A Perfect Day for Writers

In one of the exercises in my "Getting Started as a Freelance Writer" workshop, I ask participants to describe what a "perfect day" would be like for them.

The responses are frequently tender, wistful and unfailingly vivid. Those who've taken my course write about waking up first thing in the morning, refreshed and filled with anticipation for what their "perfect day" holds in store. They paint lush and lovely surroundings with their words, serve up exquisite foods, and spend endearing or romantic time with loved ones. They describe feelings of peace and deep contentment, so often lacking in their day to day realities.

But what invariably surprises me is that these writers seldom include time to write in their "perfect day" narratives. Nor do they mention that such a day would include the thrill of opening their mailboxes to find acceptance letters or checks for something they've written. What I had thought would be an exercise that would enable workshop participants to visualize writing as an integral part of their lives, generally turns out to have nothing to do with writing whatsoever.

Not that I'm criticizing--there are no right or wrong responses to these writing exercises. I simply wonder whether placing such a low priority--or none at all--on writing as part of one's "perfect day" is a reason for lack of writing success. In other words, do people truly dream of being writers, or simply dream of what writing might bring them--fame, fortune, freedom--while skipping the process altogether?

The idea of being a published writer, or a six-figure income writer, is indeed glamorous. But make no mistake--writing is hard work for most of us. Rejections outpace acceptances, at least until we're very well established. Making a more-than-decent living from stringing words together takes extensive persistence, diligence, dedication and chutzpah. Moreover, you've got to love doing it.

I do a lot of writing during my vacations from my day job. All of my "perfect days" include stints at the keyboard, or filling page after page in a paper notebook when I'm far from home. As a matter of fact, I am on vacation as I write this. It's a stunning day outside, deliciously warm and gloriously sunny. I will venture out soon enough, to run errands and bask in the day's beauty. But right now, in front of my PC, I am perfectly content, my fingers clicking along the keys, putting black words onto a white screen.

Certainly my own perfect day scenario would include a beautiful and peaceful setting, excellent cuisine, time with John and my family, and the freedom and energy to volunteer my services to a worthy cause. But I believe that a "perfect day" for all writers must include writing. If it doesn't, how could it ever be perfect? And even in an imperfect world in an imperfect life, every day that I do at least a little bit of writing comes that much closer to perfection.

? 2004 Mary Anne Hahn

Mary Anne Hahn is editor of WriteSuccess, a free biweekly ezine of ideas, information and inspiration for writers. She is also building a Web site that hopes will someday be one of the best online resources for new and experienced writers alike. To check out her growing site and subscribe to her ezine visit http://writesuccess.com.

7 Secrets to Writing Inventory Procedures

What would You do with $1,000,000

With $1 Million would you:

? Pay off debt?

? Purchase new equipment?

? Invest/save for the future?

? Give yourself a bonus?

$1,000,000 Waiting in the Wings

What do you and your business need that you have been putting off because you don't have the money today? $1,000,000 certainly would fill those needs. But where do you find $1,000,000 just lying around your business right now? Well, you probably have $250,000 in each of four areas in your everyday business, and you don't even realize it.

Money in Business Procedures

And so let's look at four places in your business where we will find $250,000 each and see how we can help you find it:

Part 1: Inventory - $250,000.00

Part 2: Receivables - $250,000.00

Part 3: Sales - $250,000.00

Part 4: Accounts Payable - $250,000.00

Part 5: Procedures - $1,000,000.00

Turn Cash into Time with a New Company Policy

But just what exactly is this source for cash? It's time. If you are looking for $250,000 then it costs you $4,808 every week that you delay. So what you do with your time quite literally amounts to either costs of delaying, or it can amount to savings when you take action and control of your time. To correct this cost of delay, an increase in velocity must follow - which will set the difference between 'good' and 'great'. The consequences of this shift in system velocity increases discipline and competency: the ability to maintain the increased velocity and the ability to make the adjustments to achieve the 'great'. So how do you realize the difference?

Eliminate Inventory and Increase Cash

Let's start with the biggest, most obvious source ? your balance sheet, specifically inventory. If you are a manufacturer with $300,000 or more of inventory (raw materials, work in process or finished goods) then STOP! We found it. Why? Because inventory is an unproductive asset. Inventory is money, and having it lying around your factory is not where your money belongs. So if we reduce inventory to Just-In-Time (JIT) levels, then we can eliminate 85% or more of your inventory, which translates into $250,000 in cash. But that's not all. You will also save another $50,000 or more in annual inventory carrying costs. With less inventory, there are lower costs of holding inventory. Let's look at an example of what we're talking about.

Manufacturing Business Procedures Case Study

A manufacturing organization with 2 Million in average inventory balances needed assistance. We examined their inventory consisting of raw materials, work in process and finished goods to understand and quantify the workflow, workload, and demand forecasting issues. Then we designed and implemented a process to improve their inventory cycle and tie it closer to their actual sales.

