Pets

Not all dogs benefit from a summer haircut or shave

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It would be impossible to count how many times each summer a professional groomer is asked to shave a client’s dog in an attempt to make it fresher. Here in rural Montana, where the summers are scorching, I have received requests to shave just about every breed imaginable. It’s a common misconception that all dogs would automatically be cooler if they had less fur.

The first thing that is important to consider is what type of hair the dog has. All dogs can be basically divided into two groups. First of all we have those who need to get their hair cut on a regular basis, such as poodles, shih tzus, cocker spaniels, lhasa apsos, terriers, etc. Dogs in this group have hair that would continue to grow longer and longer until cut. These breeds can be shaved without any problem. Removing excess fur by shaving it off in hot weather will make it more comfortable and cool, and won’t damage the dog’s coat. However, this is not the case with the second group.

This group of dogs is made up of all other breeds, longhaired or shorthaired, whose hair grows to a single length and then stays at that length. These dogs tend to shed much more than the dogs in the first group. These include Retrievers, Pomeranians, Great Pyranees, Chow Chows, Pugs, German Shepherds, Huskies, and the list goes on and on. Their fur acts as insulation against the elements and should never be shaved. After all, do you remove the insulation from your house in the summer to make it cooler? Absolutely not, and the same goes for these dogs as well.

The coat of dogs in the second group consists of two different types of hair, a soft, fluffy undercoat, and coarser, coarser hairs called guard hairs. These two types of hairs are actually designed to tangle together and form a hard coat around the animal to keep its temperature regulated in extreme weather conditions. Without proper brushing and grooming on a regular basis, this often happens, leading the owner to the false conclusion that the coat needs to be shaved to keep the dog feeling fresher. However, shaving the fur of these dogs removes their heat insulation, which actually makes these dogs feel hotter and more uncomfortable. Shaving also makes them more prone to sunburn.

It’s important to understand that if you make the decision to go ahead and shave these types of dogs anyway, their coat will never be the same. Shaving will change the coat forever. The hair not only grows back very slowly, but also grows back much softer and sparser. The coat color will also be different, as the hair will be at least two shades lighter than before.

One of the worst things about shaving a dog with this type of hair is that the dog can develop what we call clipper alopecia. In simple terms, it just means that the hair does not grow back. This is caused by a change in the guard hairs when they are cut. Clipper’s alopecia usually first develops in a patch on the dog’s back, located just in front of the tail. After shaving, only a thin layer of hair will grow back, usually reaching a maximum length of about half an inch. Dogs that develop this condition have coats that appear moth-eaten. This is not an attractive sight!

Ok, so what happens if you have a dog that is glued to the skin and seems to be too hot in this mild weather? Seek the advice of a properly trained hairdresser to determine the best course of action. With the many miracle grooming products on the market, many times these coats can be saved with a couple of intense grooming sessions and a little daily grooming effort on the part of the owner. This optimizes the dog’s coat to properly perform its insulation tasks. Occasionally, the coat really can’t be repaired and, in fact, has to be shaved off to start over. Your hairdresser can help you with this decision and give you advice on how to avoid this situation in the future.

It is important to note that if you have a mixed breed dog, it can be difficult to determine which group the dog falls into. Most groomers can assess a dog’s coat after inspecting it to find out which group the dog is in and what course of action to take, the risks involved, etc.

As a former professional groomer, I firmly believe that it is the responsibility of the groomer to fully explain these things to clients who wish to shave their dogs. It is important to share knowledge with clients in order to make the best possible decision for the pet that needs grooming.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Shannon Heggem

Real Estate

How to interview a real estate broker

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As a real estate coach, I often answer all kinds of questions for agents about how they can put their best foot forward and what kind of business practices will help improve their business. Recently, I have received many questions from agents about which real estate brokerage is right for them. Here are some of my suggestions for the best ways you can interview brokers to ensure you find the best fit for you:

Ask lots of questions and be an active listener

This is basically like a job interview, but in reverse. You’re interviewing potential stockbrokers the same way companies would interview prospective job candidates. This may seem a bit strange at first, but asking the right questions will give you a better chance of selecting the company that suits your needs. Any good broker will appreciate this professional approach and will be impressed that you are exercising due diligence.

You also want to be aware of where the company stands. They should consider that its value pays its cost, if any, to incorporate it into their company. An agent, on the other hand, needs to assess what they need from a brokerage to be successful.

Here are some questions you should be prepared to ask potential brokers:

Some interview points to consider

* Ask them what they look for in an agent. This is an important question. Some “assembly line” brokerages don’t really care who they buy, and just want lots of numbers, with the idea that each person they recruit will have at least one family member or friend using their services. Conversely, brokerage houses looking for brokers with specialties, a minimum turnover, a broker’s license, or other unique qualities and characteristics may be favorable to some brokers. It’s better for you if they’re a bit picky.

