In-Tune News You’ll Want To Use

Very early on in life I gained a healthy respect for an extremely simple yet ’sofa’ comfortable piece of plastic mould, a feature that is found in most houses, public places, restaurants and in trains, planes and larger sized all-in-one camper vans! It was the toilet seat.

In times gone by (during the darker years) there were no toilet seats and people had to either suffer soil rash or chill waves from the iced up ceramic pot! Then a new day dawned and life improved immeasurably, first of wood and then of plastic the toilet seat arrived on planet earth and was here to stay! Formed, holy and curvaceous: white, cream or liberally embedded with imitation piranha fish, barbed wire or flowers - none of which go with the flow! Whatever trend, statement or poor sense of owner’s humor these seats take after they are without doubt one of the most comfortable seats to find oneself sitting on and it is thus with wonder that airplane seats or McDonalds plastic bucket chairs are not fashioned around the delightful and often attractive comfort of a toilet bowl?

Despite the all pervasive comforts of the bum rest, my healthy respect is not formed from the many comfortable seats that my cheeks have rested on or a result of anything sordid or degrading but gained from using a single toilet with ten sisters for most of my informative years! I am the youngest of the gaggle: so there was no way out, no commode to hide in! I was basically scuppered from day one; as soon as I was able to raise that toilet lid and place my pecker beneath my sisters had it in for me! The argument or battle invariably revolved around the raising and lowering of the seat! They wanted it permanently down and I just kept on forgetting to lower it after having splashed and splattered freely from my stance.

In fact with so many sisters it was very hard to butt into any conversation and thus I was always being given the bums rush whether the problem was about toilet seats or not. My arguments were constantly flushed away, there was no bottom to my sister’s attitudes in dealing with my habits, so I often took my feelings to the closet were I would lick my wounds quietly!

There was basically no chance for me as regards the toilet seat and although it took many years to ‘wipe me clean’ I eventually and partially subconsciously came around to their way of wanting things! I lifted the toilet seat up when I needed to pee and I put it back down again after I had finished! They had the pleasure of having the mould awaiting their eager behinds without having to lean over and pull down the offending seat first!

At the age of twenty-two I stepped out into the world to experience life outside, leaving all the bull…. behind! I took with me that healthy respect of toilet seats and woman and everywhere that I went those toilet seats went back down. Yep, my sisters had won that **** fight!

But life is not so simple! I am now fifty-five and have just been made privy to some startling ****-stirring **** that has shocked me to the very cheeks of my buttocks! I live in Beijing, having resided here for twenty years, and for all that time I have continued without fail to lower seats behind me every where that I go! Every seat that I have had the pleasure of pleasuring the underside of gets lowered back to the horizontal so that any woman following after can conveniently get down to business without first having to reflect on the selfishness of man.

But my once tolerant wife can no longer keep it in. She has started to become irritable, I can’t leave my pipe on the mantelpiece, can’t wear my shoes inside and the latest one of “lift the toilet seat up when finished”, has become a sore point between us!

Sorry, did I hear correctly? Did you say lift it up. I felt at that point that I needed the services of a psychiatrist if not a fully-equipped hospital for mental disorders (for myself not my wife) or that I should get immediately ****-faced on whisky in some weak attempt to extricate myself from the sewer that I now seemed to be floating in! But after settling the wife down and making her realize that I was not giving her trouble, she explained this new (to me) ruling.

In Asia it is all ‘****-about-face’ with regard to toilet seats! In Western culture the woman tends to rule the roost and so men invariably lose the battle of the toilet seat! Here in China things are slightly different. The man is the most important thing around and nothing else really counts, including the woman, the wife, the girl friend or the mother! Thus it is the duty of the lady of the house to make sure that their mans comforts are suitably catered for, including the permanent raising of the toilet seat so that when he decides to splatter he can do so without first having to raise the offending lid!

I am in permanent shock! I spent my informative years being conditioned daily to lower a piece of plastic and by the age of twenty I was prepared for the world. I spent the next twenty years acting upon my education only to find that I had been doing it completely wrong in the land that I lived. For over twenty years I have been walking around puzzling and annoying mothers and daughters after my visits. I can picture the subsequent conversation after my departure, “what a disgusting man that is, leaving the toilet seat down”. And the daughter would reply, “I know mum, I won’t be seeing him again!

Life has pissed on me from a great height!

Do I lift seats up or leave them down? But then again, I don’t really give a shit!

