New Service Utilizes Videoconferencing for Easy Access to London Academic Expertise

An innovative service, launched in March 2005 enables educational institutions and corporate organizations worldwide to access the immense pool of academic and professional expertise concentrated in London, UK via videoconferencing.

Today, many US and European universities resort to opening and maintaining campuses in London, one of the most expensive cities in the world, to enable their students access to the wealth of experiences and teaching resources that the city offers.

In business, the advantages of professional and executive education are undermined by the significant travel and living costs combined with the prolonged absence of key employees from the work place.

According to the research conducted by the British Council, in fast developing economies like China and India the demand for highly experienced tutors and lecturers critically exceeds supply, affecting the realization of economic development to its full potential.

Teaching quality has also been a major concern. UNESCO states that "Faced with an unprecedented teacher shortage, some countries are now turning to low-paid, poorly trained teachers."

Addressing these issues, BridgesEducation (www.bridgeseducation.org) uses videoconferencing to deliver a wide range of lectures, seminars and programs designed and presented by hundreds of high-profile speakers from leading UK universities, research centers and companies.

This system not only ensures high academic standards, but also offers clear financial benefits. "It's a win-win situation," says Kemi Pearce from the Advisory Centre for Education, "We avoid costly travel, hotels and living expenses whilst we retain the energy and interactivity of live delivery."

Many in education have experienced videoconferencing in the past with different levels of success, resulting in hundreds of unused facilities on campuses around the world. But the technology has come a long way since it was introduced in the early 90s. Today it is not only much more affordable, reliable and interactive; it also offers features such as computer presentations, online broadcast and audience participation from multiple locations at one time.

Michelle Grant, development officer at BridgesEducation, is optimistic about global access to high quality tuition. "At present a few major centers offer a considerable proportion of academic and professional expertise. Now, with the help of technology, the location will become less and less relevant."

It may take time for traditional education providers to realize the power of technology to its full potential, but by using videoconferencing as its main method of delivery, BridgesEducation marks the beginning of a new era.

Stas Spector is a specialist in distance learning technology at the Advisory Centre for Education in London.

Catch A New Lover With DIY Magic!

One night, whilst watching TV, I understood a very useful magical principle which is highly practical and immensely efficient. Anyone can do it - if they really want to, that is! - and although it involves interior decoration, it is easy to do, once you get your head around the basic principles.

Whether you live alone in your flat, house or mansion, whether you are gay or straight, male or female, and regardless of how old you are, with this method you can very practically "choose your love, then love your choice" and get yourself a new lover or life partner.

The core insight comes from a TV programme in which houses which don't sell are re-decorated by a professional to make them more attractive so that offers start to come in.

In the programme and before the professional goes to work, buyers are shown around the property as it is, and their responses are taped.

With this property that no-one wanted and which had been on the market for a good couple of years, the comment potential buyers made over and over again was, "I just couldn't imagine myself living there."

Let's repeat that sentence because it is the key to the whole endeavour.

"I just couldn't imagine myself living there."

It struck me that this had been my own experience, but not during buying a house. I had felt like that when I was staying in various boyfriend apartments or houses and couldn't wait to leave again!

One gentleman had a very expensive house but it was all "Bauhaus" concrete and hard lines; inside, everything was empty and white and chrome, with umpteen massive mirrors and even mirror polished work tops and cupboards in the kitchen.

"I just couldn't imagine myself living there."

Can you imagine being a couple or even a family in those surroundings?

Trying to cook a meal in a mirror polished kitchen? Where would I put my stuff? What would I *do* in those vast, empty cold spaces? Cleaning THAT?

The guy was alright and even possibly very alright. He was good in bed and had an interesting mind. But I left in the morning, without even so much as a cup of coffee and never came back.

He and I never could figure out what "he'd done wrong" - and the deal is, apart from not paying attention to his DIY, he hadn't!

Now, the converse.

I have a friend, a very delicious and desirable lady who owns her own home, has a good job, looks attractive and *is* attractive in every way, but her gentlemen run as fast from her after a home visit as I did from the mirror polished boyfriend.

Her house is "new age heaven", to put a not too fine point on it.

Colours of an Indian fabric merchant - a riot of burning oranges, fiery reds, glowing golds, ultraviolets, greens, turquoise, blue, yellow.

Incense holders and crystals EVERYWHERE.

Statues of Buddhas, cats, elephants.

Windchimes and mystical waterfall posters.

Wow.

