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Apple Macbook Air VS Toshiba Satellite S40T - Next Gen Of Notebooks!

Apple Macbook Air13": All-day battery life

Apple recently updated its MacBook Air lineup in lieu of the release of Intel’s fourth generation Core processors which promise better performance and longer battery life. The company claims that its refreshed 13-inch MacBook Air can now last up to 12 hours on typical workloads. Nothing much has changed on the outside as the new MacBook Air retains its predecessor’s chassis, which means it is still only 17mm at its thickest point and weighs slightly over 1.3kg. The only notable exterior change is that it now has dual microphones to improve the notebook’s noise canceling abilities.

The 13.3-inch display also remains unchanged. It still has a maximum resolution of 1440 x 900. A Retina-class display would have been welcomed, but that would certainly have an impact on battery life due to higher power consumption.

Significant changes are more apparent under the hood. The most notable is the new Intel Core i5-4250U 1.3GHz dual-core processor with a maximum TDP of 15W. The low TDP is crucial to the 13-inch MacBook Air’s claimed 12-hour battery life. The processor also features the latest Intel HD Graphics 5000 integrated GPU for better graphics performance. It also supports the latest 802.11ac wireless standard for faster wireless performance.

Another significant change is that the updated MacBook Air now uses a PCIe-based SSD. Using the Blackmagic benchmarking utility, we found that read and write speeds averaged 720MB/s and 320MB/s respectively. For comparison, a 2011 MacBook Air with a SATA-based SSD would only average around 265MB/s read and 245MB/s write. In terms of overall system performance, the new MacBook Air achieved a score of 6752 on Geekbench. This is an improvement of about 12% when compared to a 2011 MacBook Air.

As for battery life, we ran our usual 720p video loop test with Wi-Fi turned on and the screen’s brightness, volume, and keyboard backlit levels at 50%. The MacBook Air lasted 8 hours, which is quite impressive. When we were doing lightweight tasks such as web browsing, it easily lasted over 13 hours. The stellar battery performance is attributed to a slightly larger battery and a more efficient CPU.

All in all, while the new MacBook Air might not be a significant update to Apple’s mainstream laptop range, it brings about welcome improvements such as greater battery life, faster storage, and support for the latest wireless standard.

PROCESSOR
Intel Core i5-4250U (1.3GHz)
DISPLAY
13.3” IPS LCD (1440 x 900)
MEMORY
4GB LPDDR3
STORAGE
128GB SSD
PRICE
US$ 1,099

Toshiba Satellite S4OT: Dependable Multimedia Notebook

These days, the limelight might be on Ultrabooks with their slim, sexy form factors and speedy response times. However, most Ultrabooks lack key features like optical drives and discrete graphics – both of which come standard on the new 14-inch Toshiba Satellite S40t. The Satellite S40t might be no Ultrabook, but it provides performance and features that bring in more bang for the buck. To maintain its competitive pricing, the notebook is mostly made up of plastic, though thankfully, has an aluminum lid and palm rest for added rigidity and premium feel. Thanks to its plastic build, it isn’t that heavy at 2.15kg.

Display-wise, Toshiba’s use of a 1366 x 768-pixel resolution display is somewhat lacking. This could be a decision to keep the price of the machine low while offering new features such as touch functionality. Thankfully, the sound department is handled by a pair of capable Onkyo speakers, which were loud and clear for music, as well as video playback. The S40t comes with two different ways to outsource its display with an HDMI and VGA port. Along with the video connectivity, the S40t also comes with two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port.

When it comes to non-touch user input, its island-style keys, while also made of plastic and quite shallow, do have a satisfying click feedback for a comfortable typing experience. Same goes for its trackpad, which isn’t too mushy. Under the hood, the S40t comes with an Intel Core i5-3317U processor for longer-lasting battery performance while providing sufficient processing power. It also comes equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce GT740M GPU which takes care of all your multimedia needs.

This notebook managed to put out 1790 marks on 3DMark 11 (Performance). These numbers give the S40t enough power to comfortably run casual games at modest settings. However, in PCMark 7, the S40t was about 20% worse off than typical Ultrabooks, mostly due to the lack of an SSD. As for battery performance, the S40t managed to stay alive for 178 minutes in our Powermark benchmark, which is good enough to get you quite a bit of work done.

So if you’re looking for a capable multimedia machine that is reasonably priced, the S40t is definitely recommended and will serve you well as long as you’re mindful of what you’re getting: a thin and light mainstream notebook with touchscreen functionality and a discrete GPU, plus an optical drive for multimedia ease of mind.

PROCESSOR
Intel Core i5-3337U (1.8GHz)
DISPLAY
14” HD LED (1366 x 768)
MEMORY
4GB DDR3
STORAGE
750GB HDD
PRICE
$1,529

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Treasure Island Map of Unknown World - Free Illustration Drawing

Here is a free image with love to anyone who might want to use it.  I created using Photoshop and Illustrator.    

X marks where the treasure is; Lets go look for it.. hahaha! I will probably do more drawings.  

Please keep a look on my other blog about Female Manga HERE.  Thanks :)

Earn Money Playing at Kingdom Craze - Empires Of Arkeia

Nice mini game; very entertaining. I like the idea, still its not a new innovative one since there are a bunch of games similar to Empires of Arekia. Still, I think the developers should have a better job in the graphics, and controls. A 3 out of 5.

Lets earn money by playing games: Sign up to Kingdom Craze; Free to join here:
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The Fat Loss Factor - Does It Work?

For millions of people, losing weight is one of the most difficult challenges that can be faced. This is not because of willpower, but because most people simply do not know how to lose the fat and keep it off. To find the right program that deal with weight loss means having a simple, complete system that provides all the information needed for success.

The Fat Loss Factor is one weight loss program that actually provides a complete, down to earth method that is relatively simple to follow. The key to the approach of the Fat Loss Factor is combining different fat loss techniques into one program.

Detoxification

The Fat Loss Factor begins with the approach of detoxifying the body in order to set the foundation for permanent weight loss. The detoxification approach uses natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, raw nuts, seed beans and the like to flush out the toxins so the body is now ready to lose the unwanted pounds.

Another part of this process is drinking more water. Most of us do not drink the recommended amount of water each day to start with. Water is analogous to motor oil in running a car’s engine. By drinking the recommended amount of water, you can keep your body’s systems running as smoothly as possible.

Eating Right

The Fat Loss Factor recommend 15 types of food that helps spark fat loss. These foods are readily available and easy to obtain. There are no “special” meals that you have to purchase as the Fat Loss Factor

Exercise

The exercise program that is recommended by the Fat Loss Factor will start helping you lose the weight. The exercises vary between strength and interval training which helps shock the body into responding and tapping the fat cells for more energy.

The exercises included in the Fat Loss Factor are effective and relatively short in terms of the time needed to do them each day. The combined approach of detoxification, eating right, drinking enough water and proper exercise helps the body definitely generates proper weight loss when done correctly.

The Advantages of the Fat Loss Factor

There are a number of advantages that this product offers, especially to those who have tried and failed with other weight loss programs in the past.

Easy to Follow Format: The Fat Loss Factor is written in simple, straightforward language which is easy for anyone to follow. You can quickly see what needs to be done and start at your own pace to insure maximum success.

Great Support: Along with the easy reading come plenty of eBooks and videos which help explain the various concepts, exercises and other helpful information that makes the Fat Loss Factor a highly effective weight loss program.

60 Day Money Back Guarantee: So confident are the makers of the Fat Loss Factor that they promise your full money back in 60 days if you are not satisfied. This allows you enough time to start the program and see if it will work for you.

The Fat Loss Factor Advantage

This program really works because it combines all the elements necessary for effective weight loss. If you are serious about trimming down, losing the fat and weighing less, then The Fat Loss Factor is definitely for you.

