General

Why Your Dog May Be Too Fat – And What To Do About It

Obesity is one of the greatest health concerns facing dogs.

You can and should do something about it.

Overweight dogs may live shorter and less healthy lives and your enjoyment of their unconditional love and companionship may be shortened because of it. Extra pounds place an excess burden on bones and joints and can make arthritis problems worse.

Overweight dogs are less able to exercise and play comfortably and their breathing may be labored. Their bodies may be less able to resist infections, and they may be at greater risk for problems during surgery and anesthesia.

Potential health problems include:

Joint or Locomotion Difficulties. Extra pounds add stress to joints, bones, ligaments and muscles. Conditions such as arthritis, hip dysplasia, spinal disc disease and ruptures of joint ligaments may be caused or aggravated by obesity.

Heart and Respiratory Disease. Excess fat tissue in the chest cavity and around the muscles of the heart can decrease the efficiency of the heart and lungs. Your dog’s heart and lungs have to work harder to provide adequate oxygen and circulation. Diabetes. Just as in humans, diabetes is much more common in obese dogs.

Liver Disease. Obese dogs are prone to liver disease. Heat Intolerance. The insulating properties of excessive fat make it harder for obese dogs to tolerate heat and they feel uncomfortable.

Skin Problems. Obese dogs may have trouble grooming because the rolls of skin built up by fat deposits can often harbor dirt, bacteria and other harmful organisms.

Gastrointestinal Disorders. Inflammation of the pancreas is frequently found in obese dogs. It is painful and can be life threatening.

How Do Dogs Become Overweight?

Dogs most always become overweight from lack of good exercise and from eating more food than they require. Food calories, which aren’t burned during their daily activities, are stored as fat. Overeating can result from greediness, boredom, or overfeeding. Feeding leftovers or giving frequent snacks or treats often contributes to excess weight problems. Over-fed puppies tend to become overweight dogs. They also have a greater risk of developing orthopedic problems.

Properly fed puppies will be less likely to suffer from weight problems later in life. Occasionally, metabolic disorders can cause a dog to become overweight. But overfeeding and under exercising are much more common causes of excess weight.

If your veterinarian suspects that a metabolic disorder is causing your dog to gain weight, he or she will test for that disorder and treat it accordingly.

How Can I Tell if My Dog is Overweight?

A quick check to determine whether your dog is overweight is to feel his ribs with the flat palm of your hand. If you have difficulty feeling his ribs, then your dog probably needs to lose weight.

Helping Your Dog Lose Weight.

Weight loss for most dogs involves increased exercise and eating food with fewer calories. It’s generally easier to feed normal amounts of a low-calorie dog food than to feed much smaller amounts of his/her regular dog food. In addition, your dog will not feel as hungry when fed a normal amount of food

Dieting for Dogs.

Your vet will help set a weight goal for your dog and will recommend how much food he should eat each day. A special diet may also be prescribed. The food choice should be designed to satisfy your dog’s appetite and provide him all the vitamins and minerals he needs while at the same time helping him to lose weight. Your dog may need a gradual transition from the old to the new diet. So, you would feed him increasing amounts of the new diet while decreasing the amounts of the previous diet each day over several days until the transition is complete. To help keep your dog from begging, feed him before your family eats, and keep him out of the room during your meal.

It is also a good idea to feed overweight dogs at the same time as other pets to help prevent food stealing from their slimmer companions. Always provide plenty of clean, fresh drinking water. Regular exercise, such as walks or runs, is good for most dogs because it increases the number of calories they burn. If your dog is old or in poor health, check with your vet before increasing exercise. The time period your dog will require to lose weight depends upon how much weight he is required to lose. Your dog may need 8 to 14 weeks or longer to reach his target weight. What Type of Dog Food is Good for Weight Control?