The metrics we developed reduced their inventories by 85% and increased their manufacturing cycle efficiency from 60% to 90% within 120 days of implementing the new procedures. With these new processes and reports, the company now tracks manufacturing cycle efficiency and delivery time variance rather than just units produced, as the measure of their manufacturing effectiveness. The result: extra capital plus a 50% increase in process capability (capacity).

Methods to Design the New Process

By becoming more efficient in the process, we can use time not as a detriment but as a significant benefit to our business. Step by step, let's take a further look at how time and efficiency plays a great role in your business.

Increase Demand Forecasting Accuracy. We only need enough inventory to satisfy demand, and that is where part of the problem exists. If demand can not be accurately forecasted, then we end up compensating for this unknown with inventory.

Increase Manufacturing Cycle Efficiency. How well manufacturing resources are used to produce a product determines the cycle efficiency. Defective product, product rework, and long lags between manufacturing cells cause inefficiency, which can be easily calculated. Raw materials should be converted into finished goods as quickly as possible. The speed at which this occurs defines your manufacturing cycle efficiency.

Increase Supply Chain Turns. Increasing the number of times purchases are made may increase acquisition costs and unit costs because of smaller order quantities. But you will benefit by increasing your cash flow and eliminating the carrying cost of the inventory (warehousing, material handling, taxes, insurance, depreciation, interest and obsolescence totaling 25% to 35%).

Eliminate safety stock. Safety stock is really just a buffer for forecasting variance and supplier delivery time. While many levels are set arbitrarily in automated MRP systems, your safety stock levels will need to be reduced due to improvements in demand forecasting accuracy, manufacturing cycle efficiency and supply chain turns.

Reduce purchasing errors. This can reduce overstocking and, more importantly, minimize stock outs that result in expensive expedited purchases. Sell excess and obsolete inventory or return it to your vendor.

Eliminate delivery variance. Do not allow vendors to deliver early or late and make sure the delivered quantity does not vary from the order quantity. After all, delivery errors cause the need to carry more inventory. Instead, provide suppliers with forecasts of future needs.

Train purchasing personnel. Provide your purchasing and material management personnel with formal training. This will arm them with better negotiating skills that will result in better prices and terms.

Procedures Provide Time Savings

So, as we have seen, we should use each element of the process to extract the most benefit from our business. With time-saving procedures set in place, you will let your efficiency work for you.

Time Savings Provide Cash in the Bank

With well-defined processes and procedures in place, you will increase efficiency by increasing inventory turns. And of course an increase in inventory turns means an increase in cash on hand. It's there - all you have to do is grab it.

Next part of this series, we will look at finding $250,000 in Accounts Receivable - another step as we work toward our goal of 1 million in savings. So not only aim to reap the rewards of extra savings to your bottom line, but also see more cash in the bank - $1,000,000 to be exact.

Chris Anderson is currently the managing director of Bizmanualz, Inc. and co-author of policies and procedures manuals, producing the layout, process design and implementation to increase performance. To learn how to increase your business performance, visit: Bizmanualz, Inc.

MultiNational Corporation ERP Implementation ? Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains

If you look back to the history, you will see that ERP for large publicly traded company had to be built upon very reliable hardware (more likely non-Intel hardware: mainframe, Sun sparc, etc.), powerful database platform: Oracle, DB2, Ingress, Sybase and reliable OS: UNIX. 10 years ago Microsoft had Windows NT first tries, plus Windows 95 was kind of revolution, but not the one to stake on for corporate users. Nowadays hardware (from Intel side), Windows 2003 Server Enterprise Edition, WindowsXP Pro, and Microsoft SQL Server could be considered reasonably reliable plus it is certainly easier to support these products, because of the large pool of Microsoft-oriented IT professionals available Worldwide. Microsoft Business Solutions offers several lines of ERP systems: Microsoft Great Plains, Microsoft Navision, Solomon, Axapta. We don't want to state here that in the future Microsoft will be only ERP systems provider, but it certainly is and will be one of the major players on the ERP/MRP market. In this small article we'll consider the ways to implement large corporation required features in Microsoft Great Plains.

