What’s the best route for your practice to take to meet and fulfill all the needs of your clients? How can you make sure that your practice stays up-to-date and on top of all the medical record procedures? Electronic medical record software can and will help your practice with the medical records your staff has to process. The best option is to determine which emr system suits your practice so that everything is able to run effectively and efficiently for your staff and clients.

EMR Software
EMR software provides a number of solutions to better patient care. As we all know, money is a huge concern for practices that are big and small. This software will help save time for your patients and staff and, most importantly, save money for your practice. With time saved on paper work, your staff will be able to pay more attention to your clients and their needs. It will simplify the lives of your staff as they learn to schedule, bill and do reports with this software. Not all emr systems are right for your practice. The type of software that you need depends on the size of your practice. Large clinics have different needs than those of smaller practices. For this reason, choosing the right emr functions is vital to the stability of your practice.

ASP Electronic Medical Record
For your office you need to find the emr solution that best fits your practice environment. Once selected, you can customize the software so you and your staff are on the same page. Customization will make it easier for you stuff to look up, locate, and retrieve client data. With broadband Internet connection, your practice will not have to worry about taking care and backing up the information. Servers, back-up, and IT problems are all taken care of by the IT professionals of the company’s software from who you purchase it. Your practice’s files are always secure and available to your staff for quick and easy processing. Switching computers is not a problem in case of a virus or crash. All information is securely stored and backed-up by the vendor. The best part about ASP electronic medical record is that it allows flexibility. It’s a monthly cost and not a huge startup fee for your practice. This gives you the time necessary to use it and see how much it can help your practice reach new levels of service and efficiency.

EMR Systems
Setting up the system and having it customized to your practice is the way it should be. Have you ever had someone teach you a certain way to do something and that turned out to be harder than if you were able to do it yourself? I have and that’s why customizing all the different functions to your office will make it an easier process for your staff, and they will be able to handle their duties to guarantee a smoother running practice. The less you have to worry about the duties of your staff will bring greater ease to your mind and you’ll know that the job is being done right and your patient needs are being fulfilled.

Jordan Bartlett is a client account specialist with 10x Marketing– More Visitors. More Buyers. More Revenue. For more information about EMR solutions please visit AdvancedMD.

A Flame-Ionization Detector (FID) measures real-time concentrations of organic vapors in low levels from parts-per-billion (ppb) up to 50,000 parts-per-million (ppm). A FID is a very sensitive instrument used in a wide variety of applications such as:

• Hazardous waste sites
• Clean-up of spills
• Protecting workers from toxic vapors
• Refineries
• Leak detection for compliance
• Pulp and paper plants
• Hazardous materials response
• Terrorist chemical attacks

How Does an FID Work?
FIDs, like PIDs, are ionization detectors. The difference between them is the way ions are produced. In our “introduction to PIDs” section you learned that PIDs use high energy Ultra Violet light to ionize molecules. FIDs do not use ultra violet light, instead the compounds in the sample stream are burned in a hydrogen fueled-flame. The hydrogen flame can ionize any organic material with an ionization potential (IP) of 15.4 or less. Like the PID, ions formed in the sample stream are driven in one direction by a bias electrode and accumulated at a collecting electrode. The ion current is then amplified and converted to a meter readout (analog or digital, depending on the model FID) in parts-per-million.

view a diagram

When to Use an FID
FID’s just like PID’s are primarily screening devices. They will detect any volatile organic compound (VOC) with an Ionization Potential below 15.4 eV. Simply put, a FID tells you that something is there, never what it is (besides that it is a VOC), and only sometimes how much. For example, the standard calibration for a FID is 100ppm Isobutylene, if isobutylene is the VOC in the air the ppm reading on the instrument is an accurate representation of how much Isobutylene is present. However, if there is or can be other VOC’s in the air, you can only be certain that something is there, not what or how much. Sometimes FID’s can be calibrated to other gases, like Methane. Some FID’s contain built in correction factors that allow the instrument to be calibrated to Isobutylene but have the reading adjusted for other gases.

PID or FID?
PID’s are susceptible to humidity and cannot detect VOC’s with an ionization potential above 11.8 eV. FID’s are not susceptible to humidity and can detect VOC’s up to 15.4 eV. FID’s are desirable in situations of high humidity, or when detecting gases with high ionization potentials like Methane. This comes at the cost of having to have a not only a battery, but a Hydrogen cylinder to fuel the flame.

