Wednesday, September 5, 2012

The Benefits of Using Stoneware Dishes and Dinner Sets

Stoneware dishes and dinner sets are just as popular and valued by today's cooks as they have been for centuries gone by. Stoneware is a safe material for cooking food and it is also one of the most admirable kinds of material that has been used throughout centuries as a cooking vessel. The artful designs found on stoneware have always been very appealing to many people. And things are no different now. Stoneware has made a big comeback recently due to its multiple uses in today's kitchens. Some cooks prefer to buy their stoneware dishes individually while other choose complete dinner sets but they all buy for the benefit of the wonderful material.

Stoneware dishes and dinner sets are durable and this increases their value in the kitchen even more. These cooking and serving vessels are actually made from clay that has been treated at very high temperatures. They keep the food warm for a long time because the material has an inherent ability to store heat.

They are even more resilient than dishes made from china or porcelain. The heavy coating of glaze applied to the clay base makes these dishes so much more resistant to cracking or chipping.

Stoneware dishes and dinner sets are dishwasher safe and are very easy to maintain and clean up. And to make it even better, you can use stoneware dishes in the microwave! That is one benefit that makes the sale for so many families today.

You can safely keep it in the oven or even freeze it if you would like to store something in it. But one caution when freezing in stoneware - care should be taken when taking the vessel out of the freezer. If there is too much of a sudden temperature change the dishes are likely to break. To get around this, just be sure to allow some thawing time on the counter or overnight in the refrigerator before heating in your microwave or oven.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Knowing Your Revenue Streams

KNOWING YOUR REVENUE STREAMS
To maximize your revenue from martial arts school, you must have a clear understanding of your revenue streams.

Read these carefully. Not all will apply to you, but wouldn't it be nice if they did? One clear requirement for successfully utilizing most of these is that you will have to use agreements rather than month-to-month programs.

Revenue Stream 1
Down Payments on New Student Agreements

Also known as a registration fee, this is the initial investment a student makes to join your school. Typically, this is at least two months' tuition. For instance, a program is 9 down payment/registration and per month for 12 months or ongoing.

Revenue Stream 2
Down Payments on Renewing Agreements

This is the initial investment a student makes in order to renew or upgrade in your school. The best strategy for this has been the Black Belt Club. If you do not have a solid system for upgrades and renewals, this stream is dry for you.

Revenue Stream 3
Monthly Tuition
This is the lifeblood of your school. As you grow your school, your monthly tuition should grow as well. Ideally, your monthly tuition would cover your base operating expenses each month. For instance, if all the monthly expenses, including your salary, totaled ,000, your monthly tuition collections from your billing company would cover that amount. In that very healthy scenario, these other streams are 100 percent profit. Mind you, this is not easy to accomplish, but even 75% of expenses paid from your billing check would be good.

Revenue Stream 4
Product Sales
Consider your retail shop as though it were a separate business. Open a separate business checking account for your retail, and deposit all gear sales revenue into that account. Use an American Express card or any other credit card that requires pay-off each month to pay for equipment purchases. When you place an order, pay for it with your credit card. This gives you up to 30 days to sell the equipment to your students. As they pay for the equipment, deposit the funds into the retail account.

When the credit card bill for the equipment is due, pay for it with a check from the retail account. Since you are usually doubling your money, this retail account will grow fast. Your credit rating will grow, as well as your rewards for using the card. Ideally, you will build a large cash reserve and save money on plane tickets and vacations, too.

Sell thousands of martial arts products and supplies directly from your website. You choose which products to sell, set the retail price, and still only pay wholesale. Veteran schools have reported that they have tripled their retail sales using this valuable service.

Best of all, student payments go straight into your bank account and you are billed your wholesale rate, allowing you to better manage your cash flow and not have to wait for your referral check to arrive.

Revenue Stream 5
Special Events
Even if you don't charge for testing, you will want to host at least one special event each month for your student body. These can range from nunchaku seminars to board-breaking, "Fear Into Power" seminars. These are not only pretty easy to manage, but they are a lot of fun. My nunchaku seminars were always packed with 30 to 50 students and would generate around 0-,000 per event. The fee of included two rubber nunchaku to use in the class, so it was almost pure profit.

Birthday parties would also go under this category. A two-hour 0 birthday party is not only a revenue generator, but also a lead generator. Some schools have at least one birthday party per week, so it's a proven winner.

Revenue Stream 6
Testing/Grading Fees
I didn't include these with Special Events, because exam fees are a little different from special events. Most exams for stripes occur in class, and they usually don't require a fee. The main graduations on the weekends require additional work and staff, so it's reasonable to charge for these events.

