Dealing With Tax Problems

By Kathy Breadmore

Tax problems are indeed so taxing to deal with for many of us who are somehow disturbed by this mess. It is a sad thing to note that many are now having to deal with such a problem on top of other matters that they need to address too. Other people may find this problem not that hard to resolve but for others this is a hell of turmoil for them to tackle.

Regardless of the degree of problems these people are faced with that are pertinent to taxes for obvious reasons they sure need to spend on attorney's fees. Some are lucky enough to be equipped with both knowledge and skills to deal this problems with ease lone by themselves. Others need professional assistance to address this thing especially those who are somewhat alienated with this matter.

Good news for these people because they will no longer have a hard time finding top caliber lawyers to give them professional assistance on this matter. The internet for one thing is now the haven for many tax law firms which offer to solve any kinds of problems pertinent with taxes. These law firms claim to have top caliber lawyers who can surely address your tax problems.

In this sense you need to set your own parameters in choosing the right tax attorney to help get out from the mess you are in that is pertinent to taxes. This way, you can be assured of not only resolving your problem the way you wish it done but also getting your money's worth. Having many choices of tax lawyers to solve your tax mess, will somehow give you a bit of confusion on having to make sure getting only the cream of the crop so speak.

On of the most important thing you need to bear in mind in having to choose the best legal assistance for your tax problems is not having to spend much on attorney's fees. Making sure of having real quality service from these lawyers is also another thing you need to consider. Having these in mind will definitely keep you on the right on track in your journey of having to find the right and the best legal assistance for your tax problems.

One sure way for you to hire only the best ones and not wasting your time switching from one lawyer to another is the powers of the word of mouth. It pays to have lots of friends because one thing for sure some of them will be able to help you find top caliber lawyers to help you out of your mess.

In order for you to have the best legal assistance you possibly can get, you only need to deal with tax law firms known for such reputation. Although these firms may charge you a bit higher for sure it will also give you real quality service for your money's worth.

It is recommended that you go for top caliber tax attorney even if its law firm charges a bit higher that its counterpart to ensure getting real quality service. But you can always opt for less expensive yet equally competent lawyers if for some reasons your budget will not allow you to do so in fixing your tax problems. - 31979

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Past Due Debts In Your Business? Here's How The Debt Collection Statute of Limitations Can Limit Your Ability To Collect Your Debt.

By David P. Montana

The debt collection statute of limitations refers to the length of time collection agencies can continue to legally pursue past due debts. This effectively means that unpaid debts do have an expiration date, after which time debt collection agencies are no longer able to pursue for payment.

The period of time that may elapse for collecting a debt differs from state to state, but it shouldnt be confused with the credit reporting time limit. These are distinctly separate and different issues.

Time Period For Debt Collection Statute Of Limitations

Keep in mind that the debt collection statute of limitations time period commences from the date of the last reported activity on the account. This date is shown on your credit report. This is a completely different date from the date the account became overdue.

Account activity can include making a payment, entering a payment arrangement or agreement, and even promising to make a payment.

For example, should a customer elect to make a partial payment, this can effectively reset the time frame back to zero on the day payment is made. Debtors who intend to avoid paying their bills altogether may avoid making any contact whatsoever. These delinquent customers know that by letting the debt collection statute of limitations clock run out, then the window of opportunity for collecting the debt has passed.

How Can The Debt Collection Statute Of Limitations Help Businesses?

Once business owners understand a little about how the debt collection statute of limitations can work, they can begin to use the rules in their own favor to help collection strategies.

Understanding that encouraging delinquent clients to make partial payments or even enter into payment agreements can begin the statute of limitations time frame over again from zero can be a way to increase the amount of time you have to collect overdue debts.

This can prove to be a catalyst for business owners to take action and rethink their delinquent accounts. When it is known that you have a limited time period to collect unpaid debts, you may review and reconsider your debt collection strategies. You might even opt to hire an outside collection agency to help with recouping your debts sooner rather than later.

What Is Covered by The Debt Collection Statute Of Limitations?

Excluded debts not covered under the debt collection statute of limitations include federal and state income taxes, child support, and federal student loans. Regardless of the amount of time that has passed, there is no expiration date to prevent collecting these types of accounts.