Now, I like this. I like to visit her and I feel right at home there. We do magical things and have very meaningful conversations - but then, I'm much like her and the wrong sex for what she's looking for.

If a suitable gentleman stepped through the door, he'd want to reverse right out.

He wouldn't be able to imagine himself being there, not at all.

It goes further. In true Feng Shui tradition, there is NO ROOM for a man here.

Where would he sit to watch TV? Where would he take the engine of his motorbike apart? Store his skies? Where would he eat his breakfast? Well, if he ate breakfast, that is, and if he wasn't into doing that in the lotus position in the conservatory, on the bamboo mat ...

In the bedroom (deep purple with glowing green and gold, full of candle holders and fabrics draping everywhere!) there is a double bed, granted. But there is no second bedside table for a potential man, even if he could get past the colours, which really and truly hurt most men's head, heart, mind and soul. There is no cupboard for his clothes, not even to put down an overnight bag.

In the bathroom there isn't an inch of space for a shaver, or a second toothbrush.

Here's the deal.

Single people decorate their homes to please themselves and to "fill all available spaces with themselves".

Their mirrors, ornaments, colour choices become their minions, their little army of protective gremlins and this makes it very, very difficult for a second person to feel comfortable there or to consider this a home and hearth for them.

They think it's a showcase for their personality and good taste, but to an outsider this is forbidding, foreboding, and very freaky.

Further, the chrome loving gentleman I mentioned earlier did NOT consist entirely of robotic coldness AS A PERSON.

That was a total misrepresentation of who he was. He was lively, funny and very, very passionate and I think he just prided himself on his chrome aspects particularly and wanted himself and others to think that's who is was to impress them.

My mystical orient loving friend too wasn't all flow and heaven on earth, either. She is a shrewd business woman, loves order and logic, and you really don't want to get her on a day when she has PMT!

So.

I put all of this to her and she was surprised, appalled but could see the sense of it right away.

"My goodness!" she exclaimed. "Are you seriously suggesting I paint my bedroom an inviting ... GREY?!"

We giggled for a while but yes, in essence, if you want to attract a man TO STAY WITH YOU and feel right at home with you, the bedroom colours need to be professionally defused.

The whole house, in fact, needs to be tackled room by room to MAKE ROOM FOR A MAN. To create an environment that is acceptable and inviting TO A MAN.

My friend was getting nervous.

"If I did this, wouldn't that mean I was READY FOR A RELATIONSHIP?" she asked nervously. "And wouldn't the decor and colours I choose even DECIDE on the kind of man I would be attracting?!"

Yes, I do think that's exactly right. And herein lies the real magic!

Taking conscious control of the environment in order to GET WHAT YOU WANT, that is what this is all about.

So, I asked my friend, "Well, are you? Are you ready to paint your bedroom grey if that is what it takes?"

She fell thoughtful and said, "I have real conflicts about that. I can sense that if I did, it would work. And quickly, too. I think I've decorated like that to keep me safe from relationships. I guess I'm not as clear and ready on the topic as I thought ..."

It's a fascinating thought that in the absence of a rabid mum with a rolling pin to keep the suitors at bay, my chrome gentleman and mystical friend had taken to using DIY instead to stay safe - and single.

Well, there we have the principle.

It is straightforward and all you have to do is to go through your house and see it through the eyes of "the prospective suitor".

If you aim to make your home a veritable honey trap for the cheerleading bunny girls, then how should it look? Where will you put the fluffy pink rugs, the candles and the flowers? And don't forget those furry toilet seat covers ...

Ok, so I'm kidding but you really will have to think differently, think MAGICALLY, to make the choices that point to the TYPE OF PARTNER you would really be comfortable with, where your "compromise" with another would actually ENHANCE YOUR OWN LIFE AND ENJOYMENT of your spaces.

Here is your chance to also work on your own contortions, reversals and fears and clear them up, very practically and so use your home to firstly, find out what YOU NEED TO BALANCE YOUR EXCESSES in interior decorating, and secondly, get the right mate for you to come - and to stay.

Get a FREE illustrated ebook on modern magic - "The Enchanted World" by Silvia Hartmann by visiting http://starfields.org/The_Enchanted_World.htm

Give Up the Need to Sell

Most business people will tell you that selling is not their favorite activity. Let's explore a way to look at the process of sales a bit more favorably.

Whether we like it or not---"we're all in sales". Most of us have an internal dialogue about both selling and closing that is less than positive. Most of us approach the sales portion of our business hoping we're not "coming off like a salesman".

