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Car importers know that car auctions in Japan are a great place to find low mileage, high quality used cars at good prices. My aim in this article is to help you understand these car auctions in Japan better so that you can make a good, informed decision about whether to buy from them or not, and how the whole process works.

Why consider buying from Japanese car auctions?

This is a good place to start. After all, right now where you sit reading this article is probably many thousands of miles away from Japan. So why would you want to import cars from a country so far away?

There are two excellent reasons to consider buying cars from used car auctions in Japan.

First of all, the selection is immense and you can view all these cars remotely online. Auto auctions outside Japan may typically have a few hundred used vehicles, but only the tiniest auction in Japan would have such a pitiful selection.

In terms of individual auction locations, we are usually talking about over 1,000 cars per location, and sometimes over 10,000 cars (in the case of USS Tokyo) all in one place and being auctioned there weekly. Put all these individual car auctions together on the Internet, and over 30,000 on a single day is really not at all unusual.

So there is a huge breadth of choice. But that is not all. There is also a great depth of quality. The fact is that Japanese people just do not drive as much as people in other countries. An excellent public transport system and high levels of neighborhood walkability, in addition to the simple fact that urban driving speeds in Japan are incredibly low, all works together to keep people from using their cars very much.

Then on top of this the Japanese are fastidious in caring for their vehicles and yet it does not take long before the car they have seems old to them and they want a new one.

So, cars that are low mileage and well maintained are a dime a dozen. But the ironic thing is that the Japanese themselves are really not into secondhand items, so they don’t really want these used cars for themselves.

You can see where this is going: The car auctions in Japan have a great selection of great condition, low kilometer cars, but the Japanese people are really not that interested in buying them, so prices are relatively low and there is all the more opportunity for buyers from outside Japan to compete.

Car auction groups and locations in Japan

In Japan individual auctions are rare. They are usually part of a larger auction group. Here are just some of the more prominent groups:

• USS
• TAA (Toyota)
• Honda
• JU
• JAA
• CAA

USS Tokyo is the largest single used car auction location in Japan. This car auction runs once a week on Thursdays, and at peak season can have up to 20,000 vehicles all being auctioned on one day.

One auction group that does not have multiple auction locations (called kaijo in Japanese) is Aucnet, who hold their auctions on Mondays. Their model is a little different in that they do not have a physical auction house where all the cars are gathered.

Instead, they send out inspectors to car dealers who then keep their cars on their lots until they are sold. Since these dealers are still hoping to sell to a regular consumer at retail price, their reserve price at auction is often a little high compared with what a similar car might fetch at a regular auction.

How can you access the car auctions in Japan?

So far, so good. But wait a minute: How on earth are you going to be able to get a car from some used car auction way over there in Japan? You don’t know anyone there. You don’t speak Japanese. Even if you could buy the car, how would you ship it?

You need a Japanese car exporter to help you with this one.

Car exporters in Japan are set up to handle the process of bidding at the Japanese car auctions, transporting the car from the auction to the port, doing the paperwork and shipping the car over to you.

There are many car exporters shipping used vehicles from Japan, so this then begs the question of how you find yourself a good one. After all, we are not talking about trivial sums of money here, so it is vital you find one who is going to do a good job for you.

Here are some things to look for:

• How many auctions can you buy from, and can you access them all from one place online?
• Can you deal with a native English speaker who is also fluent in Japanese? (Nothing is more stressful than trying to overcome language barriers.)
• Does this exporter offer professional translations of the car auction inspector’s reports and help you really understand the condition of the cars in the auction?
• Does the exporter in Japan have good communication skills, keeping you in the loop about what is happening with your vehicles so you don’t worry?
• Does the exporter work hard to ensure your cars get to you from the car auction in Japan as quickly as possible?

Who will bid for you at these car auctions in Japan?

In order to buy from a car auction in Japan, the first thing you need is to be a member of that auction.

This usually entails being a registered business in Japan as well as having property as collateral and having a guarantor. This precludes regular consumers accessing these car auctions directly, so they tend to be a place where Japanese car dealers and Japanese car exporters buy at wholesale prices.

Japanese car exporters are usually registered Japanese companies and therefore have access to the car auctions in Japan.

Japanese car auction vehicle inspections

Car auctions in Japan have a strict inspection regime. Obviously the quality of the inspection can vary a little between auction houses since they are independent companies, but in general the grading system they use is very similar and easy to understand.

The cars and other vehicles are registered for the following week’s auction, after which they are inspected by inspectors who are qualified mechanics.

Now, it is important to bear in mind that these inspections are very thorough, but they do not involve any dismantling of the vehicle, nor do they involve test-driving it. They will often pick up mechanical issues very well, although problems which would only come to light if the vehicle is driven at anything more than the kind of speed you would expect in a parking lot can be missed. This is no fault of the inspectors, just a limitation of an inspection that does not involve a road test.

The inspector writes his report on an auction sheet. He gives the car an overall grading as well as a grading of the interior quality. He also writes details of issues that he has found. Some comments he writes in Japanese, and then issues like scratches and dents that relate to the car’s exterior condition, he writes on the “car map” – a diagram of the exterior of the car.

Remember you should not need to just rely on the overall grading when buying from Japanese car auctions: A good car exporter should give you detailed translations and help you understand what the Japanese car auction inspector has written on his report.

How does bidding work in these car auctions in Japan?

As we have noted above, only members of these auto auctions can actually bid. They do so in two ways: Either at the auction location (kaijo) itself, or online from anywhere.

The computer bidding system is the same whether bidding at the auction house on one of their machines or remotely online.

Bidding is very fast. Generally a car will be sold in anything from 10 to 45 seconds or so. The actual process may just look like pressing a button in a video game, but there is a real art to doing it right to avoid paying too much for a car – or equally letting it get away by holding back too much.

Sometimes cars will fail to meet their reserve price and bidding is stopped. It is then possible to make offers to the seller under the auspices of the car auction. Fewer cars sell in negotiation like this than are sold in live bidding. A good Japanese car exporter will handle the process of live bidding and negotiation seamlessly to get the best deals for his customers.

What happens after the car is won at auction?

After a car is bought at a Japanese car auction, the first thing that happens is that it is moved by car transporter to the port. Once at the port, the car waits to be loaded onto a RORO ship, or waits to be loaded into a container.

While the car is in transit from the auction, the car exporter will immediately start looking for bookings on the earliest ship, as well as doing paperwork to de-register the car and pass it through Japan-side customs.

Once on a ship, the car will take anything from a few days to over a month to reach its destination. This is mainly dependent on the distance of the destination country from Japan.

The car exporter will send the end customer the Bill of Lading, invoices, the de-registration document and any other documents that the customer requires for importing the car into his or her country. These import regulations vary from country to country so it is vital to check them before buying anything.

Conclusion

Car auctions in Japan can be a great place for car dealers and car importers around the world to find really good quality used vehicles at lower prices than they would expect to be able to find locally. The huge numbers of used cars in the Japanese car auctions that can be viewed online is another great plus.

The key to doing this successfully is to find a top-notch Japanese car exporter who both can communicate well, and also steer you safely through the process of buying from the car auctions in Japan.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to learn more, I have a huge amount of in-depth articles and videos covering every aspect of buying from the car auctions in Japan, including details about Japanese car auction inspections on my company website.

About the Expert Author

Stephen Munday has 12 years experience living and working in Japan, including 5 years buying from car auctions in Japan for customers around the world. His company, Integrity Exports, was set up with the goal of making buying from Japanese car auctions a stress-free and smooth experience.

This article is (c) Stephen Munday 2011. Permission is only given to reproduce this article in full with the URLs correctly hyperlinked and with the authorship and copyright correctly attributed.

The market is exploding with products claiming to improve the health and wellness of individuals using vitamins and nutritional supplements. People are now seeking the same products to complement the health of their pets. The benefits of appropriate nutritional supplements are overwhelming and can add several healthy years to your life, as well as your dogs.

Dogs Age Faster Than People

Longevity is attributed 30 percent to genetics and 70 percent to lifestyle. Up to 90 percent of diseases in dogs are due to the degenerative processes associated with aging.

Does Your Dog Act His Age?

Because dogs age seven times faster than people, major health changes occur in a short amount of time. Dogs are considered puppies for about one year, adults from age two to six, and seniors at age seven. Giant breeds, like Great Danes, age even more quickly and are considered seniors at age five. Signs of aging in dogs occur slowly, but generally begin at maturity, somewhere between age one and two.

Dr. Denham Harman’s Free Radical Theory of Aging, applies to people and pets, including dogs. This universally accepted theory states that aging is a process in which the body’s systems deteriorate faster than the body can repair them.

The changes occur due to oxidative damage caused by harmful compounds called free radicals. Free radicals are toxic, electrically unstable molecules. As we age, they are produced more quickly.

Free radicals damage your dog’s body similar to the way oxygen causes iron to rust. They are detrimental to your dog’s genetic material, his DNA and RNA, his cell membranes and enzyme systems.

Free radicals are formed each time we take a breath. Exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, as well as to environmental toxins, pollution, heavy metals and stress contribute to free radical formation. Your dog’s diet and drugs, such as antibiotics, are also factors.

Free radicals weaken your dog’s natural defenses and have been associated with the development of up to 90 percent of the age-related degenerative conditions we associate with aging:

• Cancer
• Heart disease
• Arthritis
• Diabetes
• Cataracts
• Premature aging

Our life span, as well as the length of your dog’s life, is ultimately determined by how quickly free radicals cause harmful oxidative changes to occur. Therefore what you feed your dog, as well as the supplements you choose for your dog are both very important.

Help Your Dog Enjoy a Longer, Healthier Life

Your Dog’s Diet


You are what you eat, and that’s just as important for people as it is for dogs. What you feed your dog directly affects his health and wellness. The longer and more consistently you give your dog an optimally balanced diet, the greater his chances are of living a longer, healthier life.

Dogs, like people are omnivores and can naturally exist on a diet of meat, fruit and vegetables. Consult with your vet to determine the best diet for your dog. Commercial varieties worth looking into include organic, natural diets such as Prairie made by Natures Variety.

Homemade, natural diets take more time and effort but in many cases are well worth the extra effort. Vegetarian and raw food diets are another option that, with careful supervision, may provide complete and balanced nutrition for your dog.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, a Border Collie in England named Taffy, lived to the spry age of 27 eating an all-natural, organic diet.

Healthy Dog Snacks


Fruits and vegetables are healthy, low calorie snacks many pets enjoy. Those rich in antioxidants are especially beneficial for your dog:

• Oranges
• Tomatoes
• Sweet Potatoes
• Carrots
• Cantaloupe
• Asparagus Tips

Oranges are rich in Vitamin C, tomatoes are filled with Lycopenes and sweet potatoes are a source of Vitamin E and Beta Carotene. Carrots and cantaloupes also provide Beta Carotene for your dog.

Antioxidant Supplements for Your Dog: Sooner Not Later


Recent research documents that antioxidants provide very bright prospects for increasing the quality and length of your dog’s life. In addition, scientists have found that sooner is better than later as far as your dog’s potential health benefits. Antioxidant supplementation started as a puppy, before free radical damage has occurred, can increase the healthy lifespan of your dog by up to 20 percent.