However, most other types of credit agreements are covered. If youre in any doubt about how the debt collection statute of limitations may affect your own debt collection strategies then its important that you contact third party collection agencies to help you navigate through your rights. - 31979

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Top Reasons Why Startups Require IT Consulting Services

By Daniel Wright

Today's market scenario demands all small businesses and startup enterprises to take process help from some consulting service partner in order to efficiently and successfully run the enterprise during the early days of business. Sometimes, such partnerships can be used, in the long run, to create an efficient global business model during their market expansion across the globe. This way, new businesses can enhance their technical expertise and knowledge while ensuring their resources are efficiently optimized.

Today in market there are specialized global consulting agencies that offer services to new companies to realize their vision speedily. They aid new businesses with the best technology, solutions and products that will help them to achieve maximum returns from the initial investment. Therefore, startup companies can ideally look for global technical service providers who will be able to guide them in their operations at all times.

New businesses can be assured of well designed, robust, scalable, best in quality, user centric and cost effective solutions when using their services. This is possible because startups require guidance from these providers to develop the technologies or the core components for their new products or new product lines.

New businesses can enhance the features and functionality of existing products or new products in order to achieve greater quality, cost effectiveness, predictability and customer satisfaction in the long run. The providers also provide solutions and systems that are able to easily integrate with existing systems without any application breakdown or system breakdown.

In the long-term these providers may become strategic technology and consulting partner who will provide end-to-end solutions from development to delivery for their clients. Some providers have IT staffing services that help to get productive and high valued resources matching the roles required by clients.

Above all, utilizing their services can ensure a cost effective onsite-offsite-offshore partner who can develop solutions using the Agile process. This process brings in real time visibility, communication and transparency to facilitate timely delivery of quality products. - 31979

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5 Proven Debt Collection Strategies That Improve Cash Flow To Your Business

By David P. Montana

Businesses that are the most consistently successful are the the ones that have effective debt collection strategies in place. This ensures them that past due accounts are being paid and delinquent debts are being satisfied. This increases cash flow to the business.

It is especially important during this present economic crisis and recession to closely examine your debt collection strategies and make sure they are working as you wish.

Third party debt collection agencies are professionals and they use proven tactics that yield effective results from past due debtors. Here are some of the strategies they use:

Reminder Letters

Sending a politely worded reminder letter to an overdue account holder can prove to be a very effective debt collection strategy. You may find that some customers may simply have misplaced their original bill, or the due date has slipped their minds. We all experience these types of oversights from time to time. Mailing a simple letter can remind them and you should find that many accounts holders will send in payment promptly soon after.

Telephone Calls

Calling a delinquent account holder to remind them of their past due bill can be effective as well. Should you make these calls yourself, be aware that some customers care little about your business, or your cash flow. Since they already know they're delinquent, some customers could become defensive when they get your call. You can certainly do this yourself, just be prepared. However, you should always stay focused on the task at hand: settling the delinquency, ascertaining why the bill remains unpaid, and possibly working out payment arrangements.

Some customers may feel that after they've received the goods or services from you, they can be slow in paying you until they deem it financially suitable for them to do so. Debt collection agencies can interrupt this kind of mindset if they make the call for you. The psychological impact of hearing from a neutral third party can make them aware that the situation is far more serious than previously thought.

Collection Agency Demand Letter

There are some customers who will continue to ignore your repeated reminders and invoices. In these instances, it may be time to employ outside debt collection agencies who can issue firmer, more stern demand letters. Again, the third party impact can be a powerful incentive for customers to respond.

As many customers are concerned and care about damaging their good credit, these debtors will think differently after being contacted by a third party agency. This is often enough to prompt them into action.

Skip Tracing, Another Effective Tactic

Because we live in a very mobile society, some of your delinquent customers may have changed jobs, moved to another city, or changed other contact information. These customers become very difficult for your business to try to locate.

Collection agencies have an arsenal of resources, software, tools, databases and other options at their disposal that make them far more efficient and effective at finding otherwise unreachable delinquent customers.