About the author:

Author and Webmaster of Seamania. As a Chief Engineer in the Merchant Navy he has sailed the world for fifteen years. Now living in Taiwan he writes about cultures across the globe and life as he sees it.

In December, 2007, the Spanish government changed the legislature in order to reduce costs associated with transferring or subrogating, or those costs associated with an existing loan in Spain being re-mortgaged to a new lender. Another reason to transfer is to avoid paying taxes a second time which can happen to borrowings in Spain. Various reasons to re-mortgage to a new lender, disbursing fiance from your Spanish home so that you do not have to personally cash in one mortgage to begin a new one. Here are the three main reasons to do this:

1. Your interest rate on the property will be decreased.
2. You will have longer to pay off your mortgage.
3. If you have to default, your penalty will be decreased.

Several lenders are enthusiastically pitching products that indulge overall expenditures affiliated with them such as current redemption amercement and fees accompanied with Registry and Notary are included in the proposal. As a result, the transfer of the loan to another lender is either free of charge - or offered at significantly reduced cost compared to obtaining a re-mortgage with another bank (where subrogation is possible). By allowing changes and amendments to terms to be made on just the one deed rather than all of the prior deeds, the subrogation is allowed.

If you feel stuck with a mortgage product with a high cost and no flexibility or you want to change your mortgage terms for some other reason, then you will need to know how to release finance from your Spanish home. This will let you to extract at least part of the value from your real estate in Spain during and after the process, without having to struggle through expensive or unneeded complications.

A different way to see this. The Spanish property boom and the fluctuating rates of exchange between Sterling and the Euro, has meant that many people who are invested in the market are long on property and short on cash deposits. Lifelong mortgages are preventing the release of equity from these investments, which denies the owner protection against unforeseen events affecting their financial situations. Fortunately, there are no products available that allow a percentage of a Spanish home’s value to be made available for investments or used as cash to add to one’s income or improve quality of life even. This financial product offers a fixed rate rather than a variable interest rate so that the loan payment stays constant and the full amount owed is clear even if circumstances do happen to change over time.

For expert advice on spanish remortgages contact International Mortgage Solutions based in Marbella, Spain.

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Article Title: Save on Gas Prices
Article Author: Rocky Ramsey

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mailto:Gas@MoviesMoneyandMore.com

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Formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Word Count: 426 words

Category: Humor, General

Copyright Date: 2004

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This article may be used freely in opt-in
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Please forward a courtesy copy of the issue
to: mailto:rock@MoviesMoneyandMore.com

Other articles by Rocky Ramsey are available online
at http://www.MoviesMoneyandMore.com/

Thanks,

Rock

—————————————————————-

Save on Gas Prices
By Rocky Ramsey

With gas prices at an all-time high, I thought I’d share a
website with you from the Federal Trade Commission that gives
several suggestions for saving gas. You can check out the site
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/autos/gasave.htm.

I thought about summarizing it for you, but after much
reflection, I decided against it. I could’ve mentioned that if
you have any extra weight in your car, you should get rid of it.
This means that the next time your mother-in-law wants to go
somewhere with you, you can tell her she needs to stay home
because you’re trying to save gas and can’t carry around any
extra weight. And it would be the truth.

Then there’s the tip that you should inflate your tires to the
air pressure recommended by your owner’s manual. I didn’t
mention this because I knew as soon as I did, I’d get an email
like the following from Billy Bob Ray Bob. If you don’t know
Billy Bob Ray Bob, you probably know one of his relatives.

Dear Rock,

I done went and tried one of them there suggestions you put
in your ezine. Cause my truck only gits 3 miles to the gallon
I would like to git better mileage.

I hooked up an air hose to pump up my tires, but it took too
dang long. I decided to go inside the store and git a beer
and some lottery tickets while I waited for it to pump up.

Well don’t you know it that there tire got too much air in it
and done went and blew up!

Pieces of tire done flew through the window of that filling
station and broke that big window in front. Children screamed.
Car alarms go off and people run for cover cause they think
it’s another one of them terror attacks.

My lawyer done tole me that I should tell you that he’s suing
you for bad tips.

Sincerely,

Billy Bob Ray Bob

Of course I would have to respond to this.

Dear Billy Bob Ray Bob:

I find it commendable that you want to increase your gas
mileage. If my truck only got 3 miles to the gallon, I’d want
to something to increase my gas mileage too. The
recommendation was to inflate your tires to the air pressure
recommended in your owner’s manual, not to blow up your tire
and scare children.

