Winter Looks on a Budget

Kathryn Finney

Here are some quick and easy winter looks on a budget.

There are several new looks you can pull off for a fraction of the usual cost. Knee-high shearling boots are very hot right now, but you can get a pair of shearling-like boots from stores like Aldo , Bakers, and even Nordstrom for well under $70. These boots look great with a pair of jeans tucked inside.

Ponchos are definitely not "in" anymore, but what is "in" is to take a wide/long pashmina-like scarf in a great color like green or pink (you can get these at pretty much any store), and draping it around your shoulders, much as you would wear a poncho. Fasten the two ends together at the shoulder with brooches. Brooches continue to rock, and stores like Express and Claire's Boutique have a wonderful assortment. Remember: The gaudier the brooch, the better! Wear three or so at the same time.

Another hot look, straight from the runways, is to wear black or camel from head to toe, with turquoise jewelry accents. So throw on a pair of black fitted pants, a nice long-sleeve black top, and turquoise jewelry. It is a good time to buy some turquoise, or turquoise-like, jewelry - because it will be VERY HOT this spring and summer.

Use these three simple winter looks to add excitement and color to your winter wardrobe.


Kathryn Finney is the Chief Shopping Officer and Founder of Kate Magazine and The Budget Fashionista

The Truth About Gold Jewelry
Sam Serio

Without a doubt, Gold is one of the world's most precious metals. It is also a certainty that gold enjoys an unsurpassed popularity as a medium for jewelry expression. Both jewelry artisans and consumers alike are "in love" with gold. There seems to be no end to the range of colors, finishes and styles available and gold remains a perennial favorite setting for gemstones.
Gold can last forever, will not corrode or rust and can be found anywhere. Gold exists in plants, rivers, oceans, mountains, it's nearly everywhere but it is extremely difficult and costly to extract this amazing metal. Did you know that a single ounce of gold can be pulled into a thin wire that stretches nearly five miles long? An artisans hammer can work that same ounce into a very thin sheet that can cover a 10ft x 10ft(100sq. ft.) area. Also, it takes nearly 3 tons of gold or to extract a single ounce of pure gold. Well if you didn't now you know!
Gold Basics
The word Gold, used by itself, means all gold or 24 karat (24K) gold. Because 24K gold is soft, it's usually mixed with other metals to increase its hardness and durability. If a piece of jewelry is not 24 karat gold, the karat quality should accompany any claim that the item is gold.
The karat quality marking tells you what proportion of gold is mixed with the other metals. Fourteen karat (14K) jewelry contains 14 parts of gold, mixed in throughout with 10 parts of base metal. The higher the karat rating, the higher the proportion of gold in the piece of jewelry.
Most jewelry is marked with its karat quality, although marking is not required by law. Near the karat quality mark, you should see the name of the U.S. registered trademark of the company that will stand behind the mark. The trademark may be in the form of a name, symbol or initials. If you don't see a trademark accompanying a quality mark on a piece of jewelry, look for another piece.
Solid gold refers to an item made of any karat gold, if the inside of the item is not hollow. The proportion of gold in the piece of jewelry still is determined by the karat mark.
Jewelry can be plated with gold in a variety of ways. Gold plate refers to items that are either mechanically plated, electroplated, or plated by any other means with gold to a base metal. Eventually, gold plating wears away, but how soon will depend on how often the item is worn and how thick the plating is.
Gold-filled, gold overlay and rolled gold plate are terms used to describe jewelry that has a layer of at least 10 karat gold mechanically bonded to a base metal. If the jewelry is marked with one of these terms, the term or abbreviation should follow the karat quality of the gold used (for example, 14K Gold Overlay or 12K RGP). If the layer of karat gold is less than 1/20th of the total weight of the item, any marking must state the actual percentage of karat gold, such as 1/40 14K Gold Overlay.
Gold electroplate describes jewelry that has a layer (at least .175 microns thick) of a minimum of 10 karat gold deposited on a base metal by an electrolytic process. The terms gold flashed or gold washed describe products that have an extremely thin electroplating of gold (less than .175 microns thick). This will wear away more quickly than gold plate, gold-filled or gold electroplate.
Vermeil (ver-may), a special type of gold plated product, consists of a base of sterling silver that is coated or plated with gold.


For more information on jewelry and gemstones, we cordially invite you to visit www.morninglightjewelry.com to pick up your FREE copy of "How To Buy Jewelry And Gemstones Without Being Ripped Off." This concise, informative special report reveals almost everything you ever wanted to know about jewelry and gemstones, but were afraid to ask. Get your FREE report at www.morninglightjewelry.com.

Does It Matter What You Wear?

Susan Dunn, MA, Personal and Professional Development Coach

Of course it does! We want to be appropriately and comfortably dressed so it isn't distracting.

How can you court your honey when your shirt collar is choking you? your waistband is too tight? How can you represent your client if the judge doesn't allow women lawyers to appear in court in pants? How can you enjoy touring the Turtle Farm on Barbados when it's 95 degrees and you've got on polyester slacks? How can you work the Trade Show when your feet are killing you?

CLOTHING AS NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Clothing can show:

� How much money you have
� How you spend your money
� Your values
� How you take care of things
� How organized you are
� How creative you are
� What profession or industry you're in
� Whether you're a copy-cat or an original

ANALYZE THIS

It's easy to do -- clothing is all around us -- so spend some time analyzing. This is something you need to master.

It's been said "dress for the position you next want," so take a look around your office. Where are the lines drawn. How do you fit in?

Be mindful. Are you representing what you want to, and what you intend to? I'm thinking of the mother at our children's 8th grade outdoor morning graduation ceremony in spangles, cleavage, boa and dangly earrings. What look was she after, I wondered. She had achieved the "appearing nightly" look.

FIND OUT WHAT'S APPROPRIATE

The emotionally intelligent person plans ahead. When planning to travel on business, call a coach in the area you're going to.

Male lawyers in San Antonio, TX USA wear suspenders, while when my sister first started practicing law in D. C., judges did not permit women lawyers to wear pantsuits in court.

In San Antonio, TX there isn't much use for a coat rack. I had no idea when I got to the Chicago Art Museum that I could check my coat and boots. There were lockers. How nice! But neither was I prepared for how hot they keep their buildings. People who come to San Antonio are never prepared for how icy we keep our buildings in the summer.

DOES IT REALLY MATTER?

Of course it does, because you want to be able to concentrate on what's really important.

You'll probably have a sense of what areas of the country are different, and in which areas dress matters more than in others.

I had no idea for instance what to wear for a professional trip to Seattle, Washington (USA). Don't laugh, but all I'd seen in photos was lumber jackets and jeans. Of course YOU are not your CLOTHES, but the more comfortable I am, the better I can do my job, and the more I'll enjoy myself.

As my friend who didn't listen to me and took her bright floral patterned dresses to D. C. found out, there are good ways to stand out, and there are bad ways to stand out. In the room of 300 people all wearing solid colors, she might as well have had a bone in her nose. She found it hard to get it out of her mind. That can take the edge off what you're about!

FORGETTING

Where I live it is 98 for a good part of the year, and then plummets all the way to, oh maybe freezing once in a while. It is said to snow once every ten years, but it's been longer than that since last it did. Therefore, I forget what "cold" means. I know cold, I went to college in Minnesota but I forget the feel of it.

