Atricle Dump - Business

Well Into The New Year! How Off Target Are You Now? Refocus Your Goals – Part 2 – Focus
What are you focused on? How sharp is that focus? How relevant is that focus?As Stephen Covey says it is vital to “start with the end in mind”. So when you design your business or your life it is vital to have a clear idea of where you want to get to. How successful, how rich, how famous, how happy do you plan to be?Within that big picture what happens day by day? What are the individual steps that move you consistently and steadily towards this big view? Many of us have a head full of our ‘fantasy’ future. But this is so often nothing more than a vision, almost a diversion from the reality of what we are doing and where we will end up.We have looked at commitment and how vital it is for us to fully ‘sign up’ to the future we are beginning to build. Focus is just as important because it is the reality we build into our picture of the future that decides whether we will succeed or fail.If you haven’t done it before get hold of some binoculars. Look towards a point in the distance and look through the lenses turn the focus. All of a sudden your target will become absolutely clear, with sharp edges. The mistiness and the blurred edges vanish. It is like being in a dark room and the lights go on – everything becomes clear.Your career and your life can be like that. If you are focusing on something you truly want and you truly commit to the focus is astounding. The sharpest edges and the clearest colours you will ever see. And as you move towards your staging posts on your journey the focus, the gains, the sense of achievement will give even greater clarity.So focus is vital and the quality of that focus will tell you how real your goal is. If you do not get a clear picture are you on the right route? Check now! If it doesn’t blow your socks off or your skirt up thin

ticipate in it and they are really learning a lot from each other, as to what works and what does not.

I recently visited Franklin TN where the downtown was cooking along as a matter of fact you could smell the aroma from nearby restaurants, see a movie, get a beer or your favorite rendition of a Latte. If this is your dream to put in a car wash near downtown go for it. But watch out for the traps. Environmentalists who do not understand the cleanliness of the industry or water usage. Underground tank rules with regards to fuel or reclaim tanks. Labor issues if you do more than coin-op, automatic. Full serves are loved by customers if excellent quality prevails there, but a crew that has part time drug users can ruin your business quickly. Labor will be an issue. Regarding a location in the town of Windsor as this study samples example:

http://www.ci.windsor.ca.us/LandUseMap.pdf

EBay Selling Tips
EBay is an online trading site that proves to be a great meeting place for both buyers and sellers alike. Buyers can sit in the comfort of their homes, and do whatever shopping they need. However, sellers on eBay can make a lot of money on following some easy and interesting eBay selling tips.One of the best eBay selling tips is to offer as many payment options as possible to the seller. This is because different sellers are more comfortable with different payment options. So it proves to be better to offer PayPal or billpiont to accept credit cards. It also proves to be beneficial to you to take personal checks and to send the product to the address of the check.Mentioning your shipping terms is another of the available eBay selling tips. The reason you have to state your shipping terms is so that you can avoid future problems. Remember that it is no point in trying to make too much money with your shipping arrangements. This will only make you end up with a negative feedback, which is not good for future buyers who check your feedback when making a transaction.It is important that you clearly state your return policies when selling on eBay. This is one of the eBay selling tips that have to be clear to avoid future complications. With the right return policy, you would not have to spend time over the past, rectifying problems from buyers. You can instead, spend more time thinking of the next sale.Providing accurate descriptions of your product is another of the many eBay selling tips. It is important that the buyer knows what they are doing to buy when making a bid. You have to aim at having made a clear and uncomplicated transaction. The feedback the buyer provides about you is instrumental in future buyers interacting with you.If you are selling a product that is sl

There is a continual trend we are seeing which I can remember participating in over a decade ago, when cities were trying to figure out how to increase sales tax revenues when the large box stores outside of town came into nearby or surrounding areas. For instance a big and easy example would be Wal-Mart. Sam was smart and built his stores just outside of town near towns, which drew from neighboring towns of 5,000 or more from three to five directions. If you look at an over lay of Wal-Mart stores to an atlas of that state you will see the rural America can get anything they need at the best price without driving all that far.

Unfortunately that awesome distribution system that Sam designed which accounts for nearly 12% of all retail sales in America today also made it tough for less efficient small town business owners on Main Street USA to compete. Since then many small towns have found a way to bring back and revitalize there towns. It is estimated that with 5-10 million most towns can totally revitalize their down town sectors and that maybe about the same amount of fees and permits to build the Wal-Mart in the first place. Since 1980 an estimated 19 billion dollars has been spent on such revitalization of down towns and made them a place to meet, shop, hang out and go.

