a way that they blend with the surroundings of the room and the house.

Racks for storage helps to make the optimal utilization of space in your rooms. You will normally see these elegant looking racks in the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, the bedroom and even in your bathroom. In the kitchen these racks come in handy as you can put all your vessels, cutlery and other kitchen equipment. In the dining room, you can put your plates, bowls, etc so that if you need anything you don't have to go all the way to your kitchen. In the living room you can out your books in an orderly manner while in the bathroom you can out your toiletries.

Industrial Shelving System Should Be Reliable

Industrial shelving is the need of the hour for many companies who need to put their goods in place. It leads to following a proper system of storing the industrial goods in an orderly manner so that their retrieval (when needed) can also become easy.

Today there are many types of industrial shelving to choose from. Wire shelving is normally used in the industries today. This type of shelving is modular, durable and flexible. Such a system is strong and study and it can be easily adjusted according to the changing needs. There is lesser dust buildup and the shelving is easy to clean and maintain.

The normal wire shelving system consists of four steel poles that are around 7 to 8 feet apart. The shelves are usually between 18 and 30 inches deep and about 2 to 6 feet wide. There are four holes in the corner of the shelves to insert the poles. The plastic clips are then inserted to keep the poles connected. The shelves are then held with the help of circular grooves that are inserted on the poles. They are kept one inch away from each other so that the individual shelves can be easily moved up or down without taking apart any other unit. There are no special tools required to disassemble or assemble the shelves.

Get The Best In Commercial Storage By Jennifer Obodo

When it comes to commercial storage you can't take any chances. This is because all products of the company such as equipment, furniture and finished goods need to be protected from rust, theft, fire and other consequences. Companies in the UK normally get the commercial storage space customized. This is because the quantity of goods and their type varies from company to company.

The nature of the goods is a very important factor to be considered. For example, if the goods to be stored are food items then the storage space might also require refrigeration. The storage system in this case should be pest resistant, waterproof and fire proof. The storage should be done in such a way that there is most efficient utilization of horizontal and vertical space.

You can today find a reliable storage manufacturer on the internet. The company should be able to fulfill the requirements of the client and also suggest customized solutions after finding the requirements. Today storage comes in all shapes and sizes. Your commercial storage should be done in such as way that it becomes easy to store the goods as well as retrieve them when you need them. This saves a lot of time and effort of the company and indirectly it leads to savings in costs. A professional company will make sure that everything is taken care of and your goods are always protected.

How To Find The Best Audio Visual Services

There are actually a plethora of audio visual services and AV for hire these days. If you don't carefully sort though your options, you might end up hiring the wrong company. In order to make sure that you are hiring the best one, here are the tips you should keep in mind:

1. The company should have an event management team.

You can tell a good company from one that does not provide a good service by their event management team. From the planning of the event to the AV solutions, they should have already gone through the details beforehand. The team also sets out to find the best options suitable for your budget. You should be able to contact the team any time to go through the details of the event.

2. They should offer session or workshop management.

This feature is not always included in most packages so you have to ask the team if they are offering it. This should include the recording of sessions if you are planning a corporate event. They are also in charge of finding the venue for the workshop or the corporate event.

Grow Your Organisation And Become More Profitable By Utilizing IT Consultants

 With all the state of the economic situation today, outsourcing your IT department is often one of the greatest options which you can make for your business, as it will save you money. This is usually the number one advantage of employing outside IT consultants. Should you have an interest in decreasing costs, increasing services and enhancing your company's general business operations, you should keep reading the next few paragraphs to understand how employing an IT consultant helps you to save your organization some money and often enhance the degree of IT service you receive at the same time.

• Decrease Expenses - The most obvious advantage of outsourcing your IT department of your respective organization is the potential to decrease expenditures and, obviously become a little more profitable while doing so. Whenever you outsource to a managed IT providers solution, you're only expected to pay a single price, and it makes no difference how frequently you utilize their expertise. Consequently, you will no longer have to deal with lost business due to your systems shutting down, lost resources or overtime expenses and your budgeting process becomes much less complicated.