When I arrived in Duluth, MN in February and it was 40 below - honest degrees, not windchill - I was appalled. When you check with that coach, don't settle for "it's cold up here" or "it could be 40 below," ask them "what's should I bring?" and, as I did before going to Russia, "please tell me what it feesl like when it's 70 degrees with 100 percent humidity and wind blowing at X mph."

If you're female, ask that coach about jewelry. I was so grateful to the mentor who told me when I attended my first XX conference that the women in that profession in that town would be "draped in jewelry, rings, bracelets, necklaces earrings, toe rings, naval rings -" Of course I would like to know the opposite, too. Why? Well, it's not cool to sit down to a business dinner in Seattle and ask for iced tea. If you know what I mean. Oh, you haven't done that? Let me tell you what happens. Everyone's head jerks toward you. Then they look away. The waiter stammers and shifts from foot to foot. You realize immediately there is no iced tea in this town. But the waiter won't let it go. "I'll brew some tea," he says, "and bring you a glass of ice." "Or just shoot me," I'm thinking. Then he adds, "Is that what iced tea is like?" Everyone is still looking at the ceiling.

ASK THE COACH

Your answers are only as good as your questions. Here's a good question to ask that coach: "What will I wish I'd brought with me that I won't think of." That will trigger the "tourist" mindset in your resource person. Oh the things I've wished I'd brought.

�A well broken in pair of sandals for my Caribbean cruise
�A bathing suit for my December trip to Chicago. Of course the hotel had a hot tub. They all do.
�A pair of comfortable heels each time I've given a presentation. Why do I fool myself?
�Slacks with elastic waistline for cruises
�Something Tencel for long trips
�The black Pashmina shawl that works with everything. Why do I leave it in the back of my closet?
�Something for the rain. It rains when you go somewhere else. You can go to the dollar store and buy what amounts to disposable ponchos and head covers. (Great for touring Russia in the summer or Seattle nearly any time).
�Something really cute for vacations. You think you want to go funky, but then you see someone in a smashing linen matching outfit, and there you are, buying something cute in the hotel store with a price tag that isn't cute at all.
�An evening bag. With an evening bag you can get by with that same black Tencel skirt - you know what I mean.
�Jeans. Dry cleaned and starched.
�Sensible shoes. Oh was I mad when they wouldn't let me rent a motorbike on Grand Cayman with my thong sandals, and the heels back in my room wouldn't have made the cut either.
�That thing that's hanging on the back of your chair if you're in an office right now. You know what I mean. Bring it along for when you get cold which could be anywhere, any time.

Find out what you need to know and master the fundamentals so you don't have to think about what you've got on!

©Susan Dunn, MA, The EQ Coach, http://www.susandunn.cc . Coaching, distance learning, and ebooks around emotional intelligence for your continued personal and professional development. I train and certify EQ coaches. Get in this field, dubbed "white hot" by the press, now, before it's crowded, and offer your clients something of real value. Start tomorrow, no residence requirement. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for free ezine.

Before You Move
dan the roommate man

It's said that Rome wasn't built in a day. Many strokes topple mighty oaks. You can eat an elephant a bite at at time. If you are facing a move, old axioms like these can offer some encouragement, but how about some practical advice? What you really need are step-by-step tips that will help you chip away at the daunting task of packing, moving and settling in.

Courtesy of NorthAmerican Van Lines, here is a checklist of things to do to prepare to move:
Two-Three Weeks

* Fill and transfer prescriptions for family and pets. Pack them to travel with you.
* Arrange for shipment of plants and pets. Get immunization records for pets.
* Dispose of or give away all flammables.

One Week

* Defrost refrigerator and freezer, plus allow thorough air-drying to prevent mildew. Dispose of persishables.
* Transfer checking and savings accounts.
* Drain fuel and oil from lawnmowers and other power equipment. Drain water hoses.
* Pack items to be carried in the car, and label "Do Not Move."
* Gather valuables from safe deposit box, drawers, jewelry cases as well as personal records. Pack them safely to take with you.
* Send clothing, draperies, curtains, rugs out for cleaning and leave in wrapping. Take down curtain rods, shelves, and TV antenna.
* Have the car serviced for the trip and have proof of insurance in car.

Moving Day

* Remember to pack a box of basics you'll need on move-in day (tools, paper products, all-purpose household cleaners, etc.) Be sure to have it loaded last so that it will be first off at your new home.
* Pack suitcases for trip. Remove all bed linens.
* Be available to check items on inventory sheet. .
* Conduct a last minute walk through with your van operator. Make sure windows are closed, closets empty, lights out and doors locked.

Dos and Don'ts

* Do keep your copy of inventory, Bill of Lading, Order for Service, Estimate, household booklet, numbers to call, etc. with you at all times when moving begins. Don't pack these items with the shipment.
* Do carefully wrap liquids, cleansers, and shampoos in plastic wrap or liners.
* Don't pack paint, bottles of bleach, gas cans, or other inflammables. It is against federal law for movers to transport flammables and combustibles.
* Do back up your PC with copies of all your files. Put in a scratch diskette to park your hard drive. Try to pack the PC in its original carton. Remove CD's from your player before packing and put the discs back in their cases. Wrap multi-play cartridges separately.
* Do moisten plants before placing them in cartons. Know that professional movers are prohibited from moving plants unless delivery is scheduled within 24 hours or is less than 150 miles away.
* Do have your appliance motors bolted to ensure safe arrival.



Since 1989 dan the roommate man has helped 1000's of people find roommates. Need help? Contact him at 800-487-8050 or www.roommateexpress.com

Travel Tips For Getting Through the Airport Easier and Quicker

Sherry Otto

Traveling is different now than it was before 9/11. Arriving at the airport even earlier than before, standing in line longer while waiting to pass through security, having luggage x-rayed, and being pulled aside for random security checks make the time it takes to travel more lengthy than it used to be. Planning ahead can shave off a few minutes here and there and hopefully make your travels less frustrating. Here are some things I have found to be helpful when traveling:

* Make a list. Other than clothes, write down everything you need to take with you (camera, film, sun screen, hand sanitizer, book, etc.) and pack it ahead of time. This will avoid taking extra time to put it in your suitcase or bag at the last minute since you have to arrive at the airport earlier now.

* Before you leave home, put your jewelry and watch in a little cosmetic bag down inside the bag you carry on the plane and put your jewelry on once you've passed through security. Since security has been tightened there is a good chance that you will beep and have to take it off anyway.

* Remember to pack things such as fingernail kits (that include nail files, clippers, etc.) in the suitcase you will be checking and not in your carry-on bag. You are no longer allowed to carry these items on the plane.

* Purchase a zippered pouch (I got mine at AAA) to keep your ID, boarding passes, e-ticket, and travel itinerary in. Then put the pouch in a side pocket of the bag you carry on the plane. Keeping this information together will keep you from digging for it each time you need it.

* Try not to wear clothing that requires a belt (with buckle) or clothing that has any metal, metal buttons, or anything on it that would cause you to beep when you go through security. This will just slow down the process and you want to keep moving as quickly as possible.

* If the airport you are departing from has curbside check-in, take advantage of it. It is often quicker than standing in line once you are inside the airport.