Antioxidant supplements, including Vitamins A, C, and E, the minerals Selenium and Zinc, and the nutrients Alpha Lipoic Acid and Coenzyme Q10, are the body’s natural defense against free radical damage. They can help to protect your dog by neutralizing free radicals and decreasing the resultant levels of oxidative damage.

Other noteworthy antioxidant supplements for your dog include:

Bioflavinoids, which help to decrease allergic reactions, asthmatic attacks and have anti-cancer benefits for your dog.

Green Tea, whose antioxidants may decrease the risk of heart disease and cancer and help protect the blood vessels nourishing your dog’s heart and brain.

Lutein, a plant pigment from marigolds, helps to protect your dog’s eyes and may reduce the risk of cataracts.

Melatonin, a potent antioxidant that acts to normalize sleep patterns. It also protects your dog’s brain and has been used successfully with cancer therapy.

The effects of antioxidants are beneficial and act synergistically for people and dog’s undergoing cancer therapy. In well controlled studies, people and pets treated with antioxidants (with or without chemotherapy and radiation) have tolerated treatments better and experienced less weight loss. More importantly, they enjoyed a better overall quality of life and lived longer than individuals receiving no supplements.

Nutritional Supplements for Your Dog’s Bones, Joints & Cartilage


Glucosamine is an amino sugar naturally produced in your dog’s body from glucose, which is your dog’s blood sugar, and the Amino Acid, Glutamine. It helps the cartilage between the joints retain water so the cartilage can act like a cushion to absorb shock and withstand compression. Glucosamine is vital to protecting the health and integrity of your dog’s bones, joints and cartilage. It helps to:

• Decrease joint inflammation and pain
• Promote cartilage repair
• Aid healing of damaged joints
• Increase mobility in dogs with arthritis and hip dysplasia

Glucosamine is also a normal component of the urinary bladder in dog’s and cat’s and may help to relieve urinary disorders.

MSM (methyl-sulfonyl-methane) is a natural source of sulfur that works along with Glucosamine to help protect the health and integrity of your dog’s bones, joints and cartilage.

Essential Fatty Acid Supplements for Your Dog


Essential Fatty Acids are vital to life and support all bodily functions in your dog. They help to keep cell membranes soft and pliable, so your pet’s cells can absorb dietary nutrients. They enhance your dog’s skin and hair coat and are needed for the normal development of the nervous system and brain.

Fatty Acids are vital to brain health and help to preserve mental clarity. They decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in dogs, cats and people. Fatty Acids may reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure, as well as provide therapeutic effects in your dog for:

• Arthritis
• Lupus
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Cancer therapy
• Kidney disorders

Flea allergies, food intolerances and bacterial skin infections can often be relieved by providing your dog with fatty acid supplements.

The proper balance of Fatty Acids helps to reduce wear and tear on your dog’s body by decreasing stress triggered increases in cholesterol and the stress hormone Cortisol. Research indicates that the ratio of 5:1 of Omega 6 to Omega 3 Fatty Acids seems to provide the greatest clinical benefits, surpassing that of any individual Fatty Acid alone.

Amino Acid Supplements for Your Dog


Glutamine is the most abundant Amino Acid in the body. It is the major energy source for the cells that line the digestive system and strengthens your dog’s natural defense system known as the immune system.

Glutamine promotes healing of the digestive system thereby reducing bowel disorders. It spares protein and reduces muscle loss during periods of injury, stress and high endurance activities. Therefore it is especially beneficial for pets recovering from trauma and for working and show dogs.

Glutamine also has many anti-aging effects. It helps to preserve memory and to prevent the harmful effects of Cortisol, the hormone that is responsible for accelerating the aging process in people and in your dog.

Digestive Enzyme Supplements for Your Dog

Digestive Enzymes are produced by the salivary glands, stomach, pancreas and liver and are released into the digestive tract. Enzymes help your dog’s body to breakdown proteins, fats and carbohydrates in his food so they can be absorbed and utilized.

Your dog’s production of enzymes naturally decreases with increasing age. Illnesses, stress, food intolerances, allergies and drugs like antibiotics also have a negative affect on enzyme production and function. This can result in a variety of digestive disturbances ranging from flatulence and gas to diarrhea, life threatening dehydration and malnutrition.

Digestive Enzymes are vital to maintain your dog’s overall health. They improve the efficiency of digestion so your pet’s body can utilize the nutrients essential for energy production and ultimately for life itself.

They help the body to recover from disease and promote restoration of good health in your dog. Enzymes are useful to reduce pain and swelling after exercise or trauma and help speed up recovery rates. Enzymes support your dog’s immune system thereby enhancing his ability to ward off disease and infection. They have been also been used effectively in cancer therapy for people and pets.

Papain is an enzyme that has aspirin-like effects to decrease swollen, painful inflamed tissues in your dog. Bromelain is an enzyme found in pineapple stems that inhibits the spread of lung cancer in mice.

Digestive Enzyme supplements may be beneficial in dogs with digestive problems, immune disorders including rheumatoid arthritis and arthritis, cancer and a variety of bowel disorders. They are especially useful in older dogs with reduced digestive ability.

The Anti-Aging ‘A’ Supplement List For Your Dog:

Vitamin A/Beta Carotene: Antioxidant enhances immunity, essential for your dog to utilize protein in his diet

Vitamin C: Antioxidant, needed for tissue growth and repair, enhances immunity, needed for your dog’s body to utilize Vitamin E.

Vitamin E: Antioxidant, prevents heart disease, promotes wound healing, needed for your dog’s body to utilize Vitamin C.

B-Complex Vitamins: As a group, B vitamins help your dog to maintain healthy nerves, skin and muscle.

Coenzyme Q-10: A powerful, newly discovered antioxidant. Essential for immune function, beneficial in heart disease and gum/dental disease for your dog.

Alpha Lipoic Acid: Antioxidant. Helps your dog to restore energy metabolism.

Selenium: Antioxidant. Works with Vitamin E to help your dog fight infection. Beneficial to dog’s skin and hair coats. Deficiencies linked to cancer and heart disease.

Zinc: Essential mineral your dog needs for protein synthesis, promotes healthy immune system, aids wound healing. Critical for hundreds of biological processes in the body.

Omega 3 & 6 Fatty Acids: Essential component of cell membranes in your dog and is needed for healthy heart, brain function and skin and hair coats.

Bioflavinoids: Enhances absorption of Vitamin C, has antioxidant effects and promotes normal blood circulation for your dog.

Glucosamine and MSM: Promotes normal healthy bones, joints and cartilage for your dog.

Digestive Enzymes: Essential for your dog to utilize and absorb nutrients from his/her diet.

Melatonin: Immune modulator, antioxidant, triggers restful sleep for your dog.

Ginseng: A metabolic tonic to promote brain health and overall wellness for your dog.

L-Glutamine: Amino acid needed for your dog to energize the cells of his digestive system so dietary nutrients can be properly absorbed and utilized.

Colostrum: The first milk your puppy receives from his mother. Provides your dog with antibodies to protect him against disease and aid immune function.

Exercise: 20 minutes twice a day minimum for your dog.

Balanced, natural diet: Feed your dog at least two meals daily. Fresh organic and natural sources are best.

Relaxation: Stress and anxiety affect pets and people adversely. Set aside an hour a day to relax and enjoy your dog. Consider massage, yoga and music.

Positive mental attitude: The mind-body connection is a potent promoter of well-being for you and your dog.

Pure water: Fresh, non-chlorinated water is essential for people and for your dog.

Copyright 2007 Dr. Carol Osborne

Dr. Carol Osborne is the inventor of PAAWS, the pet anti-aging wellness system seen on TV. VitaLife is Dr. Carol’s newest line of pet vitamin supplements and is the best supplement available for arthritis and anti-aging in dogs and cats. PAAWS and VitaLife are revolutionary breakthroughs, with all natural nutrients that virtually peel away the years, seeming to reverse the aging process normally experienced by pets.

Get FREE pet advice from Dr. Carol at http://CarolonPets.com/

Visit Dr. Carol’s blog at http://CarolonPets.com/blog/

Buy PAAWS and VitaLife dog and cat vitamin supplements and other pet health products at http://DrCarol.com/

These days’ pet supplies can cost you a fortune, which is not necessarily a concern for most when it comes to pampering their pets. However, it essential that the products, you purchase for your little pals, turn out to be the healthier option and provide the apt nutrition required. Some pet products tend to be tagged at exorbitant rates, but these products may not be enjoyed by your pets, or would not meet their basic nutritional needs. It has been seen that most people buy these supplies from online stores, or jut pick up something which they liked at the supermarket. However, it should be kept in mind that your pets have diverse requirements for nutrition, flavor, and health. You may opt for the latest pet product based on the television ad, but you need to keep in mind that what’s on the television is not real and should not be taken at face value other than the oddball television news.

Before you start storing your ladder with heaps of pet supplies, it is better for you to consult your vet. The vet is the best person to guide you about what would be a healthier choice for your pet. For example, there are separate ranges of supplies available for small and big dogs. These products are normally based on the dog’s capacity to chew food, how much they can digest, and also the amount, which is required by their bodies. Hence you should consult the vet on these issues, and thus purchase products, which meet the above requirements. Remember that your cat would not enjoy the taste of the biscuits, which were bought for your dog. So, if you’re planning on getting your dog to snack on kitty snacks, you’re bound to be disappointed. And if somehow you do manage to feed kitty food to your dog, better be prepped to receive some nasty morning surprises on your carpet.

The other factor you’ll need to keep in mind is that you’ll need to purchase pet supplies your dog or cat enjoys snacking on. It is not advisable to buy a new product in bulk because your pet may not like eating the same. Often pet owners buy huge quantities of these products on discounts or online sales, but the end result, hungry pets and a cartload of useless pet supplies residing on your kitchen counter. Also, there are chances that your pet could be allergic to certain kinds of pet foods. Hence, you should try and make them taste certain products and wait to see if there are any reactions. If you are planning to purchase new pet food products, it is better to get it in small quantities, check to see if your dog or cat takes to it and then if needed, buy more. The normal dog / cat food items ranges from the usual low priced products to the high end products, selecting the right sort can take some time, but some of the pet food products are not healthy for your pet, so do consult your vet prior to purchase.

Not all forms of pet supplies are appropriate to meet the nutritional requirements of your pets. Think about it, would you enjoy eating canned or processed foods the entire day? Then how do you expect your pet to do the same? It should be kept in mind that your pet supplies should be used once a day on a regular basis. You could use more only if the vet has asked you to do the same or if you are unable to make them regular or freshly cooked meals. Always check for the expiry dates of the pet supplies since there are chances that discounted products have crossed the required date. Remember, that discounted products tend be closer to the cut off date, so if you’re getting supplies at a discount, take care to read the expiry date on every product. The supplies for your pet include products like biscuits, chewing bones, tuna cans, milk based products, ready or processed forms of meats, and various other related options. You can either use them straight from the pack, or heat them before serving your pets. Make sure that you read all the mentioned specifications on the product so that you can feed your pet with healthy food options instead of the usual “come as you are”. Most of the pet products these days are more of “hype” than providing the usual value added nutrition for your pet. There are quite a few brands out there so sorting out through the lot can take a while. It is not only advisable but rather essential that you get an idea of what’s good for your pet by consulting your veterinarian. You’re not going to get this info off the television. Or you can opt to go online, read the reviews and make an informed decision all on your own.