Simply by using the services of an outsourced IT consultant, you will only be accountable for investing in the services that you have actually used; furthermore, system problems will be solved more rapidly rather than if an in-house personnel had been dealing with them.

Running A Commercial Laundry Business

You may know what you need to do to set up your commercial laundry, but what challenges are you going to face when running it?

Firstly you are going to need to source suitable premises, you ideally want somewhere with good transport links, your premises do not need to be in a city centre. You may also want to consider leasing somewhere with more room than you need to start with to allow scope for expansion without having to move.

You will need to recruit enough staff and management to run the laundry 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as your customer base will require you to carry out a lot of the laundry overnight so that, as an example, hotels will have clean linen and uniforms ready for the next day. You will need to recruit staff that can carry out semi-skilled tasks, as even though a lot of the tasks are manual, skill will be needed to operate devices such as commercial washing machines that can have up to 99 programmes. In addition good finishing of garments requires some skill, and is essential as this is the last process in the laundry process.

The Future of Printing: From 3D Direct to Garment Printing to Tissue Engineering

3D Printing sounds like something out of a science fiction book. But the reality is, it's already here. It's basically a form of manufacturing where layers of material are added together to create the desired product. A lot of this manufacturing is done with lasers, some of the products are made with polymers, some are made with powders. The most important aspects of these different methods are speed, cost and quality. As a result, 3D printing has lots of different applications.

In the health field, organs and body parts could be built using this new technology. Cells are deposited onto a gel medium and subsequently built up in layers. The result is the bones can literally be built intact, without the need for polishing or refinement. Molding will become obsolete, which will save lots of money and time, as well as the condition of the original. Dentistry will also benefit hugely from 3D printing.

Business Coaching Helps Reduce Employee Burnout

Employee burnout is a huge problem in our society and it has many roots, especially considering the current economic environment where many employees are working longer hours for the same pay due to a reduction in the workforce. A lack of appreciation often further compounds the problem.

Employee burnout is essentially a result of prolonged workplace stress and anxiety. Herbert Freudenberger coined the term "burnout" in 1974, and established twelve phases of the burnout process that are not necessarily experienced sequentially:
• Having a compulsion to prove oneself
• Working harder and harder with no end in sight
• Neglecting personal needs
• Displacing conflicts
• Revising values (dismissing friends or hobbies)
• Denying emerging problems (aggression and cynicism begin to become apparent)
• Withdrawing socially
• Changing behaviors that become obvious to others
• Experiencing an inner emptiness
• Having depression
• Experiencing burnout syndrome

How to Manage Latino Employees More Effectively

Just as we all learn in different ways, such as visually versus auditory, cultures experience and respond to management styles in different ways as well. What motivates a person from one culture may discourage someone from another culture.

This article focuses on the most effective (and ineffective) ways for managers to interact with their Latino employees. Foreign-born Latino employees are typically not accustomed to the ways in which U.S. managers communicate and, on the flip-side, U.S. managers often are not familiar with the nuances of managing an ethnically diverse workforce. Managers can create a more inclusive, productive, and satisfying workplace by understanding common Latino cultural traits. It's important to note, of course, that we're speaking in accepted generalities and that individuals behave differently within cultures.

Why Is Presentation and Image of You Important for Your Business?

So you've decided on a business. You've set it up and you are ready to trade - why do you now need to think about your image? Your image tells people around you a lot of things - from how successful you are through to what matters to you. People seeing you will rarely differentiate between you as an individual and your business so whether you are ready or not you are now the face of your business!

Recent reports suggest it takes just 7 seconds for someone to form a first impression about you. 93% of a first impression is based upon how you look and sound - only 7% is what you say. So, when a parent or friend used the phrase "dress for success" they were right - if you want to be taken serious you have to dress, act and look the part.

How do you get started without losing "you" inside all of this?

EPOS Software Is The Solution To Make Inventory Tracking Fast And Reliable

An EPOS software is a system that allows both the store owner and the management team to keep track of the sales and services provided to the customers. It does not matter how many goods are transacted at one given time, it will automatically record the number of items sold and, if the software includes an inventory tracking, will also calculate the number of items left on the shelves and in the storage. With this system in full use, it can cut down the number of man hours spent of trying to keep track or manually counting the sales receipts. This is the only automated system that is recognized by all business owners as the thing to trust when it comes to tracking sales.

