Investments Quote By Warren Buffett

“In investments, there’s no such thing as a called strike. You can stand there at the plate and the pitcher can throw a ball right down the middle; and if it’s General Motors at 47 and you don’t know enough to decide on General Motors at 47, you let it go right on by and no one’s going to call a strike. The only way you can have a strike is to swing and miss.” - - by Warren Buffett

Are You Selling Quantity Or Quality?

There are two main ways to sell products and services (this includes applying for a regular "job" as well, by the way). I would call them the "McDonald's style of selling" and the "Armani style of selling". The marketing style of each of these types is different and produces different results.

McDonald's Restaurants and similar businesses owe their success to size, consistency of products and service, and impeccable business systems. Because of those things, they can afford to charge less than other restaurants. They don't advertise "good" food, they advertise that it's "cheap, fast and always the same". You don't walk around with pride that you eat there, in fact you may eat there despite your best judgement. They often mention the newest deal or special. Low price is very important in this style.

Armani, on the other hand, doesn't mass-produce the same way. They don't advertise price, they advertise the "value" of the purchase. People buy Armani suits because of image (ie. "If I have an Armani suit, I look rich and successful") and because of lasting value. A Walmart-bought suit may be much cheaper but it also falls apart after the first wash. An Armani suit may in fact be a better buy in the long term.

When you are marketing your business or yourself in job interviews, know which style you want to use to market. In the "quantity" based selling, you will attract more customers, more easily. The price you pay for selling this way is that the loyalty of your customers goes only as far as your lowest price. As soon as a bigger competitor offers a better deal, your customers are gone. Also, you may work longer hours without the rewards.

In the "quality" based selling, it will likely take more time to find your customers or a job that fits. Also, you will need to spend more time on positioning your services as uniquely valuable. The good thing is that you are seen as a partner to your customers and it is difficult to replace you. You will have a far higher customer loyalty and likely a high satisfaction level, too.

© Pavla Michaela Polcarova

What Does Your Gut Say?

Don, a computer programmer and amateur saxophonist, spent the better part of a year driving his long-suffering family all over the Midwest in search of the perfect replacement for his aging horn. After a particularly memorable trip involving carsick twins and pursuit by an outraged Rottweiler, his wife finally demanded he buy a sax, any sax, or he and his old horn would end up sharing a rented room with a hot plate.

Michelle, a statistics professor, is the go-to gal when her friends are in the market for anything from a microwave to a labradoodle-because whatever it is, she's exhaustively researched it. Ironically, Michelle rarely buys anything herself-in fact, her dishwasher bit the dust three months ago, but she just can't commit to a new one when she suspects that with just a little more digging, she'll nail down the perfect choice.

Lisa, an engineer for a major consumer products firm, was among several staffers tasked to determine whether musical disposable diapers could be the Next Big Thing. She spent five days detailing every possible reason why the product was too impractical and expensive to manufacture (not to mention just plain annoying). She also put in overtime computing exactly how much money it would lose over the course of the next fiscal year. In the meantime, one of her colleagues gave her boss the yes-or-no answer he was really looking for after just one day.

Don, Michelle, and Lisa are born researchers-and in their chosen careers, their passion for digging deep often serves them well. But when decisions need to be made on the fly or with limited information, they choke. Kathy Kolbe, a pioneering researcher in the study of action and decision-making, calls people like this Fact Finders: those who are only comfortable taking action when all available data has been gathered and weighed.
Kolbe's deceptively simple online questionnaire (www.kolbe.com) identifies four different action styles: Fact Finders, or the researchers and engineers of the world; Quick Starts, who think fast on their feet and make their best decisions intuitively; Follow Throughs, natural organizers whose spice racks are alphabetized; and Implementors, who think best when working hands-on in 3-D.

The two biggest takeaways from Kolbe's research are these: that no one style is superior to any other, and that we all have some degree of capability in each of the four categories. Even the most impetuous Quick Start has some organizational skills, although they may not believe that filing cabinets and flow charts are their friends. Similarly, even off-the-chart Fact Finders have gut instincts, although they may not be able to hear or trust them.