- Rock

If you’re looking for a fuel efficient car, check out
www.fueleconomy.gov.

For the lowest local gas prices, check out gaspricewatch.com
and www.gasbuddy.com.

About the Author

Rocky Ramsey publishes Movies, Money and More, A humorous ezine
and website featuring movie reviews, entertainment news,
save/make money and more. You don’t know what you’re missing if
you don’t take a look. http://www.MoviesMoneyandMore.com

Gary Hemsely was running for some county political position I’ve forgotten which one now. What I do remember is that he was a member of my church at the time.

Sometimes a pastor can get between the Rock of Ages and a politician without trying too hard. That seemed to be my predicament with Gary. In all things political, I have maintained one basic philosophy: Ask not what your country can do for you, just get out and vote.

I must admit, there are times when it is tempting to throw caution to the wind, roll up my pant legs and wade into the political arena. After all, Christians were the first ones in the arena in the “good ole days.” The problem, as I remember from the history books, none of those early Christians ever came out of that arena.

If you think about it, there are some similarities between a preacher and a politician. Perhaps this is why some preachers dabble in politics.

The most obvious similarity would be in the area of communications. Both make their living by giving speeches of some type. The preacher gives his weekly sermon while the politician gives his political oration.

The only difference between a sermon and a political speech is wind velocity. A good politician can change his views on an issue in mid-sentence. Not many preachers have mastered that slight-of-tongue technique.

A good sermon has three points, somewhat related to each other, and progresses toward a conclusion. A good political speech is pointless and related to a raging Nor’easter.

Another important similarity between the preacher and politician is in giving promises.

The man of cloth deals primarily with the promises in the Good Book. Someone has made the claim that the Bible contains more than 30,000 promises. I cannot verify that number.

I have never stopped to count them. I do know that there are promises for every aspect of life and these promises are available to us through the gracious work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The most important thing about the promises in the Bible is that they are not contingent on the preacher’s ability.

The man of the campaign stump also makes promises. Unfortunately, nobody has ever tried to count these, as most count for nothing. These political promises range from anything to everything.

No politician would ever think of expressing his view on an issue without first checking the latest poll on the subject. The politician’s goal is to tell the people what he thinks they want to hear.

Someone once observed that if all the people who sit through political speeches were lined up three feet apart, they could at least stretch and sleep more comfortably.

The successful politician is an expert in foul play. I can sum up most political promises nicely: A chicken in every pot and a potshot at every Turkey.

A third similarity between the preacher and the politician concerns money. Both have a lot to say about the subject.

Behind the pulpit, the preacher talks about tithing. Unfortunately, tithing is one of those spiritual disciplines carelessly bantered about and abused.

The truth of the matter is, we present our tithes and offerings to the Lord, not for a blessing but because we have been blessed already. Any other take on this subject does not carry biblical authority. The tithe belongs to God.

Behind the political platform, the politician talks about taxes. One wants to raise my taxes.

Another wants to cut my taxes. The lips may say, “No new taxes,” but the heart of every politician says, “expand the old taxes.” It all depends on what your definition of “is,” is.

It has taken me years but I have finally figured out my income tax.

First, list as dependents your wife, two children, car and three goldfish. Now multiply your age by six and seven-eights and subtract your telephone number. Add those figures, divide by your social security number and multiply by the number of electric lights in your house.

Now you have your gross income, which, after dividing by your chest measurement and subtracting your blood pressure you finally get the amount owed to the government.

Don’t tell me I don’t listen to those political speeches.

This brings me to my dilemma with Gary Hemsely. He was running for a political office and wanted my support. What I do in that voting booth is between me and nobody else.

I smiled at Gary and said, “Gary, I’ll support you as best I can,” which I thought would be the end of it. Gary took me more seriously than I thought.

“Pastor,” he said to me, “would you mind if I gave my campaign speech in church this coming Sunday morning?”

There are those rare times when a preacher must evolve into a politician and this certainly qualified. I saw two problems to this.

First, Sunday morning worship is no place for a political speech. People might confuse their tithing with taxes, which would be taxing on the collection plate.

More important, Gary could say less in one hour than most people could say in three minutes, but it usually took him two hours to say it. He won the National Stuttering Championship four years in a row, more than anyone to date. There was no way that I could allow this, but I did not want to hurt Gary’s feelings.

I finally looked him in the eye and said, “I’m sorry Gary but we just can’t do that. It is a matter of separation of church and state, and you don’t want to be accused of violating that. It wouldn’t be good for your political career.”