Christopher Miller

Equipco
Rentals, Sales, and Service of Environmental Equipment

1-888-234-5678

EQUIPCO was established as a service and rentals company nine years ago, and we have since grown into a complete rentals, sales and service provider. We are a factory authorized/certified repair center for most of the major instrument manufacturers that you are familiar with.

Why Rent From EQUIPCO?
Three Reasons…

Best Price Guarantee!
EQUIPCO will beat any competitor’s legitimate rental rate or sales quote.

More Choices!
EQUIPCO has the most varied pool of rental instruments in the industry, bar none.

All Maintenance Performed by Engineers!
EQUIPCO employs only Electronics Engineers in our maintenance and repair departments.

Value your privacy? Get over it. The bad news is that thanks to the Web, privacy no longer exists. Get Googled, and within a few short seconds anyone who knows your name will be able to learn quite a bit about you.

Try it. Go to Google ( http://www.google.com ), and type in your name. I just did a search query for “Angela Booth” and Google returned a search of over 95, 000 pages. If you have a Web site, post a message on Usenet, sell on eBay, or do much of anything other than breathe, you’re caught, like a butterfly in amber, in the sticky World Wide Web courtesy of Google.

Bad as this may be for privacy, this is good news if you’re trying to build a business. It means that if you focus some of your marketing and promotion time on getting your name out on the Web, you’re building your credibility.

Suddenly all those direct-mail letters that you’ve been sending out carry a bit more weight. You’re more than a slip of paper, a stamp and an envelope. You’re a Google-presence.

So how do you build credibility out of being Googled?

The fastest way is to write a couple of information-rich articles, and post them on your Web site. Sure, this is a little bit of work, but not much. You can write, can’t you? Within a month or so, your name will appear on Google.com. Over time, your name will also pop up on the Web’s other search engines.

You don’t have a Web site? You need one, and if you can type and you’ve got an hour to spare you can get one. Many, many Web site hosting companies offer site hosting for next-to-nothing a month. These hosting companies are catering to non-technical people who want a hassle-free site, so they make it as easy as they can by offering site templates. All you do is pick a template, type in your information (or copy and paste), and in less than an hour you’ve got a pretty good site that works great.

Continue writing articles. Write one a month, and post them on your Web site. You can also offer them to other Web sites to publish. You do this by joining a few article announcement lists and sending your articles to the lists.

Note, that I said “information rich” articles. Some small business owners write puff pieces about themselves and their business, and guess how much credibility this builds? People search for information online, so your articles must contain useful information.

You won’t suddenly get a dozen new clients directly from your online articles. You get them indirectly. For example, when someone I don’t know sends me an e-mail message and I’m interested in what they say, the first thing I do is Google them. In five seconds, I know whether I want to pursue the relationship or not.

If you’re sending out direct mail letters introducing yourself and your services, you can bet that those prospects who are interested in what you have to offer will Google you. If you’re revealed as knowledgeable in your field, you’re suddenly credible.

So go ahead, use Google.com to your promotional advantage. It’s a powerful tool to build credibility for your business.

Wouldn’t you like to clone yourself as a writer, or have someone do your writing tasks for you? Contact Angela Booth at http://www.angelabooth.com now because Angela expertly ghost-writes articles, proposals, marketing communications, Web copy, and books. Yes, you’re the author of the words Angela writes for you. Angela is fast, reliable and professional, and works with individuals and small businesses as well as large companies.

10 Ways To Profit In An Uncertain Economy by: William R. Nabaza
of http://www.Nabaza.com

1. Sell more back end products to your existing customer base.
You already created rapport, trust and proved your credibility
to them.

2. Make it a practice to up sell to new and existing customers.
After they decide to buy one product, offer them another product.

3. Cross promote your products and services with other
businesses that aren’t competition. You will reach a wider
audience at less cost.

4. Create joint venture deals with other businesses. You can
expand your product line and target other profitable markets at
a lower cost.

5. Start an affiliate program for your business. You will be
able to spend less profits on risk advertising and spend more
money on guaranteed sales.

6. Trade advertising with other businesses to save revenue. You
could trade e-zine ads, banners ads, links, print ads, etc.

7. Out source part of your workload. This can save on employee
costs, equipment costs, taxation costs, expansion costs, etc.

8. Add low cost bonuses to your offer that have a high perceived
value. It could be e-books, members only sites, consulting,
e-reports, etc.

