Creating A Network That Works

Creating A Network That Works

by: Diane Hughes

Do you ever stand in awe of those people who seem to know everybody and everything? I know I do! Regardless of what you’re looking for, these people have their finger on the pulse of the กNet and know where to find it. Their network of resources and people is incredible! Yours can be, too. Itกs actually very simple to create a network that works to bring you business, offers feedback and provides those resources that we all need to have.
Make A Wish List
The first step in creating a network that works is making a list of what you want. Go ahead, think of the perfect situation where you would have anything you needed at your fingertips. For example, if you have a Web design business you might find it very helpful to create associations with people who offer services that compliment yours. Why? Because if these people are heavily involved with the process of getting a Webbased business up and going, they could send you many leads and that could turn into paying clients.
What else might you want? Perhaps free advertising or publicity to bring more business your way? Sure! Write it down on the wish list.
Making Wishes Come True
Now, the next step is to find the resources you need in order to make those wishes realities. Itกs not as difficult as it sounds. Just expand on your wish list a bit in the following way.
We mentioned needing associations with service providers that compliment our example of Web design. So write down companies that provide: Web hosting, merchant accounts, shopping carts, autoresponders, Internet checks, copywriting, graphic design and scripting/programming.
We also said we needed some advertising or publicity. So add to the list the following: ezine ad swaps, banner ad swaps, local newspapers, local TV and radio stations, Chambers of Commerce.
Finally, itกs time to go to work. The best way to start is to alert your friends and associates of what you are trying to accomplish. Itกs simple to send a quick email that states something to the effect of, กIกm in the process of expanding my resources and find Iกm in need of the following [provide the list]. If you know of anyone who you highly recommend in one of the above areas, please offer them my phone number and email address. I am interested in arranging a joint affiliation with them in order to increase both our businesses.ก
You can also send the same message to any lists or bulletin boards you frequent. Most people are more than happy to refer those they have had pleasant working relationships with.
Final Decisions
Lastly, once you get the results from your search back, contact the ones you feel most comfortable with. Again, honestly explain what you are doing and that you would like to create a joint partnership with them in order to exchange leads, prospects and services.
Even if someone does not suit your needs at the moment, enter them into your database for future reference. I once had a graphic designerกs email address and samples for 6 months before having a need for them. However, because I had already established contact, once my need arose it was smooth sailing!
When you are ready to begin your projects, just contact those on your list who can fill a need. Perhaps you want to advertise your Web design services. You can ask someone in your network (a Web host, a graphic artist, etc.) to participate in joint advertising with you. This will allow you to get excellent exposure for ½ the price because those costs are shared with your กpartnerก.
You can also set up a referral process. I have several arrangements with others in where we exchange referrals. Some do it for a fee, others just do it on a oneforone basis. You and your network member can decide what works best for you.
The results of this simple process are normally tremendous. The majority of small business owners are always looking for ways to expand their businesses. Exchanging leads with one another, creating joint affiliations and bartering are great ways to create a broad network that truly does work!
Copyright 2004 Diane Hughes

About The Author

Diane C. Hughes * ProBizTips.com

FREE Report: Amazingly Simple (Yet Super Powerful) Ways To Skyrocket Your Sales And Build Your Business Into A Tower of Profits! ==>> http://madmarketer.com/diane

This article was posted on May 31, 2004

by Diane Hughes

4 Dynamic Marketing Tactics

4 Dynamic Marketing Tactics

by: Bob Leduc

Some of the simplest marketing tactics often produce the most profitable results. Here are 4 examples that have proven highly effective for any business.

1. Focus on Your Best Prospects

Imagine how profitable your business would be if more of your new customers were like the best customers you have now. Hereกs how you can make that happen…

Take some time to analyze your current customers to determine what key traits they share and why those traits make them ideal customers for you. Then revise your sales message to appeal specifically to them.

This will increase both the number of new sales you get and the profitability of each new customer.

2. Pile on the Benefits

Customers usually buy something to save time or to save money. Offer them an opportunity to do both and you will boost your sales. But offer them multiple opportunities to do both and you will cause your sales to soar dramatically.

For example, structure your sales message to stress both the time saving and money saving benefits of your product or service. Then include a discount price offer if they buy before a certain deadline (more money saved). Finally, figure out how you can deliver all or some of what they are buying immediately (more time saved).

Tip: If you cannot deliver all or part of your product immediately, add something to the purchase that you can deliver immediately. It can be as simple as a series of helpful tips related to your product posted on your web site …but available only to new customers.

3. Make Buying Easy

Make it easy for potential customers to buy from you and more will buy. Look for ways you can make your buying process easier and faster.

For example, design your selling procedure so prospects do not have to make unnecessary decisions. Every decision they have to make interrupts the buying process …and diverts their attention away from completing the sale.

Tip: Don’t ask for unnecessary information during the ordering process. Instead, follow up after the sale with a personalized ‘thank youก message and include a brief request for the information.

4. Follow Up Again and Again

Selling is not a one step process. Most people do not buy something the first time the see or hear about it. You can salvage many of these potential customers with an effective follow up system.