Most of us hate to be sold to. Most of us have to sell to live. Most of us realize that in order to keep our business afloat, we need to sell. I suggest that you give up that need to sell. Please notice that I didn't ask you to give up the commitment to sell but rather the need.

The hardest time to do anything is when you need to. In the revised edition of his book "Man's Search for Meaning", the noted psychiatrist and author Victor Frankl coined the term "Paradoxical Intentionality". He defines "Paradoxical Intentionality" as "The twofold fact that fear brings about that which one is afraid of, and that hyper-intention makes impossible that which one wishes."

In other words, if you need to do something it makes the task much more difficult. Frankl's thesis can best be illustrated by an example with which we all can identify:

The last time you needed to get to sleep because you had something important to do the next morning? how easy was it to get to sleep? The last time you needed to stay awake for the end of a film? how easy was it to stay awake?

So I repeat? give up the need to sell. Be committed 150% to making the sale but avoid becoming tied to the "outcome" of making the sale. This is contrary to what many of us have been taught. However, if you view yourself as a "problem solver" rather than a "maker of sales" this concept will make much greater sense.

I define a problem as, "something that exists when there is a difference between what you have and what you want." My definition of business is, "The ability to solve other people's problems and get compensated for it". Closing is "the ability to create an environment in which the prospect comes to the conclusion that our product or service will solve his/her problem."

Based on these definitions our job becomes a process in which we first uncover whether the prospect has the type of problems our business solves. Next we have to find out if the prospect truly believes that a problem exists (and it's important to let the prospect be the judge.) If the prospect believes that there is a problem and that the problem is likely to cause monetary or emotional sacrifices, he or she will be open to having someone who can be trusted help solve the problem. In other words, the prospect begins to close the deal.

Your prospect will begin to convince and influence you that there is a need for your help. He or she will become the source of the sales presentation and the close. As backwards sounding as this may seem? it's really the way it works.

Because the responsibility of convincing and influencing is assumed willingly by the prospect nearly all of the stress and negativity we associate with selling literally disappears.

Use this approach to selling and you'll see a big difference. Instead of a day filled with trying to sell things to people, you will get to solve people's problems. This is a much more enjoyable way to approach the selling part of your business.

In summary? give up the need to sell and think of yourself as a magical problem solver.

Ike Krieger is the founder of BusinessSuccessBuilder.com. He is a nationally known business language expert, mentor, speaker, radio and TV talk show host, educator and author. He is a former communications instructor at Ohio State University.

He has served as business makeover specialist for the LA Times and writes for the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. He is the current Chairman of the Board of the North San Fernando Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce. Ike's business success builder programs have helped thousands of entrepreneurs, executives, salespeople, consultants and professionals get an even bettershot at networking, selling and business success.

Ike can be reached at 800-700-4334 or by e-mail at ike@businesssuccessbuilder.com.

BusinessSuccessBuilder.com. Build it Big, Build it Bigger!

http://www.businesssuccessbuilder.com

818-997-7575 - 800-700-4334

A Simple Formula for Success

Leaders in the business world need public relations big time, and they show it every day.

How? By staying in touch with their most important external audiences and by carefully monitoring their perceptions about the company, audience member feelings about hot topics at issue, and the behaviors that inevitably follow.

Could there be an angle here for your business?

What I mean is, once you interact with, then learn what that key target audience of yours believes about you and your organization, a corrective public relations goal ? a specific behavior change -- can be established.

Which then requires that you identify a strategy. There are just three choices here, create opinion where none exists, change existing opinion, or reinforce it.

It's a logical sequence. With your goal and strategy now set, you need persuasive messages with a good chance of moving perceptions (and thus behaviors) in your organization's direction. But you must make sure the messages talk not only to the current topic at issue, but to any misconceptions or inaccuracies encountered during your information gathering, and to any problems that might be brewing.

What will you do with your new message? You will carry it to the attention of your priority audience. You'll use communications tactics that are credible in the eyes of the receiver, and effective in reaching him or her. You'll also want tactics that stand a good chance of moving opinion in that target audience, on the topic at issue, in your direction.

Fortunately, there are many communications tactics to choose from: newsworthy announcements, letters-to-the-editor, news releases, radio and newspaper interviews, brochures, speeches and on and on.

Now, you're back to the monitoring mode as you interact once again with members of the key target audience. With your communications tactics hammering away, you keep one eye peeled for signs of target audience opinion shifts in your direction. The other eye, (and ears) stay alert for any references by print and broadcast media, or other local thoughtleaders to your carefully prepared message.

