Networking Is A "Con" Game

Networking is nothing more than a "con" game. Have you ever been contacted by some swindler offering you money if you would help out a long, lost relative located in a remote country? We all know calls like these are scams. But, in sales, can we associate the necessary skill of networking with a "con"? I believe we can and should.

Now, I'm not suggesting that networking is a sleazy activity. Networking is a "con" game because the letters "con" are critical reminders of how to be successful in this endeavor. Instead of associating "con" with its negative connotation, I'd like to suggest that you link "con" with the words Continuity, Concern, and Confidence. I call them the "3 Cons of Networking." The need to display each of these is at the core of every networking opportunity whether we realize it or not.

To emphasize my point, stop for a moment and think about the people who you value knowing. Each one has communicated a sense of continuity, concern, and confidence towards you. In the same regard, people who have you in their network have come to see these same three "cons" in you. Many times, unfortunately, we don't realize this so we are unable to leverage the "3 Cons" to increase the value of our network.

Let's break down each of the "3 Cons of Networking" and examine some ways we can use them to our advantage:

The first "Con" is Continuity and it serves as the foundation of networking. Do not assume continuity requires you to have face to face meetings on a regular basis with the person you're associating with. Rather, continuity means that you have contact with the other person at a frequency that can be counted on. Although this implies regularity, it just means the contact that takes place has to occur at a rate that is natural to both parties. Besides getting together in person, it can be made by mail, e-mail, telephone, or even a fax. The rate of recurrence will control the speed and depth of the networking relationship. If you want to be better connected with someone, identify the type of contact which best suits that person and seek to get in touch with them on an appropriate schedule.

The second "Con" is Concern. Do you show concern for the other person? Are you willing to go out of your way to assist them? Many people desire to network with others for nothing more than building a list of names, as if they were collecting baseballs cards or old coins. In reality, networking is about making a difference in the lives of others. It's about being willing to put their needs in front of your own. You do this by showing interest in them, by asking them questions, by helping them achieve their goals, by congratulating them for things they've accomplished, and by being will to share their success with others. Although this "Con" is the most critical, it is also the most often neglected in society today.

The final "Con" is Confidence. Under no circumstance should this be associated with arrogance. It's not as much about your level of self-assurance as it is about the amount of confidence the other person has in you. Think about it. If you aren't confident in somebody, you won't confide in them, you won't support them, and you probably will not go out of your way for them. The person who others have confidence in is respected. How do gain the confidence of those in your network? Demonstrate Continuity and Concern. (You might say confidence is the end result of doing the other two well.) Be knowledgeable and professional with the other person. Be willing to put yourself into situations where they can see how you respond to things in both good and bad times. Commit to be yourself regardless of who you're with or who you desire to meet. Turning these actions into habits will help you gain the respect and confidence you desire from your counterparts.

Networking is a "con" game, nothing more and nothing less. When you are willing to invest time into carrying out the "3 Cons," you will find your network growing not just in size, but, more importantly, in the value and benefits you and those you network with receive from it. Successful networking relationships have "con" written all over them!

What it Takes to Start a Personal Training Business?

Personal fitness is fast gaining popularity among an increasing number of people. This is because they are becoming progressively aware of the hazards of leading an unhealthy and unfit life. If you are planning to start a personal training business, your timing could not have been better. Taking advantage of the growing health conscious attitude of the masses, personal training business is going great guns nowadays. Personal trainers are hot property now as more and more people are crowding to their training centers to get guidance on how to lead a fit and healthy life.

To start a personal training business you first need to train yourself for the same. The most important thing your prospective clients will look at is your certificates confirming your expertise in the field. They are about to trust you with their body fitness, so it is imperative that you are confident about your skill. Very often people are themselves quite aware of what they need to do but just need that extra guidance and instructions to keep them on the right track. It is true that fitness training under the supervision of a qualified personal trainer always yields better results than when it is done on one’s own. So, you need to be particular about your responsibility of keeping your clients interests in mind and work accordingly.

