Reminders For Running A Better Business

The following tips are from an article we contributed to Compute magazine. These are ideas that we all should know, but many times forget. It constantly amazes us how quickly a basic tenent of business can be shoved by the wayside in the heat of daily transactions.

If we all try to keep these simple principles in mind, they may keep us on the straight and narrow in our pursuit of home office bliss.

1. Buy an answering machine. This will allow you to give your attention to a client and not the telephone. Be sure your message is done in a professional manner and includes business name, telephone number and hours of operation.

2. Be sure to have a separate telephone line for business. This will avoid your family using the same line and busy signals to prospects and clients. Keep your personal calls separate and insure your business line is always answered in a professional manner.

3. Read, read and read some more. You will constantly be learning about your business. Reading will allow for additional knowledge, change and growth.

4. Buy a fax machine. This will allow you to give your clients prompt responses and in many cases save on postage and telephone costs. It will also avoid having to leave your office to go and fax something at $1.25 or more per page.

5. Have an identity package professionally done. Your logo, letterhead, business card, envelope and brochure will be the first impression a prospect or client has of you. To insure the impression is a good one, have your business package done by a professional designer. The cost is worth it.

6. If possible set up your office in a separate room of your home. This will allow you to close the door at the end of the business day and allow better separation of your personal and business life.

7. To project a professional appearance be sure your home is always neat and clean-nothing lying about. In addition be sure your yard is well kept. Remember, first impressions count.

8. Be sure your business name is descriptive of what you do. Business names that don't relate to your services can hurt a business. Avoid using just initials, that's fine when you get to be the size of AT&T, but remember, in the beginning no one knows you.

9. Make up a business plan. This will help you research, define and outline your market. It also avoids starting a business in a field that may be overcrowded.

10. If possible, be sure to have at least six months worth of living expenses in reserve. This will allow you to concentrate on getting your business up and running without worrying about paying the bills.

11. If possible, buy a copy machine. This avoids having to go out every time you need to make a copy. Also, it allows you to give a client a copy on the spot. This can go a long way towards enhancing your image as a real business.

Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit www.homebusinesssolutions.com">http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com

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Kofi Annan, former UN secretary general, dies

Ghanaian who served as secretary general between 1997 and 2006, dies aged 80

The former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, has died at the age of 80 after a short illness, his family and foundation announced on Saturday.

The Ghanaian was the seventh secretary general and served for two terms between 1997 and 2006. He was awarded the Nobel peace prize for his humanitarian work jointly with the UN as an organisation in 2001.

Omarosa 'has video, emails and texts to support Trump claims'

Person close to former White House aide – who says Trump uses the N-word – says ‘treasure trove’ could be released at any time

Omarosa Manigault Newman does not just have tapes of conversations from her time as an adviser to Donald Trump, a person with direct knowledge of the records said on Friday. She also has a stash of video, emails, text messages and other documentation supporting the claims in her tell-all book about her time in the White House.

Genoa bridge collapse: thousands attend state funeral for victims

President Sergio Mattarella among those at ceremony for 18 who died in tragedy

About 3,000 people gathered in Genoa on Saturday for the state funeral for those killed in the collapse of the Morandi bridge.

Rescue workers arriving at the ceremony were given a sustained round of applause, as the death toll rose to 41 after a couple from Turin and their nine-year old daughter were found beneath the rubble.

Kerala floods: many thousands await rescue as downpour continues

Indian PM vows more aid and compensation for those hit by worst monsoon in 100 years

Thousands of people in the southern Indian state of Kerala are still awaiting rescue from the worst flooding in nearly 100 years, with heavy rain predicted to continue for at least the next two days.

With more than 300,000 people sheltering in relief camps and thousands of others on high ground in areas cut off by floods, supplying food, medicine and clean water is a growing challenge for authorities.

Muslim couple denied Swiss citizenship over handshake refusal

Couple also ‘showed great difficulty in answering questions asked by people of the opposite sex’

The Swiss city of Lausanne has blocked a Muslim couple’s bid to become Swiss nationals over their refusal to shake hands with members of the opposite sex.