Your follow up can be as simple as contacting these prospects periodically with a new offer. Or, better yet, follow up periodically with some useful information …and don’t charge them for it. Youกll build a supportive relationship that gains their trust and eventually the sale.

Tip: Make sure you have a way to get the email addresses of visitors to your web site. You need it to follow up with them. For example, offer them a complimentary special report or other useful information …delivered only by email.

Each of these 4 dynamic marketing tactics provides a simple way for you to boost your sales and profits quickly. They are simple to use, highly effective and require very little if any new expense.

Copyright 2005 Bob Leduc

http://BobLeduc.com

About The Author

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards …and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. Youกll find his lowcost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com or call: 7026581707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

This article was posted on February 24

by Bob Leduc

HowTo Refill Your Ink Cartridge

HowTo Refill Your Ink Cartridge

by: Marisa Pellegrino

Forget about emptying your wallets every time you see the blinking light. Quit worrying and start doing it yourself! It’s an easy process that won’t take you more than five minutes.
The following is included in a typical ink refill kit: ink bottles, syringes and detailed instructions. Some kits include an air balance clip for balancing the air inside the cartridge to ensure proper ink flow. Some kits also include handdrill tool to make a hole in the top of your empty cartridge.
Refilling Process
1. To start the refilling process, fill the syringe with one of the ink colors over the sink or several sheets of scrap paper to prevent any mess. Different printers hold different amounts of ink. In most Epson printers, the black cartridge holds approximately 17 ml and the color cartridges hold approximately 8 ml. See the instructions with your refill kit to see how much ink your cartridges can hold.
2. Before inserting the needle, make a small hole in the top of the cartridge (one for each color chamber). The hole is at the top of the cartridge near the label. Simply push the needle through the hole and press to the bottom of the cartridge towards the outlet hole. It’s important to fill the cartridge slowly so as to avoid the ink from foaming and introducing air in the chamber.
3. You do not need to seal the refill holes since there are already breather holes on the top of the cartridge.
4. Any unused ink can be put back in the bottle. You should clean the syringe with water and dry it properly to do the same process for the other cartridges or for future use. You can also label each syringe for the different colors so that each syringe is only used with one color.
5. Once you place the cartridge back in the printer, run the cleaning cycle 1 to 3 times. If there are any gaps in the printing, run the cleaning cycle again.
Don’t Forget
There are a few things to remember when refilling your cartridge. It should be refilled before the cartridge is completely empty to avoid the chamber from drying out and clogging. Also, it is a good idea to let the printer cartridge sit for a few hours (or overnight) so that the pressure in the cartridge will stabilize.
Some printers, like newer Epson models, have a green chip on their ink cartridges which is visible by looking at your cartridge. They are often referred to as ขIntellidgeข cartridges. The chip keeps track of how often the cartridge is used and lets the computer know when the cartridge may be low or empty. As long as you reset the chip, refilling the cartridge with ink from a refill kit will not be a problem. A resetting tool can be used to reset the memory on the chip. This allows the printer to recognize the cartridge as being full which makes printing with a refilled cartridge possible.
Refilling your own ink cartridge is easy, good for the environment, and very good for your pocket.
Marisa Pellegrino

About The Author

A recent grad from Concordia University’s English Department, Marisa uses her computer technology skills along side her writing skills to be the webmaster for www.printpot.com. Sharing her interest and expertise about ink jet refill kits has helped convince many of the advantages of refilling rather than discarding empty cartridges. Marissa can be reached at [email protected].

This article was posted on June 22, 2004

by Marisa Pellegrino

Troubleshoot Windows with Task Manager

Troubleshoot Windows with Task Manager

by: Stephen Bucaro

Task Manager is a Windows system utility that displays the tasks or processes currently running on your computer. To open Task Manager, press Ctrl+Alt+Del. The Applcations tab lists the applications currently running on your computer. A single application may actually consist of several running processes, and many programs that run in the background are not listed (you can see icons for some of these programs in the System Tray).

Note: With Windows 98 and Windows Me, Ctrl+Alt+Del will open Program Manager, which allows you only to close aplications. However, you can download one of the many Task Manager utilities from the Web.

The Processes tab displays a comprehensive list of all the processes currently running on your computer. This can be very useful for monitoring your system. The process tab displays information about the processor useage and memory usage of each process. The problem is, how to identify a process. Below is a list of some processes you may see in Task Managers Processes list.

กSystem Idle Processก

กSystemก The Windows System Process

กSMSS.EXEก Session Manager Subsystem

กCSRSS.EXEก Client Server Runtime Subsystem

กWinLOGON.EXEก The Windows Logon process

กSERVICES.EXEก Services Control Manager

กLSASS.EXEก Local Security Authentication Server Service

กsvchost.exeก Service Host

กspoolsv.exeก The print spooler service

กexplorer.exeก Windows Explorer

‘tASKMGR.EXEก The Task Manager

‘regsvc.exeก Remote Registry Service

กSystem Idle Processก is basically another name for the time when Windows is doing nothing. There are hundreds of thousands of processes that run on a computer, so you will definitely find names of many other processess that are not listed above. For a list of well known processes, visit www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm. You can also learn about almost any task by using itกs name as a search term in google.

