Looking for Homes for Sale - Suggestions for Home Buyers

By Alfred Ardis

Looking for homes for sale can be challenging and it can also take some time to do. Do not be in a rush to find a new place, because being hasty can cause you to make a decision that you may end up regretting down the line. It helps to have some suggestions from those who are more "in the know" to make your house shopping expedition easier and smoother.

Your lifestyle is not the same as everyone else's and that needs to be taken into consideration as you browse the listings for homes for sale. Do you want to live right downtown, or on the outskirts, or in a more suburban, or even rural setting? Do you want to have a large front and back yard? Where do you work? Where do you want your children to go to school? These questions all need to be asked as they play a role in the decision making process.

Once you have an idea of the location where you wish to move and you know what type of home will satisfy your needs, you then need to determine how much you can afford to spend. Meet with a financial representative to figure out an amount for a mortgage that you are able to afford (comfortably afford that is!). You want to know your price range and target it correctly. You might want to think about getting a pre-approved mortgage from the bank. This can provide you with the extra confidence you are looking for when it comes to perusing houses.

As you narrow down your focus on available houses, speak with a real estate attorney. Before you sign any type of contract or an agreement of purchase and sale, it is wise to have it looked over and carefully reviewed by a qualified and experienced lawyer who specializes in real estate.

Prepare to the best of your ability for your pre-delivery inspection (PDI). This provides you with the first opportunity to go inside and visit your new residence in a completed state. You can learn how to properly maintain it, which is an important element of becoming a new home owner.

Shop around when it comes to homes for sale. Do not immediately decide you want to buy the first dwelling that catches your eye. The price needs to be right, as does the location and a host of factors that are unique to your lifestyle and buying choices. Bear in mind that it is a big investment to purchase a home and that ongoing maintenance and the costs associated with them need to be taken into consideration.

Once you have done all that needs to be done and have found the right home for yourself and your family, enjoy it! You have spent a great deal of time researching and you have put lots of thought into where you want to live. Now comes the easy part, enjoying your new digs with the ones you love!

Not Tall Enough? Two Natural Ways To Gain Height

By Soumyadip Das

There are many taboos that are present in our society. Any kind of disability is still looked down upon by a large section of people; they make fun, they joke about it without thinking how the person on the receiving end would feel. This pathetic practice results in frustration among the people who becomes the punch line of the jokes. Such is the case with people who are not taller enough to "stand tall". But there is nothing to worry. There are various ways to gain height.

First of all one has to face the truth that after certain age gaining height is next to impossible. Many medicines and other products are available who claim to help you to gain height. What they do not claim is that there may be some side effects to it. You must be wondering then how one can look taller? I have two ways to show and obviously without any harmful effect.

Yoga and exercise are great ways to gain height. It is a long process but you need to give something to gain something and I am asking for your time only. There are various exercises you can do. These exercises, based on stretching, stimulate the pituitary gland to create more human growth hormone.

1. Jumping, skipping or playing basketball is a great way of recreation and exercise. It increases the stretch of bones and muscles.


2. Vertical Bend helps to stretch your spine. Stand, with legs apart and try to touch the floor and you will reach upward!! Bending sideways also makes your muscle stretch.


3. Lying on floor with chest downwards try to bend your body upwards. Keep your hands straight above your head. Stretching both ways is also helpful. You lie down the same way with chest downwards and hand above your head. Then try to stretch your hands and legs at the same time.


4. To increase the length of your lower body kicking is a great idea. Stand vertically and kick your legs without moving your thighs. It increases the mass of your knee bones.

Exercise is, obviously, time consuming and it not only helps with your height but with relaxing whole body and mind. So to gain height you need to focus first and gather up the determination within putting aside all the frustrations.

The other way to gain height is really interesting one. Here you do not have to sweat a bit to look taller. Rather you have to be very selective and conscious. Yes I am talking about your clothes. Height is something that depends a lot on your visual presence. There are some clothing tips that can make you 'look' taller. And these ideas are for both genders.

1. Always wear tight clothes. It helps to show your body structure or the body line. It helps you to look taller. The baggy clothes hamper it.
2. Wear striped clothes. It makes you appear thinner and taller.
3. Wear shoes that have heels. It is a natural way gain height.
4. Wear clothes which have fewer difference of colour and create the illusion of height.
5. If you have long hair then cut it short. Long hair decreases the sense of visual height.

So these are some ways you can gain height. All you need to do is to pick your choice and look taller in a natural way.

Essential Tips for the Internet Entrepreneur

By Beverly B Sutherland

Starting a business can make you rich. Opening an online store or going into eCommerce can have the same effect but require less money for start-up. You do not need a shop front right away. You can prioritize your website and entertain clients from all around the world.

As so many people open their own online shops and focus on online entrepreneurship, competition is at an all-time high. How can you make your mark and make a profit despite the number of similar companies? Success in eCommerce is easy if you take the time to focus and follow a few of these tips:

Have a Plan

You do not undertake an important project without organizing your thoughts and preparing everything. Do you see yourself as a successful businessperson in five or ten years? Are you a leading provider of your product? A plan will help motivate you to work hard to get past any problems your start-up might face in the initial stages. This is a lot more important for online entrepreneurs.

