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Archive for August, 2009

A Motivational Speaker’s Perspective - How To Motivate Your Team

August 31st, 2009

John began his new job chock-full of gusto, excited about the wealth of future possibilities. He displayed the zeal of a motivational speaker and worked vigorously to acquire the skills necessary to perform well in his new position. But, following the initial “flash” of enthusiasm his fervor waned. His supervisor seemed detached, unappreciative and seldom came down from his ivory tower. That’s when the problems became apparent. He started showing up late, surfing the Internet during office hours and did as little as was needed to just get by. Unfortunately, this is a very familiar story. I would propose that one of the major reasons for such a precipitous falling off in motivation is lack of communication. Which raises the question: What exactly must be communicated?

A Motivational Vision

How frequently do you share your organization’s big picture strategy with your team? As a motivational speaker, I’m frequently flabbergasted at how often the junior workers are not told about the executives’ vision for their organization. Often that’s because the leaders aren’t quite clear themselves. However, more regularly it’s because the managers haven’t taken the trouble to pass on anything further than minimal “do this…do that” commands to their team. To the subordinates this feels like the personification of being bossed around; quite literally!

It’s an easy fix. Take care to communicate, clearly and repeatedly, the planned direction of your organization. Make it extremely clear to your personnel that their individual efforts are appreciated and, most importantly, are moving the organization towards success. Let’s be honest, without your workforce you won’t achieve the success you envision. And yet many bosses act as if this isn’t the case.

Motivational Feedback

Now we shift our point of view and contemplate the feedback you provide your personnel. We can only work in the “dark” for so long. It’s tricky for your personnel to shine when they don’t have explicit answers to these questions: In which areas do I most need to improve? Equally, within my sphere of responsibility, where do I excel? Typically, if any feedback is given, it tackles the results obtained by the staff member and not the behavior that led to the stated results. Whereas, the ideal class of feedback focuses on not only on the results, but on the work-behaviors that produced the results. This is a critical facet of feedback that’s often overlooked.

And don’t forget to be extremely specific (with step-by-step instructions) as to how your staff member might improve his performance next time. This is especially important if the feedback is negative. I’m reminded of the old saying” “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” My final point about feedback: it’s tricky to give negative feedback if you haven’t already developed a respectful rapport with your personnel.

Be A “Human” Boss

To conclude, convey your humanity. For many people their supervisor appears to be very detached. Be a participative boss, get involved in your team member’s professional aspirations. Do you even know what your staff want to achieve with their careers? To be clear, I’m not advocating you hang around the water cooler chatting about their vacation plans. I’m suggesting an appropriate level of interest over their long term professional goals.

You Don’t Have To Be A Motivational Speaker

So, those are my three ideas for motivating your team members by improving your communication style: Communicate your organization’s vision, give practical feedback and, in a manner that is appropriate to your status, highlight your humanity. Take heed to my advice and, without needing to be an expert motivational speaker, you will still effectively motivate your staff!

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A Motivational Speaker Tells All - Motivational Tactics For Your Employees

August 31st, 2009

One fact is plain: If you have staff, motivating them is your responsibility. If they’re ineffectual, it’s because you’re ineffectual at motivating them. That said, you don’t have to become a motivational speaker. An important part of the motivational riddle is found in the way you communicate. Here are three basic areas in which it’s vital you communicate effectively.

A Motivational Vision

Are you committed to keeping your team members “in the know”? If you possess a management style that is “just tell them what they need to do, then leave them to get on with it,” then you are likely to fall foul of this problem. When I visit organizations in my capacity as an experienced motivational speaker, I’m often flabbergasted at the complete absence of “buy in” at the junior levels of the company. And repeatedly that’s because their executives haven’t even tried to paint the long-term view of the company’s direction. Here’s the problem: A clueless team is an unmotivated team.

It’s an easy fix. Take care to communicate, clearly and repeatedly, the strategic direction of your organization. Make it abundantly apparent to your people that their individual efforts are appreciated and, most importantly, are moving the organization towards success. Let’s be honest, without your workforce you won’t achieve the success you envision. And yet many bosses act as if this isn’t the case.

Motivational Feedback

Now we shift our focus and consider the feedback you give your people. We can only work in the “dark” for so long. It’s tough for your personnel to shine without emphatic answers to these questions: In which areas do I most need to improve? On the other hand, in what ways do I shine? More often than not, if any feedback is given, it addresses the results obtained by the individual and not the activities that led to the stated results. Whereas, the ideal kind of feedback focuses on the perceptible results and the behavioural characteristics that produced them. This is a necessary facet of feedback that’s frequently overlooked.