There are some more wonderful resources out there like this site about Pet Supplies. Alternatively, for more information on other topics such look for sites like this one on bird supplies.

Cooking together has always been a favorite activity in our family. My mother began to cook with me before I started school. One of my earliest school memories was when I was a first grader: our class was invited to be guests of the eighth grade cooking class and we were treated to hot cocoa and oatmeal cookies made by the “big kids.” At the end of the party, we were allowed to help the eighth graders clean up, and I remember volunteering to wash a very large floured baking sheet. As the class was ending, I was still at the sink laboring with the industrial-sized baking sheet that was as big as I was. As a reward for my efforts, I was given a gold star on my forehead. Even now, many years later, I still remember that day as one of the proudest of my life.

And maybe it was that day that started me on a life in which my best memories involve cooking for myself, my family, and my friends. The best of the best memories are the times I cooked with my own children who have now grown up and have given me five grandkids (aged from 20 months to 18 years), with whom I can continue what I started with my children over 40 years ago.

Cooking gives children a wonderful sense of accomplishment and they learn early that hard work can pay big (sweet) rewards. Cooking allows you to talk to kids on many levels: they learn about their family histories when you use recipes handed down in the family (the names of their great grandparents, the foods that derive from their family roots in countries far away), they learn to follow directions, they learn to count (depending on their ages, this can range from simple to more involved calculations), they learn cooperation, they learn the joy of work that can give pleasure not only to themselves but to others, they learn to try and to experience different foods and cooking methods, they learn lessons of self-sufficiency that will serve them all their lives, they learn they must clean up after themselves, they learn to follow directions and how to plan ahead (shopping and prep time).

All the while they’re learning all these things, they’re having fun and so are you.

Children learn to enjoy food from the first moments of their lives, and they can learn the joy of cooking even as toddlers. When you cook with toddlers, it’s important that you concentrate only on the task at hand, and it’s best to limit your cooking class to just one short one at a time. I’ve found it best if the recipes are simple, and have an enjoyable anticipated outcome.

Getting started

These days, I’ve been cooking a lot with my three-year-old grandchild, Connor. I like to begin talking with Connor about what I want to cook with him. I describe how much he will like the dish, and when I get his interest, I give the recipe a fun name. I can keep his interest through the whole process if I start by writing the recipe down and discussing the ingredients and steps involved.

Then I plan a trip to the store for the ingredients. Again I involve the child. We look for the ingredients together, and we watch while the checker bags our stuff, and after we pay her (Connor learns that everything has a price), we go home to cook.

Washing hands is always the way we begin. It’s fun washing up with Connor, who generally resists washing up at other times — as he seriously throws himself into this activity when its for cooking. Next we gather our ingredients and utensils. And then we begin.

Fun and safety

I discuss the fact that we will need to warm up the oven while we’re making our food; explaining that the stove is “very hot” and that he must never touch the oven; and that he only cooks with me, or his Mommy or Daddy. I usually tell him about the times I would cook with Daddy when he was a little boy. This usually gets Connor’s interest. I measure out each of the ingredients, and Connor gets the fun and important mixing job.

If I’m using an electric blender or mixer, Connor gets to turn the appliance on and off (again discussing safety issues and the importance of not using these appliances by himself). If something has to be cooked on the stove-top, Connor stands close by watching the activity and depending on what’s cooking he get a chance to stir the pot (under very close supervision).

By this time, things in the kitchen are starting to smell really good, and that gives us a chance to discuss what we smell and to build excitement about the end result.

Connor gets the honor of greasing the cake or muffin pans, or he can roll out dough (with some help). Depending on what we’re cooking, he also gets the opportunity to help pour the batter into the pans if we’re making a cake, cupcakes, or muffins. If we’re making cookies, he can use the cookie cutters and later he can sprinkle the colored sugar over them.

Finally, we are ready to put the dish into the oven or onto the stove, set the timer, and anticipate the outcome. While waiting, Connor always helps with the clean up, and I admit this is his least favorite thing to do. But this is one of the lessons that are learned we must always clean up our own messes. It’s not all work. While we’re cleaning up, we get to look into the oven and watch the progress of the dish as it cooks. We discuss how the food will get to smell better and better, how it browns, and how the cake gets bigger as it cooks.

When the timer rings, with Connor closely watching, I take the food out of the oven and place it on the cooling rack. If the dish calls for icing, we use the cooling time to make the icing, and Connor helps put the icing on the cakes or cookies (and into his mouth).

At last, the dish is done and we get to eat it, sharing it of course with Mommy and Daddy, and anyone else who wants some. Since eating is a social activity, Connor basks in the glow of his accomplishment and enjoys the compliments and the conversation. In our family, after eating everyone helps clean up, so once again Connor is in on the action.

In general, anything that I choose to cook with Connor (or any other young child) has got to be simple and quick, recognizing that young children have finite attention spans. The time I spend cooking with Connor (or any of the kids) leaves me happy, tired, full, and contented; it leaves them feeling the same way, too, and proud of themselves as well.

The following are a few recipes that I have used successfully with Connor and with my younger grandchildren. I hope that you will try them for yourselves and add your own while you make memories for yourself, your children, and your grandchildren (or any kid who happens to be in your life).

The Recipes

“BaNANA” Bread

Preparation Time: 20 minutes Baking Time: 60 minutes Makes 1 Loaf

You will need: a large fork and a wooden spoon, 2 bowls, oven gloves, loaf pan, cooking rack.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

½ cup cooking oil

2 or 3 very ripe bananas

Pam or some other spray to grease the pan

* Note: You can add ½ cup chopped walnuts to this recipe BUT I DO NOT GIVE NUTS TO YOUNG CHILDREN

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray the sides and bottom of loaf pan with PAM and sprinkle with a little flour (shake out the excess flour)

2. Peel the bananas and mash the bananas with a fork into a small bowl

3. In the other bowl, mix the sugar, oil and egg with the wooden spoon until the mixture looks creamy and is a light yellow color

4. Blend in the bananas

5. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Break up any lumps in the batter and stir until the batter is smooth and all the flour is mixed in.

To Bake: Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. (Test

for doneness: if the top of the loaf spring back after you touch

it, or if you stick a clean toothpick in and it comes out clean,

it’s done.

Cool on the cooling rack for about 20 minutes, then flip the bread out onto the rack and cool some more before slicing.

Creamy, Dreamy Oatmeal

(to wake a guy up)

Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 5 minutes Serves: 4

You will need measuring cups, small pot (prefer a non-stick one), a long handled wooden spoon, 4 bowls, 4 spoons.

Ingredients:

2 cups of water

1 cup old-fashioned oats

Pinch of salt

Possible Toppings:

(i.e. the good stuff) Milk or Maple Syrup, Brown Sugar

or honey

Butter

Raisins

Sliced Bananas

Crunchy Wheat Germ

1. Pour the water into the pot. Add the oats and salt.

2. Ask a grown-up to help bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer.

3. Cook for 5 minutes or until the desired thickness, stirring occasionally.

THEN: Spoon into bowls and serve with the topping dejour.

“Butter and Nana Jama” Jam Sandwiches

You will need 2 tablespoons, a butter knife, and a cutting board

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread (or more depending on who is eating)

1 tablespoon strawberry jam

1 tablespoon butter (soften to room temperature to spread

easy)

1. Spread jam evenly on one slice of bread (again depending on how many

are eating) and evenly butter the other slice.

2. Press the jammed and buttered sides of the slices together to make a

a sandwich

3. Place on cutting board and cut into halves or quarters.

A variation that my family enjoys: substitute softened cream cheese for the butter and make Cream Cheese And Nana Jama Jam Sandwiches.

Shamrock Lucky Glass Cookies

Preparation Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 8 to 10 minutes oven preheated

to 375 degrees

You will need:

One (1) package of pre-made sugar cookie dough (may

be store bought)

Green hard candy (Lifesavers etc.)

Zip Lock Bags and Small Kitchen Hammer (or any other

thing a child can use to “bam” the hard candy to little

bits)

Two (2) shamrock shaped cookie cutters (1 large and 1

small)

Some tin foil

A cookie sheet

To Prepare:

1. Roll out the cookie dough and cut out cookies using the large shamrock cookie cutter. Using the small cookie cutter, cut a hole in the center of each of the cookies

2. Place the cookies on a foil covered cookie sheet

3. Put hard candies into a plastic zip lock bag and crush them using the kitchen hammer, rolling pin or any thing else that will “bam” the candy (the kids LOVE this part!)

4. Use the crushed candy to fill the holes in the center of the cookies.

To Bake: Place the cookie sheet in the over (adult only) and bake the cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Watch these cookies because depending on your oven, they may require less time to brown.

Let these cookies cool completely and then peel the cookies off the foil and EAT!

Variations: Depending on the Holiday or Celebration (or just because), you can use other cookie cutters and colored candy—as for example, Christmas 1/4Tree Cookie cutters and red and green candy for Christmas.

Pruney Loony Muffins

Preparation Time: 30 minutes Baking Time: 15 to 20 minutes in regular sized muffin tin or 7 to 9 minutes in mini muffin tins.

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees Makes 12 regular sized muffins or 36 mini muffins. NOTE: Kids LOVE the mini muffin size.

You will need:

Muffin tin (regular sized or mini sized)

1 and 3/4 cups of flour

1/4 cups of sugar

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

1/4 cup salad oil

2 (4 oz. Baby Jars) of Pureed Prunes or you can use Pureed Apples

1/3 cup milk

Mixing Bowl and Flour Sifter and Measuring Cups and spoons

For the Topping (goes on before baking):

2 Tablespoon Wheat Germ

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

To Make:

1. Sift dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon into a bowl and make a well in the center.

2. Place eggs, milk and prunes (or apples) into a medium bowl and beat with a fork until well mixed.

3. Pour liquid mixture into the flour well and mix until just moistened. Batter will be lumpy.

4. Fill greased muffin tins to 3/4 full

5. Mix the topping ingredients together in a small bowl and sprinkle the topping on the muffins and gently pat on.

Bake in the preheated oven (400 degrees) for 15 to 20 minutes for regular sized muffins or 7 to 9 minutes for mini muffins.

Submitted to Online Cooking by Maureen R. Sinclair

Options for Resume Layouts

There are many options of available to today’s job seeker. With a quick change of graphical elements such as fonts and style, the feel of a resume can change from traditional and conservative to creative and modern.

In addition, today’s job seeker has the added benefit of being able to mail and hand deliver resumes in the old fashioned way as well as surf the web with their resume.

A job seeker who wishes to take advantage of the many different resume layouts available, should be aware of when and how to use the various options, in order to get the most impact from their resume.

Printed Resumes

A print version of your resume refers to the version of your resume that is ready to print; either for mailing for job leads or for hand delivering to potential contacts.