But by learning to tune in to those faint intuitive cries, a Fact Finder can gain forward momentum. Note: listening to your intuition doesn't mean going with the first stray thought that drifts, cloudlike, through your head. It means using gut instinct as a starting place, then selectively researching until you have just enough information to confirm or contradict your original hypothesis.

It's hard to hear your inner voice if you drown it out with the "noise" of too much information. Before you start researching a decision, take a moment to imagine that you already know the answer. Hearing what you already know may be as simple as paying attention to your body as you consider the alternatives.

If you're trying to decide between vacationing in Mexico or Las Vegas, mentally try on each experience and do a quick body scan. Are your muscles loose and relaxed? Are you shoulders beginning to creep up around your ears? Are you clenching your teeth, or holding your breath? It's relatively easy to trick your brain into believing you want something you don't; it's much harder to get your body on board with a decision that just feels intuitively wrong.

Once you've learned to hear your intuitive self, it may still take some time before you're ready to trust it-and that's okay. If your son had just gotten his license, you probably wouldn't hand him your car keys and send him on a cross-country road trip. You'd help him build his skills-and our trust-on smaller excursions, like a drive to the store.

Similarly, begin earning your own trust by going with your gut on small decisions whose outcomes are of minimal consequence: Paper or plastic? Chinese or Thai? Try seeing a movie that sounds intriguing without reading any reviews, or buying a book because you something about the title or the subject resonates with you. In other words, let your intuition take the wheel one short trip at a time, until you develop some sense that it can handle the open road.

If you're having trouble going it alone, team up. Think of people you know who are excitable, talk quickly, have big ideas, and get bored easily. These are the Quick Starts of the world, and when you're trying to make a fast decision, they can be your best friends. Their Quick Start energy will give you a kick in the pants; your Fact Finder sensibilities will keep them from running amok.

By listening to his gut-and the sound of each sax he was checking out-Don probably could have found a great sax in two months instead of ten. By leading with her intuition, Michelle could have focused on two or three brands, made a decision, and be happily loading her new dishwasher instead of lamenting her dishpan hands. By brainstorming with a colleague, Lisa might have had the courage to go with the little voice screaming that musical diapers were non-starters, and have spent one day confirming her hypothesis instead of five days compiling data her supervisors didn't want or need.

So the next time you find yourself unable to make a decision and drowning in input, consider these words from Jonas Salk, creator of the polio vaccine, and doubtless a solid Fact Finder: "Intuition will tell the thinking mind where to look next."

In other words, what does your gut say?

By Laura McReynolds

PestaShop For Stand Alone Websites - It's FREE!

PrestaShop is an interesting, relatively new open-source software for you to create your own stand alone website. They just released 1.3.0 Beta but if you are going to use this software, use the previous version, 1.2.5. They are still working out the bugs in the 1.3.0.

We haven't officially started tinkering with this software yet but we have read many reviews on it. Most people state how easy it is to implement. If you have issues, you can always go to PrestaShop forums for help. It is a lively community with plenty of helpful people around. There are even some members who are willing to set up your shop for you at a reasonable cost.

We are going to use PrestaShop for our newest store.

PrestaShop also offers stores on their website for a fee. We haven't considered that option but the information on that topic is as follows:

Prestabox is a turnkey e-shop that you can set up in 10 minutes. Don't pay attention to the technical side, just sell. Hosting on high performance servers.

Just fill your shop name in the field and follow instructions. Customize your e-store with all PrestaShop included features.

Change graphical appearance, fill your products in your catalog, create promotions, optimize SEO and etc... When your catalog is ready, open your shop and make your first sales! Follow and track your customers with complete statistics built-in tools to optimize your e-shop to sell more and more!

Start at 1% of your sales and a minimum of 15€ from the 10th month.

PrestaShop™ is a professional e-Commerce shopping cart software that you can download and use for free.
The big advantage of open-source software: you're never 'locked' to expensive commercial software.