Sometimes just remembering the little things will help you get through the airport smoothly and avoid those little delays that give you a big headache.


http://www.great-caribbean-vacations.com
Specializing in fun Caribbean vacations! Also offering travel tips, hot spots, and information about romantic vacations, beach vacations, sailing vacations, golf vacations, shopping vacations, and Caribbean cruises.


Wedding Planning I - Scheduling
Nily Glaser

Article: "Wedding Planning I - Scheduling"
Nily Glaser
Copyright: © Nily Glaser 2004

"A-wedding Day" had many requests for information about the
chronology of steps for both the wedding ceremony
and reception. I hope that the following steps will help you
schedule the details involved with your wedding ceremony
and reception. It is important that you note that these are
general and the actual procedure for your personal
wedding may vary according to your preference and these
of your officiant as you incorporate your religion, heritage
and customs.
I have included steps for incorporating kids in re-marriages
and blending families.
Ceremony Steps:
The ushers seat guests as they arrive for the ceremony.
The mother of the bride is seated last, unless she accompanies
her daughter to the altar.
The musicians play background music.
At the scheduled start time, unless the officiant, the groom,
and the best man are in the processional, they take their
places at the altar (or ceremony place).
The musicians start to play the processional music.
Mothers light the tapers for the Unity candle ceremony that
will follow the bride and groom's kiss.

Procession - The most traditional order of the processional
is ushers and bridesmaids in pairs, followed by the maid of
honor, ring bearer, and flower girl. The bride enters last,
escorted by her father or by both parents.
The officiant greets the guests.
In a religious wedding, the officiant leads a brief opening
prayer.
Special readings, songs and or music follow.
The officiant's message.
The vows - Bride and groom.
In re-mariage the vows - blending family -vows from parents to
children.
The exchange of rings and the pronouncement "pronouncing you
husband and wife".
Bride and groom kiss.

In re-mariage giving each child a piece of jewelry and the
pronouncement " pronouncing you a new family".
Bride, groom and kids hug and kiss.
Unity candle ceremony (In remarriage, include the kids).
The officiant then introduces the bride and groom as
husband and wife.
In remarriage, the officiant then introduces the bride and groom
and their kids, preferably by names, as a new
family.
Exit procession: bride and groom, followed by the adult
attendants in pairs, followed by the ring bearer and flower
girl.
Take photos while the guests go to the reception.

Reception Steps

The reception starts with a receiving line that includes the
bride and groom, parents and attendants.
At the same time it is appropriate for waiters to circulate
with drinks and hors d'oeuvres while the receiving line is in
progress.
Background music played.
The bride and groom can open the dancing either before or
after food is served.
If you are planning a dinner and dancing reception, the
"bride and groom's first dance" occurs after dinner
followed by the bride dancing with her father
and the groom with his mother after which other guests are
allowed out on the floor.
Toasts should begin at the end of the meal.
The first toast is the best man's toast to the bride.
In re-marriage, the bride and groom introduce their children
before the first toast.
Other toasts.
Cake cutting ceremony.
The garter and bouquet tosses occur just before the couple
is ready to leave for the honeymoon.
The guests send the couple off for their honeymoon with a
shower of rice, rose petals, or bubbles, balloons, butterfly
release or doves release.

After the honeymoon, do not forget to write the thank-you notes.

This article is also available online in HTML format at:
http://www.2.a-weddingday.com/weddingplanning1.html
Find other articles to publish on your site at:
http://www.a-weddingday.com/archives/articles.html

Publishing Guidelines: Please feel free to post this Article as
is with no additions or deletions in your newsletter, on your
website, and forward it to your clients, customers, friends
and / or business associates. If you post or otherwise publish
this article, please ensure that the copyrights as well
as the author's entire bylines box remain intact.
We would highly appreciate a courtesy copy of your
publication and / or a website link. Please E-mail to:
http://www.a-weddingday.com/contacts.html

Thank you!
Nily



Nily Glaser is the CEO of A-wedding Day,
http://www.a-weddingday.com
a very popular Wedding Resource and Information Center,
and a discount shopping mall for wedding gifts, supplies
and bridal accessories. She is the publisher of the A-wedding Day
newsletter and creates personalized unity candles under Candles By Nily
http://www.candlesbynily.

Successful Online Gift Shop Marketing - Part 1

Shannan Hearne Fortner

With all the great wholesale companies available, virtually anyone can
through up a WWW shingle and start a gift shop. Additionally, there are
thousands of wonderful gift shops online specializing in everything from
apple art to zebra prints. How do you compete with your online gift
shop?

Success Promotions has spent five years building successful internet
businesses and we'd like to share some valuable information with you.
Not every online business can afford a full time internet marketing
employee or an outsourced internet marketing service.

If you go to any search engine and search for gifts you will get
thousands and thousands of returns. For example, a search run on
AltaVista.com today for the search string "gifts" returned 12,332,556
results. After narrowing the search by adding "women's" to the search
string AltaVista returned 12,499,266 results. Incidentally, this search
returned so many jewelry sites in the first results that if you sell
women's gifts and they aren't jewelry you need to choose your keywords
very carefully. Needless to say, the sites not in the first 20 to 30
results aren't getting a tremendous amount of traffic from
AltaVista.com.

Here are some tips for internet marketers and gift sellers alike to help
build a more successful online business.

1. Specialize and Categorize

If you are selling two gifts or 3000 gifts you need to manage them in
categories. Think about it. Would you be able to find anything at
Walmart if they mixed the shoes with the electronics with the crafts
with the hardware? You'd walk around aimlessly for hours searching for
a pair of size six sandles with salmon colored strings. Don't make your
site visitors and potential customers search aimlessly around your site.

It helps to have a search option, but for this to work you must keyword
each product under every imaginable search word. Shoes alone wouldn't
work for sandles. You'd need to also have it pop up under footwear,
summer wear, women's attire, etc.

Furthermore, once you begin to break your gift site down into smaller,
more manageable categories, you can market EACH page to the search
engines under different keywords. Its great if every single item you
sell can be managed under a keyword or category from your main doorway
page. But why not create a sub-category doorway page for each product
category and each product line? Then you can submit all doorway/front
pages to the search engines and instead of appearing as search return
#1,456,825 you can be in the top ten for shoes, and footwear, and socks,
and sandles, and gifts, etc.

Lynn Korff, of Korff's Ceramic Originals, http://www.korfforiginals.com
knows this works. Her products vary from ceramic piggy banks to dinner
ware to candle holders. She breaks them down not only by product but
also by glaze patterns. Shoppers can readily find anything and then
find matching products making her site more shopper friendly and more
marketable. If you don't believe me, go to any search engine and search
for "ceramic piggy banks". Lynn is always right up there at the top.

Additionally, besides being more search engine friendly and successful,
your site can also be more shopper friendly. How many times have you
followed links for search engine returns that required you to go through
far too many multiple pages to find the search engine return you were
actually looking for? How many times did you stop searching the
particular site before you got to the object of your search?

Don't fret if this sounds like a major site re-design. The improvement
in marketability and shopability is worth every second of work.

There is no limit to the amount of products you can sell. But make them
easy to find and you will sell a lot more of each one.

2. Advertise

No surprise to find this one, huh? If you don't advertise, you don't
sell anything. People don't knock on your front door to see if you
might possibly have free puppies unless there is a sign. Don't expect
web site visitors to knock on your front URL to see if you maybe have
the exact gift item they are looking for just because you sell gifts.