Typically, exam fees range from to and increase with rank. Black belt exams can be as much as 0 to 0 but, to justify this higher fee, you should provide additional prep classes for the black belt candidates.

Some schools are large enough that they rent auditoriums to showcase their graduating black belts or to conduct the exam. The exam fee should cover these additional expenses.

Revenue Stream 7
Fast Track Testing
This is a touchy subject and has to be handled carefully. The idea is simply that some people are willing to invest more money to get through your belt system faster.

Revenue Stream 8
Paid in Fulls
In recent years, Paid In Fulls (PIFs) have made a huge comeback. MASS and other such organizations have championed the cash out as a way of getting maximum revenue from a student base that will more than likely drop out anyway. As much as I dislike the idea of treating all students like potential dropouts, smart use of Paid in Fulls can significantly boost your bottom line.

Revenue Stream 9
Renewals and Upgrades
Black Belt Club and Masters' Club are the most popular and proven renewal programs. For now, we want to focus on the renewal as a revenue generator.

Common practice has been to upgrade someone to a BBC or MC and replace his New Student agreement or program with the more expensive BBC or MC program. In most cases, the renewal had a registration of 9 or so, and tuition increased per month.

Another popular strategy is to keep the student on their current tuition plan, but charge them a one-time or annual fee to upgrade to BBC or MC. For instance, a student is paying 0 per month for her current program. A BBC or Masters' Club upgrade is presented as an annual upgrade for 0.

Revenue Stream 10
Discounting a Past-Due Contract
When I was a publisher for Martial Arts Professional magazine, we sold advertising to clients who wanted to reach and sell to our readers. On occasion, an advertiser would want to cancel the contract. In the world or publishing, the process for doing this is called shorting the contract.

In exchange for committing to a set number of ads, the advertiser would be given a discount for each ad they placed. Shorting the contract meant that the ads the client ran would be re-billed at the one-time rate and, if he paid the difference, we'd release him from the contract.

Revenue Stream 11
Career Training Programs
For years, I've taught the importance of creating a Leadership Team of assistant instructors to help you provide a higher level of service to your students. Typically, the Leadership Team is a by invitation only program for Black Belt Club members.

More and more schools are expanding Leadership Team programs into a precursor to a full-blown Career Development program that trains students to become martial arts school owners and instructors. Students pay for the right to attend staff meetings, practice role playing, and venture "into the kitchen" of the school.

Tuition for these programs are as high as ,900 for a two-year course. Keep in mind that, in order to offer this, you really have to know this business cold and create a solid curriculum on par with a vocational school, because, in a sense, that's what you are offering.
Student Audit

This is not so much a revenue stream as a way of plugging leaks in your cash flow. The Student Program Audit is a single sheet of paper with three columns and 11 rows. The columns are for a student's first, second, and third programs within a school. Typically, these are New Student, Black Belt Club, and Masters' Club, but any program will work.

The first six rows are the various payment options a student might use in your school. The next two are the start and end date for the program, which are followed by a check mark to make sure the Party Responsible for Paying is noted in the agreement and that the injury waiver has been signed. Your job is to audit each and every student's file to make sure you have each of these important items in the student's folder.

The first few times you do a Student Audit, it is like found money. You will be amazed at how much important paperwork is missing. More than that, you will be stunned at how many students are training who have expired or have no record of payments.

Staple one Student Audit to the outside of each student file.

Build Around Your Core
Not all of these revenue streams will be for you. That's why the Core Dynamic of Finding Your Own Voice is so important. I personally helped create many popular trends in this industry. I also made it clear what programs I would never teach, even though I developed and sold them. What is good for me may not be good for you. Know what you like, and why you are doing this for a living, and then build strong revenue streams around those core programs.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Bad Credit Car Loans

When it comes time to get a new vehicle, you'll find that many dealerships are closing their doors to people that don't have stellar financial records. That's right, they will often times simply shut you out and force you to deal with alternative methods of transportation. That can be disheartening, especially if you need a vehicle to get you to and from work and help with family matters. If getting a car is imperative for you and you don't have the credit or the money in hand to get one, make sure that you look into bad credit car loans to ensure that you are behind the wheel and moving forward. Before you get one of these make sure that you qualify by checking the following list of things that you need in order to get approved.

Citizenship To qualify for this type of loan you need to be a citizen. If you are not, the lender will not be able to give you any amount of money, so make sure that you have proof of this. Your identification is not enough, so make sure that you have proof of citizenship before you apply, as it will be one of the conditions that you'll need to have to move forward.

Employment If you have a new job you need to be there at least one month before you can apply. If you've had a job for a long time, than you meet the minimum criteria that will get you the money that you need fast.