Professional Shop Front

The only way you can compete in the online market is by making sure your website is up to excellent standards. Consider hiring professionals to carry out eCommerce fulfillment services online. This makes sure your website operates to business standards while leaving you time and opportunity to focus on the nature of your business, like generating customers and producing quality products and services.

Think Big

You may have an establishment or perhaps operating off your home's garage. Regardless of your business' beginnings, do not lose sight of its potential as a big corporation. From the beginning, include business models and deliberate market research for targeted advertising techniques. Know your audience and develop your product to cater to their preferences.

Increase Visibility

Whatever you are selling, you need to be noticed as soon as possible. The demand for your products may never cease, but it could decrease depending on trends. You need to be a leading provider while the demand for your product is high. Invest in advertisements and online marketing techniques like search engine optimization and social media management.

Think Outside the Box

Do not produce what everyone else produces. Give yourself a unique selling point. Ask yourself why customers should buy from you when they can buy from trusted labels or cheaper brands. Do not be afraid to experiment with your products as you might come up a brand new product that can revolutionize your industry.

Personalized Customer Experience

The way you treat your customers can be the unique factor bringing in business. Personalization can be as simple as replying to emails in a prompt manner or engaging with followers on social media accounts. Customers will pay the extra few dollars if they know you serve superior service.

You can achieve success and even wealth by using the internet to its maximum capability. A professional website can be your best way to bolster your success.

Sharpen Your Focus or Get Left Behind - Don't Get Thrown Out With the Garbage

By Ocha Nix

You can't read everything you find in this digital world. It's sort of like paddling up stream in a river of garbage. However, what you can do is sharpen your focus on what is important to you then do what it takes to make something of it.

When you sharpen your focus, you will be able to filter out all the unnecessary garbage. You will get greater results when you do.

Sharpen Your Focus

I know it's hard to focus in today's digital world with all the social media input coming at you faster than a shooting star.

All the tweets, likes, shares, follows are coming at you from all directions and you find yourself trying to catch them all in fear that you will miss one.

If you sharpen your focus and concentrate on just a few topics that you find important to you, your digital life will become less hectic and more productive.

Find the Target

The first thing you need to do is find your target. What is it that moves you the most? Once you know this, you are ready to put it in gear.

• Find a place where it is quite so you can focus on what actually matters
• Listen to your heart before you do anything else. Your mind will learn to follow.
• Write down everything you think about that you want to accomplish. Stay at this as long as it takes.
• Take a break. Walk outside, do something fun that will relax your mind. I know this is hard but it helps sharpen your focus.
• Come back to your list and look it over. Add anything else you may have thought of while on your break.

Time to Take Out the Garbage

No that you have your list it's time to take out the garbage so you can sharpen your focus. Mark off your list everything that you find that is not very important.

If you have even a second thought, get rid of it. Once you have completed this process you should have only about five or six things left on your list.

Sharpen your focus a bit more and get it down to two or three items.

These few things that are left are what you should focus on and nothing else until you accomplish them.

Will other things try to creep in and take over your thoughts? Yes, but all you have to do is get rid of the garbage and sharpen your focus.

My name is Ocha Nix, and my career has spanned 31 years in the sales and distribution industry from inside sales, customer service and area manager. The one thing I have learned is that your customer always wants to be kept in the know with everything you are doing for them. Providing the right information and solutions while maintaining a positive business relationship has helped me build many loyal customers and memorable relationships.

6 Elements of Successful Investing

By Raymond Dominick

Success in investing requires both persistence and trust. Despite a history of occasional recessions and drops in the stock market, the overlying trend is upwards.

Applying answers to the basic questions of what, when, where, why, how and who will enable you to grow your retirement account safely or to build your everyday investment portfolio without fear of losing all your money.

"Who" is you, or your family. If you take control of your future, your financial future, like you do driving a car, you can take your finances ahead just like driving a car forward. Sure you may have to change lanes, stop at red lights for a while, maybe even change models but you can get to your destination and reach your goals.

"Why" is simple. If you are to protect and grow your retirement account or regular investment account safely and profitably you need to take some action to ensure your money or someone else's money is safely invested and will grow. If your money doesn't grow it slowly shrinks in value as inflation makes each dollar worth less tomorrow than it does today. And just keeping even with inflation means you are not really building or enhancing your financial future or your ability to enjoy retirement without wondering how you are going to pay your bills.

"When" is about when are you going to take action. If our last recession scared you and you have your money "safely tucked away" so you don't lose more than you already did you are probably losing unless you are monitoring with an investment software program that tells you when to get back into the markets after a downturn, any downturn.

"When" is also about when to sell your positions because they are stagnant or declining and to buy a new fund, stock or ETF that is going up or has the potential to climb and help you reach your goals.

"Where" is about where do you put your money, your future. This involves a number of factors:

• Do you choose mutual funds, ETFs or stocks or some of each?
• Do you have a retirement account or a regular wealth building account, or both or even more?
• Is your money, your investments in your hands or someone elses?