The Reason Behind The Automation

Traditionally, the management team of a store would have to manually count each item put on sale at the end of the day. This does not just take several minutes, it can take hours to finish. At best, the counting cannot even be tracked efficiently after several weeks. This can mean plenty of hours spent on a single task. This leaves the business owner the question of how to address the other issues and tasks involved in keeping the business afloat. At times the owners do not even have an idea how good or how bad they are going because they cannot keep track on time. Everything is delay, delay and more delays. The only solution is to go automated.

Strategies for Delivering an Effective Meeting

"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." When he said this, Charles Dickens might well have been talking about meetings! After attending or facilitating thousands of meetings, I've seen it all. I've also learned strategies to make meetings more productive and bring more profits.

I've seen sales, profit and customer satisfaction increase. I've witnessed more engaged associates, less employee turnover and safer and more productive workplaces. I've watched morale soar. I've even heard a speaker's catch phrase repeated routinely throughout an organization five years after his speech. That's the sunny side of meetings.

I've also heard meetings described as ".... an interaction where the unwilling selected from the uniformed, led by the unsuitable, to discuss the unnecessary, are required to write a report about the unimportant." Yikes! I'm an optimist. I'm not cynical; not a whiner and I look for solutions, not problems. But you should hear what comes out of my mouth after some meetings.

Why Have Personalized Address Stamps?

Why get your hands on your very own personalized address stamps? There are nearly as many reasons to have them as there are people who order personalized address stamps.

First of all, let's consider home uses:

• Easier to work with than peel and stick address labels
• Self-inking and standard models are available
• Use on books, DVDs, or any other media to ensure return when lending out
• Everyday envelope usage
• And more!

How many books have you lent out only to forget who you gave them to? Putting your stamp inside the front or back cover will allow the borrower to get it back to you. Or in case you leave it on a bus or in a park, it may get returned if anyone finding it has a way to locate the owner.

The Future of Banking Sector Compensation

In the aftermath of every 'boom and bust' that has occurred within the global financial system throughout history, policymakers and stakeholders have proposed and implemented financial reform as a means to prevent future financial failures. In many cases the lobby from the big investment banks is to strong, and many reform acts don't make it through congress. The ones that do like the Glass-Steagall Act end up being repealed, and therefore we end up with a financial system that is vulnerable. Thus, when it is exposed to free-market forces such as profligacy, irrational exuberance, and greed, it cracks at the seams, and if not rescued, it breaks down completely.

Nothing has exhibited this better than the recent financial crisis. There is a fair amount of rhetoric circulating at the moment surrounding financial reform, and reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act has been one such mention. Compensation has been another. These, as well as many other areas within the financial system need be to critically evaluated, and recommendations for reform reform put forward. If we are to stave off future financial crisis, it is imperative that all loopholes are blocked up, necessary regulation is implemented, and a healthy financial system is created as a result. Moreover, we must be careful not to over-regulate, as this could also be to the detriment of the system. Constrained capital markets are as good as price-fixing in closed economy.

The first opportunity for reform within the global financial system:

1. Compensation

Uninformed, ignorant people will immediately say, 'Yes! Bankers get paid too much!' This is not the issue. The issue relates to the current structure of compensation. We are currently faced with a principle-agent problem - Shareholders looking to pursue long-term growth strategies, while managers are gunning for short term gains. A simple solution would be to provide compensation that is paid out over a number of years, or has to be held in company stock over the 'long term'.

Unfortunately it runs a bit deeper than this, as Nouriel Roubini points out very concisely in his book Crisis Economics. Shareholders visions do not always run contrary to that of finance managers, and in many cases their interests very much align. Sometimes shareholders are happy for money managers to take risks, as a lot of the time their contribution to the pie is relatively small, and they don't have that much to lose when compared to the lenders. A complex problem is thus presented. How do we reform compensation so that all parties concerned are happy, and the new compensation structure remains fair? Roubini has some sound suggestions which are focused on the long term and vested interests:

Instead of forcing employees to hold company stock for a few years, they should be forced to hold compensation stock until their retirement.