This version may contain bold print, italicized text, bulleted lists and less well known fonts, however these should be used sparingly. Too many graphical elements can result in a jumbled mess where nothing jumps out. Design elements should be also be used consistently.

Whitespace

The amount of whitespace should also remain consistent throughout the resume. The use of whitespace in a resume can be critical. Too much whitespace will draw attention to a resume that may be lacking in skills and experience.

However too little whitespace results in a jumbled mess. Using a 1-inch margin on all four sides of the paper will generally result in an acceptable amount of whitespace.

Scannable Resumes

A scannable resume contains the exact same information as print version resume layouts but is presented in a less ‘fancy’ manner.

A scannable resume is to be used for those situations when you wish to cut and paste your resume into online databases. There are a few guidelines that should be adhered to when creating a scannable resume, however to avoid disaster.

Due to the high volume of resumes they receive after posting a job, more and more employers are using computer databases to sort and categorize resumes.

Graphical elements that would perhaps be used in a print version resume should be avoided in a scannable resume. While they might encourage visual attention from humans, they can be a death trap when scanned into computer databases. Some computer systems might not understand special characters and react by tossing out your resume.

Fonts

Stick to safe fonts such as Ariel, Helvetica or Courier. Use a font size anywhere between 10 to 14 points and refrain from bolding, underlining or italicizing any text. Also do not use any symbols such as parenthesis, asterisks or bullets.

One Column Resume Layouts

A one column resume layout is much more traditional. This type of format would be more appropriate for use when applying for a position in a conservative job market.

It might be a disadvantage when applying for work in a more upbeat or creative job market. All lines are left justified; objective, work history and education are placed in blocks on the page.

Two Column Resume Layouts

A two column resume layout is more creative. This type of format would be better suited when applying for a position in an industry that is known for its creativity. It would not be appropriate for more traditional type jobs. Headings are left justified while the corresponding information is placed in the right column.

Left Aligned Resume Layouts

Left aligned resume layouts are particularly good for resumes that are short in nature. All headings and corresponding information are aligned to the left.

Centered Resume Layouts

A centered resume layout can be hard on the eye and difficult to read, however this can be minimized with skillful use of formatting and style features to clearly delineate information.

For example, all categories would be bolded and underlined; sub-categories would be italicized and bullets would be used to draw attention to impact and action statements.

Indented Layouts

This type of resume can feel traditional, but the paragraphs can be hard on the eye; particularly for employers who simply want to ‘scan’ a resume. An indented resume features left-aligned text, but the paragraphs are indented.

There are many ways in which you can combine the above design elements into your final layout. To get the maximum impact is partly a science and partly an art… your best option is to follow the guidelines and aim to keep the overall design as uncluttered as possible.

Roger Clark has an excellent selection of articles on free resume cover letter writing techniques posted on his blog and if you need some resume cover letter builder [http://www.jobs-resume.com/always-include-a-personalized-resume-cover-letter] information then this is an article you should not miss.

Some people tend to dine out a lot, others tend to wait until a special occasion. It doesn’t matter which type of person you are, it is very easy to find plenty of reasons for dining out.

Of course the one time most people are most likely to be dining out is when they are celebrating something. This could be a birthday, a promotion, a graduation, an anniversary, or anything else. You can come up with all sorts of things to celebrate if you need an excuse. There are actually websites that lists holidays for pretty much every day of the year. You can also celebrate the end or the beginning of the week, the fact that you made it through another day of work, or just the fact that you are alive.

Another good reason for dining out is so that you don’t have to cook yourself. This means that you don’t have to come up with an idea for what should be for dinner (or breakfast, or lunch). You don’t have to go shopping for the ingredients, or spend the time preparing whatever menu you happen to have come up with. If you are short on time the fact that you can go out to eat is a real blessing. You don’t have to stress out over getting dinner on the table.

Sometimes you might just want to eat out to limit the complaints about what is put on the table. It is actually pretty common that everyone in the family likes to eat different things. Invariably this means that someone will not be happy with what you put on the table or you will have to make multiple dishes for the meal or prepare the same few meals over and over. You can get a lot more variety while keeping everyone happy if you dine out since then everyone gets to choose their own dishes and they can get whatever they like.

It is also the case that sometimes you just need a treat, or need to be a bit pampered. Eating out can accomplish this, especially if you order a dish that is too difficult or time consuming for you to easily prepare at home, and end the meal with a delicious dessert. Just the fact that you didn’t have to make the meal makes it a special experience, but indulging in special types of food can take this one step further.

For dining out guide, visit JP Pepperdine now.

Feel free to publish this article on your website, or send it to your friends, as long as you keep the resource box and the content of the article intact.

You may have heard the popular saying that ‘people fear public speaking more than death’. Whatever the truth of that claim, there is no doubt that a fear of public speaking is very common. If you are scared or nervous about speaking in front of an audience, you can take heart that you are not alone.

Today, perhaps more than any point in history, effective verbal communication skills are essential to success in all types of businesses and workplaces. The majority of students and professionals in all walks of life are likely to be called upon to give a presentation at some point.

A fear of public speaking can hamper your performance or even worse, cause you to purposefully avoid situations where you may need to present in front of an audience. It can prevent you from getting your point across, from performing at your best and advancing your business or career. I know all this, because I myself have suffered in the past from the paralysing effects that a fear of public speaking can have on your life and career.

Change your focus

The first step on my journey to overcoming this fear was to change my perspective of the problem. If you are a nervous or fearful speaker then you are likely to have an aspiration to ‘overcome my fear of public speaking’, or something similar. It is this aspiration that you need to change before anything else. You need to change what you are trying to avoid e.g. ‘ I don’t want to be scared of public speaking anymore’ to what you want to happen instead.

I am asking you to substitute a negative statement with a positive one. So your new aspiration might be something like ‘I want to become a relaxed and professional public speaker’. Once you have identified what it is you want in this positive way, then make it a firm goal by writing it down on paper. Review that goal every single day. Think about what it will mean, what you will hear, see and feel when it becomes reality.

If you keep on focusing on overcoming your fear of public speaking you may be creating what psychologists call a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. By focusing on what you positively want instead you create an impetus for changing the way that you think about public speaking and consequently the way you feel about it.

Your ‘problem’ of public speaking is ultimately caused by the way you think. There is no doubt that you really are nervous and you may have physical effects just thinking about speaking in public. But, all these effects are directly caused by the way you think about presenting.

So my advice is to change the way you think about you fears before you do anything else. Focus on becoming great speaker rather than avoiding the fear and nerves. I am not claiming that by changing your focus and setting a positive written goal will solve you speaking nerves. I am saying that it is the first step.

Practical benefits

The result for me of this process was a real interest in public speaking and a desire to master the skills of presenting. It transformed public speaking from a real fear into one of the most engaging and interesting aspects of my life.

Once you change your focus, there are many other practical steps you can take to achieve your speaking goals. I will write about these steps in future articles, but for now, I suggest that you cultivate an interest in the subject, by reading books and articles about speaking and presenting. I also recommend that you join Toastmasters International. This fantastic organisation has thousands of clubs around the world providing a non-judgemental, practical education in public speaking for its members.

If you were attracted to this article because it is titled ‘ The first step to overcoming you fear of public speaking’, then I suggest that in future you should look for articles that are titled ‘How to be a great, confident presenter’!.

Read more articles on Presentation and Public Speaking Skills at http://www.PresentationHeaven.com

Are you taking it up to the next level – are you moving beyond house bowling balls in favor of your own, custom bowling ball? Well, before you go out and make the all-important choice as to which bowling ball you should get, you need to consider a few things:

· It is best to have at least two bowling balls – one for oily lanes and one for dry lanes. And you want a strike ball — one with a lot of hook potential and power — and a spare ball, a ball that will roll straight and true.

· Make sure you pick out the right weight – bowling balls range from 6 pounds to 16 pounds. When you have a bowling ball that fits your hand, you can actually use a heavier ball than whatever house bowling ball you were used to using.

· Make sure that you get a bowling ball that fits – get the finger holes custom drilled to fit your hand.

· In general, the more expensive the ball, the better the ball! Of course, that being said, this is genearlly just in terms of price ranges. For instance, a ball that falls in the $100-200 price range most likely will not be as good as a ball that is in the $200+ range. Of course, within those ranges, some bowling balls are definitely better deals than others! And you want to be sure that you are not paying extra money for something that you do not care about (like a glow in the dark ball, for instance).

· Before up and buying your first bowling balls, make sure that you spend the time to carefully decide what material you want your bowling balls made out of.

While bowling balls have been made out of rubber and even wood in the past, today’s bowling balls are made from different materials:

· Plastic bowling balls – this is generally the most inexpensive type of bowling ball, and it is actually usually made out of polyester. If you are used to using house balls, then you are used to using plastic balls. They are very durable. They also skid more (making them harder to control) and are less likely to hook – they are good for dry lane conditions.

· Urethane bowling balls – these balls have softer coverstocks that give the balls more hook potential. These bowling balls can hook more because they have a higher friction surface than your basic polyester balls. To increase or decrease the amount of hook potential, you can sand or buff the ball.

· Reactive resin bowling balls – these are a relatively new type of bowling ball. Only in the 1990s did bowling ball manufacturers started to add resin particles to the urethane coverstocks. What did this resin do? Well, resin is sticky/tacky, and therefore increases the ball’s grip on the lane. It made the balls have even more hook potential. Reactive resin bowling balls skid on oil (giving them great speed) and hook strongly on dry boards. Experienced players can make reactive resin bowling balls work for them with many different lane conditions.

· Particle bowling balls – this type of bowling ball is perfect for anyone (especially experienced bowlers) who want great power potential in their balls. These bowling balls have textured particles like glass and ceramics to resin enhanced balls. This texture give the ball a whole lot of grip in oil, a controllable hook style, and a whole lot of power. Particle bowling balls generally have the greatest hook potential of any balls. Many professional bowlers use particle bowling balls – they like how controllable they are in terms of hook and spin.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and sports. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on bowling, please visit Bowling Balls and More.

10 Ways to Boost your Profitability

So many business owners work hard – really hard – just to break even or keep afloat. Each one of us deserves reward for our efforts, whether that be financial or personal. The question to ask yourself is whether you are directing your effort in the right places, to get the reward you want?

Of the businesses I’ve seen and worked in, there are plenty of ways to mis-spend effort – that is, to work hard – but on the wrong things. Here are ten of the most common areas where the return on your efforts can really be ramped up.

1. Marketing Inconsistently

Once you have committed to owning and running a business you must be equally committed to marketing and selling the products and services of that business. It is difficult, if not impossible, to stay and remain profitable without a commitment to ongoing concerted marketing.

To get more out of your marketing, create a simple marketing plan that includes marketing activity every day, every week and every month. Marketing plans combine formal activities (such as advertising, promotions and writing) with informal activities (such as making new contacts) . Don’t underestimate the power of talking to people about what you do. Use every opportunity, every time.

2. Fear of Asking for the Sale

Isn’t it true that we think asking directly for someone’s business means coming across as pushy or obnoxious. But if we have this attitude, we are letting profit-producing opportunities pass us by. Worrying more about what someone thinks of you than bringing more money into the business is an all too common mistake. If you find it difficult to “ask for the sale”, you can be sure that you’re not bringing in as much money as you could be.