And don’t only give feedback when you notice a staff member doing something wrong! To paraphrase the old adage: “Try to catch your staff doing something right!” And then make sure you point it out! My final point about feedback: Look for something positive to say prior to giving negative feedback. Strive to balance positive and negative feedback.

Be A “Human” Boss

As a final point, convey your humanity. In the modern business world, you can’t be a dictator and expect loyalty. Be appropriately interested in their professional lives. What are their career aims? If you’re prepared to help them move towards their goals, your staff will do the same for you. It’s called the law of reciprocity.

You Don’t Have To Be A Motivational Speaker

There you have it, my three ideas for motivating your personnel by enhancing the style in which you communicate: Pass on your company’s vision, give gentle feedback and, in a professional fashion, stress your humanity. Take heed to my advice and, without needing to be a motivational speaker, you will still effectively motivate your employees!

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Bulk REO Investing 101 For Beginners

August 31st, 2009

No generation in American history has ever experienced the number of foreclosures and defaulted mortgages as is happening now. Yet as always, this challenge has given rise to a huge new opportunity for alert real estate investors.

The new opportunity is known as ‘Bulk REO Investing’ or ‘REO Package Investing’ and it’s a huge opportunity.

Take a just a minute to consider the basics of this highly profitable business.

To understand investing in Bulk REO, you have to understand the foreclosure process.

When a home owner begins to miss payments on their mortgage, the lender begins to send late/overdue notices to the home owner. Following a period of time determined by the lender, formal foreclosure proceedings begin. The ‘pre-foreclosure’ time starts with filing of foreclosure paperwork and concludes at public auction.

The defaulted property is ultimately auctioned, thus completing the foreclosure process. The lender regains ownership of the property if there are no buyers at auction. The property then receives the designation of being an ‘REO’ or the more formal name, ‘Real Estate Owned’.

Local real estate agents are usually used to resale REO properties at retail price to the general public. But as a consequence of the weak economy, lenders are frequently selling their REO properties far below their actual value. The trade-off is that the buyer must purchase multiple REO properties in each transaction.

These REO packages represent the potential to acquire huge amounts of equity for savvy real estate investors. One of the best ways to take advantage of Bulk REO Investing opportunities is to partner with a well-regarded source of funding. Some sources of funding for these transactions are: personal funds, hard money lenders, commercial lenders and non-conventional sources such as private investors and hedge funds. Additionally, one man is becoming very well known in the field of bulk REO investing, and his name is Salvatore Buscemi of Dandrew Capital Partners, a hedge fund in New York.

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Basics in Bulk REO Investing

August 31st, 2009

The recession in the U.S. economy has resulted in more foreclosures than experienced by any other generation of Americans. Yet well-funded investors in real estate are seizing upon this opening to profit from an profoundly profitable new opportunity.

The real estate investing strategy du jour is called ‘Bulk REO Investing‘ and is a real monster.

The basis of the Bulk REO business is foreclosures, so let’s analyze the foreclosure process now.

Understanding the notion of Bulk REO’s requires understanding of the foreclosure process.

As a home owner misses a payment or two, the lender sends the predictable barage of threatening letters and warnings. Following a period of time determined by the lender, formal foreclosure proceedings begin. The name for this period is ‘preforeclosure’.

Foreclosure is completed when the property is put up for auction. If there are no buyers for the property at auction, the property is returned to the lender. The property then receives the designation of being an ‘REO’ or the more formal name, ‘Real Estate Owned’.

Local real estate agents are usually used to resale REO properties at retail price to the general public. However, lenders are increasingly willing to take much less than their REO asset is actually worth. The trade-off is that the buyer must purchase multiple REO properties in each transaction.

These REO packages represent the potential to acquire huge amounts of equity for savvy real estate investors. REO packages are easiest to buy and sell with a well regarded source of financing in place. There are many sources of funding for these transasactions including: hard money and commercial financing, as well as non conventional sources such as hedge funds and private investors. Additionally, one man is becoming very well known in the field of bulk REO investing, and his name is Sal Bushemi of Dandrew Partners, a New-York based hedge fund.

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An Introduction to Real Estate Investing

August 30th, 2009

A number of things likely come to mind when you think of real estate investing. You might immediately leap to real estate investing being real estate portfolios and real estate retirement plans or you may think instead of short sales, bulk reo investing and virtual real estate investing. You may also consider what roles these things play in your life as a real estate investor in different economies.