9. Use viral marketing to promote your business on the internet.
Give away free stuff with your ad copy include on it so others
can give it away.

10. Follow up with all your prospects. You can use a free
e-zine, a follow-up auto responder, an update or reminder list,
etc. —- William Nabaza of http://www.Nabaza.com specializes in
domains, webhosting, webmaster’s tools, netpreneur’s articles
and resources. Stands out as a freebie provider, business
opportunity provider and the like. Visit his site at
http://www.nabaza.com or contact him directly at
william@nabaza.com

more free articles here: http://www.nabaza.com/resources.htm

Those hair care myths just keep coming! In this third of 3
articles, we examine some of the most widely known myths - and
dig out the truth…

1. Hair should be washed every day

FALSE: There is no correct schedule for washing hair. Every
person should shampoo according to the specific needs of their
hair type and texture. While some people do benefit from a daily
shampoo, others benefit from a variety of shampooing schedules.

2. More lather = a more effective shampoo = cleaner hair

FALSE: Lathering agents are often added to shampoos, but more
foam doesn’t mean cleaner hair.

3. Hair develops immunity to the same shampoo over time

FALSE: There is no scientific evidence to prove this myth.

4. Brushing your hair is better than combing it

FALSE: Actually, your hair reacts better to a comb than a brush.
Brushing it will only lead to split ends and hair breakage.

5. Split ends can be repaired without trimming

FALSE: The only successful treatment for removing split ends is
with a scissors. Some hair care products may temporarily merge
split ends together, but this only lasts until your next
shampoo. Always remember that damaged ends tend to grow slower
than healthy, well-maintained, trimmed hair.

6. Coloring hair during pregnancy is harmful

FALSE (PROBABLY): Some physicians disagree, but most believe
that coloring the hair during pregnancy is not dangerous to the
baby. When in doubt always get your physician’s permission to
color your hair during pregnancy. Most experts believe that the
key danger with hair coloring is not the application of the
product to the scalp but the inhalation of the strong chemical
odor.

7. Virgin root hair should be treated differently

TRUE: The hair that is closest to the roots reacts differently
to the application of new hair color and chemical treatments.
Hair color applied directly to the roots will process
differently that color applied on hair that has already been
treated.

8. Lemon juice will bleach hair blonde

FALSE: Some naturally light haired people may notice a slight
lightening or brightening after prolonged sun exposure soaked in
lemon juice, but most people wont not see any obvious change in
their hair lightness or brightness.

9. A sunburnt scalp can lead to hair loss

TRUE: Severe sunburn or a series of burns that occur over time
may damage delicate hair follicles at the root level. People
with a genetic predisposition towards hair loss may accelerate
the onset of hair loss activity. Avoid scalp burns by applying
sun protection products to your scalp along with your hair.

10. For thick, shiny hair, eat a diet that’s rich in iron and
protein

FALSE: Iron deficiency can cause hair loss, but dermatologists
say the reverse is not true: eating extra iron will not give you
thick hair. In fact, overloading on iron can cause serious
health problems (the correct amount for optimal health is about
15 milligrams a day for a woman). The same thing is true with
protein. Dermatologists say protein-deficiency will cause
lackluster skin and brittle hair. It’s important to get enough
protein, but eating more than normal won’t make hair any shinier.

11. Wearing hats causes hair loss

FALSE: In order for the hair to fall out, the hat would have to
be so tight that it cuts circulation to the follicles. Milliners
can breathe a collective sigh of relief!

12. Hormones are not related to hair loss

TRUE: Although hormonal imbalance can cause temporary hair loss,
as is common with women after pregnancy, the important thing to
remember is that the hair will grow back.

13. Swimming pool chemicals can turn hair green

TRUE: Frequent swimmers with natural blonde or chemically
highlighted hair that is extremely porous may experience the
development of green tints and shades over time. This problem
can be prevented with regular use of moisturizing shampoo and
conditioners that provides a natural barrier to chlorine and
related chemicals.

14. Hair grows faster on different parts of the head

TRUE: There is some scientific evidence that the growth rate of
hair may vary on different parts of the head for select people.
There is also some indication that the growth rate of hair on
babies may be faster on the crown than on any other parts of the
scalp. Usually the growth rate differences are very marginal and
will not impact the hair appearance in any way.

SUMMARY

Heard another myth about hair? Do your research – ask an expert!
This doesn’t include your grandmother, best friend or local
barmaid. Instead, talk to an experienced hairdresser or a
trichologist. Always get the real facts before you act on any
hair myths – you owe it to your hair.