The most effective way to address this issue it to practice asking for the sale in language that you are comfortable with (not too wishy-washy please). Write down what you want to say first, then practice it over and over. There is also plenty of stuff out there on handling objections. Prepare your responses to the most common objections so you are well armed before you speak with your prospective customers.

3. Getting help

Most business owners possess strengths in one or two specific areas, but whether by necessity or design, they often end up working in areas they aren’t strong in. This builds inefficiencies and potential for mistakes into the business. To compound the problem, we don’t ask for help straight away, but struggle on doing the stuff we are not suited to (saves money right?) But each day that goes by with your business running at less than maximum efficiency, means dollars lost from your pocket.

Work out where you add the most and least value in your business. Pay someone to help you out with these low value add activities. Your time is best spent where you add the most value. If you can do more of this kind of activity, your business will benefit.

4. Use your Existing Customer Base

All the research tells us that it is easier and cheaper to keep working with customers you already have, than to get new customers into your business. If you are not following up with past customers on a regular basis you are reducing your profitability potential.

Develop strategies to keep your customers with you, such as loyalty plans, regular communications and special offers. Implement a regular process for following up your customers after they buy from you.

5. Managing Expenses

Savvy business owners regularly appraise their business expenses and find ways to reduce costs without sacrificing quality. If you haven’t completed a cost analysis lately, you might be paying more than you need to be, which will reduce your profitability.

At least once per quarter you should review your expenses and negotiate for adjustments as appropriate. Categorize everything you spend under 3 headings: Essential, Nice to Have and Non-Essential. Everything in the last two categories is up for grabs – be ruthless!

6. Spending large amounts on glossy, slick marketing materials and expecting business to pour in without any additional effort.

Glossy brochures and slick marketing materials are a nice addition to more active forms of marketing such as meeting people, calling people and speaking to people. However, brochures and business cards, no matter how beautiful, do not replace direct contact. If you are spending money on flashy marketing materials in the place of marketing directly, your profitability will suffer. The most effective form of marketing comes from you talking about your business to others.

Marketing materials are an expense, and to be sure they are working, you need to get some handle on the return on your investment. At the very least you should be tracking where new business is coming from so you can get an idea of whether your marketing materials are contributing to any new business you get.

7. Spending a significant amount of time in low-return activities

Don’t we all know about this one! If you are spending the majority of your day completing tasks which are administrative in nature and/or which can be easily completed by other people then you are not putting yourself to best use. For most of us, the best value-adding activity we can be involved with is in bringing business in the door by building relationships, talking to prospective customers and promoting our business.

What value do you put on your time? Assign yourself a competitive hourly rate for the market and industry you work in – it might be anywhere from $100 per hour or upwards. Then ask yourself whether you would pay anyone that hourly rate to process accounts or do administrative work. If the answer is no, find a way of getting these low-return activities done for a lower hourly rate. Hire a bookkeeper or assistant for a few hours a week, and spend your time doing the valuable work.

8. Not charging enough for what you do.

This challenge seems to arise especially for people who sell services. Either we feel embarrassed to ask for the amount we want, or we simply accept less money than we need – so we get “some money” rather than “no money”. But beware, after a while, working for too little can leave you exhausted and resentful, not to mention the impact it has on your profitability.

You do not need to defend an increase in your fees either. It is normal business strategy to review fee structures, make changes and advise customers. And contrary to our fears, it is often the case that business levels improve after fees are increased. It seems that we attract a whole different class of customer when our fees reflect the value we provide.

9. Not making enough use of technology which could save time and effort.

As a business owner, you have a fixed amount of time and energy within which you must maximize your profits. Technology can help you do this in the form of autoresponders, voicemail, wireless internet connections, speech recognition software, SMS from your computer and so on. All of these tools are widely available to us, and are designed to save time and effort. Each of us needs to continually look for ways to make business processes more efficient by using inexpensive technology.

Often the problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know. Some wonderful tool might be available but we don’t know it exists. You need to stay on top of the latest products by regularly checking in with business and telecommunications sites.

10. Sticking with outdated business models or plans.

You’ve all heard it before – doing things the way they have always been done means that you will get the results that you always got. If you are not satisfied with your results then you need to re-look at what and how you are doing things. An astute entrepreneur has a mindset that is always challenging the way things are done in the business.

Another great way of coming across new ideas is to attend seminars and conferences on various topics. If you get a single idea to put into practice in your business, then that seminar has been worthwhile.

If you are serious about improving your business’ profitability (and aren’t we all?), then taking action on these areas will help you make more money and have more fun in your business. And that’s what it’s all about really.

Megan Tough is a published author, coach, facilitator and speaker. Her business, Action Plus, works with professionals to create sustainable and profitable income streams. Make more money and have less stress! To learn more and to sign up for more FREE tips and articles like these, visit http://www.megantough.com

People often think that gourmet cooking consists of a series of elaborate dishes of the kind that can only be found in top restaurants. It is thought of as a kind of cooking that is difficult to do and just as difficult to eat.

Gourmet cooking is felt to be something best avoided by the majority of people because it is too expensive and surrounded by social snobbery. Gourmet cooking is for the rich and those who have more money than sense.

That image of gourmet cooking dates back to the nineteenth century when French chefs dominated the industry. The best restaurants and the richest households employed French chefs.

Those chefs were trained in a rigorous system that aimed to keep professional secrets within a tightly knit group. The chef’s livelihood depended on maintaining his craft exclusivity. Equally his employer’s status depended on the exclusivity of the chef.

Today cooking is much more democratic. Few young chefs today would tolerate the kind of ritual humiliation that apprentice chefs suffered in old fashioned kitchens. Television chefs have demonstrated their skills before a wide public and college courses offer intensive training in arts once the preserve of elite kitchens.

As more people dine out on a regular basis the snobbery once associated with restaurants has become a thing of the past. The restaurant that allows its waiters to be rude to the customers will soon go out of business.

The food that is considered to be gourmet food has also changed. In the past the idea of gourmet food was to get as far as way as possible from peasant food. Today the same peasant dishes are likely to be on the menu of top restaurants. Simplicity and natural taste is everything. The rich sauces and elaborate dishes of old style gourmet food have been swept away.

A simple bruschetta made of a slice of bread covered in tomato sauce and toasted could be considered gourmet food. Yet a few centuries ago the same food would have been eaten by poor people.

The key thing in gourmet food today is the quality of the ingredients and the integrity of the final dish. If the bread is made with unbleached flour without any of the additives usually found in commercially made bread, allowed to rise slowly and baked in a wood fired oven then you are off to a good start. The sauce should, of course, be freshly made not out of a far. It should be made from tomatoes with the best flavour not the tasteless varieties that are usually found on the supermarket shelves. It should be well seasoned with garlic and fresh herbs.

A dish prepared in that way will be something out of ordinary. It will justifiably rate as gourmet food although it is, in itself, very simple and demands no special skills to make it.

Abhishek is really passionate about Cooking and he has got some great Cooking Secrets. up his sleeves! Download his FREE 88 Pages Ebook, “Cooking Mastery!” from his website http://www.Cooking-Guru.com/770/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.

PHP means Hypertext Preprocessor Programming; it is basically script based and server side programming language. Server side means the scripts will be in to the HTML but server processes on it first before sending that applications to browsers. You can not see PHP coding in source of that particular web page because the code is not visible, it only gives output. PHP is used to create dynamic web pages for internet business.

Some features of PHP:

• PHP is very helpful in content management system
• PHP can be used for command line scripting
• It can be used in relational database management systems
• Provides design structure to promote rapid application development
• It allows developers to write extensions in C
• It can be used in all major operating systems including Linux, Microsoft Windows and RISC OS
• It permits users to transfer specific files from their client computers to a web server
• It is flexible in database connectivity

In web development era PHP adds more functionality to your website, it allows your website visitors to interact with you through scripts.

PHP development services have many advantages like low cost and high performance. The other advantage is that the code is simple and easy to understand. PHP is widely used for frameworks and to design a structure. PHP is mainly used for the small business with limited budget.

There are lots of service providers in India who provide outsourcing PHP programming services with highly qualified and skilled IT professional. They are providing best services at affordable rate and always ready to fulfill all your requirements. If you’re getting good service provider then you can fulfill all your requirements and you can also earn long profit form that because the future of PHP is very amazing.

Steve Irron is outsourcing executive at Website Development Firm – an India based PHP Website Development company. For any further information related to PHP programming contact at info@websiteprogrammingdevelopment.com

My mother was of the idea that a man’s place was never in the kitchen, and this was ingrained into us as she shooed us out of the kitchen every time whenever we tried to get into the kitchen to see what was cooking. It might not have been the best or correct thing to do, and as a result, her children -the sons, including me, grew up not knowing how to cook until we were college going kids and had to live away from home and to start to cook and fend for ourselves.

Disadvantaged as we were in cooking for ourselves, it made us more aware of the beauty in mum’s cooking. Mum’s prepared food that was absolutely marvellous, both in taste and smell. Meals prepared by her were never ordinary. They were a delight to behold, a pleasure to consume – no matter how simple the dish was.

Now in her twilight years, mum can no longer cook for herself. She has bouts of amnesia, and old age has taken a severe toil on her. Dependent on others to cook and serve her meals, she can sometimes struggle to the kitchen and still manage to prepare a ten minute fast cooking instant noodle, much to our chagrin and anxiety. The doctor orders were not to let her near a stove for fear of a fit or a fall, lest she burn the house down.

Just yesterday, in the quiet of the night, I was able to recall times I had with mum when I was about to go to college. Vivid in my mind, as history started to flash back, I remembered words of wisdom from mum on cooking. We were always profuse in our praise and bountiful in our appreciation for mum’s fantastic cooking.And on one occasion, she revealed the secret formula that had always enveloped the food she cooked.

“In Chinese cooking,” she said one day,” the two most important things are to have a sharp knife and a hot stove. Always sharpen your knife so that you can slice through your veggie and your meat or fish. Cutting them up becomes a pleasure and not a task. Be sure to have everything prepared before you start cooking: the vegetables washed, drained and cut; the meat cut and marinated; the sauces prepared.”

“And get yourself a good wok – It is the one piece of cooking equipment you may want to purchase before you start cooking Chinese food. Always heat up the wok. When cooking meat or poultry, make sure that the wok is very hot before adding the food. If you are going to stir-fried meat and vegetables, stir-fry the meat first and set it aside. Then return it to the wok with a sauce during the final stages of cooking. And use a little cornstartch as a binder at the end of your cooking, if it calls for that. Just remember how the dish tastes like, the way I cooked it”, she said.

Throughout the years when I had to cook, her words of wisdom flashed back to me whenever I despaired over my cooking. I had seen my cooking improved, and had added more styles and recipes to vary my cooking in the later years.

“And the secret ingredient in all Chinese cooking is to add a little bit of inner joy to your dish as you cook. When you approach your cooking with this little bit of inner joy, you will have a song on your lips as you cook. Something mysteriously will spur you on to do your best and turn on the magic in your cooking,” she added.