Reward traders on performance averages over the long term, rather than for risky short-term bets they may have made.

Reward traders with a portion of instruments they are trading in. This may make them think twice about conjuring up some toxic-waste-multiple-tranche-asset-backed-security. Credit Suisse did this in 2008 with $5 billion worth of toxic assets, much to the disdain of some employees who played no part in creating these assets.

What Is B2B And Why Choose This Business Model For Your Startup? Part 2

What Is "B2B"?

"B2B" - means that you are selling a product or service to other businesses.

A few examples of "B2B" product based companies would be:

    Ex 1: Selling CRM Software "Customer relationship management" to organizations so they can keep track of their sales leads, manage their sales cycles and determine a cold-calling schedule.
    Ex 2: Selling office equipment to companies who wish to upgrade their existing furniture.
    Ex 3: Selling security and access control hardware and systems to building management companies, universities and municipalities.

Looking Further Into "B2B" Product-Based Companies

Why do I recommend that the first time entrepreneur shy away from "B2B" product based companies?

Product based companies are typically not as fast moving as service-based companies meaning that the entrepreneur cannot change their offering in accordance with the clients' needs as quickly as they could with a "B2B" service-based company. Also, upon meeting a prospective client, the entrepreneur may see profitability in selling another solution into the company, but being able to offer a new product that quickly can prove to be quite taxing and quite expensive, especially when money is tied up elsewhere.

"B2B" service-based companies tend to be more agile than "B2B" product-based companies. Also, many entrepreneurs are quick thinkers and being bogged down and invested in one product is as exciting for the entrepreneur as buying a municipal bond let alone a mutual fund.

    Unless the entrepreneur is a broker, he or she would probably have to purchase and store these products. Doing so adds on to start-up costs and, moreover, it creates a liability from day one. Even if the first-time entrepreneur is a broker (a.k.a. "re-seller"), poor negotiation skills, a jaded market analysis and a very low budget all combine to add to the probability of failure. Most products tend to be commodities. Unless this product is something so cutting-edge (then, we don't know if there is a market for it in the first place so stay away), then others are selling a very similar product, which makes it a commodity. In selling terms, selling a commodity is exceedingly difficult and it is very hard to differentiate from the competition.
    When selling a "B2B" product, the best ways to differentiate from the competition is offering better support for the product, having an ability to deliver the product quickly as well as having an ability to offer more options at a cheaper price than the other firms in the space. Many entrepreneurs can't offer the above and ultimately will lose out to companies like Dell, Microsoft, Iron Mountain and Caterpillar.
    My business plan at my staffing firm changed several times from inception, and the reason I had the flexibility to adapt to market needs is that I didn't have to wait to rely on a manufacturer to produce for me in order to generate quick revenue.

Looking Further Into "B2B" Service-Based Companies

A few examples of "B2B" service based companies would be:

    Ex: Marketing consulting
    Ex: "KPO" Knowledge Process Outsourcing
    Ex: Translation services

Service-based companies are perfect for the first time entrepreneur because he or she can offer a wide range of ever-changing services. Upon opening his or her first business, the entrepreneur wants to be as agile as possible because the chances of them hitting the nail on the head the first-time are highly unlikely.

To give you an idea as to how companies and markets change for the first-time entrepreneur, when I first opened my staffing firm, I did technology and temp. staffing in conjunction with sales recruitment. Hypothetically, if my company was a product-based company 2/3 of my inventory would be worthless.

I quickly learned that I was not effective at, nor was I interested in technology staffing and I found that there was too much competition in the temporary staffing segment. Within a year, I knew where to focus my efforts and because I was a service-based company, the transition was as seamless as changing a few words on my website.

Then, it would soon turn out that a lot of my clients also had the need for marketing personnel and I was quickly able to offer that to my suite of products.

All businesses must evolve with market demand and when a service-based company has to change, it's a lot cheaper than when a product based company has to. The first-time entrepreneur has to realize that the VC company that backed them is not going to reinvest in a failed business owner.