Woman with talk bubble - Free image

I am the rightful owner of this drawing, and therefore consent to be a free image to use by anyone.  No credit to this site is necessary, but encouraged, I will thank, and appreciate it much if you do.  Thanks.  More free graphics like this one can be found on "Free Stock Anime Girl Art"

Ronda Rousey Awesome Cable Training Gif

Ronda Rousey cable training.  She is a tough girl fighter, olimpic medalist in her discipline of Judo.  Now competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Strikeforce making history in women mixed martial arts.  She is a Bantamweight Champion.  Defeated Miesha Tate for the title shot and won.  She is skilled with submission move.  signature move is armbar.  She made reference to watching Dragon Ball Z.  hahaha! She is already got the yellow hair, so she is already a super sayan.  haha!  Lovely, and very pretty too.  One reason to watch the UFC.

Laughter Therapy for Wellbeing and Fitness

Laughing as a therapy has an amazing impact on person’s wellbeing and fitness. Laughing is considered the excellent medicine with proven results and prolongs your life. The results are very positive and pleasing that can be examined when you had a nice laugh with your family members or friends circle. Happy chemical is released through hormones all over the human body that relaxes you and gives you thriving energy and motivation. It also aids in burning your calories and tone our body muscles.

Different researches claim that laughter has numerous advantages over the human body. It helps in dealing with mental strain, anxiety and other depressions quite effectively; this is because laughter decreases the strain generating hormones in human body. Laughter comes with no price tag or inventory; its free that can easily reduce daily pressures and stresses that is deposited in our body over some span of time. Laughter is a perfect way to purify your heart and mind from all the worries, pains and most importantly from negative thoughts.

Laughter not only averts pessimism in life but is very effective in reducing body mass as well. It moves the body diaphragm muscles that are good for health and if you laugh 100 times for about 10 minutes then the results are equal to some arduous exercises. People having sagging abdomens can take benefit of laughing, as it helps in toning their abdomen muscles. It also saves time and money for those who are busy enough and can’t go to health clubs or gyms. Laughter is highly beneficial for heart as it gives cardiovascular exercise that prevents soaring blood pressure and other problems.

Laughter therapy is used in yoga exercises and studies have revealed that it has sound results on human mind and body. It elevates the spiritual wellbeing of a person as well and it aids in reunion with the inner self and avert all sorts of negative emotions such as hatred, jealousy and anger.

If laughter is practiced in daily routine then it surely strengthen your immune system to fight against all odds, you will have healthy long life and you won’t be taking problems on nerves. Try to watch lighter aspects of life instead of its tough and gloomy side. So don’t hesitate and have a good laugh everyday and keep on passing your positive vibes to everyone around you so that they can also take benefit from it.

The Rewards of Walking | Getting In Stride: The Biomechanics Of Walking

Walk is considered one of the most convenient and simple ways of workout today. Often people don’t realize that how much they walk at their work place, home or in the market. As a result they never calculate that how many calories they have burned throughout the day by means of walking. Steps can be counted if pedometer is used, otherwise you can’t measure it easily. However, walk plays a vital role in our well-being and overall health no matter what task we you are performing.

Walk has its own significance among other exercises; it not only keeps you in a good shape but also prolongs your life. It strengthens the bones and the muscles and thus reduces the major issues with joints and lower back when one gets old. Walk should be carried out not only the working hours but also for the sake of enjoyment. It alleviates you from day to day stresses and depressions and gives you the essential vigor to move ahead in life. A research was also conducted between two groups of people; one who walk and second one who don’t walk in New York, USA. In total 110,000 people who were ill were selected and the results were shown after one month. The results were really interesting as 41% of the non-walkers expired and 23% of the waking people kept alive. Physical activities of different sorts were utilized in the study in which 57% of the immobile persons expired while 16% of the moving persons kept alive.

Walk itself is the best workout for the whole body as activates the muscular movement of different body parts, such as legs, hip and foot muscles. Muscles of the abs contract and hold up their weight where as the muscles of the rib and diaphragm augment their function. The muscles of the shoulders and arms activate instantly during walk, while the neck and shoulders are exercised while keeping the head upright. At the end you may not even realize that you focus your eyes on the fitness schedule also.

Walking is not only meant for fitness, rather for fun also. When we walk our whole body is in motion, thus allowing the heart to circulate the blood to all parts of the body efficiently, making it much stronger. It averts the chances of diabetes and other potential heart diseases particularly in elderly people. Walk helps to buildup stamina and necessary strength to fight not only the physical diseases in human body but also wards off the mental pressures of life. It keeps you away from negativities of life and fills you with essential vitality. So keep your self active and hearty by walking everyday and feel the overwhelming difference it brings in your life.

How to Give Health and Fitness Gifts | Gift-giving Etiquette

Deciding and giving any sort of health and fitness gifts to your loved ones is bit difficult. If a wife gives a membership card of a health club to his husband because of his chubby abdomen then it might hurt his feelings. Although he may be aware of his unfit body but still will feel insulted and realize that his wife no longer finds him attractive. On the other hand, any fitness gift given to the wife will obviously have bad consequences at the start of the New Year.

Now the question arises that; does everyone find a fitness gift offensive? Surely not, because some of your family members and friends will welcome fitness certificate to a spa or any workout equipment gift given to them whole heartedly. Such gifts certainly are of great help for your loved ones to improve their health and life style. Most of us are fond of buying chocolates, high-calorie snacks and other beverages as gifts but we never think of buying something productive for our relatives like books on balanced diet, fitness therapies and so on. Generally, such health gifts are given sincerely with positive drive to others with no self-seeking intentions.

You have to be careful in picking up a health gift for your relatives, as some will accept and appreciate it heartily while others may feel offended and keep it to a storehouse. In your view they might be in need of such gifts but the point is whether or not they are going to utilize it. So instead of buying fitness gifts straight away try to take some hints from the conversations of your dear ones regarding fitness equipment and related stuff. You will be in the better position to decide after observing their feedback.

Getting the feedback regarding fitness gifts is not only an issue here, you have to also see that is the gift really suitable for the receiver’s health or not? You have to think carefully that the possible gifts like membership card of a gym, yoga ball or an exercise video will render positive results on the receiver or will cause damage? Often the aged people and the ones facing heath issues have to consult a physician prior starting any workout plan; therefore your gift should be safe and sound for their health. Never buy an advanced workout DVD for the one who has never tried to do exercise before, instead buy a workout DVD for beginners. You can also start accompanying your friend in workout classes to have a healthy body. It is also important that when you buy membership of a gym, spa or rest of the treatment sessions as a gift, confirm that the health facility is well suited in terms of distance and acquires relevant certification and licenses.

Research is vital in selecting a fitness gift. If a relative of your enjoy a particular sport then don’t rush to the sports shop and buy what you think is related. Surf on internet about the sporting items and question the staff members of the shop regarding the relevant items before buying them. It helps you to buy relevant and suitable gift and prevents buying any of the junk items for your loved one.

Every day market is loaded with the latest health and fitness gifts that one can not even imagine. Smart research can make wonders in selecting a unique yet useful gift that caters to the need of the receiver. Always keep a receipt of the gift item inside the gift wrap, so that the receiver may switch to a better option from the sports shop if he/she finds it insignificant.

A Healthy Body - Vitality, Diet and Mental Fitness | Energy and Physical Body: Fitness, Nutrition, and Mental Health

Vitality, diet and mental fitness are interlinked in numerous ways and physicians of today are well aware of their importance. Though different studies have proven the relationship among these three that impact the overall health of human body; doctors still find it difficult to recommend something against their traditional courses of medicine.

Most probably the curriculum of all medical schools will get upgraded soon and few of them are in the process of revision. In the interim time, people and the patients need relevant knowledge to reap benefit from the medical care. This practical knowledge will surely help them to keep their body healthy by getting optimal recommendations from their physicians. Let’s suppose that a person is having a problem of a heart arrhythmia. A cardiologist firstly examines the patient with EKG and then patient is given strap up heart monitor for few weeks. After the results it is clear that there is no such problem with the patient. Later on the patient is asked to visit for routine checkups after some time or if the problem resumes. A knowledgeable patient must know that the heart arrhythmia can be uprooted not due to cardiac anomalies only but due to some other reasons as well.

General cause of heart arrhythmia is tension or strain. A patient can pursue a workout plan to counter mental tension effectively. Another option is to examine mental fitness and food intake of the patient. Any sort of dietetic deficiency in the patient can be checked by a blood test easily. To address mental tension a patient can ask the doctor to suggest a good specialist or therapist. Fine doctors never hesitate in recommending therapists, as the therapists are the ones who diagnose the root cause of the patient’s tension or strain.