The municipality said it refused to grant the couple’s citizenship application over their lack of respect for gender equality, Lausanne mayor Gregoire Junod said.

Tesla sues Ontario government for 'unfair' scrapping of electric car scheme

Company ‘singled out for unfair and arbitrary treatment’
Premier Doug Ford has killed off several Liberal policies

The Canadian arm of Tesla Motors is taking Ontario’s new Conservative government to court, claiming it has suffered “substantial harm” after the cancellation of a rebate programme for residents who bought electric vehicles.

Since taking power earlier this year, the new government – led by Doug Ford, the brother of the former, late Toronto mayor Rob Ford – has killed off several initiatives ushered in by previous Liberal governments, from a pilot exploring basic income to a hike in the minimum price of beer.

UK has not 'woken up' to far-right threat, says ex-counter-terror chief

Mark Rowley urges politicians and media not to underestimate threat of domestic extreme rightwing groups

The UK has not “woken up” to the threat posed by the far right, the former head of the Metropolitan police’s counter-terrorism unit has said.

Mark Rowley urged politicians, the media and communities not to underestimate the threat of far-right groups, citing how National Action, a proscribed neo-Nazi organisation, has “a strategy for a terrorist group” with online materials advising on how to sow tension and discord in communities and evade police surveillance.

No-deal Brexit may force rethink of vote - ex-civil service head

Impact would be so grave UK would have to review decision to leave EU, says Bob Kerslake

Britain may have to rethink the decision to leave the EU if the government is unable to strike a Brexit deal with Brussels, a former head of the civil service has said.

Bob Kerslake said the consequences of a no-deal exit would be so serious that the UK parliament would have to consider whether it could allow it to go ahead.

Date set for Aretha Franklin's funeral in Detroit

Funeral of soul singer will be held on 31 August in her home town, publicist says

Aretha Franklin’s funeral will be held on 31 August in her home town of Detroit, her publicist has said.

The late singer’s representative, Gwendolyn Quinn, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the funeral at the city’s Greater Grace Temple would be limited to her family and friends.

Marvel Comics' Stan Lee wins renewed protection against alleged elder abuse

Keya Morgan, a memorabilia collector, must stay at least 90 metres away from Lee for the next three years

Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee won renewal of a protective order on Friday against a onetime business manager accused of subjecting the 95-year-old Spider-Man co-creator to elder abuse after taking charge of his affairs earlier this year.

Keya Morgan, a New York-based memorabilia collector who became involved with Lee following the death of Lee’s wife last year, must stay least 100 yards away from the Marvel magnate for the next three years, the restraining order states.

'Hate crime': Belfast politician decries ‘anti-Protestant’ poster

DUP councillor Graham Craig says poster, which refers to killing Catholics, is ‘offensive and derogatory’

A poster of a brain which features slogans such as “Save Ulster from Sodomy” and “Fuck the Pope” has outraged a Belfast politician.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillor Graham Craig said the poster, which has been erected in Belfast city centre, is “anti-Protestant ... offensive and derogatory”.

Green space in every schoolyard: the radical plan to cool Paris

Playground oases could benefit students and city alike, but will making them public prove too controversial in a city on high alert?

It’s only 10am but the heat is already radiating off the asphalt at the École Riblette, a primary school on the outskirts of Paris. Sébastien Maire, the city’s chief resilience officer, points to the school’s lower courtyard, a classic heat trap: surrounded by concrete walls that reflect sunlight inside. Last June, the courtyard hit 55C (131F).

“For three days, school activities stopped,” Maire says. “It was not possible for the children to study, nor to go into the schoolyard. We would forbid them because it’s 55 degrees – you can fry an egg on the ground.”

How Delhi's rising heat and a love of concrete caused a deadly water crisis

Reports warn it could run out of groundwater by 2020. Has Delhi run out of time to reverse years of mismanagement and unchecked urbanisation?