* Many management brokers are selling houses, and not necessarily in the office. If that is the case, you should find out if there is an alternate person available to help the agents. A leader who sells may not be a good environment for you if you are looking for guidance. Be sure to ask what the response time is if an agent calls with a question or you need to submit something for review.

* Most offices have some sort of weekly or bi-weekly in-office training, regular sales meetings, and internal walkthroughs of new listings purchased by agents in that office. Find out how often these meetings, trainings and house tours take place and if it’s part of what they do. This is important for some agents, while not for others.

* Find out if there is an organized tutoring program. If so, under what circumstances will an agent have to participate or volunteer? Will participation be based on time in business or sales volume? Also, find out what the financial arrangement is for mentors and mentees.

If there is no organized mentoring program, find out if someone is available to help a new agent learn the real estate business.

* Find out what the commission schedule is and request a copy. Make sure you understand it because you will be paid according to this schedule. Also find out if there are tiers to that commission program based on your sales performance. Find out how this office deals with sales bonuses.

* When considering the costs to your business, it is important to find out what types of marketing materials are available from the brokerage for an agent to use. Some brokerages have marketing departments that will help you build your brand, assist you in creating your own pieces, or at least customize what the company already has, while other brokerages leave you completely alone in terms of marketing. It’s also important to ask about reimbursement for your marketing materials, including business cards.

* The number of agents is not as important as the support for them. It could also be a possible indication of the quality of the office based on how many agents are full-time or dual-career. Find out how long agents have been in this office and why they are leaving or staying. If this brokerage is 20 years old, but the average broker has only been here for 2 years and also has another full-time job, this can be a huge red flag that the office lacks a productive office atmosphere.

* E&O coverage means “Errors and Omissions”. This is an insurance coverage that the agent has to pay annually. This protects agents against any unintentional errors or omissions they may make when working with a consumer. Some companies pay for this insurance through the agent, but it is rare. Find out what the brokerage’s policy is.

* If a brick and mortar office environment is important to you, find out if there is a space for you to walk into the office and use as a work area. Depending on the company, office space may be available for rent or only to major producers. Conference and meeting rooms should be available for everyone to meet with clients. Find out what office equipment is available for agent use in the office. Today, with internet and cloud-based systems, you can do your business from anywhere, but some agents prefer to work in an office environment rather than work from a home office. Essentially, it’s up to you. You’ll just need to consider where you’d prefer to meet with your clients and what type of environment works best for you.

* If you prefer an office that is traditional, the more professional it is, the better. Check if there is a receptionist and if any phone work is required (from you). If so, check if there are statistics on the results of the telephone service concept in that office or if it really is just a replacement for a paid receptionist.

* Office listings and market share percentage will tell you how productive an office is. A busy office is good for phone work, open houses, and synergy. Having the best agents in the office with well-earned designations like Lifetime Top Producer, CRS, or CRB, and others who took some time to earn and are respected in their field is a mark of a good office that keeps top quality people. . Ask what the average annual income of an agent in the office is. A top agent is traditionally defined as someone who makes a certain amount of money per year (Example: a minimum income of $100,000 or someone who has 15+ listings in a calendar year). An office market share of more than 70% is excellent. To be the best real estate agent, you need to be surrounded by quality. If your brokerage has 100 agents, only 30 listings, and ranks 10th out of 10 for brokerages in your area, this may be a place for part-time agents or people exploring real estate as a hobby.

* Each state requires a certain amount of CE, or continuing education. Does the company provide that online, in the office, or not at all? Many brokerages now offer free online CE training available to their brokers.

* It is required that every brokerage house and office have an office manual and that every agent has a copy of it, either on paper or in electronic format. Make sure you know what the important policies are, like the procedure for splitting compensation on deals that haven’t closed yet, in case you decide to walk away.

* Most real estate agents are Independent Contracts and not Employees. What is the composition of your brokerage?

* Does your brokerage give back to the community or support agents in need? Some brokerages will provide financial, emotional, and physical assistance to brokers experiencing disaster, illness, or catastrophe. If something happens and you’re out of a job for a few months, will your brokerage step in and help you pick up the pieces? Will they help your family? It may be important for you to find a company that has a good reputation among the community and has great respect for their agents personally.

* Interview the agents in the office and discover the answers to some of your questions. This is where you can get the real picture of the office climate and what’s going on there that may not fit with you.

Make the decision that works best for you

In addition to the suggestions provided, think about the work environment in which you thrive. You should also consider your strengths and which riders will make use of your talents or just pigeonhole you into their protocol. For example, if cold calling isn’t your thing, it wouldn’t be the best use of your time to go to a “cold calling” pizza night at the office.