Task Manager can also be used to tweak your system if itกs running slow. The [Performance] tab displays running graphs of your computers CPU and memory usage. If the CPU usage seems to be running over 80 percent most of the time, or if the memory usage seems to be running higher than the total physical memory, you may want to shut down some applications or processes.

On the Process tab, you can identify processes that are consuming a lot of processor time. Click twice on the CPU column heading to sort the CPU column so the processes hogging the most CPU time on top. You can sort the กMem Usageก column the same way.

On the Application tab, if you right click on the name of an application and, in the popup menu that appears, choose กGo To Processก, Task Manager will open the Processes tab and highlight the process that runs the application. On the Processes tab, if you rightclick on the name of a process, you can choose กSetPriorityก and promote the priority of the process you need (or demote the priority of a different process to free up some resources).

If you go to the Application tab and shut down an application, you will shut down any processes related to that application. Or, you might choose to shut down a background process that you can identify. To shut down an application or process, click on itกs name in the list to highlight it, then click on the [End Task] button.

On the Processes tab, if you right click on the name of a process, you can choose กEnd Process Treeก to kill the process and any subprocesses started by the process.

Task Manager can also be used for troubleshooting. If an application freezes up, you can open Task Manager and shut down the application. If the entire system freezes up, you can use Task Manager to shut down a process that is hogging all the CPU time or memory.

If you spend some time monitoring your computer with task Manager, eventually you will become familiar with the processes that commonly run. Then, when you see an unfamiliar process, you can do a little investigation to make sure itกs not a virus. For example, if you see msblast.exe in the process list, your computer is infected with the Blaster virus. You might be able to detect and eliminate a new virus before an antivirus update is available.

Permission is granted for the below article to forward, reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website, offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as long as no changes are made and the byline, copyright, and the resource box below is included.

About The Author

To learn how to maintain your computer and use it more effectively to design a Web site and make money on the Web visit bucarotechelp.com. To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter Send a blank email to [email protected]

This article was posted on August 16, 2004

by Stephen Bucaro

Sell Without Feeling Like A Used Car Salesman

Sell Without Feeling Like A Used Car Salesman

by: Julie Chance

Many business owners and professionals are appalled at the thought of having to sell their products or services. If you are going to be successful though, regardless of your profession, you are also going to be in the business of selling. But you don’t have to don a plaid jacket and adopt the sales techniques that have made the used car salesman infamous.

If we are uncomfortable ขsellingข our services, it is generally because we are trying to ขsellข before someone has reached the purchase stage of the buying process. While selling may never be the favorite part of your job, by implementing a systematic process you can move potential clients into the purchase phase and increase your comfort level and success with selling.

Imagine that you were in the market to purchase a big screen TV. You had visited a couple of stores to see what was available, done some research on the internet, talked with friends, and narrowed the choice down to 3 models. Now you have a few questions you need answered to help you make your decision. You go to the appliance superstore, a salesperson approaches you as you enter the department and asks if she can be of help. She asks you a few questions about where you plan to put it, your budget, and what the primary use will be. She answers your questions and helps you decide on the model that is best for you. Not only are you not put off by the salesperson, you would have been upset if there would not have been a salesperson to help you.

Contrast this with a situation where you are visiting an appliance superstore with a friend. You decide to go check out the big screen TVs because you’ve been thinking about getting one. The same salesperson approaches you and asks if she can help you. You say, ขNo thanks I’m just browsing.ข As if she hadn’t heard your reply, she starts asking you the same questions as in the scenario above. However, this time you find the questions annoying and the sales person pushy.

The difference in these two scenarios is simply your position in the buying process. How would it have been different if instead of insisting on asking you a series of questions she had simply given you an article reprint from Consumer Reports and a list of 10 questions to consider before purchasing a big screen TV with the store’s name, her name and telephone number at the bottom?

The process people go through in making a buying decision is:

Phase 1: Awareness and Knowledge

Phase 2: Liking and Preference

Phase 3: Conviction and Purchase

The only people you should try to sell your products or services to are those people in the conviction and purchase phase. The problem is many businesses do not implement the necessary steps to move prospective clients to Phase 3 so they are constantly trying to sell to prospects that are in Phase 1.

Think about it like this, you and your products or services are standing at the edge of a chasm on Mount Everest. I call it the Purchase Chasm™. Your potential customers are on the other side. Your job is to get those prospects to cross the chasm on a flimsy aluminum ladder, one step at a time and ultimately purchase your services. At this stage your objective is simply to get them to take that first step out onto the ladder, followed by another until they reach the ultimate decision to purchase. You don’t push, manipulate or cajole them into purchasing. You simply serve as a guide providing information and assistance through the process.

So how can you begin to move your potential customers across the Purchase Chasm™?

Step 1 Awareness and Knowledge: Before someone can purchase your product or service they must be aware of it. They must also be able to picture in their minds the problems the service will solve for them. And that picture must be enticing enough to motivate them to take that first step. At this phase your objective is to make your potential customers aware of your services and give them knowledge about the benefits they will gain from working with you. This is generally done through activities where you can reach a large number of people at one time. A major goal at this stage is to collect contact information so you can continue to provide information to help these prospective clients move across the Purchase Chasm™.