It’s about 4pm on a muggy monsoon day in Wazirpur, a low-income urban village in Delhi. A group of 30 women are lined up in the 34C heat (93F) behind an assortment of empty coolers, buckets, petrol containers – anything they can store water in once the government tanker arrives.

“We’ve been here since 10am,” says 55-year-old Gudi. “You never know if the tanker will come or not – we come here every day and wait.”

Sydney's bushfire season starts in winter: 'We may have to rethink how we live'

Hotter, drier summers in Australia mean longer fire seasons – and urban sprawl into bushland is putting more people at risk

At first the smoke on the horizon “didn’t look like anything major,” says Joe Mercieca of that day in 2013. But then the wind picked up.

His house in the Blue Mountains, an hour and a half out of Sydney, was soon surrounded by the blaze. “I told my wife it was too late, let’s retreat,” he says. Mercieca, Merylese and their dog took shelter in the concrete fire bunker they had built beneath their house. “We sat in there and listened to everything explode.”

What would a heat-proof city look like?

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If you’ve felt uncomfortably hot in a city this summer, chances are it’s not just because of the weather. Look around any urban centre and you’ll see the built environment itself exacerbates summer temperatures.

Vehicles stuck in traffic emitting heat. Airconditioners pumping waste heat into the air. Concrete and asphalt across almost every surface, absorbing and radiating the sun’s rays. Urban canyons formed between tall buildings, trapping heat at the street level.

‘Chicken is where it's at’: the unstoppable rise of KFC

KFC has survived health scandals, veganism and a major delivery fail: can the fast food behemoth stay on top?

Before Donald Trump entered the White House, there was probably no other American businessman as instantly recognisable as “Colonel” Harland Sanders. True, Henry Ford and John D Rockefeller made far larger fortunes, but most people couldn’t pick them out of a line up. Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, however, enjoys a strange celebrity, even 40 years after his death. His face, with the distinctive goatee and browline glasses, is plastered across 2 2,000 KFC outlets around the world – including a branch called Sanders Cafe, a diner on Highway 25, just outside Corbin, Kentucky. It doesn’t look much, and is situated next to a rundown tanning salon (“new bulbs, new owner”); but for some this is a place of pilgrimage. In 1932, it became the Colonel’s first restaurant and remains open to this day.

At lunchtime, customers are queueing to place their orders and eat in the original chestnut-panelled dining room. On the way to the restrooms, a few display cabinets feature one of Sanders’ trademark white suits and string ties, alongside old menus and memorabilia. At one table, Leslie Shriner, 52, a fifth-grade teacher from Florida, sits with Jeff Metcalf, 52, who grew up and lives in Corbin. “He’s taken me here on a date. I think he’s trying to impress me,” she laughs. She’s only half joking. She and Jeff have been going out for six months; she’s paying him a visit and he wants to show her the sights. She hasn’t eaten a KFC meal since she was in high school. “I usually try to eat clean meats and organic vegetables and healthy food.” But he insisted they lunch at Kentucky’s most famous restaurant.

Suspect arrested after 63-year-old stabbed to death in Walworth, London

Victim pronounced dead at the scene and 67-year-old man arrested in Denmark Hill remains in custody

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 63-year-old man was stabbed to death in London.

Police were called to an address in Walworth in the south-east of the city on Friday afternoon.

French teenagers swipe up for arts on Macron’s app

New electronic pass prompts debate on cultural snobbery

It’s like Tinder but for the arts, and with benefits. Your phone shows you a picture teasingly described as likely to “arouse desire” – of a play, a film, a concert, a book, an instrument, a dance class – that is on, or available, in your neighbourhood.

If it’s not for you, swipe left and the app serves up an alternative. If it is, swipe up to get more details, reserve a ticket or buy your copy. The bonus: if this is the year of your 18th birthday, it comes preloaded with €500 of culture credit.