Since the demand for personal trainers has grown leaps and bounds in the recent times, it is a highly profitable business venture. If you start a personal training business you can easily amass a fortune for yourself. Normally professionals in this field charge around $50-$100 for one hour of consultation. So if you are sufficiently educated in personal training, before long you are sure to find your bank balance sky rocketing!

It is important that you are clear about the section of clients you want to provide your service to. This is due to the fact that fitness training can be of several types. For example, you may want to cater to the young population instead of the senior ones. So you need to design your services accordingly. When you are about to start a personal training business it is sensible to draw up a marketing strategy keeping your target audience in mind. This way you can reach out to a large number of people and make yourself and your business known.

So it is almost the best time to start a personal training business provided you have the skill and expertise to survive in this competitive field. It is best to keep yourself updated about the latest techniques that have been evolved in fitness training so that your service is one of the best in the business. Once you ensure that, it is not difficult to make a name for yourself in this industry along with pots of money!

Think of effective strategies to sell your business. It is only through proper marketing that you can reach out to your target customers and thus set up a thriving business.

So, if you are planning to start a personal training business of your own, remember these steps and very soon you will find a steady inflow of cash in your bank account!

Acoustic Piano or Digital Piano?

The invention of piano has already come a long way since around 500 years in the past. A great number of various piano styles have emerged out of imitating and enhancing the original piano version many times. Digital pianos are made with the latest technology and it is one of the most famous alternatives for piano. The question you’ll ask to yourself is which one suits you? Your piano playing styles and budget are the main criteria for searching a piano. For both side on the other hand the advantages and disadvantages.
Acoustic Piano
A complex built – That best describes the acoustic piano. The hammers are made to hit the string inside the piano when the keys are pressed on the outside. It then creates a vibration that is augmented by the coundboard of the piano. A quality, full and rich piano sound is created that is always being appreciated at recitals and grand performances. The only disadvantage it has is that it entails a lot of money, space and maintenance.
When looking for an Acoustic Piano, here are the things to take note:
• The acoustic piano requires habitual tuning most especially when the piano is moved to another place or when the climate changes.
• The sound created by the acoustic piano is very rich and full that nothing can match up to with it.
• Depending on the temperament of the pianist, it allows the creation of either loud or soft sound. Whatever the way the pianist wants to play, acoustic pianos can go along very well.
• A big space of a room is required when you decide to buy an acoustic piano. They weigh at the range of 450 – 1000 lbs.
• Usually, acoustic pianos that can be availed at a low price is not worth to buy since they have a lot of defects. Great acoustic pianos are always highly priced.
Digital Piano
A good copy of an acoustic piano is the digital piano. Recorded notes from the real pianos are being used by digital pianos to create sound instead of having the built in strings and mechanisms within. Individuals who play in the band can find digital pianos very handy for they can be easily carried anywhere though they have some flaws.
When looking for a digital piano, here are some things to take note:
• Digital pianos come at an economical price. They are more affordable than acoustic pianos.
• The real version of the piano piece can never be acquired since the digital keys are not very sensitive.
• Students who only have digital pianos are not accommodated by some piano teachers.
• Digital pianos come along with their own carry bags and they are portable and quite light to carry around.
• A broad range of features and styles are offered by a good quality digital piano. Other sounds of instruments like the drums are included in these features.
• You don’t need to get digital pianos tuned and they are good to use in areas that have humid climates and have drastic change in temperature.
The issues between both instruments have long existed since the creation of digital pianos. But it is still up to you, both instruments have their own strong points and it greatly depends on how you want to use it.

