The Content Blender

In the book Women and Small Business author gives all the guidelines and tools need to start, operate and succeed in a business of their own. In the mentioned book she tried in the fist part to explain how has changed the role of women in the world along centuries. In the second part she researched all neccesary abbilities of women who like to start up their own business,make differences among women and men owners and gave advices to them.Additionaly, she made some very important questions which need answers for all prospective owners,as following:

What is my reason for starting a business? What type of business can I start? What skills, interests, and personal qualities will I bring to the business? What are my strengths and weaknesses as a business owner? What fears must I overcome?

In the third part she gave Case study based on MS Project which could be on a special use for their business ideas from the very beginning to their realisation in praxis.This information will help them form some opinions about the overall climate and how their idea might fare given current conditions. As they become more convinced of its potential, they can delve deeper into specifics that will ultimately become part of a formal business plan. Everything they discover will contribute to their idea’s potential for success Dr Mirjana Radovic pointed that ideas are the currency of entrepreneurs and therefore they must play with many ideas and see which ones bring money and success. The reality is that some businesses may not be profitable enough to provide a living. Other business ideas simply aren’t marketable in some trade area or there might be too much competition already. They may or may not have enough capital to get the business off the ground or to secure adequate business financing. So this book provides the tools with which to make decision whether or not to open own small business.

In the fourth part of the study she presented the latest results of researching related to women leaders and their position in the business world,i.e. how does people look at ( divided into sex,ages and level of education) women leaders and if they trust them.She compared results of one of the latest researching in the USA with the results in Serbia and Montenegro.Her scientific task was to make some conclusions and to point out some special characteristics of Balkan region .In the fifth part of the book she wrote about some limitation in achiving business success-Enterprenurial Phobia,Intuition and Managers desease among women.Finally,she gave some key points of her researching work and presented conclusion with the stress on the future position of women engagement in the business, where was long domination of men.

Dr Radovic has spent over twenty years as a scientist.She has been a professor,a researcher and an author of eight books devoted to business management and enerprenuarship.Also,Dr.Radovic has written numerous articles ,reviews and essays in a number of professional journals and popular magazines. A native of Belgrade, she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Belgrade University, Faculty of Economics. In 1982, she earned her Master?s Degree in Theoretical Economy and eventually a PhD in Economics from Belgrade University. She guest lectured at a number of universities, foundations and institutes in Moscow, The Hague, New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, St Paul, Atlanta, Portland, and New Orleans. She won a scholarship from the United Nations twice - to attend Lomonosow University (Russia) and Kerala University (India).This year she got invitation to teach students in Japan and India.Currenty ,she is adjunct professor at F.Dickinson University,NJ.Lacrosse University,MO and Akamai University,Hawaii.

Once you’ve spent the time and effort putting together a savvy strategy for soliciting online donations, how can you be sure you are providing soon-to-be-online-donors with a stress-free, barrier-free donation experience? Here are a few things to consider before you “go live” with your solicitation.

Barrier #1Email can be perceived as “bulk” or lacking a personal touch

Solution: You already have a database with plenty of information about your donorsuse it to your benefit when sending e-mail solicitations. Be sure to personalize both the e-mail message and the online experience by using database variables. Speak to them by name andas appropriate to the message being sentinclude giving status, personal interest, YTD giving / amount, acknowledge past utilization of their gifts, etc.

Barrier #2 Online whiplash & form fatigue

Solution: Avoid the “whiplash” that can occur when your giving page doesn’t match what the donor saw on the appeal. Don’t give them any reason to question if they are in the correct place to make their gift. Custom giving pages should be designed based on the appeal, be specific to “the ask,” and re-communicate the appeal within the online form. To cut down on form fatigue, pre-populate the donor information you already have in your database along with the specific ask amount.

Barrier #3Third-party giving / collection software

Solution: Avoid using any software that requires your donor to register in order to give a gift (Pay-Pal is one example). You might believe that you are getting a good deal for the organization, but if the process cannot be well-integrated with your appeal, you could lose potential gifts along the way. Also consider whose name shows up on the receipt, if it’s not the name of your organization it may cause confusion and lead the donor to dispute the charge or cancel the credit card because they fear the number has been stolen.

Barrier #4Thank appropriately based on donation amount

Solution: It may not be the barrier to THIS gift but it could be a barrier to the next one. Are you thanking your donors in the same way for a $5 gift as you are for a $5000 gift? If so, you could be perceived as insincere on both ends of the spectrum. Be sure to use appropriate language and a level of follow-up that clearly communicates your appreciation for their gift.

Barrier #5Processing donations through shopping cart software

Solution: For best results, use custom forms and online giving software. Shopping cart software is for online stores. It is designed with language about shopping and purchasing, not donating, giving or supporting an organization. It may seem like a minor thing, but you could be creating confusion and an unnecessary barrier to receiving the gift.

Merritt Olsen is a freelance writer and marketing consultant specializing in online and e-mail marketing. Need unique content for your e-mail newsletter that you can’t find here? Merritt has the experience and the savvy to write about a variety of topics and can be reached through www.tomorrowsdonor.com.

Copyright © 2004 Merritt Olsen & The Pursuant Group. Permission is granted to reprint this article in print, an e-mail newsletteror on your website so long as the paragraph above is included and contact information is provided to www.pursuantgroup.com.

Best home gyms

It isn’t always easy to find the best home gyms without a little trepidation. But have no fear as shopping through what are touted as the best home gym has been simplified.