You can learn a lot about real estate investing. The best way to get the most out of your real estate investing education is to be familiar with some basic information ahead of time. You will get the most out of anything to do with short sales, bulk reo sales, virtual real estate and just improving real estate investor abilities by knowing some real estate investing basics. Here are three main real estate investing concepts that many experts do not even know:

1. Real estate investing education is a true investment that always has a positive yield. You can create thousands of dollars in potential wealth with each real estate deal. Getting the wealth is the key to your success. Learning about real estate increases your odds of success when you do a real estate deal. Implementation of your small educational investments yields big results.

2. You have the ability to succeed in real estate investing in any economy. Lots of people believe that real estate success is only possible in a booming economy. In reality, a bad economic situation is not bad for real estate investors. You frequently can get properties at deep discounts. You could also locate deals that would not exist in a booming economy. Poor economies can turn based on active real estate investing. When the economy is not so good, short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate are great. You will be able to save yourself and others from serious financial difficulties if you know how to do these deals.

3. You do not need a lot of money to be a successful real estate investor. You can make real estate investing a success regardless of how much money you have. There are a lot of deals that you can do with other people’s money. Private lenders will let you use their money if they know that you are a good investment. The best way to be a good investment is to know as much as possible about real estate investing. Then you will represent a good investment to other people who have money for real estate investing but do not know how to use it.

Real estate investing is a great way to generate wealth. You can create a good income no matter what the state of the economy. By using a base of knowledge of real estate investing, short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate you can create success for yourself. You will be helped to succeed as a real estate investor by knowing real estate investing basics.

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Business Plan draft

August 30th, 2009

Business arrangement sketch is something which would present an outline of your business tools. Business arrangement draft would often inform related to the feasibility of your business according to the situation and competition in the market. Business outline is not something in which you only require to think about your business. In your Business preparation sketch you would also need to think about the tactics and techniques of rivals because for a prosperous business you would also require to plan , how to fight with the services from others. Enter here to find out about writing a marketing plan.

 

The pricing and marketing are crucial for every business that’s why it have to be planned in Business Plan sketch . Furthermore in your Business preparation draft you would also need to plan how you would make your artifacts striking for the consumers as compare to other products . So you would need arranging what specific superiority your products must grasp for a victorious sale. additionally in business organization you should think regarding the regulations which you have to follow. You would also require getting the lawful approval for initiating your business and would necessitate getting your corporation registered.  Visit here to find out on personal development plan.

 

additionally the sketching of management employees is very crucial and it need to be focused in Business Plan Outline . Since you would require to hire the personnel and for that you have to know how much personnel is obligatory and it have to be explained in Business Plan Outline . Employees have to have some expertise in order to run your business properly and you are supposed to discover what expertise you necessitate. One should clearly mention the tool which he is going to utilize in order to promote the services and services given by its company . moreover people have to be aware of required finance for their business. It would be needed to plan the inventory organization for your business while business planning .

 

A fine Business arrangement Outline should talk clearly about the organization of funds and funds for the business. A better finance administration would make it likely to have a flourishing and ever lasting business. At the time of business arrangement people should be acquainted with how they are going to finance their business. You would necessitate collaborating with several suppliers for the reason that if at anytime a seller is not available then you could consult to another one. There is no standard Business Plan Outline that you could follow for the reason that each business would need dissimilar feasibilities. Therefore the particulars provided in this text is for general apprehension of business planning . It is your duty to observe your conditions for the prosperity of your business. Visit here to find out about business plan templates.

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Bulk REO Investment 101 For Beginners

August 30th, 2009

The recession in the U.S. economy has resulted in more foreclosures than experienced by any other generation of Americans. But challenge always gives rise to opportunity, and opportunistic real estate investors are rising to the challenge.

That opportunity is called Bulk REO Investing, and the opportunity is huge.

The basis of the Bulk REO business is foreclosures, so let’s analyze the foreclosure process now.

To understand Bulk REO investing is to understand the foreclosure process.

When a home owner begins to miss payments on their mortgage, the lender begins to send late/overdue notices to the home owner. The lender directs the subsequent timing of the actual foreclosure proceedings. ‘Pre foreclosure’ is the name given to the time between implementation of the foreclosure proceedings and the public auction.