That day, last week, when I recalled those words of mum when I prepared a meal for her, I could only add not just a little bit of inner joy, I tried my best to give her a physical massive hug of love.

“Vary your ingredients to add textures, colors and flavors.Then it is possible to find harmony and balance in your meals. This is an important principle in Chinese cooking.”

Mum may be frail and too old to handle a wok anymore, but her words of wisdom in Chinese cooking has helped us through the many years. Her simple tips for Chinese cooking may help you too.

In honor of my ailing mum who could prepare the best Chinese meals and dishes, a website providing free tips and cooking recipes with cooking videos, recipes and other resources is available for you. Visit Wok With Betty [http://www.wokwithbetty.com] to gain new skills in Chinese cooking and to obtain free cooking recipes covering the entire range of international cuisine.

Every summer, thousands of American kids go to summer youth camps to enjoy not only time away from home, but to learn or experience new things. Summer youth camps have been part of American summers for generations and show no signs of slowing down any time soon. A summer youth camp offers a wealth of possible adventures or learning experiences for kids.

Summer camps can be religious based or adventure camps, swimming camps, horseback-riding camps, or wilderness camps. The sky’s the limit when it comes to the number of activities and duration of camps, and parents can choose from several day, to several week to month long stays.

Most camps offer openings to children seven to eighteen years of age, and depending on location and time of year, anything from cabins to tents to under-the-stars arrangements can be made. Some camps emphasize wilderness skills and camping while others are stable communities that offer swimming, crafts and other base-camp type recreation like tennis, soccer or other sports. Some camps focus on horseback riding or hiking and mountain climbing while others cater to indoor pursuits.

Summer camps offer kids of all ages the opportunity to meet new people, make new friends, and learn skills that they wouldn’t necessarily learn at home. Wilderness skills are a big part of most camps, but others teach different skills. Most summer camps offer a wide variety of activities for all age groups, and camp counselors oversee small groups of kids for each portion of their camp life experience. Most camps offer cabin dwelling in dorm-style quarters, with separate sections for boys and girls, who then come together for meals or group activities or games. Other camps cater to one gender or even focus on particular aspects of a summer camp experience, such as horseback riding or hiking pursuits.

Summer youth camps also offer a way for children of all ages and backgrounds to broaden their horizons and experience new situations, especially when children from different parts of the state or country come together under one roof. City children mingle with those raised in the country, which offers a unique way for each to appreciate different cultures and ways of living.

Most camps also teach children leaderships skills as well as learning how to get along with one another, in addition to learning positive skills in adapting to difficulties or problems. Religious based summer camps offer campers focused religious lessons while a wilderness adventure camps will enable campers to get out and enjoy the great outdoors to their heart’s content.

Camps can be expensive, but good deals are always to be had if you know where to look. If you’re thinking of finding a summer youth camp for your child, make sure you check things like child to adult ratio, camp counselor ratio, first aid facilities, and anything else you’re concerned about. Summer camps offer unlimited choices when it comes to keeping kids happy and entertained every summer, and memories of a good summer camp can last a lifetime.

Still looking for the perfect summer camp? Try visiting http://www.aboutcamps.com – a website that specializes in providing camp advice, tips and resources including information on summer youth camps.

Gourmet cooking seems to be hopelessly beyond the reach of most of us. We are used to preparing a hurried meal for our families or carefully following the instructions in a recipe book when we have guests to dinner. Gourmet cooking seems to be the preserve of five star restaurants and top professional chefs who have access to the most luxurious ingredients.

But gourmet cooking can be achieved at home if you are willing to devote some time and attention to it. Gourmet cooking is essentially good cooking that uses the best ingredients and has a certain integrity to it.

Gourmet cooking can be simple food. Increasingly, even top restaurants are serving food that would once have been regarded as the food of poor people. But today when our palates are assaulted by some much processed food this kind of food has an authenticity that most of our diet lacks.

A simple meal of cheese sourced from a farm’s own dairy and hand made bread is a gourmet meal. A braised leg of spring lamb with minted new potatoes dug up only hours ago is a gourmet cooking.

Regional specialties cooked slowly with care and attention are gourmet cooking. When most food is fast food, slow food is gourmet food.

If gourmet cooking is about paying attention to ingredients it is also about paying attention to yourself. A gourmet cook must have integrity too. It is important to take pride in yourself. Hone your skills and always be prepared to learn more.

Books are useful. The best books are those that explain techniques rather than just give you recipes. It is your skill in technique that will make you a gourmet cook once you have good quality ingredients.

Some skills need to be learned from the experts. Consider enrolling on a course. A few days spent with a chef, a baker or a butcher will impart skills that cannot be picked up from a book. Not least working with a real artist in these trades will inspire you in your quest to become a gourmet cook.

Equipment is important to a gourmet cook. This doesn’t mean acquiring a battery of fancy gadgets. All you need are knives and pans but they should be of the best quality you can afford. That goes especially for knives and take care to keep them sharp. Have respect for your equipment and it will help you to become a gourmet cook.

If one word sums up what being a gourmet cook means it is that – respect. As a gourmet cook you must respect your ingredients, the skills of others, your diners, your equipment, and above all yourself. That is the only way to become a gourmet cook.

Abhishek is really passionate about Cooking and he has got some great Cooking Secrets. up his sleeves! Download his FREE 88 Pages Ebook, “Cooking Mastery!” from his website http://www.Cooking-Guru.com/770/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.

Celebrities often choose unique and unusual baby names for their offspring. Some of the trendiest celebrity baby names and their meanings can be found here. These baby names can provide inspiration for choosing a unique name for your own baby.

Girl’s Names:

Apple: Origin: English, Meaning: Apple.

Celebrity Parents: Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin

Ava: Origin: German, Meaning: A bird.

Celebrity Parents: Reese Witherspoon, Heather Locklear.

Coco: Origin: Spanish, Meaning: Coconut.

Celebrity Parents: Courtney Cox Arquette and David Arquette

Ella: Origin: English, Meaning: Beautiful fairy woman.

Celebrity Parents: John Travolta, Ben Stiller, Eric Clapton, Mark Wahlberg & Rhea Durham.

Georgia: Origin: Greek Meaning: Female version of George, meaning a farmer.

Celebrity Parents: Harry Connick Jr., Harrison Ford, Mick Jagger & Jerry Hall.

Leila: Origin: Hebrew, Meaning: Dark Beauty.

Celebrity Parents: Greta Scacci & Vincent D’Onofrio

Lola: Origin: Spanish, Meaning: Strong Woman.

Celebrity Parents: Kate Moss, Jennie Garth, Chris Rock.

Matilda: Origin: German, Meaning: Might, Power.

Celebrity Parents: Michelle Williams & Heath Ledger

Sailor: Origin: English, Meaning: Sailor.

Celebrity Parents: Christie Brinkley & Peter Cook

Shiloh: Origin: Hebrew, Meaning: God’s Gift.

Celebrity Parents: Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt

Sophia: Origin: Greek, Meaning: Form of Sophie, meaning wisdom.

Celebrity Parents: Francis Ford Coppola, Sylvester Stallone & Jennifer Flavin.

Stella: Origin: Greek, Meaning: A star.

Celebrity Parents: Melanie Griffith & Antonio Banderas.

Suri: Origin: Hebrew, Meaning: Red Rose, Princess.

Celebrity Parents: Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes

Boy’s Names:

Banjo: Origin: English, Meaning: Banjo.

Celebrity Parents: Patrick and Rachel Griffiths

Bogart: Origin: German, Meaning: Bowstring.

Celebrity Parents: David “Puck” Rainey & Betty Rainey

Dashiell: Origin: Unknown, Meaning: Unknown.

Celebrity Parents: Alice Cooper. (Also, Mr. Incredible’s named his son Dashiell Robert Parr or “Dash”)

Indiana: Origin: English, Meaning: The country India.

Celebrity Parents: Casey Affleck and Summer Phoenix

Joaquin: Origin: Spanish, Meaning: Abbreviation of the Hebrew name Jehoichin, meaning “Jehovah has established.”

Celebrity Parents: Kelly Ripa.

Jaden: Origin: Hebrew, Meaning: Jehovah has heard.

Celebrity Parents: Will Smith, Christian Slater, Andre Agassi.

Liam: Origin: Irish, Meaning: Unwavering protector.

Celebrity Parents: Calista Flockhart.

Maddox: Origin: Welsh, Meaning: Son of the Patron.

Celebrity Parents: Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt

Marlon: Origin: English, Meaning: Sea of Bitterness.

Celebrity Parents: Dennis Miller

Myles: Origin: German, Meaning: Millstone.

Celebrity Parents: Sherilynn Finn & Toulouse Hardy, Eddie Murphy

Oliver: Origin: Latin, Meaning: Olive Tree.

Celebrity Parents: Bridget Fonda & Danny Elfman

Presley: Origin: English, Meaning: From the priest’s meadow.

Celebrity Parents: Cindy Crawford.

Reed: Origin: English, Meaning: Redheaded.

Celebrity Parents: Ron Howard.

Ryder: Origin: English, Meaning: Knight.

Celebrity Parents: Kate Hudson & Chris Robinson

Seven: Origin: Unknown, Meaning: Unknown.

Celebrity Parents: Erykah Badu & Andre Benjamin (Andre 3000 of Outkast)

Article written by Trisha Jones, owner of the hip maternity and baby boutique, Stella Maternity, offering trendy maternity clothes and cool baby clothes. http://www.stellamaternity.com
Trisha also writes for the blog, S.M.N., the place to find news about celebrity babies and the latest trends in maternity and baby clothes. http://stellamaternity.blogspot.com

Choosing a child care center is one of the most important decisions that a working parent will make to help ensure the health, safety, and overall well being of their child while they must be away from them. Thousands of children are treated in emergency rooms for injuries sustained at child care centers or childcare homes each year in addition to those instances of abuse or neglect. Sadly, some of those children will lose their lives.

There are precautions that can be taken t help ensure that a child will be properly cared for while a parent is at work. The first question a parent should ask is whether the childcare center or childcare home has an open door policy. If the answer is no, that provider should not be selected. Next, a parent should ask the potential provider whether they have been licensed by the state’s childcare licensing department to operate a childcare center or home and whether the certification is current.

Check to see that staff has been trained on blood borne pathogens. With diseases like AIDS, Hepatitis B, etc., and anti-biotic resistant strains of various infections, make sure childcare staff always wear plastic gloves when changing diapers and administering first aid, and that gloves and diapers are disposed of in a separate trash container labeled bodily fluids’. All trash cans should have plastic bags inside and locking lids. All trash should be taken out at the end of every day.

Parents should not be afraid to ask to see the license and most recent inspection date. Find out how many infants, toddlers, and older children they are licensed for and how many children are currently being cared for. Make sure staff has had a background check by the local police department and the state investigative agency. Health and Human Service agencies and local police departments will usually submit a request for a background check on a parent’s behalf for a nominal fee.

Parents should also find out if childcare staff has been trained on child abuse and neglect and the state reporting requirements for suspected child abuse. With an increasing number of incidents of domestic violence and kidnapping by non-custodial parents and other caregivers, parents should find out if doors are kept locked during the hours the center is open for operation and how the childcare provider ascertains that only approved persons are picking up a child and if they have a form that can be signed designating who can and cannot pick a child up?