Other Legal Options

After you've tried all your debt collection strategies internally, still to no avail, it still isn't time to give up, throw in the towel, or write the debt off...not just yet. Collection agencies often have other legal options. If the case warrants, some cases can be referred to an attorney to pursue the matter legally. - 31979

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The Most Effective Way to Find a Supply Chain Consultant

By Neil Walker

This paper is offered to provide an extended outline of the variety of consulting work completed by Supply Chain consultants and the concerns they can address. This will allow you to discover Supply Chain difficulties your company might experience and help you identify a consultant who can achieve real procedural solutions.

Supply Chain consists of a complex mixture of actions that begins with acquiring the basic unrefined manufacturing material and ends with the distribution of the final product to the consumer. Experts in Supply Chain must deal with all the issues regarding the internal structure of the company as well as the interaction of all the procedures involved in the manufacturing process.

The prime goal of Supply Chain Management is to reduce expenditure while increasing the efficiency of the production and delivery process. Naturally this depends on the proficiency of the consultants and their ability to make the most of the available options to make the production facility more economical. They can start the process by looking at your existing suppliers to either reduce expenditure or find alternative sources for the raw material. Some of the more well know tools employed by Supply Chain experts include, Six Sigma, Agile Manufacturing, Total Quality Management and Lean Manufacturing. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems may be used to handle all the processes and functions of a company using shared data amongst may different services on a local area network.

A supply chain is a network that includes vendors of raw goods, manufacturing plants that convert those materials into functional products, and distribution centers to get those products to customers. Having an efficient and low cost production facility is critical and companies need to achieve economies of scale in the fabrication operations throughout the supply chain. A company's supply chain is often one of the best ways to generate dramatic growth. Managing your supply chain is a complex challenge because of the continuously evolving demands of shorter product cycles, industry consolidation and the need to take advantage of emerging technologies.

To solve issues your own company may be experiencing with Supply Chain problems, you will need to find a consultant with the right background to exactly match your requirements. For example, small boutique consulting firms will have the required breadth of skills and abilities to help small businesses in all areas of Supply Chain Analysis.They will have Supply Chain consultants who will be able to give you expert direction in the manufacture, delivery, and sale of products to the final consumer.

Every company relies on outside resources to some extent. By using a recognized consulting firm you are benefiting from their extensive experience in using state of the art solutions in established Supply Chain processes. They will provide you with great value in the kind of help you need in the inspection of materials, information flow, and capital as they are distributed from producer to the final buyer. The success of their work can be specifically measured by charting production volume and Quality Assurance. Your Supply Chain consultant will emphasize proven solutions that will generate the exact results that you are looking to improve your bottom line performance.

Resolving your Supply Chain issues may not be an easy task and you should turn to the experts to give you first-rate advice. The best way to accomplish this is to find a consultant who can deliver the right solutions at a fair and reasonable price. A valuable asset to realize this goal will be to use a recognized online service where you can consolidate the best project responses from a number of highly qualified candidates. ConsultantFORCE offers a personalized service that makes sure your objectives are clear and that you are matched with only the most competent and experienced consultants, giving you the best chance for a complete, cost effective solution.

- 31979

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Why You All Should Be An Informational Marketer

By Debra Thompson Roedl

Why All Of You Should Become Information Marketers

There are many reasons why all of you may be considering becoming an information marketer. As all of you will see, there are also many benefits to pursuing information marketing. The whole concept is simple. All of you can take the knowledge all of you already have and turn it into a valuable commodity. All of you can sell products without ever needing to worry about inventory or shipping and all of you can instantly have access to thousands of marketers willing to work on your behalf.

As mentioned, there are no specific requirements that all of you need to fulfill in order to become a successful information marketer. All all of you need to be able to do is take knowledge and ideas that all of you already have, and turn them into sellable assets that other people would be interesting in having for themselves. The beauty is that we all are already filled with tons of useful information that we can turn into products.

We all have pursued our own hobbies and passions, our own career paths and have experienced many different things. Anything that all of you have a depth of knowledge can be turned into something that another person would want to buy, and it's that easy to get started.