To complete the foreclosure process, the property is auction to the public. If there are no buyers at the foreclosure auction, the lender regains title to the property. The lender then categorizes the property as ‘Real Estate Owned’ - or ‘REO’ for short.

Local real estate agents are usually used to resale REO properties at retail price to the general public. However, lenders are increasingly willing to take much less than their REO asset is actually worth. The trade-off is that the buyer must purchase multiple REO properties in each transaction.

The REO investment packages available today have provided a way to profitably capitalize on the U.S. recession. The most successful Bulk REO Investors will have a well-respected source of funding for their transactions. Some sources of funding for these transactions are: personal funds, hard money lenders, commercial lenders and non-conventional sources such as private investors and hedge funds. Additionally, one man is becoming very well known in the field of bulk REO investing, and his name is Sal Buscemi of Dandrew Capital Partners, a hedge fund in New York.

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Things to Think About When You are Real Estate Investing

August 30th, 2009

Real estate investing probably makes you think of a number of things. If you are already familiar with real estate investing you may think of short sales, bulk reo investing and virtual real estate investing or you may think of it in terms of real estate portfolios and real estate retirement plans. You likely also are wondering how these things factor into real estate investors’ roles in the current economy.

There is a lot to learn about real estate investing. The best way to optimize your real estate investing education is to know the basics ahead of time. Whether your target is short sales, bulk reo sales, virtual real estate or improving real estate investor abilities, you need to know some real estate investing basics. You should review these three real estate investing basics to learn things even some experts do not know:

1. Real estate investing education always yields positive. Every real estate deal has the potential to create thousands of dollars in potential wealth. The knowledge of how to get that wealth is the key to your success. Learning about real estate increases your chances of success when you do a real estate deal. Implementation of your small educational investments yields big results.

2. Real estate investing success is possible in any economy. Many people think (wrongly) that you can only succeed in real estate when the economy booms. Actually a poor economy is not a bad economy for real estate investors. You can often find properties to buy at deep discounts. You might also find deals that simply would not exist in a booming economy. Poor economies can turn based on active real estate investing. Short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate all thrive when the economy is less than thriving. You will have the option of saving yourself and possibly others from serious financial difficulties if you know about these types of deals.

3. You do not need lots of your own cash to be a successful real estate investor. You can make a success of real estate investing no matter how much or little money you have. There are many deals that will let you use other people’s money to do them. Private lenders will let you use their money if they know that you are a good investment. The best way to be a good investment is to know as much as possible about real estate investing. This will help you show private lenders that you are a good investment if they do not know about real estate investing themselves.

You can generate lots of wealth by real estate investing. You can create income regardless of the economy. You can create success for yourself using knowledge of real estate investing, short sales, bulk reo sales and virtual real estate. You will be helped to succeed as a real estate investor by knowing real estate investing basics.

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Choosing The Right Restaurant POS Software and Hardware For Your Business

August 29th, 2009

Restaurant Software

Running a successful restaurant? Let’s go back to the basics: good location, good food, good service. These days, there’s another important consideration added: a reliable software running your POS systems.

Though the harware are more visible, your POS software is the the core of your POS systems. Doing a careful evaluation of restaurant POS software is key to getting a system that will greatly satisfy your customers and employees.

Looking for the right restaurant software
First of all, it’s important to know what exactly you need the software to do. Any reasonable restaurant software is able to handle checks per customer or per table, track orders per server, move diners from the bar to a table, manage waiting and reservation lists, and many more.

Once you’ve found that restaurant software that can meet your needs, give it a test drive to learn how to use it. While there will always be a learning curve for your staff when you adopt a new POS system, having a restaurant software that’s easy to use can reduce the learning curve to manageable levels.

You may learn more about ease of use by having one or two of your servers involved in the evaluation. They’ll be able to try out the kinds of inputs and changes to the system that can cause problems with some software.

  • Security – you may need to create accounts for each employee for safety reasons. You should be able to limit access to sensitive data and functions (such as comping meals) to managers, for as long as you desire.
  • Flexibility – your servers should be able to control checks to match the whims of your patrons: easily splitting checks and tracking special orders, for example.
  • Reporting – this is one of the best features of POS software it can create detailed report which is a great advantage for restaurant owners. Make sure the software you choose lets you get detailed information either per check, per server, or overall, ranging from daily to annually.
  • Multiple location support – if applicable, make sure the system is capable of tracking and reporting on multiple locations, including local differences in staffing and pricing.