Other training staff should have had is on positive discipline, nutrition, child development, how to prepare and store food, food allergies and food borne illnesses and the proper storage and handling of food, etc. Staff should be re-certification annually on administering infant CPR, other CPR, choking, and the care of infants, toddlers and pre-school age children by the local American Red Cross, hospital, or other person or agency that have staff certified to be trainers. Make sure there is enough staff to care for the number of children in the center or private childcare home.

Take a walk through the childcare center or childcare home, including outdoor play areas, and the kitchen where food is prepared. Make sure cleaning supplies and other hazardous materials are stored in containers with tight fitting lids and that spray bottles are turned off and everything placed in a locked cabinet well out the reach of children, and that surfaces are clean. Many accidents in childcare centers occur when children accidentally come into contact with toxic materials because someone forgot to properly store cleaning supplies or failed to return them to a locked cabinet.

To ensure their child’s safety parents should make sure that tables are wiped down with warm soapy water after meals and that other cleaning materials that may be more toxic are only used to wipe down tables, cupboards, and bathrooms after the child care center or home is closed for the day and is followed up with a secondary wipe down with just hot water. Also look around and make sure electrical outlets that have safety covers in place to keep children from sticking things into the sockets and getting shocked.

Outdoor play areas should contain equipment that is of a proper height for younger children to minimize the danger of getting injured by a fall. Check to see that there is ample room between pieces of equipment, that the play area is completely enclosed with a locking gate and that there are no splinters, jagged wires, etc. children could get hurt on.

Find out if staff goes outside with the children to supervise and oversee their safety and wellbeing. If possible outdoor play areas should have a thick covering of wood chips or soft rubber matting under equipment to soften a fall. (The wood chips or rubber matting is helpful but not required as they can be an expensive purchase, especially for a private childcare home). Large childcare centers should keep playground equipment and things like trikes that are used by older children separated from equipment for children under five.

A fire and evacuation contingency plan, a floor plan and emergency contact numbers should be posted on a wall or a bulletin board where the can be easily seen if needed. Depending on the area of the country a parent lives in, providers should have a plan for tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. Ask staff if children are talked to about what to do if there is a fire on-site and if fire drills are scheduled regularly.

How a childcare provider stores medication is also important for the health of all children. Parents need to ask the provider how they store medication that has to be kept cold, if there is a first aid kit that includes ipecac, and if medication is kept in a locked cabinet or box and stored out of the reach of children. Ask to see the dates on first aid supplies and where the medication is stored.

In order to assure there will not be any risk from medications children have been prescribed, parents should try and schedule their child’s medicine to be administered at home. Of course, if a child has a medical condition like diabetes or asthma, this will not be possible. Make sure the childcare provider stores each child’s medication in a separate zip loc bag with the child’s name on the bag as an extra precaution. Parents should also look to see if a provider posts any allergies a child may have to a medication, food, etc. where other parents cannot see the names of the children while making sure that staff have easy access to the list.

With the increase in unsafe toys and in light of the recent recalls of hundreds of toys made overseas because of lead paint, choking hazards, etc. a parent should ask the childcare provider if they have a current and updated list of recalled products as a visible reminder to not purchase potentially dangerous children’s toys and other products, including infant formula. If the provider does not have a list, parents can ask them to get one as a list can be downloaded and printed off the internet.

Safety gates should be placed tightly in front of stairs, kitchen and laundry doorways, basements, porches, utility areas, or other places that are open. Ensure that basement doors have safety locks that are high enough children cannot reach them and that there are child safety locks on cupboards, refrigerators, oven doors and microwaves. Check to make sure cords are not looped, so there is no potential for hanging.

For infants, childcare providers should have cribs with a certification safety seal, slats should be no more than two and three eighths inches apart and mattresses should fit snugly. Ask providers how infants are placed in a crib to sleep, making sure they are put down on their backs without pillows or comforters.

Once a childcare center or home has been selected and a child is in attendance, parents need to be sensitive to any changes in their child’s behavior. If the child develops a fear of the provider, a staff person, or going to the childcare center parents should follow up by asking heir child questions and by scheduling a meeting with the center or home operator to discuss any concerns. If a child continues to exhibit fear, cries or screams and clings to their parent or other caregiver, parents might want to consider finding another childcare home or center.

Parents can never do too much to make sure that their child, or the child of a friend or relative, will be cared for in a healthy and safe childcare environment. These guidelines will help in selecting the best provider and help a parent be less stressed at work. A checklist could be made to help with inspecting the childcare setting a child will exposed to.

As an early childhood education consultant I have, at times, had to inspect a childcare center or private childcare home. The guidelines set down in this article are things that I have looked at and received training for. When choosing a childcare provider a parent can never be too careful.

copyright 2009 by Jerrie DeRose

Jerrie DeRose – Early Childhood Education Consultant

What’s the most important word in marketing?

Free?

Why?

Truth?

Honesty?

Integrity?

At first glance, it seems like a simple question. But the more you think about it, the more complex it gets. One could probably argue any number of answers based on his beliefs, values or type of business.

But is there really one word that’s more important than all the others?
One word without which your marketing efforts will be successful?

I recently surveyed dozens of marketing professionals, authors, consultants and small business owners on my blog. The results included a wide range of words; from the emotionally charged to the pragmatic; from the right brain to the left brain and from the customer focused to the company focus. But all of the suggested “most important words in marketing” fell into one of two categories: Traditional Marketing or Modern Marketing.

Traditional Marketing: The Old School

Traditional Marketing used to be all about advertising. It was expensive, short lived, and had little to do with the Internet or word of mouth. Also, it aimed its messages at passive audiences. Leading expert and best selling author Seth Godin calls this “Interruption Marketing,” in which the marketer talks directly to as many consumers as possible.

Now, although this traditional style of marketing has lost some of its prowess to the fierce competition of the web, it’s still a powerful medium through which companies can reach their customers. Let’s see which words the experts chose from this category.

NOTE: before you read the survey results below, take a minute to answer the question for yourself: What do you think is the most important word in marketing? Once you’ve made your decision, read on and see how your answer compares.

NEW

“NEW is probably the strongest word in marketing,” explains Ronnie Horowitz from The TRIZ Journal. “People are attracted to new products like a magnet. Introducing new products on a constant basis is the best way to get attention and invaluable free publicity for your business.”

WHY

Michael “The Success Doctor” Fortin believes the most important word in marketing is WHY. “It is much better to communicate why you are original, special or unique; why you are better, different or superior than competitors – not just the fact that you are. Imply your superiority by specifying as much as possible.”

CUSTOMER

Sivaraman Swaminathan from Customer World says we shouldn’t overlook the obvious word, CUSTOMER. “I think marketing has evolved because the focus is on the customer. The soul of marketing is the customer. Period. In marketing, you will fail even if you have greatest passion for the wrong target audience; you will fail if you don’t know whom you should respect, and you will fail if you don’t know which customer to trust.”

YOU

Similarly, Robert Middleton from Action Plan Marketing said, “The most important word in marketing is YOU. That is, marketing needs to convey very clearly what’s in it for the client or customer.”

FREE

FREE was also touted by several experts as the most important word. Edward “Skip” Masland, owner of Web Solvers says “FREE was, is and will always be the most powerful word in marketing. It attracts eyeballs. It gets results and responses quickly. And marketers may not profit today – or tomorrow – but if they can generate a groundswell of interest from something free, they know they will profit sooner or later.”

On the other hand, Bob Serling from Idea Quotient wrote an article claiming that FREE was the most dangerous word in marketing. “I’ve been advising businesses for nearly 20 years that a business model driven by attracting prospects through giving something away for free is almost always a model for failure. And it doesn’t matter whether you use this model online or offline – it will nearly always fail.”

LISTENING

Next, Karen from Dezign Matters explained that the most important word in marketing was something you DON’T say. “I think the word is LISTENING. A little time leaning back and listening quietly can save time, money and leave the client and customer feeling that someone truly heard what they were trying to say.”

BECAUSE

Michael Daehn, author of Marketing Ingenious explained, “I read a case study about cutting in lines at a copy machines. The hypothesis was that the word ‘please’ would get the best response. But the results proved that the word ‘because’ received a much better response given that the word offered a reason to let someone cut in line. Therefore, we as marketers need to give customers a reason to buy.”

RESULTS

Lastly, Michael Cage from Small Business Marketing Systems said the most important word in marketing was RESULTS. “Small businesses are often suckered into fluffy, fancy marketing concepts that sound great but produce absolutely nothing in the real world. If the business owner or marketing department can’t tie what they do to results, likewise, they need to step back and get it right before passing go.”

Modern Marketing: The New School

20 years ago, nobody knew what the words “blog,” “RSS feed,” “personal branding,” “viral marketing” or “google” meant. But now – at the risk of sounding cliché – the rules have changed. Business is different. Customers are smarter. And marketing isn’t the same old run-a-bunch-of-ads-and-hope-people-buy-your-stuff system.

Now, it’s all about creating an emotional connection. It’s about being unforgettable, unbelievable and unique. It’s about providing an experience that’s so fantastic, customers not only remain loyal to you – but they tell all their friends to do the same.

Here’s what the experts said about the most important words in Modern Marketing.

RESPECT

It’s not surprising that Seth Godin – author of seven best selling books about how to make your business remarkable – always emails me back within 30 minutes. I drop him a line every once in a while to pass along an interesting website or, in this case, ask a question. He replied with a brilliant one-word answer: RESPECT. Period.

AUTHENTICITY

John More, owner of Brand Autopsy, maintained the most important word in marketing was AUTHENTICITY. “With the world becoming one gigantic ad, consumers today can sniff out anything that smells the least bit fake and inauthentic. Success will come truer and faster if companies can design products, programs, and services that are authentic in meaning, purpose, and delivery.”

Moore dug deeper on the topic of authenticity and explained that “Authenticity is usually a by-product of a purpose-driven business. And unfortunately, there ain’t enough businesses out there with the purpose of making a positive difference in the world.”

PASSION

Similarly, Tom Asacker from A Clear Eye says it’s all about PASSION. “Passion for one’s business and for one’s calling inspires and attracts people. They want to be to believe, to belong; to become. And that’s the essence of marketing today.”

Tom and John’s posts on the blog discussion generated high amounts of support from other experts. Laura from the Smart Musings blog agreed by saying, “John and Tom are right. Consumers can distinguish between authentic and inauthentic marketing. Authentic messages will strike a chord with them. That may encourage them to buy. And once they become a customer, then they may too become passionate about the product. And that is the ultimate goal of marketing: not just to have passionate employees, but passionate customers.”

TRUST

Another popular word was TRUST. Kevin Berringer from Reflections on Business Blog simply said, “No trust = no belief = nobody listens.”

EXPERIENCE

Then, Chris Ray from Interactively Speaking voted for the word EXPERIENCE, as in The Customer Experience. “I believe this word summarizes respect, authenticity, passion, results, etc.” said Ray. “It ultimately decides whether or not a company succeeds.”