Another reason why you all may want to be an informational marketer is that you all do not have any of the hassle that other businesses have to deal with. You all do not need to physically create or store any products and worry about inventory. You all also do not need to ship any products anywhere, and worry about the costs and logistics that come along with that. Everything is completely digital, taking away a good deal of the expenses, headaches and middlemen that come along with operating a traditional business.

One of the huge benefits of becoming an information marketer is that all of you can tap into a huge available field of Internet marketers who will take up all of the promotional aspects of your business. With huge marketplaces such as Clickbank, all of you can feature your information product and offer it to affiliate marketers. They will advertise and promote your product for all of you in order to receive a commission from a sale.

The better your product and the more money people can make with it, the more that you will attract additional affiliates. It's like instantly having access to a sales team with hundreds or thousands of people on staff. Of course, you don't have to pay anyone a dime unless they directly lead to the sale of your product.
These are just a few of the benefits to becoming an information marketer. You get to eliminate much of the hassle and expenses that traditional businesses have. Additionally, there are no requirements to get started. All you need is your own knowledge, and the ability to turn that into something that other people will want to buy. It's easier than you would imagine, and it's an opportunity you should take advantage of. - 31979

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Take a Time to Review Your Car Insurance Rate

By Adriana Noton

If you have not reviewed your car insurance policy in the past year, it may be costing your more money than you should be paying. In addition, you might not have enough insurance to meet your needs in the event of an accident. Take time today to review your car insurance rate.

Start by evaluating current insurance needs. According to the place in which province you live in, you may not have enough insurance if you only have the state minimum amount of liability may not be enough to cover the expenses of an accident. Today's automobile costs have far exceeded the provinces minimum liability and even if you drive a clunker, you can be involved in accidents with newer cars that are very expensive. You should make sure that you have enough liability so that you can cover the replacement of a automobile.

Additionally, you may find yourself responsible for medical expenses of the other vehicle's occupants. Again, many provinces have a minimum liability that is much lower than current medical expenses of persons that are presonal injured seriously in an auto accident.

Make sure that you are not paying for too much auto insurance. A vehicle that has depreciated in value below two thousand dollars get diferent coverage insurance. Drop the coverage and put the difference in premium and rate costs in a savings account. You will have more money in the account than you would have received in a settlement if your vehicle had been totaled. Continue this for a few years and you may have a hefty down payment for your next vehicle.

After deciding the amount and type of motor vehicule insurance that is needed, you will want to contact a few companies to get the rates you need for comparison. Tell the agent you speak with what insurance you want and ask for their free quote. If the agent wants a fee before giving a quote, then find another agent to ask for the quote. Most insurance companies offer rates and quotes without fees.

Many consumers find that they get the easiest and best quotes for motor vehicle insurance over the internet. You will need to give some information in a form and submit that form to get the quotes. Some websites offer instant quotes and others offer more than one quote by submitting only one form. Using the internet avoids having to wait for call backs from insurance agents to get the price quotes. Additionally, these rates are easy to print for the comparison you need to do.

You will want to be sure that your new policy is written to become effective at the time the last policy expires. Provinces are cracking down on uninsured motorists and even one day lapse in policy may have severe consequences.

If your car insurance coverage lapses, the insurance company is required by many province laws to make an electronic report to the DMV. You will get a letter that must be responded to proving that you have insurance or your registration and driver's license could be canceled. - 31979

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How To Find Work For A Freelance Career

By Gnifrus Urquart

As a freelancer you need to take absolute responsibility for everything in your business. You must be able to win clients, you must price your services appropriately, you must ensure you complete your jobs and therefore get paid. The whole cycle starts with the first point though, you need to learn to consistently win clients.

Finding clients when you start freelancing is extremely important. Without clients, you will not make any money and you will quickly run out of money. You may as well just work a 9 - 5 job. But finding clients will be integral to your entire career as a freelance contractor. You must always find a way to close your next client to ensure you earn your next pay packet.

There is not one best way to win clients. There are many many different methods you can try. We have summarised some of the main ones here but you are pretty much only restricted by your imagination and your tolerance to rejection. Here are some ideas.

1. Cold Contacting

Before the internet, the sales tactic was called "cold calling". There are so many new forms of communicating today though that cold contacting is a more appropriate term.