The Traditional Piano Lessons’ Downside

Do you like to take your time studying 4 years in a Music School just to learn the music or piece of other people? You are definitely right if you think that this is not a good idea. However, there are many music students who still do this everyday.
In front of the piano, they sit and stare at the sheet music of a composer who have longed passed away. They are always being advised to play it correctly. Did you happen to hear this rubbish? Picture this out – it is like a blooming writer being obligated to imitate the work of another author. Yes, that is just like what the classical piano students perform. They imitate.
It is not creativity that comes out in this manner, even though many people consider this act as one. It is a manner of re-creating. The point behind this is to provide the people who are advised how to listen to music an opportunity to listen to what they think is “great” music. Alongside with classical music is pomposity and it only stays alive because the minority desire to listen to it.
Believe it or not, I love classical music. However, I find it unwise to allocate my time to learn playing music that has already been created. What I want to happen when I take a hold of piano is to unite with my own foundation and unleash the music within me to come out naturally. My goal in life is to become a creative person. And I do believe that within us, there comes a great composer.
All we need to have is the aspiration to create and express one’s self through the music. But is it hard? Of course not! It is quite easy just let your fingers maneuver and do the work smoothly. You may think that this is unbelievable, but this is real. The music students were very much cheated in this way that their desire to create has been shattered. It is sad to know that most piano students nowadays are having this confusion.The greatest music has already been created so why should one worry? The response to this question is very vital to our own dignity as piano players. The thought of having to create another good music is simply make us feel great. That is the thing that we need in order to produce a music that is very pleasing to the ears.
Being the author of your own music or piece doesn’t only mean that you have to be very expert on the piano. It is more than that. That is the willingness to create your very own piece by heart without being afraid to have some errors along the way. Having all the mistakes and challenges makes the world of learning colorful and memorable. It reminds us that playing piano should not aim for perfection; it should be letting all the mistakes guide you to become the best piano player that you can be!

Managing Multiple Projects & Outsourcers in Less Than 10 Minutes a Day?

If you're a small business owner, like myself, you understand how important it is to have a reliable and trustworthy team to help you run your day-to-day operations. Unfortunately, even with the additional productivity that additional employees can provide for your business, there is an increasingly large amount of time that needs to be spent on the daily management of those resources.
If it fits your business model, Outsourcing is one great way to minimize your labor costs and to maximize your return-on-investment...both in real dollar terms and also in terms of your allocation of management time.
There are many inexpensive, web-based tools available today that can provide you with a real time application to systematize and document your business processes, which can then be used on an ongoing basis to answer many of the frequently asked questions that typically take up your time...
However, with today's current group of communication tools like web-based chat, email, phone, twitter, facebook, and others, you can quickly become overwhelmed with the sheer volume of interactions and employee questions that you have to respond to on a daily basis.
As you begin to outsource your projects, you'll have multiple projects going on, and multiple providers, and you may be choosing one, or more, provider for each project. You'll also have them working on a variety of tasks. So, you want to be as efficient and effective as you can be for interacting back and forth with them.
The number one time waster that you need to avoid is chat applications. It's a great way to interact back and forth with the providers on a daily basis, but, I highly recommend that you inform them by email when you are going to be available on chat, and not leave your chat open all day long. Because you'll find is, many times you have providers that you use for one project, and then you don't have any more work for them. Well, if they are on Gmail, they can see that you are online and every time they see you online they will follow up for more and more work each time.
You might not want that so, what I do is, go invisible on Gmail, and, if there is a provider who has a question, provide them my email and my chat but they are still not able to see when I am online. If there is a problem, they can email me and we can hook up on chat.
I interact with them and when they are finished I go back to invisible. It's just like leaving your email client open all day long. If you are trying to make any progress whatsoever you close your email client, and only check it a few times a day. It is a tremendous time sucker. So, chat applications, don't have them on all the time, be offline or invisible. But, do agree to interact through email or phone.
If you take the time to systematize and document your business processes, you can take full advantage of all the enormous benefits that outsourcing can provide...