No kidding, stop and think about what you want to accomplish, weight loss, toning, shaping and body building may be part of your goals. But how hard can it to lift weight or bend over. Maybe we’ve gotten a little carried away with what once was and frankly still is a very simple activity.

The real question may very well be, how much portability do I want, how much space do I have, and what is my budget. You can buy very expensive equipment but for most of us that’s probably not necessary.

The fun part is to sit back, kick off the shoes, grab your favorite drink and mans best animal friend and have some fun. Heck, you’ll find plenty of stuff on the internet to choose from and really won’t get confused doing it. No one to sell you on the merits of the million dollar machine that you really don’t need. Don’t get me wrong, I agree there may be times for the biggie but seldom is the case for most of us.

Most folks can land up with a very expensive clothes hanger if you get my meaning. Go online to the search box and type in best home gyms and see what you find. Have fun.

Your next step-home fitness gyms

Some time ago I came across some incredible statistics. A study done by the e-tailing group showed a conversion rates for websites. A stunning a 64% of businesses surveyed had websites with less than a 6% conversion ratio. A further 19% “didn’t know”. If we make a leap of the imagination, and suggest that the 19% who ‘didn’t know’ had relatively low conversion rates, we might conclude that in an incredible 83% of websites have less than a 6% conversion rate.

To me, this simply isn’t good enough. If the company has done a good job of specifying and targeting its markets, I think it should be shooting for at least a 10% to 15% conversion rate. Now, keep in mind that a conversion is not necessarily an e-sale. An e-newsletter sign up, a request for more information, a whitepaper download, a free trial, in fact anything that provides you with a visitor’s contact information constitutes a conversion.
Conversion really is KING for one simple reason; it’s the only way to move your relationship to the next level (anyone remember Permission Marketing?), which provides you with an opportunity to follow-up and create a sale.

Here are few tips to increase your conversion rate:

1. Understand the Point

Most small business sites aspire to be primarily lead generation sites, possibly with a small e-commerce element (we’ll make that assumption in the rest of this article). When you’ve identified the focus of your website, sit back and consider whether the content, structure and design are best suited to accomplish your goals.

2. Provide Signposts

To build interest in a product or service, consider structuring your website as a logical sequence of information, rather than a smorgasbord. The way to accomplish this is to reduce the number of links, and identify the next-best click for each page. The next- best click is essentially a signpost pointing where you want your visitor to click once they’ve read the page they’re currently on. The next-best click should stand out from the other links on a page. Ever been to a website that had a “more” link at the bottom of a page of content? That’s a next-best click.

3. Let’s Do a Deal

For lead generation sites, collecting visitors contact information in exchange for something is the desired outcome. The exchange should be high-value to the recipient, low cost to the provider, and have a low perception of commitment. Typical on-line exchanges of this sort include free-trials, product demos, and whitepapers. Be careful not to ask for too much information in the exchange (this raises the perceived commitment level). Ask only for information that’s essential to you.

4. Track and Experiment

Once your site is up and running, pay careful attention to the results you’re getting. Establish a baseline of results and then begin making changes to impact your conversion rate. Make sure you allow enough time for changes to show an impact, if your site gets only a few visitors, each test element might be in place for a month or even longer.

Mat Greenfield is the founder and CEO of Utah based Conversion Results, and has been in marketing since 1996. He is recognized as a website conversion expert by a number of industry organizations including Register.com and Constant Contact. He is a regular contributor to a number of print and e-magazines, and is a monthly columnist for Practical e-Commerce Magazine.

Visit http://www.conversionresults.com for a free eGuide to Improving Website Conversion Rates.

Refinancing your mortgage with bad credit can be an intimidating task. There are steps you can take to improve your options before you start applying for a mortgage. Here are three easy tips to help you get started.

Put Some Money in the Bank

If you don’t have a savings account, open one. Start squirreling money away in your savings. Cash in the bank will improve your application; also, the lender may require you to prepay points in order to qualify. The more cash you have on hand the better. One easy way to put some cash in the bank is to go through your attic or garage and sell some things on eBay. The more cash you have on hand when you apply for the new mortgage the better.

Clean Up Your Credit

Cleaning up your credit is easier than you think. The most important thing you need to do before anything else is make sure your credit reports are accurate. If there are errors in your credit report it will cost you money.

Make sure you pay your bills on time. Make the payments on your current mortgage and your credit cards on time. Your new mortgage lender will need to see that you have at least six months of on time payments on your record. Pay down the balances on your credit cards; better yet, pay them off and close the accounts. The less debt you have and the more money you have in the bank, the better.

Shop Around for the Best Mortgage

Refinancing your mortgage is simply taking out a new mortgage to pay off the old mortgage. Your poor credit rating will make refinancing difficult and you need to be flexible in the terms and conditions you are willing to accept.

Doing your homework will save you money on the new mortgage. Online mortgage companies make it easy to shop for loan offers. Brokers can help you find lenders that specialize in bad credit mortgage loans. To avoid making mistakes while shopping for you new mortgage, sign up for a free mortgage guidebook online.

To get your free mortgage guidebook visit RefiAdvisor.com using the link below.

Albuquerque Mortgage Refinance

Louie Latour has twenty years of experience in the mortgage industry as a mortgage broker. He is the owner of Mortgages Refinance Advisor, a mortgage help site devoted to saving homeowners money with a free guidebook Mortgage Refinance: What You Need to Know.

Sign up for your free guide today at: http://www.refiadvisor.com