According to a new survey carried out by Alliance & where
ID_NUM=9270; Leicester, one in five small business owners view
tax as their greatest concern. The Chancellor has announced in
his last budget that companies with profits below œ10,000
will not have to pay any corporation tax with effect from 1
April 2002. The question to be asked is: does that announcement
make incorporation a more attractive option compared to being a
sole trader?

The answer is that from a tax point of view, it is advantageous
to trade through a limited company as long as the income is
drawn from the company by the owners as dividends from their
shares and the amount of dividends drawn is restricted below the
40% band rate (i.e. œ31,063 for tax year 2002/03). That
way, the owners have no further personal tax (”income tax”) to
pay. Moreover, dividends are not subject to national insurance
contributions. This is excellent news of course. But, if
dividend income falls within the higher rate bracket of income
tax (i.e. above œ34,515), they will be taxed at 22.5% on
the excess, which of course will increase the tax burden. The
company profits are subject to corporation tax rates. Those are
lower than income tax rates.

The most catastrophic scenario is when the director takes his
reward from the company as salary. Then his/her salary is taxed
at income tax rates (like a sole trader’s income). That is
because, unlike sole traders, the tax system treats companies as
separate from their owners because a company is a separate legal
entity. The problem is that the income taxes are higher than
corporation tax rates. On top of that, they will be subject to
employee and employer national insurance contributions, which of
course increase the tax burden and render his position worse
than even an unincorporated business (”sole trader”), because
NIC Class 1 on payroll are higher than NIC Class 2 paid by self
employed.

In contrast, a self employed person (”sole trader”) is taxed at
income tax rates on the profits from his business, which are
added to his other sources of income. As it has already been
mentioned, income tax rates are overall higher than corporation
tax rates. On top of income tax, national insurance
contributions class 4 are payable on the business profits within
a specified band (7% on profits between œ4,615and
œ30,420). National insurance contributions Class 2 are also
paid by self-employed people, although those are lower than
those payable by company directors on their salaries.

To illustrate the above, let’s take a simple example. We have a
limited company and a sole trader. They both make œ60,000
profits each in the tax year 2002/03. We assume that the company
director takes a salary equal to the amount of his personal
allowances (untaxed income) of œ4,615 and the balance as
dividends. The company will pay corporation tax at 19% equal to
œ10,523 and nothing else. The sole trader will pay income
tax œ16,542, National insurance Class 2 œ104 and
National insurance Class 4 œ1,806. Total œ18,452. The
bottom line is that the person that has incorporated his
business into a limited company will make a tax saving of
œ7,929 compared to a sole trader! Isn’t that fantastic?

Somebody might be wondering: why is this entire happening? The
official explanation is that, this government, to help the
economy grow, encourages people to leave as much profits within
their businesses to be reinvested, instead of being taken out
and spent.

The “unofficial line” is that, as a matter of fact, for years
the Inland Revenue has tried to reclassify the self-employed.
The 1% in NIC hike on staff salaries above the NIC threshold
from next April adds to both the employees’ and employers’ tax
burden and may more than offset the saving from the corporation
tax zero rate on the first œ10,000 of profits.

Aren’t there any other matters to consider in deciding whether
to incorporate or not?

Higher administration costs to comply with company law, payroll
and bookkeeping is one factor. Another issue is pension
planning. Extracting profits out of the company as dividends
rather than salary means that there will be no “net relevant
earnings” and therefore pension contributions can’t be made. But
the advent of stakeholder pension plans has meant that
contributions up to œ3,600 per year can be made without the
need for any earnings. If a person does not wish to transfer
funds in existing plans into stakeholder because of high
charges, there is a way out: the best net relevant earnings
(i.e. salary) in five consecutive years can be used for making
contributions for the next five years, even if there were no
salaries in the remainder four years. It is comforting to know
that entitlement to basic state pension is not affected by
taking a salary from the company at the level of a person’s
personal allowances i.e. œ4,615.

Furthermore, an individual may decide not to bother with pension
plans and instead invest in ISA. Often, these can be more
efficient than pensions but that’s beside the scope of this
article. If that option is taken, no salary is necessary.

Another factor is business motoring. It might be tax
advantageous for an unincorporated business that owns many cars
not to incorporate because if these cars have some private use
there will be benefits in kind taxed on the users. These are
generally higher than the straight apportionment between private
and business for all car running costs in the case of sole
traders.

The conclusion is that there can be considerable tax savings
waiting the sole trader who decides to go down the road to
incorporation. But, one needs to proceed with caution and
careful planning. And don’t forget the biggest advantage of
incorporation, which is Protection from Personal Liability.
Incorporating is one of the best ways to protect a business
owner from personal liability. Shareholders of a company are
generally not liable for the obligations of the company.
Creditors of a company may seek payment from its assets, but not
the assets of the shareholders. This means that business owners
may engage in business without risking their homes or other
personal property.

Thank you for taking the time to read this Article. I hope
you’ve found it useful. If you have, please drop me an email and
let me know what you think.

You can email me at…

constantinesavva@accamail.com

Alternatively, you can visit our website at
http://www.tax-accounting-london.info and read a series of other
full length articles that present the complete picture on a
variety of interesting topics.

If you would like to know how to save tax and make sure that
more of your hard earned cash stays with you to expand your
business and increase your profits, we have a Free Special
Report addressed to small businesses either starting up or
already in business. This Exclusive Free Special Report is
available automatically when you subscribe to our regular series
of Free Newsletters on finance advice and tax planning by
visiting our subscription area on our website
www.tax-accounting- london.info. It is complied from real life
situations dealing with small business tax affairs for over 10
years and it is loaded with down-to-earth advice and practical,
understandable examples.

LEGAL NOTICE Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation
of this article, the author cannot accept responsibility for any
errors or omissions. Proper professional advice should be taken
at all times.

We retain copyright for the contents of this article. Any
unauthorized copying or onward distributions are prohibited
without our consent.

Copyright © 2006 by Habiba Abubakar and Emprez. All rights
reserved.

Note: You are welcome to republish this article as long as the
resource box at the end is included fully and unaltered.

Not many business owners take advantage of the FREE advertising
space on the back of their business card, and those that
actually do, often use the space ineffectively.

Most business owners don’t consider their business card a
marketing tool, but in fact, it is! And not only should it be
used to attract clients to your business, it should also be used
as a vehicle to attract joint venture partners.

Have you ever attended an event, talked to so many people and
collected their cards, then went home, looked at the cards, and
discovered that you don’t remember exactly what the person who
gave you the card does? You probably file the card away for
future reference, knowing that you’ll almost certainly never get
round to looking at it again. And then, after a few months, you
spring clean and throw the card away? Yes! We’ve all been there.
That’s why you should ensure that your business card is one of
those that reminds the person you give it to of who you are, and
what you can do for them.

So how do you do this? Try one of these tips below, and watch
your joint venture network and your client base increase
significantly:

Tip #1: Offer an irresistible freebie that compels the recipient
of your business card to get the freebie, and also share it with
their clients and associates. The freebie should be something
that relates to your products and services. For example, if
you’re a realtor, you may offer a special report entitled “20
Deadly Home Buying Mistakes To Avoid.” If the recipient of your
card is perhaps a financial planner with a client base of
first-time home buyers, it’s likely that he’ll mention your free
special report to his clients, so as to add value to what he
already offers them.

Tip #2: Have a marketing-driven testimonial behind your business
card, and make the testimonial indisputable by including the
name and contact details of the client who gave it to you (ask
their permission first). Your prospects should be able to relate
to the testimonial. This will increase your credibility in the
mind of a potential joint venture partner because a testimonial
is proof that you deliver on your promise.

Tip #3: List a few problem-solving tips that your target market
can benefit from. You’ll be surprised how much you can fit in on
the back of your card. The brief tips are a way of showcasing
your expertise, and will in turn position you as an expert that
can be trusted to meet the needs of the clients of a potential
joint venture partner.

Tip #4: Add your tagline or motto to your business card. It must
be something that stresses the client-focused benefits of
working with you, otherwise the tagline or motto will just be
taking up valuable space. The reason for including your tagline
or motto is to explain what your business is about to a
potential joint venture partner and to their clients.

These are only a few of the things you can have on the back of
your business card. The objective is to make the recipient of
your business card remember what you do, be keen to do business
with you, and send clients your way.

Before you print large quantities of your business cards, hand
out some of them and observe reactions from the recipients. What
did they say? Did they laugh? Did it create more interest on
their part? Did they turn it over to see what may be on the
back? All of these observations will give you clues about what
potential joint venture partners and their clients expect from a
business card.

What you have on your business card will make a difference
between the recipient wanting to recommend you to their clients
(if they’re a potential joint venture partner), or wanting to
call you as opposed to you calling them (if they’re a potential
client), and your card being thrown in the trash after a few
weeks or months.

Everything you put on your business card should have a purpose
that ties into what you can do for your ideal client. This will
make potential joint venture partners regard you as a
value-adding expert they must team up with.

Before discussing Fitness Goal Secrets, let me ask you something:

Have you ever find yourself wandering around aimlessly?

You’re doing stuff. You know what your goal is, but you’re still
not getting anywhere near your target.

How can that be?

I know what I want. I’m doing the things I need to do to get me
there. So what’s wrong? Why is my goal still out of reach?

Discover how to bring your goals within your grasp through these
fitness goal secrets –

Goals are a funny thing that many people disagree with. Maybe
some people don’t see a point in having a goal. Maybe they’ve
set goals before and they didn’t pan out. Maybe setting a goal
gives them the impression that just by doing so, you’ll
succeed… whereas they realize that this isn’t the case.

As far as a lot of people are concerned, it doesn’t work! They
don’t realise what their fitness goal secrets are.

And do you know what?

They’re right!

The thing is — they’re wrong too:-)

Your Fitness Goal Secrets, or deciding what you’re goal should
be, is through feelings. All too often, we feel with our heads.

Impossible, right?

Your goal should come from your heart, no matter how impossible
it me seem, and not your head. Yes, you should use your head
too. But only to help you work out the particulars of how to get
there. This is a major key in realizing your fitness goals.

Your Fitness Goal Secrets Revealed: If you can’t feel the
emotions running wild at the thought of achieving your goal,
then that goal isn’t right for you! Don’t think logically about
you goal in the first place. What is it you want?

What get your heart racing, your blood boiling, keeps you awake
at night and makes your palms sweaty… at the mere thoughts of
achieving something? That is one of the key fitness goal secrets.

Is it to build muscle beyond your wildest dreams?

Maybe you want to run a marathon, but never ran more that a
couple of miles straight. Maybe it’s to make money to get you
out of your debts. Or could it be getting a degree, even though
you’re not the studious type?

That’s what you want in your heart… a feeling that tells you
that you must follow it, even though it seems impossible. This
is where the head usually interferes.

The head usually tells you that YOU could never achieve that
muscle. It tells you that YOU can never complete a marathon…
it’s impossible. It tells you that people like YOU will never
make money… it’s not meant to be. It tells you that YOU’RE not
clever enough to ever reach any academic goal.

Essentially, it tells you lies.

Your decisions are based on your experiences throughout your
life. All experiences, good and bad, are deposited into you’re
mind’s banks. When you come across a situation that seems
familiar, or relative to a past experience, you mind tells you –

“Watch Out!”.

Then it concocts stories that are designed to frighten or
unnerve you. So you decide –

“this isn’t for me!”

And Quit — before you even start.

Recognize when that little voice in your head tells you that
this isn’t right for you. Tell that voice — “Thanks for your
input pal, but no thanks.” This is an important part of your
fitness goal secrets.

Once you have chosen your goal, and you feel excited, you have
another two-step to do in this process. These are vital steps
and are the very steps that most people leave out.

Step 1 - A Decisive Goal.

Yep, you thought you had your ideal goal in mind. and yet you
did. But you need to make it clear. For example:

If you want a new sports car, but you don’t know what make or
model you want, what will happen?

Sure, you’ll get your car. But chances are, you get any old car.

How can this be?

There are millions of cars out there. There are more ordinary
cars, than sports cars. So the chances are that you’ll end up
with an ordinary car because your goal wasn’t clear. Your
ordinary car may have a spoiler on it and a set of sports
wheels. But it’s still an ordinary car.

How do you get your sports car, if that is your goal?

Details!

Ok, so you want a sports car. What type? What make and model?
What year should it be. What size engine should it have? What
color should it be? How should it sound? What mileage is
acceptable on the clock? Should it be new or used? By what exact
date do you want to own this car by?

Details, details, details.

So you want bigger muscle. Is it your biceps? Or do you want
bigger muscle in your legs, chest, back, triceps, etc.? Exactly
how much bigger do you want to be? How well defined do you want
your muscle to be. When do you want to have achieved this goal
by?

The same principle applies to any goal, even if it’s to become
world champion at tiddlywinks.

Step 2 - A Clear Goal.

Now that you have chosen your goal, in step one above, it’s time
to make it clear in your mind. Yes I know I said that you
shouldn’t let your head rule your heart. But what you should do
is follow your passion and desires. Then use your head to
logically bring about those desires, even though it may be
battling with you.

In your mind I want you to see your goal as exactly as you want
it, with all the glorious detail. At the same time I want your
emotions to run wild. Feel what it would be like to achieve this
goal. Would you feel on top of the world? Are you on a high just
thinking about it?

As you feel it, keep looking at it in your mind’s eye. Combine
the power of both thought and emotion to feed your desire. The
more you feed your desire, the closer to you goal you will
get… provided you follow that with action.

Do this on a daily basis. Certainly first thing each morning and
last thing at night. And numerous times in between where you
can. It can be done anywhere.

Who’s going to know?

To summarize, decide what your goal is. Not through your head,
but with your heart. Emotion is the key. Make your goal as
detailed as possible. The ore detail there is, the better. Now
see it in your mind. It must be a clear goal. Combining the
power of emotion and the emotion of desire, you will be fired up
to take the appropriate action to get you there.

You’ve planned a shower for a bride-to-be. You’ve covered the decorations, place and guest list. What about games? Games keep the party flowing as well as serve as an icebreaker when guests don’t know each other well and keep your guests mingling. One rule of thumb is to not choose games that will not embarrass your guests or the bride. Try to plan games around the ages of the guests, the size of the venue and any theme you may have chosen.

There are a multitude of websites and books available to get you started. Here are just a few ideas to get those creative juices flowing:

Pass the Parcel is a fun icebreaker. Buy a gift, perhaps a candle or luxury body wash. Wrap the gift in several layers of wrapping paper to correspond with the number of guests. Put some music on and ask the guests to pass the present to the person sitting next to them. You may choose left or right. When the music stops, the person holding the gift gets to unwrap one layer. Repeat playing music and passing the present until the last layer is removed. The person holding the parcel then gets to keep it. To add some additional fun to this game, as each guest unwraps a layer, they might tell an anecdote about either the bride or groom.

Memory Tray is another great icebreaker game. Purchase about fifteen new items, including a tray and a tea towel. Select small kitchen utensils such as a garlic press, paring knife, cheese grater and measuring spoons. Choose those small utensils that are a must for a kitchen that one cannot do without. Spread the utensils on the tray and cover with the towel. Pass out a sheet of paper and a pencil to each guest. Remove the towel from the tray and let them look at it for about two minutes then cover with towel again. Then guests have two minutes to write down everything they can remember. The guest who remembers the most items receives a small gift and the bride gets to keep the tray, utensils and towel.

Lastly, purchase several gifts, ideally one less than the amount of guests. These should range from inexpensive and joke gifts to some nicer presents. Wrap the gifts in boxes of varying sizes and set in the middle of the room. Have the guests pull their chairs into a circle. If you have less than fifteen guests, set a timer for ten minutes, longer if you have more people. Hand the bride-to-be a set of dice and have her roll them. If she rolls doubles, she may select a gift from the pile. Pass the dice around and as guests roll doubles, they may select a gift until all the gifts are taken. The gifts are not to be opened yet. Now the real fun begins! Guests may take a gift from another if they roll a double, therefore “trading”. Continue passing the dice until the timer goes off. Whatever gift a guest may have at that point, they may keep. The fun is watching one another unwrap their presents. Often the gift most sought after turns out to be a joke gift!

These are but a very small sampling of fun activities you may plan for a bridal shower. The variations and possibilities are infinite. Most important is to have fun!

Autism, ADD, ADHA - Vaccine Related

According to the most recent estimates by the CDC, about 1 in 150 children in the US suffers from an autistic disorder. Recent studies have shown that exposure to mercury in childhood vaccines, not only causes autism but can also result in immune, sensory, neurological, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions similar to traits associated with autism.

Thimerosal is a vaccine preservative that was developed in the 1930s by Eli Lilly, and has been regularly used in vaccines ever since. It contains 49.5% mercury. The amount of mercury considered safe for adults, by the EPA is 0.1 microgram per kilogram of weight.

As a neurotoxin, thimerosal, has been linked to the depletion of the protective anti-oxidant, glutathione, which helps rid the body of mercury. People with autism seem to be more susceptible to this effect and most have low levels of glutathione. Therefore, their bodies have difficulty excreting mercury.

In 1999, many drug companies claimed they were reducing the amount of thimerosal in vaccines. Some companies even provided product inserts that claimed that only a trace amount of mercury still existed in the final product. Others claimed to be producing vaccines that were completely mercury-free.

A few months ago the group, Health Advocacy in the Public Interest (HAPI), sent four separate vials of different vaccines to be tested for mercury content by Doctor’s Data, an independent lab, which specializes in heavy metal testing.

The testing revealed that all four of the vials contained mercury, despite the claim by 2 companies that their vaccines were completely mercury-free. According to HAPI, all four vaccines also contained aluminum which greatly increases the toxicity of mercury in causing neuronal death in the brain.

In fact, during further investigation of the matter, HAPI discovered that mercury-based thimerosal was still being used to produce most vaccines. The drug makers claimed that after production, they use a process to filter the preservative out of the final vaccines.

However, Scientist, Boyd Haley, Phd, who is the Chemistry Department Chair at the University of Kentucky, told HAPI that its not possible to filter out all of the thimerosal because mercury binds to the antigenic protein in the vaccine and therefore, cannot be completely filtered out 100%.

We are not going to see a drastic decline in autism due to the fact that we have been misled about when thimerosal was actually eliminated from vaccines. Because the FDA has never ordered drug makers to recall all the vaccines previously manufactured and shipped to health care providers, to this very day, several different mercury-containing vaccines remain in the inventories of health care facilities, and some have an expiration date as late as September, 2005.

In addition, pregnant women and their unborn infants, are still being injected with thimerosal in flu vaccines, and a shot to combat the RH negative factor. The FDA and CDC have ignored the tremendous amount of scientific evidence of injury from these vaccines discovered by all the various studies, and have continued to recommend flu vaccines for pregnant women and certain children.

Most flu vaccines recommended for pregnant women contain 25 micrograms of mercury. Which means a fetus, through the vaccination of its mother, receives a dose of mercury that exceeds the Federal guidelines by several hundred-fold.

Experts Weigh In

To what degree of scientific certainty can the epidemic of autism be blamed on mercury in childhood vaccines? David Ayoub, MD, answered this question for Independent Media TV, “I can state that the certainty of the science supporting mercury as a major cause of autism is probably more overpowering than the science behind any other disease process that I studied dating back to medical school,” he said.

In 2002, the research team of David and Mark Geier, released a study based on tens of millions of doses of vaccines given to children in the US during the 1990s, that presented the first epidemiologic evidence that associated the increase in thimerosal from vaccines with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Specifically, the Geier’s analysis of the Federal government’s Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) database showed statistical increases in the incidence rate of autism, mental retardation, and speech disorders in children receiving thimerosal-containing diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccines, when compared with those who received thimerosal-free DTaP vaccines. The VAERS database has only been maintained by the CDC since 1990.

According to the Geiers, the usual course of DTaP vaccine consists of primary immunizations administered at 2, 4, and 6 months, followed up by booster doses at 18 months and at 5 years.

Using the database, the Geiers determined that there were a total of 6575 adverse reaction reports after thimerosal-vaccines, compared to only 1516 adverse reactions reported after thimerosal-free vaccines.

Lisa Blakemore-Brown, a Psychologist in the UK, also maintains that thimerosal is the cause of autism, and suspects it is also the culprit involved in a wide variety of other health problems showing up in children these days.

“The epidemic of health and developmental problems in so called advanced countries is now undeniable,” Blakemore reports, “1 in 10 children suffer from gastrointestinal disorders, 1 in 4 have asthma.”

According to Blakemore, the current autism epidemic did not occur earlier because children “were given single vaccines with single amounts of mercury,” she says, “but with the introduction of triple vaccines the amount of mercury contained within the preservative was multiplied and the cumulative effects are only just now being discovered by the public,” she adds.

Thimerosal is now also being blamed for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADHD), which affect millions of children and their families. Currently statistics suggest that as many as 10% of the school-aged children have ADD and another 20% exhibit symptoms of ADHD.

Since they believe vaccines may have caused these disorders, many parents have come to resent the fact that the pharmaceutical industry is now raking in huge profits from the sale of drugs to treat these disorders by the same drug companies that caused the injury in the first place.

Number Of Vaccines Too High

The number of vaccinations given to children before the age 2, has nearly tripled since 1988, according the CDC, which currently recommends vaccination against 12 diseases. Because some vaccines must be given more than once, children get as many as 23 shots by the age of 2.

Under the CDC immunization schedule, here are the vaccines recommended for children before two years of age.

Birth-6 months: Hepatitis B: 2 doses; Diphtheria, Pertussis (DPT), Tetanus: 3 doses; Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib): 3 doses; Inactivated poliovirus: 2 doses; Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR): not recommended; Varicella: not recommended; Pneumococcal conjugate: 3 doses. Total 13 doses

12-24 months: Hepatitis B: 1 dose; Diphtheria, Pertussis (DPT), Tetanus: 1 dose; Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib): 1 dose; Inactivated poliovirus: 1 dose; Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR): 1 dose; Varicella: 1 dose; Pneumococcal conjugate: 1 dose; Pneumococcal polysaccharide*: 1 dose; and Influenza: 1 dose

Hepatitis A*: 1 dose; Total 10 doses

* Vaccines recommended in selected states and regions and for certain high-risk groups.

The worst example of an unnecessary vaccine being sold to boost drug company profits, is the injection of Hepatitis B into newborns to an adult lifestyle disease contracted through sex and sharing needles with drug addicts. Plain and simple, the industory needed a market for a new vaccine so they got together with their cronies in the FDA and CDC and hatched a scheme to target nation’s infants using the Federal immunization program.

Prior to the introduction of the vaccine, Hepatitis B among children was almost unheard of. According to the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, in 1986, there were only 279 cases reported in children under the age of 14.

Even in adults, the incidence rate of Hepatitis B has always been low. In 1991, for instance, there were only 18,003 cases within a total population of approximately 248 million people.

Dr Jay Gordon is a pediatrician who was named CBS TV’s Medical Consultant for Children’s programming and also worked for 5 years on ABC, as the on-air medical correspondent. He has appeared on “Good Morning America” to discuss vaccinations.

On his website, Gordon says, “I also don’t like the financial ties that vaccine researchers have to the manufacturers because some of these same experts help make the official decisions about which shots will be approved and/or required.”

He is concerned about the needless vaccines being given to children. “The diseases against which we vaccinate used to be much more common,” Gordon says, “but we are now down to an average of one case of diphtheria (the “D” of the DPT) per year in the US, a few thousand cases of Pertussis (”P”), and 30 or so cases of Tetanus each year,” he explains.

“We have not had a case of “wild” polio in America since 1979 and the entire Western Hemisphere has been free of the disease for some years,” Gordon adds. He claims “it’s highly unlikely that a young child would contract hepatitis B; there are only a few dozen cases of tetanus in this country each year.”

“In my opinion, we vaccinate in an unscientific and potentially dangerous way,” Gordon says. He believes it would be better to vaccinate children later and slower, “The expedient and economically superior method, doesn’t serve our babies well,” he warns.

In my day, we got a few vaccines. And my children (now 33 & 36) got a few during their school years. Due to the fact that no one from those two generations ever got the 3 dozen vaccines currently mandated, one question keep rolling around in my mind. If three dozen vaccines are really necessary to fight off these highly-contagious diseases, in the 54 years that I’ve been on this earth, why have I never met a single unvaccinated person who caught one?

Evelyn Pringle
e.pringle@sbcglobal.net
Miamisburg OH

(Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for Independent Media TV and an investigative journalist focused on exposing government corruption)

The other day I received an email from a guy asking whether we
could build his eCommerce website. Since Rusbiz is a company
which has a full service web solutions development department, I
sent him our executive brochure by email and asked if I should
send him our website building checklist. The answer I received
was “Can I work directly with your web programmer and tell me
what your hourly rate is?” I wrote him back that there is no
problem in working with the programmer, but we use a team of
experts to build a website and he will be much better off if he
goes by a flat price for his project instead of going by hourly
rate. Apparently he did not like the idea! Too bad!

Web development services fundamentally differ from say an
attorney’s services. If you are working with a professional
company, depending on the size of your web project a team of
people will work on it. Namely: your account manager, lead
programmer, web programmer, designer, Content editor, database
programmer, web promotional specialist, and web administrator.
The tricky thing about website is starting from making your site
by yourself on Geocity or similar free site builders to hiring
topnotch web development companies that charge thousands of
dollars the range is way too broad. Often, people select a
company to do their web development job based on their
subjective perception not based on knowledgeable decisions.
Although, price should be a key issue, you should not go for a
company just because it quoted you a cheap hourly rate! Many
fall for nicely designed previous works of the vendor. The
design is also only a part of the whole project, albeit a very
important one but don’t make the mistake of overemphasizing on
it! A beautifully designed website with nice graphics and
pictures is not necessarily a good eCommerce website. It could
be even just the opposite!

Website development is increasingly becoming a sophisticated
task with narrow specialties. Before handing over your job, make
sure that the company does have all the right people in their
team. The team may also consist of other specialists apart from
the ones listed below:

Team Members and Description of their Services

Project or account Manager

This is the person who manages expectations through a project’s
lifecycle. Determines project needs, outlines specific
deliverables and oversees the process and team from start to
finish. He or she also maintains ongoing client communication
and education throughout project. Handles budget and scope
issues, including weekly status updates and additional changes.

Art Director/Designer

This person oversees visual design process. Helps transforming
client expectations into the right visual look and feel. Applies
technical and user needs into final UI (User Interface) design.
Works with project manager and the client to establish a clearer
vision of the site.

Information Architect/Designer

Defines overall site organization and layout from an
informational, navigational and functional perspective. Works
with client and project manager to determine overall content
strategy and site structure, page layout and interaction through
out a site. Participates in usability testing and works with
developers to bridge gap between design and technology.

Developer/Programmer

This person works on writing and coding programming parts of the
web site. Oversees design and ensures effective translation to
HTML. Also works with other developers of the production team to
maintain standards for coding. Depending on the size of the
site, there could be several programmers involve in a project.

Content Manager

This individual provides a consistent style and tone of the
site. She works closely with client to gather all information
and materials for the Web site. Understands fundamentals of
content development, and has a clear understanding of the
overall goals and communication objectives of the site. She
works with the designer to implement content in an efficient
manner. She also works with Web Promotional Specialist in order
to bring the content inline with search engines’ requirement.

Technical Lead

Provides management and direction of the programming team for
back-end projects such as database development or system
integration specialists. She acts as a liaison between front-end
and back-end teams.

Database Programmer

Depending on the needs of the website, a database specialist may
necessary to handle the development of various catalogs and
various database issues.

Usability Specialist

An individual with a background in human factors engineering
and/or cognitive psychology who has a broad understanding of
usability issues on the Web. This individual should have
knowledge in information design, navigation and Web development
processes.

Web Promotional Specialist

Helps optimizing web pages for search engines. Understand the
fundamentals of search engine optimizations and aware of the
latest changes in the algorithms of mail search engines. Make
recommendations to the client and help him popularize the
website. This individual works closely with content manager,
designer and developer.

Now, for your website you may or may not need a team with all
the members stated above, and in some cases one person may have
knowledge of two fields but it is better to understand that in
the ever changing world of the Internet if you are serious about
your web business, you better build your site with the help of
real experts of each core area.

Statistics shows that almost 70 percent of web projects do not
finish on expected time frame with allocated budget. To reduce
your risk while ordering your new website or revamping your
existing one, take the following steps:

Check out the vendor’s site thoroughly.

Do they follow what they preach? How the site looks like? Are
you going to buy a product from the look and feel of the site?
Check out the example sites. Are they good enough?

Find out if the team consists of professionals.

Ask them detail questions. Check out cross reference. Talk to
the team members directly.

Write a clear well-defined technical scope.

Develop a thorough technical scope before starting building your
eCommerce site. This will eliminate confusions before they
occur. You will have a coherent picture of the required time and
budget. You will also understand your own needs better. A scope
is like your business plan and works as your road map. Spend
enough time to make your scope as meticulous as possible. Once
you finalized your scope, no matter what, don’t try to change it
at later stage if you want to finish your project on time.

Work closely with the team.

Ask questions whenever they arise to the individual of the team,
whom they concern most.

An astounding large number of site owners are not happy with
their websites. A little preparation and follow-up will help you
avoid becoming one of them.

Life is to be forfeited by many friendships,to love and to be loved,is the greatest happiness of existence. Do you wonder why some people have more friends than others? Such people may or may not be wealthy;they may or may mot have high intelligence or expensive education. But within them is an attitude causing them to be respected and admired. It is their ability to make friends and also keep them. People are a basic source of happiness. Making friends does not require too much effort,except for those that are shy to talk to people. And even the shy ones sometimes have a handful of friends because of their attitude of keeping friends. But the problem is to know how to keep your friends when you have one.

Friends are the reasons we smile. Have you ever wondered what your life would be like without friends? So,no matter how busy your schedule is,for you to keep your frinds,you have to develop a lifestyle and a way of dispensing time that allows several profound relationships with people. True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends you have, but in the worth and choice. Getting close to a few people is more important than being popular enough to receive 500 season’s greeting cards every year.

Openness is a common characteristic of people that have deep and good friendship. Most people often hide behind masks,vacillating between the impulse to reveal themselves and the impulse to protect themselves with a blanket of privacy. They long both to be known and to remain hidden! Admiration does not necessarily lead to intimacy, because people around you admire your coolness does not mean they are your friends. But it has been noted that the more serious reason for our masks is the FEAR OF REJECTION, and that has always been even one of my problems. Taking a step of self-disclosure and then have a friend walk away can be vey devastating. Everyone has their shadow side and are quite reluctant to reveal this side to another so long as it scares us. But telling someone; a friend; about the dark side creates a chemistry to start working. Because we have told another our deepest secrets, we begin to understand ourselves better, especially when the friend is more experienced. When we reveal ourselves to someone else, we learn how to increase contact with our real self,and may then be able to direct our destiny on the basis of this self-knowledge.

You don’t want people to see you as being sentimental, so you hold back expressions of warmth and miss out in what you also need,someone to extend words of warmth to you, rich and profound friendships. We say “SO LONG” when we mean “I WILL MISS YOU”. Do you find yourself embarrased to tell a friend that you care? If you wish to be loved, love. Those that let their hearts go and freely declare their admiration and affection, are hard to turn down. Don’t take this as an encouragement to spread love without caution;if you know what i mean. Why are we so ashamed of saying openly that we care for another? For several reasons, there is the possibility that we will be misunderstood. A man approaches a lady and extends a hand of friendship, but the lady quickly thinks he wants to marry me, or go to bed with me! HOW RIDICULOUS! So there is this fear that our overture of warmth will not be reciprocated and we will be rejected. There are few emotions more frightening than embarrassment,and we go to great lengths to avoid the possibility of it. But don’t do this at the expense of getting real friends.

Well, Francis is a kind of person that gives inspirational advice to the young and old,and I’m a kind of person that cherishes friendship.

Property Prices going crazy in Cape Town Over the last few years
property prices in the western cape , South Africa have been
going crazy. Most homes have senn a doubling up of price in 1
year and with soccer world cup coming to South Africa in 2010 i
can only see prices rising even more! When will it bottom out,
who knows!!

husbandandwifeteam
my blog

Digital cameras make it easy and fun for amateurs to capture endearing images of their pets. Tiny dogs, big dogs, beautiful dogs, scruffy or ugly dogs; they all have an innate grace about them. The lift and tilt of their head, the quizzical look when you address them, the body-posture of anticipation; we love them and we want great photos. If you want memory-maker photos, try these easy tips:

Choose Bright Light and a Familiar Location: Plan to shoot outside, if possible. The light outside is brighter, and brighter light is best. Pick a familiar outdoor spot, probably your backyard. Think about what kind of shot you want: Do you want a playful, vigorous and alert shot of Max or do you want to see his gentle, sweet and mellow-side? The sun must be to the side of your pet, not behind him. Put Max in the spot where you want to photograph him. Get down eye-to-eye with him and check the background. Is there good contrast between his fur and the background? Are there shadows falling from a roof-line or garage? Is the background messy with children’s toys, a trash can or lawn furniture that you don’t want in the shot? If so, something has to go — either the unwanted props or Max. Let Max be the star.

Take Time to Practice: Practice setting up the shot you want. If your dog,(we’ll call him “Max”) is trained to sit, then you have a great shot right in front of you, if not, then it’s a bit like teaching him a new trick. Most dogs do not like to pose but you’ll encourage him through repetition. Kneel or lie down close, with the camera positioned at just below his eye-level. Zoom-in and fill the frame with Max. He’ll certainly be curious and move in and out of the shot. While Max is getting familiar with you “down there,” you can see the lighting and composition of the photo in the LED. Use his favorite toy to distract him or wait-him-out…just relax in position. He’ll tire of you, eventually, and suss out the birds or squirrels. Lure him back to the photo spot with a favorite biscuit or snack. He will quickly learn that a treat is in store when he is in the photo spot, and that will mean a good camera shot for you.

Persistence and Repetition: Repeat the practice steps for a week or so, taking photos each day, with and without the flash, and always using the Sport Mode shutter speed. Let Max get to know and expect the flash. After the session is over, you’ll make an educated decision about using the flash or not. Delete the practice photos, if you want, and start again tomorrow. The drill is to get Max familiar with the camera in your hand, the flash and the same location every day.

For bold and beautiful still shots: Use the vertical camera position and get
close-up to capture his facial features, expressions and the texture of his fur. Start shooting the moment he settles down, and keep shooting. Don’t stop to checkout the shot-quality. The best shots will be when he isn’t looking directly at you. His eyes are the most compelling feature but it’s also important that his ears are up and his nose is moist. Pull back for a medium or full-length shot, using the horizontal camera position.

For vibrant and high-spirited action shots: You know Max well, so you know where he scampers, ferrets and has the most fun. Does he like to roll in the grass, nudge a ball with his nose, or crouch for a low-flying bird? With the digital setting on Sport Mode, snap away. Most digital shutter speeds are not fast enough to capture a moving image at just the right moment, but lots and lots of pics, shot in quick succession, will yield some very good photos of your pet’s shenanigans.

Flash Tips: In natural light (outdoors), your flash is probably limited to a range of 10 to 12 feet. Try both flash and no flash to determine what works best. Most digital cameras have a “fill-in” or “force flash” setting. With this option on, you’ll get a flash every time you press the shutter button, which should bring out unique details such as the color and texture of fur and luminous eyes. The “fill-in” flash may
over-expose and the auto-flash may not activate because it isn’t dark enough. Practice, practice, practice and be familiar with your camera to maximize its options.

Indoor tips: Lighting indoors is a special challenge. Use simple lighting and then judge what you need to add or take away. Pay close attention to backgrounds: make sure your pet has a contrasting background and avoid busy patterned fabrics or upholstery.

Tips for dogs and kids: Children can get their pets to do amazing things. Can the kids get Max to wear a hat for a still shot? Great “chase” shots are taken with a child in the lead. Get a shot of your dog “kissing” a child, grandma or gramps, by putting a spot of butter or honey where you want the kiss to be.

General Tips: Have your dog brushed and clean. Consider removing his collar as light can reflect off of it. Keep the atmosphere fun. If you are tense, irritable and impatient your pet will be too. Take lots and lots of shots and you’ll get more than a few very good ones.

Copyright © 2006, Ian White

Author Ian White specializes in helping people who are interested in finding a live-in pet sitter (house sitter) in their town. House sitters provide free pet minding, gardening and home security in exchange for accomodation. To find out about these services, visit http://www.housecarers.com.au This is a free service for homeowners. Free registration for confidential matching with house sitters in your area.

Wood bar stools are one of the most popular types of stools on the furniture market. You’ll find them all over the place in people’s homes, businesses, restaurants, inside and outside. The versatility and flexibility of these great home furnishings is simply unmatched. Let’s look at why this is.

The nice thing about wood bar stools is their strength and durability. They are considered the most versatile of all the different types of bar stools. Since metal stools have a hard time fitting into most decors other that really modern wood will be your best bet. The nice thing is that they are simple to change should your décor change. Since most of us like to change our minds, you can’t always count on your current color and décor themes to be the same. So the smart thing to do is buy good solid furniture that will last longer than you current moods.

Wooden bar stools will always fit in around your house no matter what changes take place. A simple padded cushion added to the seats can make a world of difference. Maybe even an update of upholstery from your current ones is all that you need. Wood can also be painted or re-stained to help change their look and feel. You’d be surprised how much a fresh coat of paint can do for you. It’s very easy to give your wood bar stools a makeover!

Since wood is a natural product there happens to be a number of different species available that can be suitable for furniture. These include cherry, maple, oak, bamboo, mahogany, teak etc. You do need to use some sort of harder wood or the products won’t last.

In the traditional styles the deeper and darker wooden stools work really well. Their rich feel with their detailed backs and leg designs add to the comfortable settings of a traditional home. These great stools along with some sort of a seat pad in a dark fabric can really add some punch to any room.

If you’re looking for more of a modern wood look you’ll find many to choose from. They’ll be very clean in terms of their lines and shape. The simple looks fit in nicely with big open and bright rooms. They work well with bright bold colors, even blacks or whites. Almost all of these styles will have a hard seat, as most padded cushions don’t blend well with the clean simpler feel.

The country look of wood bar stools brings an entirely different feel. A lot of these are painted or stained with a two-toned look. What that means is the stools have two different colors on them. Usually they’re a dark and a light contrast. These offer a soft warm feeling that invites you to sit in them. You can use hard or padded seats depending on how country you’re trying to go. They work great in any country home.

We’ve found that wood bar stools are the best way to go when you’re looking for good quality comfortable seating that will stand up to the test of time. Increase the lifespan of your bar stools by choosing wood. You’ll be happy you did.

Article courtesy of Comfortable-Bar-Stools.com, where you can get the answers you need about bar stools, decorating, furniture styles and more. Check out wood bar stools…for more on these and other bar stool favorites.