Michael Barrows (With thanks to Daniel Mcullough and Karen M.
Shelton)

Did you realize that thousands of website operators use a simple
technique to generate targeted visitors to their websites
without paying a dime in advertising? It’s true.

In fact, the technique works so well that many of them don’t
want you to discover how they get those thousands of website
visitors and make so many sales on virtual “auto- pilot.”

Their method?

Creating tightly focused articles other people publish in their
ezines (online magazines and email newsletters) and post on
their websites. This method rates so powerful that some even
call it “the web’s best kept traffic secret.”

Now, you may ask, “Why would an ezine publisher or website owner
publish my articles for their subscribers?”

The answer: Content!

Over a 100,000 ezines and newsletters operate on the web (along
with millions of websites) covering everything from pets and
cooking to investments and real estate. Many of them need
tightly focused content and they simply can’t produce all of it
themselves.

Look at it this way… it’s the same reason newspapers use the
Associated Press. Individual newspapers often can’t afford staff
writers to cover every story, so they accept articles from
outside their organization.

You can do the exact same thing for various ezines and websites
catering to your niche audience!

You can get valuable publicity — exposure you often couldn’t
even pay for if you wanted to — by providing valuable,
content-rich articles in exchange for a byline and a link to
your website (called a “resource box”)!

The following represent only a few of the enormous benefits of
writing and distributing simple articles online:

** Attain “Expert” Status **

Let’s face it! In the eyes of virtually everyone who reads your
articles you rank as the “expert” on the subject.

Just look at people who write newspaper columns. You may
disagree with their viewpoints, but they still have an elevated
status in your mind compared to the “average Joe” off the street.

** Pre-sell Website Visitors **

If your article appeals to a niche audience hungry for more
information on a very focused subject, you actually pre- sell
them better than any sales pitch. In their minds, you’ve already
delivered content they really want so when they click over to
your site you already have a “reputation” in their minds. **
Traffic Lasts Longer **

Even though the Internet changes very quickly, webmasters are
usually very slow to remove content from their sites. Once you
get an article posted on another person’s website, you have an
excellent chance of that article staying there for weeks,
months, even years.

** Increase Links To Your Site **

In a recent search I found just a dozen of my articles posted on
over 813 different websites! Not only do those postings bring me
traffic, but they also help my search engine positioning because
of my increased “Link Popularity.”

** Builds Your Affiliate Base **

Fact: Affiliates always take the path of least resistance.

If you provide excellent articles they can easily post on their
sites or copy and paste into their ezines, your affiliates will
promote you more often and more effectively compared to those
who don’t give them tools.

Plus, as you make more sales and publish articles, other people
will see you providing excellent tools and will want to sign up
as your affiliate so they can use them too!

** Build a Huge “Opt-In” Email List **

You can use articles to build up a huge list of subscribers by
simply compiling several articles into a series and delivering
them at preset intervals.

Often called a “mini-course,” this technique allows you not only
to prove to your subscribers that you deliver great information,
but enables you to capture their name and email adress so you
can send them articles and special offers in the future (with
their permission).

** Requires No Special Skills **

People often think they need to be a “writer” in order to
publish articles, but that’s not true!

FACT: If you have a passion for a subject and can talk and
explain things like you would to a friend over a cup of coffee,
you can write articles people will love to read.

So if you operate a website selling virtually any type of
product or service (whether your own or as an affiliate),
publishing and promoting with articles should rank high on your
list of traffic generation strategies.

No other method of generating targeted traffic to your website
provides the quality, quantity and steadiness of traffic in such
a simple, straightforward, and cost- effective manner.

—-

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-
author of an amazing new ebook, “Turn Words Into Traffic,” that
will teach you how to use free articles to quickly drive
thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate
link! Click=> http://hop.clickbank.net/?iknowhow/ezarticles

Reconditioned exercise bikes offer great value for those on a limited budget who still want to expand their home gym. Used, reconditioned equipment provides an affordable and increasingly popular way to develop and outfit new or existing facilities at your home or office.

Used exercise bikes, especially top-end models, hold their value since the parts that are worn are replaced during the reconditioning process. If you buy from an established dealer (recommended), your exercise equipment will be examined by a qualified technician who will physically inspect all moving parts, and any bike part that shows more than 25% of wear will be replaced.