The bottom line is, are perceptions and behaviors within the target audience being modified? If not, adjustments to your communications tactics ? often a big increase in, and wider selection -- must be made. Your message may also need to be sharpened and its factual basis strengthened.

Gradually, you'll begin to notice changes in opinion starting to appear along with a growing receptiveness to those messages of yours. This is real progress.

Should you still need encouragement to hang in there with your brand new public relations program, consider this. A single issue ? for example, a potentially dangerous, unattended perception among a key audience -- can spread like wildfire nudging any business closer to failure than success.

That statistic alone should make you feel pretty good about public relations.

About The Author

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks about the fundamental premise of public relations. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net. Visit: http://www.prcommentary.com

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.

Robert A. Kelly ? 2003.

Quality Time with Your Teen

It's sometimes difficult to find ways to be involved with your teen without totally intruding in his/her life. You want to talk to them, they don't want to talk to you (most of the time anyway). I've found the best way to connect with my teenage daughter is to enter her world and do the things she likes to do. There's a saying that if you want to understand your child's world you have to play with them, no matter how old they are.

You don't always have to be even directly interacting with your teen in order to be involved in their world. Just being around the same influences they are, and taking an interest in their activities, lets them know that you care and that you understand what they deal with from day to day. Then later, at home, you can talk about the things you have experienced together. It's a great way to connect. Here are some ways my teenage daughter and I have spent time together:

• My daughter was involved in a music group that did a lot of fundraising that required a lot of involvement by the parents. At first I was really resistant to the time involved, but I soon realized how much fun it was to hang out with my daughter and the other teens and their parents.

• School activities are another great way to be involved in your child's life, at any age. When they're younger there's field trips, class parties, etc., you can be involved with, but when they get older there are activities like school plays that parents are a very important part of. I've helped sell tickets, worked at the bake sale...where I didn't even spend time with my daughter at all, but it meant a lot to her that I was there supporting her.

• Attending sporting events is also important to your child. When they get older it seems like they don't really care if you're there or not, but it is important to them even if they don't say so. It makes them feel like you care about what they do.

• Helping my daughter with school projects has been a great way for us to spend time together. She gets to do the hard part of doing all the research and writing, and then I do the fun part of helping her put it all together in the end. Even with older teens, most of them don't particularly enjoy doing all this work by themselves, even if you know they're completely capable of it. I don't do the work for her, just help her by giving her feedback on her ideas and giving her a hand. Often beforehand even I will go to the library with her and help her sort through reference materials. I know it means a lot to her, especially when she's doing a huge project and is completely overwhelmed.

• Another way I've been involved with my daughter is to be a youth leader in her church youth group. Again, I am not actually spending time with her there most of the time, but I am experiencing the same things she's experiencing and it's giving us something in common that we can both relate to and discuss. Those times together have been very meaningful.

As you can see, not all of these activities involve me actually talking to and hanging out with my daughter. You know as well as I do that our teens don't always want us hanging around them. I'm happy for the time I do get to spend with my daughter, for the little time I have left with her. When we have things in common my daughter is much more likely to talk to me and share her feelings with me. When I don't know what she experiences, it is very hard for me to relate what she is going through. These shared experiences have opened up many more opportunities for us to share and connect that we wouldn't otherwise have.

About The Author

Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For more inspirational articles and tips for everyday living, visit her web sites at http://www.creativehomemaking.com and http://www.christian-parent.com

Telephone Tips, Techniques and Etiquette

Whether using the telephone for business or personal use, using this communication tool effectively means being timely, communicating clearly and having the other person's interest in mind.