"What" is about different factors similar to "Where", but from a different perspective.

• Exactly what stocks, ETFs or funds are you going to invest in to reach your goals?
• What investment software are you going to use to give your buy-sell recommendations?
• What investment software or technique are you going to use to tell you when to exit the markets and when to start investing again?

"How" is about putting When, Where and What together. When these are together in a complimentary mode like a football or baseball team executing a play then great results will occur and strong defenses will prevent major losses.

For example, if your how involves a software program based upon relative strength investing using alpha analysis or relative strength momentum analysis (amongst others) you can get winning recommendations under almost any market conditions.

If your "how" includes a market exit signal then you can invest knowing that when the markets hit a pothole you will be signal to pull out and protect your money until the markets are rising again. Proftiability is the name of the game.

The "how" is also going to tell you what investment to choose and when as long as the how involves a comprehensive look at your investment choices. In other words you are not limited to just stocks or just mutual funds.

"How" is also going to take into consideration how much time and when you have time to take control and manage your future. Just like driving the car, how you like to choose your route or fuel because you are in control of your vehicle... and your financial future is equally in your hands.

Author Raymond Dominick is the designer of Dynamic Investor Pro investment software for stocks, ETFs and mutual funds. He has been investing in the markets since his teenage years. An experienced business manager and journalist, he has been a registered investment advisor representative, also a professional photographer who loves escaping to the wonders of Glacier National Park in Montana.

What Can You Do When You 'Hit the Wall' and Nothing Seems to Be Working?

By Greg Ferrett

Welcome to Monday

Some Monday's I wake up and no matter what I seem to do I just can't get going. Other times I get to Thursday and my energy is just gone.

I find being in Business or selling can be much like running a marathon. You are doing lots of things all the time and sometimes, like a long distance runner, your body and mind can become overwhelmed and you 'hit the wall'.

Dick Beardsley, a marathon runner, speaking of hitting 'The Wall' said, "It felt like an elephant had jumped out of a tree onto my shoulders and was making me carry it the rest of the way in"

There are three types of energy powering your life. When one, or more, of these energy sources is running low you face 'the wall'. Fortunately these energy sources are linked and there are simple strategies to get you moving again.

Powerhouse 1 - chemical energy

This is the physical energy your body stores up to run your body each day. Even when you are doing nothing your body consumes vast amounts of chemical energy pumping your blood, digesting your food and maintaining the cells which make up your body.

Powerhouse 2 - emotional energy

This is the energy of enthusiasm that brings joy to life. The smile of a child, the feeling of love, the happiness you feel when your football team wins. Everything you say and do is impacted by your emotional energy, either positive of negative.

Powerhouse 3 - mental energy

This is the energy of creativity. When you set a goal without knowing how to achieve it, and you do, you use mental energy. This is the energy of problem solving, decision making, report writing. In fact, your mental energy resources are a major determinant in the quality of life you have.

Each of these energy sources is closely linked to the other two.

• One five minute uncontrolled outburst of anger (negative emotional energy) can burn up the same amount as an eight hour day of physical energy.
• One 30 minute walk (chemical energy) can create the same amount of mental energy used in a full day of workshopping the sales plan for the next year
• Receiving a phone call (because you sent them a flower perhaps?) from someone you love (emotional energy) just before a physical challenge or tough mental assignment can recharge both of these energy sources.

When I 'hit the wall' and nothing else is working I stop and ask myself "Which of my three energy sources is dragging me down?"

Usually the answer is obvious.

• It could be I have not taken the time to build up my physical reserve
• It could be I have not been spending enough time with people I care about, or
• I have set my goals in a way I can't achieve wins along the way.

Today's question and actions

Are there times when you 'hit the wall' and you feel the elephant on your shoulders? Here are some things you can do to help.

1. Get out of the 9 to 5 mentality and decide 'now is the time'. Stopping a workshop at 10AM for a 30 minute walk is much smarter than wasting a day of planning.
2. Know you body chemistry. Start the day with a good nutritious meal. Replenish your body chemistry regularly with a balanced diet so you can keep your physical energy at high levels.
3. Build your emotional energy by spending time with people who appreciate you. Stop and 'smell the roses' and allow time to enjoy your life.

The more energy you have, the happier and more productive you will be.

Have a great week!

August 27th 2012

By Gregory Ferrett

Emotional Intelligence is today's buzz word.

Try two chapters of my ground breaking book on the application of Emotional Intelligence for free ( http://www.mondaymotivationalmoment.com ) or head to Amazon to purchase your copy.

After reading this book you will be able to pick a person's emotional style within 90 seconds and use my practical tools to engage emotionally and influence conversations. While widely applicable, in this book I provide simple everyday tools to use emotion to close that important sale.

You will meet The Hustler; The Artist; The Normal; The Engineer; The Politician; The Double Checker and The Mover

Like me I am sure you find this fresh take on Emotional Intelligence of interest.