A dieting dog has special nutritional needs. Personally, I recommend turmeric for dogs, as this has many health benefits but, as a minimum, his diet should be balanced with a proper ratio of protein, fat and carbohydrates. The diet should also provide a normal volume of food to satisfy his hunger and the food should also provide quality nutrients. Weight loss plans don’t need to include high levels of fiber. Fiber is not necessary for weight loss in pets, and in large amounts, it may have side effects such as increased feces and lack of interest in the food because of its poor taste.

 

Gourmet Coffee Baskets

Gourmet coffee gift baskets make thoughtful & inexpensive gifts for the holidays!

With the holidays approaching, it’s time to start making our gift lists and checking them twice! This year, many people just can’t afford to spend as much on gifts as in years past. Giving presents is a lot of fun, but it is truly the thought that counts most, so don’t panic! There are plenty of gift ideas, which reflect your thoughtfulness without putting you in debt. One such idea is the gourmet coffee gift basket. Americans consume coffee to the tune of billions of dollars a year. We’re a coffee drinking nation. This means that almost everyone on your gift list would love to get a gourmet coffee gift basket, filled with small bags of exotic coffees and a few little related coffee items. Here are some ideas to help you put together a fantastic gift for your coffee loving friend.

Choosing the best quality of coffee bean is a good place to start. Personally, I always head on over to Bushy Beard Coffee to get mine. The Arabica bean is generally considered to be superior to the Robusta. Arabica beans grow under shade, allowing the beans to ripen more slowly. This translates to a more complex flavor with less caffeine. You’ve got to deal with a reputable coffee merchant who knows his business. Coffee crops vary in taste and quality from year to year, due to environmental conditions. So while Jamaican Blue Mountain may have endured a poor last year, this year’s crop couldn’t be better. When you look for varieties with which to fill your gourmet coffee gift basket, make sure each gourmet coffee you select is at the top of its form this year. It’s better to have fewer coffee choices than a dozen of poor quality.

You can learn quite a bit about coffee online. From growing methods to history and lore, you can become a bit of an expert yourself. One nice touch you might consider when constructing your gourmet coffee gift basket is to include a synopsis of these tidbits on a card tied around each bag. Such information is entertaining and adds interest to your recipient’s enjoyment of the cup of coffee.

You want to aim for at least a half dozen great coffees. A half pound bag makes several pots, so there’s plenty of good drinking material here. With six varieties to choose from, this gift allows your recipient to try a new one every day, which keeps the taste buds fresh, for a new and exciting cup that never tastes flat through repetition.

Other coffee ritual additions to your gourmet coffee gift basket might include a small bottle of Irish whiskey for a nice bedtime toddy. The Torani(TM) line of syrups add an excellent splash of special flavor to that premium cup of Joe. If your recipient goes everywhere with a coffee cup, a nice travel mug is appreciated. If they’re really into coffee, buy whole beans and nestle a small electric coffee grinder inside your basket.

One reason for the popularity of the gourmet coffee gift basket is that this beverage is almost universally popular. Any coffee drinker will be happy with such a gift. It may well be that your thoughtful gift creates one more connoisseur!

How To Choose A Rice Cooker For Cooking Perfect Rice

There is a small appliance that is growing in popularity in America. This small appliance is the rice cooker. This little appliance can do much more than just cook rice. It is at home both in the kitchen and in the dormitory room.

Of course, best rice cookers make perfect rice, but they can also be used for cooking hot cereals, deserts, stews and soups. They can also steam vegetables to perfection, even while cooking rice.

The best rice cookers are made in Japan. There are other models that may be less expensive from other countries, but you will enjoy using the Japanese rice cookers the most.

Rice cookers come in many sizes from the small three to five cup cookers to the giant fourteen plus cup cookers. Choose a rice cooker that corresponds to the amount of rice you normally cook. They work best when used to cook rice at capacity.

Remember that a Japanese cup is only six ounces. Most Americans are more used to an eight ounce cup. To adjust recipes, remember that rice cooker cups are approximately three fourths of an American cup.

