1 Million Pages

Pay attention Baby Boomers! Everybody has a dream or an unrealized goal for their life. The trouble is most of us are unwilling to make the changes necessary to turn our dreams into reality. We say “I’ll do that when the children leave home; I’ll be able to work on that when the mortgage (car, credit card…insert debt here!) is paid off; I plan on making those changes when I turn 30, (40, 50… and so on!) The trouble is, once we actually DO achieve one of these procrastinator goals, we still don’t take the time to set those changes in motion.

It is true that dreams never die, but they can wind up fading into the woodwork of our lives if they aren’t cultivated and nurtured into reality. Just as a houseplant needs to be watered and fertilized on a weekly basis, so do our dreams. By shoving our dreams into that ‘Someday’ file in our mind, we run the very real risk of having that ‘someday’ never come. We let our fears – fear of the unknown and the very real fear of change – interfere and overtake our rational thought patterns until we begin to believe that it’s virtually impossible for us to achieve ANYTHING!

We need to let go of our fears and do one simple thing – take action NOW! You will never know what you’re capable of until you take this first step and just make a decision to do something – anything – to propel you towards your dream.

Think about this for a moment – how far are you actually willing to go to have the life (and dreams) that you want and deserve? What are you willing to change in your life to put the wheels in motion to turn your hopes and aspirations into reality?

Here are some points to get your started on your journey into manifesting your dream world:

1. Ask yourself this – What do I really want to be, do, or have?
Get clear about where you’re going so you can get there. Take a piece of paper and physically write down what it is that you really want to do with your life or changes you know you need to implement to get to that place. The clearer your ‘wish list’ is, the better you’ll be able to prioritize what to do first.

2. Is this dream in keeping with my core values?
If your ideal dream goes against every one of your core values such as dignity, integrity and pride, you’ll never achieve it – plain and simple. By doing things that instinctively contradict your inner strengths, you will come across as being false and most likely self-sabotage your own efforts. Be true to yourself and it will pay off in the long run.

3. What are the action steps I need to take to achieve this dream?
If you dream is to lose 15 pounds, then you know the first step you’ll need to take is to examine your eating habits. If you’re consistently eating a large bag of potato chips and washing it down with a 24 ounce bottle of soda, then you know those foods are going to have to go - or at least be cut down to a more moderate portion size in order to lose weight. Make your steps practical so that you don’t perceive them as ‘chores’ because no one likes to take on things they absolutely detest doing!

4. Chose a realistic ‘finish’ date.
Using the analogy of losing weight and those extra 15 pounds, if you expect to lose them in two weeks, you’re going to have to literally starve yourself! You didn’t gain those unwanted pounds in 14 days, so why would you reasonably expect to lose them in the same amount of time? Setting a finish date is necessary as it gives you something to work towards, but keep it real folks, or once you reach that date and you’ve not achieved your goal, you’ll most likely throw your hands up in the air and quit.

5. How will I feel when I achieve this dream?
By concentrating on the end result as if you’ve already achieved it, you’re sending our positive vibrations into the universe which will help you in your quest to manifesting your dreams. In your mind, picture your life as it will be once you’ve obtained your desires. Imagine it, feel it, taste and/or smell the success. By believing you’re already at the finish line, getting there will be much easier.

So go ahead. Dream your dreams and reach for the stars. Your ideal life is waiting for you. You just need to take the first step towards getting it.

The name Ahearn Search is synonymous with the words skip tracing, whether it be London, New York, Toronto or the lower reaches of Belize. In today’s world of technology, we are finding that fraud or simply not choosing to pay a creditor is becoming easier than it used to be. Unfortunately, most corporations are under the misconception that technology and the internet have greatly reduced fraud. In fact, the internet has given birth to what skip tracers call easy access.

Your company has one of those great web pages where an applicant can apply for a credit card or a loan. What do you do? Process a credit report and base it on a scoring system. If it is a business, you run a Dun & Bradstreet. The problem here is that neither of those tools actually confirms the information they provide. Sure, they report public record filings, late payments etc. Your company will then decide whom they want to do business with and I am sure it is safe to say your company will not choose the one with the low score.