Gary saw the rationale of my argument and the matter was settled.

Some critics of Jesus once tried to stump Him on the matter of taxes. He replied, “And Jesus answering said unto them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they marveled at him.” (Mark 12:17 KJV.)

A good citizen, no matter what political party affiliation, knows the difference and does both.

About the Author

The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road in Silver Springs Shores. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores and can be contacted at 687-4240. Rev. Snyder’s new book, Romance Around A Parsonage Fireplace, is now available. His e-mail address is jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.

If you have a great product or service that people want you
are well on your way to being successful. However, in order
to lock in and grow your success you need to maximize the
attention your products and services get.

As a small business owner you probably don’t have millions
of dollars to spend on advertising campaigns to drill your
company’s name into your prospects minds. That’s okay.
Many small business owners find their success by effectively
developing and using their marketing message. You can use
your marketing message to position your business in such a
way that your prospects will think of you when they decide
it’s time to take action to tackle a problem they have that
you help solve.

A marketing message is not a slogan or catch phrase. There
is an important difference. An effective marketing message
speaks directly to a specific audience and features
benefits, results and the value of a product or service.
Slogans and catch phrases often have nothing to do with a
specific market or results and benefits. Slogans and catch
phrases are used by big companies to imprint their corporate
image in our minds simply by sheer repetition. They need
not relate to hamburgers or sneakers for us to immediately
associate a couple of words with the appropriate company.

Here are five simple steps you can take to help maximize
attention for your business.

1. Drop the Slogan
If you’re using a slogan or catch phrase to market your
small business you’re probably missing opportunities to have
prospects identify you as the solution to their problem. If
your slogan does not clearly identify the population you
serve and the results you provide you are definitely
allowing business to pass you by.

Make the decision to drop the slogan and develop and use a
marketing message. You will increase your ability to
develop new business.

2. Develop or Correct Your Marketing Message
Once you have decided to let your slogan go the way of the
Dodo you must develop your marketing message. When writing
your marketing message think about those you help and the
benefits they seek from your product or service. Ask
yourself as many questions as you can to identify your
customers and the results they seek. When you’ve answered
these questions you can use the information you’ve gathered
to put together a marketing message that sells.

3. Use Your Marketing Message
Once you’ve developed your marketing message you’ll want to
include it any aspect of your business where a marketing
opportunity may present itself. Remember, the purpose of
using a marketing message is much the same as that of a
slogan or catch phrase, you want to position your business
in your prospects minds so that they think of you when they
decide to take action to solve their problem.

Because you don’t have the capital to run thousands of
television and full page print ads in major periodicals, you
must massage your marketing message into the every-day
occurrences of running your business.

For example, how often do you give someone a business card
or answer the phone? These are great opportunities to
splash your prospects with your marketing message. You
don’t need a $2.5 million commercial to run during The Big
Game to successfully market your business. So, do some
brainstorming and come up with a list of other frequent
opportunities where you can use your marketing message.
You’ll be glad you did!

4. Demonstrate Value
If your marketing message is good it will help your
prospects recognize you as the solution to their problem and
it will also inspire them to take the action you want them
to take; visit your web site, for example. Use this step to
demonstrate value to your prospects. Once you’ve drawn them
in, show them you’re for real by giving something away for
free in exchange for their contact information. Some common
giveaways are E-Books or instructional articles. By giving
something away you create the opportunity to demonstrate
your expertise and you also give your prospects something to
talk about with their peers and colleagues. There’s nothing
like word of mouth referrals.

5. Develop a Relationship
Once you have your prospects’ contact information you can
maximize attention for your business by staying in touch. I
suggest publishing a helpful newsletter. Send it as often
as you can, but probably not more than once a week. You
don’t want to become a bother to your prospects. Get
permission to send it when your prospects sign up for your
freebie. We don’t want to send unwanted email.

By sending a periodic newsletter or other correspondence you
help to keep yourself on your prospects radar screen. As
time moves on you will maintain your position in your
prospects’ minds and vastly improve your chances of having
them turn to you when they decide they need help. You can
also use your newsletter to inform them of new products and
services as you develop them.

Move Your Marketing Forward
Make the decision to drop the slogan and take the time to
develop, use and follow through with your marketing message.
You will be amazed by your ability to have new clients
contact you.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The author, marketing coach, Jeremy Cohen, helps small business owners implement proven marketing strategies to attract more clients and grow their business. Inquire about his coaching
service or request his free marketing guide:
Jumpstart Marketing:More Profits, Clients and Success at:
http://www.bettermarketingresults.com/marketing-services.asp

Cram as much content into the brochure, after all
you paid for the printing and the ink - you’ve got to get the most out your investment.