Most Japanese households favor the mid-sized rice cookers.

A non-stick cooking pan in the rice cooker makes cleanup very easy. Rice cooker manufacturers use a high quality non-stick surface that works perfectly with rice. Be sure that you only use the plastic rice paddle to remove food from the pot.

There are several types of rice cookers available. Choose the one that meets your needs and budget.

The least expensive models of rice cookers simply turn off when the water has been absorbed into the rice. These cookers are still very versatile and do a great job when cooking rice.

The next step up in rice cookers will keep the rice warm when cooking is finished. They do not have a true off position, so be sure that you unplug the cooker when finished. You will need to buy at this level or above to get a rice cooker with a non-stick pan.

Some of the more expensive rice cookers have fuzzy logic. This means that they have differing settings for soup or brown rice. Some of these machines even allow you to choose the texture of your finished rice.

The newest and most expensive rice cookers offer induction heating. Rice comes out perfect each time as they can compensate for variations in measurements.

If you enjoy steamed vegetables with your rice, be sure that the rice cooker you choose has a steamer basket. You can steam vegetables as the rice cooks. For extra flavor in your rice add a couple of bullion cubes to the cooking water.

Do not forget that a rice cooker is perfect for a college student who is living in the dorm. They can cook their own meals in a small rice cooker and avoid the expense of the college cafeteria as well as all the unhealthy fast food. Be sure that they are stocked up on rice, canned soups and top ramen for quick meals.

 

 

Some Ways We Are Supplementing Our Income These Days

The industrial age came to an end in 1990, and the information age ushered in. In the information age, a critical medium called the internet came into play. Most people who embraced this paradigm shift became millionaires and billionaires in their early ages. The internet is a great source of passive income to compliment your day job income that could otherwise not be enough to satisfy your daily needs. Let’s look at some of the online passive income ideas that you can utilize to compliment your day job earnings:

Creating and Selling Your Goods or products Online

With the internet almost everything is automatic. You can sell your product through online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. But you have to create the product first and nurture the lead to realize sales. For instance, you can write a book, market it online and once customers have read and it befits them, they would give positive reviews. After that, the book would sell itself for the rest of your life.

Join Affiliate Marketing Programs

Affiliate Marketing means you’re selling other people’s stuff or products. Today, numerous affiliate programs dot the internet, for example, Amazon Affiliates and ClickBank. You must first register with the company as a member and obtain your ID. The ID would enable the Affiliate company track your sales and establish your commissions. You can sell those products through your website, Facebook pages, Twitter handle and so on.

Writing Software Programs

If you have the experience and expertise on how to create Software programs you can earn good passive income. You can create software that is supposed to make work easier and faster, and people will buy it. In the Internet age, a lot of individuals are looking for means to automate business processes, so the market is all but assured.

Selling Ads on your website

Ideally, it’s Google Adsense, a free and simple method to earn passive income by plastering ads on your website. Operating Google Adsense is a rewarding passive income idea if your site receives a lot of traffic. Your followers could stumble across those ads and consequently lead to a sale. You would be rewarded by receiving monthly commissions for the sales.

With today’s volatile economy and the shift towards outsourcing by most Fortune 500 Companies, the online space would save you the blushes of having to put up with unsatisfactory payouts. The aforementioned online passive income ideas can be a great source of alternative income to spruce up the quality of your life.

Does Money Bring You Happiness or Not?

What do you think?

Does money bring happiness?

The answer is so clear to me like the difference between night and day. I have started to question many of the proverbs like, money is root of all evil  or money isn’t everything. I wonder who said these?

It seems like a rummer that someone starts and at the end the message we get has been totally changed.

Why am I saying that? The statement that money isn’t everything is totally true and clear. Money is money and nothing else, like money is not a book or neither a book is money. But you can buy a book and sell a book for money.

