Business Emphasizing Educational Opportunities

We all are aware of how fast our informational environment is changing. It is difficult for many of us to look back on our lives and see how information has exploded. For instance, the average physician knows that the knowledge he or she has today will be either irrelevant or out dated in seven years . In other words, medical knowledge doubles every seven years.
All we have to do is to hear the news to inform us how our American students score below students in other advanced economies. This information uses every measurable method to evaluate achievement . This is disappointing as we spend more per student than any other country in the world. The results are that high school students are less prepared for college. Fewer than half of them will be able to achieve a degree in four years, and 28 percent of them will have to take remedial math and English.
Because of these deficits, many parents are seeking help for their children so that they can make up for the deficits that they have upon graduating from the public school system. In the past this extra tutoring has been done in the home by an on site tutor. In today's information age, there is a great demand for online tutoring. These parents are seeking help for their children so that they can meet the demands of passing tests and courses. The ultimate goal is for them to be adequately educated for a competitive job market.
Because the information age is changing so fast, adults also have a demand for ongoing education. It is estimated that only one in five adults in America have the work skills and education to be competitive in the world economy. The speed of change in technology and service to technology will require continuing educational resources. In order to keep up with these changes, we need to develop a desire for life long learning so that we can remain economically viable.
The above discussed needs provide the basis for a home business based on information. Many times after a student completes a college or university course, they realize that they want to learn more. They will then seek a resource for a tutor to continue the learning process. This consulting and teaching can take the form of as many ideas that you can think of including technical writing, photography, home improvements, cooking etc. This training is increasingly becoming an internet phenomenon which provides a grand opportunity for a home based business. This e-learning can include ideas such as professional trainers, tutors, and even designing eline software.
There can be no doubt in any of our minds that the demand for new knowledge will be ever increasing. Every generation will learn more at a younger age than did the generation before them. For those of you that are looking for a nice opportunity to combine information and education in a home based business, this should be more than challenging. May you achieve success in your endeavors.
Word verification for the day:What is the reason we call a gratuity a "tip"?In the past in English pubs it was customary to drop a coin for the benefit of the waiters into a box on the wall. On the box was a little sign that said "to insure promptness". Later just the initials of the phrase were put on the box--TIP.

Education Key in Slowing Laptop

Corporations spend billions of dollars each year repeating the same message over and over. It's called advertising and it works. A similar approach, according to a recent Processor story, stands the best chance of slowing the never ending tide of stolen laptops: Keep telling employees that they have to guard their machines, and keep telling them how to do it.
Security, of course, is not at the forefront of every employee's mind. Indeed, people take dumb chances. They leave machines unattended when they go to the rest room in a public venue. They leave them lying on the front seat of an unlocked car when they run into a store. The theme of the Processor piece is that continually drilling best practices and corporate policies into the heads of employees may gradually mitigate this behavior. It's important because the problem is so big: The Safeware Insurance Agency reports that more than 600,000 machines are stolen annually. About $5.4 billion in proprietary information is lost, and 97 percent of the purloined machines are lost forever.
The story also provides advice on issues tangentially related to stopping theft, such as the importance of management systems to track machines and the use of strong passwords and other strategies to thwart criminals when they do succeed in stealing the machines.
The problem of companies not even knowing if a machine is lost or stolen goes hand-in-hand with theft prevention. The centerpiece of a recent Canadian Technology News story is a study by Absolute Software that spotlights some disturbing malfeasance by respondents: 62 percent say that missing computers aren't even noticed and another 20 percent say that nothing is done about breaches.
Innovative tools are available, however. The bulk of the piece describes how Absolute Software tracks, manages and recovers wayward computers. The story provides a common-sense rationale for use of such software: Regardless of the impact it has on outside criminals, it is certain to chill internal theft simply because employees will know that it is there.
This PC World story reports on a product that is available in the UK. It is a modern-day equivalent of the prologue from the old Mission: Impossible television show, in which the tape detailing the ridiculous assignment Jim and the gang will pull off in 60 minutes (minus commercials) starts burning seconds after delivery its message. In this case, Virtuity's BackStopp will wipe data off hard disks if the machine is taken from an unauthorized area. The surveillance is done via the Internet, Wi-Fi or Global System for Mobile communication or radio frequency identification if the laptop is turned off.
The story adds that if a machine has a Webcam, it can be instructed to take a picture of the presumptive thief and transmit it to the central office. The data destruction procedures, which meet standards set by the U.S. Department of Defense's National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual, occur without alerting the thief.
A somewhat similar initiative, this one in India, is Locate Laptop from Unistal Systems. The software reports its location whenever it logs on. Thus, the owner or his or her company visit a Web portal to get a fix on a stolen machine. The IT Nerd provides a lot of useful links: iAlertU, Laptop Alarm, Lojack For Laptops and, for physically securing a laptop, Kensington Cable. The writer concludes that the best way to stop laptop theft is cutting down the amount of time the machine is left unattended.
There is good news and bad news in all this. The good news is that there is a lot of technology aimed at securing, managing, finding and, when necessary, disabling laptops. The bad news is that there are many people stealing laptops - and many corporate workers who are not paying attention.