Hajj 'nap pods' being introduced for pilgrims to Saudi Arabia

The sleep stations – based on Japan’s famous capsule hotels – will offer clean sheets and air-conditioning

Saudi Arabia plans to introduce sleep pods, reminiscent of Japan’s famed capsule hotels, in the western city of Mina in the coming days, as an estimated two million Muslims gather for the six-day hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam.

Older than dinosaurs: last South African coelacanths threatened by oil exploration

Just 30 of the prehistoric fish known to exist, raising fears oil wells will push it to extinction

Bright blue, older than dinosaurs and weighing as much as an average-sized man, coelacanths are the most endangered fish in South Africa and among the rarest in the world.

Barely 30 of these critically-endangered fish are known to exist off the east coast of South Africa, raising concern that a new oil exploration venture in the area could jeopardise their future.

Taiwan bakery chain caught in crossfire of tensions with China

Chinese netizens call for boycott of 85 Degrees Celsius Bakery after visit from Taiwan president

A popular Taiwanese bakery chain has become the latest victim of worsening tensions between China and Taiwan, the self-governed island that Beijing claims is part of China.

After a visit from Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen, the 85 Degrees Celsius Bakery attracted anger and calls for a boycott from both sides of the Taiwan strait this week.

Nationals call for more coal-fired power plants at party meeting

Resources minister Matt Canavan reinforces the case for coal as Turnbull battles Coalition energy policy critics

The Nationals have urged the federal government to support new coal-fired power plants and lift the ban on nuclear energy.

The party’s federal council in Canberra on Saturday passed a motion calling on the government to back building high-energy, low-emissions power stations to provide reliable and affordable power.

Rape at gunpoint is illegal in America? Tell that to the women we work with

US law ignores the violence routinely suffered by women in prostitution, and actively criminalises victims. Here, after a Guardian investigation revealed the exploitation cycle in US prisons, two activists say enough is enough

Every day on the streets of the US, women are being raped, viciously attacked and left for dead. When women do die, their killings almost never make the local news and the perpetrators who commit these horrendous acts of violence do so with almost total impunity.

Under the country’s laws, these women are victims. But their lives are deemed worthless by the public and the state. They hold no political agency or economic power and, while they are incarcerated time and time again, the perpetrators – the people who hurt them – are never jailed.

Indian state launches breastfeeding drive in bid to cut infant deaths

Rajasthan moves to tackle above average infant mortality rate by promoting natural feeding in first hour of life

The Rajasthan government has launched a campaign to promote breastfeeding, particularly in the first hour after birth, in a bid to improve the state’s infant mortality rate.

There were 41 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births in the north-east Indian state in 2016, compared with the national average of 34.

UN accused of hindering inquiry into alleged sexual assault by India official

Contractor who claims senior UN population fund official sexually harassed her says agency has prejudiced criminal investigation

The UN has been accused of obstructing a police investigation in India following claims of sexual assault against one of its senior officials.

Prashanti Tiwari, who says she was sexually harassed and groped while working for an organisation contracted by the UN population fund, UNFPA, said the agency had tried to block a criminal investigation by claiming immunity for its staff, including the alleged perpetrator.

'She insulted my manhood': murder underlines Turkey's LGBT backlash

In a country where anti-gay violence is often excused as unjust provocation, a fatal shooting has raised fresh fears

Simge Avcı loved practical jokes, says her roommate Bahar, recalling how her friend would giggle after pretending to spill the contents of an empty teapot on her startled victims.

Bahar (not her real name), 25, had lived with Avcı for seven years in Samsun, a small, sleepy city on the Black Sea coast of Turkey.

'Indonesia's horror': the girl, 15, raped by her brother and jailed for abortion

The grisly truth behind a baby’s death has caused an outcry in a country where abortion laws take scant heed of circumstance

Fika* gave birth alone in her room at night. The baby came out alive.

According to her testimony, the 15-year-old from Sumatra cut the umbilical cord with a razor and then the baby went limp and died. She held it up, but it didn’t cry.

