Top Biz Journal

I think that tongue twisters are tons of fun. They’re entertaining and can make even the most serious people laugh. Try it; you’ll find that you can’t help but smile when you try to say any of these things three times fast:

• She sells seashells by the seashore.
• Vini, Vidi, Vici
• The boy’s tote has a toy boat.
• Penny purchased a pettiskirt from 3 Pommes.
• He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
• Good girl gargoyle, good guy gargoyle.
• Lily ladles little Lenny’s lentil soup into a little cup.
• Do you know unique New York?
• Six thick thistle sticks. Six thick thistles stick.
• Miss Melissa made me mixed biscuits.
• Betty bought bitter butter.
• Pick a partner and practice please.

And of course there’s my ultimate favorite which is a bit longer than the others but so much fun:

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

The idea here is that you try to say the phrase as fast as possible three times in a row. The problem is that these particular word pairings are too tough to say quickly. The result is that you stumble over your words in a silly way and end up having a good time.

Technorati Tags: 3 Pommes, pettiskirt

People who have been employed at the same job for awhile often stop learning about the job. This is a huge error. If you don’t continue to get educated about your industry over time, you’ll fail to do as well in that industry as people who are newer to it. You may also miss out on important information that could benefit you directly. As a result, it’s important for all people to make sure to take classes that keep them informed about the industries in which they work.

Some people will be able to get these classes paid for through their jobs. In this case, they may not be too selective about what they learn. For example, doctors have to take continuing education hours. A doctor may sign up to take a class to learn about disability insurance for physician practitioners and how it differs from dentist disability insurance. This may not make him better at his job but it will benefit him while meeting his requirement for continuing education hours. Everyone wins.

Other people will need to pay for their classes out of pocket. If this is the case for you then you should choose wisely when selecting classes. You should also look for free classes. Different organizations, such as the SBA, offer classes to people at no cost or low cost. What a great way to learn for your work!

Technorati Tags: dentist disability insurance, disability insurance for physician

Older workers who are out of a job right now are in a tough position. The job market is competitive. Most companies are seeking to hire younger workers. Older workers who want to get the job need to make sure that they’re up to date with their 21st century tools if they’re going to compete with these young workers.

It’s important in most industries that you know how to do online social networking. Get an account on Facebook. Sign up with Twitter. Read blogs about social media. Even if this doesn’t directly relate to your job, your ability to use this tool will show potential employers that you’re up with the times.

It’s also important that you know how to work remotely. You should be able to communicate with your boss through group management software, Skype and instant messaging. You should understand what “push email” means. Even if you don’t work from home, you should be on top of these skills.

Finally, it’s important for you to be able to use a modern smartphone. These phones are “musts” in the business world today. Some industries even want you to text a cover letter instead of emailing one! If you’re at a loss as to how to use a smartphone, you’re going to be at a loss in the job market.

Technorati Tags: group management software

Having a professional website is incredibly important for any business. Whether you employ a hundred people or whether it’s just you, yourself, and you squared, clients will expect to see a professional-looking website with all the right information.

Probably the first thing you should know about ensuring your website is as professional as possible is don’t use free hosting. Free hosting runs ads on your website, which seriously detracts from your site. There is no way you can make your website look professional with free hosting ads plastered all over it, so step up and find decent web hosting. There are some fairly affordable services out there if you are willing to shop around a little!

Also, keep additional services in mind if you are very busy or run a pretty successful business. For instance, a managed server is handy if you don’t have the time to do these things yourself. Many web hosting providers also offer software for developing professional-looking websites, which is perfect if you don’t want to spend the money to hire a web designer.

However you do it, whatever web hosting provider you go with, just be sure that in the end your website is professional enough to impress your customers. The fate of your business may depend upon it!

Technorati Tags: managed server, web designer, web hosting

Ever since I fell down the stairs last fall, I have been terrified of stairs.  I suppose it could be that I am getting older in age and my mobility is less, but I am finding it harder and harder to use them as time goes on.  I have even thought that I might just have to sell my home to get something that would be easier for me, but it would be hard to move out of the home that John and I built.

So, I have been considering different solutions to my problems, and I have consulted with a number of experts to see what their opinions are as to what I should do.  There have been a number of suggestions from moving, to getting an elevator, but I told them that I needed something reasonable and that wouldn’t wipe out my savings.

After some deliberation, we were able to decide that getting a stair lift would allow me the freedom of not using the stairs and the ability to stay in my home that I do love.  Someone else suggested that I might benefit from using lift chairs so that I have an easier time sitting down.

So, it looks like I am all set, and after I have everything installed, I may be able to overcome my fear once and for all.

Technorati Tags: lift chairs, stair lift

Stealing bandwidth is what it’s called when you pull an image directly from another website’s server. Even if you are allowed to use the image itself — and aren’t infringing on the owner’s copyright — you are still stealing bandwidth from the person whose server it’s on.