Step 2 Liking and Preference: Awareness alone is not enough. Potential customers must also have a positive disposition regarding your services. During this phase it is important to maintain consistent contact. Consistency builds credibility. You also want to let prospective clients ขsampleข your service in order to minimize the perceived risk of purchase. You can do this by sending out a regular newsletter (email or hardcopy); sending out a monthly tip related to the service you provide; offering free or low cost introductory trainings; participating in selected networking events on a regular basis; and offering teleclasses. The important thing is that you are consistently in contact with these potential clients. After all, you don’t want to leave them out on the middle of the ladder over a deep chasm without a guide.

Step 3 Conviction and Purchase: The final step in the process is getting those potential customers who have begun the journey across the chasm to actually make the decision to purchase. Now it is time to sell. And if you have developed a relationship with the potential client throughout their journey, this step should be as simple as reaching out to take their hand as they reach the end of the ladder, reassuring them they have made the right decision by embarking on the journey and asking when they would like to get started. At this point, it is critical that you ask them for their business. If you don’t, they will wonder why you had them take the journey. They’ll feel like the person in the appliance superstore who is ready to make a purchase and can’t find a salesperson.

It may take as many as five to 15 exposures to your product or service for a potential client to move through the process and cross the Purchase Chasm™ from lead to loyal customer. The key is to build those exposures so each one matches the level of the process where the potential customer currently is (i.e. direct mass media activities to potential customers in the awareness phase and use personal selling with prospects in the conviction and purchase phase).

Writing, speaking and networking are activities that many coaches and consultants enjoy. By systematically using these activities as marketing tools you reduce the time you actually have to spend selling, you focus your selling activities to people who are actually ready to buy, and it becomes a natural ending to the relationship building process.

© 2004 STRATEGIESBYDESIGN. May be reprinted with credits and contact information

About The Author

Julie Chance is president of StrategiesbyDesign, a Dallasbased firm that helps businesses from independent professionals to specialty retailers Map A Path to Success by bridging the Purchase Chasm™ from Lead to Loyal Customer. StrategiesbyDesign provides a unique combination of consulting, coaching and training to help clients improve the return on their investment in marketing and promotional activities. For more information or to signup for their marketing tips newsletter, go to www.strategiesbydesign.com or call 9727019311.

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 20

by Julie Chance

How To Explode Your Web Siteกs Traffic With Articl

How To Explode Your Web Siteกs Traffic With Articles Permanently!

by: Christos Varsamis

There is one golden rule, which is inherent in this free and extremely effective internet marketing strategy. First GIVE, and then TAKE. It’s as simple as that. Especially if it’s done properly the results could be tremendous. You provide valuable information regarding to your special field of knowledge but before that you must start a specific process.

What is that process? First focus on what you now best. Write what inspires and motivates you. If you are an artist, for instance share a tip or secret that your readers will not find it anywhere else. Then you will become valuable and an expert to your readers. Your article could be placed to many ezines, article directories, article announcement lists. There are thousands resources on the internet. Imagine if it’s posted to 5 ezines of 10.000 subscribers. That’s an amazing free exposure.

In time, you will start gaining credibility and trust, which leads to sales. No one is going to give you money unless you overcome his doubts, fear of deceit or fear of a wrong choice.

However, that’s not only the case. Search engines will index the pages containing your articles. That means huge link popularity and top ranking in the search engines game. Therefore, you will have traffic from the articles and the search engines too. All this free!

Many people claim that they are not writers. They can’t write. If you can talk, you CAN write. You don’t have to go for literature price, your intention is to inform ordinary people who talk and act everyday like you and me.

Research a topic you know very well. Start writing down your ideas and points and focus on your strongest point. Around that strong point, you will create your headline. It must be a killer title, for example start with the phrase ขHow to…ข Next place sub headings to each point you have written. You have already created the structure of your article! Don’t make the mistake of editing at first. Just write every idea you have coming. You can edit it later in the end.

Then start writing the first paragraph. Always have clear solutions and conclusions in any paragraph. Keep your sentences short and the paragraphs too. Lengthy text is tiring and people don’t have much time. Keep your article between 5001000 words. These are the standards today. Then follow the publisher’s guidelines, do not extemporize.

Use your signature line the publisher permits you to do. It shouldn’t be more than 46 lines of your bio. Finally revise your article for grammar mistakes and typos. Check it and recheck it again using your spell checker and with more tools if you have. Typos make you amateur and unprofessional. You should keep your lines to 6065 characters. That’s what ezines accept.

Here are some of the bestchecked article directories you can find on the net. You can submit your article there and have free exposure for your web site. They have big page rank and great alexa ranking.

http://ideamarketers.com

http://www.articlecity.com

http://www.stickysauce.com

http://www.mikesmarketingtools.com

http://www.ezinearticles.com

http://www.goarticles.com

http://www.123webmaster.com

http://www.websource.net/articleannounce.htm

http://successdoctor.com/free/archive.htm

http://articles.siteowners.com

If you want to automate your article submission tasks, this is the best software you can find. It is the www.ezineannouncer.com . It automates the submission process and provides great tools. It is a must.