1 ? Plan and schedule your telephone calls so that you can allow time for off-track discussions. If you plan a 10:30am telephone call "schedule" it like you might schedule a face to face meeting: a little extra time, particularly for those you know like to talk!
2 ? At the beginning of your call, mention you know you can cover the points needed within time enough for you to make your next appointment, at a stated time. Then as you want to wind up the conversation you can backtrack to restate the appointment you mentioned. Or, you may find that someone will remind you, "Oh, you have to get on to that appointment, right?"
3 ? Maybe you prefer to wait until you are into the conversation before needing to ask for an exit. As you near time to say goodbye and find it difficult to end, try saying, "Oh my gosh, I have a long distance call I need to take. Can you hold while I take it?" Your customer or friend will likely say the conversation can pick up later. And, once again, it is the other person who ends the call.
4 ? If you have to leave a voice mail, certain elements are important to include: your name, when you are calling, a brief message about your purpose, and a telephone number to return the call to you. If you work in a staffed office and there's another extension of someone as an alternate contact, leave his or her name and extension as well. This last point is being considerate of the other person's time.
5 ? When leaving a voice mail make it easy for the person who is taking and likely writing down this information. First, you can say the number slowly by area code, exchange and last digits. For example, say it just as you might write it in the United States: 777-555-1234. Alternately, or even in addition to the divided method, you can repeat your telephone number a second time. Or, you can combine both methods!
6 ? Your outgoing message (om) is as important to etiquette as the message you leave when you are the caller. For business protocol it's wise to identify yourself by name. At home, if you want more security, you may want to just state, "You have reached, 777-555-1234." In either environment, state for the caller to leave their name, telephone number and a brief message. If you include the date, "Monday, February 21st," in your om, be certain you change it everyday. If you ever have anyone run out of time with leaving his or her message, you may also want to include, "and there is a 30 second (or whatever time) for your brief message."
7 ? The clich? that "time is money," is particularly true for the working person. That we all have the same amount of time is true for everyone. Return your telephone calls on a timely basis, within 24 hours is professional and considerate in either a business or personal setting.

Try one of these tips next time you find yourself wanting to be in charge of the telephone.


Copyright? Patricia Weber, http://www.prostrategies.com.

Pat Weber is a coach, certified telelcass leader, and corporate trainer. With her incisive, effective communication skills, her services can help you to accelerate professional and personal results you want, by helping you increase your choices and build your self-confidence. With personal coaching, a teleclass, an online email course or on-site workshop, get what you want, more easily and more often. Visit her website at http://www.prostrategies.com. Contact her for a free coaching session.

Shopping for a Secured Personal Loan

If you find yourself looking for a loan, you'll likely be getting a secured personal loan. A secured personal loan can be used for a variety of reasons, from paying off student fees to buying a new car? but they all have a few things in common. Any secured personal loan that you get will require you to put down a security deposit in the form of property (which is known as collateral), which helps to assure the lender that they'll be getting their money back. Collateral is also a good incentive for paying back your loan, after all, you do not want the lender to have to sell your property because you didn't pay them what you owed.

Examples of a secured personal loan

Any loan that you take out for yourself that has some sort of property attached to it is a secured personal loan. You could be borrowing money from a bank and using gold jewelry as collateral for the loan, or you could be purchasing a new house with a mortgage through a finance company? either way, if you don't pay back what you owe then you're going to lose the property in question. Automotive financing, title loans, and pawn shops also fall into this category, though pawn shops are a bit more of an extreme example of the secured personal loan.

Advantages and disadvantages of a secured personal loan

For the most part, interest rates are lower with a secured personal loan that they are with other types of loans. The reason for this is the collateral that you offer? the lender knows that it is going to get its money back one way or another, so its able to be a bit more flexible with its interest. If the loan were unsecured (meaning that there was no collateral required), the interest rates would likely be much higher.

Another advantage of a secured personal loan is that they're much easier to get than unsecured loans. After all, the collateral serves as a guarantee that the lender will be getting their money back? that makes them more willing to offer loans to people with questionable credit. Should you default on the loan, they still won't lose the money that they lend you (though they will have to go through the trouble and expense of possessing the collateral and selling it.)

The main disadvantage of a secured personal loan is the penalty for defaulting on the loan? losing your collateral. In some cases this isn't as bad as others? after all, it's much better to lose some rare coins than it is to lose your house. With fast and consistent repayment, however, this drawback can be easily avoided. The fear of losing your collateral can even be turned into an advantage after all, you have a wonderful reason to make all of your payments on time.

You may freely reprint this article provided the following author's biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

About The Author

John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.

The Author Within You!

I always had an active imagination when I was young. I hated school, and would pass the time away day- dreaming about things I should not even have known about at such a young age. I used to make up stories in my head, that would always have me as the centre of attention, like collecting an Oscar for a Hollywood film that I had starred in, or recovering from a major operation or accident. I think I was like this because I was a shy kid who lacked a lot of confidence. It was no different when I started work.

Those long boring days stuck in an office with bitchy overweight girls with no meaning to their life apart from bingo on a Friday night and watching Eastenders with their doubly overweight boyfriends. I always dreamed about writing a book or acting. When I realised that I was far to old to be dreaming such girly things such as acting, I decided that I would become famous for my imagination instead. I decided to write a book.