The Secret to Making Your Corporate Event Memorable

By Sally Edwards

In essence a successful corporate event celebration has all the elements of a big home party. Invitations are sent out, invitees respond and preparations begin to accommodate your friends and guests. What, however, is the secret to making your event memorable? Having been in the entertainment business for over 20 years, I know the answer to that one. An event is memorable when people laugh!

Many event planners do not plan for this element. They assume that people will get together, tell stories, exchange histories and laughter results. However, we have all been to that event or party where the ring of silence is deafening. This often results when people are overwhelmed by all of the people they don't know. If a spouse arrives at a business party and is left to fend for themselves, this awkwardness can lead to less conversation and/or a request to leave early. Guests leaving early is never the sign of a successful event.

I am blessed to be part of a profession that works years to guarantee a successful evening of laughter. I have been a corporate comedian for over 20 years and I see first-hand what laughter does for a room full of people. It breaks down conversation barriers and promotes talk and personal connections. I have seen a room of people warm up to the idea that the night can be adventurous and fun. If a comedian interacts with the crowd, that guarantees personal memories. You can expect to hear the retelling of stories about the audience members who shared the spotlight.

Meeting planners appreciate corporate comedians when their humor is clean. It is important to put an audience at ease in knowing they will not be embarrassed in front of their peers. For this reason, it is best to hire a professional corporate comedian. As in any career, a professional will provide the best service because they are committed to providing the best results.

Humor has always been a part of my life and it is the key to positive action and thinking. When planning a corporate event, remember that your guests may need a little help interacting and forming a community bond. A corporate comedian will boost the energy in a room and it is more likely that acquaintances will form a stronger bond. Laughter is the secret to a successful event and good memories. Your guests will appreciate your making it part of their event experience.

Sally Edwards is a clean corporate comedian and author who tours nationally. Sally Edwards' clean comedy is the ideal solution for your corporate event planning needs. Sally has been featured on A&E's "Comedy on the Road" and the Showtime "Comedy Club Network."

How Many Rules for Success Do We Need?

By Jay L Arthur

Three Simple Rules For Success

Lean Six Sigma's Place in Business Greatness

In the April, 2013 Harvard Business Review, authors Michael Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed, investigated 25,000 companies over the last 44 years. From this analysis they discovered three types of companies--Miracle Workers, Long Runners and Average Joes--and three simple rules for greatness:

1. Better before cheaper
2. Revenue before cost
3. There are no other rules; follow rules 1 and 2.

Better

By better, I think the authors mean using quality to differentiate before simply reducing prices. I think they included faster into better:

• Lean will help any company differentiate it's services by being faster than the competition.
• Six Sigma will help any company differentiate it's products by 1) designing better products using Design for Six Sigma and 2) delivering flawless products using DMAIC.

Both Lean and Six Sigma will help any company deliver better products at a lower price.

Cost

The authors put revenue before cost. So the goal is to do a better job of sales and marketing, but they point out that companies also have to then pay attention to cost.

• Lean can help any company cut costs and boost profits by 20-100%.
• Six Sigma can help any company cut costs by eliminating the mistakes and errors, waste and rework that devour up to a third of total revenue.

So Lean Six Sigma can help deliver better products and services at a lower cost and better price. I've also seen it used to optimize sales and marketing. Faster response results in greater sales. I've heard from people who use DOE to optimize direct mail marketing campaigns by testing many factors at once--headlines, copy, offer, call to action and so on.

So, while experts aspire to boil their philosophy down to a list, there are often complex concepts behind those "rules" or "suggestions." May philosophy, which is a proven one, is that using Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma CAN help you develop your own system or philosophy that doesn't require a long list of steps that might stop you from moving forward.

It's all about improvement, even small improvements, that keep you motivated to make your business or personal goal on-track and successful.

I was thinking the other day about my first website and how basic and not-so-good it looked. When I think of the improvement steps I took and the persistence it took, I remember that is was continual improvement is all about. And, that is what Six Sigma is all about.

Using Technology to Improve Business Productivity

By Dan Barrowclough

Five Ways to Increase Business Productivity.

With the economy currently as it is, it's more important than ever for businesses to maximise every pound and every minute available to them. The age old saying 'time is money' has never rung as true as it does now. With this in mind, it makes sense for all businesses to investigate methods to improve productivity. The purpose of this article is to suggest 5 ways in which your business could do this.

VoIP

Most readers of this article are probably already somewhat familiar with VoIP. For the uninitiated, VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol - in Layman's terms - a technology which one can use to make telephone calls over an internet connection rather than a traditional telephone connection.

Over the last 5 or so years, VoIP has become increasingly popular - especially within business. If your business doesn't yet utilise it though, it can be difficult to understand just why it could be beneficial.

VoIP has evolved beyond simple voice calls. Service providers are now equipped to host full web conferences at the click of a button.

By supporting video conferences, it can eliminate the need to travel, therefore eliminating the inefficiency associated with travelling.

A study by Cisco showed that 48% of companies using this method realised travel savings of 5 days per year per employee. In the same study, 68% reported improved productivity between geographically dispersed departments.