The most valuable information I can give you is that you make the decision that works best for you. Every agent is different and has unique requirements.

The final decision

Make a list of pros and cons for the top three agencies you have selected. Ask yourself these important questions… “Which company gives me the support I need?” and “Which of the companies can I build a lasting relationship with and why?” Talk to the important people in your life who can help you make a fact-based career decision. Family and friends are wonderful if you go to a barbecue, but this is a decision that should be made based on what is best for your business. I use my CPA and business planner as well as some professional relationships to help me with vital business decisions.

This article was originally published through the Cindy Bishop Worldwide blog site.

Sports

bull market nonsense

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When investing in the stock market for the first time, you will most likely hear about two types of markets: bear and bull. A bear market is one that is typically headed down, with negative activity and poor forecasts. The contrasting bull market is one headed to the upside, with positive forecasts likely. The natural reaction to a negative bear market is not to invest, whereas in a bull market the reaction would be to follow the crowd and invest your money. However, this mindset is paradoxically illogical, and this article will explain why.

One of the most spectacular bull market booms and busts in history was the burgeoning dot-com bubble in the late 1990s, followed by its spectacular bust from March 2000 to October 2002, in which some $5 trillion was wiped out. dollars worth of stocks and technology stocks. What apparently happened in this case was overwhelming speculative sentiment about the potential of the Internet, with hundreds of companies springing up with similar business plans and securing investments. Venture capitalists saw the rise in these stocks and were eager to get in on the action quickly, bypassing the normal restrictions and precautions, while driving the stock’s value even higher. As more and more people jumped on the tech bandwagon, prices skyrocketed until the bubble finally burst, destroying the value of many people’s investments.

The Dotcom bubble is a classic example of when bull market sentiment gets completely carried away. Prices went up, more and more people jumped on the bandwagon, which caused prices to go up, and then prices crashed. When times start to improve and you see other people making a fortune, it’s easy to be seduced by sky-high prices. However, imagine that you invested in the NASDAQ around its March 2000 peak of 5,000 points. In almost two weeks, you would have lost 9% of your investment, while in a year it would have lost 50% of its value.

The thing to learn about bull markets is that it’s hard to know when it will run out. The key is not to go with the flow of the market and invest in times of rising prices. If you were to buy when it goes up and then sell when the market starts to go down, you would be following the illogical investment policy of buying high and selling low, which leads you to lose money. Instead of this strategy, watching booming markets closely and waiting for the moment when they run out and start to fall is a better strategy. When stocks become overvalued, as tech stocks did in the dotcom bubble, they will inevitably burst, but buying after a crash could lead to securing a bargain. Buying during ‘bear market’ periods is therefore a more likely way to find a buy low, sell high strategy.

If you’re looking to invest, the current bear market in stocks indicates a good time to buy. Warren Buffet, the world’s richest man largely due to his investment strategy, has said there has never been a better time to buy US stocks, while in the UK the FTSE 100 is only worth 60% of what it is. which was at this time last year. If you want to learn more about investing, take a look at General and Legal Matters.

Relationship

Speech therapy for young children: some useful facts

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Is your child reluctant to speak and communicates only through gestures? Do you feel that he is not very expressive and begins to close himself into a shell? If you have the slightest suspicion that your child may have difficulty expressing himself through words, he should seek medical intervention.

The earlier a child begins speech therapy, the greater the chance that the child’s communication skills and intellect will develop rapidly. There is increasing evidence that there are a number of children who are simply slow to do things, so there may not be a real concern unless the child is over ten months, when they should be able to speak full words and not just babble .

Experts believe that children whose parents spend quality time reading stories, playing with them and talking to them are the ones who will begin to speak earlier and with a larger vocabulary. It is also believed that a child who is exposed to a lot of social interaction and whose conversations are taken seriously exhibits intellectual superiority over his peers. If you suspect that your young child may have a speech disorder, you can try training your child to speak at home, which should usually clear things up.

Getting a young child to do what you want them to do is a very difficult proposition. Instead, try to do things that the toddler wants to do. Sit down with her child’s toys and offer to play with him or her. Observe the toys that receive preferential treatment and use them as a reward. Have some tasty treats on hand, which you can give out as soon as you get the right answer from your child.

Don’t waste too much time trying to get the words out of your child’s mouth. Remember that you may be able to hold the child’s attention for up to ten minutes, so don’t exceed that limit at any cost, as this could make the child hate these ‘talking’ sessions. Always model the sound a word makes and get the child’s attention. If the child repeats the word correctly, offer her the treat and make a big deal of her success.

If you’re a new parent, remember that it’s never too early to start talking to your child. In fact, experts advise talking to the child and playing relaxing music while he is still in the womb. The impact a father has on a baby is immense, so make the most of it and set aside time to talk with your child. refrain from speaking made your child and encourage every effort your child makes to communicate through words or gestures.