Our dedicated team and growing user community join forces to fix bugs and add new functionality at a rate proprietary software companies can rarely claim. Join the Open Source revolution!

Shop owners appreciate PrestaShop's easy-to-use Back Office tool for adding and fine-tuning their storefronts (Front Office). With new & sophisticated Back-Office functionality added regularly, shop owners don't need to rely on others to make their Front Office look and act the way they want it to.

Developers appreciate the clean structure of PrestaShop code that they can easily adapt to their client's needs for quick turn-around. Thanks to its use of CSS and transplantable module blocks, the PrestaShop e-Commerce Solution can be customized for small or medium-sized businesses working within tight deadlines.

Despite its technical sophistication and advanced functionality, the PrestaShop e-Commerce Solution is very light (around 6 MB not including translation files), so it's easy to download, install, and update.

PrestaShop is so lightweight and speedy, even customers with slow connection speeds will enjoy buying from you!

On the Web, appearances matter. In many cases, you really can judge a Website by its cover!

The PrestaShop e-Commerce Solution was built to take advantage of essential Web 2.0 innovations such as dynamic AJAX-powered features and next-generation ergonomy. PrestaShop guides users through your product catalog intelligently and effortlessly, turning intrigued visitors into paying customers.

FEATURES:

Front Office - Your website that the pulic sees

Special deals (price reductions, gift vouchers)
Featured products on homepage
Top sellers on homepage
New items on homepage
'Free shipping' offers
Cross-selling (Accessories)
Product image zoom
Order out-of-stock items
Customer subscription & user accounts
Unlimited payment methods
Payment by bank wire
Google™ Checkout module
Cash-On-Delivery (COD)
Preconfigured for Paypal™
Multiple-recipient contact form
Product tagging & tag cloud
Search
Merchandise return (RMAs) & credit slips
Package tracking
Offer gift-wrapping & recycled packaging
PDF customer invoice
Shopping Cart recall
Sale of services & virtual goods
Custom Favicon
RSS feed
Newsletter opt-in
'Pick up in-store' option
Customized product (text and images)
Wishlist
Loyal customer program
Affiliate program
Sponsor-a-friend benefit program
Customer product reviews

Back Office - The administrative area of your site

Unlimited categories & subcategories
Full-featured WYSIWYG text editor
Unlimited product attribute combinations
Unlimited product specs
Unlimited images with automatic resizing & file optimization
Unlimited currencies
Unlimited tax settings
Unlimited carriers & destinations
Tax by state, country, both, zones, or no taxes
Digressive pricing (Quantity discounts)
Real-time currency exchange rates
Inventory management
SMS/Text-message alerts
Add/delete function modules
Bar codes
Contextual help
Attribute Combo Generator
Delivery status notification e-mails (customizable)
Unlimited languages & dialects
Import/export language translations
13 default language translations
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Friendly URLs / Permalinks
100% modifiable graphic themes
Back Office users & permissions (ACL )
Maintenance Mode
Minimum order amount
Newsletter contact export
Alias search
Bulk lister/import .CSV files
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption
Visitors online
Content Management System (CMS)
Reports
Customer groups

COMING SOON:

Product comparison
Advanced search
FAQ module
Multiple Shops
Printable shipping label
1-click purchase
Per-item shipping cost
Download catalog as PDF
Export products as .CSV file

Click here to go to the PrestaShop website.

Atomic Mall Announces "Cart Offers"

On 02-17-2010, Atomic Mall's new Cart Offer system went live, allowing shoppers to fill their carts with multiple items from a seller's store, then submit an offer for the entire bundle! Previously, buyers wanting to negotiate pricing on multiple store items had to send individual offers on each item, and then complete separate checkouts for each approved offer. Now the entire process is wrapped up into a single neat transaction, saving valuable time and allowing shoppers to leverage the power of bulk-lot buying to secure great deals.

NOTE: All graphics submitted below are clickable to enlarge them for better viewing.