It is the value of money that should be talked about, not the physical money itself. So when someone says: “money doesn’t buy happiness” we can say:

 “Money can’t buy happiness, but neither can poverty.” ~Leo Rosten

To prove that money bring happiness, think about these four points.

Point one: Financially, there are 3 groups of people in the world:

1. People who are broke all the time.

2. People who break even  (live paycheck to paycheck)

3. People who have surplus of money.

I promise you that group one and two always try to get to the higher group and group 3 doesn’t want to lose it’s position. Do you agree?

It is very logical, isn’t it?

I know I can concluded that people in group 3 are financially happy to be where they are, but the other two groups are trying to be happier by moving up to another group. It is logical and natural part of life that you would want to move up to higher levels financially from where you are. No one likes or would want to move downwards financially. Ask yourself, which group has less financial stress?

According to a study of 450,000 Americans and how they evaluate their happiness, a salary of $75,000 a year is the magic number after which people’s day-to-day happiness no longer improves. This study was done by psychologist Daniel Kahneman and economist Angus Deaton. From The Wall Street Journal: “It turns out there is a specific dollar number, or income plateau, after which more money has no measurable effect on day-to-day contentment. After that, it is just more stuff, with no gain in happiness. That doesn’t mean wealthy and ultra wealthy are equally happy. More money does boost people’s life as all the way up the income ladder. People who earned $160,000 a year, for instance, reported more overall satisfaction than people earning $120,000, and so on.”

So, according to Wall Street numbers, you won’t be any happier on a day-to-day basis if you’re making $75,000 or $750,000—though you’ll likely feel like you’ve got a better life overall.  See what Arnold said long time ago:

What is another name for satisfaction:

Fulfillment of one’s wishes, expectations, or needs, or the pleasure derived from this.

Is it possible for any one not to be happy by fulfillment of wishes. I do not know your answer, but I will take more money to do what I desire and that would make me happy. Look like someone is playing with words, not me I am very honest and I am sure the difference between $75k and $750k is a lot and most people would be happier with $750k.

Don’t know what the true intension of this reacher was, but I don’t agree with it at all and I think it is a sick idea to force a message to people that is not logical and doesn’t make sense. My point is there are so many thing that is myth (another word lies) and we need to find out the truth and wonder who says what?

 Point two: Smallest amount of change can make a difference in people’s life.

Smallest amount of change can make people extremely happy as if they received a million dollars. I used to live in Downtown Los Angles and walk to my work.  You may have heard, downtown Los Angeles is one of the busiest business centers, crowded and traffic is crazy. Each street is some kind of a district. For example you have the garment district, diamond district, flower district, fruit district and the famous Ally which you can buy just about anything in there.

So everyone working to make some money to provide for their family. On my way to work, I would come across people parking in meter parking area but didn’t have coins or small change to put in the parking meter.

I know fine was $25 dollars and no one in the right mind would want to risk not putting 4 quarters and later on pay the $25 fine. I would always carry quarters with me and give it to people that didn’t have change. This is the time that you could see how the smallest amount of change made people so happy specially with not expecting anything in return.

Now, you tell me if one dollar can make someone so happy or not.

Let me give you another example. Have you ever found a dollar in the street? How did it make you feel? It makes me very happy to find a dollar. My point is smallest amount of money can make you happy.

Point three: Lack of money

Below is a list I put together, it shows how lack of money could effect a person. Surly, all of us would want to have enough money not to worry about bills, be able to eat well, spend more time with our family or have money to travel and have fun. I consider lack of money problem and sadness and having enough money a must to live with freedom and a good indicator of happiness. Even as a well paid marketer – thanks Azzurro Blu 🙂 I still suffer from the same financial worries that most of my friends have

Money Lack of money
– financial freedom – not much of freedom
– better schooling – no school or not a quality school
– less family problems due to finance – lots of family problems
– no worries about bills – lot of worries
– no worries about mortgage or rent – lot of worries
– cars are great – maintaining and paying for gas are problems
– eating well – eating cheap and unhealthy
– no worries about old age retirement – big issue for golden years
-vacation, travel and fun – hardly go anywhere
-able to help others – can’t help even though wants to
– being comfortable – not so comfortable

The table above show lack of money and financial freedom. You can decide for yourself which group you want to be in. My answer is clear, I’d like to have money because it gives me financial freedom. Financial freedom gives me the time freedom to do what I want to do on my own terms.

