Chances are you may need a little extra money to get some work done around the home or perhaps your current interest rate is 7.5% and the prime interest rate is 6.0% there is a benefit to restart the clock on an existing mortgage and save thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. The first thing you must realize is that refinancing your home can also be tax deductible, meaning that you will receive an extra tax advantage for the closing...more
What we now call "marketing" began long before the name was coined. In the mid-1800s, traveling salesmen dressed "snake oil" and other tonics in fancy packaging and extolled their virtues to a gullible public. New marketing applications soon proliferated in the belief that marketing could make many new things possible in virtually any business situation. For more than a century, implementation, experience and ultimately strategy have helped...more
Tuition costs are climbing, housing costs are climbing, it seems like all the costs for students are climbing these days. Students can afford cost increases less than any other demographic in Canada. Because of this, parents and students alike are looking for new ways to offset the costs of education.Student loans can be used to defer these costs to some extent, but they need to be repaid after graduation. It's difficult to climb the corporate ladder or get ahead in life when you have $30,000 worth of debt before your first job is even found! Bursaries, grants, and scholarships are another great source of funding for a student. However, the amount of money available is thinning, and the competition is growing stiffer for this money each year. The average student, over a 4 year degree, pays over $16,000 in tuition and books. Housing costs approximately $38,000 for a 4 year degree. This is based on rent of $800 per month for 48 months. This means the total cost of education for a student is over $54,000 before paying for any clothes, food, or recreational expenses. Given that the average student doesn't qualify for more than about $9000/year in student loans, this means an...more
One thing you can count on during the holiday season is the obligatory office party. No matter what the size of the organization, there is always an effort to bring coworkers together for one more moment of merriment. Some people look forward to the chance to mix and mingle outside the confines of business and others would rather give up the...more
If you are anything like me, you probably find yourself often thinking of new projects to start, new things to achieve. I did that in my beginning on Internet. That in itself is very beneficial and indeed a required ingredient for success. The trick is to know where to draw a line. The trap I kept falling into was hoping and looking for new and...more
Rip Out Your Phone Lines I hate the phone company. Reading my phone bill is like reading hieroglyphics. I thought that the break up of ma bell was suppose to make it easier for the consumer. We were suppose to get more choice. The choices seem to all be the same. For instance, I was so elated last year when the phone company offered me a lower rate. Yes, 29.99 and that was all I had to pay. Well, they forgot to tell me about all the special charges. My 29.99 became a towering $55.00 a month. I went from jubilation to silent despair. Is there anyone who could rescue me from my prison? But then freedom came from the most unlikely source while visiting a friend's office. He told me that he had unplugged his entire office from the phone company. He was running his phone over the Internet. It's called Voice over IP. It has been around for a few years. Voice over IP allows you to make calls through a broadband Internet connection. I have always been reluctant to try it. I was concerned about quality of the sound, loosing my old phone numbers, and what happens if the cable goes out. My friend convinced me to take the plunge. I decided to go with Vonage, they are a fast growing...more
As a business, non-profit or association manager trying to get a bang for your PR buck, you could pretty much concentrate on simple print and broadcast mentions or, for that matter, the whole basket of tactical public relations weaponry including old...more
As a small business operator, personal checks may be one method to receive payment for your goods or services. As a way to receive payment, a personal check is actually better than credit cards because the fees are less and there can be no charge...more
A home-based business becomes for the business owner, an entity in and of itself. Because so much hard work, blood, sweat and tears goes into every home-based business, it is easy to view it as having a "life" of its own and a home-based business can...more
While some new business owners face the issue of not enough customers, others face the issue of too many customers/clients. Both are serious issues and must be dealt with carefully. There are many lists on how to find new customers/clients. Here is a...more
Years ago, when I was new in management circles, a veteran administrator decided to share his self-described secret of success. He said: You have to be careful, Bill. I*ve learned not to compliment my people. Makes them too self-assured, and they get...more
In the marketing world, radio has earned the reputation of being the odd step-cousin. You know the one. No one knows quite what to do with him. Especially at family gatherings when everyone tries hard to avoid sitting with him. (After all, who knows...more