Here are some additional reasons that the young entrepreneur should choose his or her business within the "B2B" service-based realm:

While these marketing strategies may be considered "average" in some industries, the same marketing implementations can prove dominant in other businesses.

    Companies have money. Companies tend to have more money to spend than the average consumer. Ask the consumer to spend $5,000 of their own money and you may see them faint. However, ask that same person to spend $5,000 of their company's money and they will be more than happy to do so.
    Competitors' marketing is not as strong. It is important to discuss how to implement and monetize sound marketing strategies while exploiting the weaknesses in your current or prospective industry. Though, when it comes to many "B2C" companies, their marketing is so sound and formulaic that their techniques and secrets would probably take an entire series of articles to explain. Therefore, all the entrepreneur can really hope to be is "average".

    Pricing flexibility. In "B2B" service-based industries, the entrepreneur has complete pricing flexibility and can, upon entering the market, compete strictly on cost until he or she gains proper name recognition in the industry. Then all the entrepreneur has to do to increase prices is convey their new costs to the next company that calls.

Using Social Media for Business Networking

Did you know the latest numbers from the analyst group, Forrester, shows for sales lead generation that Facebook has a 1% click-through rate and a 2% conversion rate? Did you also know that Twitter has one-upped Facebook and its click-through rate is between 3-5%? For comparison the average click-through rate for Internet ads is.08%.

If you haven't yet, you need to be using social media for your business networking.

We all know that this is a social media age for small business, but most small businesses either don't know how or are unsure how to go about harnessing this valuable Internet resource.

The good news is, it's not difficult to start. There are numerous free resources online, as well as business networking groups to get you started.

The more engaging you are online with social media the more engaging business networking-wise you will be. It tends to be an art form. But one that doesn't have a huge learning curve. There's enough evidence everywhere on the Internet for you to be able to turn into that social savvy business networking guru for your small business.

5 Tasks You Can Outsource Now To Attract New Business

The following are five tasks that can be outsourced immediately in order to reduce your businesses costs while remaining committed to increasing the productivity of your existing team. Outsourcing is often an easy way to expand a business while still maintaining a conservative focus towards costs. While many small business owners are hesitant to utilize overseas talent, there are many jobs that overseas labor will excel in with a high level of dedication and quality of work when the right employees for the business are found.

A well trained and focused international marketing support team can assist your day team in executing marketing campaigns and provide sales support roles that ensure the business is on track to expose the brand to the right number of people in order to attract new business. The first person may or may not be the right person. It's best to make sure and start with small projects and build up trust prior to hiring outsourced employees for large projects. I never hire someone for a big job first and am very happy I set this policy for myself a long time ago.

Critical Questions You Must Ask About Paper Shredding

Ever heard of corporate intelligence, corporate security, and counterespionage? Well, there are people whose main business is to mind your business by scavenging through your garbage, undermining your privacy and stealing corporate information. Just when you think having your own paper shredder and performing in-house shredding is enough - think again. There are pitfalls to this practice, and you are as endangered as when you didn't have a shredder.

Who is doing the shredding?

Have you gone a comprehensive background check on the staff you've assigned to oversee in-house shredding? The job may be too basic but many of your organisation's secrets are right there in the hands of this person. Are your shredding personnel trustworthy and competent enough to perform reliable document destruction? Do they know the importance of their job? Is their work audited and documented, or at best certified?

Solar Cables

The sun is a renewable source of energy that has become increasingly popular over the last 10 years. Photovoltaic systems are being installed all over the world and the components used to build them need to endure extreme temperature ranges and UV exposure. Photovoltaic systems are also growing in the UK, but there's confusion over which materials and solar cables to use, as some systems have been installed with unsuitable products, such as Rubber cables.

Rubber Solar cables will perform their functions, but after exposure to severe temperature variations they will eventually become brittle, in some cases leading to arcing which can generate temperatures in excess of 2,500 degrees C.

Solar cables need to be durable and resilient to withstand and survive in the harshest of conditions. The cables will need to be certified to national and international approvals by independent testing institutes, as well as being tested in their own laboratories. Quality solar cables have many benefits including UV resistant and the fact that they can withstand extreme temperature variations and weather.