Being in control of your finance is a great stress reliever.

There are other myths about money that I don’t agree with, you can read about them here. Money is root of all evil or is it?

Point 4: Can you be happy without money or live modestly?

My answer is yes, because many famous people in the world have lived a simple life and were very happy and there are a lot of people who live in poverty and they are happy, too.

Here are a few examples about very famous people who lived a simple life and were very happy.

Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. Born: June 21, 1905,  Paris Francedied: April 15, 1980,  Paris France. From what I read, all his life he had only a cane, pair of glasses to read and a few clothes. He never bought a mansion or any property which he could have bought. He won the Noble Prize and Refused it.

Here is another example:

Diogenes of Sinope: Greek philosopher who lived in a barrel and did not even own a cup to drink water or had any dishes to eat his food in.

According to legend, Alexander the Great came to visit the Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope. Alexander wanted to fulfill a wish for Diogenes and asked him what he desired. According to the version recounted by Diogenes Laërtius, Diogenes replied “Stand out of my light.”

Diogenes of Sinope believed being happy comes from having less and thinking less about things.

Another example is Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Gandhi was the preeminent leader of Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. Born: October 2, 1869, Assassinated: January 30, 1948. He lived a very simple life and wore a white sheet.

There were and are many people who had it all, but lived very happy without money.

In my opinion these people had access to a lot of money if they wanted to, but they chose to be a role model and said that life is not all about money and happiness comes from within. I agree that happiness can be choice and a mindset, but I am not sure if they didn’t have any access to any money or there were in poverty they would have said that happiness is within since a hungry stomach would not be happy until it is feed.

I think when you have enough money to be comfortable and your primary needs are met like food, shelter and clothes then some people can have a mindset that they don’t have to have much to be happy, but still for most of the people with below average income or below poverty level, money easily could bring a lot of happiness. I am talking about majority of the people in the world not a few ultra rich that say more than what they have would not make them happy.

Traditionally, a nation’s economic health is measured by its wealth. But increasingly, some leaders and policymakers are turning their focus to a more human notion of well-being: happiness.

That’s the motivation behind the World Happiness Report, an analysis published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, a UN organization that aims to fight poverty by stoking sustainable development. The annual rankings, first published in 2012, aim to quantify happiness using Gallup World Poll data that asked people to evaluate the quality of their own lives on a scale of zero to 10. Here, based on that metric, are this year’s 25 happiest countries:

Most of the happiest countries you see above are rich countries with higher income average except Costa Rica (#12), Mexico (#14), and Brazil (#16), Venezuela (#23), and Panama (#25).

I have visited Mexico, Panama and I have been living with my wife in Costa Rica. My observation is that a lot of people in these three countries live in poverty and they make the best out of what they have. I am sure if you ask any of these poor people that if having more money will make them happier or not, you’ll find the answer to be, YES.

In Costa Rica minimum wage is about $3 an hour, however cost of food, gasoline, electricity, water are as high as USA and in some cases food items are even higher than USA. People may seem happy but they live on rice and beans.

I have a friend that anytime they invite me to their house, I see that their refrigerator is empty. Many people raise chicken so that once in a while they can have better food.

Some people plant corn and beans in their backyards because it is cheaper and go hunting and fishing (not for fun but because it is all they can afford). Some people in Costa Rica work 12 hours a day, six or even seven days a week with no vacation.

Now, you tell me would money bring these people more happiness or not. My answer is 100% yes.