In reality, your best scorers can have a bad year or two and stop paying. You call them and the number is disconnected. You write and as Elvis said, “return to sender address unknown”. Now its time to send the claim out to a collection agency, they take the job along with fifty percent of what they collect (ouch). A month goes by, two months and nothing from the collection agency. Most collection agencies will only replicate your actions, hoping that the letters of suit, etc will frighten the debtors - it does not.

The reason most debtors cannot be found is that when it comes to the application process, all decisions were based on a scoring system. No one took the time to determine if the phone was real a real landline, the address a mail drop or the business only a front. In five easy minutes, anybody can incorporate, have a phone number with any area code, and then set up a website.

If someone wanted to create a false residence or create a false company, they could in only a few steps. Go to any state website www.anystate.gov register a new corporation in minutes. Next go to JFAX or Efax From there they can get a phone number anywhere in the world for $7.95 a month which will forward to an email address of choice. Go to register.com and secure a domain name and set up a website immediately all for a mere $20.00. Go to Mail Boxes Etc. and get an address to match the phone numbers. A business now exists, finally yet importantly call Dun & Bradstreet and they are listed.

A little information to ponder, especially if you are in the lending business. The following are a list of some of the most frequently used key words in internet searching offshore, offshore banking, how to hide, how to disappear, hiding assets, new identity, and false identity. That is only to name a few. Two of the most hit web sites are Escape-Artist and Privacy-World. In this country, many people are concerned about their privacy and are utilizing the tools available.

Especially if you happen to be one of those unflinchingly ambitious micro-business entrepreneurs, I’ve been reading about everyday in pubs like Crain’s Chicago Business, you’ll eventually find that designing and offering up an attractive employee-benefits package will be an essential component of your future growth. An attractive health plan will do just that - attract - helping you recruit and retain crucial employees (meaning those fought over creative class/knowledge worker types Richard Florida is always yammering about). You’ll also find that a generous group plan will help link your employees’ interests to your concern’s.

That said, there are a seemingly unlimited number of group benefits options to consider. One that you’ll want to move to the top of your list is a Cafeteria Plan. The cafeteria brand of benefit plan can add a lot freedom to a employee compensation package, allowing your workforce to choose benefits options ala carte, if you will - selecting only the benefit options they’re most interested in.

Perhaps I should start closer to the beginning … cafeteria plans, also known as the flexible spending account, the choice spending account or the section 125 plan, have become increasingly popular over the last few years because they’re designed to offer employees a truly convenient way to pay medical expenses with pre-tax dollars; relieving them of the burden of federal, and state taxes.

To take advantage of a flexible spending account, eligible employees set aside a pre-designated amount each year, in order to pay for medical expenses aren’t already eligible for coverage. The two most common types of flexible-spending accounts are dependent care reimbursement (also known as DCRAs) and health care reimbursement accounts. Employees pay for non-reimbursed expenses from these accounts. Unfortunately, flexible-spending accounts are “use-it-or-lose-it” accounts; meaning that any funds leftover at the end of the year can’t be “rolled over,” so to speak.

Exceptions To Those Limits Apply to Key Employees

Typically, funds set aside in a cafeteria plan’s flexible-spending account are exempt from income, payroll, and unemployment taxes. This exemption generally also applies to payroll and unemployment taxes paid on behalf of employees. (Take a look at IRS Pub. 15-B for exceptions, including treatment of highly compensated employees and certain shareholders of Subchapter S Corporation’s.)

Premiums paid to a group life benefits policy are typically exempt from income and unemployment taxes. In addition, premiums paid for up to $50,000.00 of benefits coverage per employee tend to be exempt from payroll taxes. For additional details, see IRS Publication 15-B.

You see, cafeteria plans offer you some versatility in putting together a benefits plan for your workforce. There are other categories of fringe benefits that you can offer your employees in a cafeteria plan that may be excluded from taxable income under IRS benefit-exclusion rules. Using a flexible-spending account — namely, establishing a DCRA and HCRA — may help to jump-start a cafeteria plan for your workforce. If you maintain a cafeteria plan, the IRS requires you to complete IRS Form 5500.

To help you keep track of employment-related costs, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes a quarterly statistic called the employment cost index. The cost index measures changes in employee-compensation costs, which include salaries, wages, and benefits. In addition to publishing the quarterly cost index, BLS publishes an annual survey of compensation costs.