Making a Cart Offer is a simple process:

1. Buyer selects an Offers-enabled item and adds it to the cart:


2. Buyer adds additional items from the same Seller. If the seller has enabled offers on all the items, the "Cart Offers" graphic will display, alerting the shopper that they may submit an offer for the lot:


3. Clicking the image transfers the Buyer to the Cart Offer entry page, showing the cart items along with their asking prices and respective shipping fees. If the Seller has a combined shipping discount set, this discount is reflected in the totals shown. The Buyer may then enter an offer for a lower purchase price on the entire cart:


4. Buyer is given a final review page, and clicks the "Confirm" button to lock in the offer, sending it to the Seller:


5. The final confirmation screen appears, and the Seller immediately receives the offer with complete details of the items and prices involved - both as an email notice and an account alert:


At this point the Seller can accept the offer, decline it, or send a counteroffer back to the Buyer. If the offer is ultimately accepted, the Buyer is provided with a unique url to complete the purchase at the newly negotiated price.

You Are Much More Than Your “Job” by Jane Powell

"Your skills, talents and expertise are everywhere.”

At work, it’s easy for your valuable skills and knowledge to shine. But, the truth is, your abilities and expertise reach beyond your work.

Your emotional, intellectual, social and organizational skills are just as valuable as your work-related skills. These are skills and talents developed along the rough road of life. Don’t discount them. Cherish and nourish these skills; you’ll gain a stronger sense of balance among all the demands of your day.

Remember, happiness and satisfaction surround you when your wisdom is treasured, whether it’s work related or not.

Black Hills Gold Jewelry By Coleman

About Black Hills Gold Jewerly By Coleman

Black Hills Gold Jewelry by Coleman was founded in 1977 and is located on the south edge of Rapid City on your way through the majestic Black Hills of South Dakota USA. They are known as the world's largest producer and supplier of Black Hills Gold Jewelry. This notable distinction is attributed to their large assortment of attractive designs and guaranteed satisfaction.

Manufacturing:

While many customers might believe that the name "Black Hills Gold Jewelry" denotes a certain type of mined gold, it actually refers to the design of the jewelry. Based on the legend, Black Hills Gold features grape leaves, grape clusters and grapevines in a tri-color motif of green, rose and yellow gold. The distinctive green and rose gold colors are created by adding silver and copper alloys to yellow gold. By Federal mandate, this style of jewelry must be manufactured in the Black Hills of South Dakota in order to carry the name "Black Hills Gold Jewelry."


Every new design begins with detailed sketches, and the handcrafting of a master wax model by skilled artisans. Next, a silver model and production models are created. A sturdy rubber mold is then made which allows for the reproduction of a design many times over. Each rubber mold is pressure injected with hot molten wax. Cooled wax designs are fused to a tree which is placed in a stainless steel can. Liquid plaster of Paris is poured into the cans, surrounding the wax trees. After the plaster is set, the cans are stacked in a kiln for an overnight burnout cycle where the plaster hardens and the wax is completely melted. Hence, this type of burnout is termed, "the lost wax process."


Next, the cavities in the plaster, left by the melted wax, are carefully filled with a mixture of melted gold and alloy. When the gold cools and hardens, the plaster is knocked away and the cast gold designs are cut from each tree. These jewelry designs are then tumbled for an initial polishing. Component leaves are wriggled in a special technique to create a frosty finish and engraved with cuts to add a shimmering look. Leaves, grapes and other findings or jewelry elements are then soldered to the cast design in a soldering oven. Once all of the gold components are soldered in place, the jewelry is tumbled again for additional polishing.


Coleman takes pride in the fact that their jewelry is not flashed with a gold plating. Rather, they commit great time to the polishing and buffing stages in order to enhance the natural karat gold sheen that is more appealing to customers. After the polishing and buffing stages, each piece of jewelry is meticulously cleaned and subsequently coated with a special solution to preserve its beauty. Finally, precious and semiprecious stones are set as the original design determines.


Absolutely no jewelry is released until it has been inspected by artisans specifically trained in identifying even the most minute imperfection that would prevent it from meeting our tight quality standards.