You can advertise on other gift sites that market to similar niches
without selling the same products. You can advertise in online and
offline publications. You can advertise on any imaginable site that
caters to the same people you are catering to. Going back to the free
puppies analogy, suppose that you sell embroidered puppy collars.
Wouldn't a site run by the Humane Society also cater to people with
puppies? Wouldn't they be happy to swap links if you could help drive a
few puppy shopping families to their web site?

Where all you could advertise depends entireally on what you sell and
who you are attempting to sell it to. But be creative. Go to any
search engine and do a search on some of your own keywords. See if
there are special interest groups, clubs, or other organizations who
comprise of members who are your potential customers. If you sell
sportswear, start hitting little leaguers, co-ed leaguers, etc. As fast
as the internet is growing, and as many new users as appear online every
day, you should never, ever stop looking for new places to reach
potential customers. While you are advertising, remember to keep your
message simple and specialized. Don't just create a big banner that
says "gifts" in eight flashing colors. Tell potential visitors what
type of gifts you offer. We all have to have traffic to sell, but the
wrong traffic doesn't create sales.

Rose Clark of the Cabot Mall, http://www.cabotmall.com helps all her
mall merchants do this. She offers free ezine advertising to each of
her merchants, generating more traffic and brand name awareness for each
of them. Additionally, Rose's mall does a superb job of categorizing.

3. Market to your visitors

Think of all your advertising and marketing efforts on a Return On
Investment basis. It costs far more to get a customer than it does to
keep one.

You should be obtaining contact information from every one who visits
your web site. Email addresses. Phone numbers. Snail mail addresses.
Keep marketing to these people. Tell them about new products, sales,
specials, etc. Remind them why they surfed into your site in the first
place and invite them back. Contests are great ways to do this. If you
can give away one $5.00 widget a month and obtain 500 new contacts for
every widget given away, that is a high return on investment. Some of
the people who register to win your widget will buy one if they don't
win. And they will come back monthly to re-register. Especially if you
send a reminder to them to do so.

Cyndi Steinmetz of CDK Enterprises is very efficient in this
department. When you shop at her site, register for her contest, or
simply visit and supply your email address you enter her mailing list
for life. Monthly reminders from CDK tell me about new children's
gifts. And with four children in my home, scarecely a month goes by
that I'm not looking for something for them! Cyndi is always on my mind
because she reminds me to think about her regularly by sending me
emails. Her reminders of products keep me thinking of new ways to shop
with her all the time.

This is especially useful if you sell collectibles that are released and
retired on a regular basis. If you collect Beanie Babies, you want to
know when each one is retiring and make sure that you have it. If you
collect Longaberger Baskets, you want to be reminded when the Mother's
Day Basket is sold each year to be sure that you add it to your
collection.

4. Mail, mail, and mail some more

Email specifically. Email is the cheapest form of advertising known to
mankind - except for word of mouth. If you aren't sending emails to
customers, leads, contacts, etc., on a regular basis you are missing out
on a very powerful form of advertising. Its fast. Its easy. And its
free. Case in point. When Success Promotions has a small lull and is
in search of customers, I can obtain far more with far less effort by
contact past customers. They know what I do. They know it works. And
they may have been planning to start marketing with me again, but just
haven't gotten around to ordering. Susie Glennan, of The Busy Woman's
Daily Planner, http:/www.thebusywoman.com, knows this works. She
monthly sends reminders to people who haven't ordered in the past 12
months. Her products are consumed, if you will, on an annual basis.
She generates more sales by reminding customers to come back and
re-order.

Think about the life cycle of your products and do the same. Perhaps
you have a birthday product. You know one year later, the gift giver
will be shopping again. Send them an email inviting them to come back
and shop with you.

5. Plan ahead for seasonal sales

Of course Christmas applies here. But what about Valentines Day,
Easter, Channucka, Flag Day, Voting Day, and hundreds of others? If you
have gifts that apply to all occaisions generically or to specific
holidays you have to plan in advance to get your marketing message in
front of consumers at the appropriate time.

It might be hard to think about Santa Clause, cold weather, reindeer,
and jingle bells in July; but that is when you need to start planning.
Especially if you will be running special discount campaigns. Don't
wait til the last minute this year. Right now, get out your calendar
and make note of every holiday that will effect your business. Back
track anywhere from two weeks to six months in your calendar and make a
notation to begin planning and implementing campaigns for these
holidays.

6. Campaign

Politics or not, we all must group and categorize our advertising in
some manner. If you develop entire campaigns for products and
occaisions, then you are ready to roll each time with ad copy,
brochures, sales messages, etc. Don't short change yourself here. This
is where it is at for every business. And gift shops aren't any
different. If you plan to roll out six new necklaces this year, one
every two months, then you really should find some sort of campaign
method to link and organize yourself. Market them in a uniform and
pre-planned manner. And by all means, have a campaign for every new
product. Don't just clandestinely add it to your site and hope that
someone notices. Add it with a bang, and a campaign.

Shannan Hearne
President and Wizard
Success Promotions
http://www.successpromotions.com
Building Your E-Business Better

Getting The Big Picture Series: Part 2-"What's Beneath The Surface?"
Treci Cauthen

Getting The Big Picture Series: Part 2-"What's Beneath The Surface?" by Treci Cauthen

When you take a piece of gold to a pawn shop sometimes they will take a small saw-like tool to scrape the jewelry to find out for sure "What's Beneath The Surface". Sometimes they find pure gold, silver, or tarnished metal.

Well it's the same story when it comes to conducting business on the Internet. Some Opportunities fall far from the mark. Some "Get Rich Quick" schemes will read, "Earn $10,000 Every Month" or "Make A Million Dollars and Retire Early".

"Big earnings with minimum effort" not likely my friends..

What's Beneath The Surface?

"Tarnished metal".

You pay $29.95 for an envelope stuffing job offer. The fee is to set you up with supplies, or, you pay $19.95 for an information package to start your own home business. Only to find that you never hear back from them. If your a busy person you could forget that you ever signed up for the offer. If your a take charge type of person that decides to investigate the matter you may find a disconnected telephone or a bad mailing address.

"The Silver"

Let's say you stumble upon a website that sells electronics, or some other retail products. You have seen there website and it is impressive. They are willing to build you a website just like theirs for $49.95 with a monthly $20 fee for hosting your website. They are willing to pay you 40% commission for items sold.

Hey, you could be on to something here...

But the problem is they leave you hanging. You don't have a clue how to market the product. Some might, give you a list of free classified ads and tell you to submit your site to the search engine. It's more than likely that you will never make 1 sale with they're technique due to anxiety especially if you're looking make a sell instantly. You burn out quickly and your efforts come to a dead halt.

"The Gold"

Your one of the lucky ones. You've landed on a site that has great products/services with all the trimmings. A solid Business Opportunity will take you by the hand and show you the way. They will train you with articles, presentations and online courses. They will be there to support you when you need answers. They won't leave you feeling "lost in the storm". But you will need to stay focused, patient and you have to want to learn because there is alot to take in and "Knowledge is Power".

Getting The Big Picture?