Remember that even if you have the most gripping content out there, if you brochure’s layout isn’t inviting, interesting and non threatening, no one will read what you have to say. Business owners are most likely to fall into this trap when developing ads or marketing collateral it’s this one. Your parents and your grade school teachers were right - sometimes less is more.

Write what you think the important features about
your products and services are.

Oh no, please avoid this like the plague! What you want to focus on is the value as it relates to your clients and customers. Keep in mind who is buying from you; your client are, you’re not buying from yourself. If you want to know what your clients think, feel and want - ask them! If you’d like some guidance on how to ask you clients, call me, I’ll be happy to instruct you how (I’ll probably ask you a few questions as well). Everyone is tuned into the same radio station (WIIFM, what’s in it for me), so everything you include in your brochure should benefit the client from her/his perspective. Does that make sense to you?

Print your brochure to inform people

If you’re in business to sell information, skip this step, but if you’re like most small businesses, you’ll want to read this. I’ll ask business owners, “Why are you having this brochure designed? What is it going to do for you?”, they respond, “We want to keep our customers informed”. Hey, that’s great, keeping people informed is good, but it won’t bring in any sales, and most businesses wouldn’t be investing hard-earned money on something that won’t help the company grow. This is why it’s so important that you as a businessperson take a moment and clearly identify why the brochure is being designed and then setting up some objectives you hope to achieve with it.

Recently a physician contacted me about having us design a brochure for her. She didn’t have an answer to why she was considering having the brochure designed, and didn’t have any clear objectives for it. In the end she designed the brochure herself and didn’t really get anything out of it.

If you want to get the most out of your brochure investment, you have to start with a plan.

Leave it up to the prospect in what the want to
do next

Wow, I started laughing when I wrote this one; this is another outstanding way to make sure your brochure finds its way into the circular file. Of course you don’t want that to happen, so what you want to do is to articulate a clear and defined action step that you want the prospect to take after the brochure. You want to lead your prospects by the hand through your sales process. If you don’t have a sales process, call me, we’ll talk about getting you one, they are critical.

Here’s a trick, find a niece, nephew, son or daughter and ask him/her after reading the brochure, “Do you know what the brochure is asking you to do next?” If she/he doesn’t know what the action step is, you need to go back and make it clearer. The next time you read the paper or see a commercial on television, take a moment and identify the action step, you will almost ALWAYS see one in there, that’s because they are leading you down the path to buying from them. You want your brochure to do the same thing. Now there effective and ineffective action steps, so you want to make sure that the designer who is creating your brochure understands marketing and can develop the right action step to get your prospects to act.

Do it yourself to save money

Well this is a tough one; of course not everyone can afford having professional marketing materials, right? Well, if you want professional results and you’re serious about growing your business you might want to consider it. Business owners by the thousands design their own collateral materials - you can do this too. You’ll want to ask yourself,

How effective am I going to be at designing something that achieves the level of professionalism I want?

Am I going to lose out on sales because my marketing collateral looks mediocre? How much is that costing me?

In terms of dollars and cents, what results can I realistically expect if I design this myself? What kind of results could I expect if I had someone design this for me?

Just remember that your marketing materials are a reflection of your company, your character and your level of professionalism and quality. Based on who you elect to design your brochure, you have the choice to look professional, intelligent or amateurish and no so savvy. Keep in mind that people, whether choosing a date or choosing who they do business with, make up there minds within the first 10 minutes, so you want to make sure you look like the clear and undeniable choice for your prospect to do business with, and well-designed brochure from a business savvy designer can help you do this.

About Jeremy:

I help small businesses build more confidence and credibility into their business brand. Through marketing and design initiatives; I help you feel better about your company. Making you feel good about your business gives you more confidence and less anxiety when you are networking, promoting or selling your business. If your business needs the reliability and talent of an in-house marketing and design department but doesn’t want additional employees, salaries and benefits, give me a call at 480.391.0704 - I have a new approach for you.

If you are looking for more free insight and inspiration, you’ll want to get in on the “Can-Do Confidence Builder”. Emailed weekly, the Confidence Builder provides you with essential marketing and design insights that help you get the most out of your investment and help you to stay one step ahead of the competition. Email me at comments@candographics.com and asked to be added to our list or visit http://www.candographics.com

Chamonix Haute Savoie France is a prestigious town with the legendary Monte Bianco as well as jagged glaciers. Everyone like to go skiing or from time to time sightseeing. I sometimes get a flight from Auburn and stay at a Chamonix luxury chalet during my vacation.