On top of this, over 70% saw savings in travel costs of at least 10%

Managed Hosting

Anyone who has worked at company that manages there IT hardware in-house can vouch that a fair chunk of time is spent carrying out maintenance and/or rectifying any issues that may have arisen. Managed hosting is a potential solution to this problem.

Rather than buying, operating and managing the hardware, it is leased to you (usually) from a managed hosting provider. The hosting provider then manages the hardware and performs the day-to-day maintenance required to keep it running.

There are a number of benefits to doing this. The most obvious one is the computing benefits, having professionals manage your servers is likely to ensure minimum disruption and therefore minimum loss of business.

One point that may not be so obvious though is the time saving benefit. It frees up your in-house IT personnel, meaning that they can spend more time doing important work and less time carrying out mundane server maintenance.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is a networked online storage model where data is stored in a virtualized pool of storage resource - this resource is usually hosted by a third party.

The benefits of cloud storage are numerous. For one, Cloud storage allows stored documents to be accessed anywhere, on more or less any internet-enabled device. This effectively means that the days in which documents are limited to one device or one location are over.

Again, cloud storage can be particularly useful to businesses with frequently travelling employees. For example, cloud storage could potentially increase the productivity of their travelling hours as they would (could) have access to a full range of documents and files as they would if they were physically at work.

Different cloud hosting platforms have different benefits. Microsoft SkyDrive for example offers full synchronization with Office 365 - Microsoft's cloud based platform for the Microsoft Office software. This could be particularly useful for companies that frequently use Microsoft products and need a number of people to view/edit the same file.

BYOD

BYOD - or Bring Your Own Device - is a fairly new phenomenon, and, as the name suggests, is the practice of bringing your own computing device to work and connecting to the corporate network. It is sometimes referred to as the consumerisation of IT.

A joint survey released by Intel and Dell indicates that the reason for this could be that employees are looking to break out of the 9-5 routine and BYOD effectively allows them to work when they want, where they want.

There are concerns from some corners stating that BYOD compromises the security of their corporate network and data.

Other reasons stated for implementation of BYOD are to increase the competitiveness of a company and to streamline business operations.

Unified Communications

Unified Communications is defined as the integration of real-time communications methods including: Instant Messaging, Telephony, Video conferencing with non-real-time methods such as SMS, e-mail and fax. The purpose of this is to streamline business processes.

Unified communications allow you to see which methods a contact is available through, and actually contact them through the use of one single platform.

One of the biggest positives in regards to unified communications is the reduction of wasted time and minimised time waste equals maximum efficiency and productivity. The reduction in time waste primarily comes through a reduction in delay between communications.

A study by Cisco has identified that companies could save up to 20 mins per day, per employee, by reaching workers on the first try, by escalating IM chats into phone calls and turning group chats into web conferences. That's up to 60 minutes per day per employee.

These paragraphs really only scratch the surface in regards to the potential productivity benefits, more research around your business and your industry would be required to do a more in depth review. The purpose of this article was to highlight ways that the reader could then investigate when necessary. I hope you've enjoyed reading.

Business Cards - 5 Presentation Tips

By Jo Connelly

So you have a brand new batch of beautifully printed business cards. You've worked on the design, perfected your branding and feel sure that they put across you and your business in a striking and memorable way. Now it's all about getting them to people so that they can do their work.

The way you present your business cards to people can say as much about you as do the cards themselves so it makes sense to think about how and when you give them to people. Are you going to hand them out to everyone you meet however briefly, or reserve them for those you are interested in following up with after you've had an engaging conversation?

Whichever strategy you decide to follow, bear in mind these few simple tips to make sure your cards have the best chance of making the right impression.

1. Keep your cards in a cardholder that is neat and easy to open. You want your cards to be as crisp and clean as the day they came from the printers when you hand them over. Cards that have been tucked unprotected into a pocket might have dog-eared corners and look less than their best. However do make sure that the cardholder you use is simple to open; you want to be able to hand over a card smoothly without any fumbling around.

2. Present the card with the front side up and the text facing the person you are giving it to. Then when they give it a first courteous glance they will be able to take in the main message instantly, without having to turn it over, or worse putting it away unread. Contacts that put away cards without reading them first are far less likely to connect your card with your conversation after the event, as so are far less likely to follow up.

3. When you receive cards from others, do them the courtesy of reading their cards. Perhaps comment or ask a question before putting their card away carefully. If you have a cardholder with two pockets, use one side for cards that you are given. Treating a card with care rather than just shoving it at random in a pocket, gives the message that you value the new contact you have made and are planning to follow up.

4. in some cultures it is considered disrespectful to write on business cards. If you are meeting with people from a different culture from your own, make sure that you have checked out the etiquette that applies for them and respect that.

5. Some networking articles advise giving out more than one card to new contacts, so that they can pass them on to others. Use this strategy with discretion, preferably waiting until asked. It can often appear too pushy. It only really works when you have established a genuinely interested conversation, so that your new contact is sincere about wanting to pass on your details to friends.

Time Management That Keeps You Energized

By Peter Ziggs

Running a full desk, meaning bringing in clients and recruiting for them, is a balancing act of information coming at you from two directions all day. Both aspects of the job are equally important and require about an equal amount of time to keep an even flow of new clients and enough candidates to fill the jobs you have.