Just like the song "Down Town, everything's great when you're downtown" great song and that is the goal. It is a feeling, a place to be, a destination location. And it has just about everything you could want, that is everything you cannot find at the mall or at Wal-Mart. Sure many of the typical stores have gone out. Such as the stationary stores, photo developing, pharmacy, video rentals, sports equipment, auto parts, grocery, pet stores, etc. But you can shop for antiques, something to eat, a movie, used books, lots of items that work well in that setting and many types of businesses, which cater towards those types of atmospheres. Such as Starbucks, certain food places and small mom and pop shops, florists, gifts, specialty, entertainment/liquor establishments, restaurants. If you look at cities like Pittsburgh for example you will see a well-served and thriving downtown area. In other cities you see a combo mix and made up facade downtown of tilt-ups prefab buildings, I can think of many like the Limited Groups Downtown area in North Columbus OH and it is hopping with people and spending. A place to go, and it works.

But many so many smaller towns have done well to rebuild the downtown areas where for lease and out of business signs abound. Why? Well all money made in town leaves town, it does not stay to re circulate. Just like those who get a paycheck in the big city have moved to the suburbs and therefore the subs get the first use of that flow of money. Why? Well city planners in the subs attract through incentives car dealerships and other such businesses and put them on the main roads surrounding the residential areas of single family dwellings and then allow multi-family town homes, apartments, etc on the same main thoroughfares, one city I recently reviewed in CA had done exactly that. These areas of businesses surrounding the residential areas serve as a net to trap the money from leaving their area. Well the downtown revitalization tries to do the same thing, attract people into the area to hang out and enjoy themselves and thus have time to spend their money.

If you look at this city Windsor CA you can see some of our observations: Now then some might think people in CA are all a bunch of Hippie Dippies. Such as the Cheech and Chong Comedy team, but as a whole People in CA are generally smarter than most due to oxygen level as most live near or around sea level. Better weather makes year round activities and human interaction easier and therefore more is learned both academically, physically, observationally and literally. So it is not much different than a city in Mass, NJ, VA, but with more ideal weather. The town of Windsor is an okay town. We have no problem with it. Some of everything there. Protectionism and good ole boy networking alive and well, this can be to your advantage by working the system a little and being in the right non-profit groups. It is doable. But it is not worth the headaches for our company to participate in anyway due to the CA mentality on business. These good ole boy networks want to make money in their downtown businesses but do not often allow the progress to revitalization until which time they get off their butts and visit a town which has revitalized their down town, then they immediately go and join the Main Street Program which currently has nearly 1800 communities which participate in it and they are really learning a lot from each other, as to what works and what does not.

http://www.ci.windsor.ca.us/LandUseMap.pdf

Promote Yourself: Get Ahead Tactics for Women In Business
A couple of weeks ago I heard a speaker detail several of the ways where men and women differ in business. In her book, Stop Whining and Start Winning: 8 surefire ways for women to succeed in business, Molly Dickinson Shepard lists lack of self-promotion as one of the critical reasons why men get promoted faster and more often.Women tend to believe in fairness…that if they work hard, they will get promoted or recognized. They see self promotion as bragging and look unfavorably on it. Men on the other hand, are more comfortable with self promotion and speaking to their supervisors about their accomplishments and achievements. This practice of self promotion directly correlates to higher pay, more raises and better jobs.There are many ways to call attention to your hard work and achievements without being perceived as a braggart. Below I have listed some ways that I have used over the years to gain credit for my hard work: Create a status report of some sort that is circulated to your supervisor(s) on a regular basis. This keeps your boss updated on what you are doing and what you have achieved at her or his convenience. It will be viewed as a great tool for her/him (since (s)he is ultimately responsible for your work), will highlight your accomplishments and you will appear well organized and on top of your game. Create anecdotal stories that illustrate your successes. For example, “last week while I was speaking at a national meeting in LA, I happened to meet a key prospect who would be a great contact for you as well”. This highlights your expertise as a speaker, creates an air of importance because you were working outside of your geographical area, and shows your understanding of your colleague’s or contact’s business as well. Be sure to be

19 billion dollars has been spent on such revitalization of down towns and made them a place to meet, shop, hang out and go.

http://www.ci.windsor.ca.us/LandUseMap.pdf

How to Tell if Your Organisation is Ripe for Change
The only organisation that is not ripe for change is one that has absolutely no constraints to its performance. Such an organisatio would be delivering an infinite amount of its goods or services to the market and earning an unlimited amount of money in return. Even if such an organisation exists on this planet, I can bet my last dollar that it's not yours. That means I can tell almost without looking, that you're ripe for change. How do I know?You're Ripe for Change if the Market Limits How Much Money You MakeYour products or services are good. Your delivery and due date performance is alright. There's just one little problem: you can't seem to find enough demand for your offerings and inventories are building up. If this describes your situation then your organisation is ripe for change.You're Ripe for Change if Your Operations Limit Your ThroughputAs your business has grown, your products or services have become fraught with problems of quality. Or your costs over time have increases faster than your revenues, making your offerings less than competitive. Or you are not able to produce fast enough to meet demand, so that disappointed customers are turning elsewhere. If this is the case, then your organisation is ripe for change.You're Ripe for Change if Your Policies Lead to Lost OpportunitiesYou have policies that determine recruitment, financing options, market opportunities pursued, sales strategies... All well and good. But these same policies have been in place for the last five or more years and no one can explain why some of them were adopted in the first place. If this describes your organisation, then you are ripe for change.You're Ripe for Change if Your Culture Rewards the Wrong BehaviourYours is a culture t

in North Columbus OH and it is hopping with people and spending. A place to go, and it works.