If your attempts at speech therapy are not very successful, your child may need a complete medical check-up by a pediatrician, ear, nose and throat doctor and audiologist to rule out other complications. Your child may also benefit from a speech evaluation and therapy sessions with a professional speech pathologist.

Tours Travel

Fantastic honeymoon destinations

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The UK is a fantastic place for you and your partner to spend your honeymoon after your nuptials are complete. There are a variety of places and activities across the UK that promise to make your honeymoon a romantic vacation to remember with your new spouse. Here are some ideas for places and activities as you celebrate your marriage:

Take a trip to London

London may be one of the most romantic cities in the world. Spend the afternoon strolling the city and fall in love with her all over again over the London skyline with a private evening ride on the Millennium Wheel. The Millennium Wheel offers private capsules for couples that include a ride on the Millennium Wheel in a private capsule just for you and your partner, a bottle of champagne, and a box of chocolates. London is home to a variety of fine dining establishments,

Take a trip to the Welsh countryside

Is the bustle of the city not for you? If a laid-back honeymoon is more your style, get away from it all with a romantic getaway deep in the Welsh countryside. Wakes is home to a host of laid-back places where you and your special someone can get away from city life and unwind together. Try to stay in a romantic bed and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts can be a wonderful way to spend your vacation and can give you a more homey feeling than staying in a hotel. While in Wales, try to see a Welsh opera or other traditional Welsh event.

go to a new place

Marriage is a new and exciting step. Throughout your marriage, you and your spouse will experience new things together, so why not start the new experiences now? Look at the map and choose a place that neither of you have ever been to and plan your honeymoon trip there. Do your research beforehand to make sure you get good hotel accommodations and nearby things you’d like to see or do. There is no better way to start your new life together than by doing something new and exciting for both of you.

Visit Cornwall

A city of the sea, Cornwall can offer you a honeymoon trip to remember with stunning ocean views, private beaches and wonderful beachside dining. Typically, newlyweds tend to enjoy beach vacations as honeymoon destinations. Cornwall has several quality bed and breakfasts where you and your love can spend your stay, and because Cornwall is no stranger to honeymooners, several of the hotels and bed and breakfasts will have special packages catering specifically to honeymooners. During your honeymoon in Cornwall, you can watch the sunrise and sunset as you walk along the beach with the love of your life. Cornwall also has several fine dining establishments and other wonderful entertainment options for you during your stay. If you decide to plan your honeymoon in Cornwall, do some research beforehand and look for places that you and your partner might be interested in visiting. Restaurants will fill up early, so it might be a good idea to make reservations at any restaurants you’re particularly interested in and buy tickets for events or productions you’d like to attend.

The most important part of planning the perfect honeymoon vacation is to first talk with your partner about what you would like to do on your honeymoon. The perfect honeymoon is only perfect if it’s where you both would like to go, and you both have a great time. Sit down with your partner ahead of time and talk about the kinds of things you’d like to do on your honeymoon, and make plans to include everything you’re both interested in, or at least a good mix of the two. That way everyone will be happy and you will surely have a great honeymoon vacation.

Arts Entertainments

Carp love fries?

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In the fall of the year, usually the last week of September, my son, brother, I, and a friend take a 3-hour drive to McConnelsville, Ohio. This is a fall fishing trip where we usually stay about three days. We fish an area owned by AEP (America Electric Power Company) this area is open to the public; all you need is a permit that you can print from their website. AEP has about 300 lakes to fish in, some are very small and some are over a mile long. But this isn’t a story about fishing in the AEP area, it’s a story about the carp and catfish of the Muskingum River.

Every day we tour the AEP area and then at night we go back to our hotel, the Three Sisters Inn on NW 60. That’s the highlight of our trip; we fish Bass all day and then around 4pm or so we go back to the hotel to clean up a bit and then have a bite to eat. Due to the time it takes to get back to the lakes and the fact that the Muskingum River is across the street from the hotel and the hotel has its own docks, we had to try a little river fishing. We usually never fish for carp, but we thought “hey, why not?”. I didn’t come on this trip to sit in a hotel room and watch TV, I can do it at home.

This is where it gets interesting, but I need to give it the layout of the area. The hotel is on the main road and next to the hotel there is a small restaurant; not a big chain, just a small town restaurant but very good food. Within walking distance of the restaurant is a McDonald’s restaurant. I know you are wondering what this has to do with Carp and Catfish fishing; wait and I’ll put it all together.