Financial Minimums In order to get approved for bad credit car loans of any size you need to at least make 00 gross per month at your place of employment. If you do not make this, you will not qualify, but do not fret. This is a minimum that is easily met with a full time job.

Limitation of Usage You will need to comply with the rules of the loan which means that you can't use the money to buy property, private things, a motorhome or even a motorcycle. The funds have to be used for a vehicle purchase that is in the traditional sense. That means that your loan will not be delivered to you in the form of cash in a briefcase, there are restrictions to how you can spend it, but that shouldn't be a difficult thing to comply with as you will get qualified if you agree to the terms.

Bad credit car loans can be a spring of life for those that are in need of a little financial help when times are rough. No matter what your history is with finances, make sure that you look into this option today, as it will help you in the future. Don't let your past dictate your future, as you can make your future count by simply looking into this option to help you move forward. Don't neglect the opportunity to rise up above your situation, as there are lenders ready to help you reach the heights of whatever it is you're after.

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Friday, August 31, 2012

Finding Great Condos For Rent Doesn't Have To Be Difficult

When looking for condos for rent, it is important to take your time and not rush into the first place you tour. It can sometimes be hard to find a great place on your own and hiring a great real estate agent will allow you to narrow down your options and choose the place that is perfect for you. When you talk to the agent, there are a few things that you need to bring up with him or her to make sure that you are both on the same page.

Take the time to make sure that the agent knows your specific budget. When establishing a budget, it is important to take into account all of the costs associated with owning your own place. You need to pay for electricity, your phone bill, and renters insurance. If you want a few luxury items, you may also want to pay for cable or Internet access, which you need to include in your budget.

Determine the number of rooms you want in the place before going to see any condos for rent. You do not want waste anyone's time. Maybe you need a certain number of bedrooms because you have children, or you want a large kitchen because you love to cook, or you simply want a large family room and have no need for a dining room at all. If you let the agent know what you are looking for in your new home he or she will be able to find a few places that meet your needs.

When filling out the application, it is important to be truthful. Many people want to embellish the truth when they are filling out documents for a new place to live. People who embellish the truth assume that the person reading the paperwork will not check to see if the information is truthful. In actuality, many companies now run credit checks and background checks on anyone who applies to live in the complex. They want to make sure that all of the residents will be safe and that the person who is applying has a history of making their payments on time.

Once you have found the perfect condos for rent for you, it is important to read the contract closely before signing it. You need to see if renters insurance is required and if you are allowed to sublet if anything happens. Make sure to determine what stipulations need to be met in order for you to have your security deposit returned. You also need to find out if there is a policy about guests and parking. Some complexes only allow guests to park in designated areas. If you have a guest who parks in the wrong spot, there is a chance that his or her car could be towed.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Is The Income From Pipeline Welding Jobs Worth It? Details Inside

Many large and small scale industrial projects require pipeline welding jobs, to be performed as part of the overall completion of the project. The income you can achieve from these types of jobs is pretty interesting. We will get to what these jobs have in store for you, and whether or not there is good income to be gained throughout the course of this article.

Pipeline welding jobs, like other welding jobs, have a level of danger involved. It requires you to be focused. Your welds on those pipes will be under scrutiny by welding inspectors, to ensure that your quality of work is worthy.

There are many areas and environments in which people do pipeline welding jobs. Oil refineries, chemical plants, power plants, tunnels, and in a variety of outdoor environments are just a few examples. Also, as a pipe welder, you will be exposed to varying weather conditions while you work in the field. This can make welding far more difficult if you have unforgiving weather to deal with. The hard work goes on, usually non-stop for many hours.

There are several welding processes that are utilized to facilitate the joining of metals. Not all welding processes can be used for any welding job. Pipe welders prefer the SMAW process or shielded metal-arc welding and TIG process or tungsten inert gas welding.

You also have what is referred to as positions with regard to pipe welding. You will only be allowed to weld in the positions, and to the specifications in which you are certified to weld. The positions in pipe welding, refer to the positions of the pipe, not the positions of the weld. There are four positions and these are 1G, 2G, 5G and 6G. Pipe welding omits the 3G and 4G positions since they don't exist for this kind of welding.

To further flesh out the details on the positions used for welding pipes for pipeline welding jobs. The 1G position has the pipe placed flatly and rolled. The 2G pipe position has the welding on the pipe done horizontally, however the pipe is placed vertically. Now in the 5G pipe position, the pipe is placed similarly to the 1G position, but it is fixed and not rolled or rotated during the welding operation. Lastly, the 6G position has the pipe on a fixed incline (usually 45 degrees) and is not moved during the welding operation.