We used to went to Hyatt Place Scottsdale Old Town but it sometimes didn’t meet the standards of its its advert: The Hyatt Place Scottsdale Old Town is located approximately 3 blocks from downtown Old Towne Scottsdale and 15 miles from Sky Harbor International Airport. The hotel is also within a mile of the Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Scottsdale Civic Center, Scottsdale Stadium, and Camelback Mountain. Hotel amenities include the heated pool, fitness room, free parking and complimentary continental breakfast daily. Guests have access to a self-service check-in kiosk, coffee and wine cafe, TV den, and the e-Room with free access to a public computer and printer.

In comparison in Chamonix Haute Savoie the luxury chalet is nearly always fine. Moreover dining in my families’ favorite hotel restaurant, Georgio’s II Famous Pizza - Savannah Plaza, enjoying crawfish tortellini is a delight. Chamonix Mont Blanc France is a big enough place to make sure that there is lots for the holiday maker to do. Amongst other things it includes a beauty salon and a range of terraced caf©s, Chamonix provides a combination of skiing, French alpine charm and tourist attractions which barely any ski resorts can beat.

the cupolone is to little steps from the Basilica of Saint Peter and the Museums Vaticans and is the ideal place, for an pleasant stay to Rome. Castel St’angelo, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and the main historicocultural points of interest are easy, they can be caught up foot walking between the roads and the alleys Of the Center of Rome.

The appartment has the 3 comfortable furnished rooms double, luminous, silent but above all equipped of most comfortable beds with nets and orthopaedic mattresses. The walls from the tones pastel, confer an pleasant sense of rest and familiar heat, one in particular. “The Cupolone” points out on the Cupola of Saint Peter where the sight is extraordinary, and is equipped of private bath. Check-in 12,00 21,00 Check-out 10,00 clicca on the below key in order to see the images of the room the cupolone

Check-in 12,00 21,00 Check-out 10,00

“the CUPOLONE” offers stays to SPECIAL PRICE
“OFFERED GROUP”:
8 PERSONS stay min.3 days
ENCLOSED BREAKFAST

(entire apartment to your complete DISPOSITION)

As it is arrived Station you finish: To take to the bus line n. 64, to come down to stopped of the Saint Peter Door Cavalrymen ADR Fiumicino: With the train (Leonardo Express) until the station Terms (air terminal) every 40 minuteren. Then the station Terms to take to the bus line n. 64, to come down to stopped of the Saint Peter Door Cavalrymen. ADR Ciampino: To take to the bus that door to the railway station of Ciampino or the station meter “Anagnina”. From both these stations leave the trains that carry to the station Termini.Da the station Terms to take to the bus line n. 64, To come down to stopped of the Saint Peter Door Cavalrymen Freeway: To take to the G.R.A (major beltway) To exit on the way aurelia (exited n.1) Towards the center of Rome then to follow the indications for Saint Peter

Our Bed&Breakfast offers the service of shuttle from the Airport di Fiumicino, Ciampino also until 8 persons with car of lusso and not only. es. Jaguar X-type or Limousine, Mercedes, or pulmini es. Opel Vivaro, Mercedes Vito.

Breakfast to chosen between coffee, milk, cappuccino, thè, honey, marmellate, butter, brioches, Cookies

Other suggestion for Rome? Wide choice and Low rates on Rome accommodations: compare rates for Hotels in Rome, or compare price for other kind of accomodations in Rome (apartments, Bed and breakfast, Guest Houses,…), or make a reservation for a tour in Rome

A few months ago I phoned a number of builders and renovators to research some upcoming magazine articles. Many were gracious enough to spend 5 or 10 minutes answering some questions (I always appreciate that).

One question I asked was “do you guarantee any part of your service, over and above any industry warranty program?”

The interesting thing was the responses fell into two main, but vastly different, categories:

1) “Yes we do, and here it is.”

and

2) “Sure we do…well, it’s kind of like a reputation-thing…we don’t really put it in writing but, if something goes wrong, we’ll deal with it.”

Now, here’s the really interesting part — only one person fell into the first category…everyone else fell into the second.

Pretty striking, isn’t it? Of all the builders and renovators I spoke with, only one had a guarantee over-and-above industry standard, in writing. Everyone else were basically saying “trust us, we’ll take care of it.”