However if you want to automate your article submission task even more you can use this service. It’s amazing, it posts your article to thousands of publishers. Go to www.submityourarticle.com

If you feel that you can’t write an article at all you can use this revolutionary software: www.ezinearticlecreator.com It creates articles for you! You just push some buttons and answer questions!

Excellent tools you can use as a writer are the above:

dictionary toolbar: http://dictionary.reference.com/tools/toolbar

Spell checker: http://aspell.sourceforge.net/suggest

Acronym finder: http://www.acronymfinder.com

Thesaurus: http://www.thesaurus.com

Another dictionary: http://www.rhymer.com

Excellent free text editor: http://www.notetab.com/download.php

Article, ad , text formatter : http://www.fwointl.com/FWOFormatter.html

Copyright 2004 Christos Varsamis

About The Author

Christos Varsamis is an internet marketing consultant and the owner of the exclusive internetmarketing club www.internetmarketingsuccesstips.com. Get his knowledge at your desktop! Subscribe to [email protected].

This article was posted on October 04, 2004

by Christos Varsamis

Doing Business Online — Private B2B Exchanges

Doing Business Online — Private B2B Exchanges

by: Nowshade Kabir

Business processes are the building blocks of an enterprise. If one of these processes fails to live up to its expectation, business starts to flounder. How to minimize the risks, get a better monitoring of the processes and, at the same time, reduce costs involved? The answer is – business process automation.
Although, automated business processes based on online technologies can create incredible value to existing business, many companies are slow to adopt technological innovations and reap benefits from them. However, lately, things have started to change! According to a recent poll conducted among mid size companies shows 52 percent of respondents plan to spend over a million dollar on business process automation. Large companies – early adopters of online business processes – have been immensely profiting from the value created by process automation. Intel recently announced that it saved one billion dollar last year alone thanks to online business process management.
In broader sense, business process management technology delivers solutions to understand, analyze and simulate business process models. Companies adopt this technology to streamline their business operations, lower overhead expenses, reduce maverick buying, reduce paperbased – mistake prone – transactions and get better control. The ultimate goal is to make the corporation a fully processmanaged enterprise, transformed through strategy, design, realization and actual operations.
Companies require streamlining their business processes to help solve various crucial but specific problems, such as:

An electronic supplier, in order to stay competitive, requires reducing order fulfillment cost aggressively.
A merchant needs to reduce shipping time by better monitoring his inbound shipping.
A manufacturer needs to cut production cost by reducing manufacturing time of a key product.
A bank needs to develop and market a financial product faster than its competitors.
A large distributor needs to consolidate buyers and suppliers to bring efficiency to its business.

Although, business processes are wide in range; and there are many complex issues that require meticulous work, automation of some basic processes may bring notable result for virtually any company. These processes include supply chain, procurement, logistics, inventory control, etc. By adopting an online business to business exchange companies can streamline most of these business processes bringing added value to their operations.
A B2B exchange is a unified online platform, where buyers and sellers login to communicate, collaborate and make business transactions. A private B2B exchange, mostly, consolidates suppliers and buyers of a specific company, which owns and operates the exchange.
There are two ways of integrating B2B exchange to automate business processes. A company can participate in existing B2B exchange or create its own private exchange.
While for small companies, it is more viable to participate in a major B2B exchange that has required components, larger companies should consider creating their own B2B exchange.
The profits companies can reap from joining an existing B2B exchange or creating their own private one could be enormous.
Customer Base Development
A supplier, once registers with a B2B exchange, gets immediate access to a large community of prospective buyers of his products or services.
Increase Revenue from Existing Customers
Business process automation allows companies develop products faster, buyers get faster and easier access to product information, receive quicker response to their requests, get better customer support and may buy products online. These turn into more sales.
Add Profit from Value Added Services
Once the exchange is set as primary sales channel, available free resources can be used to create more value added services for clients. Some of the services that the exchange may offer also can be used to generate more value.
Reduce Order Processing Cost
The supply chain solutions of a B2B exchange may allow sellers to reduce order processing cost significantly. Studies show that cost of processing a purchase order can be reduced from US$ 70 down to US$ 6 only.
Sales and support costs
By automating sales and customer support processes companies can reduce over head costs over 2530% easily.
Inventory keeping costs
Clearer visibility and forecasting ability allow companies considerably reduce inventory keeping costs.
Since an existing B2B exchange may not have all the necessary features and functions, a good option is to build a private exchange based on one’s own specific business process automation need. This exchange, at its minimum, should be able to cover major portion of supply chain and inventory control.
The following elements should be integrated to create substantial value to a private B2B exchange:
Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management is the core solution of an exchange and can deliver great values to existing systems. Implementation of this solution will help achieve incredibly high return on investment. Business process automation in this component of the exchange includes both supplier and buyer–side quotation, requisition, purchase order and invoice.
Marketplace
This is the venue where the exchange owner company will post their products for sale. A shopping cart should be integrated to the electronic marketplace in order to automate the buying process. The offeredforsale products will be directly related to inventory control management component of the exchange.
Auction
Electronic auction system can use both English and Dutch auction methods. For convenience the auction component can be integrated to the electronic marketplace. Online auction helps liquidate surplus goods easily.
Reverse Auction
This solution allows automate electronic procurement, where suppliers compete for a business deal real time online.
Members Storefront
The participants of the Private Exchange – both buyers and sellers of the exchange owner company get a Storefront that reflects profile of the company, their products and other information.
Forum
A Forum or Discussion Board is an organized, online interactive message board where participants conduct discussion on a set of topics by posting questions, comments and responses.
Directory of Companies
This is a listing of all registered participants – buyers and sellers of the exchange owner company – either by business category or by alphabetical order. An advanced search engine tool can be incorporated in order to find a company based on data provided.
E–catalog
E–catalog is a hierarchy of product and service categories. All products and services handled by the exchange owner company should be consolidated in the catalog.
Private B2B exchange is a powerful concept, which engulfs a fairly big portion of business processes requiring automation. This is more like a business ecosystem that has an ability to change the way companies think and do business and create tremendous value to their owners.