I watched and wept in Genoa’s ruins. But we have no idea what will happen next | Matteo Pucciarelli

Once the symbol of a country on a path to prosperity, the Morandi bridge collapse is the first major challenge for the country’s populist coalition

About 40 minutes after the Morandi bridge collapsed I was there, under it, amid the ruins. It was pouring with rain and the road had been closed shortly before by the city police. I ran to the site. And when I caught sight of the destroyed “little Brooklyn” – as we Genovese liked to call it – I started to weep.

It was like something out of a war zone: the wreck of crushed lorries and cars, the white cloths over bodies that had only just been taken out, the twisted, incredulous faces of the first rescuers on the scene.

Men's fixation on young women is another sign of masculinity in crisis | Arwa Mahdawi

A depressing new study about online dating indicates a problem that is reverberating across every aspect of our society

The Week in Patriarchy is a weekly roundup of what’s happening in the world of feminism and sexism. If you’re not already receiving it by email, make sure to subscribe.

The truth about cats and Trump's dogs: civil discourse needed

When Trump called Omarosa Manigault Newman a ‘dog’ on Twitter, some still managed to be shocked

The question of how to cover the revelations of Omarosa Manigault Newman, a woman who sorely tests the principle of my enemy’s enemy is my friend, twisted US journalists into caveat-issuing pretzels this week. She is an unreliable witness with a huge axe to grind; she is, as those who watched her on The Apprentice may recall, highly vindictive. She was also prepared to tolerate Donald Trump’s sexism and racism as long as he was paying her salary.

Lara Trump: who is the 'good Trump' who offered Omarosa 'hush money'?

The appearance of the president’s daughter-in-law may be a surprise to even those watching closely

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Kofi Annan's three key UN speeches - video

The former UN secretary general faced tough times during his tenure at the organisation – the war in Iraq, which he opposed, lingering questions on scandals, deteriorating ties with the George W Bush administration and US rightwingers calling for his head. His worst moments, Annan said, included not being able to stop the bloodshed in Sudan's Darfur region and in the Iraq war

Kofi Annan, former UN secretary general, dies

Kofi Annan is awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2001 - video

Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general who has died at the age of 80 after a short illness, was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2001 for his humanitarian work and for helping revitalise the UN during a period that coincided with the Iraq war and the HIV/Aids pandemic

Kofi Annan, former UN secretary general, dies

Kofi Annan - in pictures

The Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh UN secretary general has died aged 80

Moment Kofi Annan was sworn in as UN secretary general in 1996 - video

Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general, has died at the age of 80, the organisation announced on Saturday. The Ghanaian was the seventh secretary general between 1997 and 2006 and won the Nobel peace prize for his humanitarian work. Born in Kumasi on 8 April 1938, he was the first secretary general to emerge from the ranks of UN staff

Kofi Annan, former UN secretary general, dies

Donald Trump defends Paul Manafort: 'He happens to be a very good person' – video

Donald Trump has defended his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who faces 18 counts of tax evasion and bank fraud. Trump’s comments came as a jury convened in Virginia, following a three-week trial in which federal prosecutors called 27 witnesses to testify against Manafort. He faces up to 305 years in prison

Trump declines to rule out Manafort pardon as jury considers verdict

'Please pray for us': Kerala experiences worst monsoon in nearly a century – video report

Floods in the southern state of Kerala in India have left more than 320 people dead and more than 220,000 displaced. It is believed the death toll will rise, with more rain predicted and thousands of people still awaiting rescue

Kerala floods: death toll rises above 324 as rescue effort intensifies

Kerala floods: man, neck-deep in water, appeals for help from inside his house - video

Footage shared on social media shows a man appealing for help from his home in Chengannur, southern India. 'I reached out to everyone, including the MLA,' he says, referring to the Kerala state government.

A state official has said a breakdown in the communication systems is making it difficult to reach people in the worst-affected areas.

At least 164 people have died since 8 August, and more than 223,000 displaced by the worst flooding in the region for nearly a century. Further heavy rain is expected to push water levels even higher.

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Reminders For Running A Better Business

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