I thought about it long and hard. What do I write about? What era will it be set in? What will be the background basis for the book? Who would want to read a book from the likes of a person like me? I always liked reading about the Second World War. I had a morbid fascination surrounding the rise of Hitler and the Holocaust. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means a Nazi supporter, and I totally disagree with the treatment and atrocities he handed out to the poor Jews. Nether the less it did interest me, so after much pondering, I decided to write a story about the Holocaust.

I based it on a young Jewish girl growing up in occupied Poland during the Nazi invasion. I never believed for one minute that it would be published, but after submitting my manuscript to quite a few online publishers, I finally got accepted. I could not believe that little old me would become a successful writer. My book is due for release on 3rd March 2005 and is for sale at most leading bookstores, including my publishers www.publishamerica.com , you see anybody can write, but it takes confidence and you have to believe in yourself. I never did for so many years.

It was only my Husband telling me how good my story was that I decided to give it a go, and believe me I am just a regular girl with no silver spoon in her mouth, I just plucked up the courage to do something to change my life for the better. The moral of my humble little story is, don't let doubt and the lack of confidence hold you back. Give it go, for you never know where your courage may lead you. You can view my book at www.unionjaxbooks.com

Leanda Wood has writen many childrens stories and poems over the years. Her first novel "There Are No Children Here" is due for release on 3rd March 2005. Available at most leading bookstores online and off. Book also available from her website http://www.unionjaxbooks.com

Bass Fishing In The Winter In The North

The next few days in Ohio are supposed to be in the 50's, so, guess what I plan on doing if the lakes thaw out? Yep, go fishing for bass.

As you know the bass are not going to spend a lot of energy going after your bait, so offer them something a little larger than usual. A 10" worm comes to mind, a pig and jig or something to that effect.

Where you might have this in the water for 30 seconds in the summer, now it might take 4 or 5 minutes. Work it slow.......very slow.

Does this work? Well, one day it was so cold outside I never even got out of the truck, my fishing partner wanted to fish this new lake even though the wind was blowing about 20 miles an hour.

Can you imagine my surprise when he came back about 10 minutes later with a bass over 5 pounds? He was working a grape colored worm very, very slow.

I have fished in the winter ever since that day.

Charles E. White has fished for almost 50 years for bass from California to Florida. In his lifetime, it is estimated that he has caught over 6,000 bass. His biggest bass is a 12 pound 14 ounce that hangs on his wall in his office.

Charles has fished with people who have never fished for bass before and taught them how to become successful anglers and also has fished with the Pros in Florida.

His new website about fishing for bass is at http://www.bassfishingweekly.com.

Credit Report ? Check Yours Regularly - and for Free

In the twenty-first century, there are few documents that have a greater impact on the lives of Americans then their credit report. Credit rating determines one's ability to buy a home, a car, or to obtain a credit card or a job. Since these things are important, it is equally important that the information be accurate. The only way to be sure of that is to check the report regularly. Prior to last fall, there were two ways to obtain a copy of your credit report: to pay for one, or to obtain one for free after being denied credit. Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act passed last year, Americans can now obtain a free copy of their credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies once a year.

Due to anticipated heavy response to the offer of free credit reports, the program has been rolled out in stages. People living in the West and Midwest are already eligible to apply for a copy of their report at www.annualcreditreport.com. As of June 1, 2005, those living in the Southeast are now eligible, and on September 1, 2005, those living in the Northeast will be eligible. All that is required to receive a copy of your credit report is to answer a few simple questions. Since it only takes a few minutes to do, there is really no reason to put off checking your credit report, and you may benefit tremendously by doing so.

The credit score is a single, three digit number that represents an individual's credit worthiness, and that score is obtained through a complex formula that takes into consideration a person's borrowing and spending habits and payment history. A high score makes someone more eligible for loans and credit, while a lower score may indicate that a person is a risk to repay. While the information contained on a credit report is generally accurate, incorrect information sometimes shows up on credit reports, and incorrect information could result in someone who being denied a loan for which they might otherwise be qualified. Furthermore, a credit report check is the best way to determine if you have been the victim of identity theft, an increasingly popular crime that often goes unnoticed for a year or more. If your identity is stolen, your credit rating can be ruined and you can be burdened with thousands of dollars in debt. The new bankruptcy law, which goes into effect in October 2005, draws no distinctions between debt incurred by an individual and debt incurred through identity theft. This alone should be reason enough to check your credit report regularly.