About The Author

Nowshade Kabir is the founder, primary developer and present CEO of Rusbiz.com. A Ph. D. in Information Technology, he has wide experience in Business Consulting, International Trade and Web Marketing. Rusbiz is a Global B2B Emarketplace with solutions to start and run online business. You can contact him at mailto:[email protected],

http://ezine.rusbiz.com , http://www.rusbiz.com ,

http://ezine.rusbiz.com/newsletters/newsletter31.htm

This article was posted on May 26, 2004

by Nowshade Kabir

Basics of Scanning

Basics of Scanning

by: Carla Ballatan

Are you getting exasperated with all the stacks of negatives and prints warping into unruly shapes and colors that’s been holding your desk drawer hostage but haven’t got the heart to deposit them into the dark recesses of your attic/basement?

Fret no more! By scanning your pictures, you will be given an opportunity to edit and organize your pictures. Once your images are digitized, you can export it into Photoshop to make adjustments. Also, by having your prints or negatives get digitized, you get to archive, email, fax, save them to a CD or even publish them on a website. You may even get to build a photo gallery and let your whole family and friends access them.

Scanning technology has come a long way since being introduced. With only about US$150, you can already have a fine scanner with all the software you need. Of course if you fancy a scanner that handles slides and negatives, you’ll invest a little bit more than this amount.

Before rushing out to buy a scanner, do some research on the gadget, first, like figuring out the features you need and how much you want to spend. Then, know the scanner jargons that describe it’s factors and features. There are two crucial measurements when it comes to scanners – bit or color depth refers to the number of bits of image data the scanner will use for each pixel, and resolution/DPI, which tells you how many spots of information there are in a given area.

You have to consider other features, too. Like the scanner’s speed, ability to scan negatives/slides, software bundles to manage the scanning process, interface between your computer and scanner, and scanner size.

So, now, if you have your scanner already, it’s best to start with a low resolution setting and work your way up from there. The default resolution of 150 DPI might not be a bad place to start. Then, the next important setting is the ขoutput typeข which describes what type of image you’re scanning. Save space and time by cropping the pictures before scanning them and closing some other applications on your computers. If you’re having trouble with the scanning software, consult the manual.

To top all scanning basics lessons, remember that scanning is a twopart process. The first part is setting of the resolution and output and making the scan, and the second is saving and editing the file. Saving is an important process and it’s a good option to save your files in BMP or TIFF, especially if you plan to import them into Photoshop for adjustments. Try keeping images bound for website under 40 KB. And for images that you want to print out, save them as TIFF uncompressed or BMP and use a high DPI setting (300 and up) when scanning them.

Have fun editing your image once you’ve scanned them…Remember, if you foul up, you can still start the whole scanning process – as long as you have your scanner handy!

About The Author

Lala B. is a 26 yearold Communication Arts graduate, with a major in Journalism. Right after graduating last 1999, she worked for one year as a clerk then became a Research, Publication and Documentation Program Director at a nongovernment organization, which focuses on the rights, interests and welfare of workers for about four years.

Her writing prowess began as early as she was 10 years old in girlish diaries. With writing, she felt freedom – to express her viewpoints and assert it, to bring out all concerns imagined and observed, to bear witness.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.ucreative.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 07

by Carla Ballatan

Blogs Are About Getting to Know Yourself Better

Blogs Are About Getting to Know Yourself Better

by: Jesse S. Somer

I still consider myself to be a blog writing novice but as I’ve got a few entries under my belt I can tell you about an unexpected bonus of this journaling process. A lot of people think that blog writers are just people who are tooting their own horns blabbering on selfrighteously about what they believe to be true in life. On the contrary, for me writing a blog has helped me to reflect on my experiences that I may have otherwise have forgotten if I hadn’t written them down. It has become a process of selfactualization, whether others have read my thoughts has become less of a priority for me.