Coupon Codes: A Blissful Online Bargaining System

Shopping is a part of our daily routine. Shopping for groceries and wardrobe items empties our wallets. Hence, it is important for us to save money on our day to day shopping. While shopping, if you are unable to save money through bargaining or if you are not able to take advantage of different discounts and sale schemes, you tend to remain unsatisfied. However, bargaining and sale are just one of the means of saving on shopping. Apart from these, there are many other ways to save money while shopping, of which coupon code is one of the means.
Benefits of coupon codes
Coupon codes are one of the several ways of shopping with suitable and affordable prices. These can be entered during the check out process and can be used to save either a percentage or a flat amount on the total purchase amount, like with paper coupons. Today, the retailers are using the coupon codes system widely, so that they can tie their customers forever with online sales processes. By using a coupon code, not only is a retailer benefited, but a customer can also save a certain amount of money on purchases. You can find several coupon code options by doing some online research.
Coupon codes should be used only after you have read all the rules and regulations, so that you can make the best of it i.e. you can utilise full savings available on the products that you are looking for. Coupon codes turn out to be a boon during your tougher times and help you to buy stuff. The luxuries codes are not only beneficial for heavy purchases but also for the overall monthly or weekly purchases. At times, the savings can amount to your entire shopping cart value. It can make your shopping more enjoyable as you can save on shopping for clothing items, household items and other basics that are needed daily.
It’s not easy to get coupon codes and this is the reason that people hate to take them. However, by investing just a few extra minutes into getting these coupons, you can become an excellent master in controlling your expenses up to a great limit. You can easily save up to $1000 a year by just using the coupons.
How to grab coupon codes?
It is not that hard or painful to save your own money. Only by spending a few minutes, you can find the coupon codes that you need to purchase from the online retailers. There are many retailers, who offer coupons for their marketing purposes. Alternatively, you can search for coupons in newspapers - the complete source for adopting coupons. Apart from this, there are many other establishments available which offer you coupons through mail. There are many websites available too, that offer you printable coupons. Thus, for getting coupon codes, you need to shop on you own, and that too frequently through the web and take the advantage of coupon codes.
Coupon codes really turn out to be a blessing because retailers are able to get easy traffic, manufacturers are able to move their product faster and the consumers are able to gather big saving.

How to Refill an HP Ink Cartridge

Refilling an HP ink cartridge is a great way to save money and help the environment. Before you begin refilling an ink cartridge, it is important to know what you are doing. Because Hewlett-Packard has so many different kinds of cartridges, the precise refilling method may vary.
The following is a general guide on refilling an HP Ink Cartridge:
1. It is important that you refill the cartridge over a surface that is safe in case you happen to spill ink on it. Line the surface with a layer of either an old cloth towel or paper towel. Remove the ink cartridge and put it on the table.
2. Tape over the bottom hole and the top center hole. Make sure that the top center hole seal is air tight. Use black electrical tape as it will provide an air tight seal.
3. Use a clean syringe to fill the fresh ink into the cartridge. A syringe will be included in an inkjet kit.
4. Find the filling hole which will be located on the top or bottom on the cartridge. It is usually sealed with a ball bearing and a plastic film covering. Remove the covering of the filling hole and push the ball bearing into the cartridge. Inject the ink into the top corner hole. When finished, remove the syringe. Use hot glue or hot wax to seal the top corner hole. Insert the correct color ink into the cartridge with the syringe. If you're refilling black ink, use about 20 milliliters. For color ink, use 10 milliliters per chamber.
5. Reseal the filling hole if it is on the bottom of the cartridge Make sure that it is airtight. Squeeze the cartridge sides and insert the plug that should have come with the refill kit. A small amount of ink should trickle from the print head. Seal the top corner hole air tight. Use a hot wax or hot glue. Black electrical tape will often work as well. Squeeze the cartridge just before sealing to set up the vacuum. Remove the tape. Set on a paper towel for an hour as a drip safeguard. There will be a few drips until the vacuum becomes stable.
6. Let the cartridge stand with the print head down for a couple of minutes before putting it back in the printer. This will pull out excessive ink and balance pressure in the cartridge.
It is important that you do not stick a large sharp object into the top center hole as the cartridge will continue to leak. If the seal that is applied to the fill hole is not air-tight, the cartridge will leak. If you have a leak around the bottom hole, you may be able to fix it with some glue. Many experts recommend purchasing a refill kit as it has the correct equipment and guide on how to refill each specific cartridge.
The above tips are designed to make the refilling process of your HP inkjet cartridge much easier and less messy. Refilling an HP inkjet cartridge is much cheaper than purchasing a new cartridge.