Now, if you’re spending tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of dollars (or more), which are you going to respond more favorably to — “just trust us” or “trust us, and here it is in writing”?

The Miracles of Guarantees

There is a lot of good in guarantees, and not just for the consumer. As a business, you can really benefit, and differentiate yourself, with guarantees.

Here’s three reasons why you should consider them.

REASON #1: No One Else is Doing It

There is no better way to differentiate yourself than by doing something no one else will do. And why isn’t anyone else offering guarantees in writing? Simple…for the same reason you’re probably not: they’re afraid everyone will take advantage of the guarantee and drive their business into the ground.

This is the #1 reasons most businesses don’t use guarantees, and it’s completely unfounded — it fact, the exact opposite is true…and here’s why…

REASON #2: You Attract More Business

Most builders and renovators don’t want to grow their business but, rather, just get more from it. But whether you’re growing your business, or trying to make more from it, the strategy is the same: attract more so you can have your choice of projects.

What if a hundred people banged on your door Monday morning and said “we want you to do our next build / renovation.” Would you turn them away and say, “sorry…too many people” or would you say, “great…tell me what you want done, and I’ll pick the five (or ten, or thirty) that I most want to work with.”

A guarantee helps you do that.

REASON #3: You Can Charge More

The biggie! Who else is sick and tired of low profits? Who has to fight just to get a good price (and a good margin) for a project, only to see the already low profit potential decrease as the problems pile up, and the costs mount (if the low-bidders didn’t steal the project from you in the first place)?

I believe the vast majority of professional builders and renovators don’t charge enough to compensate for the value they deliver in the first place…let alone all the extra pressures that push their prices (and profits) down.

The single easiest way to increase profits is to increase price…and the single easiest way to do that is to increase the value.

One way to do that is offer a “take-it-to-the-bank, get-it-in-writing” guarantee.

If there’s a second reason why most businesses don’t include guarantees it’s because “I can’t afford it.” Well, you can afford it if you charge for it.

If someone is renovating and decides to have low-grade windows put in, they should be charged for low-grade windows, right? If, however, they decide to have high-end, sturdy, energy-efficiency windows put in, they should be charged for high-end windows…right?

So why would it be any different in any other aspect of your business? If you’re adding value, and people want that value, people will pay for it. This includes the protection, and peace of mind, guarantees give.

Set Yourself Apart…Attract More Business to Choose From While Increasing Your Profits!

Guarantees are a great way to put your prospects at ease, knowing that you’ll do the job right, and take care of them if problems should arise. But although every single builder / renovator I spoke with was “guaranteed” their work…only one was willing to put it in writing and earn the trust of their prospects.

The secret is to make sure:

. you can, and will, honour it (that should go without saying)

. know the potential cost, and frequency of the guaranteed work, so you can charge appropriately (this will be refined with time, but even if you’re just starting you can make a decent stab at it.)

and

. let your market know you guarantee your work where others don’t…you’ll become the first choice to do business with (and let the rest of the competition take on the business you don’t want).

You either do quality work or you don’t…right? So guarantee what you know you can, and let the competition wonder how you can ‘afford’ it — ’cause, when it comes from differentiating yourself and being able to defend your higher prices, you can’t afford not to.

Brett Martinson is a professional coach and consultant to the home building and renovation industry. Builders and renovators can sign up for a FREE subscription to his Successful Home Builders’ Newsletter AND receive his free, bonus 5-Part eBook, “5 Profit-Draining Mistakes Builders and Renovators Make…and How to Fix Them” at http://www.SuccessfulHomeBuilders.com

I shop therefore I am? As Ireland’s largest shopping centre opened in Dundrum
and consumer spending rocketed across the country, 2005 was a year in which our
love affair with brands showed little signs of abating.

Whilst H&M, House of Fraser, Harvey Nichols and Starbucks arrived to great
fanfare, proving in the early months at least that absence does make the purse and
wallet grow fonder, there was little to suggest that our familiarity with traditional
home-grown retailers was breeding anything other than a continued willingness to
spend, spend, spend (along with contempt for the worried soundings from
economic commentators who suggested that our splurging may be just about to
spiral out of control).

In the midst of this extended retail love-in, it was easy to forget that, more
and more, the great Irish romance is in property, and a few Irish brand giants,
including the likes of Superquinn and Jurys Ballsbridge, were sweet-talked by buyers
who seemed to place greater value on the property bank they had collected than on
any goodwill they had built up over many years of trading.