When I read over my past entries I am surprised to hear about thoughts, ideas, and wisdom that is quite relevant to my present experiences. It’s like I already knew some of the solutions to my problems in the present, but I still had to go through the experiences to actually have this knowledge become truly learnt. I also find it rewarding in both the respects that I get to ‘relive’ certain moments in my life, and I get to analyze my previous thoughts. This analysis often leads me to new ideas that I couldn’t see clearly when I was in the original moment.

‘Reliving’ past experiences by reading old journal entries can be a powerful experience indeed. You can be transported to the moment in time you were writing about, as well as the moment and feelings you had when writing the blog entry. Experiencing these events and feelings again can be a really enlightening process, especially if the emotions you had were strong ones.

An example of this from my blog www.thepowerofeverythingthatis.com is a recent upheaval of emotions I wrote about when a young lady I’d been dating and really started to like a lot told me she didn’t want to kiss me anymore. Now when I read this entry I can feel those same painful feelings, but in a new light as the time has passed and I’ve moved on. It gives me hope in understanding that all feelings pass, and also in the knowledge that all things happen for a reason. This knowledge I couldn’t see at the time as I was totally enveloped by my agony.

These insights into past feelings and thoughts have been an eye opener for my selfintrospection process. I think the blog can give you the chance to get to know yourself better, something all humans could find beneficial. All of us are on quests to find out who we are and why we are here on Earth. The blogging process might just be another avenue for people to find out who they truly are. Keep on writing my friends!

About The Author

Jesse S. Somer

M6.Net

http://www.m6.net

Jesse S. Somer, a novice blogger learning about the secrets of this new and popular medium of communication can be found at www.thepowerofeverythingthatis.com

This article was posted on September 05, 2004

by Jesse S. Somer

Shopping Carts For The Weary

Shopping Carts For The Weary

by: T. Oก Donnell

To choose the means whereby we put our products on the worldwideweb, we proceed by a process of elimination.

The chief criteria for judging a shopping cart is the number of credit card processors and shipping services it supports, and the number of people that support *it*.

Why? Because credit card processors and shipping services mutate all the time, and thus your cart will require updating. Which service works today may go out of business tomorrow, and leave you with the orders piling up.

Other important criteria are how easy it is to set up, and add products, and how easy it is for the customer to use.

(May I say parenthetically that I was introduced to Perl programming unwillingly by an early version of one of the carts below; it had a bug, and I had to learn some Perl to fix it. A shopkeeper should not have to learn bricklaying in order to open his store, therefore a bit of research is time well spent. )

When you set up your shop test it using a wide variety of the oldest and buggiest browsers you can find. If your web store works under them you’re home and dry.

So, having taken all the above into consideration, what are the options?

Having gone though twentyplus different sub $500 shopping cart software solutions, I now present, in order of preference, the cheapest, simplest, and most effective solutions:

1. Oscommerce (free) http://www.oscommerce.com

A very good, fullfeatured, cart. Uses Php and MySQL. Not easy to set up for a กnewbieก. Cookies are used to track the order. If you have PhpMyAdmin installed in your web account, itกs easier. Requires a customer to register before they can make a purchase. Supports a wide range of creditcard processors and shipping services.

Bad point: Technical support is limited to the Oscommerce forums, which are not helpful to newbies. You may need to pay a few bucks to an expert via a freelance site like Scriptlance.com, if you run into difficulties.

Also, it may be a while before an update is available to a payment module. These are done by unpaid enthusiasts.

Good point: Oscommerce is supported by thousands of unpaid enthusiasts; this means updates do eventually arrive, and itกs less likely to go out of business, unlike a commercial cart.

2. Xcart (commercial) http://www.xcart.com

Similar to Oscommerce. Commercial. Requires a customer to register before they can make a purchase. Lots of features and addons. Supports a wide range of creditcard processors and shipping services. Has an affiliate program addon, and lets others sell products though your cart.

3. Dansie Cart (commercial) http://www.dansie.net

A well specified cart. Supports a wide range of creditcard processors and shipping services.

Bad point: Apparently the Perl code is obscured, to make it harder to copy, which is annoying if you want to customise it.

3. Interchange (free) http://www.icdevgroup.org

A version of the old Akopia / Minivend carts. Complex product with lots of files and a lot of setting up to do. A complete solution, and includes the option of third party creditcard realtime order processing. Encrypts orders.

4. Agora (free) http://www.agoracart.com

A WebStore/Commerce.cgi hybrid.

5. The Commission Cart (commercial) http://www.siteinteractive.com

A cgibased shopping cart which also functions as an affiliate program. Other webmasters earn commissions by signing up and linking to your site.

6. ShopFactory (commercial) http://www.shopfactory.Com

Has a nice little wizardbased setup. If you have a lot of items in your shop, this is an option worth checking out.

This is a very valuable feature. A person whoกs set up cgi scripts before will get the most out of this. Supports a wide range of creditcard processors and shipping services.

Bad points: Itกs ugly, awkward, and uses JavaScript too much.

7. WebGenie Shopping Cart Pro (commercial) http://www.webgenie.com

A simple, wizardbased option. Uses Javascript a bit, but the main work is done by cgi scripts. It saves the credit card information on your server.