http://www.ci.windsor.ca.us/LandUseMap.pdf

Is Working 18 Hour Days Part of Your Business Vision Statement?
You've heard the sob stories.Seems like every business owner has his or her own story of working 18+ hours a day, seven days a week to get there business off the ground. If you get a group of business owners together, they all start moaning about how hard they work."I haven't had a day off in five years." one says."80 hours is a good week." another complains.Does it really have to be that way? Is that your business vision? The big question is, are you self-employed, or are you a business owner? They are not the same thing. If you are self-employed, your business depends on you.You are the person doing the work that brings in the money that pays the bills so that you can work even harder to do the work and pay the bills and on and on and on. If you are self-employed, don't be surprised if you are working more than employees.After all, you not only do the work of an employee, you also are responsible for all the support tasks that make that work possible. And that takes time.There is another way.Most likely, you started your business because you felt you had better skills or a better idea than other businesses out there. But you do not have to be your business. In fact, your business will not be able to grow unless you make it a point to get "you" out of the picture.Your business vision should allow for you to become the owner, not self-employed. From the beginning, focus on setting up systems and procedures, so your business can run your way, without you doing the work.I know it is "easier" to do it yourself, so it's done right. But if you are the only one who can do it, how is your business ever going to be able to run without you?For this week, keep a notebook handy, and write down everything you do. At the end of

people in CA are all a bunch of Hippie Dippies. Such as the Cheech and Chong Comedy team, but as a whole People in CA are generally smarter than most due to oxygen level as most live near or around sea level. Better weather makes year round activities and human interaction easier and therefore more is learned both academically, physically, observationally and literally. So it is not much different than a city in Mass, NJ, VA, but with more ideal weather. The town of Windsor is an okay town. We have no problem with it. Some of everything there. Protectionism and good ole boy networking alive and well, this can be to your advantage by working the system a little and being in the right non-profit groups. It is doable. But it is not worth the headaches for our company to participate in anyway due to the CA mentality on business. These good ole boy networks want to make money in their downtown businesses but do not often allow the progress to revitalization until which time they get off their butts and visit a town which has revitalized their down town, then they immediately go and join the Main Street Program which currently has nearly 1800 communities which participate in it and they are really learning a lot from each other, as to what works and what does not.

http://www.ci.windsor.ca.us/LandUseMap.pdf

How to Save Green, when Buying Blue
In the mid-Fifteenth Century, when Johann Guttenburg brought moveable type printing to the western world I doubt he envisioned the industry he would create. Today, printing is a significant line item on every business budget. Invoices, contracts, business cards, letterhead, and brochures are all part of the day-to-day operations of every business.Often when the bill comes, it feels like you are carrying the whole$90 billion industry by yourself. There are, however, ways to save money on printing, if you know the right questions to ask..The most important thing to remember if you want to save money on printing is that printing is a production business. Large jobs and long runs are less expensive than short ones, so plan ahead! The most expensive part of the process is the set up. Once the press is running, your per piece cost goes down with every page you print. For example: I recently designed a small tri-fold brochure for a client. The printer’s quote looked like this:500 pieces $450 1,500 pieces $650 2,500 pieces $750This is fairly typical whether you are printing 500 or 5,000 pieces. The more you print, the lower the per piece cost. It was easy for this client to make the decision to print the higher quantity instead of planning a reprint six months later. But what if you really don’t need more?Ask about GANG RUNS. When you print 1,000 postcards your printer is actually laying them out on a larger sheet of paper possibly 4 to a page or 8 to a page like this:When printing is complete, the printer will cut the page divide the finished project into piles. It doesn’t matter to him if the four piles are the same or different, but your savings could be tremendous. Using the Gang Run format, you can actually create

ticipate in it and they are really learning a lot from each other, as to what works and what does not.

http://www.ci.windsor.ca.us/LandUseMap.pdf

Notice the orange areas which would mean that it is zoned service area, least amount of issues with planning commission and easiest to get passed easily. Also near the mid center off ramp. Near the Retail Center, looks like a regional mall, near there is best on main road, but have to find an open location with no center medians. Looks like traffic issues there, notice the FWY interchange signaled intersections. It is not near downtown at all but would serve a small business owner better than a downtown revitalized area. A detail shop would be a better use of a closed down town area gas station, fixed up real nice. I have seen plenty in FL, GA, SC, AL, TN but also in Gold Rush Towns of CA, in the rural towns of north Washington state. Also your volume will come from a 10-mile radius, and you would be better served in the Suburban area near box stores, QSRs and strip malls. The demographics are good where in Windsor, lots of Bay Area rich refugees who bought right and modified their town. Took an existing town and developed the hell out of it, driving up property values and still a revitalized down town would draw them in and with their money they would spend.