The therapist will evaluate the level of tension a patient has with its core reasons. Some other signs of mental tension are checked in addition to the heart arrhythmia in the patient like whether or not the patient has constant depression, anxiety, suffers from insomnia, headaches or faster heart rates. After careful evaluation the therapist will devise a treatment program. This example makes you understand that how a human anatomy is affected by vitality, diet and mental fitness.

At the end these three areas will upshot human body either by revitalizing it or shrinking it down. There are many things involved in keeping up a healthy body and people should recognize this fact. Various diseases don’t just shoot-up suddenly, rather they take a long way to develop and spread into the body like cancer. Vitality, diet and mental fitness give essential power and strength to a human body to maintain its optimal level. The root cause of different diseases is the malfunctioning of the immune system in our body and when the human organs fail to fight back, wipe out or restore the human body to its actual state.

The Optimal Way to Achieve Fitness | Best Way To Get Fit

Achieving a healthy anatomy involves a lot of things, and not essentially health club membership, or starvation plans. What you require is attitude change pertaining to tolerance and determination in achieving your goal and most important of all changing your lifestyle completely.

There is no shortcut to gain a good shape or physical fitness, that is why often people fail to adhere to their new year plans and pledges and get into crash diet plans to reduce extra mass from their body. People with chubby body notice that it requires lot of effort and time to get them back into a proper shape, but unluckily they fail to realize that it also took them a long time to get into a bad structure.

Today, the consumption of high calorie food coupled with the greater utilization of automated appliances and other equipment has liberated people from manual work at large. This convenience and facility has deteriorates the fitness day by day. One has to realize that the desk-bound jobs and other breather entertainment increase the chances of obesity and other fitness problems and thus requires a complete change of lifestyle.

Spending money is not the key in achieving a healthy body; it just pleases our self-esteem that we physically are working on our fitness. The solution lies not in books and buying out fitness equipment rather you have to be more vigorous and burn excessive calories that you consume. Try to employ full body of yours as that of your mind to get effective results.

Ask your self that whether your fitness commitment will remain constant or is likely to be reduced when the exercise equipment you are using will start deteriorating with time. Many people use different exercise methodologies and equipment in maintaining a healthy body like dance-mat etc, but fail to keep up their motivation level as the time goes by. Different gyms or clubs are well aware that not all of their members will be using the entire facility, if so then they will run out of admittance and space. Humans are programmed such way that do get attracted to latest and innovated things, but at the same time like to get pleasure from respite and tasty foods.

Because of this psychosomatic rationale; healthy and well-toned body needs determination, consistency, lifestyle alteration and tolerance. One can become fit by simply walking around market or neighborhood, climbing up and down the stairs and doing other physical activity instead of spending on workout machines, but one has to identity what suits him/her the best.

Once decided that you are going to keep your body fit and healthy then be clear in mind that what will suit and work for you. Always make wise decisions that whether a daily brisk walk will work for you or using of a treadmill will be a fun? Are you confident enough that a treadmill option will not be boring for you after some time? Is low-calorie ready to use food convenient for you or to cook a healthy meal is a better choice?

There are numerous ways to achieve a healthy body like some people make essential changes in their eating habits, few in their routine activities and some follow crash diet plans while others go for sturdy workouts. Analyze carefully and then decide that what will work the best for you that will deliver the anticipated results you wished for. There are no easy and quick remedies to your problem; therefore be firm and consistent to reach your goals. Start when you are completely ready mentally and gradually increase the pace of your fitness activity; surely you will get what you want with your strong willpower!

Cycling for Strength, Vitality, and Fitness

Everyone longs for a healthy life and sets some goals to achieve the optimal fitness level by different means. We can walk, run, or swim to keep ourselves in good shape but there is no other sport more fun than cycling that helps to achieve our fitness goals more quickly.

Cycling or pedaling whatever you may name it, gives faster results than that of brisk walk and jogging. It has numerous advantages and prevents many diseases as well. Cycling averts potential threats of diabetes, soaring blood pressure problems and even tones your body by reducing unwanted fat in your body. It surely enhances a healthy lifestyle and prolongs the natural vigor of a person.

Many of the researchers have claimed that even a new cyclist or a biker can avert the threat of death up to 22 percent, because cycling essentially decreases various heart diseases. Cycling is just as an aerobic exercise and studies have shown that it renders the same results as that of 30 minutes exercise done every day for nearly 5 days in a week. Cycling is not only a delightful sport but also keeps you happy all day. It boosts up your self confidence and esteem, manages mood swings, reduces mental strains, sadness and nervousness and is also helpful in alleviating the premenstrual syndrome indication in females. You feel more energetic and satisfied after cycling than rest of the regular exercises.

Cycling is also beneficial in elevating strength levels. Some of the studies indicate that the injuries caused by the falling down in elderly people can be decreased reasonably at greater scale. This is because physical strength is improved with routine cycling exercise that helps to maintain the balance of the body, thus lowering the chances of falling. Moreover, it helps to condition mobility in both youngsters and elderly people because the leg muscles are more strengthened. The progress in mobility or walking around averts the possible threats of falls and you get fewer bone injuries and lesser chances of hip substitution surgeries. Lethargic moves and dormant habits can be reduced significantly with cycling as well.

There is no age limit pertaining to cycling, everyone can actively participate in it, even at a slower pace to begin with. It is recommended that all age groups should actively participate in cycling having varying heights, weights and health levels. However, it is important to consult a physician first if a person is suffering from particular heart or muscular illness. It is a known fact that cycling is such a sport or exercise that one can easily include in his/her daily routine. So get ready for cycling, not only to enjoy the natural scenery and cool breeze out there but also to uplift your fitness level and ward off all sorts of mental pressures.

Coherent Health Guidelines for Computer Users | 5 Commonsense Health Tips for Computer Geeks

Often the computer users or geeks work all day without paying attention to their deteriorating health. The health concerns can be severe if you are not taking proper care of your posture and eating habits. There are several ways that can improve your fitness while working on computer to avoid health related issues.

1. Take Frequent Breaks

Focusing on the computer monitor for hours can affect your eyesight, so try to take breaks for 5-10 minutes after every 1 hour or more. Back off the monitor and relax your self by gazing outside the window, sit or lay down in a comfy posture. Frequent breaks will surely avert the lower back pains and eye sprain. They will help you to regain the lost vigor by continuous work on computer.

2. Keep Nutritional Food in Reach

Craving on unhealthy snacks all the time like candy, chocolates and chips are not a good option if you are working all day on your computer. This kind of food stuff often raises sugar level in your body to the type-2 category of diabetes along with the increase in cholesterol levels, heart diseases and so on. Go for smarter options when you want to crave all day. Keep healthy fruits and raw vegetables in your reach while working. If you want to have main meals in a day then take salads and lean meats. Healthy food provides you with sufficient nutrition to keep your body fit to work.

3. Consume Water, not Carbonated Drinks

Don’t consume caffeine based beverages like coffee or other carbonated drinks to keep you awake all night as they can spoil your health. Consume more water than regular carbonated drinks and extra green tea instead of coffee. High sugar quantity is added in the carbonated drinks that can affect you badly, but if you find it difficult in restricting your self from such drinks then reduce the intake to a smaller can or a bottle in a day.

4. Observe Your Sitting Posture

Often the computer users or geeks experience severe posture problems when they have to sit and work on computer. There shoulders are drooped down with abnormal curved backs making them difficult to keep up their vigor. Try to sit on an exercise ball that will prevent bad postures as you have to continuously balance your sitting pose. You will not experience drooped or limpy postures.

5. Workout during the Day

Living a deskbound life as a computer user is bringing harm to your body. You are confined to your routine work and don’t give due attention to your health. Keep your self fit and toned by workout during the day. Stop working 1-2 times a day and set out for a long walk or jogging of 20 minutes or so. Carry some weights at your work place or just omit the work for 5-minutes to relax your back.