One last thing … the information above is practically for entertainment purposes and shouldn’t be interpreted as financial advice. For advice specific to your firm’s circumstances, don’t hesitate get advice from a financial, tax or benefits consultant. You may even want to flat out hire an Interim benefits consultant or a full service benefits consulting firm. There are also a number of good sources of information on the Web you can take advantage of. The Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI), International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP), and American Benefits Council are independent sources of truly “actionable” employee-benefit plan information.

Some products aren’t inherently interesting, and certainly selling picture frames does not conjure up the romantic and exciting images that say, selling state of the art cars, haute couture fashion, or finest champagnes conjures up. However, a staple product such as picture frames ticks many of the basic marketing boxes. Everybody wants frames, every household and corporation has frames on display, frames can change with fashion, and they are not indestructible - frames can need replacing with time.

One of the prime downsides of supplying picture frames is transporting the inherently fragile glass. Though there are alternatives such as Perspex acrylic glass which are virtually unbreakable, most customers prefer traditional glass. Carriers can be excellent, but it only needs one person in the despatch chain to treat your company’s package like a football and you have a product that needs replacing or refunding, normally resulting in a loss. For small despatches via courier a suitable packing solution found to be most effective is the use of a solid box, bubble wrap, and shredded paper. This packing aims to protect the impact of a package being thrown from the back of a lorry, and has reduced breakages to a minimum.

Datalite UK Ltd’s subsidiary ‘Frames Online UK’ (See http://www.framesonlineuk.com) has been selling picture frames on the web for a number of years; specialising in a niche market of supplying batches of frames to organisations as diverse as schools, local councils, small businesses and even the police - not often one has a chance of framing the police! Of particular success are the matching frame packs of a dozen A4 frames or six A3 frames. Frames Online UK has garnered a reputation of supplying a quality range of picture frames fast, with customer service paramount.

The Frames Online UK website originally contained a Bulk Picture Frame Supply section enabling customers to purchase larger quantities of frames at special discounted prices with delivery via pallet. The pallet despatch arrangement greatly reduces the breakage rate of frames to a bare minimum. This wholesale trade facility has been growing in popularity resulting in a decision to provision its own dedicated website.

The Frames Bulk Supply facility caters for an entirely different market of purchaser and includes shop retailers and large organisations and companies. The frames themselves range from cheap basic but solid economy frames, through to an excellent regular standard range, culminating in the finest range of professional quality frames suitable for large corporate displays.

Frames Online - Bulk Supply website is located at http://www.dataliteframes.co.uk and offers over sixty styles of picture frames, together with over twenty sizes ranging from the diminutive to the large. Frames can be ordered direct online, paid by credit card if required and delivery to any UK mainland address can be achieved within five working days. The website created provides a virtual wholesale warehouse experience where products can actually be viewed and selected; rather than customers picking items from a standard typed price list and hoping that items meet requirements.

Does your business get pushed to the side because you get caught up doing non-business things? Be Careful! You may get your voice caught up learning or doing items not related to your business.

When I say, “Your Voice” I mean your influence but also your creativity in your area of expertise. Yes it is nice to be well rounded, but don’t think you must know everything or do everything. Here are some helpful tips to maintain your voice.

1. Focus on the aspect of your business that you are good at. Don’t work on what you are weak at all the time. Improve what you are already good to become great in that area. Once you are an expert then people will seek you out in that niche environment. Spend at least one; preferably two hour’s minimum reading, listening to tapes or just creating in your niche area. This will greatly improve your voice when people are looking for an expert in your field.

2. Find someone to do the day to day stuff. No, I am not saying to hire out all the other aspects of the business if you are not fiscally sound. What I am saying is, if you have a friend that is an accountant or ad writer or graphic artist; whatever your needs are maybe he or she can help you if you are not good in one certain area. You could also find very reliable people to work 1 hour per day for you in larger cities and especially online. This could add time to your efforts to become an expert.

3. Listen to your voice. If you are starting to lose site of where you were or where you want to be then you are not focusing on what you do well. You know in your heart what it feels like when you are on the creative edge and you know what it feel like when you are dull. Stay sharp and focus on what you do best.

I know it sounds like I am telling you to neglect the business “Stuff” that we all must do who run our own business. There are items only you can do, but if you are worrying about answering the phone and you have any other employees then you need to find people who can answer the phone. Do what you do best and find others to come around you who are the best at what they do and your business will take off.