Since the law now allows individuals to obtain one free report per agency per year, anyone who wants to keep a close eye on their credit report can obtain a free report as often as every four months. Since the credit report affects your life in so many important ways, checking it regularly should become a habit.

?Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing.

Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to debt consolidation and credit counseling, and StructuredSettlementHelp.com, a site devoted to information regarding structured settlements

7 Branding Secrets: Ready or Not?

Every company has a brand (how people think of them) whether they created it through design or accident. By creating your brand through design, you shape the way you wish your company to be viewed by customers and potential customers. This will remove some of the uncertainty concerning what others will expect from you and say about you. The power of a brand can't be over-estimated. The Golden Arches are known worldwide.

However, many people confuse a logo with a brand. The logo is a very small portion of the brand effort, especially during the startup phases. Later, once your brand has been repeatedly communicated, in multiple ways, with consistency, the logo can begin to embody the overall brand. But, it will never be the brand.

Do you know what makes your company or its products unique? If you don't you can't begin to establish a brand identity by design. There are seven elements to remember when designing your brand.

One: Know Your Customers Better Than You Know Yourself

Customers buy for their reasons, not yours. If you want to sell them your product, you MUST sell to their concerns, not your own. Every piece of marketing copy must FOCUS upon them. If you don't speak their language, you don't get their money. With branding as with selling, if you don't understand your customers, you won't build a brand of which they want to be a part.

Let's say you were trying to sell a snowboard. To effectively sell a snowboard to a fifteen year old requires an entirely different conversation than selling the same item to his mother. How you brand your product in these two different customer bases is entirely different if you wish to be successful. If your product could be sold to a fifteen year old or a 40 year old, you'd better decide who you are going to focus your branding efforts upon for the greatest success.

Crawl within your targeted customer's mindset. Understand what they think about the product, what they want from the product, and the alternatives they have to the product. Now that you know what the customer wants, you need to understand your competitive environment and your competitors.

Two: Understand Your Competitive Environment & Competitors

Your competitive environment has a major impact on how you brand your products or your company. For instance, retail is a highly competitive environment. There are companies that deal in the high end of the market and those who don't. WalMart has chosen to compete in the low price arena of retailing. They work hard to build a brand of "low price, friendly company". They obviously do it well. All one has to do is look at their financials to draw that conclusion.

You need to understand your competitive environment as well as WalMart understands theirs. But how can you do that effectively, without WalMart's budget?

Start by asking your existing customers, "If you weren't working with us, with whom would you be working?" Identify the companies to whom you most often lose business. Learn as much as you can about these competitors, including how customers perceive them, what makes them unique, and why they win the business they do.

Three: Define Your Brand Personality

Brands are like people. They have personalities too. People choose brands based upon whether or not the characteristics of the product or company brand fit them. My mother wouldn't be caught dead in a WalMart. I love a bargain, so I love WalMart. Two customers. Two different perspectives regarding the same business.

If you have defined your ideal customer well and understand your competitive environment, you can select a brand personality which will appeal to your audience. Think of your brand personality just like any personality. It will have traits. Choose two or three personality traits to develop for your business. Will your business be youthful, fun and irreverent? Will it be conservative, sophisticated and elite? Once you have defined the two to three personality traits that define your business, they must be visible in everything you do. All advertising, your website, your emails, everything must be consistent with your brand personality. This also includes your collateral materials, the people you hire, and even the way you answer the phone.

Your brand must come through loud and clear at all times. With a brand also comes a promise. WalMart promises the lowest prices and friendly people. Your brand will have a promise too.

Four: Make A Brand Promise

Talk with your customers. Understand how they see your business, and what your brand means to them. Find out what is important to them about choosing a business like yours and what benefits they get from doing so. Make sure your brand promise is important and valuable to the customers you want most. Once you understand your customers, you can create a brand promise. Serta, the mattress company, has a promise of "We Make The World's Best Mattress". Maytag has the lonely repairman, reinforcing the promise of dependable service and called the "Dependability People" with the headquarters located at #1 Dependability Way.

Your brand promise should be stated clearly, in concise language so everyone in your organization and your customers understand the promise, just like Maytag's and Serta's promises. Then, you must bring the brand to life through a brand strategy and action plan.

Five: Define Your Brand Strategy

Think of a brand strategy as defining the limits of your approach and the outline of your methods. Later, we will design the tactics to make it happen.