To work all through the day in front of computer is not bad if you pay due consideration to your health. You have to make correct choices and decisions all day long regarding your daily diet, workout and working environment. By doing this you won’t be confronting any sort of health issues because of your deskbound lifestyle.

Advantages of Getting a Fitness Plan

Most of the people are conscious regarding their physical fitness and want to join a gym or a health club to achieve their goal. To have a well toned or shaped body is important for staying fit and to live a healthy life, but it requires a proper fitness plan designed by a formal instructor in this pursuit. It is a right approach to be followed in order to reach your target.

Every person has different anatomy and different metabolism rate of food, therefore customized fitness plan is offered in such health clubs or gyms. Fitness plans are based on visible results that can be achieved by following them firmly. Daily work out is well planned and lists the type of exercises with their specific time duration, so you can plan ahead what you have to do every day. You can spare more time with your relatives and even at workplace as per your preferences.

Fitness classes are a great bonus in health clubs as group of people are trained different workouts each day motivating them to maintain their performance at par with other group members. At the end of the day you surely want immediate results as you are trying hard, which is fairly possible with your customized fitness plan as it is in accordance with your body requirements.

A diet plan also assists you to accomplish your body fitness either by reducing or gaining your body weight. A fitness instructor or trainer is there to guide you, answer all of your workout queries and monitor your progress from time to time. A certain time period is required to show up visible results in your body and till then you have to trust on the capability and experience of your fitness instructor. A fitness evaluation sheet is incorporated in the plan that marks your height, weight, fitness level, BMI and other physical apprehensions if any prior to the beginning of the fitness plan at the health club. The instructor keeps a follow up of your physical improvement from time to time and alters the plan whenever he deems necessary. So, there is no harm to join a gym or a health club and start working on your fitness plan.

A fitness plan is a step higher than the regular workout at gyms, as it is more specific and result oriented. It keeps you healthier and well-toned in your routine life. One important thing to remember before joining any gym or a health club is that the consultation fee of the fitness instructor is usually free for the first time which is mentioned in the joining form of the club. A club or gym membership is necessary if you want to consult your trainer on and off for guidance, so that you can be catered with full attention and satisfaction.

Often the 6 week follow-up is a part of the fitness plan which allows you to have a look at your progress level. It also includes other workout options that you may want to choose to become part of your plan. You may want to alter the level of cardio exercises or other fitness classes to aim on some other body parts you want to tone down. At the end, an excellent fitness plan will surely help you to achieve a healthier, stronger and energetic body.

Advantages of Fish Oil Supplements for Optimal Health

There are numerous advantages of fish oil supplements such as Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9. They are helpful in improving health and ward off signs of various diseases like fibromyalgia and arthritis. Often the weight reduction programs suggest consuming 3 and 6 Omega capsules for about 3-4 months together with their diet plan. The intake is increased to 8 capsules each day in the start of 5th month. A daily walk of half mile can easily be achieved in mere 10-11 minutes with these supplement capsules. A person covers the same distance usually in 1 hour prior consuming such supplements.

People often suffer from muscular and joint pain and have to use a walker or a supportive cane to make them walk. It is often recommended to the people having such trouble to carry a mobile phone with them in case if they can’t make it a way back home or due to any emergency situations. But with the extracts of fish oil supplements, a patient having such muscular and leg pain can make up to 1 mile walk easily with controlled breath. Later on, a person can double the walking distance in just a day or two with no hassle at all.

Omega 3 and 6 surely nourishes your body and make it strong enough to carry your self in good shape with confidence and most importantly without any assist. You can run on treadmill three and a half mile/hour at your place effortlessly. Moreover, common asthma problems and lower back pains are cured with theses supplements in combination with recommended diet charts and exercises. The whole package gives you the lost motivation to move ahead in life and live up a healthy life style. It is suggested to minimize the consumption of red meat near to 4-8 ounces a week only and to maximize the intake of fish in regular meals of the week. The weight reduction programs further assists you to loose 50 pound in initial 5 months of the diet program, followed by additional 50 pound in weight reduction in the subsequent year. The total time frame is about one and a half year in reducing 100 pounds of your weight.

A body can be further nurtured by adding Omega 9 along with the regular intake of 3 and 6 to your diet, as it perks up a poor health more quickly. The strength and wellbeing is improved with the consumption of all three supplements in the form of capsules or otherwise having the potency of 8,000 mg/day approximately. Internists often suggest continuing the intake of these supplements as they have no major side effects. However, some of the patients do show certain side effects in their health so they should consult their physicians before consuming heavy doses of Omega supplements.

What Is Success ? How Do You Measure It ? Business Tip # 13

We would all love to make our first $10 million by the time we are 30. Would that figure equal success for you? Would happiness equal success? Do you want to be respected? To make your parents proud? Do you want to pay for your own college education? Do you want to save enough money to Eurorail for six months? Is success a function of receiving a particular award? Of getting into a particular business school? Will you be successful when you sell your thousandth item? Or when your company finally goes public on the stock market? Will you feel successful when there is an article about you in the local newspaper or in Money magazine?

You should figure out exactly what you expect to get out of this business. List all of the components of happiness you hope to derive from this project, and decide if they are good reasons to work so hard, and whether they are strong enough motivators to carry you through the process. Success is a personal feeling of achievement and fulfillment the idea that your efforts have paid off. Each person has his or her own personal barometer. If what you want is to be famous, your approach to business is going to be quite different than if what you want is to be rich.

You are a powerful force, and you can move mountains with your determination. We know that one person really can change the world, and we encourage you to give your dream your all. But you must consider very carefully what your life will actually be like in the first few months or even years of your enterprise. When you decide to start a business in college, you will receive the encouragement of your friends and the pride of your parents. But as much as people are interested, you will probably find pretty quickly that they do not have much time to devote to your concerns, or much interest in helping you with the dirty work. Essentially, you will have to go it alone. Are you ready for that?

Visualize yourself working late into the night. Imagine yourself staying in on a Thursday night (or many Thursday nights) so you can wake up in time for an appointment on Friday morning. Picture yourself spending half of your summer working on the business instead of pursuing easier work like friends. How will you feel when you must give up spring break in Cancun with friends for a series of meetings you otherwise don't have time for?

You must be aware that there are many difficulties here. Not only will you be doing the majority of the work by yourself initially, but your lifestyle and mind-set will necessarily change, possibly isolating you from your friends and former interests. We are not trying to imply that you must give up your college life to be an entrepreneur on the contrary, you can do both. But this substantial undertaking will necessarily have an effect on your interests and personality. Be ready for that change, and for the enormity of the project. Are you prepared to go it alone?

How Important is Goal Setting - Business Tip # 12

Think about a goal in terms of sports. In a football game, for example, the goal is the terminating point of a play. The team with the most goals wins the game. But in this framework, the goal is more than just where you want to end up, it is a direction to be facing while you are playing the game. It is the finish line toward which your efforts are aimed. But when you ask a pro football player what football is all about, he will not say the touchdown. He will most likely say the game. This is the crucial distinction we believe you should keep in mind when setting goals as an entrepreneur.

It is important to recognize your goal as the intended destination of your efforts. Clearly then, if you fail to set a goal, your efforts will have no direction. Most people are good at setting general goals, and therefore believe they have the necessary skill set. Do not fall into this trap.

Being a successful entrepreneur involves setting concrete and specific goals for yourself. The difference lies between saying generally, "1 will expand my marketing tactics," and stating specifically, "I will identify two more local customer pools by next month, and I will advertise in more papers and hand out more flyers until I have doubled my revenues, hopefully by six months from now." If you give yourself specific and reasonable personal due dates and time limits, you are more likely to get things done. You are also likely to set realistic goals, and not stretch yourself. Having only yourself to answer to, you learn how to keep the pressure on yourself. The fear of disappointing yourself can be almost as scary as the fear of disappointing a boss. Being your own boss involves a healthy dose of self-guilt, and setting specific goals gives you concrete measures of your progress.

