Heavy gauge thermoforming is as much a staple to the returnable plastic packaging industry as Chevy is to General Motors. It's always been there, not known for its cutting edge design but more because it is solid, durable, and dependable. Thermoforming plastic trays and pallets can also be misunderstood. It remains one of the longest lasting and reasonably priced returnable packaging products available yet customers are reluctant to try it. ...more
Here is a secret that may be difficult for you to believe, so prepare yourself. It is an extremely important secret that can have a most profound impact on your small business success, or it's failure. Let's start by asking a simple question...Do you enjoy sales? The truth of the matter is that when many small business owners are asked this question, they respond with answers like, "No way" or "I can't stand sales, let someone else do it." Why is...more
What I am about to say will make some people stand up and shout "hooray!" It will make others blush with embarrassment. Either way, take this advice and make your life a little bit easier.This is about email etiquette. When you are exchanging emails with friends and family, do whatever you want. But when you are conducting business, either as the customer or as the merchant, you need to observe some common rules.First, I am constantly amazed, on a daily basis, how many people will send me an email without signing their name! C'mon! If you send me an email without signing your name, my first impression of you is "LAZY BUM." Right or wrong, that's what you project if you don't bother to sign your name. It's a common courtesy to sign your full name.Here is the rule: If it's worth sending, it's worth signing.This is just like writing a paper letter to a company. You should tell them who you are. Always sign your first and last name.I got an email the other day from a customer that had NO name at all, and all it said was..."i lost my psswrd"That's it! How lazy is that? That's all it said. No name, no contact information. After spending a few minutes checking my database (grrrrr), the...more
Citibank recently launched a new credit card that takes away an important sting felt by many consumers: late fees. In an unusual move, the bank is now offering consumers "permanent forgiveness" for late payments and will no longer assess the customary $39 late fee when a payment arrives after the due date. While the offer sounds great on surface,...more
What does the phrase "team building" mean to you? Quad-biking? Abseiling? Propping up the bar with your work colleagues? Allow me to disagree.Let's look at the word "build" and see where that leads us. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines the word "build" as "Establish, make or accumulate gradually". This definition implies a sense of time...more
Maybe it took the State of The Union address from President Bush to bring the concept of Health Savings Accounts out into the open for all to see. Whatever the case, this is an idea and reality that is long overdue and a great solution to health insurance for many people. Health savings accounts, coupled with a companion low-cost high-deductible health care insurance plan, will take the bite out of monthly health care costs for many consumers, and provide a powerful savings component at the same time. Let's look at the details.While Congress passed the legislation creating Health Savings Accounts in 2003, it has taken a while for the word to get out. In a nutshell, the deal is as follows: Health savings accounts are tax-free savings accounts, which are necessarily paired with a high-deductible insurance policy for catastrophic medical expenses. You are able to put as much as $5150 (family) or $2600 (individual) annually into these accounts, which are in turn used to cover normal and customary medical expenses, like doctor's visits, routine checkups, etc. Some of the neat things about these accounts, besides the tax-free part, are that you may carry over unspent money from year to...more
The interest of lenders in secured homeowner loans is justified. No other loan covers lenders from as much risk involved in the lending process as a secured homeowner loan. But, what explains the surge of interest of borrowers towards secured...more
How can you apply ergonomics to your work life?Thanks to the study of ergonomics, we can now find better ways to work. It has been shown that our bodies can be under stress and tension even when we are sitting at a desk. Applying the techniques...more
Congratulations! You successfully sold one or more of your company's products or services to a business unit, department, or division of a large organization. Now your manager has tasked you with "account management". If you are not already familiar...more
An affiliate marketing program is a revenue-sharing marketing strategy where a merchant pays their affiliates a commission for referring business to their website. The webmaster signs up as an affiliate in the affiliate marketing program and gets a...more
The patterns of any particular investment will detail therelative risks and rewards undertaken with each investment.Risks can be defined as "the chance or possibility ofinjury, damage or loss." Risk focuses on the future and ourability to forecast...more
Loan ProposalApplying for a small business loan can be exciting and yet stressful at the same time. For the best results and to heighten your level of confidence, be prepared when you visit the lender you've chosen for your business loan interview....more