For instance, my dad recently found that someone was using an image from his website on their site. They were pulling it directly from his server, which means that every time someone loaded their page, they were using up a little bit of his traffic.

Because with FTP hosting, you pay for a certain amount of bandwidth every month, when someone takes an image from your server like that, they are basically using up some of your allotted traffic. If a really popular site does that, they could actually crash your server. For a business FTP site, your business depends on your website, so this could be really bad news for you…

…As well as anyone YOU do it TO.

By pulling in an image from someone else’s server, you could be causing them major problems by making them go over their traffic quota and either crashing their server or making them pay extra for more bandwidth. So be good, play nicely online, and don’t steal bandwidth!

Technorati Tags: business FTP site, FTP hosting, stealing bandwidth

Business events are obviously good to go to for many reasons: because they can help to add to your professional experience and knowledge, because they are great opportunities for networking, and because they are either paid for by the company (if you are an employee) or tax deductible (if you are self-employed).

But here’s another reason for going to a business event: because they are great opportunities to get away.

I’m hesitant to acctually call it a vacation, because they are still mostly business-related. But networking over a nice dinner, or taking advantage of the local attractions, can be lots of fun and quite relaxing. The end result may well be that when you get home, you will feel like you have been on a vacation.

You may, in fact, want to keep an eye out for business events in exotic locations. This isn’t as rare as you might think, because the geniuses in charge of planning these events realize that exotic locations will attract more attendees that locations that no one cares to visit.

For example, I know there is a yearly writer’s conference in Hawaii. How cool would that be? There are sure to be others in similarly great vacation spots. For instance, you might find one at or near a Fiji resort, which would of course allow you to write off some or all of the cost of your travel to Fiji as a business expense.

Attending business events in exotic locations can be a great way to miix business with pleasure, but be sure you talk to your tax advisor about how much of the trip is tax deductible.

Technorati Tags: business events, business expense, Fiji resort, tax deductible, travel to Fiji, writers conference

One of the biggest reasons that I decided to be a business owner was that I could have the opportunity to help others in our community.  I saw the fact that there were few businesses in our community that had that mentality and as a result, they were not doing well.  So, I decided that my approach would work best, but I didn’t have an idea as to what service to offer to my customers.

I don’t know how many people that I talked with to brainstorm ideas for the perfect business.  It seemed like everyone has a different idea as to what would work, and I took all of them into consideration.  Some of them were a little farfetched, but it just made the better ideas stand out.  In the end I came up with a short list and I assembled my business advisors to discuss the options.

We deliberated for nearly three hours and when the dust settled we decided that a business that focused on making the lives of seniors easier would be the best choice.  There was no one in town that carried wheelchairs, walkers, hearing aids or helped to install walk-in baths.  It sure looked like a niche that would work well in our retirement town.

Months after we opened our doors, the business is flourishing.  It was definitely the right choice.

Technorati Tags: hearing aids

My husband travels once in awhile to brush up on his knowledge as a home inspector.  He’s really conscientious, and he tries to make sure he always does right by his customers since there is so much at stake when people go to purchase a home.

But, boy does he need to get some advice on his small business!  He’s in great demand and people like him.  We are doing fine in this tough economy.  But as far as tracking money and taxes and just general bookeeping, he’s really just flying by the seat of his pants.  He was in Birmingham earlier this summer, and he began to hear about how to get help with the business administration of his LLC.  But he also really needs to hear more about business strategy.  Birmingham people were a little bit helpful, but no one really had an answer as far as who to go to for real help, short of paying a certified public accountant. 

I hope he finds an answer soon.  If anyone ever asks to see his books, well, there just aren’t any.  He bills people, gets paid and deposits the check.  Luckily, he does have protection with insurance and by creating the LLC.

Technorati Tags: business strategy Birmingham, Home inspector, LLC

I went to an interesting museum exhibit. It was about old world torture methods. Now when I think of torture, what comes to mind is hurting or scaring someone until they tell you what you want to hear. You know, like water boarding. So I guess I thought that torture resulting in death would not be the case. I was wrong.

In fact the only exhibit of medieval weapons or devices used for torture that I remember them having were the thumb screws. Now these were more like clamps than screws. The clamp goes on the thumb joint and is then tightened. The victim would end up with a crushed thumb or thumbs, but that wouldn’t cause death.

All of the others were about making death as slow, scary and excruciating as possible. These medieval torture device inventers were some real sick puppies! Disembowelment seemed to be a regular theme. And making sure that the victim could see what exactly was being done to him (or her) was another recurring thing. I think the most disturbing was “the pear.” They stuck a pear shaped device in the victim’s mouth. As they turn a screw on the end the pear slowly expands. First teeth shatter. Then the jaw breaks. Then finally the jaw disconnects completely. It all made water boarding look pretty tame!

Technorati Tags: Martial arts weapons, martial weapons, medieval weapons, Torture, weapons