Well, this is when I decided to cross the street and give Carp and Catfish a try. The others in my group were less enthusiastic about carp fishing or cat fishing. You can tell they were a bit picky about fishing for anything but Bass. I was looking at my fishing gear and chose the heaviest rod and line I had with me. I made a Kentucky rig with a single hook. But here’s the part of the story that was a little hard for people to believe. As I’m gathering my fishing gear, one of the sisters from the Three Sister Hotel tells me what the best bait is to use for McDonald’s fries; yes, you read that right, McDonald’s fries. So, having never fished for carp before, I listened to all the advice I could get. So I walk to the restaurant and buy my bait; by the way, this is the first time i could take my fishing bait.

So here I am at the docks with my chips, my rod and reel, and ready to try my luck. By the time I got ready to cast, the others got bored and came to watch me fish and make fun of my bait. Well within a couple of minutes I was pulling a 5 pound carp which gave me quite a fight and cleared the water a couple of times like a bass. I reloaded my hook with my special bait and it wasn’t long before I brought up another fish, but this time it was a catfish. Well, it wasn’t long before the pier had four lines with the special bait and we were all fishing. My brother, who never fishes for carp, became a real fan in no time and landed more fish than the rest of us. We had a brilliant ideal to try the fries that are served in the little restaurant I mentioned; but couldn’t get a bite. The fish know what they like and close does not count.

The moral of this story is that old dogs can learn new tricks that we sure did.

Technology

Illustrated cloud computing

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Cloud computing provides an easy way to access servers, storage, databases, and a vast array of application services over the Internet. It is called cloud computing because the information accessed is in “the cloud” and does not require the user to be in a specific location to access it. This type of system allows employees to work remotely. You can access as many resources as you need, almost instantly, and you only pay for what you use. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure, such as the network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even the capabilities of individual applications, with the possible exception of user-specific application configuration settings. . There are some concepts about cloud computing that we need to keep in mind.

Self-service in the cloud Self-service on demand
For example, if your IT team were under pressure to add or change software, platforms, or infrastructure and make it available to your users, they should be able to make these additions instantly.

Ubiquitous network access
It is easily accessible to anyone with Internet access. You can access it anytime, from anywhere. This benefit is crucial to all aspects of your organization. All your team needs is an Internet connection and they can sign in and use all of their business applications and systems, including all of their data and resources, from any location. This can be vital for remote workers, like salespeople on the go trying to close that quarter-defining sale.

Transparent pool of rental resources
By pooling your resources in a cloud, you can use your software, platforms, and infrastructure through shared services, allowing your users to get the most out of your assets. Pooling strategies include data storage services, processing services, and bandwidth provisioning services. This provides huge economies of scale for organizations and provides the means to truly embrace the global office. As your workforce shuts down for the day on one side of the world, your team on the other side can get up and continue working on the same platforms, applications, and infrastructure. The cloud allows you to sweat your assets from anywhere.

Fast Elasticity
The ability to automatically scale in the cloud removes much of the risk associated with the scope requirements of technology projects. With traditional on-premises environments, if the design of an environment falls short of scope and the demands turn out to be higher than expected, you lose revenue. On the contrary, if you exceed the scope and sales are lower than expected, you increase costs unnecessarily. The ability to scale your infrastructure at will allows you to design environments with a degree of confidence not available with traditional models.

Pay for metered use
Resource usage can be monitored, controlled and reported, providing transparency for both the provider and the consumer of the service used. Additionally, this allows for a much more predictable and tightly controlled method of financial accounting, moving from Cap-Ex to Op-Ex budgeting.

A cloud service platform like Amazon Web Services owns and maintains the network-connected hardware needed for these application services, while you provision and use what you need through a web application. Web-based email and Salesforce, an online sales management are examples of software as a service. Proper and consistent management of this service is the key to success. According to research by the business management consultancy Forrester, the cloud computing market is projected to reach $191 billion by 2020.

Business

Online advertising in a nutshell

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The Internet is becoming a very important part of our lives, especially in business. Successful businesses cannot be imagined without an Internet presence. Many companies have their own corporate websites and email newsletters, but it’s not enough. Online advertising is the next logical part of every integrated marketing campaign to spread the word about your business.

Online advertising is much more different than it was in the early days of the Internet, way back in 1995. At the beginning of the era of online advertising, the most widely used banner formats were 468×60 pixels, 120×60 pixels, and 88×31 pixels. Several years ago, new ad formats appeared, such as the so-called skyscraper ads. We recommend that you visit the Internet Advertising Bureau to view Universal Ad Packages.

http://www.iab.net/standards/adunits.asp

Spending on online advertising is growing exponentially. According to research by eMarketer, in 2005, advertising spend in the US will be over $10 billion for the first time. They forecast it to hit $12.9 billion! This is really cool, especially when we know that in 2002, advertising was $6 billion dollars. Three years isn’t a long time, but when it comes to the Internet, it is.