Itกs for someone who hasn’t set up a cgiscript before. Expensive for what you get, but it works. Option to buy it on hirepurchase.

8. Actinic Catalog (commercial) http://www.actinic.co.uk

Most suitable if you have lots of items in your store. Itกs a กwizardกbased PC program; you type in your information, and the program sets up the store.

You should set up the default store asis, then customise it later.

Supports a wide range of creditcard processors and shipping services.

A little complicated for an internet newbie; thereกs quite a lot in it.

9. Order Maven (commercial) http://www.briggsoft.com

A clever little program. Itกs a standalone Windows executable, which the customer downloads. The customer starts it up, chooses the product, enters their details, and sends off their order like an email, with the credit card details encrypted. It costs $29.00 at the time of writing. No secure server or order page needed; itกs all done on the customerกs pc at their leisure.

You need to customise it, naturally. This isn’t hard. Make sure you write your mail server URL into the code.

For the customer, the order module is a 160kb download. Not too bad at all.

11. Selena Solกs Web Store (free) http://www.extropia.com

The mama of them all; the first internet shopping cart of note. Allows orders to be encrypted via PGP if you have PGP installed on your server. Very complex for an ecommerce newbie.

12. PerlShop (free) http://www.perlshop.org

PerlShop is a simple shop to set up. One of the first shopping carts.

NOTE: Try to avoid carts that use cookies and javascript only, or that tie you into only one secure server and creditcard processor.

Also avoid webbased services that you lease only.

Having read the above you should have eliminated quite a few programs from your shopping list. They either won’t work properly with all browsers, or they won’t encrypt your order, or they want to tie you into their manufacturersก secure order system at $40+ per month.

Another option is to get a bespoke system set up for you by a specialist company. These cost thousands of dollars. Aren’t you glad you read this far?

About The Author

T. Oก Donnell (http://www.tigertom.com/webdesignerlondon.shtml) is an ecommerce and web site design consultant in London, UK.

COPYRIGHT: You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. You must publish the article AS IS. Do not modify, alter or edit it.

You are allowed to format the layout of the article for proper display in your website or ezine, so long as the text, hyperlinks and paragraph breaks are not changed or deleted. If presented in a HTML document, any hyperlinks present must be active, clickable, and go direct to the websites they represent i.e. no redirects.

Notifying the author is not required, but doing so is appreciated, at http://www.tigertom.com/contact.htm.

This article was posted on April 16

by T. Oก Donnell

Getting Inbound Links is as Easy as 123

Getting Inbound Links is as Easy as 123

by: Timothy D. Arnold

Your success on the internet is directly related to how many other sites are linking back to yours. The goal of every webmaster is to get more inbound links. I have listed three simple steps below to automate and multiply the process. Once the process is started you will be getting inbound links while you sleep.

Number One:

Write Articles. It is hard work to write a quality article but you will find it to be a long term strategy for building inbound links that will pay off for years to come in both link popularity and traffic to your website. You may not consider yourself an expert on a particular subject, but if you have a website Iกll bet you are an expert on the subject you have chosen for that website. Write an article on the theme of your website and submit it to the various article directories on the internet. Believe it or not, you are an expert. You just haven’t realize it yet.

You may experience a feeding frenzy on your article. Why? Simply because webmasters are constantly looking for content. Webmasters are busy designing sites and are able to save time by using expert content from other people. They often create websites with thousands of pages and are in need of content for those sites. And they know where the directories are that will contain your article. Every time your article is picked up by a webmaster, it will result in a link back to your site. In the first few days after I submitted my first article it got pick up and posted 400 times! I was shocked. You will be too!

Number Two:

Signup at a link exchange coop. A link exchange coop can give you more backlinks in a few minutes work than you could ever generate by yourself. You are utilizing a network of thousands of other websites. And that’s what the internet is, a huge network. Take advantage of the power of networking. There are many link exchanges. One well known link exchange coop is: http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/adnetwork/?s=4380. Depending on the size and pagerank of your site, you could earn 1000 inbound links or more my adding a few lines of code to your website. Do some research and find the one that will bring the greatest benefit to your site.

Number Three:

Automate the reciprocal linking process by utilizing reciprocal linking software. Do not spend hours upon hours emailing webmasters and posting reciprocal links to your site. Simple buy a reciprocal link script, set it up at your website and it will process the links, add them to your website and then it will monitor to make sure each webmaster has posted your link to his/her website. This will free up your time to do something more important like writing articles. To find inexpensive software to automate the reciprocal linking process, simply go to eBay and type in the search phrase ‘reciprocal linking popularity softwareก.

Rather than doing things the same old way, try these three steps. They will save you countless hours. By using these time savers you will be much more efficient in getting backlinks and you will also get hundreds, maybe even thousands more than you ever thought possible.

There it is. Easy as 123.

About The Author

Timothy D. Arnold is arguably one of the most prominent experts in the site promotion area. You can visit his site at http://www.freetextlinkexchange.com.

This article was posted on February 16

by Timothy D. Arnold