While setting your goals, it is necessary to recognize the difference between long- and short-term goals, and to address both kinds. Standard economic theory distinguishes between the long- and short-term based on the time it takes a company's level of capital stock to be variable. In the short-term, the level of capital stock is fixed; in the long-term, it is variable. The economics majors among you will be familiar with this idea. But for a start-up entrepreneur, the distinction should be made clear along other lines. Basically, the short-term can be seen as the time before which no formal partnerships or final deals are made. It must be redefined based on each individual project, but intuitively it is the time frame from today to the end of the month.

When you are making plans in the short term, you must concern yourself with near-term events. Short-term goal setting is about organization more than aspirations. Each day should begin with a list of things to achieve, written at bedtime the night before. We cannot emphasize enough the value of lists. It may sound unnecessary, but a to-do list is the best way of getting the most out of your day. Organizing your affairs is quite a task without a secretary, and short-term goal setting is the most efficient way to go about it. Your goal should be to accomplish everything on that list today.

Long-term goal setting is about direction. While you should set specific timelines for the completion of your long-term goals, these should be somewhat flexible. The long-term goal itself is meant as a prize to keep your eyes on. It gives you direction, but it does not mandate your path. It ' is a finish line to work toward.

Whereas short-term goal setting is about organization, long-term goal setting is more about direction. Both, however, are about accountability. When you are organized and headed in the right direction, and have specific goals to achieve, you generally cannot go wrong.

How Is Patience Related to Business - Business Tip # 11

Whoever coined the proverb "Patience is a virtue" didn't do it just so your parents would have something to say in order to justify putting off buying you a car. He or she had larger, loftier lessons in mind. Patience has gotten a bad rep, as a way to learn to pass the time before things start moving. It has also gained a reputation as a safety blanket under which not-so-motivated/not-so-sure entrepreneurs can hide. Patience should be seen in a positive light, and that is what we hope to instill in you - a true appreciation for the value of patience, and a sense of its merit as a component of your business ethic.

Patience can be defined loosely as the quality of not being hasty or impetuous. Through our definition, patience is seen in a positive light for being the virtue that it is. Patience is about exercising intelligent and informed restraint, not blind and submissive resignation. It is a tolerance for the time required to execute the perfect business transaction. Do not see it as a sign of inner weakness. Nor is it a lack of belief in the inevitability of your own eventual success. Keep in mind that patience is a skill, and that much like the tolerance for spicy food, it can be acquired through practice. The success of even the best entrepreneurial idea depends critically on a healthy dose of patience. Even a so-called overnight success is going to take more than just 24 hours.

Some of the issues you will encounter during the process of starting your own business involve the approval or review of others. For example, when you draft a business plan and send it to potential investors, you will need to wait for them to get back to you. Since your blood, sweat, and tears have gone into getting the proposal just right, you are confident that it is a perfect plan that requires no further explanation or debate. But investors might not immediately see it that way. Just as you have done research in preparing the proposal, they, too, will conduct their own research and implement their own evaluation before coming to a decision. Acting in their own best interests (as everyone does), they cannot take a proposal at the entrepreneur's word. In a case like this, you simply have to be able to wait for a response. The case is the same when waiting for pending patenting, pending acceptance of a contract, and so on.

Waiting for a response can be frustrating if you expect results too quickly. Don't be too hard on yourself. Speak with people in your industry, and get an idea for how quickly you should expect to hear. Ask the investors themselves for an estimated response time. Base your worries on these estimates, and learn to be patient. The world won't stop spinning to attend to your idea, so it helps to be patient.

In a broader sense, be patient for your business to be able to stand on its own two feet. You are taking on the world, you know. Although the task is not impossible, it will take time. And if you believe in patience as a virtue from the start, you will be better off in the process. As a component of your business ethic, patience will help you not to disappoint yourself by expecting too much too soon. While fast and direct success would be ideal, it cannot be expected. Slow and steady will get you there with half the stress.

How to Develop a Marketing Plan for Your Product or Service - Business Tip # 10

Distribution is simply the way in which you answer the question of where you choose to sell your product. How do you make that choice Locate the profits. For example, Coca-Cola Bottling Consolidated noticed that cold drinks sold in vending machines and by fountain equipment were less susceptible to "pricing pressures and thus produced higher margins". Consequently, they significantly increased the number of vending machines in places such as hotels, factories, schools, and offices. A lot of Starbucks customers purchase drinks from Starbucks coffeehouses. However, in 1997, the company began to distribute a new product via supermarkets: coffee ice cream. Starbucks introduced six unique coffee ice cream flavors, expanded its market for ice cream by 32 percent and is currently considered the number one ice cream maker in the United States.

Convenience is another key issue to keep in mind when thinking about the best location. Customers want to get what they want quickly and easily.

A distribution channel is the path of the product from you to the customer. There are two types of distribution channels: indirect and direct.

Indirect Distribution Channels: An indirect distribution channel simply means that between you and the customer, there is an intermediary who is responsible for getting the product to the customer¡ªa middleman. Distributors specialize in distribution. They know what they are doing, and they know how to make a product move. Distribution may be a burden on a company, and if the benefits outweigh the costs of paying outsiders to do the dirty work, then go for it. In 1995 Nantucket Nectars sold their two distribution companies and hired outside distributors because the outsiders really knew how to deliver the juice. Those cool cats who founded Freeloader created a distribution partnership. Hotwired\magazine distributed Freeloader's software, and in exchange Freeloader sold versions that automatically subscribed their customers to Hotwired. Besides doling out your goodies, intermediaries can provide many more useful services, such as conducting market research, sharing business risk, and providing customer service.

Unfortunately, unless you have a Freeloader-Hotwired connection going on, middlemen incur costs that come out of either customers' savings or your profits. However, manufacturing agents may be able to solve the cost problem. They specialize in selling many different types of products and are paid on commission so the cost is kept at a minimum. In Guerrilla Marketing, lay Levinson and Seth Goodin (1993) argue that marketing agents are great assets because they expand the work and sales force without your having to hire many employees.

Direct Marketing Channels: A direct marketing channel means your business distributes the product. These channels have several benefits.

- It is conducive to just-in-time inventory systems where you order the product from suppliers (or make the product yourself) when you receive consumer payments instead of having a pre-ordered inventory. The result is that you can cut down on inventory costs and offer a greater variety of products.

- You can cut out the cost you pay to distributors since there is no need for them. You, not the distributors, are sending the product directly to the customers.

- Mail-order and online catalogs are also popular forms of direct distribution channels.

Indirect or Direct Before you decide whether to do direct or indirect distribution, do three things:

1.  Find out what distribution channels exist in your industry.
2.  Understand the trends that are developing in distribution channels.
3.  Know which channels are most profitable for you.

Limited Liability Company (LLC) - Business Tip # 9

A limited liability company (LLC) is a legal structure that combines many of the advantages offered by both partnerships and corporations. In a nutshell, an LLC combines the benefits of a corporation's limited liability and a partnership's tax status.

The LLC is a popular legal business structure, because it allows the entrepreneur to run a business free from ever-threatening unlimited personal liability and enjoy partnership tax status. Without having to fear the loss of his house, car, and savings to a business liability, the entrepreneur can focus his energy and money on developing a competitive enterprise that will benefit the economy and society as a whole and maybe even the business owner! Precisely this view is part of the logic behind the very flexible LLC legislation. Business-friendly legislation encourages the entrepreneurship and commercial activity that drive human progress and national economies.

The large-scale emergence of limited liability companies in the United States is a relatively recent phenomenon, though, and it most recently dates back to 1988 when the IRS granted LLCs the federal income tax status of partnerships. Since the LLC as a legal business structure is so young, laws that regulate LLCs are still evolving very quickly. Most states have not adopted uniform legislation for LLCs, and the regulations that govern the creation, organization, and handling of LLCs vary greatly from state to state. Both rapid change and regional differences make LLC legislation a hard topic to discuss in detail. If you believe that a limited liability company is the legal structure that suits your needs best, you should obtain a copy of LLC legislation affecting your state and purchase the most current book specializing in LLCs that you can find. A copy of your state's LLC legislation may be available on the World Wide Web or from your state's corporate division of the secretary of state. Most public libraries will also carry copies in their business sections. For a comprehensive guide on forming and operating an LLC, we recommend the latest edition of How to Form and Operate a Limited Liability Company by Gregory Damman (Self-Counsel Press, Inc.). Since LLC legislation is still developing rather briskly, the most important consideration in your purchase should be the recency of the information you obtain.