The old bike is taken apart and will have a new chain, drive belt, and hardware/clips installed. The exerciser is then put back together and cleaned, painted and polished. Finally the reconditioned bike is tested and shipped out or ready for pick up. Oftentimes you won’t be able to tell the difference between a used bicycle and a new one – except, of course, in the price you pay.

The top brands of upright and recumbent exercise bikes have a proven track record for durability and reliability, so in addition to their great features and ease of use, once the used bicycles have been reconditioned they are virtually maintenance-free.

You can choose a used stationary bicycle for your indoor exercising regimen, or hit the road on your two-wheeler when the weather is nice, but don’t miss out on biking as a complete exercise that goes easy on the knees and provides a good cardio workout. You’ll soon find that biking increases your endurance and energy level — and the pounds will melt away. Just like aerobics, an hour a day on your exercise bike will burn around 400 calories or more. No matter what your fitness level, you’ll add enjoyment to your home gym workout with the addition of a used or reconditioned exercising bicycle.

About the Author:

Kevin Urban is the editor for Best-Home-Gyms.com, a consumer guide to discount home gyms. The site features dozens of home gym reviews and consumer treadmill reviews on the major brands and models.

by Susan Dunn, MA, EQ and Life Coach

What makes another person difficult? When we don’t understand
where they’re coming from. They yell at us in an argument when
we want to quietly reason; or they disengage when we want to
talk it out. They say they want a vacation and then plan a full
agenda while you it was sitting on a beach veging that you
wanted. People don’t make sense. That makes them difficult.

The success of relationships depends how you deal with the other
person’s “difficultness.” You can learn some action-points (when
X does Y, do Z), in which case you’re basically book-bound, or
you can learn how to figure out what’s going on at a deeper
level, so that you can apply your knowledge to the myriad of
situations you’ll be confronted with in real life that will
never fit what you learned in the book or seminar, with the host
of people you encounter, all of whom are difficult unless you
have an identical twin.

I’ll admit I have an edge here. Not only because I study and
teach emotional intelligence, but because I have an identical
twin sister. Identical twins have the same genes. We tend to
think of genes in terms of physical things, and IQ, but they
relate to EQ as well.

We’re aware that genes determine that X can be a great
basketball player. He’s over 6’ tall and athletic. Genes also
allow Y to be a physicist. She’s got an IQ over 150, conceptual
ability and a knack for numbers.

However, in perhaps the more important aspects of life, your
personality and temperament, we’re talking about the emotional
workings of the brain, or the emotional brain. The neocortex is
where we think, analyze and reason, and our IQ is largely
determined at birth. The limbic brain is the seat of the
emotions, and if people’s IQs vary, so does their EQ – how they
work emotionally. But our EQs are not set at birth; we can
always develop our emotional intelligence.

Our understanding of the functioning of the brain has escalated
tremendously in the past few years with the new research tools.
We can’t peer into the brain and see cognitive intelligence, but
we can see what happens when emotion happens in the brain. For
instance, brain scans show that the emotional parts of a
neglected orphan’s brain work differently than a “normal”
baby’s, i.e., one that’s been well care for and had its
emotional needs met.

That having been said, you aren’t likely to find someone who
functions emotionally the same way you do. Close with an
identical twin, but even then there are fluctuating hormones and
individual past experiences (“nurture”) which influence our
emotional makeup. And it’s emotion that motivates all our
behavior.

So accepting that no one else works quite the way you do is the
beginning. The unhappiest people I know – and I’m a coach who
works with people around EQ – are those who think the world
should be a certain way, the way they think is right, and that
they can’t be happy until everyone does it that way, their way.
It’s almost easier to be with someone insensitive and not tuned
in, than the intense individual convinced they have a message
for you, and you’d better listen up, right?

So what’s the same about everyone, and what’s different? We all
want pleasure, and to avoid pain. The catch is, we all use
different means for getting pleasure and avoiding pain, and we
each define the concepts differently. That’s way to “relax,”
Alison plays two sets of tennis, and Sharon goes to the day spa.

If you want to figure someone else out, then, you need to move
to the meta level. We can understand “meta” better by examples
than definitions. It comes from the Greek “with, after, or
among.” You can see the problem already. It can also mean
“change or transformation,” as in “metamorphosis,” changing
shape, like the caterpillar that becomes a butterfly. It also
means “more comprehensive, or transcending,” and that’s what
we’re after. (And in physics it means something else.)