There are many sites that have some ads. These are usually smaller or larger animated images called banners. Online advertising is so oversaturated that many studies show that people developed the ability to filter the ads. The first banner was published on the HotWired website in 1994. It is a famous banner with the text: “Have you ever clicked HERE? YOU’LL!”

In the beginning, the banners had decent click-through rates, sometimes even 10%. Nowadays, the CTR is usually between 0.1 and 0.3%, even lower due to the saturation of the banners.

Marketers needed new online advertising models, so they started creating Flash ads. Using Flash technology, marketers can create interactive ads that look like mini landing pages, and in most cases those ads have a much better CTR. Flash ads can be seen on many popular portals like Yahoo! and MSN.

Today, the best results show email advertising and contextual advertising. Email advertising is great if your ad appears in double opt-in email newsletters with targeted subscribers. Good ad campaigns can get 5-10% CTR on email newsletters, even higher in some cases.

Google made a revolution in online advertising by introducing contextual advertising models in its AdWords and AdSense services. AdWords is based on a model where advertisers can choose the keywords they want, so that every time someone does a search on Google with the selected keyword, your ad will appear in the Google sidebar or at the top of the search results. This is good because many people do not see them as advertising, they see them as search results and therefore the CTR is higher. It is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, so the advertiser only pays when someone clicks on their ad. AdSense, on the other hand, allows publishers to have their ads appear as text only on relevant websites that have a similar target audience as your business. Google AdSense is also great for website owners as they can monetize their website traffic. Recently, it became possible to have Google ads in RSS. This is very useful for bloggers.

Another good option for PPC advertising is to use services like Overture and AdBrite. Overture allows keyword bidding and many popular sites like Yahoo! and MSN use the Overture service for their sponsored search results. AdBrite allows you to choose the websites you want to advertise on.

We have listed several useful free services that will help you make your next successful PPC campaign.

Google AdWords Keyword Tool
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordSandbox

keyword suggestion tool
http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion/

Free search engine ranking and keyword tracker
http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/keywords/”

Search engine location check
http://www.marketleap.com/verify/default.htm”

When you start with online advertising you have to be able to answer several questions.

1) What do you want to achieve?

If you don’t want where you’re going, you’ll never get there. You have to know what you want to achieve with your online advertising campaign. It’s like when you make projections in your business plan. You will have to make your internet marketing plan. Your goals could be to get 100 clients, 2000 subscribers to your email newsletter or anything in between. Just be specific and clearly define your goals to achieve them.

2) Where to advertise?

This is the next logical step. Depending on what your goals are, you will choose your target sites. Do you want to use online advertising for your brand? So good use can be a larger banner campaign on popular ad networks. Chances are you won’t have a great CTR, but a lot of people will see your ad and it’s profitable. If you want a better response rate, it’s good to advertise in email newsletters. If you want to get customers with minimal risk you should use PPC advertising on search engines or affiliate programs based on pay per sale.
You won’t choose the same places to advertise if you want to reach newbies and decision makers. You have to know what you sell and to whom. Market segmentation is essential.

You have to choose visited and quality websites. We have listed several useful free services that can help you determine site popularity.

Google Page Rank Prediction
http://www.rustybrick.com/pagerank-prediction.php

Alexa
http://www.alexa.com

Link Popularity Check
[http://www.marketleap.com/publinkpop/default.htm]

3) Innovative approach

Don’t be afraid to experiment with your ads. We have already said that there are many ads, so you will have many competitors. You want to get the most out of your advertising dollars. Try, try, try! Get creative and use technologies like Flash or DHTML to make your ads stand out from the crowd.

4) Words sell

You have to choose a good message for your ads. To clearly define your offer and call to action. Don’t forget to include words like “Click here”, “Sign up now!” and “Free Report” to offer contests for popular devices like the iPod. The good thing is to include interesting questions in your ads, questions that start with “How…” messages that start with numbers like “7 best email marketing practices”…

things to avoid

Although some people may tell you that popups can bring you a lot of new subscribers, we recommend that you do not use them. Different studies show that people do not like this technique. Don’t make your banner images bulky, they will have slow loading time. Not everyone uses broadband. Optimize them to have a good loading time. Some people make their banners look like windows dialog boxes or put a combo box image on their banners to trick their visitors and have a better CTR. Don’t use that technique.

Home Kitchen

Los Barruecos – The oldest rocks in Spain

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575 million years ago, the late Precambrian is not a significant date for many people, not like the Battle of Hastings or Waterloo, but for Spain it was very significant. It was when Spain was born.

At that time, the land that would become Spain was on the southern edge of a vast ocean far south of the equator and attached to the northern edge of a continental plate that would, much later, become Africa. It was a new addition to that plate, volcanic processes that spewed molten rock from the Earth’s core into the atmosphere, adding to the land surface above the sea on a daily basis. The magma cooled and became granite on a very different Earth than today. There was no life as we know it, the primitive sea creatures that existed then became extinct long ago when the trilobites arrived, the atmosphere contained little or no oxygen, the land was colored in various shades of red, and the sea was green.