In Windsor, CA, if you end up North West side where all the orange is there could be issues with visibility and you could be cut off by C-Stores with rollovers, car wash for $3.99 with fill up. But the middle to upper middle will not take their SUVs through there thus you advantage. Buying an existing car wash might be a better play, but car washes go out of business for a reason, it is not always poor service. It could be location issues. Generally a combination. Towns tend to grow North and West higher end your city has interesting trends not normally seen with the middle class center, probably due to the East Windsor area thus it is growing North West while the west side of freeway has remained the older area. But I cannot tell for sure without spending much time. Typically an area with a regional type mall if it has thee Old Navy Type stores which go in next to each other are trendy places of spending consumers that is good, but also need to be cognizant of the need to be by or near Happy Meal Station, or other QSRs. This is well documented in the annals of car washing guru's best advice and written articles. By putting the car wash near that off ramp you will not cut yourself off from your 10-mile radius sphere of influence where 80% of your customers will be coming from. now realize that those town homes or multi-family units, apartments that were built for the city to take advantage of matching Federal funds for low income housing years past will be a significant base not to mention the up the street Golf Course crowd. Like the Viking customers you will be paying through the nose for property, sewer hook-ups and hidden fees (taxes) and you will feel like Popeye the sailor by the time your all through and want to through some tea into your reclaim pit. So before you decide to put in a car wash in a town like Windsor or buy a piece of property, you should look at the layout of the town, determine where they filters or nets of wealth or money flow is going.

If the down town is going to be revitalized a car wash some where between both or a detail shop in the down town with a hand wash valet parking or just good old fashion look will put your business at the top of the food chain with the local founding families of the town and the powers to be of that fiefdom. Whatever you do it is important to do it right and to do well, or just don't do it. Regarding the question of car washes as a business in CA. Yes it is viable, but more money is made building up car washes and selling them in CA than in running them. The IRS likes to audit them a lot. Car Washes being a cash business by nature tend to hit all the red buttons. With the Tax cut and $100,000 immediate expensing it is a worthy endeavor, but risky too.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-mssp/carwash.pdf

Having been in the industry 27 years washing stuff, I have to agree with much of the thinkin gof this gentleman with regards to downtown areas and possible car wash locations.

http://www.carwashinstitute.com/management.html

Steve is also good people and will take care of your needs. Investing in a car wash especially in CA with the real-estate prices is a difficult match to the intended ROI. But if planned properly with the proper location, it is a good business, once all the delays are done and the city approves it. The city planner of this particular city went to Chico State and is probably laid back so he maybe easier to deal with than the ultimate planning commission or all the yuppie liberal cream cake granolas which come out of the woodwork in their 1969 Volvos with leaky rings spewing Carbon Monoxide smoke and proclaiming themselves the environments last chance, all the while spreading the Redwood tree pathogen all around the forest each

HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.articledump.net/article/43830/articledump-Site-Selection--Slice-of-Life-A-Car-Wash-and-Detail-Center-DownTown.html">Site Selection - Slice of Life, A Car Wash and Detail Center DownTown</a>

BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.articledump.net/article/43830/articledump-Site-Selection--Slice-of-Life-A-Car-Wash-and-Detail-Center-DownTown.html]Site Selection - Slice of Life, A Car Wash and Detail Center DownTown[/url]

The role of a nanny is more than a babysitter. Nannies are expected to take part in the social, psychological and cerebral development of their charges. They work with children in areas such as language development, social manners, homework, and more. Often families prefer hiring nannies that stay for a minimum period of one year on the job. This is done to make sure that the children have continuity in their training and childcare. Applicants who do not feel that they can commit to a year might think about other types of childcare work until they are contented with the commitment. Before hiring a nanny, care should be taken to check her references carefully. It is also advisable to have a background check done to obtain further information.

The first thing you need to do is create that all important resume! It could make the difference between getting the interview or not.

There it is. The event you’ve been waiting for. It's all the big name speakers you've been drooling over, it’s in a city you've been dying to visit and it's just the perfect information you need right now to take your business to the next level.

Tags

Links

Atricle Dump - Site Selection - Slice of Life, A Car Wash and Detail Center DownTown

Related Articles: