Why Are Television News Anchors So Irrelevant?

Most people by this point know either subconsciously or consciously the main reasons for why CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox News regulars act like a group of preppy high school girls. Let’s briefly list 4 common reasons before moving on to the underlying explanation.

1) The nature of their work as charismatic and believable presenters of information rather than experts. It is key to mention that the separation between 24 hour cable networks and brief “serious” 6 PM broadcasts on basic cable is disappearing. It used to be that the evening news audience demographic was numerically dominated by the group of elderly depression era females. This explained the need for senior citizens like Dan Rather who was ideal marriage material for the widowed viewers and delivered the authority of a small town doctor. To this day a doctor is shown by polls as the most respected wage laborer whose opinion is considered the most truthful (it makes doctors natural lead characters in TV drama series and movies). However this demographic is dying off and being replaced by baby boomer women (greater female life expectancy always tilts corporate marginal profit seeking) who respect Katie Couric’s professional achievement and ability to look good at her age.

2) Support by biggest media corporations of Reagan’s efforts to reduce funding for department of education (either through cheerleading it or tacit support from silence). 40 year olds watching the news on TV today were directly affected by the across the board reduction in quality of schooling. Television and newspapers thus have to use less big words and their writers are increasingly relying on baby speak, puns, and outright prepackaged talking points (Gretchen Carlson playing dumb to keep her job is one extreme example of this). Shorter attention span is not the cause but the social symptom. This directly feeds into 3)

3) MSM responding to an Australian tabloid oligarch’s invasion of United States with headlong rush towards turning news into entertainment. Of course this would have happened even without the accelerating influence of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation conglomerate. The aging of current TV demographic is permanent since mostly those remain who are unable to master the use of internet two way transmission medium. Since the audience is increasingly represented by rural senior citizens who were failed by the education drives in the 50s and 60s, the intensification of circus style hysterical entertainment as seen on the radio is inevitable in the short term. Murdoch’s influence must again be mentioned however. Newstartainment ( trademarked =] ) saw a publicly visible deepening split between internationalist media oligarchs (who encourage globalization since USA is not essential to their base of operations) and nationalist media oligarchs who use their media asset influence to help out USA based heavy industry. NBC Universal can be said to be an example of a nationalist oligarch mouthpiece since it is owned by General Electric (which is reliant on selling real tangible items like engine parts to US military and government organs). News

Corporation of course is not as reliant on the well being of United States military-industrial complex so its assets like Fox News can be extra irresponsible with their newstartainment. From the financial perspective it is better strategy for GE’s bottom line to support nationalist Democratic party wing of the oligarchy (since better educated/healthier peasants allow US based corps to better compete abroad). That is why MSNBC leans towards democratic millionaires and their businesses. The fact that Fox News was emulated points less to its success than to a transition of formerly US tied corporations towards a more global status. For more information on who the top 10 owners of media clusters are, here is a handy chart (warning: This is from 2002 and the industry got more consolidated and monolithic since then. Use it to get the thrust of the idea).

4) Losing ad revenue to the internet since television news (and TV programming in general) did not live up to its promise of raising human consciousness as envisioned by the first head of the FCC. The internet serves as a type of American glasnost while television serves as a way to sell state propaganda and mass produced TV drama garbage at home and abroad. That is easily recognizable. Getting young people’s trust back (to keep going long term as old people die) is now almost impossible and the road of least resistance is to intensify the circus. Some young people watch the news and MTV just to laugh at how terrible it is (that still is a mild boost to ad revenue). News “anchors” themselves do not come into contact with relevant information much since their networks have actively cut recruitment of journalistic investigative talent. Since it is cheaper to analyze second hand information with talking heads than hire sufficient numbers of understimulated human explorers (and pay for their plane tickets, hotel accommodation, security, etc), news anchors come less and less into real contact with knowledgeable experts. Ridiculous cowards like Wolf Blitzer for example, do not get hits to their self esteem as much from interaction with resident stay at home talking heads than with old school journalist data fiends like Michael Ware. To be fair, as Fox News anchors show, there is a lot of self censorship and dumbing down to remain on the job.

***drum roll***

And the underlining explanation is….

National news anchors and pundits are members of the wealthiest 5% or 1% of the population.

Even if they started out poor (which is increasingly becoming unlikely as key people in the conglomerate hierarchy flood these simple job openings with their children) the long cut throat climb to the top irreparably changed them. The laughing playboys on TV are completely insulated from vast majority of the problems that Americans are facing (except of course problems of taxes on income and capital gains and regulations on financial gambling). Whether they work for Fox, CNN, MSNBC, many of them are good friends and are always on the look out to jump ship to another network to bump up their salary. People like Anderson Cooper, Lou Dobbs, Sean Hannity would never be caught dead riding a piece of third world joyride called the NYC subway.

To them life in America is great and getting better all the time. Every day is just an ego bolstering practice of either driving from luxurious suburbs or being driven to a place where people put make up on them, where they see their friends, and where they talk to some senior citizen politicians/celebrities (who are naturally as insulated). They sit down and chit chat about the problems of places like Detroit ( which for all intensive purposes is as foreign and distant as cities in Africa are). They are goofy and full of giggles not just because they are professional entertainers but because the anchors that elderly people get their “news” from are but middle aged preppy high school girls on the equivalent of a fashion show.

Such dramatic disconnect having continued for as long as it has could only have created neurotic social perceptions the ripple effects of which we’ll be feeling for years to come.

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Arts and Crafts That Are Fun for Seniors

Everyone loves to have fun, everyone probably likes to do things that are creative and it doesn’t matter how old we are. All of us, in one way or another have creative juices that need to be fulfilled. As for seniors, it’s a great way for them to help their minds to stay young and stimulated along with having fun and getting enjoyment out of their finished projects. The finished projects can also serve as nice decorations for a room or as a gift for someone else. Below you will find some fun projects to get the seniors you know involved.Clay can be a lot of fun to work with and its a great activity for seniors, even for ones that might have a little bit of problems with not being able to use their hands completely. The clay can be rolled and molded into a variety of different things like vases, bowls, decorative pins and even beads. This is a great way to gently exercise those hands that might be affected by arthritis as well. Another thing that can be used instead of clay is Play Doh. As silly as that sounds, it’s a great material to work with, comes in a variety of colors and it will dry without the use of an oven in a couple of days. It can also be reused if they don’t like what they made, provided they reuse it prior to it completely drying out.Another fun and creative thing to do is to use mosaics. This is like putting a puzzle together except that the pieces don’t have to match exactly like they don in a jigsaw puzzle. This type of project can be helpful to a senior when it comes to their eyesight and the dexterity of their hands. You can use mosaics to create beautiful picture frames, frames around mirrors, garden items like stepping stones or even garden pots.Sewing, knitting and crocheting are more crafts that a lot of seniors already know how to do or if they don’t they definitely are not too old to start. It’s a great way for them to help their dexterity as well as make wonderful gifts for others or for themselves. They can make a variety of different things like blankets, scarves, hats, gloves and many more things that can be wonderful items to use for Christmas gifts, birthday gifts or even sell in an arts and crafts sale.Getting the seniors into photography is an easy thing to do. It doesn’t take much skill nor does it take much more than a digital camera and some photo paper to print off of a computer at a later date. This is a great thing to do for when a group of seniors are taken out on trips. They can take the cameras with them and take as many pictures as they want with a digital camera. The photos then can be used in photo albums, scrapbooks and even displayed at their place of residence is they happen to be residing in a nursing home or an assisted living facility.

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Darkroom Wizardry Vs Digital Magic

In the past, producing fine art nature photography was always a touchy combination of talent, patience, and precision. However, with the advancement of computer technology and software programs such as Photoshop, the relentless, tireless photographer who crouched in dawn’s early light to catch that particular scene is a rare find. Moreover, negatives then had to undergo a lengthy process involving chemicals and formulas and be deftly set up to dry in a darkroom. Today, with the touch of a few buttons, the same image can be produced in almost no time at all. This is the reality of modern photography. Slide film, chemicals, filters, and darkroom techniques are falling by the wayside, thanks to digital software programs that allow the user to adjust the focus, color saturation, size, and opacity of an image without leaving the computer screen.Photography in FocusIn the days when slide film was still widely used for fine art nature photography, there were two popular brands, Fuji made Velvia, a film which was used for more vividly-colored landscapes, and Provia, which produced colors that looked more true-to-life. Photographers would choose their film according to what and how they were shooting. With the prevalence of digital cameras, film is no longer needed, being replaced by minuscule memory cards that can hold up to two gigabytes of information. Once the images are stored on the card, they can be taken to, what is now called the digital darkroom. Transferring something captured on film onto a computer involves scanning the image onto a CD, DVD, or other storage device, and then opening it in the computer as an image file. However, camera cards can simply be popped into certain computer models or quickly transferred by way of a USB cord. Once the image is in the computer, issues that would be of concern in a traditional “wet” darkroom, such as choosing the printer paper, creating the right balance of color, and maintaining proper shadows and highlights are addressed.Color SaturationSome believe that digital photography can make any quality of image look great, but that is a misconception. Computers may aid in the enhancement of an image, but it cannot take a poor image and turn it into a masterpiece. Color saturation in the digital age is a relatively easy concept as it simply requires clicking on a button. In the traditional darkroom, color pictures needed numerous filters, and the process had to be effected in complete darkness. Although Photoshop has improved on this, the hue/saturation command cannot be used at will; too much color and the photo could turn garish or overly colorized, like a neon sign. Photographers of the past did not have that luxury, so in trying to achieve the best lighting possible for fine art nature photography, they would usually wait for what is called the “golden hour.” Trees, flowers, rocks, and water, all seem to photograph better in the subtle glow of the setting sun.With the prevalence of Photoshop and other software of the ilk, the level of creativity in fine art nature photography has been enhanced. Visions that were hard to achieve with the traditional methods can now be easily realized. Nonetheless, both traditional and digital photography employ talent, a certain vision and precision. It is true that working in a darkroom is not as simple as clicking on the Photoshop icon, but there is something to be said about anxiously watching an image immersed in a shallow bath slowly coming to life on a blank piece of paper.

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The Value of Medical Telemarketing Service to Health Care Industry

The health care or medical industry covers an extensive range of businesses. Hospitals and residences, pharmaceutical companies, health insurance providers, nursing agencies, individual general practitioners, home-health care aide providers all depend on phone correspondence with their patients and clients. Physicians and their staff are considerably reliant on telephone communication with their patients, medical representatives, and pharmaceutical equipment providers, among others. By getting a physician or medical telemarketing service, insurance and health care(HC) professionals can focus on the central work of caring for patients and clients.Insurance companies, modern medical practices and other sections of the health care sector progressively turn to medical telemarketing service in order to get in touch with their patients.Beyond the corporate functions within the medical sector, HC practitioners are merely well-versed with only one side of medical telemarketing. HC providers generally form a contract with a medical telemarketing service company to manage their incoming off-hours and overflow calls for their medical practices. Most doctors and others working in the medical industry are now increasingly beginning to appreciate the value of getting a medical telemarketing service that can greatly help their businesses and aid their employees in tremendous ways possible.Small to medium-scale businesses connected in the health care industry, private physicians and general practitioners could incorporate several features of a medical telemarketing service into their procedures.Hospitals, health insurance providers and other bigger business conglomerates involved in the health care industry depend on a medical telemarketing service to conduct help desk services, appointment setting programs, customer satisfaction surveys, email management and more. Medical-related seminars more often than not make use of a doctor and health care telemarketing programs for their prospect list creation, confirming reservations and scheduling appointments, enlisting members and participants for medical seminars, plus other follow-up services. Furthermore, health care companies also utilize their outbound physician and medical telemarketing service for lead generation-producing lists of individual businesses which are interested in what the business does and are also interested in knowing more regarding a health care-related product or service.For hospitals, health insurance providers, medical practitioners and all those in the field of health care, they have to make sure that they outsource their medical telemarketing services to a dependable BPO company to provide the best results they need. That’s why they have to look for a b2b company which performs a clear and outstanding health care lead generation program in order to generate warm sales leads for medical products and services.They must look for a company that sets out expert telemarketers with wide-ranging skills and experience when it comes to generating sales leads and appointment setting for the medical industry to segment lucrative markets, generate hot HC leads, and set appointments with the qualified targets. In addition, they must also look for a firm which their telemarketing solutions are maintained by the updated database of their ideal clients and business match ups to make sure of well targeted and highly viable marketing campaigns. Not to mention that they have to look for a service provider that customizes their lead generation and appointment setting tactics to fit your goals and campaign standards.

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Some Culinary Adventures

The first thing that people should be aware of when they want to take a trip to East Sussex to enjoy the food is Rye’s scallop fair. It’s held in February every year and revolves entirely around scallops. How to cook and eat them, the best ways to get your hands on them, and anything else about scallops that you can imagine will be available for your intellectual digestion. Scallops themselves will also be available for your regular digestion.Pub lunches are also a great thing to try out. Learning which pubs are good, which pubs are bad, and what meals in the good pubs are the best meals can be a joy if you have the time and money for it. Just remember that if you have too much to drink, it might cloud your judgement. Many pubs will serve a whole range of things, from bangers and mash through to vegetable pies, and moving on to roasts. The meals themselves tend to be better than the desserts in my experience, but you will definitely find exceptions to that.It’s not just scallops that make up the seafood in East Sussex, there are plenty of places to get the freshest of fish, and any fish fiends would do well to wise up on this before visiting. Fresh fish, when properly prepared, is a delight, and will make any visit to East Sussex so much better. Some pub lunches will also include the local sea food, but you’d be best to check that it’s all fresh if you’re not sure about the quality of the pub, as fish that’s been left for a little too long will definitely spoil your holiday.Farms around the area also supply fresh meat, from chick to pork to beef to lamb, and a whole variety of other things as well. It’s not just eating that you can get involved with though. Raising the animals yourself might not be a real possibility, but you can definitely take training courses on rearing them, some only lasting a day, which makes them perfect for visitors to the area.

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Health Care Reform Cons

It seems that the more discussion there is in regard to health care reform, the more discussion there is in regard to health care reform cons. Undoubtedly, there has been a need for some type of health care over haul. Now that health care reform is a reality many Americans are faced with determining the pros and cons and how they will be affected beyond simple access to health care. In this article, we’ll discuss different cons or concerns by those opposing and supporting health care reform and focus on the “biggest con of all”.Pros typically go hand in hand with cons. However, based on numerous emails and request we’ll focus on the biggest con associated with health care reform and provide a follow up article addressing pros (aside from the following couple of pros/reasons for a reform).1) As of 2008 there were more than forty million Americans who were uninsured.2) A 2009 American journal of medicine study revealed that sixty two percent of 2007 bankruptcies were the related to medical expenses.Obviously with so many being uninsured and filing bankruptcy, one would say that there is definitely a need for health care reform. However, when we take a closer look, we see different ways that the change will affect us as well as shed a light on deeper issues. First, the forty plus million uninsured individuals could be somewhat tainted in that these figures likely include undocumented immigrants. Second, of the 2007 bankruptcies (sixty two percent of which were related to medical expenses) over sixty percent of the individuals had medical insurance!That leads us to one of the biggest cons and one that should be reviewed very closely. That is insurance ignorance (being insured without the knowledge of how your plan works). Sixty percent of 2007 bankruptcies were medical related and sixty percent of those had medical insurance. The problem here is quite simple in that individuals securing health coverage are doing so without truly knowing what their coverage means. Does that sound familiar? How about the recent housing implosion? The housing crisis stemmed from many different contributors.However, it is a widely held view that many new homeowners simply had little knowledge of the terms of their loans and/or those who held the knowledge (lenders, appraisers, originators etc) failed to do an appropriate job in educating or even attempting to educate potential new homeowners. Many times an individual may be “covered” by an insurance carrier. However, in an attempt to have low monthly premiums, the individual may choose to have a high deductible.A monthly premium of $100 or less sounds fantastic until a major health issue or accident arises and the individual must come up with thousands in order to meet a deductible. Bear in mind that a car accident causing the need for major medical work can cost $3,000-$5,000 per day in hospital stay alone (this does not include the actual surgery to repair the damage). In most cases individuals have no idea how much a hospital stay will run them nor do they have any idea of the bankruptcy statistics.There are certainly other cons associated with health care reform. Some include longer wait times for individuals to receive diagnosis due to an increased number of insured individuals. However, the “pro” ponents of health care reform would say that this opens the door for more jobs. Other cons include the growth of the federal deficit and increase in taxes we pay. As well as it being difficult to administer because it is too hard to determine what type of coverage should be the minimum guaranteed.There are many more cons to reform. However, the one that we find most troubling is the knowledge of what an individual will receive in their newly gained policy. Let’s not walk down the path of mandating insurance for all individuals without mandating certain information that must be shared with the end consumer. The statistics speak for themselves. More than half of the bankruptcies of 2007 were medical related and more than half of those individuals had coverage. It may be possible to help individuals find credit relief prior to their downfall. However, it will start with the “reformers” implementing health plans and health education based on the statistics that we currently have at our fingertips.

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Commercial Loan – Broker Or Bank?

There is an estimated 5.2 million commercial properties within the UK. The commercial property market expanded by over 32 per cent during 1990-2000 (according to the new products started) compared with the previous decade, in itself a decade of exceptional growth. Bank lending for commercial property deals rose by a record £7.7 billion in the first quarter of 2005, according to data provided by the Bank of England, and property experts believe the bulk of the new lending was for investment purchases.There has also been a substantial rise in the number of investors looking to buy commercial properties to put into Self Invested Personal Pension Schemes. Property investment funds received a boost as of late last year after the Government announced plans to allow them to be included in an ISA (Individual Savings Account) wrapper.Savers will now be able to add investments, such as property funds and funds of funds, that have previously been restricted from being included in ISA’s because the asset class did not feature on a European standard of eligible investments and commercial property funds are seemingly the greatest beneficiary of the rule change.With this diversified interest in commercial property by investor, speculator and businesses alike the role of the broker has become a more integral part of the process. Increasing numbers of mortgage brokers have branched out into non regulated markets such as the commercial loan sector since Mortgage Day in late 2004 and subsequent involvement by the Financial Services Authority, interestingly 58 per cent of mortgage brokers claim profits are down since Mortgage Day.Commercial lending is now not the preserve of the high street banks who, in the past, have not only seemed to cherry pick but have also had a tendency to only lend to their existing business customers. The result was that there are now over 1,200 commercial lenders currently operating within the UK.The competitive market for commercial lending has also been confirmed by the rates available. There are also many other flexible options such as rolled up interest (No interest payments) for the first year to help with cash flow, start up finance, business expansion finance or even for finance on low yield investment properties.Lenders will typically lend up to 80 per cent loan to value but 100% is achievable with additional security. Three years audited accounts are also now not the normal requirement as self certification of income has also found its way into commercial lending. Adverse credit clients are now considered and in the majority of cases loans approved. However self certification and bad credit applicants can expect a loading on the rate of typically between 1 to 4 per cent.A cross section of business funding is available to retail businesses such as convenience stores, fast food outlets, specialist shops and supermarkets. Investment properties, professional practices such as accountants, doctors, vets and solicitors. Property development including speculative or pre-let for both commercial and residential. Offices and factories along with the health care sector including nursing homes, residential care and special needs homes. The leisure market has also been seen as the main stay for commercial lending over many years embracing hotels, guest houses, cafes, restaurants, wine bars and pubs.Although latterly pubs have often sought brewery loans as a traditional way of borrowing money in the trade often referred to as Advance of Discount (AOD) or “Write Off” loans, the interest rates seem favourable at significant discounts over the banks but barrelage discount is affected and the repayment terms are often shorter over 10 years.Lending on leasehold is also available up to 65 per cent on the security property (often the applicants main residence). With many businesses failing in the first year and business failure rates up 13 per cent in the first quarter of 2006 applicants must carefully consider whether they should be securing their main residence against the lease.To calculate monthly charges use one of our many custom built calculators. Commercial loan applications, for both single and joint applicants, are processed on our own dedicated secure server.

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Top Ten Small Business Mastermind Advisers All Small Business Owners Need To Have to Succeed

The statistics on small businesses going broke in the first 12 months of operation are nothing short of obscene and seriously scary. In Australia and other western countries such as the United States 70% of all small businesses fail within the first 12 months of operation but let me tell you from experience, surviving after that 12 months is no less harrowing.After 10 years of running four small businesses and creating them from scratch I can tell you with some authority, that I did not do this on my own. In fact, I reckon I have made every mistake in the book on how not to run a small business, but yet I have still survived. The secret to staying in business is all down to being able to talk to my ten Small Business Mastermind Advisers.My ten Small Business Mastermind Advisers are there as my support team in helping me make the right decisions. See often when we make a decision in small business, it might be right at the time but down the track it can do you a lot of harm. Having your small business mastermind advisers on call, you can simply call them and ask them the consequences of the choices you are about to make.For example, having the right business structure and putting your business assets in the right structure will play a major roll in the success of your business when you decide to exit the business. Se e most people who go into business only ever think of the business as a job they do not look at it from the perspective of how they will exit the business when they have built it into an enterprise.Those ten small business mastermind advisers will help you to ensure that you have met your obligations and that there are no hidden issues that might come up in the future for your business. For example, we recently chose to sell off our car cleaning business as my wife wanted to pursue something different. Because of the way I had structured some of the trademarks in my company that related to hers, when we went and sold the business it created a number of headaches in the sale process. Essentially we had to shift ownership of those trademarks to her company prior to the sale which created a number of financial costs that we have had to endure even though my company never made any money. This issue arose simply because in the early days, I did not have my 10 Small Business Mastermind Advisers to tell me how my choices would impact on me in the future.Adviser 1: AccountantIn business today, with the complexities of superannuation, sales tax or GST, income tax and all the other taxes out there an accountant is a must. As a small business owner you need to find an accountant that is a small business specialist and is proactive in working with you.What I have found is that some accountants will only do what you ask them to do and will not step in and give you advice if you do not ask. You want an accountant that if they see you are doing something wrong then they will tell you without you asking.The other thing you will need to ensure is that you hire an accountant that outlines where all of their hours are going. It is very easy for you with accountants and solicitors to end up with 5 or 6 figure bills.Adviser 2: SolicitorThe solicitor is another important Small Business Mastermind adviser. Just like the accountant you need to make sure that the solicitor is a small business specialist. The role of the solicitor is to help you with all legal issues like what structure suits what you want to achieve, do your forms and policies meet your legal obligations, like your privacy policy, recruitment policy etc.They can also help you protect your assets and in particular your intellectual property like trademarks, copyright etc. Often small business owners do not do the basics of trademarking their business name and logos to stop other business predators using their identities.Adviser 3: Marketing and Advertising ExpertA Marketing and Advertising Expert is a must in today’s market place. I have found that with the various media types, people in the industry can get better deals than if you dealt with the media owners. For example, recently I chose a new advertising specialist to join my small business mastermind advisers because their company was able to negotiate lower television advert placements, than what I could dealing directly with the station.Your marketing and advertising expert should have some experience in your industry and be able to show real statistics of adverts and marketing campaigns that actually achieved results. More so, they should also have a mantra of test and measure to ensure that your campaigns are giving you value for money and more so, are making you a profit.Adviser 4: BookkeeperSome accountants have their own bookkeepers, but I have found that quite often they are more expensive than bookkeepers not tied into an accountant. Further to this you should always check to make sure the bookkeeper is certified. In some countries, including Australia, bookkeepers can be certified through the National Bookkeepers association or the CPA.Your bookkeeper must be prepared to work with your accountant and if they have questions you must give them permission to speak with your accountant and more so, you need to make sure that they document all communications with your accountant.Remember one thing, it does not matter whether your Bookkeeper or your accountant makes a mistake, ultimately, you as the business owner are responsible for your books. If they get it wrong, it will be on your head, so always make sure that you understand what they are doing.Adviser 5: IT PersonEverybody hates computers and I am a 20 year veteran of the industry and I still hate them. Having a good IT person is essential. Most businesses today are now totally reliant on their IT Technology and if your technology goes down, the question you need to ask is, “could your business still operate?” If the answer is no, then you need to hire an IT person who will be there in an emergency.When choosing an IT Person or company make sure they are qualified in the technology you are using. For example, if you are using Microsoft Windows technology in your office, then your IT Person should have at the very least the Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician qualification.Adviser 6: Website and Search Engine ExpertIf your business is not on the web and you are not selling products to the global market then you are making your life incredibly difficult and you are missing out on lots of opportunities. The internet is a fantastic tool for doing business but be warned there are lots of crooks out there, especially in the search engine optimization industry.Before choosing a web builder and search engine expert ask to speak with some of their existing clients or talk to other business associates and find out who they use. I will say you should expect to pay anywhere between $1,500 to $5,000 per month for this service depending on your business and what sort of income you want to derive from the internet.Adviser 7: Business CoachBusiness Coaches, are like website and search engine experts, there are a lot of snakes out there who have no real small business experience. Before choosing a Business Coach ask them if they have ever owned a small business or if they had been a principle small business manager.If you have been in small business for a while, then it will be very obvious to you as to which business coaches have owned businesses before going into business coaching. Their approach will tend to be more practical then something out of a book. Once again before choosing a business coach, talk to your business colleagues and see if they can recommend someone.Adviser 8: Financial PlannerManaging your money is a major issue and most accountants will not give you Financial Planning Advice. A good financial planner will be able to help you where to put your business money, to get good growth but also to be easily accessible.You should also have a good financial planner for your personal 401k or superannuation policy but also if you are managing an employer superannuation program. Most small business owners forget to build their own 401k or superannuation policy as they are building their business and when they get to selling their business they find they do not have enough to live on once they retire because once the business debts are paid off, nothing is left.Adviser 9: Business BankerFinding the right bank and right business banker is essential to succeeding in business. You definitely need to build a constructive relationship with your business banker as they will be your life line in a dire cashflow situation or if you need money for a deal you just could not let go by.Business Bankers can also help you with other issues like leasing and hire purchase accounts, but also other facilities like merchant facilities, sales tax bank accounts etc.Adviser 10: Insurance BrokerI learned the hard way on how important an insurance broker is to your business. The previous insurance company I dealt with did not advise me that none of the glass in my building was covered if I was broken into. I have extensive insurance, but because Glass was an optional extra, the previous insurance company did not tell me this and when we were broken into, even though I pay over $5,000 per year in insurance, I still had a $4,000 bill for all the glass damaged during a break and enter.This particular experience really drove home, how a good insurance broker, whilst upfront might cost you more, in the future will save you more.Just like any employee when you are putting together your Small Business Mastermind Advisers you need to interview each adviser and ensure that you are able to work with them. Further to this, to get the best advice from your Small Business Mastermind Advisers you must be 100% honest and open with them, even when things are looking dire. If you are not totally honest, then they cannot give you the advice that will help you get out of trouble.

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Credit Card Interest Climbing to Payday Loan Amounts

Direct payday loans are notoriously known for carrying high interest when not paid off on time. Taking a short-term loan and broadcasting extremely high APR alerts are tactics used by competitors to divert customers away. Regulating these loans has become a mission for some states in order to protect the residents from further debt problems.Credit cards must inform users about how making minimum payments only will affect their balances. On your credit card statement, there will be a payment information box which will let you know in detail how much you owe, what amount is due and when it is due. You will also find information pertaining to making only minimum payments. The minimum payment warning will inform you how much your loan will cost over time. Most people assume that using credit cards (with lower interest rates) are better to use than online payday loans. Credit cards will carry your balances over for as many years as needed to pay them off. The revolving debt allows you to spend whatever available balance is there. They will even allow you to spend more than allotted and charge a fee for overspending.The minimum payment amount is calculated as a small percentage of the balance which you are required to pay. The interest will eat up most of that payment and your balance will only go down by a very small margin with your monthly minimum payment. There is a warning in this payment information box of how long it will take you to pay off your balance making minimum payments only. This of course is assuming that you never use the credit card during the payoff. This payment is compared to one other which is a slightly increased amount. The length of time it will take to pay off the loan with this other amount plus how much you will spend and the savings as compared to the minimum payments. These warnings are shocking to those who don’t think low interest is any big deal compared to direct payday loan interest. The Credit Card Act wants these figures to be alarming to people so they will be motivated to pay down their debt.Many people choose online payday loans over credit cards to avoid falling into the traps to continue spending as well as take long periods of time to pay off the balance. In addition to the payment warnings, the credit card companies are required to warn customers about what will happen if payments are received late. Not only will there be a fee, usually $35, but that the interest rate will also increase. The increased interest rate will be very comparable or even greater than online payday loan rates. Where is the protection for consumer’s rights by the state government for these interest rates?You will also find a phone number for a credit counseling service. Many of these counseling services are funded by the credit card companies. If you are looking for assistance with your debt, you may just want to contact one not affiliated with your creditors for the best unadulterated advice towards your credit situation. Direct payday loans online do carry high interest rates, with no trap to keep your loan out for longer than needed. There is no option for continued spending as you pay your balance off. Use a payday loan to make a credit payment on time, help with an emergency payment or cover unexpected costs.

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Guide to Employment Tribunals – What Do They Do and How Do They Work?

Employment Tribunals And The Claims ProcessIf you are looking to make an employment claim or to defend one, where should you issue your claim? Almost all cases should be started in the Employment Tribunal, usually with one exception explored in the next paragraph.Claim LimitsA claim for wrongful dismissal is limited to only £25,000 when often a contractual claim can be for a much larger sum than this. Therefore, if you have a claim for wrongful dismissal or any other contractual claim you are likely to want to issue this in the County Court where your claim is not limited to this amount.The Employment TribunalAn Employment Tribunal is an independent judicial body that is used exclusively for employment law claims and consists of two non legally qualified members (from business) and a legally qualified chairman.The types of claims that can be pursued in an Employment Tribunal include the following:
Redundancy Claims
Unfair Dismissal Claims
Discrimination (including sexual discrimination, race discrimination and age discrimination)
National Minimum Wage Claims
The person making that starts the claim is known as the “Claimant”, the person defending it as the “Respondent”.Time Limits For Employment Tribunal ActionsThere are some time limits that usually must be followed in an Employment Tribunal claim. In all cases the time limits can vary from case to case so you should seek legal advice about your specific situation.Usually you need to have been in employment for one year before you can take a claim to the Employment Tribunal. In addition, generally, you must provide your employer with 28 days notice before you start your proceedings. However, for Unfair Dismissal claims you must make the claim within three months of your dismissal.Payment of Your Salary Whilst You Make Your ClaimIn some cases you may be able to make a claim to have your salary paid to you whilst you are pursuing your claim through the Employment Tribunal. You must be pursuing a certain type of claim to be able to make this application, and if you qualify you must make the application for interim relief within 7 days of the date of your dismissal.The types of claims which qualify include:
For Trade Union related activities
Whistleblowing
Taking someone with you to a disciplinary or grievance hearing
Dismissal for carrying out Health and Safety related activities when it is your role to do so
Acting as a workers representative
What Happens Next?Once a claim has been issued in the Tribunal, ACAS (the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service) will attempt to make contact with both parties to see if there is any opportunity of settling the claim without the need for a hearing.If settlement cannot be reached, the claim will proceed through various mini hearings to determine what evidence should be served, and the time limits to be adhered to, before a final hearing takes place in front of the Employment Tribunal.Final HearingAt the final hearing the three members of the Employment Tribunal will listen to and review the evidence from the Claimant and the Respondent along with any witnesses.When all of the evidence has been heard, they will make their decision which can include:
No compensation (eg no good claim)
Reinstatement of an employee
Compensation to the employee
SummaryThis is only an outline of the summary as it varies depending on the type of your claim.

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