Cold contacting prospective clients is a hard gig. It means approaching and pitching to people you have never met, who don't know or trust you and who were not expecting your approach. Its basically a numbers game. You need to approach enough prospective clients that you find they ones who say yes. If your pitch is good enough you will be successful, you just need to get past all the "nos" to get to the "yesses". You will probably need a very thick skin as there will be plenty of nos too.

2. Marketing and Advertising

This is the most expensive method of client acquisition. It simply entails that you put a sales message somewhere where your potential clients will see it and do it in a way that will make them call you. If you get this right, half the time the client has already made up their mind to use your services, before they've called you, so you do not have to sell at all. Another big benefits of this type of client acquisition is that you can reach a much larger audience, than you can cold contacting people.

And it is not as easy as spending a bit of money either. There is so much advertising out there, you must do your homework (or pay someone else to) to get it right. Some things you need to consider include location, capturing attention and your message. You need to put your advert where your target audience will see it. You need to create it in a way your audience will take notice and you must structure you message so your audience understands, takes action and calls you. This is quite a complex process. Getting it wrong will cost you. Getting it right could make you.

3. Referrals

Similar to cold calling techniques, using referrals depends on you spending time and contacting people, rather than spending money. The success rates are typically a bit higher than when cold calling though, so its a bit easier to take.

In a nutshell, referrals are about networking. Networking skills are really important no matter what job you have, but are even more so if you are freelancing. You are not being professionally responsible to yourself if you are not networking. It is basically a two way communication street. It is from your network that you pick up information about organisations who may need your skills and it is through your network that you are introduced to those people with a recommendations from someone you both trust. The recommendation based on trust is the critical part of the referral, this is where you'll win business over your competitors.

4. Use A Placement Service

This marketing technique depends on you asking yourself the following question "Who already has a relationship with my prospective clients?". Make a list. A placement service does not have to be a professional placement service, it can be an industry related organization you set up a joint venture with. If you can isolate organizations that already have your clients on their books, you might have an easier task if you sell yourself to that organization and get them to place you with your clients. I did this once with an ex employer of mine. I just paid them a percentage of what I earned, which I was happy to do as I had no marketing expenses anyway.

As you grow in your freelancing career, you'll quickly learn that there is no absolute and perfect way to find your next client. All of the above are proven methods in their own right, but the most successful freelancers, consultants and contractors will use a mixture of some or all of the above. - 31979

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The Best Resource to Find a Supply Chain Consultant

By Neil Walker

This white paper will give a broad summery of the different types of consulting work undertaken by Supply Chain consultants and the potential issues they can help you solve. This will allow you to recognize Supply Chain problems your own business might have come across and help you identify an independent consultant who can find realistic solutions.

Supply Chain is an interconnected assortment of processes and resources that starts with the acquisition of raw material and extends to the final delivery of the end products to the customer. It is the combination of infrastructure, tools and procedures that enables a production company to have the correct amount of inventory at the right time and in the right place with a rational cost structure to satisfy consumer demand.

Essentially Supply Chain focuses on lowering costs by reducing inventory as much as possible, optimizing manufacture and speeding up delivery while at the same time attempting to improve the quality of the final products. Success is dependent on their ability to boost the functioning and productivity of the plant. Supply Chain specialists can start by focusing on your important suppliers and begin to improve your overall communications and so start to enhance your firm's process improvement procedures. To achieve this, some of the powerful processes employed might be Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, TQM (Total Quality Management) and 'Just in Time' Manufacturing. Frequently Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software may be utilized to manage all the information and functions of a company using shared data systems.

A supply chain is a network that includes vendors of raw goods, manufacturing plants that convert those materials into functional products, and distribution centers to get those products to customers. Having an efficient and low cost production facility is critical and companies need to achieve economies of scale in the fabrication operations throughout the supply chain. A company's supply chain is often one of the best ways to generate dramatic growth. Managing your supply chain is a complex challenge because of the continuously evolving demands of shorter product cycles, industry consolidation and the need to take advantage of emerging technologies.