For millennia, the Peripatetic continental plates roamed the Earth, colliding, combining, and merging. Some parts of the plates were submerged under shallow seas and the granite became covered with eroded rock sediments and the skeletons of the earliest living things, some parts were eaten away by glacial action, but more granite suffered the same fate more slowly. as a result. of wind, rain, sleet and snow dragging sediment into rivers where it became another muddy layer at the bottom of a sea, but an area of ​​Spain managed to preserve only a vestige of the original rock. It is 575 million years old, formed when the bedrock of Spain solidified from magma, and is just off the Costa del Sol, a few kilometers west of Cásares in Extremadura in an area called Los Barruecos near the town of Malpartida. from Cacares.

From the moment the magma solidified into granite, it began to erode. By a fluke of nature, this area remained above water, thus above ground, during the tumultuous years that followed. Granite erosion has been caused solely by the prevailing climate. In some areas of the world, 575 million years would have been enough to erode all traces of even bedrock granite, but again this area was different. It has managed to avoid, through all its wanderings around the planet, great extremes of weather and it is a very hard granite. The landscape now consists of low, rounded rock masses, surrounded by thin earth, the remains of material eroded from the surrounding rock and not yet washed into the nearest stream, with occasional outcroppings of granite boulders, some gracefully balanced on others, some eroded into elaborate shapes, some forming high hills, very similar to the Torcal karst formations in Andalusia, but while Torcal’s soft limestone is only 100 million years old and has rapidly eroded into sharp edges, Los Barruecos it looks much more mature, more rounded. , more permanent. It feels like the ancient landscape that it is, which possibly explains why prehistoric man made the area his home and some of the rocks his shrines.

It is not just the prehistoric remains that attract people to Los Barruecos. Fishermen catch fat tench in lakes, called charcas. Tench, fried, is listed as a local delicacy. Historians contemplate the ruins of the Roman villas that were built in the area. Twitchers are delighted with the variety of birds that reside and migrate here.

Geologists study granite and find flat, hexagonal crystals of muscovite in veins of quartz towards the edge of outcrops and other minerals that were mined commercially. You can still see the abandoned sinkholes with a couple of mills, including a wool washing mill, dating from the late 19th century to excite the industrial archaeologist. The naturalist is not disappointed either. It is not surprising that in a unique environment you will find a unique collection of plants.

In such a strange environment the Interpretation Center has to be the place to start and at Los Barruecos the center is excellent with full explanations of the landscape, how it was formed, how it has been used, and the plants, animals and birds that you will find in it. Even before reaching the center, you’ll be tempted to stop by a natural pond to study the various wild birds that live there. Grebes dive for the undergrowth on the bottom, mallards float alongside a court of pochards and coots, house martins and swallows swoop down eating insects drawn to the water while herons and egrets perch majestically in the shallows waiting for their next meal to swim along ignoring the purple gallinules squabbling in the reeds. If you’re lucky, you may see a resident Montagu’s Harrier perched on a pylon or soaring majestically overhead. In mid-September she kept a close eye on her two young, who were learning to hunt.

With such an introduction to the area and armed with a map of the center, you can lace up your boots and embark on one of the park’s many walks. There are three signposted routes, the longest about twelve kilometers although you will find it much longer as you will deviate from the main route to see places of interest. The center actually recommends that you get off the beaten path to see some of the more remote features.

Starting from the parking area shown further south on the map, you don’t have to go far to see the earliest prehistoric remains. Next to the car park is a large group of boulders. In the granite below them, an unknown time ago, man left the first impressions of himself on the landscape by carving geometric designs into the rock. Nobody knows why. The paintings he made on the rocks of the upper ridge to the east and northeast are equally difficult to decipher, but can at least be dated to between 15,000 and 10,000 years ago. The walk takes you to the first and largest pond, to your left is a wooden bird hide and to your right as you walk up the pond is a group of hills. Huge lumps of granite with vertical sides rising from the surrounding rock. For hundreds of years, the tops of these hills have provided nesting sites for white stalks that return to this area each year to raise their young. Later you will see what attracts them to the area, in addition to its remoteness. You’ll find areas by the pools, very low in September, dotted with the shells of the freshwater Norway lobsters that live here by the thousands.