Goodwill was severely rationed on board another domestic brand, Irish Ferries,
whose troubles quickly became a rallying point for Irish workers concerned about
how the economy is shaping up on wages and conditions of employment. Whilst a
deal of sorts has been thrashed out, public reaction on the streets of our cities
would suggest that the brand has been badly holed beneath the water line and will
do well to stay afloat in the new year.

Meanwhile, the three Irish airlines soared even higher than their tenor
counterparts (who enjoyed their own brand of success during the year). Aer Lingus,
Aer Arann and Ryanair, continued to fly high with each of the three adding more
routes to their already extensive European networks. Each of the airlines operates
from a hugely different brand model (chalk, cheese and charcoal?) and their success
offers a timely reminder that there is plenty of airspace for players in any sector who
are prepared to define a market and stand squarely for something.

Irish politicians branded themselves with a vengeance in 2005, with Enda
Kenny finally showing signs of breaking free from the muddled and indistinct image
that had mired previous leaders of his party. In the meantime, the man whose
position he covets tried on some socialist characteristics for size and found that red
simply didn’t match the shades of green his party usually favours.

Meanwhile, Irish soccer supporters turned various shades as the national team
turned in a series of insipid performances en route to a third place finish in their
qualifying group. More disappointing than the failure to make the grade was the
manner in which the team rolled over to have its belly tickled by unconvincing
opponents in a group that many felt was there for the taking. Since long before the
Charlton era, the Irish soccer brand has been about courage in the face of
overwhelming odds, what the poet Yeats called the “hurling of the little streets upon
the great” and, in the past, a tragic failure to qualify, allied to a show of steely,
native pluck, has simply added to the national sense of having won a moral victory.
Deprived of victory of any sort this time round, the Irish supporter felt cheated by
what he saw as the team’s betrayal of core values.

On the world scene, the big brand stories of the year were largely taking place
on the Internet. Confidence in the medium returned to levels unseen since before
the dot.com bubble burst with names such as eBay and Google growing in stature,
value and reach through the year. The announcement in early December by the
Oxford University Press that their ‘Word of the Year’ was ‘podcast’ (what they defined
as, “a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on
the internet for downloading to a personal audio player”) confirmed both Apple’s
continued resurgence on the back of their iPod success of the previous year, as well
as the growing popularity of the internet as both communications and commercial
arena.

We were also treated to a new brand of papacy, with the man formerly known
as ‘God’s rottweiler’ stepping into a role that had been indelibly made his own by
one of the twentieth century’s most charismatic figures. From a PR perspective,
Benedict XVI handled his own elevation most skilfully, presenting himself in contrast
to “the great John Paul II” as a “simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord”.
Despite this rather meek language, the early signs are that, far from hiding in the
shadow of his predecessor, this Pope is ready to surprise his detractors by showing
an unexpected lightness of touch in his public dealings whilst asserting his own,
distinctive leadership style.

On the big screen, brand was king, with leading box office contenders King
Kong, Harry Potter and Narnia displaying all that we expect of the great brands: the
powerful story of a compelling hero, vividly told for a contemporary audience. That
none of this is any accident is evident in the words of Philip Boyens, screenwriter for
the remake of King Kong: “This is a classic story and it can withstand many
retellings. It doesn’t matter how good the effects, if you don’t care about the
characters and the story, then spectacular doesn’t really mean anything.” Advice
that any would-be brand builder would do well to take to heart.

Meanwhile, back where we started in the world of retail, the fall of beauty Kate Moss matched that of the beast and sent her own brand endorsement value tumbling with global names such as Chanel, H&M and Burberry rushing to put distance between themselves and their erstwhile, beloved heroine. Whilst critics
were quick to point out that the model’s behaviour was scarcely news to those who
had commissioned her in the first place, the story does remind us that in 2005, the
power of the brand to make or break personal and corporate fortune remains
undiminished and that “I shop therefore I am” looks likely to remain the consumer
mantra long into 2006 and beyond.

Gerard Tannam is the founding Managing Director of Islandbridge Brand
Development, a business that delivers brand direction, planning and
communications across a wide range of sectors including retail, property, hospitality
and tourism. Recent clients include Temple Country Retreat & Spa, Platinum Hotels,
Liberty Limousines, The Westport Woods Hotel, The Arbutus Hotel Killarney, The
Smile Conference and DIT School of Hospitality Management. More details at
http://www.islandbridge.com.