You will need to identify experienced and certified consultants that have the required level of proficiency who are a perfect match to help work out your current Supply Chain issues. Frequently in this situation, 'boutique style' consulting companies will be able to provide you with exactly the right mix of business experience you need. They will have the depth of an experienced organization to provide you with the right individuals who have perfectly tuned experience you may need in re-organizing production, delivery, and the sale of products to the final consumer. No matter your needs, Supply Chain experts with the right background will be able to supply you with the exact service you need.

Every company relies on outside resources to some extent. By using a recognized consulting firm you are benefiting from their extensive experience in using state of the art solutions in established Supply Chain processes. They will provide you with great value in the kind of help you need in the inspection of materials, information flow, and capital as they are distributed from producer to the final buyer. The success of their work can be specifically measured by charting production volume and Quality Assurance. Your Supply Chain consultant will emphasize proven solutions that will generate the exact results that you are looking to improve your bottom line performance.

Resolving your Supply Chain issues may not be an easy task and you should turn to the experts to give you first-rate advice. The best way to accomplish this is to find a consultant who can deliver the right solutions at a fair and reasonable price. A valuable asset to realize this goal will be to use a recognized online service where you can consolidate the best project responses from a number of highly qualified candidates. ConsultantFORCE offers a personalized service that makes sure your objectives are clear and that you are matched with only the most competent and experienced consultants, giving you the best chance for a complete, cost effective solution.

- 31979

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How To Market Information Products On The Internet

By Debra Thompson Roedl

How to Market Information Products Online

Information products aren't a new idea, they have been around for quite some time. But digital information products that are marketed exclusively on the Internet are becoming much more popular and widespread. If all of you understand the potential power of these products and all of you know how to lead people to your online site through effective marketing strategies then all of you will see that information products can become very profitable.

The steps that all of you take to market your information products are very important, and they can make the difference between not seeing any sales and seeing a huge amount of profit. One of the first and most essential steps all of you need to take with your information product is to create a online site for it.

Many people with information products opt for the one page website which is basically a long sales page. This page will house tons of information including the value of everything included in the information product, some of the main benefits or features and loads of testimonials and special deals.

However, you don't need to limit your website to just a one page selling point. You can create other pages on your site that are also filled with more information. With these other pages you can focus on the incorporation of keywords and key phrases that you have researched that relate to the niche audience you are trying to reach. Creating content based around these phrases will raise you in the search engines, and will draw more traffic to your website. It's a great way to begin your marketing efforts.

An even quicker, but more expensive, way to market your information products on the Internet is through PPC or pay-per-click campaigns. With this you are basically purchasing ad space on the search engine results pages in order to get people to go to your traffic. If you plan your campaign effectively, you can keep costs down and send many highly targeted prospects directly to your sales page. However, if you don't pay attention to your campaign or you don't know what you're doing then the campaigns can become excessively expensive.

Don't forget that if you choose you can setup your product to be sold through an affiliate marketplace such as Clickbank. When you do this, you are giving affiliate marketers the right to promote your product for you. In return, they receive a portion of the sale price. If you offer good commissions and the product is something that people are interested in purchasing, you'll see that you have a huge line of affiliates eagerly promoting your products for you. The great thing with this is that you don't have to spend any time yourself nor do you have to spend any money until a sale is actually made.

Finally, another way that you can consider promoting your information product online is through article marketing. You'll be creating and distributing unique articles that talk about your product or in more general terms about the niche it covers. You then drive traffic to your site with a resource box. You'll also improve your standing in the search engines through the added incoming links that you're creating.

There are clearly many different ways that all of you can choose to promote and market your information product online. If all of you combine the best strategies for your particular product there will be no limit to the success that all of you can see with your new endeavor. - 31979

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Tips to Prevent Holiday Fire Damage

By Mary J. Smith

Most people would say the holidays would not be the same without a Christmas tree. A real tree adds the scent of pine and a great deal of beauty to the holiday. The benefits however, do not come without a hazard. Each year around 400 residential fires occur that involve Christmas trees. Unfortunately these fires cause nearly 40 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The following safety tips are offered by Florida Engineering Solutions in the hope of preventing these fires.