Now in emotional intelligence, we work on applications: Learning
the facts or theory, and the applying it to situations in your
life non of which will ever have been covered in the lesson in
class, if you know what I mean. For instance, let’s take “people
want pleasure and not pain”. Why, then, does Emily spend 14
hours a day at work and then pursue a graduate school program at
night and on the weekends? This would be your definition of
“pain”. Emily has a different definition of “pleasure.” The plot
thickens.

Here’s another example of getting it at the meta level.

Harry said when he retired he wanted to get away from it all. He
retired to Comfort, Texas (great name isn’t it, and a place
where many people retire), bought 12 acres of land and turned 11
of them into a natural habitat. He can see the stars at night,
and hear the birds during the daytime. He putters around the
house listening to music, reading, spending time on the
Internet. His social life consists of his wife and occasionally
his grown children. He rarely leaves his land.

Martha, too, wanted to get away from it all when she retired.
She bought a house in an active retirement community in
Alabama’s Gulf Coast, and bought a catamaran. She fills her days
with volunteer activities, entertaining on land and on sea,
daycaring her grandchildren after school, and taking commercial
cruises every several months, traveling all over the world on
group tours.

What’s up with that? Harry have been a primary care physician,
his days filled with people, demands and crises since his
medical school days. He wanted what he called “peace” – no
people, nothing he had to do.

Martha had lived with someone like Harry, rather isolated as a
full-time homemaker who did bookkeeping part-time from her home.
She rarely saw people, and they entertained infrequently because
of her husband’s demanding schedule and reclusive nature. In
retirement, when her husband died, Martha wanted lots of people
and activities, and getting out and going places.

They both said they wanted to get away from it all, yet one fled
to exactly what the other was avoiding. The meta level would
tell you they wanted to get away from – what they had been doing
before. Since each “before” was different, each “after” was
different. So while they were doing different particular things,
at the meta-level, they were doing the same thing.

It’s the common thread. They both wanted to get away from it
all, but they each had their own definition. Was it different
from your definition? Each person’s definition is uniquely
different; how different, you’d be surprised.

Men are from Mars and women are from Venus, but it’s more
complex than that. Each of us lives in our own little planet,
and it’s in our heads!

And by the way, if understanding what’s going on with other
people doesn’t interest you, that’s a given as well. I find all
the time in training EQ coaches, that some people are interested
in insight and meta-cognition, while others aren’t at all. Some
want only the WHAT, and not the WHY. Either route can take you
to home base. However, getting the WHY allows you to navigate by
the stars, while only knowing the WHAT keeps you map-bound.

It may be easier to accept that other people are different, that
to accept that YOU are different. We’re all after the same
thing, but our means of getting it, and the particulars of what
it looks like, could hardly be more different. If you’re the
kind of person who seeks to understand the “why” of other
people, look to the meta level. Find the common thread.

When you see something different, ask yourself how it’s the
same. And if you don’t understand at any given level, inquire. I
remember planning a vacation with a friend some years ago. “And
let’s not get a car,” she said. “I’m sick of all the hassle.”

At the time I had a job 20 minutes from my home where I sat at a
desk all day, ate lunch in the building cafeteria, and then went
home and stayed home, as my husband was on-call most of the
time. It wasn’t until years later, when I took a job in
marketing (which is what my friend did at the time of the
vacation) and was in my car all day and night that I understood
just what a hassle “a car” can be.

Now when someone asks me to take a “vacation” with them, I check
it out. If I’m after Broadway shows and fancy restaurants and
they want to climb mountains and wear Birkenstocks, we’re in
trouble. Using your EQ means understanding the emotions that are
our motivating factors and learning to work with them.

If you design kitchens, is another kitchen designer your competition? Most likely not. And the sooner you can position and modify your marketing strategy against your real competition, the sooner you will start to see more business come through the door. So Who Really Is Your Competition?
The answer to that is always–Never the most obvious. So let’s take the example of the kitchen designer. Having decided that another kitchen designer isn’t his competition, he now has to decide who is his real competition.

His Real Competition Could Be A Car Salesman

Is this for real? How can a car salesman be a kitchen designer’s competition? Let’s analyse this more carefully. A kitchen and a car are both fighting for the same thing– The householder’s limited budget.

If the kitchen designer, were able to convince a couple that a kitchen is more important than a new car (which he could easily do if there was a foodie around), he now has a better chance of them dropping the car in favour of the kitchen.