A Prescription From The PR Doctor To Become Positive Headline News

Publicity is an essential ingredient in any integrated marketing communications plan. Positive public relations are very important to all businesses and require a dedicated strategic thinking effort to achieve the desired results. The impact of media coverage and positive media headlines can mean an enhancement of your company and your individual image in the communities and the markets where you do business.
The PR Doctor has developed a prescription for you to use to become positive headline news. The prescription includes the following ten (10) prescribed strategic actions.
#1: Always have something newsworthy to say. If you want to be a positive headliner and be part of a good interview, then you need to emphasize the strengths of your company and what differentiates you from others in the business sector. You also need to have some quotable aspect of your business to get reporters attention.
#2: Develop good solid opinions and share them with confidence. The media loves to quote people who are willing to share opinions on controversial issues, make predictions about their industry, take risks and exhibit confidence. And these quotes can turn into positive headlines.
#3: Speak with authority. Share your knowledge. Positive headliners will develop a reputation as an authority on their industry, business sector or a particular subject. They will do this by speaking at various business forums, including professional societies, seminars, workshops, chambers of commerce and other business forums.
#4: Develop a positive personality. Think of the positive headliners who grab the most media attention. One of the most important things they have in common is charisma. And their charisma helps them educate reporters without delivering what sounds like a "canned" sales pitch.
#5: Develop a position of authority or expertise with the media. Positive headliners become leaders in their field by sharing their knowledge with the media. Reporters want to gain access to experts to quote, and therefore positive headliners achieve credible exposure in the media.
#6: Interpret news events. Positive headliners think on a "big picture" but they speak on a narrow "snapshot" focus. They issue news releases, write letters to editors or otherwise contact trade and business media to offer insight into business and economic developments. For example, how will the recent increase in minimum wage impact your business?
#7: Always display the highest level of good business etiquette. Positive headliners who are often quoted in the media are those who treat reporters with courtesy. They are on time for interviews, return phone calls and e-mails quickly and thank reporters for their time.
#8: Build positive relationships and credibility with the media. Media-savvy positive headliners establish rapport with the best and most highly regarded business editors and reporters just as they do with their key customers. They develop a relationship by meeting and talking with them frequently to determine what they need - and then they respond with interesting and valuable information or with access to requested people to meet those needs.
#9: Always think before you speak. Although it is essential to build relationships with reporters, positive headliners know they must carefully consider every word they say. It is important to remember that any damaging quote is worse than no quote at all.
#10: Be available. You must understand that media relations are all about the media deadlines. A reporter cannot postpone deadlines, which means positive headliners who want media attention must work around critical deadlines and editorial schedules and be willing to respond after hours or even on vacation.
The PR Doctor encourages you to develop a plan to gain positive headline news for you and your business.

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, "Glenn's Guiding Lines - Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach" and has published more than 325 articles on business.

Reasons to Seek the Latest Breast Augmentation News

If you plan to get breast augmentation surgery, you should first make sure you are updated on the latest information available. Your doctor should be aware of the most recent facts, but you cannot always count on this. It is a good idea to study some of the most recent breakthroughs in this field before you get surgery.
You need to know what all of your options are. They tend to change over the years, and you have a lot of decisions to make. For example, sometimes new incision locations or techniques are discovered. In addition, new implant materials may be created. This does not necessarily mean that the old options are now bad, but just that you have more choices. You could be missing out on the best option for your body if you ignore some of the most recent discoveries regarding breast augmentation, which is why you should stay on top of news stories on this subject while considering the surgery.
In some cases, recent discoveries show that certain techniques and materials could be bad for you. For example, silicone was considered unsafe for quite some time, several years ago. Though it has been vindicated since then, and is rather popular now, it would have been nerve-wracking to have gotten this type of implant put in shortly after the news of its dangers was released. Not all doctors stay up-to-date, and even when they do, they might not think there is anything wrong with using outdated or even questionable techniques or materials. You should be an advocate for yourself and make sure your breast augmentation procedure is completed with only the best methods and materials.
In addition, you will find out a little more about your doctor when you mention the most updated information to him or her. If you get a blank look or she does not believe you when you mention the newest facts, you know the doctor does not obtain continuing education. This can be a red flag, and you should look for another doctor who does pay attention to the latest news in this industry. In this way, staying updated can help you find the best practitioner for your breast augmentation.
You can easily get updates by searching news sites or even having alerts set up to tell you when this type of surgery is mentioned. This ensures that you get the latest information possible. This industry is constantly evolving, so it makes sense to keep up with the most recent news regarding the surgery you want.