If you will be buying a live Christmas tree, tap the tree on the ground to see if it is fresh. A fresh tree should not lose green needles. The risk of fire goes up dramatically on trees that are dry. A 6 foot Christmas tree will use a half gallon of water per day. To ensure your tree does not become a fire hazard, follow these steps: First, cut an inch off the bottom of the trunk to help the tree absorb water. Use a tree stand that holds at least a gallon of water. Add a cap full of bleach, to help the tree absorb water. And last, fill the tree stand with water daily. Trees that are kept well watered and fresh during the holidays will not easily catch fire.

Look for a label that says "Fire Resistant" when buying an artificial Christmas tree. The presence of this label does not guarantee the tree will not burn, but that the tree will resist burning and be easily extinguished. As for metallic trees, never add electrical lights to them. Faulty lights could case the tree to become charged and become cause an electrocution.

The location of electrical outlets and existing traffic patterns should be considered when placing a Christmas tree. The fire hazard is increased when extension cords must run long distances. It almost goes without saying that Christmas trees should never be placed anywhere near flames or heat sources.

Are you aware that more than 15% of all fires involving Christmas trees are caused by defective or improper lighting? Using lights correctly is the first step. Use indoor lights indoors and outdoor lights outdoors. Inspect all electrical decorations carefully before decorating. Loose connections, frayed or bare wires and loose connections are indications those decorations should be replaced.

Other Christmas electrical safety tips include: Don't connect more than 3 strings of Christmas lights together Don't connect more than 3 strings of lights to one extension cord. Never run extension cords underneath rugs. Always unplug lights to replace bulbs and fuses. Always unplug decorations before leaving home or going to bed. Never using candles on or near any tree, whether artificial or fresh.

For many, the Christmas tree is the center of the Christmas holiday at home. This year keep your home and family safe by following a few simple safety rules. Buy a fresh tree. Place the tree safely. Keep the tree well watered. Use only safe decorations. And remove the tree promptly when it starts losing needles. - 31979

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Holiday Fire Damage Prevention Tips

By Mary J. Smith

Most people would say the holidays would not be the same without a Christmas tree. A real tree adds the scent of pine and a great deal of beauty to the holiday. The benefits however, do not come without a hazard. Each year around 400 residential fires occur that involve Christmas trees. Unfortunately these fires cause nearly 40 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The following safety tips are offered by Florida Engineering Solutions in the hope of preventing these fires.

To test the freshness of a live Christmas tree before you buy it, tap the tree on the ground. The fresher the tree, the fewer green needles it will lose. A 6 foot Christmas tree will lose about a half gallon of water per day. As a tree dries, the fire risk goes up dramatically. Make sure your tree stays fresh and moist, follow these steps: To help the tree absorb water, cut an inch or two off the bottom of the trunk. Make sure your tree stand holds at least a gallon of water. Add an ounce of bleach to the water in the stand. Be sure to fill the tree stand with water daily.

When buying an artificial Christmas tree, look for the "Fire Resistant" label. Trees with this label are safer as they will be slow to ignite and should extinguish quickly. Should you have a metallic tree, never use electric lights on it, as faulty lights could cause it to become charged and pose the risk of electrocution.

When placing the tree, consider traffic patterns and the location of electrical outlets. Running extension cords for long distances increases the fire hazard. Always keep all Christmas trees well away from flames and heat sources.

15% of all Christmas tree fires are caused by improper or defective lighting according to the National Fire Prevention Association. Use lights and other electrical connections correctly to keep your family and home safe. A careful inspection of all lights and other decorations is the first step. Check for loose connections, cracked socket and frayed wires. Replace the lights or other decoration if you find problems.

Other common sense electrical tips include: Do not run more than 3 strings of lights together. Do not run more than 3 strings of Christmas lights together on one extension cord. Do not run extension cords under rugs. Be sure to unplug lights to replace bulbs and fuses. Be sure to unplug all decorations before leaving home or going to bed. Never using candles on or near any tree.