What to look for in a hardware
Of course you’ll need to invest in restaurant POS hardware as well: computers to run the restaurant software on, touch-screen displays for servers to enter order, and printers to produce order slips for the kitchen. The software will use will dictate any special hardware requirements – the biggest hardware decision you’re going to to make is how many stations you need.

Now, are you willing to start your business right? Find out more at POS-For-Restaurants.com and receive free unbiased quotes from the Restaurant POS professionals serving your area.

 


 

The author of this article is the VP of Customer Relations at POS-For-Restaurants with over 20 years of experience meeting the automation needs of many restaurants in the U.S.

 

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Making the RIGHT choice for your Retail Point of Sale System

August 29th, 2009

The responsibility of choosing which retail point of sale system to use would be best decided by the business owner, since it is vital and very important for the success of a business. The core system where everything in your business revolves. You should have confidence in – and receive satisfying performance from – the system that’s responsible for all transactions, managing your inventory and all other action responsible for organizing and tracking.

Let’s point out some of the important questions you should be asking yourself when choosing a Retail System:

What Type Of Business Do You Have?

There are two categories of Point of Sale systems: The Restaruant/Hospitality and Retail. Restaurants are a bit of a different breed – the focus of this article is Retail POS Systems.

At the retail part, pricing on Point Of Sale Systems can range from hundreds to tens thousands of dollars. There are POS systems customized for every type of business under the sun, from Gift Shops and Mall Kiosks to Pet Stores and Computer Shops.

Many custom POS features are great BUT what is the important feature for your retail system is that it should be easy to use. Besides, what good does a custom feature be if it’s too hard to use or it got buried among the other “so-called” great features that your business doesn’t really need? Many business owners are choosing a much simpler, stream-lined retail POS systems that focus on the fundamentals and deliver them flawlessly. This is why more and more entrepreneurs are using web based POS systems to meet their retail computer needs.

What POS Computers & Software Are Best For Me?

Still deciding whether to use Windows, Mac OS X or Linux? There are great POS Systems that has the same power as any of these platforms, so you can choose the platform with which you’re already the most comfortable.

Several years ago, POS systems were typically installed as software packages and installed on business computers, similar with MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint come packaged on Windows computers. Unfortunately, software based POS Systems present many problems and is exposed to vulnerabilities that several small and medium sized business have found worrisome.

About software updates? What if my computer had a breakdown? How do I backup and save all my business files? What if the platform needs reformatting or weaknesses in the system suddenly emerge that you don’t know how to handle?

For business owners, afterall, you shouldn’t have to deal with these questions, so why waste money in a POS System that creates even more questions and doubts? Web based retail systems that can solve these problems for most small retailers.

With Web-Based Retail Systems:

  • Automatically add and update features and do software patches. You will never have to make manual updates your software, downloads and changes. Someone else takes care of it for you.
  • Because this POS solution is web based, you are able to access your inventory from any internet enabled computer in the world. A computer that breaks becomes an incredibly minor problem.
  • What will you do if your computer had a breakdown and it cannot be fixed? Using a web based POS {your business info is continuously saved to a remote location that can easily be recovered even if your actual computer crashes}.

Do You Have a Dedicated Retail IT Department?

I guess not! Read further down so you can know how important it is having a retail IT personnel taking care of your systems.

When something goes wrong with your system, how long can you endure your business shut down its operation? How long will it take to lay down your problem via telephone or e-mail and to be walked through the steps? And how long do you think it will take their technician to fix your problems?

That is why a web based POS is more widely used – the experts can log into your system and fix the problem for you. This alleviates many of the support problems inherent of typical desktop software based retail POS systems.

POS Packages or By Parts?

If you have a brand new business and/or implementing POS systems for the first time, you can buy a package that that has every component essential in running immediately… from the computer to your barcode scanners and printers. Discounts and special offers comes from buying POS bundles, and for many entrepreneurs this is a great idea.

Other retail businesses may prefer to use their existing hardware with their new system. Or, they may be cost conscious businesses that are looking to achieve affordability by purchasing refurbished hardware and use of existing hardware.

So What’s The Right Choice to Make?

While companies seeking POS Systems are typically looking for customized hardware and traditional software bundles, small and medium sized businesses “in the know” prefer web based retail point of sale solutions because of their flexibility, affordability and overall ability to deliver fast and accurate results.

Want to have a qualified POS professional discuss your needs?

You can have more details at Retail-POS-Solutions.com

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