The Advantage Of This Method Of Positioning

The most obvious advantage is that you’re not losing any current customers. All your past advertising is bringing in the customers that are looking for kitchens anyway.

What it does do however, is bring in a new lot of customers that would never have thought about kitchens, if you hadn’t implanted it in their minds. Effectively, you have both, customers who are looking for kitchens as well as customers who are forfeiting their new cars in favour of new kitchens.

How Your Re-Positioning Can Help You Focus

We had a client who ran a laundromat. Her current customers were people who did not have washing machines. Obviously, her business went up and down based on the season and on her customers limited budget. We got her to refocus her marketing strategy on a new target– Customers who had washing machines.

These customers had the money, but no time. By deciding that her real competition was time she decided to target people who had limited time instead.

As a result, she was now targeting busy people while other laundromats were targeting people with washing. This positioning actually helped the laundromat stand out from the rest of the competition.

How The Laundromat Did A Full 180

This re-positioning did a couple of things for them. One, it helped them focus on their target audience. Consequently, they changed their name from just XYZ Laundromat to Bizzie Buggers.

It was catchy and bang on target. It also now meant that busy customers (with the money), were more likely to stop over and drop their washing. Plus they had the regular customers walking through the door anyway.

What You Need To Do

Sit down and write who your immediate competition could be. Then write down what your business is really up against. Here are some examples.

These aren’t necessarily your right targets but they help you see things in a different light and help you determine who your real competition could possibly be.

Cartoonist= Photographer
Computer Salesman= Filing Cabinet
Car Dealer= Expensive Restaurant Meals

©Psychotactics.All Rights Reserved.
Written By: Sean D’Souza

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If you would like to learn more about the way the human brain works, and how customers make buying decisions, go to http://www.5000bc.com

There’s a vast library of free articles and information on topics as varied as copywriting, small business ideas, public speaking, sales conversion, psychological tactics, branding and other marketing related subjects. Go to http://www.5000bc.com today. You’ll be amazed at what you find there.

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Sean has developed a system called Psycho Tactics. PsychoTactics unlocks the working of the human brain and radically tweaks the way you think and act about your business. This results in clarity of thought and greater profits.
Today, Sean is constantly teaching small business- ‘How they too can do the same?’
He does this through his websites
http://www.5000bc.com/
http://www.psychotactics.com/

Guilty, Your Honor, I whisper.

Have you ever done anything so horrible that you would prefer to hide in a dark closet for the rest of your life than have someone find out you did it? Have you ever done something so bad that even remembering what you did causes you to hyperventilate and shake?

I have. I’ve made too many mistakes in my life. I should have done better.

Sometimes I envision myself standing before a judge who wears a long black robe, with my head hanging low in shame. I am holding tightly to a large bulging sack.

The judge with the long black robe says, “Hold your head up to answer me. Who are you?”

I answer him quietly. “I am a mother, a wife, and a teacher.”

“Were you a good mother?” the judge asks. I notice his eyes are staring impatiently into mine.

“No, Your Honor,” I reply, shaking my head sadly. “I was not a good mother.”

The judge says nothing, so I continue.

“I tried my best, but I made too many mistakes. I brought them to show you. They are all in this sack,” I explain, straining to push the sack closer to him so he can see it better.

The judge looks at my sack and mumbles to himself, “Looks like this woman’s got a ton of bricks here.”

Then, he sighs and says, “Hmmmm - How do you plead?”

“Guilty, Your Honor,” I whisper. “Guilty.”

The reality is, however, I carried that huge sack of guilt with me from the moment the officer told me that my teenage daughter, Arlyn, took her life. I found the largest sack I could and opened it. Then, I threw bricks of guilt into it, one by one.

In the sack, I placed bricks for each memory I had of the times I had raised my voice to my children. I placed more bricks in for times I punished them for making childish mistakes.

If only I had been more patient, -

In the sack, I stuffed bricks for each time I was too busy grading papers or washing clothes or talking on the telephone to give my children, the most precious people in my life, my undivided attention.

If only I had kept my priorities straight, -

In this sack also, I added bricks for memories of many times when I had failed to listen to my children with my heart.

If only I had been wiser, -

After Arlyn died, I walked around carrying my sack of guilt; it was a painful reminder that some of my actions could have contributed to the depression that led to her death. I did not pull the trigger that hot August day, but I felt as if I did.

