How to Protect Yourself Against the Hidden Cost of Shipping to Trade Shows
Trade Shows are lots of work, but they can generate lots of new business for their participants. In addition to the expense of staffing your booth, food, lodging, display, travel, etc. you need to consider how will you transport your equipment to and from the event. This sounds like a simple task, but few freight carriers deliver to trade shows. Why don’t many carriers ship to trade shows? Anytime you have lots of businesses shipping to the same destination on the same day there will be problems. Every hour the driver must wait in line to unload their delivery will cost the shipper extra money and delay the remaining deliveries in the trailer. This “waiting charge” is in addition to the freight quote given by the freight forwarder or carrier.As a general rule shippers should only be charged waiting fees 30% - 40% of the time. Some of the larger conventions and trade shows incur wait times of four to six hours. The hourly charge, depending on the location, could be $30.00 - $100.00 an hour. Remember that you will need to transport your shipment to the convention center and return the shipment also. Waiting charges can occur on both the delivery and the return trip.When counting the cost to participate as a vendor in a trade show remember to budget for the waiting time. There is only one trade show Logistics Company I know of that doesn’t charge any wait times. They charge a little more on the front end, but they accept all of the risk of the wait time charges. All of the other trade show logistics services do pass on

Occupational Health and Safety - Stress and Workaholism at Work
There has been a lot of hullabaloo recently about the problems facing Australia in retaining talented workers and the subsequent pressure placed on those remaining behind in the workplace.The incidence in stress claims is rising and is having an impact on the economy and enterprises in general.The incidences of people who work ‘day in day out’ who in many ways are closet workaholics is increasing.We are told that 1 in 5 Australians are suffering from some sort of mental illness and that 1 in 7 teenager’s at high-school suffer from depression. This comes from proven research but my guess is that it is probably higher, after all these subjects are still quite taboo in our society.Why be the richest and unhappiest person in the cemetery? Take a walk around the local cemetery sometimes and read the inscriptions – it’s actually quite interesting what you read.People are becoming crankier, less tolerant, and the workplace is rapidly becoming a battleground where much emotion is wasted in argy bargy, meetings and petty grievances.It could be argued that ‘workaholism’ could be in part contributed by the ageing population, different generational expectations, talented workers moving offshore and the move from permanent employment to contract working. This is simply untrue.The lesson seems to be that some have work and others don’t, slaving away 12 hours plus per day in order to keep the wolf from the door, the mortgage paid, the annual holiday and whatever else pushes their buttons and sacrifice quality of life –

The Benefits of Display Mannequins
Mannequins are primarily used in stores to display clothing. A display mannequin is usually a full-size dummy in the shape of a person. A display mannequin will normally include all parts of the human body including a head and feet. Display mannequins can be made of several different materials, including fiberglass, wood, plaster, or wax.Nearly every clothing store has at least one display mannequin. They are commonly found in the front windows of stores at the mall to show off the store’s newest fashions. Display mannequins must be life-sized in order for the clothes to fit well over them. Most mannequins are full figures including the head, torso, arms, and legs, but some are only a torso. These types of display mannequins are perfect for saving space while modeling shirts and blouses. The full-size mannequins do take up more room, but they are more versatile in that they can be used to display entire outfits including hats, shirts, pants, and shoes.Display mannequins are usually modeled after people who are physically fit. People are more likely to view the clothing favorably if it is displayed in a flattering way on the model’s physique.A display mannequin can be made of several materials. Many are made of fiberglass. These mannequins are durable and easy to mass-produce. Other mannequins are made of plaster. Plaster mannequins are easier to break than fiberglass models, but are still useful if handled correctly. Wooden mannequins are less common than plaster and fiberglass mannequins because they take longer to make. Th

10 Ways to Achieve Success as a Lifestyle Entrepreneur
Too many professionals struggle with an unhealthy balance of work and play, as their careers take over the majority of their time and leave them with little energy to devote to other priorities such as family, friends, and personal well-being.Is there a way to find happiness through a successful career that will allow you to still enjoy all aspects of your life? Believe it or not, there is. You, too, can join the ranks of the lifestyle entrepreneurs.A lifestyle entrepreneur is somebody who goes into business – not primarily for financial rewards – but for lifestyle reasons. Instead of money, the most common motivation of the lifestyle entrepreneur is a fierce desire for independence. They desire to work for themselves, and run a business that is aligned with their lifestyle.Studies show more and more people are turning towards lifestyle entrepreneurship. According to the market research company Warrillow and Co., as many as 90% the roughly 20 million American small business owners appear to be motivated by lifestyle more than money. In a 1999 Lou Harris survey, it was found that money was the main driver for very few small entrepreneurs and self-employed people. Instead, nine out of ten entrepreneurs said a desire for independence prompted them to become entrepreneurs.Lifestyle entrepreneurs generally have a passion that they are yearning to turn into a career and my job is to help show them how to turn that passion into profits.Anyone can become a lifestyle entrepreneur. It's all a matter of perspective. Disco

Best Small Business Idea - It's All About You
Getting More Focused -- It’s All About YouJeanna Pool from Catalyst Creative writes a great ezine on marketing each month. In January she shared 5 Great Marketing Tips for 2006. Number 1 was “Stop Focusing on You”. She declares 2006 the year of the client and exhorts you to focus totally on your clients and their needs. I think she’s right on. And I think she’s completely wrong. Why right and wrong?Because if you’ve been in business for awhile and have great products and great services and aren’t getting the results you want, you may be too focused on your clients and not focused enough on yourself. Last week, I encouraged your to revisit your vision of your business and ask yourself why you started your business in the first place. Now I want you to focus even more on what you want. What exactly do you want out of your business? Do you want more money? If so, how much? Write down a number. Do you want more flexible hours? If so, write out exactly the schedule you’d like. Do you want to change the world? If so, write out specifically how that would look.Why all this focus on you? Because if you aren’t absolutely clear on what you want, how are you going to know if you are successful? How are you going help your clients if you aren’t taking care of yourself as well. Maybe you need to be making $150,000 a year to provide your family with the life that you wanted. You want to send your kids to college. You want to retire while you are still in active and in good health. Or maybe you want to just make an ex

Voice Mail Beats Live Message Taking, Hands Down!
Today, I was on the phone, pitching a new book to hard-to-reach editors.An assistant came to the line at one place, and very pleasantly asked me if she could take a message.Almost without exception, assistants such as this person, in the publishing world, are first-rate communicators, so you can rely on them to accurately capture your message and convey it.But I don’t leave my messages with them, as a general rule—especially if I’m promoting a new title.Here are five, rock-solid reasons for asking the assistant to put your call into the buyer’s voice mail:(1) What you say is exactly what he or she hears. There is no “lost in translation” problem with a robot.(2) Your buyer can hear your enthusiasm, first-hand. She won’t hear it from her assistant.(3) You can get a second bite at the apple, if your first message missed the mark, in your estimation, either by erasing it, or adding to it with a second voice message.(4) You can speak faster, and cram in a lengthier message than most humans could ever comfortably transcribe.(5) You don’t have to “dumb down” or sanitize your message because a mediator is involved.Don’t worry; asking for voice mail isn’t insulting. All you have to say, when asked, “May I take a message?” is this:“Sure, does she have voice mail? Oh, great, my message is lengthy so may I please have that? Thanks!”Then, you and your message are on the way, just as you want them, saying no more, and no less.What could be better than that?