You now understand your customer and your competitive environment. Your strategy comes out of that information. Where will you position yourself? Just as WalMart uses stand-alone stores rather than join established malls, you must decide how to approach your environment in order to successfully brand your company or your products.

You need to develop a brand that is distinct from your competitors. Many people mistakenly think that by emulating a dominant brand, they will succeed. In reality, you don't have the resources necessary to duplicate their strategy. Seek out a niche of the dominant business' market. You can successfully determine that niche by asking yourself, "Where are they vulnerable?"

If your business specializes in a specific product area, such as sports equipment, build a brand of energy, strength, competition, and youth. If your advantage is consulting or ideas, make sure your brand is innovative, exciting, and cutting-edge. If you are the lowest price option, make sure to look conservative with money. If your products are more robust, like a John Deere tractor, build a no-nonsense, industrial-strength feeling into the brand.

Your branding strategy will set the overall limits of your branding "playing field", now it's time to design the game plan.

Six: Identify Your Branding Game Plan

Moving to action, you need to define the specific actions you will take to create your brand. They must be the tangible demonstration of your company's values and beliefs. They come directly from your brand personality, brand promise, and brand strategy.

Southwest Airlines is a great example. Employees dress casually and have some fun in the way they greet passengers. The company's symbol on the NYSE is LUV and the name of their in-flight magazine is Spirit. These actions reinforce Southwest Airlines' brand personality and brand promise every day. Think hard about every planned action and its possible ramifications in your competitive environment. Many companies make the mistake of taking actions inconsistent with their brand personality. Don't make that mistake.

If you focus on women, then focus on activities that women support like breast cancer research and childhood disease. If your focus is on young males, then make your actions bold and worthy of bragging. The hardest part of your branding process will not be designing your tactics. The hardest part is being consistent in supporting your brand.

Seven: Be Consistent in Action

A brand builds over time. A brand becomes successful after years and years of consistent action. My grandmother used to say, "The proof is in the pudding". This is a very descriptive way of saying "in the end, it's the result that matters". Keep that in mind as you move forward in building your brand. An excellent method for helping you maintain consistency in your branding efforts is to pick a brand personality indistinct from your own personality. In that way, it won't take as much acting or thought to be successful. Your brand will become a natural extension of yourself.

A Final Thought

In today's business climate, the world is highly competitive. It is important to differentiate your brand. A sound investment is defining and communicating what is truly special about your business. Your brand will bring you financial results through loyal and happy customers. Your brand will tell the world why they would be crazy not to do business with you.

Michele Schermerhorn calls herself a "Corporate Freedom Fighter" dedicated to freeing cubicle prisoners to experience their own successful online business. She has over 30 years experience in the business world and over 12 years running her own successful online businesses. She is President of Online Business Institute Inc. (http://www.obinstitute.com), authors a sassy marketing blog (http://www.imarketblog.com), and regularly conducts free online seminars. Online Business Institute Inc. exists to "Create Successful Online Business Owners One Person At A Time".

CD Business Cards- Why Use Them?

CD Business cards are the electronic version of the now outdated paper business or social card. They are the smaller squared version of the CD-R family.

The unique shape and unique size give a lasting impression. LiveCards are designed to hold the usual details such as company name logo and contact details.

How ever this is where the comparison ends!

When the CD business card is placed into the CD/DVD-Rom drive the LiveCard will automatically run a dynamic flash presentation of your business. Presentations can include Video, Sound and Images. With the easy navigation on screen it will allow even the most novice computer users easy access to your content. With easy links to your email and website you have an exciting marketing tool.

With advertising today you need to leave a lasting impression on your potential customers to encourage them to purchase the product or service offered. Many businesses use business cards as a means of leaving contact details. With a standard business card they either get thrown away or written on.

With a CD LiveCard, you will not find your potential customer throwing these away too soon. When given out customers are amazed by its shape and size. Many people pass them onto friends and family. When the card is placed into a windows based computer or laptop this is when the true power of a LiveCard is shown.

Why use them you ask?

Well the simple answer is they leave a lasting mark on your potential customers. With CD Business cards they allow you to use video,sound and images. Having you business presented dynamically on screen gives your business a professional touch. The unique shape and size of the card gives you a light, small marketing tool which you can post at ease.

The cards can be used for:

Business cards
Product Showings
Business Brochures
Promotional Offerings
Press Releases
Trade Show demos
Sales training
and many more.......

For more information
www.cdlivecards.co.uk

Steven Sharples
CD Business cards