Archive for May, 2008

3 Ways to Reactivate Clients

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

By Nika Stewart Statistics show that it costs five times as much to acquire a new customer than to get business from a past one. So why are we spending more time chasing the strangers? People buy from people who they know, like, and trust. Your past customers already know you, like you, and trust you. So you don’t have to spend time selling yourself. They are already sold on you! You just have to remind them you are around. Here are my favorite ways to “remind” past clients about me. I always see results:Custom Holiday Gift What a great time of year to thank your clients and remind them about what you offer. Can you send a small token gift that coordinates with the design project you completed? How about a throw pillow made from their fabric scraps, or a small accessory that matches their room? I just heard an amazing idea for this time of year: a Christmas tree skirt sewn from matching fabric. How excited your client will be to have a skirt match their couch or window treatments!Call Me! I like to make it a point to call one past client each week. I call to say hello, to ask if they’ve seen a new store, to get permission to use them on my referral list… never to sell. But I often hear, “Oh, I’m so glad you called. I’ve been thinking about starting my living room…” And I set up an appointment.Email Newsletter This is my favorite way to keep in constant contact with my clients. I get a lot of repeat business and warm referrals because of the loyalty that is built from consistent communication. Loyal, happy, repeat customers make your business not only successful, but a joy! I hope you enjoy this holiday season. Nika Stewart, the Designers’ Success Coach, is the creator of Designer Blitz, a high-impact coaching system that guides interior designers to achieve their business goals. Her books, classes, articles, and one-on-one mentoring sessions have been instrumental in generating rapid results for thousands of designers. To subscribe to Nika’s free weekly e-zine, go to http://www.WealthyDecorators.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nika_Stewart http://EzineArticles.com/?3-Ways-to-Reactivate-Clients&id=377983 can project payday really make you money alternatives to payday loans hard money lender any position short term loan exception

Beat the Weeds and Save Time in the Garden

Monday, May 26th, 2008

By Fran Barnwell So often new gardeners are put off the idea of gardening by thinking about the time it might take, and the hard work involved. The popular idea of a low-maintenance garden is one of covering the space with decking and gravel, planted with a few grasses and pots of evergreens. However, I have discovered an ideal way to help thwart one of the most time-consuming chores in the garden - that of weeding. This came about almost by accident, as I have a cat who thinks that any uncovered ground is a glorious litter tray! I quickly had to find a way to cover up as much of the soil as possible, but soon realised that ground cover plants gave me the even greater benefit of vastly reducing the number of weeds. Of course, there are many gardeners who enjoy the time spent weeding, and I admire them tremendously - there are great physical and mental benefits to spending time outdoors among your plants. But for those of us whose time spent in the garden must be limited because of work commitments or perhaps physical limitations, there is a way to enjoy our plants with a minimum of fuss. Of course, time has to be spent on the initial ground preparation and planting, however, this would probably take far less time than laying decking and gravel! Weeds are great survivors and they very quickly take over any bare patch of soil. Once they take hold they can very easily smother existing plants and become notoriously difficult to get rid of. So the idea is to find plants that form dense clumps or spread via their roots to cover the ground. As with most plants, there are ground cover plants for each season when they are at their best, and some that look good all year round. One word of caution. Because some of these plants spread quickly - which is of course what we want - they also don’t actually know when to stop! So you may need to cut them back occasionally to keep them within their allotted space. What to plant? I have discovered that plants such as bugle (ajuga) - you can get plants with purple, bronze or variegated foliage; euphorbia - with stunning acid-green flowers in early to late spring; lesser periwinkle (vinca minor); bergenias - commonly known as elephant’s ears; as well as small-leaved variegated ivies, all provide year round ground cover. Another advantage of these particular plants is that they are also slug and snail resistant! In spring and summer, you can use aubretia, arabis, alyssum and candytuft (iberis), which all hug the ground. And particularly useful, and providing some height to a border, is aquilegia - the old-fashioned cottage garden variety - which after flowering retains its foliage in attractive clumps. They also self-seed prolifically, giving you extra plants each year. Another favourite plant of mine is the hardy geranium. Some varieties do die down in the winter - weeds don’t grow much then anyway - but the plants soon romp away in spring and provide ground cover and masses of flowers all summer. Other useful plants to use for ground cover are herbs. Among a wide variety to choose from are comfrey, feverfew, catmint, golden marjoram and mallow. So there you have it! Once your ground cover plants are established, youll no longer have to spend hours on your knees, but can spend quality time in your garden. Fran Barnwell is a self-taught gardener, learning through experience in her own garden. Fran understands the difficulties that face new gardeners, and has written The Ultimate Guide to Gardening for Beginners, a successful eBook that helps anyone new to gardening to get started, explaining the basics in easy to understand terms. To find out more and to sign up to receive a free series of articles, go to http://www.NewToGardening.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fran_Barnwell http://EzineArticles.com/?Beat-the-Weeds-and-Save-Time-in-the-Garden&id=138250 check cash advance indiana paycheck calculator pay day loans victoria bc payday loans vassar michigan