So how do you keep a handle on both jobs without losing control of your day, week, or month? Stick to a schedule that keeps variety in your day, and a consistent flow of candidates and clients. Here is an example of schedule that has worked very well for many firms.

First hour of the day - Lead gather for clients. Use the companies who advertise on job boards, decision makers on LinkedIn, companies where your candidates have worked, etc. If you were a more aggressive recruiter, I would do this work at home, at night, instead of during business hours. After you master getting leads, you should be able to get 5 - 10 an hour.

If you do this everyday you will have 25 - 50 new leads every week or 100 - 200 a month. At this point you have all the leads you will ever need to keep a great flow of clients.

Next Hour- Market your face off. Call all of your leads, don't put the phone down, don't take off your headset, and just keep calling your leads. Don't even take phone calls, unless it's urgent (follow-up, closings, clients, etc.). If the incoming call will have no effect on your income, return the call after you're done marketing. For every two hours of calling for clients, you should yield 1 -2 new job orders. After a week of client marketing calls you should on average get 2 -4 job orders, netting you 8-12 new job orders a month!

Next Hour - Interview a candidate. A good interview should take 30-60 minutes depending on the depth of the candidate's background and type of market you serve. Spend the time necessary to do a good job for your candidate. Extract all of the information you can, create rapport and build trust.

Next Hour - Organize all that you did in the morning. Present your recently interviewed candidate to your existing clients. Write up your job orders, put finishing touches on your interview and input them into your ATS. Get your agreements to your new clients, return phone calls and post new jobs on your website, job boards and your social networking sites. Prepare your desk for recruiting.

Lunch (one hour) - People have mixed reviews on whether to eat at your desk and work through lunch, or take a break, clear your mind and leave for lunch. I have found that recruiters who go to lunch, get out of their workspace, eat, breath and relax are far more productive over time and less likely to get burnt out, call in sick, and generally just feel better about their job.

Next Hour - Prepare for your afternoon of recruiting. Get your recruiting leads together and create a recruiting plan. You should have a very specific recruiting plan before you pick up the phone. Create and use a scripted recruiting presentation. Return any calls that came in over lunch.

Next Hour - Interview another candidate. Make it your goal to interview 2 candidates per day, every day. That's 10 new candidates a week, or 40 per month. You probably noticed that the interviews were scheduled before and after lunch. Scheduling interviews close to lunch or the beginning or end of the day helps keep you on track for the rest of the day. Avoid scheduling interviews in the middle of the morning or middle of the afternoon to avoid disruption of your client and recruiting calls.

Next Hour - Recruit your face off! Call your recruiting leads, and only email prospective candidates if you can't reach them by phone. Many recruiters prefer to email prospective candidates to recruit them. The reality is that many of candidates who respond to email are generally not the ones you want. The candidates who do not respond to your email are clearly telling you that they don't need you, and those are probably the best candidates. Recruiters who predominately use the phone for recruiting make far more money than those who use email.

Next Hour - Return phone calls, input data into your ATS, send out emails, lead gather, etc. The last hour of the day is your catch-all to tie up all lose ends and prepare the next day.

Summary

While your days will never layout this perfect, it is a general schedule that has proven to work very well and keep you focused on the target, while only working 40 per week. The schedule is designed to keep your day interesting and balanced between what you prefer to do and what you prefer not to do, in 1-hour increments. Anybody can do anything for an hour.

The important part of this schedule is to stick to it. You will be interrupted several times throughout the day (client calls, candidate calls, reference checks, follow-up calls, closings, etc) that will take you away from your schedule. Once the distraction, or urgent matter is complete, go back to your plan and don't get side tracked on new projects. You only get paid by completing 100% of the deal. You never get paid for doing 80% of 100 deals. Ask yourself "Can what I'm doing right now wait until later?" If the answer is yes, don't do now, do it later.

Real Estate - Great Investment for Rich Harvests When the Time Arrives

By Sooraj Surendran

The financial meltdown has seriously affected the real estate market in the United States. The real estate prices are lower than the value of the mortgage, creating a peculiar situation for the government, the financial institutions and the property owners. Recently the federal authorities have pulled up some of the major mortgage providers by for unethical practices of liquidating mortgages without proper grounds. This has offered a ray of hope to those unfortunate mortgage holders whom these institutions cheated without a conscience.

Many property consultants argue that, notwithstanding the horrendous past few years, the real estate in the country is galloping back to its pristine levels. They will foretell a glorious tomorrow with the return of a premium realty market shortly. The realty sector is going all out to woo the clients, with developers displaying their new properties at various Realty exhibitions and seminars.

There are however some area specific properties that are showing strong signs of recovery and the realty agents are making merry at these locations. For other locations where creating demand needs hard work, the consultants are wooing the customers with promises of gifts and discounts galore. Interest rates are at a 40-year-old low and this is really the time for investment in Real estate. For many, spending on real estate under these circumstances is a great investment, which can reap rich harvests when the time arrives.