Treci Cauthen is a Writer/Internet Marketer. Find Home Internet Business:: Opportunities, Articles and Resources! go to: www.homeinternetbusiness.com ***Natural Cures
Telecom USACopyright © 2004

Wedding Day Hair Styles - A Top Ten Checklist

Mike Jones

The big day is fast approaching, and the energy of the
moment sweeps you up. But does it carry your hair along
too? Use the following checklist to ensure your wedding day
hair is everything you dream it will be:

1. Which stylist? Make bookings for consultations with more
than one stylist well in advance and decide on the one you
feel most comfortable with. You should be able to express
your likes and dislikes without feeling awkward.

2. Long hair, shoulder length, or short hair? It is
important to consult with your stylist well in advance and
make a decision. Long hair obviously gives the stylist much
freedom for creativity but a skilled stylist can also work
well with medium and short styles. Be sure to choose a
length that fits with your personality and style.

3. Have your hair compliment your wedding dress. This can
be done by both style and accessories. Smooth, straight hair
and pinned up curls are often paired up with smooth satin
gowns, whereas a tulle dress often goes well with soft
curls.

4. Take into consideration your silhouette. If it's along
horizontal lines such as with a wide dress, you'll want to
stick with that look for your hair as well. The same goes
for a vertical profile.

5. You'll be spending a lot of time at the salon picking out
the perfect hairstyle, so it's best to be prepared. Be sure
to wash your hair the night before your consultation, and
try to have some pictures of styles you'd like to try out.

6. Take a picture of your wedding dress along to your
stylist. This will greatly help the process along. Also take
your veil with you, and let the stylist know what kind of
wedding you are having: formal, informal, evening, daytime.
Alternatively, consult with your stylist before deciding on
your headpiece.

7. If you are interested in a new cut or color to your hair,
don't wait until right before your wedding. Make the changes
during the initial consultation with the stylist, so that
you don't have any unpleasant surprises down the road.

8. After you have decided on your style, make sure you walk
around with it. Your wedding day will be a long one and you
certainly don't want an uncomfortable hair do causing
irritation!

9. Your veil length will have some influence on your choice
of hairstyle. Normally, the veil is longer than the hair. It
is often secured in back swept hair (for up dos) and it's
important to make sure the style can hold the veil in place.

10. What accessories are you going to wear? You will already
(hopefully!) have your headpiece picked out. Flowers, pins,
and beads can be used to add an extra sparkle to your hair,
and you can and should coordinate them with the rest of
your jewelry.

It may sound like choosing a bridal hair style is a
strenuous activity, but the care and preparation is simply
to make sure your wedding day is the best it can be.

Following this ten point checklist will ensure your wedding
day hair style is a delight, not a disaster!


Credit: Mike Jones of BodyFAQ.com. Click here for
information on how to get great hair with lustre and sheen
within 3-4 weeks:

target="_blank">http://www.bodyfaq.com/WeddingHair

How to Raise Creative Kids
Susan Stump

"Where did he come up with that?" Kids often amaze us with their imaginative ideas, and we should give ourselves a pat on the back for playing a role in this development. Innovative thinking is essential for success in school and in life, and it's our job as parents to nurture our kids' innate desire to be creative. Inventive play fosters original thinking, an asset when children are confronted with new situations. By providing activities that use their creativity and imaginations, we are giving our children an important tool to deal with life down the road.

Give them ideas.
Children come up with things to do on their own, but we also need to provide them with new ideas of interesting activities. Think back to what you did as a kid. Did you write a diary, create elaborate puppet shows, or sing and dance for relatives? Share ideas from your own childhood experiences. Offer creative writing ideas like writing an episode for a favorite television show or writing a new ending to a favorite story. Craft projects offer another outlet for inspiring imaginations. Craft kits, especially those from Curiosity Kits and ALEX, offer a wide variety of unusual and fun projects. They've brought us a long way from the sock puppets of our youth. These manufacturers offer ideas and supplies to make such things as scrapbooks, powerballs, soaps, candy, sun catchers, dolls, planes, dinosaurs, jewelry treasures, and lots of decorative items. Kids can gather ideas from the instructions, and then give the projects their own unique touches.

Keep ideas fresh.
Pick up any parenting magazine and you'll find lots of ideas to get those creative juices flowing in your kids. Search the web and check out craft stores. Keep a journal or file for magazine clippings and ideas as you find them. Stockpile so that you'll know how to answer the whiny "I'm bored" call from your kids.

Give them freedom.
Once you've given your kids some suggestions and supplies, step back and see which they choose and where they go with them. This unstructured play time gives kids an opportunity to stretch their creative muscles. Watch as they incorporate your ideas and branch out on their own.

Set an example.
Chances are, if you are a creative person, your child will be too. You display creativity in your everyday activities like when you reason with a disgruntled child, change lyrics to songs, and maybe even do some interpretive dancing to entertain a toddler. Your children see your silliness and it rubs off on them. You surely use creativity to juggle your and your family's schedules. It's a great idea to point out to your kids how you use creativity in your daily life.

As parents, we always try to do the very best for our kids and provide opportunities that will help them mature into intelligent, capable adults. Nurturing their creative spirits helps them along this road. With their well-developed imaginations, maybe they'll turn it into a yellow brick, pink polka-dotted road with sparkles!


Susan Stump is the mother of two children and the owner of ChildCrafter, Co. - Craft Kits and Subscriptions that Inspire a Child's Imagination. This work-at-home-mom offers a great selection of creative craft kits from ALEX, Quincrafts, and Curiosity Kits from her catalog and website (www.childcrafter.com).

When Avon Doesn't Call: A Lesson For Internet Marketers

Mary Anne Hahn

Probably most of you have heard of Avon Products, Inc.
Founded over 100 years ago as a small perfume company, Avon has grown
into a huge multi-billion dollar corporation that sells products ranging
from cosmetics to clothing, jewelry and knickknacks to customers in
nearly 140 countries.

Like many women, I have my own "Avon Lady," someone from whom I have
ordered on a regular basis over the last couple of years. Mary works in
the same office building as I do, one floor below mine.

I suppose Mary makes a nice little side income from her Avon customers.
But Mary has a bad business habit that I think we can all learn from,
and avoid.

Whenever I order items from an Avon catalog, Mary always delivers them
to me promptly, in one of those little white Avon bags that the company
provides. Inside the bag, along with the items I've ordered, she
conveniently includes a copy of the newest Avon catalog. So far, so good.

But here's the thing--if, for whatever reason, I don't happen to order
anything from the new catalog, Mary seldom drops me off a copy of the
*next* catalog. Or the one after that. Or the one after that. In fact,
if I don't order during a particular campaign, the only way I get a copy
of the newest Avon catalog is when I call and ask her for one!

Now, how much business do you think Mary loses from me each year due to
this oversight? Then, multiply that number by the amount of business she
loses if she handles all of her regular customers the same way, which I
imagine she does. Failure to follow up with her regular customers probably
costs Mary hundreds of dollars each year. Maybe more, if any of her
customers decide to switch to another Avon distributor.

You might wonder why *I* don't try to find another, more reliable Avon
Lady. The sad fact is, Mary's unreliability saves me money. Because I
don't always have the latest catalog, I don't make impulse Avon
purchases. When I start to run low on a favorite product, I give Mary a
call. If I had an Avon Lady who followed up with me regularly, I'd
probably buy twice as much as I currently do. The money I save, however,
turns out to be Mary's loss.

In order to be successful, we cannot afford to take a Mary-like approach
to our businesses. We need to keep in touch with customers who have
purchased from us in the past--let them know about any new products or
special offers. If we do, many of them just might purchase from us again.
If we don't, many of them might wonder how we stay in business in the first
place, and look to other people to purchase the goods and services they
need.