Stop Trying To Figure Out Women And Start Acting

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

By Christine Akiteng I receive so many emails from guys who complain that they can never figure out women and it’s driving them crazy. Many of them want to know what women want, why women do this, why they react in this manner and why they say one thing and want something else etc. So many guys are fixated in the notion that they need to learn everything about women before they can ever have a relationship with them. I am sure if there was a door marked Hot Women and a door marked Lecture About Hot Women most guys would line up for the lecture. While I am all for us trying to figure and seize each other up, its one thing to be curious or want to learn more about women and a whole other thing when this need to know becomes an excuse for none action on your part. I know many guys who can recite Men are From Mars Women are From Venus but with very little insight into what needs to be done in the present to create a more fulfilling relationship with a woman. In many ways its like decorating the walls of your prison cells and sitting there wondering why you are not happy inside your cell. Over the years (personal and work experience), Ive found out that beneath the need to figure out women is a intense fear of women and what they represent in the minds of the men trying to figure them out. This fear of women seems like a silly thing to even consider and very few men would want to admit their fear of women, even to themselves. But think about this, why does the mere thought of approaching a woman paralyze many men? Even worse, womens natural response to men who fear them (to avoid or reject them) tends to reinforce and intensify men’s fear of womens power to validate or reject them. My advice for men is stop trying to understand women and start getting to understand and figure yourselves out first. What freaks you out is not women, instead what freaks you out is your own fear of your femininity (yes, you got a feminine side). You need to get in touch with your feminine energy to really be able to get into a womans mindset. Let me make it very clear about in touch with your feminine energy. There is being in touch with the underdeveloped aspects of your feminine energy (compliant, clingy, needy, moody, defensive, anxious, moody, gossipy, timid, superficial, blame others for your problems, do not take responsibility for your actions etc). And there is being in touch with the developed aspects of your feminine energy (nurturing, creative, intuitive, receptive, relating intimately and showing concern for each other’s feelings and well-being etc). But of course, you must also be in touch with the developed aspects of your masculine energy as well. Your developed masculine energy is what prompts you to action, to take risks, to challenge, explore and take charge. The underdeveloped aspects of your masculine energy on the other hand makes you sarcastic, manipulative, aggressive confrontational, argumentative, antagonistic, ruthlessness and destructive. You need the balance of developed masculine and feminine energies to overcome your fears and move on to create the relationship with women that is yet beyond your grasp. About the Author: Christine Akiteng, Internationally renowned Sexual Confidence/Dating Coach and author of ebook: The Art Of Seducing Out Of Fullness helps men and women cultivate that NATURAL EASE that draws the opposite sex in - without the mental stress and emotional frustration of today’s dating dynamics. Christine’s websites: http://www.torontosnumber1datedoctor.com and http://www.theartofseducingoutoffullness.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christine_Akiteng http://EzineArticles.com/?Stop-Trying-To-Figure-Out-Women-And-Start-Acting&id=487078 i need a small loan but i have very bad credit paycheck signature form debt consolidation loan online el paso car company loan online