For many, the Christmas tree is the center of the Christmas holiday at home. This year keep your home and family safe by following a few simple safety rules. Buy a fresh tree. Place the tree safely. Keep the tree well watered. Use only safe decorations. And remove the tree promptly when it starts losing needles. - 31979

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Using Strategy Consulting From Large Businesses To Small

By Jeremy Carden

Any business, online or offline, can benefit from strategy consulting. If you have a blended profit margin derived from both online and offline sources you will most definitely benefit from this type of consultation. You might be a bit nervous. You might be afraid that you will hear some things that feel as though you might not be doing the best job. This isn't a performance review. It is a plan designed to help your business or organization succeed well beyond its current status.

There isn't a business in the world that doesn't require some sort of strategy consulting. The consultation that you are looking for is one that is remedied to attack certain strategic issues that might be causing your business to fail.

This is not a business appointment to point out all of the potential and actual failures that have been accumulated. Successful business go through an annual evaluation all of the time. It allows the business to operate more effectively and more efficiently while minimizing costs that are being wasted. It's a ticket to success that you really can't get any other way.

You and your staff have a lot more to do with the success of strategy consulting than you might realize. A consultant can only point out what they see, how they see it, and why they believe it should be changed. You can argue with them to defend your honor or you can learn from the experience to make a more profitable business. The same is true for your employees. If you can't get your team on board with this idea it may very well not go well. No one is trying to throw anyone under the bus. They are just trying to help your business grow and be more profitable for you.

This is one way to make sure you get a raise an on annual basis. Simply by remembering that the fastest way to your next big profit margin is through strategy, the consultant can literally become your best weapon against failure. He or she can be the lifeline to the personal financial situation you wish to find yourself in.

Any investment in your business that is fruitful is well worth the money and time. Just like advertising online or offline is necessary to help increase business, a consultation is just as necessary. You can really learn how to make your business take off this way. Think of it a little bit like a refresher course in business that will push you in better directions.

If your organization is dependent, even partially, on volunteers you will definitely need some strategy consulting. You will also need to pull in a consultant that can motivate volunteers. You don't want to end up with your volunteers feeling defeated and quitting their unpaid positions. You want them fired up and ready to be more committed. If this scenario applies to you make sure that it is understood that you have such a requirement and gauge the response of the consultant.

There is never enough strategy in business. If you want to ultimately become highly successful you will need to engage some type of strategy consulting in order to get there in a reasonable amount of time. This is your ticket straight to the high end profits. - 31979

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Call Center Solutions Need Improvement for Getting Better Services

By Adriana Noton

For those who have dealt with call center solutions. You might be saying please do not let me have to go through that again. For some reason or another, they have gotten worse and worse when it comes to helping people with the things that they need help with. So, that is people complaining about? Here are just a few examples.

Many people start with who they are speaking to. You might find that if you all at a certain hour and are surprised to hear a voice; it is normally someone who does not speak your language fully. You spend more time trying to understand what they are saying. It does not help much

Yet, some people always are discouraged by the fact that as you try finding the department you need. You press one then are directed to another screen that prompts you to listen and follow instructions. It gets very annoying and people just do not have the patience for it. It is very understandable as well.

Other people complain about the fact you often wait for half an hour or more. People have found that when they call such places, they almost have to start doing something else just to keep busy so they do not get angered and lash out. People often say that there has to be something that these companies can do to cut time in half. Though, there are ways those ways require techniques that other call centers use and people are still upset with.

After asking you to verify who you are and tell them what happens, they act as though you are stupid. They ask if you have tried this and that. After you have done the obvious they then tell you that there is a problem. People at that point think I did not know that. People end up very discouraged and at times, they end up with more things that they have to do or newer problems.

Many get off the phone and think that there is no reason to call. They doubt that the service could have gotten any worse. For that matter, many try to get out of calling the call center solutions due to these reasons.

Now, many places say that they are trying to get better service. They have found a ton of ways that they can help their call service centers so that they have people in there that know what they are doing and know how to efficiently handle people. Yet, some do not care and continue to use this help when it comes to their call center services.

While some do improve, some do not. It still remains that there are some people who have lost faith that people could ever help them effectively. There are so many times that they have been hurt that they tend to ignore problems ore fix them on their own and only call to seek the help of these services when all hope is gone. - 31979

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