Education While You're Still Paying for Yours

One of the biggest fears of our clients with children is that they will still be paying off their own student loans when it's time to start paying for their kids to go to college.

If you use what I'm about to teach you, you can be a hero to your kids by pre-funding their college education and at the same time relieve your stress by paying down your own student loans faster. If you don't use what I'm about to teach you, you could end up living every parent's worst college nightmare, the 11th hour crisis to find the money for college as they struggle to pay back their own student loans.

Common sense tells us that the more goals we are saving for the less we can contribute to each goal. For example, if you have $1,000 each month to put toward your financial goals and you have 10 goals in total, that equals $100 allocated toward each goal right? And if you only have 2 goals you can now save $500 toward each goal. Pretty simple stuff here but the point is, there's only so much money to go around unless you start thinking outside of the box. As you know, the real problem is that student loan debt payments take up such a large portion of your monthly income that there's a big challenge in finding the money to pay bills, loans, housing expenses, save for your retirement and college for your kids. As a result, most families end up sacrificing one or several goals in order to meet others.

There is help, and it's closer than you think

What if you could get friends and family to help you build your children's college fund? Grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, brothers and sisters, even friends and colleagues, anyone you know can help build the account. All you need are two things to get started: a 529 college savings plan and a 529 plan registry.

The 529 plan

State sponsored college savings plans or 529 plans are named after the section of the tax code that provides for their favorable tax treatment. The 529 plan is an investment account that was designed to help pay for future qualified education expenses including tuition, books, supplies, equipment, and room and board.

There are lots of benefits to using a 529 plan for college savings among them are:

1. Tax benefits - Money going into the plan is after-tax but earnings accrue tax-deferred and distributions made to pay the beneficiaries college costs are federal tax-free. Some states also offer similar tax benefits. Added bonus; there is no tax reporting until the year in which you began taking withdrawals.

2. You retain control of the funds - With very few exceptions, the beneficiary has no rights to the funds. You own the account and you decide when withdrawals are taken and for what purpose. This helps you avoid the Harley versus Harvard dilemma where your kid decides he would rather buy a Harley and see the country than spend four years at Harvard. And if the Harley versus Harvard dilemma does come up you can always change the beneficiary of the account to another child or even yourself if you plan to further your own education.

3. Easy to manage - Once you decide which plan to use, fill out the enrollment paperwork, and make your contributions, the professional managers take over and handle the day-to-day management of the investments for you.

4. Flexible - In most programs you can change investment options, roll over into a different state's plan, or change beneficiaries. You have many options to make sure that the plan remains the best fit for you and your children.

5. Large deposits are allowed - In many state plans contributions of up to $300,000 are permitted.

The 529 plan registry: supercharging your 529 plan

The control, tax benefits, and flexibility of 529 plans are great but if you really want to supercharge the value of the 529 plan, you need to get others to help you fund it and that's where the 529 plan registry comes in.

Once you enroll in a 529 plan you can go to a 529 plan registry website like  that connects friends and family with your child's college fund. A 529 plan registry is similar to a gift registry that you may be familiar with from weddings and baby showers. Here you can sign up and connect with friends and family who can go to a personalized registry page to make a gift donation for your child's college education fund.

There are lots of benefits to using a 529 plan registry for college savings, here are some of the benefits of Freshman Fund:

1. You get a customized webpage - Where friends and family can go to make donations at anytime.

2. The account is free to set up - However, contributions are assessed a small service charge.

3. It's easy to share and get the word out - You have the option of importing your Yahoo, Gmail, Linkedin, or other address book contact information so you can notify those people in your network who might be interested in helping you fund your children's college education.

4. Your children's privacy is protected - Privacy is a big issue and Freshman Fund has a detailed privacy policy that you can view. You have the option to restrict who can view your child's pages and limit viewing only to signed-in users and not the entire internet. And unlike Facebook, if you ever decide to completely delete your child's profile, you can do so.

How do you get started?

The best part is that you can get started in four simple steps:

1. Visit: SavingForCollege.com and select a 529 plan - Here you will be able to get all of your college savings questions answered and select which 529 plan is best for you.

2. Enroll in the 529 plan you have selected - Complete the enrollment process.

3. Visit: FreshmanFund.com - And Sign-up.

4. Get the word out - Use the tools on Freshman Fund's website to customize your friend and family greetings and invite them to help you build a strong financial foundation for your children's future education. Be creative and have fun. There are many ways to share this news, birthdays, holidays, special events, the more you can engage your network the more savings will pour in.