Creating Unique Wedding Candle Favors

Friday, May 9th, 2008

By Anna Hart When your grandparents married, the idea of creating unique wedding candle favors as a project may have crossed the bride’s mind, but weddings were simpler, then. Wedding favors were often nothing more than sugar-coated almond candies. The candies were traditional, and many brides went with tradition. Today’s bride has a wealth of ideas from which to choose and yet, because the same ideas are so readily available via the Internet, many brides want something different. They want wedding favors that aren’t like everyone else’s. Some want to get together with friends and spend a day crafting wedding favors. That’s where creating unique wedding candle favors as a project comes in. Picture yourself with your friends, tables piled high with lovely supplies. You load the CD player as everyone gathers around the table, and then settle down for an enjoyable day of chatting, listening to music, and creating your own unique wedding candle favors. British Wedding Candle Favors A nostalgic wedding candle favor with a “tea for two” theme can be created using “British” teacups with saucers. Search online for mini teacups and saucers. Several toy teacup and saucer sets are available. Choose antique white or flowered teacups with saucers. Place a tea candle in each cup, add a bow and card to the handle, and your wedding candle favor is ready. Centerpieces for your tables could be arranged in teapots. Dutch Wedding Candle Favors Something old something blue. What better for unique wedding candle favors than Delft “Blue” with an “old” theme like a clog? An online search will turn up ceramic mini Dutch shoes with windmill or other design painted on them in Delft Blue. Purchase pairs to cut costs, and separate the shoes for your project. Place a penny in the bottom of each shoe. Then insert a small, white tea candle. Use thin, sheer ribbon to tie on a printed tag with the traditional rhyme: “Something old, something new; Something borrowed, something blue; And a penny in her shoe.” Add a brief explanation: “The theme is old, the favor is new; I borrowed the rhyme, the shoe is blue. Look for a penny in the shoe.” Eggs-actly Affordable Wedding Candle Favors The bride who wants to inject humor can create unique wedding candle favors with ceramic egg cups. Oriental Trading Company online offers “paint-your-own” ceramic egg cups at $6.95 per dozen. The white egg cups can be painted to match your wedding color scheme, in flowers or other motif. Fill with wax and a wick, or insert a tea candle. (Oriental Trading has candle-making wax kits, too.) Tie a bow around the base of the egg cup, attaching a place card or small thank you. Oriental Wedding Candle Favors Creating unique wedding candle favors as a project is a good way to carry out an oriental wedding theme. The trick is to think of oriental objects that can hold a candle. The most obvious, of course, is an oriental tea cup tall and narrow, with handle and lid. These can be expensive, but low cost cups are also available, especially if you work with a wholesale company. Choose a pretty pattern, insert a candle, and put the lid on it. Tie your place card to the handle with a pretty ribbon. Spring Wedding Candle Favors A spring idea for creating unique wedding candle favors as a project is to begin with tulip bouquet candles, available online from Lillian Vernon. These come in sets of 3: pink, yellow, and lilac bouquets. Use white and silver ribbon to tie a place card to each tulip bouquet and you’re done. For a whimsical touch, a note about “two lips” could be added to the card. These wedding candle favors are perfect for a spring wedding especially with tulip centerpieces. Tropical Wedding Candle Favors A favorite tropical flower is the hibiscus, and floating hibiscus blossoms can be a quick way of creating unique wedding candle favors as a project for bride and bridesmaids. Begin with clear plastic dessert dishes 3″ to 4″ in diameter. Choose dishes with a short stem. Tie a ribbon around the stem of the dish, looping it through your place card. Fill each dish 1/2 full with water, and place a hibiscus floating candle in each. Candles are available online. Seashore Wedding Candle Favors You can create unique wedding candle favors for a seaside wedding using materials at hand. Order white, 13-hour votive candles from a bulk pillar candle supplier online. Purchase small plastic coasters, and pastel ribbon to match your wedding color scheme. Glue a candle in the center of each coaster. Glue a layer of sand around it. Make the sand come up over the bottom of the candle in an uneven pattern. Glue tiny seashells to the candles, and then tie with a bow, attaching your place card with the ribbon. Involve Everyone Creating unique wedding candle favors is a project in which you can involve nearly everyone in the family. You can create your favors all in one day, or do a few at a time. You may not use one of these ideas exactly as is, but perhaps the ideas given will spark your imagination. The important thing is that you like the favors you create, and that they reflect your personality and interests. This is your day. Make it uniquely you in every way. 2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to read more of her articles about wedding favors at http://www.secretsofweddingfavors.com/ Anna has posted additional information on that site about unique favors. If you would like to learn how to make mini CDs as unique wedding favors, visit Anna now. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anna_Hart http://EzineArticles.com/?Creating-Unique-Wedding-Candle-Favors&id=506346 i need a signature loan but i have bad credit payday lender maryland keywords pay day loans baton rouge bad credit new car loan