The basic procedure to form an LLC is simple and is comparable to drafting a partnership agreement or articles of incorporation. Forming an LLC usually requires little more than filing articles of organization, sometimes called a certificate of formation, with the secretary of state or other appropriate state agency. The information required within the articles of organization varies between states, and you will either have to order information or fill-in-the-blank forms pertinent to your area of intended operation from the secretary of state. Information for your state can also be found in the government section of your local telephone book.

Every state has slightly different requirements for filing articles of organization, and the filing fees vary significantly. For example, after reading through the information that several states require, we are convinced that the Massachusetts version is one of the simplest to file. However, Massachusetts charges a whopping $500 to file articles of organization; this sum is one of the highest around and is shameful compared to the mere $50 it costs in some other states. The articles of organization must contain the name of the company, an address for the company within the state, the name and address of the registered agent for the company, a dissolution date, the names and addresses of managers, the general character of the company's business, and the names of persons authorized to file documents with the secretary of state on behalf of the company.

Ownership:

Limited liability companies may be owned by many different types of domestic and international entities. Membership in LLCs is legally possible not only for individuals but entire partnerships, corporations, and other groups. The terms of ownership within the LLC are mutually agreed upon by the owners. Any agreements may be written either in the articles of organization or within an operating agreement drawn up by the owners. The owners of an LLC have tremendous freedom in dividing among themselves the rights and responsibilities of running the company. The owners may distribute the LLC's losses and gains according to any formula they see fit, and the same freedom is true for choosing a management system. While some members may be actively involved in handling the company's daily affairs, others may have virtually no management rights. As long as no laws are ignored or broken, an LLC has a lot of flexibility in shaping its own operating rules.

Members of an LLC may only transfer their interest in the company if all other owners approve the transaction. The withdrawal or death of any member dissolves the LLC, unless all remaining members agree to continue.

Liability.

Perhaps every entrepreneur's nightmare is losing his personal assets to a lawsuit, a bad loan, or some other business obligation. No matter how much liability insurance you purchase, you ultimately have unlimited personal liability for a sole proprietorship or general partnership. The limited liability company's greatest attraction is the legal shield with which it guards its owners from unlimited personal liability. When an LLC is in debt or loses a lawsuit, its owners are only liable up to the amount of their initial capital contributions to the company.

In theory creditors and plaintiffs can only go after the LLC's property when they seek the payment of a business debt or obligation and cannot touch the personal assets of its owners. While this liability arrangement of an LLC may sound ideal to you now, the principles do work somewhat differently in real life. Even though the LLC's shield protects your personal assets from business obligations and debts, you must still worry about personal liability and negligence. If a client is hurt or the payment of a debt jeopardized because of your own negligence, the LLC's liability shield cannot protect you, and you are still personally liable for your actions. You also shouldn't kid yourself regarding loans by banks or other large financial institutions. If a bank is not absolutely sure that your LLC will be able to repay a loan on time, it will demand that at least one of the LLC's members guarantee the loan personally. Once you personally guarantee a loan, you are just as vulnerable to liability resulting from this debt as a sole proprietor.

Finally, the absence of unlimited personal liability does not imply the lack of legal responsibilities with which a member of an LLC must comply It would not be advisable, for instance, to take out a loan on behalf of the LLC, pay the money out to its members as dividends, and claim the creditor is out of luck due to the LLC's insolvency. Most states' LLC statutes contain provisions that specify a limit to the amount of an LLC's capital that can be paid out as dividends.

Overall the LLC's liability shield is a safe and efficient way to protect yourself against financial ruin, although you should be wary of overestimating its power. The LLC is a fantastic way to drastically limit your liability exposure, but you are not completely immune.

Taxation:

Besides limited liability, partnership tax status is the second most important selling point for the LLC legal structure. In fact, it was the decision by the IRS in 1988 to give LLCs the same tax benefits from which partnerships had already profited for years that sparked the rise in LLC activity. The LLC has the freedom to divide its profits or losses among its members in any way it deems advantageous, and individual gains or losses by members are calculated and reported each year. Each member then declares his or her share of earnings or losses along with other income on his or her personal income tax return. Since members of an LLC can also be corporations or partnerships, dividends from the LLC are taxed with other earnings the member has.

How to Protect Your Business with Copyrights - Business Tip # 8

A copyright protects the original thought put into a creative work. The author who holds the copyright to his or her work owns the exclusive right to reproduce, sell, license, display, perform, and distribute that work. Works that can be copyrighted include but are not limited to books, plays, articles, journals, newspapers, e-mail, letters, instructions, poetry, translations, databases, works of art, drawings, ad copy, and speeches.

While all those forms of expression can be copyrighted, an actual idea cannot be protected by a copyright. The actual content of an author's copyrighted work, such as information or ideas, can be reproduced by anybody.

Who Can Register a Copyright

Authors need not apply explicitly to obtain the copyrights to their work. A copyright automatically exists when a person creates unique material that is subject to copyright laws. The minute an author writes a book, for instance, he of she automatically owns the copyright to that work. Legally there is no requirement to register a copyright.

The only catch to this seemingly convenient legislation is the fact that the owner of a copyright cannot file a copyright infringement suit within the United States unless the copyright is registered with the Copyright Office. Therefore, your copyright's protective value is very limited until you actually register it.

Rights a Copyright Gives Its Owner and How Long These Rights Last

A copyright gives you the exclusive right to reproduce, sell, license, display, perform, and distribute your work. A copyright is an asset, and you can sell your copyright to someone, you may license certain people to use or publish your work in return for regular payments, or you may choose to limit the use of your work to yourself. If another person or entity reproduces or sells your work without your consent, you have the right to file a lawsuit for copyright infringement.

How to Register a Copyright on Your Own

For detailed information on registering copyrights, we recommend The Copyright Handbook by Stephen Fishman (Nolo Press). The book provides detailed information on making copyrights work for you and is tailored to those who do not have extensive experience in working with them. Extensive information can also be found at the U.S. Copyright Office Home Page on the World Wide Web (lcweb.loc.gov/copyright). The Copyright Office web site, like all web sites, is a fantastic resource for information, because it is updated often and contains the most up-to-date news available.

Essentials to Forming a Corporation - Business Tip # 7

Forming a corporation is by far the most complicated alternative of the legal business structures. It is also the structure that provides you with the most control and minimizes exposure to risk most effectively. Unless specific advantages for your business can only be attained by choosing another legal form or your business cannot yet absorb the cost of incorporating, you are most likely to incorporate your business. Establishing a corporation means creating a distinct legal entity that is completely independent of its owners in a legal sense, just like an individual, a corporation has rights and responsibilities in the eyes of the law, and it is liable for its own actions. A corporation must file its own tax return independently of its owners, and it must maintain certain paperwork regarding its activities. Think of a corporation as an individual that comes to life as soon as approval for incorporation is obtained from the secretary of state.

Corporation versus Other Legal Business Structures

The corporation is a unique type of legal structure for a business to take, because a corporation is a separate legal entity from its owners. Unlike a sole proprietorship or a partnership, a corporation must be established by filing articles of incorporation with the secretary of state. A corporation is a much more formal business form than the sole proprietorship or partnership, and a corporation must keep accurate records of nearly all its activities. Starting a sole proprietorship or a partnership can be done with as little as a verbal agreement, but a corporation requires many expensive formalities.

Corporations can be divided into two broad categories: public and closely held. Public corporations are the most elaborate to form and are partially owned by stockholders within the general public.

Reasons for Starting a Corporation:

Any legal business structure serves to protect a business and its owners, but the corporation is a particularly powerful and effective way to obtain a potent set of legal benefits. The advantages of running a corporation include limited liability for the owners, easy transfer of ownership, a corporate tax rate, ability to retain earnings for expansion, and use of fringe benefits at a marginally lower cost.