Here's to your business success.

Mary Anne Hahn is a freelance writer who wants to encourage others to
follow their dreams. If you're looking to start an online business on a
shoestring budget, she invites you to join her at
http://goalsetter.buildreferrals.com , or email her for more information at
goalsetter@buildreferrals.com

How Valentine's Day Gifts Can Expose a Cheating Husband
Ruth Houston

If you have the nagging feeling that your husband may be
having an affair, this is the ideal time to confirm what you
suspect. The Valentine's Day gifts he gives or receives can
provide you with tangible proof of his infidelity.

If your husband has a lover he's certain to buy her a
Valentine's Day gift; whether he receives one in return or
not. This could prove to be his undoing. An observant
wife can find some solid evidence this time of year if she
knows what to look for and where to look.

A husband can sometimes get away with giving his wife a card
and a hastily purchased box of chocolates. But tradition
demands that on Valentine's Day, he gives his mistress a
special gift. No self-respecting man would try to impress
his girlfriend with a cheap token of his affection. If he
wants to remain in her good graces (and in her bed) he has
to buy her a decent gift.

It goes without saying that gifts cost money. Even if your
husband has been siphoning off small sums for several weeks
or months, you'll find evidence of his spending somewhere.
If he doesn't pay in cash he'll have to use his credit card.
But there's always a paper trail.

Have there been any suspicious withdrawals from your bank
accounts? Check the time period shortly before or after
Valentine's Day. Were there any unexplained ATM withdrawals
around this time?

Check your credit card statements for the month of February,
and the latter part of January too. Look for charges made
at jewelry stores, women's specialty stores, or boutiques,
florists, day spas, restaurants and the like. Scrutinize
any charges made on February 14th.

Check his wallet, his pockets, his backpack, his briefcase
for charge slips or store receipts. If you find evidence of
gift items you didn't personally receive, it should raise a
red flag in your mind. Since your husband didn't give these
gifts to you, who did he give them to?

Check various places in and around your home for hidden
gifts -- under the bed, in the back of a file cabinet or
dresser drawer, on the back of the closet floor, or on a
seldom used shelf.

Don't forget to search the car too. Look underneath the
seat, in the trunk, in the glove compartment and in the tire
well.

If you find a hidden gift, don't jump to conclusions unless
it's obvious the gift is not for you (too large, too small,
a color or style that he knows you wouldn't wear, or has
another woman's name attached).

If Valentine's Day passes and you haven't received the
hidden gift (but it's now gone), then it's obvious that he
gave it to someone else. Make it your business to find out
who.

Shortly before Valentine's Day, Carol found a box in her
husband's sock drawer containing a diamond and sapphire
ring. She said nothing because she didn't want to spoil
the surprise. But on Valentine's Day Jim gave Carol a dozen
long stem roses and a gift certificate for a day of
pampering at her favorite day spa. The next day Carol
searched high and low but the ring box could not be found.
She spent several sleepless nights trying to figure out what
had become of the ring. Three weeks later Carol dropped by
Jim's office to meet him for lunch. One of his co-workers
was wearing a ring similar to the one in the box. It didn't
take Carol long to find out Jim and this woman were having
an affair.

Laura found a gift box containing a sexy negligee in the
trunk of her husband's car. He tried to pass it off as a
gift he purchased for her but the gown was several sizes too
small. No amount of persuasion on his part could convince
Laura the salesclerk put the wrong size in the box by
mistake. Especially since she had already found other
telltale signs of a possible affair.

Be suspicious of any unusually expensive gifts your husband
receives this month. Especially if he claims he purchased
the items for himself, but can't produce a receipt.

Likewise, warning bells should sound if your husband
receives gifts of an extremely personal nature, in February
or at any other time. No woman other than yourself should
be giving your husband six pairs of silk boxer shorts --
unless it's his mother or his sister. (And even then, you
should check to make sure.)

Take notice if your husband is missing for several hours on
February 14th. Be wary if he invents excuses to come home
late, or to run an errand later on, on Valentine's night.
These could be additional telltale signs.

If you suspect your husband of cheating, Valentine's Day
gifts could provide the missing pieces of the infidelity
puzzle. Especially if there have been other telltale signs
in the previous weeks or months. It may be time to have a
serious talk with your husband. If he's cheating, you
don't want to be the last one to know. Find out what's
going on before it's too late.

© Ruth Houston 2004


Ruth Houston is the author of IS HE CHEATING ON YOU? -
829 TELLTALE SIGNS. For more information about the book or
about cheating men visit http://www.IsHeCheatingOnYou.com
To sign up for the free Infidelity Newsletter send an e-mail to
CheatingSigns@aol.com.

Easy Wedding Shower Ideas

Melanie Doetsch

Don't be intimidated if you've been chosen as the maid of honor for your friend's wedding and your greatest fear is planning the bridal shower! There are plenty easy wedding shower ideas to get you started and make the whole process go smoothly.

The most popular wedding shower idea is the kitchen shower, and it's really the most practical as well. After all, no one can have too many kitchen utensils or appliances, and there is also a host of nice little gourmet treats that the bride would love to be gifted with.

A personal shower is also nice, with everyone giving the bride a gift of lingerie or accessories such as inexpensive jewelry. She might also like something like a skin treatment gift set, cosmetics, or bath powder and perfume.

When most people think of wedding showers, they do tend to think of tradition - a group of ladies getting together in someone's home or at a restaurant or tea room. Lots of decorations, some games and gifts. This is a wonderful concept, but if you're busy it can be hard to pull off. That's why there's a new trend in easy wedding shower ideas - activity based showers. We don't mean rock-climbing (unless you want to) - we mean a girl's day out.

Call a local day spa and ask if you can book an afternoon for pedicures and manicures for the whole crew. This is especially nice if you are having a small shower for close friends. You can all talk and giggle and feel spoiled, then duck out for a drink and open gifts afterward. No muss, no fuss, no clean-up or decorating for you. And every guest leaves feeling special!

You can do the same with a cosmetics counter at a fine department store - call ahead and explain that you have several women who want makeovers and do a day of bonding over shopping. In some cases, the makeup company will even throw in some free gifts for the wedding party or bride. It's fun and inexpensive, and again you can follow up with dinner or drinks. Not to mention everyone gets a new look for the wedding day!

Melanie Doetsch is an author at eBridalShowers.com where you will find further bridal shower ideas. Have fun with our helpful bridal articles, wedding planning guide and much more.

e-Business Trends of 2004
John Evans

2004 was a huge year for E-businesses, as record number of
entrepreneurs decided to make their dream a reality and start
their own business. Working as your own boss is a huge
responsibility and can be extremely time consuming, as you
are essentially running a one person show. However, that
being said, the rewards far outweigh the amount of hard work
that must be put into starting your e-business. Instead of
struggling with office politics, difficult co-workers, and
unruly bosses, you can work out of the comfort of your own
home. Similarly, you can arrange your work schedule around
your life and your current responsibilities. For this
reason, many individuals who are unable to work traditional
hours choose to start their own e-business. Additionally,
individuals who are currently employed may wish to start
an e-business to add an income in addition to their work
salary. Before you dive in to the world of
entrepreneurship, you may wish to carefully review the
e-business trends of 2004. The year proved tremendously
successful to starter e-businesses in addition to current
web businesses. The internet is a continuously growing
entity with a huge number of customers who regularly
purchase items through the numerous retail websites. To
find the audience you should gear your website for,
consult an entrepreneurship textbook online or one of the
many available websites.