Notwithstanding the plight of the down trodden, all over the world, the rich are getting richer because they have the financial ability to finish a new deal and leave it to appreciate in value in due time, when the real estate goes up. Several sectors of the real estate have seen a high growth rate, leading to the development of a new category of housing companies, builders and the Nuevo rich buyers.

Some of the key factors that count for development of realty are:

1. Consider wealth flow prudently and make sure of the return on investment
2. Leveraging funds in the belief that the real estate prices will shoot up and give you unbelievable profit
3. The best way of dealing with realty equity is to buy into it. In other words search for a property owner who is willing to sell the property for an amount that is lower than its real value.
4. You choose your property for the profits you think you can make on it. This is no doubt a risky proposition, but an unavoidable one for you.
5. Try to keep your liability limited, as realty investment can become liable to unlimited liability.

What You Should Consider When Looking at Homes for Sale

By Alfred Ardis

If you are thinking about looking at homes for sale, you should immediately pick up the phone and begin to work with a realtor. The realtor will be very helpful in providing you with the locations of some potential options, but it is your job to communicate which areas will suit your needs. Instead of just settling on a cheap house and ignoring its bad qualities, you should try to find a property in a location that will make you and your family feel very safe and happy. Don't settle for a house, as it will be your primary residence for years to come.

You'll find that some of the best available homes for sale are houses that were built within the past 10 years. Instead of purchasing a foreclosed home with a history of issues that won't meet your personal expectations, consider a good-looking house in a community that has a great reputation. Why consider buying a house in an area where the property values are consistently dipping? Think about how safe you want your family to be in your house. Always keep a high standard when looking for real estate. Looking for a reasonable deal for a house in a nice area isn't always as hard as you may think.

When you're looking at a location to plan your new life, think about what defines your lifestyle. If you're an active person, it might benefit you to purchase a house near a park or an area that offers recreational activities. If you have a pet that needs to be outside, you may want to live in a safe place to walk your animal. How much do you care about weather? If you're sick of snow and rain, find a place that geographically would be an improvement. Instead of letting yourself be miserable in your environment, try to find a place that will make you feel happy to be alive all the time.

If you think you've found a community that would be a great fit for you, take the time to do the proper research to make sure it's the right choice. How are the schools? What is the neighborhood like? Is there a downtown area with a lot to do? Are you going to have to interact with your neighbors much? Think about your social habits and how you handle interactions. If you're a quiet and private person, try to find a neighborhood that will allow you to be isolated and not out in the open all the time.

A real estate specialist can sort through homes for sale to find one that will tailor to your particular needs and interests. They can get people to inspect the property and assess a situation, so you'll know how much further work will need to be done on a house, saving you from any unwanted surprises. By seeking the help of a professional, you can feel comfortable knowing that the house you want will definitely turn out to meet your expectations.

Managing Your Property

By Sunil Bhat

A lot of people are into real estate investment, but they don't really have the time to spend hours and hours researching on properties and making a serious decision about investing in a property. This is why nowadays people prefer to hire the services of property investment agencies to provide them with investment consultants, real estate consultants, contractor architects, property advisor and real estate broker. You might need the services and help of the above mentioned real estate personnel in many cases. For example the decision of buying a home in a neighborhood that is far away from nearby supermarkets or gas stations. Another example is choosing a building structure for your commercial project or residential project that might somehow damage your property and also cause some serious damages to the nearby properties. You as a non real estate person can't afford to make these decisions on your own. You need help and this is where real estate property management comes in.

If you hire a investment consultant to provide you with right property management services then you can be assured that all your financing related to property will be handled efficiently and effectively by them. The main reason behind this is that these agencies have many experienced and knowledgeable advisors and property brokers who are familiar with every nook and corner of a place you are looking forward to buying. They are the people who can help you take a better decision before investing in a property for either commercial or residential reasons. You can trust them and take their word when they say that a certain piece of land is worthwhile while another one is not. These are the people who prevent you in making a bad decision which can cause you to lose your money.

For example in case of residential projects they make sure that all the home owner taxes and fees are paid off before you buy the house. They attend all meetings with you to make sure they have a full analysis report about how much you owe and what has to be done to make sure you get the property you are interested in. They will handle all sorts of payments between you and the seller and make sure that the whole experience become easier and simpler for you. All your headaches and issues will become theirs.

Real estate property management involves beautifying both the exterior as well the interior of the home or office you are buying. This means that both a strong construction and a beautiful interior designing are part of their job.

The Better the Home Builders, the Better the Home

By Alfred Ardis

A few of the most significant concerns when it comes to purchasing an existing property or working with home builders from plans to construction is how involved the homeowner is willing to get. Homeowners should make sure they are a part of the investment from the inside out. The work performance and knowledge/skill level of the hired home builders is important, too. With these values as the main priorities, many of the construction challenges and construction nightmares down the road can be avoided. As a matter of fact, the following paragraph will lay down a few examples of what can happen when homeowners aren't involved or untrustworthy workmanship is involved.