As you walk between the first pool and its slightly smaller neighbor, you ascend a rocky ridge with granite boulders perched precariously on small pedestals. You might notice an unusual feature, a cement-covered saloon car embedded in a concrete block. It is the work of a German artist, Wolf Vostell, who we will talk about later. The undergrowth is thick briars and low bushes among which blue-winged magpies, blackbirds and orioles flutter as you go. The descent to the second pool, through a steep ravine, leads to a wide path next to the first of the mills, integrated into the dam itself. Next, we circumnavigate the pond until, on the north side, the path takes us to the top of another rocky ridge from which we have magnificent views of the entire area. Keep an eye out for Lesser Kestrels who normally sit motionless but watch on top of rocks. They appreciate the panoramic view as much as humans. The third pond, the northernmost, is the most remote and, consequently, the least visited. Here you are likely to see more waders, herons, snipes, stilts and crested grebes. From here the path runs through flatter land that has been grazed for centuries, between grass and small thistles. Crested Larks raise their crests in alarm when you approach, then immediately resume pecking after you pass. Soon you reach the north shore of the first pond. If the water is low, you’ll see even more of the oddly sculpted bedrock, and then you’ll arrive at the Vostell-Malpartida Museum. In this converted wool washing mill, artist Wolf Vostell displays more of his work. In the courtyard is another motor vehicle-inspired creation consisting of a ‘totem pole’ with cars embedded in it. In another 20,000 years archaeologists will no doubt be scratching their heads over these sculptures as they do now over cave paintings.

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Mobile oil change businesses are very difficult to succeed

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There have been many people who have come and gone in the mobile oil change business. It always looks easy on the surface and is relatively inexpensive to start with minimal investment compared to most other businesses. But most mobile oil change operators rarely make it past the first year. In fact, most do not survive the first few months. One has to wonder why such a good idea ultimately ends in failure. Let’s take a closer look.

First, the profit generated from oil changes is not enough to sustain a healthy business. After calculating the cost of goods from the total bill, you rarely get more than twenty-five dollars net profit from your typical oil change. And that figure doesn’t include the gas used to drive to the actual location. You have to do many oil changes per day to make a decent profit to support your business and personal expenses. Most fast lubes produce even less due to their substantially higher overhead, but make up for it in sheer volume. The most successful fixed locations are doing 60 oil changes on one bad day. A mobile oil change company, with one or maybe two people working most of the time, doesn’t have that luxury. The most a typical mobile oil change van can do is ten oil changes a day, and after that the operator is exhausted. And even if a person could consistently do ten oil changes a day, he still has to source those oil changes from somewhere. They don’t magically appear. Do you have a plan how to do that? Most start out thinking that corporate campuses will provide tons of business, especially if companies market it there. In reality, it rarely works as advertised and you’ll be lucky if you get 10 clients in a year from a large corporate campus. The bottom line is that the net change per oil is too low to make a viable business without a lot of volume.

Second, many mobile oil change operators are not very good salespeople. They are usually very honest people and passionate about what they do and you have to love that but I have found that most mobile oil change owners are terrible at the sales end. They’re usually the type that tries to charge much less than the going market rate and thinks they can tell a few people about their “amazing service” and wait by the phone. That never works. You have to go out looking for them. You have to do a lot of cold calling. You have to talk to many fleet managers and sell yourself first and your service second. Most in the mobile oil change business don’t fully understand this or it never really applies to this side of the business. It is probably the most important part not only in the mobile oil change business but in any other business. I will go out on a limb and say that if you are a great salesperson, you will do well to run a mobile oil change business or franchise. If you know cars but not sales, I recommend you work for a new or used car dealer for 2-3 months and gain experience. It will be tough and scary, but that’s the fastest way to get good, hard-core sales without a lot of “fluff.” Then open your mobile oil change company.

Third, the weather cannot be underestimated in limiting what mobile oil change operators can do. There are few states that have decent weather all year long. Half of the states are very cold for several months of the year and the other half are very hot for 3/4 of the year. Both are equally daunting. A fixed location can turn on the air or turn on the heat. Its operators work in a controlled environment. You don’t have that luxury. You may have multiple fleets planned for one day and it may be pouring rain that day. Have you thought about changing the oil at 0 degrees. Your hands won’t be able to grip that oil filter or it’s as hard as a rock or you can’t feel them. Or changing hot 150 degree motor oil in humid 100 degree weather on a vehicle where the oil filter is in the middle of a hot engine sump and you have to burn to get to it? Do you clean it and skip it or do you burn yourself to get to it? That will pass.

Having mentioned these three main obstacles, and there are more, I will say that it is not impossible. I have made a success of it. But I wish someone had been honest with me before my partner and I spent over $80,000 to get into the mobile oil change business. Jet Set Life Technologies sold us many unrealistic hopes and dreams of great wealth using a flawed model involving the extreme end of oil. They installed a good van for us and their product is good but their entire system is flawed from the bottom up. We found a way to make it work, but sadly 90% of commercial mobile oil change operators don’t do it. The success rate is very small. Understand what it really entails and if you think you can push yourself and not make any money for 2 or 3 years, go for it.