The most obvious trend is retail sales. Whatever you
choose to sell, you will find a willing customer on the
internet. Many creative individuals choose to sell
handmade items over the internet in order to turn their
hobbies and passions into a viable income. From original
jewelry to one of a kind artwork, creative and craft items
are a hot seller. Regardless what your business is
selling, properly advertising your wares will make all
the difference. You could be selling the best item ever
made, but if it is buried within a website afloat in the
massive sea of the World Wide Web, no one will ever find
your product. However, if you advertise in the correct
places, your e-business is sure to take off.

Another popular trend for e-business in 2004 was the rise
in web services. Individuals with technical skills
suitable for the internet have been relishing the success
of the e-businesses. These services can vary from
technical support to graphic design to web hosting.
Many successful e-businesses involve individuals who have
the technical know-how and the right equipment to host,
design, create, and maintain websites. Especially in this
technical age with a great deal of individuals bringing
their lives and businesses to the World Wide Web, the
know-how to create websites is an extraordinary talent
that can be quite lucrative.

The web log, or blog, has reached its pinnacle in 2004.
Serving as an online journal or diary, everyone from the
New York Times to the next door neighbor has embraced this
new medium with open arms. Finding individuals to host,
write, and maintain these blogs has been a surprising trend
of 2004. All businesses from accounting to zoology have
jumped on the blog bandwagon, but many do not have the time
or staff to create and maintain this new-found medium. This
niche has been slowly filled by individuals who will take
care of all sorts of blogging needs, although there is plenty
of room left for those individuals who wish to take on this
project for their own e-business.

Whatever your choose to focus your e-business on, your
execution will directly affect your success. Doing your
research upfront will save you a great deal of time with
hassles and headaches when unplanned events arise.
Furthermore, carefully planning your business will allow
you to set specific goals and deadlines to ensure you have
covered all your bases when dealing with customers and
clients.

John Evans runs http://www.SuccessAlert.com,
and has written the book Success Alert - Conversations with Successful Internet
Entrepreneurs which has been widely acclaimed in a variety of online and print
media. If you're interested to build
a home internet business this book is an absolute must-read!

Diamonds In The Ruff - Finding A Good Personal Trainer

Aaron Potts

The question of how to find a good personal trainer is as old as the industry itself. In fact, it usually gets transformed into an even bigger question - should you even HIRE a personal trainer? Conveniently enough, the answer to one of those questions will dictate the answer to the other one - every time!

The short and simple truth of the matter is that you should only hire a personal trainer if you can find an effective one that is right for you. Here are several things to consider before you decide!

Professionalism

The term professionalism should cover our prospective trainer's skills, as well as his/her ability to act in a professional manner. Both are critical to the training process, and if a trainer is lacking in either department, it will spell doom for your program eventually, either in the short term, or later on down the road.

The days of personal trainers just being jocks with a certification are (thankfully!) coming to a close. Today's personal trainer needs to be a consummate professional with regard to his/her actual skills, as well as ability to treat their clients in a professional and business-like manner.

For now let's just agree that if your trainer doesn't have a clue about how to get you in shape, you probably don't want to hire that trainer!

What about their level of professionalism? A good personal trainer will always maintain their professional bearing. They don't need to be some stick in the mud with no personality, but there are several things that a trainer should NOT be doing during a training session. These include things like staring at themselves in the mirror, daydreaming, excessively talking to other people, talking on their cell phone, checking out members of the opposite sex, and just generally not focusing on you during the workout.

Your trainer should look professional as well. Although the actual clothing standards vary widely, some things that you should not see are excessive body jewelry, the latest fashions such as arm bands, beanie caps, combat boots, etc., or any clothing or accessories that are worn simply as decoration or because the style is in. The latest styles have absolutely nothing to do with your training program!

Credentials

Which level of personal training certification is the best has been and continues to be a matter of extreme debate. This article will not propagate that debate with further discussion of the details. However, what you should take home is the fact that regardless of your fitness goals, your trainer should be qualified to train YOU.

For general health and fitness, any of the top 10 nationwide certification agencies offer acceptable programs. A brief list includes - but is not limited to - the International Sports Sciences Association, the American Council on Exercise, and the National Academy of Sports Medicine. There are others, and your trainer should be more than happy to point you to the website that governs his or certification, so that you can learn more on your own.

For more specific considerations like training for a sport or athletic competition, your trainer will need a higher degree of expertise. The American College of Sports Medicine has a great program and is one of the most recognized certifications for sport specific training.

You should ask very specific questions about how a potential trainer is going to tackle the particular issues that you want covered during your training program.

Facility

Regardless of your potential trainer's credentials and professionalism, you need to know where you are going to train. The industry standard of only working out at a gym is being challenged more and more these days. It is possible now to find a trainer who will come right to your house and train you, or possibly meet you outside, or in your housing area community fitness center. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you have to go to the gym if you want a personal trainer!

Schedule

One of the biggest issues for trainers and clients alike is scheduling. After all, you both have to be in the same place at the same time for a minimum of 30 minutes, and possibly as long as 90 minutes. A good trainer will try to find a way to fit you into their schedule. It won't always be possible, especially with a highly sought after trainer, but if the trainer truly wants to help you, they will do their best to fit you in.

Rapport

Having a good rapport with your personal trainer is crucial! If you and your trainer don't get along, it's a waste of time for both of you. You will likely end up more frustrated than ever, thinking that even a professional couldn't help you!

Working with a personal trainer that you like is necessary, and on the flip side, the trainer should like you as well. You don't necessarily need to pick out curtains together, but you should at least be able to carry on a comfortable dialogue while you exercise. Most good trainers are good communicators as well, but if the two of you aren't very comfortable with each other, then it will cause tension and increase the risk of your program meeting with failure.

A good personal trainer will agree to meet with you face to face before you actually sign up for a training program. Some trainers offer a free or low-cost initial consultation, and that is the perfect time to size up your trainer to make sure they fit your needs!

You should take home the fact that the definition of a good personal trainer is someone who is not only a professional, but is also appropriate for your specific personality, needs, goals, and desires. You may be working with this person for awhile, so choose wisely!

Aaron Potts is the owner and creator of Fitness Destinations. Aaron's experience in the health and fitness industry includes one on one personal training in many different environments, maintenance of several health-related websites, and authoring of many fitness-related products for consumers and fitness professionals. http://www.fitnessdestinations.com/journal.html

Use of IT in the Retail Industry
Yasas Vishuddhi Abeywickrama

Retail industry is one of the most prominent business categories in the modern world. It is spread all over the world, and has a history that is almost as long as human nature. The definition for Retail is �Sale of goods in small quantities to the public, usually not for re-sale'.

Historical existence of the industry is clear by the definition itself. Today it has a wide scope which spans from house hold items such as bread, sugar to electrical and electronic items, jewelry etc. Stores also range from large supermarkets to small village boutiques.

Retail industry drives the economy of a country. While manufacturing industries create the goods and services that people need, the retail industry provide a marketplace where people as consumers, have convenient access to those products and services.