Conclusion: Does money bring happiness or does it?

It depends who you are asking from. Arnold had 48 million and extra 2 million didn’t make him happier even-though it made him more comfortable and financially secure.

If you ask the most famous people who wanted to make a point that money is not everything (even-though they had access to as much as they wanted to and knew they could get to their money at any given moment) they would say no.

If you ask majority of people in the world who live in poverty and don’t have food, clothes, shelter and opportunity in life, majority would say $1.25 could feed a family of four for a day and money for sure can make four people happy for a day.

I value your opinion so please tell me what you think?

Getting a Furniture Discount

If you want new furniture, you may be cringing at the prices on some of your favourite choices. In current times, many families who may have been able to afford to go out and get the furniture set they wanted just two years ago simply can not afford to do it now. If you want something new, but you have to watch how much you spend, there are some great ways you can get a furniture discount on just about anything for your home. If you have some time, and are willing to be flexible, you can save money on some great pieces for your furniture needs.

One thing you should always do is to shop around, but it is even more important when you want to get a furniture discount. Sales are down in almost all areas of retail, and stores know they may have to cut some prices to get you to buy. Unless you live in a very rural area, you probably have a few different stores from which you can choose. Go to all of them, see what you like, and make it clear that you are shopping around and that you are going to go with the store that is willing to give you the best deal. Banchory furniture store owner, Joseph says, “with a great sale on in our store, there’s no price we can’t beat!”

You may or may not get some offers this way. Make the most of your trips by seeing what you like and what prices are out there. You may not find the same set in another store, but you may find one with the same qualities that you like just as much. Take note of the price. You can ask each store if they are willing to give you a furniture discount based on what you found at the other. They may not, but you may get what you want. It never hurts to ask. Some stores know an outright ‘no’ may mean you walk out and never come back.

If you still are not sure if you are getting the furniture discount that is the best that you can do, take some time to look online. Some stores have furniture items on their web sites that are discounted and not available in their show rooms. It can be harder to buy a couch or living room chair this way, as you should always sit on something to make sure it feels good, but you can find some great deals this way. When calculating the furniture discount you may be getting, be sure to factor in shipping or delivery charges.

Don’t forget about the items that were never delivered or picked up. Most stores have orders that come in and the customer changes their mind, usually because they discover they can’t afford the set or they found something at a much better price somewhere else. At times, these may even be special ordered and can not be put out in the main showroom. Ask to see any of these items your local store may have. You can find great items and sets with a fabulous furniture discount to boot. You won’t have a huge selection, but you may find something you love this way and a price you can truly appreciate.

We All make Choices – But What Are The Consequences?

Life is about a lot of things, depending on each individual, but it breaks down to choices at its most basic level. Each day we are faced with choices. Sometimes we face the same choices each day. Making some choices are not like a one size fits all thing. Let’s say you’ve made the choice to lose weight.Every day you will be faced with choices that will either keep you on track with that choice or lead you away from that choice. Will you choose to have fruit instead of a decadent dessert? Will you choose vegetables instead of pasta laden with sauces? Will you choose to exercise or skip it?

Let’s say you make the better choices today. That’s great, but you need to realize that you will be faced with the same kinds of choices each day. Some days you may not make the better choice. But being aware that you will have to continue making daily choices can help your resolve and help you get throught the moment of decision.

Be aware that things will pop up each day and often throughout the day. Be prepared ahead of time to make the better choice.

It doesn’t matter what you want to change in your life, you will be facing many choices on the road to your goals.

If you sleep late, put off working on a project, grab a donut or flop in front of the TV instead of doing something productive, remember you made those choices. Habits can be hard to break, but it’s ultimately you who decides in each situation which choice you’re going to make. It’s you who decides whether or not you will make a choice that leads you closer to your goals or farther away from your goals.