Since a corporation is a separate entity from its owners, any business obligations or debts must be paid off using only the business's assets. The owners don't have any personal liability for the corporation. In theory creditors and plaintiffs can only go after the corporation's property when they seek the payment of a business debt or obligation and cannot touch the personal assets of its owners. While this may sound like a perfect solution to all your liability problems, you are still vulnerable to some extent. Even though the corporation's liability shield protects your personal assets from business obligations and debts, you must still worry about personal liability and negligence. If a client wins a suit for damages you have incurred or a creditor sues for payment you neglected to make, the corporation's liability shield is of little use to you. You are still personally liable for your own actions.

Ownership in a corporation is easily transferred between people, unless the stockholder's agreement restricts a transfer since the value of each owner's share is known. Unlike a partnership or limited liability company, however, the transfer of a share of a corporation from one person to another does not affect the term of the corporation's existence. The corporation is still an independent entity with a life span of its own, and the dissociation of one of its owners does not change that.

Another reason for choosing to incorporate is the possibility to retain earnings at a lower tax rate for expanding the business. Profits made by a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a limited liability company must be distributed in the same year in which they were earned. Once the profits are distributed, the individual recipients are required to declare them on their individual income tax returns. The partnership itself is not a separate entity and cannot retain some of the earnings. Since a corporation is a separate entity from its owners and files its own tax return, a corporation has the ability to retain some of its earnings for expansion or other uses.

Taxation:

Reading over all of the benefits incorporation brings to your company, you must have been wondering about the drawbacks. A punishing tax rate is one of the most significant problems owners of a corporation face. By forming a corporation, you are creating a separate entity resembling an artificial person. As such, the corporation must file its own tax return and pay taxes on all of its income. Once the corporation has paid its taxes, the remaining profits are distributed among the owners, who pay taxes on the same money again. This double taxation takes a tremendous toll on the net figure you see in your personal savings account at the end of a fiscal year. There are ways to minimize the effect of double taxation. One possibility is declaring your corporation an S corporation. Another option is paying salaries, rather than dividend distributions, to the owner-employees. Spend a little money on an accountant to help with this. The return on that money, in the form of tax savings, will likely be large.

A Crash Course On Business Integrity - Business Tip # 6

Your reputation is more important than you may realize at first. As the representative of a business enterprise, you must remember that relationships are fragile and depend a lot on trust. Word travels quickly, and even the slightest impropriety will be remembered. Fostering a reputation of integrity from the start is an invaluable component of a strong business ethic. If you play fair from the start, people will notice, and they will be drawn to you.

While we don't want to sound cynical, we hope to convince you of exactly how important your reputation is, and how easily it can be tarnished. People will be much quicker to remember the few mistakes you have made than to sing the praises of your otherwise unblemished career. The good is easier to forget than the bad.

You may think integrity is a word that is typically only used in commercials by banks that want to make people feel confident in them. Well, no matter whether you provide flower delivery or outsourced business consulting, you need people to put their faith in you. You develop a solid customer base and assure the loyalty of your consumers by being loyal to them.

Integrity is basically a synonym for honesty. It is a strict and reliable devotion to a code of moral principles. It is about having your word carry weight. If people feel that your honest modus operandi is dependable, they will be more comfortable doing repeat business with you, as well as recommending you to others. Consistency in your method of doing business gains trust and loyalty in business partners, and can be a strategic way to maintain a customer base. When you are good to people, they feel a responsibility toward you. They are less likely to choose competing providers or look elsewhere in the first place.

As a component of your business ethic, integrity has a dual benefit. It gives others faith in your operating style, and it teaches you to live up to their expectations. Take, for example, the idea of reliable consistency in a product. On any given college campus, there are probably a number of coffeehouses. Usually they are situated pretty close together. If you were on the run, and wanted to grab a hazelnut latte to fuel up for a two-hour biochemistry lecture, where would you get it, Starbucks or CafeCaffeine? Clearly, you would opt for the tried-and-true Starbucks over the small town unknown CafeCaffeine. Why? Because the local place is a gamble Will they make the hazelnut latte well? Will the cup be burning hot? Do they have convenient sugar packets? Will they have the right kind of hazelnut syrup? Will they be friendly and courteous? All these questions are unnecessary at Starbucks. They have built up a reputation for consistently good hazelnut lattes (according to our standards), and the general public believes that it can rely on the integrity of Starbucks in always offering the same product.

Of course, that is not to imply that only a national chain can develop a reputation for consistency in a product. (But to become a national chain, you must have consistency in your product.) The feeling of integrity demonstrated by a consistently good cup of Java can be applied to any business, and includes the reputation for integrity in standards of product, pricing, promptness, friendliness, customer service, and the like.

Please pardon the gratuitously obvious reference to Starbucks, but we are trying to use examples that everyone can relate to And sadly, coffee is as strong a common ground as can be found among the college population today. But we digress. The point here is that integrity can take many forms. Above all, a reputation for integrity in the way you operate is an important component of your business ethic because it will simultaneously strengthen your client base and establish your name and principles.

New Entrepreneur: A Broader Perspective - Business Tip # 5

It's a bigger world. You're still a small fish. Fortunately, the secret to survival is well within your grasp. As the new entrepreneur on the block, the key not only to your survival, but also to your success, lies in conducting research in your prospective industry both before and during your entrepreneurial endeavor. Even the most innovative and promising ideas will fail as a result of poor industry conditions. Eager entrepreneurs often either fail to recognize the unfavorable industry climate or lack the patience necessary to weather the conditions. Even when they do recognize turbulent periods, some entrepreneurs jump the gun and introduce their ideas at the first sign of tranquility, unaware of the fact that they are only in the eye of the storm.

So what does all of this mean for you? You probably already know that competition would be a vital part of the entrepreneurial experience, and you probably already know that successful businesses are familiar with their respective industries. With the expansion of technology (especially in the realm of computers) in recent decades, an abundance of information can become available both cheaply and easily to anyone who desires it. However, this abundance of information may overwhelm the unprepared, inexperienced businessperson.

That's where we come in. Although local libraries, government agencies, and the Internet provide plenty of available resources, this information is worthless without a means to analyze it. We aim here to provide you with the necessary tools.

•  Effectively learn from your competition.
•  Research your competitors and industry cost-effectively.
•  Correctly and profitably identify current trends and conditions in your industry.
•  Recognize the hottest upcoming trends for the twenty-first century.
•  Interpret basic economic concepts and recognize common misconceptions.
•  Develop your own plan of research.

NOTE: Research?

The word research sends shivers down many of our spines, as visions of 50-page thesis papers dance in our heads. However, you must realize that knowing your industry is serious business, and dedicated research is the only way you're going to familiarize yourself with your industry. Conducting research for business is just like participating in a big scavenger hunt. The hunt itself may be tiresome, but when you discover the information you need, not only does a feeling of self-satisfaction envelop you, but profits could soon be filling your pockets as well. But first, let's get back to business.

Put Your Business to the Test

Before even introducing your idea, you should examine your industry climate. This involves some self-evaluation of your relative position and situation within the industry. You should be able to predict the level of performance of your business under practically every possible set of circumstances. Asking yourself the following questions will give you a solid introduction to your industry.

How Will Your Individual Business Cycle Relate to the Overall Business Cycle?

Like everything in life, the overall business cycle experiences ups and downs. Generally speaking, there are booms in which the majority of the people enjoy prosperity, and there are recessions in which the majority of the people don't. Unfortunately, your business is not immune to this roller-coaster ride. However, by knowing how the peaks and troughs of the country's business cycle affect your individual company's cycle, you can smooth out your own ride and mitigate any drastic climate shifts your company must endure.

For instance, the business cycles of substantial consumer goods such as housing and luxury automobiles usually run simultaneously with the overall business cycle. These products and services are thus very cycle sensitive. Goods not sensitive to the collective business cycle are termed countercyclical, whenever the nation suffers from a recession, these goods become more popular (and vice versa with economic surges). If you plan to start a business in the discount department store or used automobile industry, slower growth for the entire economy may actually increase the demand for your goods.

How to Choose The Legal Structure For Your Business - Business Tip # 4

There are numerous ways to set up and operate a company, and entrepreneurs are often overwhelmed by the fundamental decision that every person starting a business must make: What should the legal structure of my business be?