Employment and Career Opportunities at Truck Washes

Saturday, May 3rd, 2008

By Lance Winslow Did you know there are employment and career opportunities in the truck wash business? It is true and there are a couple reasons for this. One reason is due to the illegal immigration and illegal alien crackdown on Hispanic workers who have snuck over the border and found jobs in the truck wash industry. Many truck wash chains and many truck washes hire illegal aliens and up until now no one has said anything about it. However, most truck drivers are very American and they see the illegal aliens and illegal immigrants working at the truck washes when they wash their 18-wheeler rigs and they are upset. Many have called the immigration service and or the border patrol to come in to such truck washes and arrest illegal aliens and take them back to Mexico where they belong. But, this leaves a huge gap and employment and career opportunities for American citizens in the truck washing industry. There are plenty of jobs in the truck wash business and it will be easy to get hired if you decide this is right for you. Washing trucks is hard work but it will keep you in shape and therefore you will lose weight. Just think you can stay in shape, make money and develop a new career in the truck washing industry. Please consider this in 2006. “Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World; www.WorldThinkTank.net/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow http://EzineArticles.com/?Employment-and-Career-Opportunities-at-Truck-Washes&id=222791 multiple paycheck systems online auto loan bank construction loans ge money loans no turn down personal loans

Creative Soap Molds

Thursday, May 1st, 2008

By Sarah Freeland If you are interested in making your own soap then you will need to find soap molds. There are many different types of soap molds including character molds, simple molds, silicone molds, and wood molds. The type of soap molds that you use will depend on the soap making process that you use, the type of wax that you use, and your design preferences. The first type of soap molds that you can buy are basic soap making molds. These molds are generally rectangular in shape, and are made from either wood or silicone. Wooden molds will need to lined with wax paper, plastic wrap, or greased to prevent the soap from sticking to the mold. Some silicone soap molds will need to be lined to prevent the soap from sticking to the mold, however, some are designed for quick release even without the liner. If you are interested in more intricate soap molds then you can choose from several different soap mold types. First there are holiday themed soap molds such as Halloween, Christmas, and Easter soap molds. If you dont want a holiday themed soap design, but you still want an interesting soap mold shape, then you can choose from a modern or contemporary soap mold design. Your final choice for shaping soap is to hand-roll the soap into soap balls. To do this you will need to mix up your soap and then allow it to cool slightly so that you can handle the mixture. Next you will need to scoop out the soap and roll it between your palms to form the soap ball. For more information on how to make homemade soap as well as soap making recipes visit the PureandNaturalSoaps.com Check out the soap making message board to discuss techniques, share ideas and post your favorite soap and candle making recipes. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sarah_Freeland http://EzineArticles.com/?Creative-Soap-Molds&id=376840 lock credit report history of fair credit reporting act child support on credit report respossession stays on credit report for how long