People Make Business

Not this again.

I found myself on another looong Chicago bus ride, on my way to present a proposal (AKA spend an hour of my time without getting paid) to yet another hesitant prospect. By all measures my web design business was doing incredibly well – I was 23 years old and had hit just over $60,000/year.

But I was already getting drained, frustrated and burned out.

Every time I wrapped up a project I was back at zero – the song and dance of getting new clients was never-ending. The most frustrating part was that there didn’t seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel – the only way to grow my business was to spend MORE time getting new clients and spending MORE time working on their projects. None of my marketing was leveraged – I had to start fresh with every new prospect.

And truthfully, working with clients was hard. I felt li Read more…

Taking your business onto the worldwide web is a great way to grow and expand your company. Just because you run an established and successful business does not mean it is too late to continue to grow on the Internet. And even if you are just getting started, bringing your goods and services onto the ‘net is a fantastic way to get the word out there.

One of the best parts about taking your business online is that you’ll no longer be limited by physical boundaries. There was once a time when the things you bought had to be purchased only at establishments that you could actually travel to. The advent of the catalog and reliable mail delivery changed this, but the Internet revolutionized it.

Now, there is virtually no limit to where in the world your business can go. Conduct an online bidding war that has a man in China battling with a teenager from Topeka, Kansas over a rare baseball card. Sell your homemade Tex-Mex salsa to a spice lover in Brussels. Ent Read more…

Signing on with a merchant account provider is a great way to make sure your business continues to grow and prosper into the future. Keeping up with the competition is not easy, but when you have a good account provider backing you up, you will have access to a wide variety of services that will give you a leg up on your competitors.

But before you begin to reap the benefits of a merchant services account, you need to get yourself signed up. Here are a few steps you need to take before you can get on your way.

Getting your Paperwork Together
The first thing you need to do before you can get started with your merchant account is to prove to the provider that you are a legitimate business. Different providers request different documentation, depending on what particular services you will require.

Before you get started, it is best to have as much information in front of you as possible. Past banking statements and financial information is always good to have on hand. Read more…

Part time jobs are a great alternative for those that require a little more time in their week, which is good news for parents that need to be at home at certain points of the day for their children or alternatively students who want to earn a little extra cash whilst they study.
Part time work is flexible, meaning those that sign up to less hours are able to work around their lifestyles and also able to fit in other activities to their weeks.
Some part time jobs will allow the employee to work just mornings or alternatively one day on and one day off. This is great news for those that can only afford childcare for part of the week as they can often be back in time to pick the kids up from school.
When it comes to choosing a career, the number of hours required is one of the most important deciding factors to many people. Read more…

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas prosecutors say they’re backing Gov. Mike Beebe’s efforts to overhaul the state prison system after legislation was changed to address their concerns about the effect it would have on some violent and drug offenders.

The Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association on Friday said it had voted unanimously to back the legislation pending in the Senate to change the state’s sentencing and prison laws. The legislation is aimed at curbing Arkansas’ prison costs.

Prosecutors had initially complained about a provision in an early draft of the bill that would have made some violent offenders eligible for parole after 120 days in prison. That provision was removed, and a section reducing sentences for methamphetamine manufacturing also was changed to address prosecutors’ concerns.

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Google has released a new update to its Chrome OS browser-based operating system for Cr-48 notebook users. This newest update from Google brings Chrome OS up to version 0.10.156.46.

The updated version has many stability and functional improvements, including a fix for the trackpad issues making this an important update for Cr-48 users. Among other fixes, this update also includes power optimizations which will add to the Cr-48 notebook battery life.

Chrome OS improvements include:

• 3G connection to the carrier fixes
• Wi-Fi connectivity/Out of the Box fixes
• New trackpad and sensitivity setting adjusted
• Auto update engine and debugging improvements
• Power optimizations
• GTalk video/chat optimizations
• Audio CPU utilization improvements
• Improved on screen indicators: brightness, network status, update icon
• Scratchpad application security vulnerability fix (included in Chrome 10)