Business-people rightfully worry about this decision, because it is the first step in laying a solid foundation upon which a successful company can be built. A poor decision early in the game may backfire and ruin you financially. In the United States, however, there are a number of ways to set up and protect a business.

Deciding which legal structure your business will take is one of the first decisions you will make. Registering your company as a certain type of business gives both you and your business varying rights and liabilities in the eyes of the law. While choosing a legal structure for your business, you will have to balance advantages and disadvantages to both you personally and your business. The most significant differences between the six business forms are the manner in which you and your business will be viewed in matters of ownership, liability, and taxation. Another issue you may consider in your decision is manageability. Maintaining a sole proprietorship, for instance, is much easier and requires much less paperwork than maintaining a corporation. A simpler business structure also means less potential of running into legal pitfalls throughout your operation.

There is no correct business form that will fit everybody's needs, and there is no rigid formula that will make your decision easy or obvious. The nature, number of people involved, and projected size of your business will initially narrow the number of legal structure choices. As the founder of your enterprise, it is your task to study those legal structures and choose the one that best suits your needs. The legal structures differ primarily in matters of ownership, liability, and taxation. Consider the following questions as they apply to your proposed business:

1.  Are you and your dependents willing, and capable of accepting personal liability for all of your business's debts?
2.  Will you be the only person involved in handling the daily affairs of the business, or will others be routinely involved in the management of daily operations?
3.  How easy would it be for you to liquidate your business if you were suddenly unable to work?
4.  How difficult would it be to transfer ownership of your share of the new business to your heirs if you died?
5.  Does the nature of your business allow you to shut it down quickly if it is no longer capable of generating a profit?
6.  How much time are you willing to invest in researching legal aspects of running a certain type of business and filing the appropriate forms to do so?
7.  How much of your business's earnings do you expect to spend exclusively on developing your business further?
8.  How many people, if any, will be employed by the business?
9.  Does the nature of your business entail a high likelihood of being sued?
10.  Do you plan on giving your employees any form of compensation other than a salary or wage, such as fringe benefits?

How to Get a Bank Loan for Your Business - Business Tips # 3

The most common form of bank loan is a 90-day short-term unsecured loan Standard variations include loans made for periods shorter than 90 days (i.e., 30 or 60 days) and loans extended for up to a year and backed by collateral. These are known as secured loans. If you're familiar with accounting, you've probably already figured out that a short-term loan represents a current liability on your company's balance sheet, indicating that debt must be repaid within a year. Bank loans typically have an annual interest rate several points above the prime rate, much like consumer credit cards. In the past, the most common approach was to apply a simple interest rate to the loan, requiring that the debtor pay fixed payments over the life of the loan. More recently, banks have been charging a floating or variable interest rate, allowing the interest charges to vary according to fluctuations in the prime rate. Another trend has been to price the loan at a rate above the marginal cost of funds, which is typically reflected by the interest rates on certificates of deposit (CDs). This rate fluctuates daily according to changes in money market rates. In general, the amount of interest paid on a loan will depend on (1) the dollar amount of the loan, (2) the period of the loan, (3) the nominal annual rate of interest, (4) the repayment schedule, and (5) the method used to calculate the interest.

Often entrepreneurs can forecast the cash flow of their company and anticipate future periods when they will require money to pay for supplies or build up inventory. Instead of borrowing the cash now and paying unnecessary interest, they can apply to a bank for a line of credit an assurance by the bank that, as long as the company remains financially healthy, the bank will lend the company a specific amount of capital. This does not guarantee that the bank will lend the money, rather it ensures that when the business wants to draw against its line of credit, the bank will review the company's current financial statements to verify that it still qualifies for the loan. Under certain circumstances, a business can obtain a guaranteed line of credit that promises the company that the bank will lend it money regardless of its current financial position. As you can well imagine, banks charge extra for the guarantee, typically 1 percent a year on the unused portion of the line of credit. Moreover, a bank will frequently require that entrepreneurs maintain a compensating balance, holding a specific amount of money in their checking account without interest.

Banks will frequently require collateral from the entrepreneur in order to reduce the risk of making a loan. Collateral may be in the form of any asset that has measurable value, including equipment, property, or inventory. If the entrepreneur defaults on the repayment of the loan, the collateral becomes the possession of the bank, which may sell the assets in order to recoup its losses from the loan. With a small business, banks often require that the entrepreneur and his or her key managers personally sign for the loan, offering their personal possessions as collateral. Obviously, this puts the entrepreneur at great risk. However, the rationale of the banker dictates that if you're not willing to put up personal collateral for the loan, then the deal is too risky for the bank, and the bank will deny the credit altogether.

Though commercial banks and venture capitalists differ along almost every dimension, the one thing that's important to both is your business plan. Having a well-articulated, accurate business plan with solid numbers that predict positive financial performance will be important to obtaining a line of credit from a bank. However, unlike the venture capitalist, the banker does not search for outrageous growth rates and a high potential return on investment. In fact, the banker could probably care less how rapidly your company grows. He's interested in ensuring that your company will continue to remain healthy, producing financial results that will allow you to repay the loan according to the terms of the agreement. You must be able to validate your financial projections and explain your assumptions in a manner that convinces the banker that you run a sound business.

Making a Successful Business Plan - Business Tip # 2

All communities develop their own language, and the business community is no exception. An otherwise well-written business plan that does not use the language of business is likely to be viewed either skeptically or less seriously by prospective investors. Whether your subject is market competition or company management, make every effort to follow these simple guidelines to the practical and stylistic elements of business writing.

All communities develop their own language, and the business community Write Professionally, Not Academically First and foremost, the business plan provides analytical evidence of your company's potential for success. Present this evidence through concise, purposefully written sentences that directly address the concerns unique to each section of the business plan. In contrast to a college essay or paper, a business plan should do the following:

- Keep paragraphs short and blocked.
- Reserve quotations and anecdotes for those cases where the information confirms claims in market research or is necessary to fully answer the concerns of the investor.
- Be sparing with essay-writing words and phrases such as therefore, to be sure, however, consequently, hence, and thus.
- Minimize use of colloquial phrases.
- Utilize phrases such as "the Company strongly believes . . ." and "the Company feels confident that . . ." as opposed to "it would seem­" we hope . . . ," and "this might suggest. . ."

This does not imply that business writing should be dull or bland. A well-written business plan can follow these guidelines and still prove engaging and unique. However, a business plan that reads too much like a college essay risks being interpreted as a sign of business inexperience.

Base Predictions on Statistical Evidence

One of the most challenging aspects of writing a business plan involves predicting the potential market for your product or service. Since the details of your company's early years are speculative, this material comes under the most intense scrutiny from prospective investors. To make your predictions more accurate and convincing, be sure to include actual statistics in formulating each step of your analysis. Make sure that all assumptions have a numerical foundation. For example, do not simply state: "The rapid growth of the Internet fuels speculation that a virtual office business would prove profitable." Instead note: "Computer magazine lists the market of Internet servers as increasing by 80 percent in the past three years. This trend provides strong indication that a virtual office business would prove profitable." By providing actual numbers for the prospective investor to analyze, your business plan uses market history, not wishful thinking, to create an accurate picture of future possibilities.

Use Bullets

to find your business plan's key points. Bullets, spacing, character size, and character quality (such as bold, italics, and underline! draw immediate attention to evidence suggesting a market's viability, your product's advantage over competitors, effective sales strategies, and so forth. Make your business plan reader-friendly, and ensure that important considerations are not overlooked by casual readers.

Consider Technology

In today's world, technology is key to the efficient, smooth operation of all aspects of business. As you prepare your business plan, consider the Don't force your prospective investor to search through paragraphs of information technology available to assist in the production, marketing, or sales of your product or service.

Invest in Business Software

The purchase of a good word-processing and spreadsheet package will prove to be a worthwhile investment. Most word-processing programs today deliver a professional-quality format and come packaged with chart-ready capabilities. A good spreadsheet program gives you the capability to adjust strategic variables such as service pricing and personnel wages, providing information on future revenues with only a few keystrokes. Most spreadsheets today can also produce tables from these supplied variables. Presenting information graphically makes your research more accessible and lends a professional appearance to your business plan. Business plan writing software is also available, and is useful for guidance purposes.