Get the Scoop From a Top Reverse Mortgage Blog

While reverse mortgages sometimes make headlines, consumers can rarely find up-to-date information in their favorite newspapers and magazines. To make up for the lack of mainstream news, seniors can get the latest information by following a reverse mortgage blog. For those who have fallen behind on their favorite reverse mortgage blog, here is the latest news that has the mortgage industry buzzing.
Are Financial Experts Finally Realizing the Full Benefits of Reverse Mortgages?
It is no secret that reverse mortgages have many critics. When Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) first became available in the late 1980's, several lenders did adopt some questionable practices. However, as these loans have matured, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has tightened their regulations. The days when lenders could take advantage of their borrowers are long since over. Unfortunately, it has taken a long time for the industry to shake its negative reputation.
The good news is that the industry is finally starting to get the recognition it deserves. While these loans are not meant to take the place of traditional retirement planning, many esteemed organizations, including the National Council on Aging, now work to educate seniors on these loans.
As many adults are acutely aware, the recent downturn in the economy has impacted retirees' assets and made it harder to save for retirement. An article released by Investment News, an online news source for financial planners, reported that "reverse mortgages should be considered as a very valuable retirement tool by financial advisers of all types." While there will always be critics, many blog owners are noticing this well-deserved change in attitude.
Reverse Mortgage Blog Owners Discuss Possible New Loan Products
Many blogs are also reporting that new loan products might be released in upcoming months. Currently, FHA has extended their $625,500 maximum claim limit on HECMs through 2012. Still, as home values continue to rise, the demand for jumbo propriety loans might also increase. This has reverse mortgage blog owners predicting that a new jumbo product will be released within the year.
However, people interested in a propriety loan should be aware of a few different things. First, these loans will not be insured by the federal government. Since these loans are not insured, it is likely that borrowers will be required to have a great deal of equity in their home to qualify. Still, if and when this product is released, it will be interesting to see how these loans differ from HECMs.
Another interesting piece of information predicted in several reverse mortgage blogs is that one major lender has proposed the idea of using the HECM Saver as a tool to be used by seniors who are not yet eligible for Social Security. While waiting for Social Security benefits, seniors would draw income from a line of credit made available through the HECM Saver. In theory, this would give seniors a low-cost way to turn their home equity into a source of income; thus allowing seniors to wait to claim benefits until they reach full retirement age, which would increase their benefits in the future. Regardless of whether this idea becomes a reality, the constant plans for new products prove that the industry is one driven by innovation and continued development.

There's Bad News And Good News About Weight Loss: Learn How To Diet Now

Good news, bad news. Let's start with the bad. Studies show that when we are overweight or obese we are at greater risk of developing serious illness associated with weight.
Good news? Studies also show that losing only five or ten percent of your body weight will improve your health! Let's put numbers to that. Let's say you weight 200 pounds and the doctor told you that you need to lose 60 pounds. If you lose ten pounds (a mere five percent of your body weight) you will reduce your risk of weight related illnesses dramatically. That's very good news indeed.
So how do we go about losing even ten pounds? Let's look at a few ideas:
• Educate yourself: Information is power. Learn what kinds of foods you should eat and which exercises will benefit you the most (without the exercise taking on a life of its own!).
• Set a realistic goal. Once you decide to start a weight loss program it's easy to become too enthusiastic in goal setting. If you resolve to lose 10 pounds in a week, "it ain't gonna happen". You will be setting yourself up for failure because a big part of that weight loss would be water loss, and the rest of loss would result from such a strict regimen that it is not even healthy for you and it is certainly not a program you are going to keep up. Aim for one or two pounds per week. That's the kind of loss that will "stay lost".
• Exercise every day. Include simple items such as using the stairs instead of the elevator, walking for fifteen to thirty minutes after lunch (and after dinner if you can), play with the kids or the dog, garden, join an exercise class. Figure out what you will be able to stick to and then get started.
• Reduce the amount of all food you take into your mouth...right now. Statistics show us that we're eating two or even three times the amount of food we need. I won't tell you how much to cut your own intake by, you do that. You know how much you really need. (If you weight too much, you're eating more than you need...period.)
• Eliminate drinks that are sweetened with sugar. They are dead and useless calories. (They can easily cause a weight gain of fifteen pounds per year!)
• Get rid of high fat, high sugar, high salt snacks that are sitting around wistfully calling your name. Substitute fruit and vegetable chunks, low fat dips (if you really need a dip), whole wheat crackers, reduced fat cheese chunks, light yogurt...if these foods are available (and "the others" are not), you will be well on your way toward the weight loss you desire.

Sue Bristol, R.N. advises you how to diet safely