To me, Arlyn’s suicide provided tangible evidence that I had failed in the most important mission of my life - mothering. I deserved to have to spend the rest of my life lugging a heavy sack of bricks around.

This was almost a complete turn-around from the attitude I had before Arlyn’s death. Prior to August 7, 1996, I had confidence in myself; I had achieved the goals I set, so I thought I knew it all. If there’d been a Miss Arrogance pageant, I would have won the crown.

But I was knocked to my knees when Arlyn died, and I would never stand tall again. Any crown on my head was shattered.

After Arlyn died, the world no longer made sense. I doubted every thing I had ever learned, my beliefs, and my values. Most of all, I saw myself as a huge failure in life.

So here I was, trying to muddle through each day, attached to this huge burdensome sack of guilt that I could not and would not put down.

Ughhh! My sack of bricks was so heavy: the bricks representing all the mistakes of my life were so heavy that I’d need the help of a bulldozer to move it, at least.

Most of the bricks in the sack had to do with Arlyn: sins of commission and sins of omission. Arlyn had killed herself, and the guilt I felt was consuming me.

Every day after I woke up, I’d stand at the foot of the huge ugly load and looked up at it. As much as I hated it, I felt connected to it. I sometimes reached out and stroked the bag up and down with one hand, never letting go with the other. It was MINE.

Day after day, I stood there, holding on to my sack full of bricks of guilt. Friends would walk by and shake their heads at me.

“Let go of your guilt, Karyl. It’s not your fault!” they’d say, often shaking their heads in disgust.

“You’re wasting your life,” others would say. “Arlyn would not want you to lug that sack around forever.”

I tuned them out. What Arlyn would want or would not want did not matter. She was not here to speak out.

Sometimes, I’d try to explain how much I needed to hold on to the guilt, but they’d argue louder. So then, I closed my ears and turned away. They could not understand.

And so it was. Life went on for those around me, and I was alone. Except that I had my sack of guilt to keep me company.

But then one day, for no particular reason, I reached into the sack and pulled out one of the bricks. It was dated July 5, 1996. It said: I went to Germany, so I was not here to take care of Arlyn during her last month of life.

I thought about it. If I had been here, would I have noticed that something was wrong with Arlyn?

It’s possible I would have.

At the same time, it’s more probable that I wouldn’t have noticed anything.

Arlyn was a master at deception, it seems; She’d been hiding her pain for years. So what makes me believe that she’d suddenly have changed and become transparent?

My tears began to fall then. I felt warm tears streaming down my cheeks. They were for Arlyn: Arlyn, my gentle little girl who was trapped in her own dark world by something beyond her ability to comprehend.

It hurt so badly to remember. So so badly.

But then, the tears began to fall faster, and they felt even hotter against my face. These tears were different; they for me.

I, too, was trapped in my own dark, lonely world, lugging this heavy load of guilt around. I, too, was trapped by something too complex for me to understand.

Did I really deserve the additional weight of the brick dated July 5, 1996, just because I went to Germany? Was I a terrible mother because I took a vacation that I had dreamed of for years?

In my heart, I knew that I had not neglected Arlyn by going on a vacation. In my heart, I knew that I did not need that extra brick adding weight to the overloaded sack.

But could I bear to toss it out? Would the world fall apart if I removed it from the sack?

I thought a while as I ran my hands over the brick. It felt rough, hard and cold.

Yes, I needed it. No I did not. Yes, I needed it. No I did not. Yes, I needed it. No I did not.

Finally, I placed the brick on the ground beside me, and waited. I heard no loud crashes of thunder; the earth beneath me did not tremble.

I looked up at the sack I?d been lugging. It really didn’t look any different. I tried to push it; it didn’t feel any lighter, but I knew it was. I had lightened the load just a little bit.

I took a step forward, and I felt a gentle breeze brush my cheek. A butterfly flitted by.

Quote for the day:
Guilt is the source of sorrow; ’tis the field, th’ avenging field, that follows us behind with whips and stings. ~ Nicholas Rowe

Karyl Chastain Beal at arlynsmom@cs.com
Mother of Arlyn & Ron
Humble student of life’s lessons lifted up by the wind beneath my wings, Arlyn. January 25, 1978 - August 7, 1996
Writer, teacher, reluctant_traveler
http://suicidememorialwall.com
http://suicidediscussionboard.com

Aryn’s memorial
http://virtual-memorials.com/servlet/ViewMemorials?memid=7461&pageno=1