Whether you are a novice, a layman outside of the field of construction, or a professional, you know that a solid home starts with the ground it's on. Yet, many homes are built on expanding soil, renovated on deteriorating foundations or newly constructed in areas of undependable land and or climate conditions. Second, a homeowner should make sure they are hiring a professional that doesn't cut corners to save themselves costs on materials. Some will pocket more of your money to cover what they aren't making on other jobs in this market. The safety, insulation, and strength of one's walls, roofing, flooring, stairwells, doorframes, and windows shouldn't be compromised for any reason other than the homeowner choosing to be cheap. And last but not least, all permits for electrical, plumbing and gas should be obtained and seen before such work even begins. And any home builders who are conspicuously nonchalant about meeting state building code in order for a family's home to pass or exceed inspection expectations is not the one for the job. They are more than likely the construction team that will cut corners to save costs and promise warranties on their work that diminishes in value annually, leaving the homeowner with little to nothing of what was promised.

In summation, home builders can be life savers when it comes to finding the ideal land, lot, and layout. As is customary in any business transaction, read the fine print. Their reputation should mean everything to them. Any homeowner should be happy with the home builders they choose and only anxious about the budget because of unforeseen structural issues, not people issues along the way. Building one's dream home is a great time in his or her lives, and one of the most significant steps toward it is finding the right team to make it a reality.

The Benefits Of Working With A Top Realtor

By Don Dowd

When considering whether or not to buy or sell a home, partnering with a top realtor carries with it several advantages. In addition to locating the widest number of listings in the area you're targeting, a top agent will help you locate the ideal home at a price that stays within your budget. When you are ready to get out into the market and look around, it is good to have your initial criteria in place -- what kind of home you want, price range, etc, -- then find the right agent to proceed with. Then this agent will be fully equipped to help you land the right deal that you will be happy with.

More Listings

A great realtor is going to have a great listing service program online. This means they are going to have listings pop up before you can find them online, or before a seller puts the for sale sign up in their yard. This gives you a jump start on the market, and you will find out about the most desirable properties, before everyone else does, meaning you can put in a reasonable offer, if you fall in love with a property in the listings they show you.

Amenities and Features

A great real estate broker is also going to listen to your wishes. Instead of using online search sites, they will put the criteria in to their listings program, and will find what you are looking for, based on your budget. Whether you want a washer and dryer in the home, or an ocean front condo, a great broker is going to find the property type you want, as well as the features you want, for a price that you find reasonable when purchasing a new home.

Connections

A top broker is also going to have connections with seller's agents, and other buyer agents. This means they can possibly help you better negotiate an offer, or get you a lower down payment at closing. When you work with the top agent, you know they will work their way to finding you the best deal, and helping you put in a reasonable offer, to ensure you don't lose out on your dream home, and to ensure you are getting the best possible deals, when you are ready to buy a new home.

No matter what you are looking for, from a multi-million dollar condo on the beach, to a small loft or apartment for your family, with the right agent you will find it, and you will find it for a price that you can afford. Although you can do the search on your own, and use online sites, this greatly limits what listings you will find, and you are going to be limited to certain search parameters. So, to avoid these restrictions, and to have the most property options to choose from when you are shopping for a new home, you should search for a great agent, and one that is going to work for you, to ensure you find the perfect property.

Top 5: Cost-Effective Repairs for Your Home

By David M Nelson

Economy, economy, economy... that has been flooding the airwaves the past few years. No surprise that many homeowners have cut back on various activities, spending and making lifestyle changes to adjust to today's difficult economy. My wife and I do our part, but there are so many little things we all can do to save a few pennies or dollars here and there. After all the little changes add up... I suggest you take a family trip with the savings or just double down on one hand of blackjack!!

1. Repair leaky plumbing

Did you know a leaky faucet or pipe can waste over 200 gallons of water each single month. You are literally flushing your money down the drain. Grab a screwdriver or wrench to tighten up those loose fittings before calling a plumber. FYI... it is cheaper if you do it yourself!

2. Change your filters

Yes, you have to change your furnace filters more than once a decade. This is one of the most overlooked and forgotten tasks of home ownership. A dirty filter makes your furnace work harder thus costing you more cash.

3. Install dimmers

Dimming your lights can save big bucks on your bills and maybe add a little spark of romance to an otherwise boring TV dinner together on a Wednesday night. It takes less electricity with dimmed lights while reducing the harshness of typical light bulbs.

4. Replace shower heads

Swapping out the high flow shower heads to a lower flow can potentially save about 20,000 gallons of water a year. Lowering your shower hot water output will also lesson the bite on your electric bill. It is a two-for-one!

5. Caulking

Caulking around windows, tubs, sinks, etc start to deteriorate which may lead to a very expensive fix down the road if not in the immediate future. Drafty windows increase heat and cooling cost while porous seals around faucets can saturate the interior walls with moisture. If your home has no snow around the foundation during February, you may need to reseal your windows to stop the escaping warmth.

I am not pretending that I am a "green" real estate agent as being "green" is the latest catchphrase. Saving a buck or two helps out over the year so I may take my beautiful wife out to a nice meal or donate to a local deserving charity. Knowledge is power, my friends, so use it wisely.