Black Hills Gold Jewelry by Coleman proudly provides a lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.

Jewelry Specifications

Jewelry is 10K gold or sterling silver with 12K leaves, 12K roses and 10K grapes unless otherwise denoted. Coleman Black Hills Gold Jewelry is nickel free.

Lockets are 1/20 14K gold-filled or sterling silver with 12K leaves, 12K roses and 10K grapes.

Bangles are 7" in diameter and are 1/20 14K gold-filled or sterling silver with 12K leaves, 12K roses and 10K grapes.

Bracelets and clasps are 10K or sterling silver with 12K leaves, 12K roses and 10K grapes unless otherwise denoted. Bracelet links can be removed or added for an additional fee. Please inquire.

A complimentary, 18", 1/20 14K gold-filled chain or sterling silver chain is included with each pendant unless otherwise denoted.

A complimentary 20", 1/20 14K gold-filled chain or sterling silver chain is included with each locket.

Necklaces with attached chains are approximately 18" in total length.

Money clips and some watches are black powder coated or plated base metal with 12K leaves and 10K grapes.

Just For You Auctions Offers 12 Months Free Use

There's a great offer that you may want to look into at one of the up and coming sites, Just For You Auctions. Looks like a fantastic offer to check out.

From their site:

More than Sixty Stores Take Advantage of Free 12-Month Offer at J4UA.com

'Rethinking Retail' Growing Sales Venue Records over 1,000,000 Site Visits in January

Just 4 You Auctions launched its seller-operated sales venue in November, 2009. The site was conceived by online sellers interested in rethinking retail online. Most of the early store operators have successful experience selling on other online sales and auction sites, but longed to have greater control of the sales situation in addition to a high standard for honesty and cordiality. The site is SSL certified, and secure sales online and offline take place without the site owner ever having access to Buyers' credit card or other contact information.

The site operators and sellers are committed to secure transactions, and the protections offered to any credit card or third-party payment recipient (such as PayPal) extend to protect both sellers and buyers on the site. Self-policed members, the site's focus is sales rather than social networking. The pay-as-you-go attitude extends to members prioritizing security over visuals -- and though the site's visual elements are still fairly basic, the security and quality of vendors is first rate.

Free stores continue to be available by contacting Support@J4UA.com. Be sure to mention whether you wish to have a storefront without fees, or to be an individual items seller. Sellers may choose to run auctions or to sell fixed price and 'best offer' only. Sellers and buyers are free to contact one another about sales. Because sellers pay no listing or final value fees, prices on most items run 10% to 20% lower than those seen Elsewhere.

We know spring will come. We're waiting for you!

What I Learned About My Friends

No matter how old a person is and no matter what venue they operate in, there are people along the way that become friends.

During our little time out, we learned lessons about who our loyal friends are. No, we are not in grade school or high school but even as adults, we seem to go through these cycles where we have to be reminded that things are not always as they seem.

It broke our hearts when some of those who we thought were our friends turned their backs on us, some have yet to check to see why we were gone and so on but the friends that really hurt our feelings were the friends that stabbed us in the back. That's ok though, we now know who the imposters are.

We are so very thankful for the friends that have always been here for us and for those that have been loyal to us through thick and thin. Those are the friends that we will always trust and stand beside. We will also be there for you if / when you ever need us.

Thank you to those who have been true friends to us!

Hey! Are you Buzzin'? You Should Be...

Google has come out with another great product and this one could give Twitter a serious run for it's money.

This product is called Google Buzz.

I have only been involved with it for 2 days but I can already see that it is much more efficient than many of the other social tools available.

You need a GMail account to use it and Buzz is completely integrated into GMail. This means that you don't have to go to other sites to access it if you are already in your GMail account.

You can import your Twitter contacts through this link:
http://tw2buzz.com/

There's a ton more cool stuff you can do.

Here's a video offered by Google Buzz:



You can follow us on Google Buzz at dakotagold1@gmail.com or you can click here to read our profile and / or follow us from there.

Hope to see you buzzin' real soon!