The retail sector is one of the largest industries worldwide. And it is the second-largest industry in the United States both in number of establishments and in the number of employees. Retail trade accounts for about 12.9 percent of all business establishments in the United States.

Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer and the world's largest company with more than $256 billion (USD) sales annually. Wal-Mart employs more than one million associates in the United States and more than 300,000 internationally. The second largest retailer in the world is France's Carrefour.

Customer handling is a critical aspect of retailing since it deals with customers directly. Retail Information Technology, commonly known as Retail IT has become very important in this sense, since traders have understood the ease it could give for large volume of customer handling.

Computerizing retail stores became a common practice some years ago, but research and development in the areas have not ended. IT evolves day by day, and it is wrong to believe that technology, which we use today, is the best, since development is never-ending. Therefore, even for the retail industry, application of advanced IT solutions would go on.

A basic retail system would have a Point-of-Sale (POS) system to sell goods to the customers. This can be considered as the front-end of the retail system. A POS would normally allow cashier to issue goods and tender. The back-end of the system should manage stores, update accounts, allow periodic reports etc.

The system should be able to handle customer returns, apply special discounts, handle special categories of customers etc. A good retail system should be competent in enabling users to tender in different types. The number of new tender types is on the rise with the advancement of technology.

As an example, few decades back, cash was the only mode of tendering, but later, payment types such as credit cards came in to play and systems in the future would need to handle tendering offered through mobile phones(May be a payment order bound to a bank sent through a SMS(Short Message Service) of mobile phones).

The system depends on the business requirements. It is the business that requires systems and adopts suitable ones for them and not the other way round. Therefore, functionality scope of a system is purely driven by the business itself. Complexity of the system would increase with the complexity of the business requirement.

As an example, a small supermarket having a single store would be well off with a standalone system operating on a single machine. But imagine a large supermarket chain having several stores and within each store, several terminals. In such a situation, networking and communication would also be issues that need to be addressed.

Database updates related to store management would become quite tricky with both software and hardware advancements needed.

It is difficult to discuss about business today without taking e-business in to consideration. It is electronic business every where today and no wonder that retail industry is also affected. Therefore, new retail IT systems need to have facilities to this effect as well. Online payments and online ordering are two obvious examples.

Management of the entire supply chain has become a requirement nowadays. This was not the case at the beginning of retail IT systems. Companies have identified that it is more advantageous and appropriate to have the entire chain computerized rather than just the final end. This helps in better accounting, reporting and controlling and obviously increasing the efficiency of the whole process.

A company has two options in incorporating a Retail IT system into their business. That is in-house development or off the shelf buying.

Retail IT systems are one of the most common types of systems that are available to be bought off the shelf. There are some vendors that supply standard products while much retail IT companies would customize their base product to suit the specific customer requirements.

World famous Microsoft also has retail IT products. Microsoft Retail Management System (Store Operations) POS Software is a comprehensive retail solution designed for the independent merchant. The business software of choice for small and medium-sized retailers, equips retailers to run, control, and plan the growth of a single- or multi-store business.

In a Sri Lankan context, retail industry is one of the fore going businesses of the entire economy. IT revolution within the sector is happening silently but solidly. Sri Lanka has only few retail store chains and even they have very few stores under their belts. Therefore Simple systems might be enough for companies to survive on but it is important that technological advancements are also incorporated.

Most companies are yet to use the entire supply chain computerization and just manage with front-end of computerization by using a POS. This is mostly due to the fact that most retailers in Sri Lanka are small scale traders. Retail industry is highly dependant on volume of markets. For most types of retail goods, Sri Lankan markets are small which results in smaller size of companies and in turn results in less advanced systems being required.

Anyway functionalities such as online ordering, tendering (paying) using various types and use of wireless technology should come in to play to help uplift the quality of life of Sri Lankan people.



An IT professional with experience in both as a Software Engineer and Business Analyst. Started career as a Software Engineer and currently permanantly in the bsuiness analysis area of the premier US based IT company in Sri Lanka.

The History Of The Watch: From The Early 19th Century To Present Day Timepieces!

Personally, I have become fascinated with gemstones (precious and semi-precious stones). I am amazed at the array of colors and properties of these little treasures found in the earth. God created something truly amazing for us to look at and to adorn ourselves. Many of these tiny treasures are a fantastic investment. Purchasing a rare and beautiful gemstone that will
significantly appreciate is an opportunity for everyone to enjoy and benefit. Making a return or
to pass down through the generations, gemstone collecting can be a rewarding and profitable hobby.

I've been passionate about gemstones and collecting gemstones for quite some time now. My fascination started a couple of years ago and I've become an avid collector ever since. I am
exhilarated when I make a new find of beauty or value. Of all of the things I've collected in my life, this has been the most rewarding. I'm also making investments that will continue to increase in value for myself and my heir's.

I've gathered quite a lot of information about gemstones and thought it would be wonderful to put all of this information into one source for new collectors so they wouldn't have to do all of the searching and gleaning I've had to do to become a more knowledgeable gem enthusiast.

I've created an E-book for new gemstone collectors. You will find information on the most popular gemstones, tidbits about each, colors and properties, the rarity and cost of certain gemstones, various charts and guides, birthstone & anniversary choices, investment recommendations, etc. All of this information will be at your fingertips for your education and enjoyment. You can even download the first chapter to see just a small portion of the
information you will receive when purchasing the E-book.

Not only is gemstone collecting a hobby, but also an investment, because whenever you purchase a gemstone or piece of jewelry with precious gems and metals you are making an investment. An
investment that will only appreciate!
Gemstone Collecting
Debra Hamer

Personally, I have become fascinated with gemstones (precious and semi-precious stones). I am amazed at the array of colors and properties of these little treasures found in the earth. God created something truly amazing for us to look at and to adorn ourselves. Many of these tiny treasures are a fantastic investment. Purchasing a rare and beautiful gemstone that will
significantly appreciate is an opportunity for everyone to enjoy and benefit. Making a return or
to pass down through the generations, gemstone collecting can be a rewarding and profitable hobby.

I've been passionate about gemstones and collecting gemstones for quite some time now. My fascination started a couple of years ago and I've become an avid collector ever since. I am
exhilarated when I make a new find of beauty or value. Of all of the things I've collected in my life, this has been the most rewarding. I'm also making investments that will continue to increase in value for myself and my heir's.

I've gathered quite a lot of information about gemstones and thought it would be wonderful to put all of this information into one source for new collectors so they wouldn't have to do all of the searching and gleaning I've had to do to become a more knowledgeable gem enthusiast.

I've created an E-book for new gemstone collectors. You will find information on the most popular gemstones, tidbits about each, colors and properties, the rarity and cost of certain gemstones, various charts and guides, birthstone & anniversary choices, investment recommendations, etc. All of this information will be at your fingertips for your education and enjoyment. You can even download the first chapter to see just a small portion of the
information you will receive when purchasing the E-book.

Not only is gemstone collecting a hobby, but also an investment, because whenever you purchase a gemstone or piece of jewelry with precious gems and metals you are making an investment. An
investment that will only appreciate!

You can purchase Debra's E-book titled "A New Collector's Gemstone Guide"
at http://www.profitfromhomebiz.com/Ebooks/Gemstonepage.html
Debra is also the owner of the Profit From Home Biz website at
http://www.profitfromhomebiz.com

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