The Pond

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I nearly had a mishap this morning. I save our business work on a jump drive. It has a template of our stationery and price lists of all our products. If anything happens to that jump drive, I will cry. To try and recreate all the information on that little piece of plastic would take hours. This morning I nearly had a heart attack when while crossing my legs; I kicked that little piece of information sticking out from my computer tower. It was in the shape of an L. I very carefully bent it back into place and checked that all my information was still there and it was.

I think it is time to get an external hard drive. I am checking out my most favorite shopping site, Buy.com. They have an entire section devoted to computers and technology. They give great descriptions to help me decide which item fits my needs. The best thing is that Buy.com has their price match guarantee. That means I will not find my item on sale for less at any of the other big name computer stores. I don’t have to spend hours searching for the best deal when I know Buy.com has what I need for the best price.

I have settled on the My Book external hard drive from Western Digital. It takes no more space than a paperback book and I can just plug it in and it’s ready to use. I can buy it at Buy.com for an amazing price and the shipping is free! It is time to make our business information safe with an external hard drive and I am so glad that Buy.com makes it affordable to do so.

I cannot blame old age. I have always been forgetful. I blame it on having so many irons in the fire. I am so thankful for PhoneInfoTracer.com. After waiting on a customer yesterday, I realized I forgot to get her name. It does not make a good impression on a customer if you call them and have to ask their name. With PhoneInfoTracer.com, I was able to use the reverse phone search featured by their service and get her name and address. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to get her info with her cell phone number! I am now able to work with this customer in a more professional manner. All lookups are 100% confidential so she will never know what a doofus I am and she might even think I am very efficient. Life is good.

Sometimes I am not sure I want to have a personalized license plate. I try to be a good driver but you never know when I might move too slow or cut in front of someone by accident. That plate cries out who I am! It says, yep, here is that crazy woman running the roads. I am tempted to advertise our business the way my husband does by having magnetic signs on my car doors. The signs work very well on his truck and he can take them off when he is not using his truck for business.

My most favorite place to buy everything for our advertising needs is VistaPrint and right now, they are having a promotion on their magnetic signs. By using the code CarDoor25, I can save 25% off on car door magnets. There are many other promotions going on right now at VistaPrint. You might need new checks or calendars. They have them. You might be thinking about getting your business Christmas cards printed, which, by the way, it is not too early to do. VistaPrint has beautiful cards made with heavy cardstock that will compliment your business.

Let VistaPrint show you how they will make you a satisfied customer like me.

Have you thought about starting an online business but didn’t know where to start? I think many of us fall into that category. The ListBuilding Club can help anyone start a profitable business. Their training videos will take you through the steps to start your business. You can check out their website to see how many have discovered the secret to pushing themselves into what they only dreamed of. Receive a full month completely free of The ListBuilding Club by joining during their promotional period.

Do you see the man in this picture? He is doing the “happy dance”. He is thrilled to have found success with his business. You will be doing the “happy dance” too when you follow the easy steps given in The ListBuilding Club’s informative videos.

By simply going to The ListBuilding Club’s website, you can watch the free videos to see what all the excitement is about. Let the experience of Tellman Knudson, founder and CEO of Listbuilding.com be your guide. Avoid the pitfalls that he experienced firsthand. Follow step by step instructions through the process of generating prospect lists and building successful online businesses. Opportunity is knocking at your door. Check out The List Building Club.

If you own your own business, you are probably feeling the economic crunch. We love owning our own business and being our own boss. There are things to think about when you are responsible for your own livelihood.

When customers come into our store, they see a beautiful showroom. We have worked hard to keep our displays updated and sample the most current styles and trends of floor covering. We also stock rolls of carpet and vinyl flooring. Displays and samples are expensive. It takes money to buy inventory. It is important to have funding to maintain a successful business.

Merchant Advisors provides business loans that are unlike traditional bank loans. They have less stringent requirements, faster approval, and no closing cost or fees. They make repayment affordable for even the newest entrepreneur. We have all heard the saying, you can’t sell from an empty wagon. It is true. If you do not have inventory in your store, your customers will turn around and go down the street to find what they want. Merchant Advisors offers first class support and education to help your business become profitable.

Merchant Advisors offers other features to make your business successful.

*Business Cash Advance
*Invoice Factoring
*Credit Card Processing
*ACH Processing
*Check Processing

They also offer information on credit repair and are motivated to help you repair your credit. They want you to succeed.

Merchant Advisors also offer important advice on why your business should incorporate and how to go about the process of protecting your personal assets and business assets by establishing a corporation.
They cover the choices given when incorporating such as:

* Limited Liability Company (LLC)
* S-Corporation
* C-Corporation
* General Partnership
* Limited Partnership
* Limited Liability Limited Partnership (LLLP)

As you can see, Merchant Advisors is interested in getting you the funding to let your business thrive and allow you to earn a living. They also have the resources needed to protect you and your business.

Oh my goodness! It is the 15th of the month already. That means it is time to balance the business checking account. Isn’t it funny how certain days of the month remind us of tasks we need to deal with? The tenth of the month we have a deduction out of our personal checking account. I have to remember to put money in that account and almost always cut it close. The first of the month is when our health insurance premium is paid out of the personal account. I try not to let that make me dread the first of the month. Anyway, I have to balance the business account so if you don’t see me in an hour or so you will know it didn’t balance. I have to find any error, even if it is only a penny. Do you do that or just add or subtract the amount it is off?

How many of you are happy in your job scenario? I love my job but if I could have my dream job, I would own a quilt shop. Not too far from my house is a little quilt shop that I perceive to be the perfect size and has the coziness I would want for my quilt shop. The owner seems to be having so much fun. I know that running a business is not all fun and games. I am the book keeper, sales clerk, janitor and whatever else for our carpet business. I would love to do all that and more if it meant having a quilt shop. Listen as I tell you about my dream job…

How many of you watched the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics? It was amazing. I cannot help but worry about all the factory workers laid off when the factories were shut down. Yes, they shut quite a few factories down in an effort to reduce pollution during the Olympics. No matter that workers won’t receive a paycheck and may go hungry. I hope their job search ended with them finding a better position than they lost. Maybe they were in the zillions of people putting on the show during the ceremony. That must be where they went!

I grew up as an Air Force Brat. My dad fabricated with sheet metal. He was also an instructor who taught aircraft repair. His profession was useful after his retirement from the Air Force. He worked for a major airplane manufacturer and traveled to Saudi Arabia to teach sheet metal, honeycomb repair. This job allowed mom and dad to travel the world. I have a special place in my heart for the art of metal manufacturing.

My husband and I own a floor covering store. Everywhere we go we notice the floors. We don’t walk into any building without noting what kind of floor covering they used. I am sure it was that way with my dad. Take a moment and think how much custom metal fabrication is used throughout everything we see. Look at the ceiling the next time you attend a rock concert. Check out the benches in the park the next time you take the kids to play. While you are there, look at the floor of the merry-go-round. Yes, those are all made from fabricated metal. Accurate Perforating is a major manufacturer of perforated metal and materials. They are seriously dedicated to offering superior products and services. Accurate Perforating’s forming and fabricating capabilities are an art to be respected. You have heard the saying, “stop and smell the flowers.” Take a look at metal and notice the art in the fabrication. It is amazing.