Peer pressure can also lead you to making bad choices. We tend to think of peer pressure being exclusive to teenagers, but the truth is we are all subject to peer pressure. How many times have you gone on a diet and as soon as you get together with friends they try to coax you into having dessert? They tell you to live it up a little, you can get back on your diet tomorrow. It’s in those moments when we usually cave in and have the dessert. Even though it was your friends who lead you to the wrong choice in that moment, it’s still your responsibility to own up to the fact that you made the choice.

Start thinking more about the choices you make. Make the decision to make better choices each day. Also realize that sometimes things will pop up that you aren’t prepared for. But if you make a conscious effort to always be aware of the choices you make, you can stick to making better choices, despite peer pressure or what’s going on in your life.

 

The A-Z Scale For Small Businesses

I would like to introduce to small businesses a new concept.  For the record I did not invent this concept, I learned it from a dear friend of mine and it is so relevant to businesses I felt compelled to share it.  (Thank you very much Matt for the lesson)

Every customer that walks into a store is looking to purchase something.  In this process they all fall onto the A to Z scale.  The larger the purchase the closer to A they fall on, the smaller the purchase the closer to Z they fall, where Z = the customer makes the purchase.

This is how customers move on this scale.  The more the follow up, and the better the follow up, the closer the customer moves to Z.  The less the follow up, or interaction from the sales people or business, then it is more likely that the sale will be lost as the customer will fall off the scale on the A side, and go somewhere else.

So lets go over some of the methods to bring your customers to the sale, instead of letting them just go away, or even worse to another store.

Print: The first method of following up which most retailers use is the weekly ad.  This is a good way to keep in touch, and bring the crowds in if the sale is a good one, but when the sale is a bad one the crowds will not come in.  Either way this can be an expensive way to keep in touch due to the costs of print. Of course, you can always seek out a competitively priced commercial printer such as XIC or EdinburghPrinting.com – these types of services will, at least help keep your budgets under control.

The second method is to do direct mail advertising.  This can be arranged for about $1.00 a letter, and has been used by large and small businesses alike.  This is a more personal way to send messages to your customers and it help to give them a more personal feel to the interaction.

The third method is e-mail.  E-mail is, even these days, not very commonly used, and has huge potential.  E-mail is also a very cost effective way to keep in touch without generating a lot of costs to  your follow up marketing.  This takes preparation for this type of marketing to be used effectively as you need to collect e-mail addresses of your customers.

The fourth method is SMS marketing.  This is used in most mobile phones in the form of text messages.  This is an effective method to get attention immediately, but it does take some preparation, as you have to collect cell phone numbers of your customers ahead of time for this to work.

The good old phone call. Nothing shows your interest like the old fashioned phone call.  How many businesses these days call their customers up and just talk to them, get to know what they are doing, and their interests? If you called up your customers, and asked them about their day, and talked with them a little, would you stand out above and beyond your competition?  How about if you did all these things?  Your business would be where it was at, and you would be the one standing above the crowd, knowing your customers first hand wants, and needs.

Being able to have a personal 1 on 1 relationship with them.  How many of your customers can you name, as they come into your store?

The A to Z scale, everyone is on it.  Question is can you help your customers navigate it to Z?  or are they part of the 90% that most small businesses ignore because they did not buy on the spot?

We’re 2 Pauls

Since the two Pauls paired up in 1995, their performances – concerts, ceilidhs and social dances – have featured on radio and TV, at clubs, village halls and festivals throughout the UK, Germany and the States. Recordings include an album for Beautiful Jo Records, two with Ian Bruce as the Breezeband and four on the Wild Goose label.

They’ve also had a spell at an Aberdeen web design agency and tried their hand at making custom jewellery, believe it or not?!

Latest Albums

Whilst the previous album, John Playford’s Secret Ball, is a celebration of the 350th anniversary of the first edition of The Dancing Master. These albums are follow-ups to the highly acclaimed albums, One Too Many and Drop the Reed