AROMA

Next, Jim Seybert from the Jim Seybert Company offered a most unusual suggestion: AROMA. “Brain scientists tell me that smell is the only sense that goes directly to the limbic lobe in our brains – and triggers nothing short of primal emotions. Marketers should pay attention to the ‘aroma’ of their brand. They need to identify the unavoidable, immediate and emotional reaction customers experience upon coming into contact with their brand.”

OPEN

Another intriguing response came from Nellie Lide of The New Persuasion Blog. Her word was OPEN. “You’ve got to be open. Open to others. Open to customers. Open to employees. Open to new. Open to old. Open to scrutiny. Open to derision. Open to joy. Open to different.”

TRUTH

George Silverman, author of The Secrets to Word of Mouth Marketing says it’s all about TRUTH. “Marketing has become synonymous with hype. The truth, compellingly told, is all you need. Just tell it in an interesting way, usually with a story. This allows you to tell the truth about your product and the truth about yourself.”

No Word

The last respondent of the survey was Sean D’Souza from Psycho Tactics. He decided to take the contrarian’s point of view. “There is no one single word that’s the most important in marketing. Making such a claim would be like saying your heart is the most important part of your body. I think we try to make things too simplistic. In reality, marketing is a series of things that coordinate together to create magic.”

It’s All In The Hunt

In case you haven’t already figured it out, the answer to the question “What’s the most important word in marketing?” is: it all depends.

Typical marketing answer, huh?

But ultimately, it’s not about the answer – it’s about the question. It’s about the creative thought process each businessperson goes through when he considers what the most important word in marketing is…to him.

Personally, I chose the word CONFIDENCE.

In other words, I want to instill confidence in the minds of potential customers that if they step onto my company’s front porch, they will be working with a credible, valuable, trustworthy individual whose unique school of thought will help them produce results.

But that’s just me. That’s how I roll.

Now, it’s up to YOU to reexamine what “marketing” truly means to you and your company. In so doing, you will gain a better understanding about who you are, what you do and whom you do it for.

So, what’s the most important word in marketing…to YOU?

© 2005 All Rights Reserved.

Scott Ginsberg is a professional speaker, “The World’s Foremost Expert on Nametags” and the author of HELLO my name is Scott and The Power of Approachability. He helps people MAXIMIZE their approachability and become UNFORGETTABLE communicators – one conversation at a time. For more information contact Front Porch Productions at http://www.hellomynameisscott.com.

Can you imagine any competition, serious endeavor, an Olympic athlete or top performer in any field where a coach, consultant or mentor is not employed to achieve excellent results? That is why sports coaches, fitness coaches, executive coaches, sales coaches, life coaches and experts are sought. They provide the strategy, tactics and best practices to quickly and easily achieve results.

Yet on many career blogs you will see that, usually to save a few dollars, people often insist on doing their own resumes and their own interview prep without using any type of career coaching. While this do-it-yourself approach may result in finding jobs, in today’s competitive world it usually means a longer job search or a suboptimal result. The questions to ask in a buyers’ market are: “How can I get a competitive edge?” and “How do I win this resume game?”

Are you a job seeker facing this highly competitive, more demanding world? Have you experienced how the new systems, technologies, and the economy have made the hiring process much more complicated, impersonal and time consuming? Much to the job seeker’s frustration, it has become a distinct two stage competition – first: the resume competition and second: the interview process.

Perhaps you’ve tried to reach the hiring manager and tried to sell yourself into an interview. Maybe you’ve left multiple messages to the recruiter in HR to follow up on the resume that you submitted. It’s difficult to get any personal response. So your resume is forced to do your selling for you.

So how can you get an “edge” using a “resume coach”? Here are some facts:

• When thousands of resumes are searched by recruiters, if you’re not on page 1 or 2, you’re probably not even in the running.
• A poorly qualified candidate with an elegant, professional looking resume may get called for a job interview, while a stronger candidate can be left behind because of poor resume aesthetics or subpar presentation, and no one will ever know. It’s a one way street.
• A poor resume might generate a 1/20 interview ratio, while an exceptional resume should generate a 1/6 ratio or better.
• Resumes are often read with a negative bias. “What is this candidate missing?”
• As a longtime recruiter, 50% of the resumes that I screened were poorly written. About 40% were average and only 10% were effective selling resumes. Most resumes are narrative, unfocused and are not “selling resumes”.
• A Selling resume is at least 31% more likely to land interviews, 40% more likely to receive a job offer, and 38% more likely to be contacted by recruiters, compared to an average resume. A Selling resume is about 70% more likely to get interviews than a poor resume.

So in order get an edge in the paper competition, your document can’t be just a resume —- but a Selling Resume!

Since many of us do not have sales experience, and are too close to the topic to really sell ourselves objectively, we need to consult a sales-oriented advisor, a “resume coach” to guide us in the presentation. A selling resume is not about “you “, but about “how you can help solve a problem”. Every job exists to solve a business problem. Your resume has to sell you as a solution.

There many sources of resume information, “misinformation” and outdated advice in the marketplace. Poor results, even after spending a lot of money, are not uncommon. Here are the choices:

• Free resources and resume templates that rarely yield an exceptional resume. Most of these resumes never clear the Applicant Tracking Systems that recruiters and companies use.
• Resume builders and free sources don’t care about quality or uniqueness. They usually just want a resume for their primary purpose and agenda, or it’s merely a “freebie” service leading you in to entice you purchase other products or services.
• HR recruiters are limited to their own experience. Agency recruiters simply can’t spend the time. They take an average resume and try to present it with their own write ups – their own elevator pitch – in hopes of filling jobs that they will get paid for. It’s easier than rewriting your resume and honestly, they don’t have a real investment in your career if it doesn’t serve their immediate purpose.
• When we do it ourselves, without specific coaching, we rarely create a selling resume because we are too close to the topic and too distant from the hiring process. Are we the experts?
• A professional resume writer can produce good, average or poor results depending on their skills & background, and price is not necessarily an indicator of quality. The blogs are full of mixed reviews.
• Since this is a lifelong skill, the best choice is to seek out the proper guidance and advice so you can quickly learn to craft and tailor an exceptional resume whenever you need it throughout your career. A resume also becomes a branding tool for social networks where you are checked out and found by recruiters.

Who would be the best sources for a Resume Coach?

If you want to win the resume game, your resume must be a selling document. Therefore, a talented career coach or third party recruiter, who understands both sales and the recruiting process in your field, is the most obvious choice. Paying for their time and guidance is a minor investment compared to the upside and the results it could yield. Ask yourself — if your job search is even 2 days shorter, your job offer is $2000 more, or the position obtained puts you on a faster track, is there a better investment for your career?

Therefore a “selling resume” is more than an advertisement in today’s world. It is a marketing proposal for your services. Get the edge. Get a sales-oriented coach to help you win the resume game.

Howard Cattie is Founder and Head Coach of CareerOyster, an innovative online career and job transition coaching to help executives and professionals direct their careers throughout their working lives. Services include resume help, interviewing help, job leads and customized career coaching via multimedia products. The theme of the company is simple:

“The world is your Oyster….. be the pearl”.

To get started, and to get your free video career advice and job search tips newsletter, visit http://www.careeroyster.com.

Howard has had over 30 years of Career Coaching, Recruiting, Sales and Sales Management experience before founding CareerOyster LLC. While he has been a hiring manager for most of that time, his real passion has been in helping individuals identify their longer term goals and position themselves to get there. He has extensive experience in coaching jobseekers and recruiters in effective career planning, resume writing, interview coaching and job closing strategies. He has trained over 400 recruiters and thousands of candidates in job seeking techniques with a true specialty in candidate interview preparation. Prior to that he founded and managed Custom Recruiting Services for 11 years, a specialized recruiting firm for Technology and Technology Sales and Marketing professionals. Howard was also an Executive in three national Recruiting and Staffing organizations: Source Services, Romac International (now Kforce) and Norrell (now Spherion).

Howard was a certified member of Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC) and provides Executive, Sales and Career Coaching to Management Clients.
Education:
MS in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan
MBA in Marketing from Temple University
BS in Engineering Physics from St Joseph’s University

contact: howard@careeroyster.com

Childcare is often one of the main responsibilities and concerns for the young parents. There are formative age groups of children from babies to small children that need the proper care and attention of their parents. Moreover, in case of the absence of children, there is a need for a professional care and nurture paying attention to their safety and dietary requirements.

The above facilities can be availed from childcare providers that are there in the UK as well as in the other countries of the world. These are trustworthy and professionally trained organizations that are capable with proven standards. This is ideal for working parents and for those who wish to be reengaged to their professional life after pregnancy and childbirth.

In addition, if the parents are working there are childcare vouchers that their employers can provide them to help them make the arrangements easily. A system for tax benefits comes with the vouchers that can save on tax credits for the employees especially those who are parents of small to very small children.

These are ways of saving on your total tax credits on the entire salary or the gross salary amount. Here is how it works. There are deductions that are made from your salary of an amount up to 250 pounds a month for childcare. These vouchers can be redeemed for the services of any childcare provider that you deem fit for your little one. You can also make a weekly deduction of the same.

Now, the tax that you are paying for your salary every month will be on the amount after the deductions of the childcare vouchers. There are certain tax benefits in this for your employer as well.

Benefits in Tax Credits

The fact that childcare provider services are very expensive seems an attractive option to have been excluded from taxable incomes of parents. There are benefits that employers have in the exemptions from national insurances as well as certain other forms of taxes.

For parents there is a saving that comes in the form of one of the most important expense of their life. Acquiring any childcare support service like hiring a nanny, childcare centers and even workplace nursery among other options available is an important responsibility.

Childcare vouchers help them to provide the best there is available for their child’s age group and healthy benefits.

It is often a matter of concern among young and new parents that childcare providers are usually very expensive in the UK and in other countries as well. Thus, one of them opts to be at home to take care of the child.

However, child vouchers that come with a tax saving are seen as very helpful benefit that helps them to get the best services for their child while saving on taxes amounts. This has been a serious encouragement for parents to return to their professional life.

For more information on childcare vouchers, check out the info available online; these will help you learn to find the tax credits!

Ok, you have mastered the standard cooking, are you ready to undertake some gourmet cooking? Are you ready master the art and intricacies of gourmet cooking? Do you have the patience to spend more time and more care on your cooking?

The best way to master the skills of gourmet cooking is to go to a cooking school to learn many of the skills required by form of cooking meals. Many good cooking schools employ cooks that have learned their skills in many different countries, especially from Europe and Asia in particular. Look for these schools to attend.

Many people who specialize in gourmet cooking will visit and train in other countries. Not only is it fun to visit other countries, but it is fun to enhance your skills as a cook and it is rewarding.

You will have to pay attention to detail if you are going to specialize in this form of cooking. Many people who eat these more expensive and labor intensive meals are rather picky, and will tell you what they think of their meal.

Not only will you learn to cook the food correctly, but you will also learn presentation, this is vital for people to really enjoy their meals. You will have to have an eye of an artist as well as their creativity.

While cooking good standard meals is enriching, cooking good gourmet meals while demanding they are also truly rewarding. Ask yourself whether you have the patience and the desire to master gourmet cooking.

Richard McDuff has been selling on the internet for 7 years. He has a website on cooking at #1 Meals on a Budget