When it comes to the income you can make from pipeline welding jobs, you stand to earn the most when you attain 6G certification. The income is far greater when you are a certified 6G welder than if you were only a certified 5G, 2G or 1G pipe welder. 6G welding combines all of the other four welding positions, which makes it the toughest to master. You will be able to weld in the 1G, 2G, and 5G pipe positions, if you can weld in the 6G pipe position. 6G welders have the ability to make six figures from doing pipeline welding jobs, annually.

Pipeline welding jobs as you can see, entails doing a lot of work. It is not a lazy man's job. Is it worth it? Once your welds can get past quality evaluation methods such as x-ray and you are generally a hard worker, you should have a bright financial future in this field. Pretty much anyone can do it, so why not give it a shot?

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Locating And Repairing The Stack Overflow At Line 0 Error

Stack overflow at line 0 is a universal error message that may imply a lot of things. If you're using Internet Explorer, Javascript could cause this error. If you write your own code, finding the stack overflow culprit might be easy. For most of us, though, stack overflow at line 0 involves some troubleshooting. Don't take out a pay day loans to fix the error, learn how to right here.
What is the error associated with stack overflow line at 0
Understanding the language of error messages typically means breaking it down into parts. You will find two things to understand from the "stack overflow at line 0" message. When a program requests more memory than the programming allocates to it, the error stack overflow comes up. The phrase "at line 0" indicates where the error "lives" in the code. "Stack overflow at line 0" just means there is an error of overflow somewhere in the code for the program though since there isn't a "line 0" in most cod.
The reason stack overflow at line 0 happens one of the most
Internet Explorer has the stack overflow at line 0 error the majority of the time. In case you are coding yourself, then the stack overflow at line 0 will mean something else. However, in Internet Explorer, it means that more memory than should be is being requested. Needing an update in Javascript, an add-in that isn't really working and even too many plugins can all be the cause.
Fixing the stack overflow at line 0 error
You can fix the stack overflow at line 0 error in many ways. Those with code experience may try reducing the amount of memory your call stack is trying request. This is only in case you are good with code though. It could take more steps if you are like the rest of us and need to fix the stack overflow at line 0 error. Determine where the stack overflow at line 0 message is coming from. Make sure you have the most recent Javascript and your browser is updated if it happens whenever you are on a specific web page. You are able to open a program called "Internet Explorer (No Add-ons)" that you discover when searching your Windows computer which will run IW with no add-ons if the error happens when opening Internet Explorer. It is also a good idea to reset your Internet Explorer. The instructions here will show you how.
Information from
Wiki Answers
wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_I_fix_a_stack_overflow_in_line_0

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Learn All About Online Financial Brokerage

Investment is an important aspect of every financial planning. Individuals and families invest in a variety of programs including real estate, stocks, mutual funds, precious metals and commodities. The amount of money you invest and the returns you receive can depend on a variety of factors. The process can be complicated and overwhelming as well. Most investors, therefore, seek the services of a professional brokerage firm for guidance and support. Unlike the past, expert advice is not restricted to certain big cities and commercial centers. You will find several online financial brokerage firms. They offer a variety of services and deal with many different types of investments. Online financial brokerage firms have several advantages:

They have the financial knowledge and wisdom to offer you the right wisdom. Most companies link you to a personal manager who can guide you through the entire process.
You can consult with your online financial brokerage firm from the convenience of your home. You can work on your financial planning anytime, although you will be able to trade actively only during regular business hours.
Online companies are cheaper than their traditional counterparts. The companies save on infrastructure and other expenses. Most online financial brokerage firms will pass on the savings to the consumers.
You do not require a minimum investment amount. You can begin your financial planning with few hundred dollars and grow from thereon.
Most firms do not impose any restrictions on minimum trading volume. They may, however, offer special discounts if you have a high volume.
You can also track international markets and trade there from the convenience of your home.

There are several online financial brokerage firms. You should take time to choose your vendor carefully. Start with a company that provides comprehensive service. A different company for each type of investment can be confusing. You may find it difficult to track and plan your investments. Make sure the company's website is available throughout the day. You should be able to email your online financial brokerage anytime of the day. Someone should get back to you within the stipulated time. Check the history of the company to make sure the online financial brokerage firm is reliable. You can talk to family and friends, and read online reviews before choosing a good company.

Read the terms and conditions carefully to make sure they do not have unrealistic minimum deposits and trade volumes. Do not shy away from asking questions about every aspect of the process before signing up for it. You will avoid unnecessary complications at a later stage. Some companies also offer 3 to 5 percent interest on the money you have in the bank. This money can slowly add up.

You should take time to choose the right brokerage company. Once you establish the system, things will be easy for you. You can just spend a few minutes each day, and significantly enhance your investments and savings.