? GL Consolidation. If you do business exclusively in the USA ? you probably do not need this, however if you have to operate in the multicurrency and under multiple countries regulations ? you need this feature. European ERPs of late 1990th had this GL consolidation as separate module. Microsoft Great Plains doesn't have this feature out of the box, and you have to implement it via MS SQL Server Data Transformation package, Stored Procedure or Great Plains Dexterity customization. The alternative approach is to use Enterprise Reporting or FRx with multicurrency to provide consolidated reporting

? Internal Audit reports. Internal Auditor should be provided with reliable random selection of documents to review. Great Plains is MS SQL Server based application and if you base your Crystal Report on the stored procedure in SQL Server ? you can easily get random selection

? Intercompanies Transactions. This is probably complicated with multicurrency ? but Great Plains has the module to address this issue

? Customer/Vendor Consolidation. You might deal through agents on your local or regional markets and based on the results you pay the agent or subtract from it. This feature is covered in Customer/Vendor Consolidation module

? Multiple languages support. Great Plains had support to all the major languages in version 6.0. When Microsoft acquired Navision Software ? it staked on Navision in continental Europe and all the emerging markets (Russia, East Europe, Brazil, China). The way you implement local language or Unicode characters support ? you translate several screens for GP local users and extend Dexterity with Unicode enabling software utility.

Do your homework with regards to implementation, customization, integration and if you have issues or concerns ? we are here to help! If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies ? USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, California, Texas, Florida, New York, Georgia, Arizona, Minnesota, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), he is CMA, Great Plains Certified Master, Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer. You can contact Andrew: andrewk@albaspectrum.com

Book of Lists Marketing for Pressure Washing Companies

The American Business Journals produces a Book of Lists each year in their many markets, it is wise for pressure washing companies to use this book of lists to find new clientele. The book of lists, lists the top companies in size in all industry sectors. Since pressure washing companies clean almost anything, it behooves them to use the book to selectively target the top companies to do business with.

A combination of phone and fax selling works best to secure personal appointments. Below is a rough idea of how our company uses the book of lists for new sales. If you own a pressure washing company you should too. You may wish to copy this article and three-hole punch it for your marketing binder. Think about it and Wash On !

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

BOOK OF LIST INSTRUCTIONS

Personal Car Washing ?

Skip those businesses with less than 25 employees

Business Parks, Commercial Buildings, Property Management Companies ?

Fax to them every quarter

Make personal visit every 6 months

Contractors -

Fax fleet flyers every 4 to 6 months

Franchise Headquarters -

Stay away from franchise headquarters that are in our industry or are in a service business

Day Care Centers, Senior Care/Retirement Living Facilities ?

Fax every 6 months

Boat/Marine Industry -

Fax 1 time each year and visit 1 time per year

Hotels, Motels -

Fax every 6 months

Travel Agencies -

Skip for 6 months to one year after Sept 2001 attack on America

Manufacturing -

Call purchasing and facilities departments every 6 months

House Washing -

Fax every 3 ? 4 months

Apartment Complexes -

Fax in October and February

** Watch for duplicate fax numbers. Some companies own for example 5 hotels, 2 office complexes, 5 restaurants. They only need one fax. Such companies should also get a personal visit. Always call and get permission to fax first and a name to put at the top of the fax so it gets to the right person.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs

When Laughter Does Not Come Easily

The surge of emotions.

During the middle ages, the court jester was often summoned to try and lift the monarch out of an angry or melancholic mood. Emotional problems were hardly the choice of the king. Uneasiness was an inescapable load, borne by the crowned head. Neither did this burden spare the citizen. In more recent times, science has confirmed the subversive power of emotions, emanating from a region called the limbic system, buried deep within the brain. Being a more primitive part of the brain, this region is reported to be the seat of emotions. Electrical stimulation of neurons in this region caused you to feel anger, fear, or shame. More often than not, the wide range of feelings and emotions, generated by this region, control our actions. Such responses of the mind were reported to occur within a bare 20 milliseconds.

A spontaneous event.

Paul Ekman, the famous emotions scientist, reported that the evaluation that turned on an emotion happened so quickly that people were not aware it was occurring. "We become aware a quarter, or half second after the emotion begins. I do not choose to have an emotion, to become afraid, or to become angry. I am suddenly angry. I can usually figure out later what someone did that caused the emotion." The nervous system processed all the available information and drove us to anger, or despair, within just half a second. Paul's window was fully open in half a second. Open to a deluge. The book, The Intuitive Algorithm, describes the speed and power of the intuitive process that opens this emotional window.

The stress response.

"I was suddenly anxious." The department was to be "restructured." Termination notices. Rent payments. Overdue bills. The churning had begun. Emotions had intimate links to the body. Anxiety and stress triggered the production of the adrenal hormone cortisol. Adrenaline supported bodily functions designed to cope with the fight or flight response, including increased heart rate. The production of cortisol also initiated one of the most insidious processes in nature. Its excess production was shown to damage the immune system, arteries, and brain cells, and cause premature aging. Across the ages, philosophers sought to reduce the impact of this deadly cycle. Could the anxiety be mitigated, so that the emerging crisis could be evaluated calmly? Medieval medicine believed that emotional imbalance could be corrected by the court entertainers - the fool or jester. Laughter was believed to be an excellent medicine.

Benefits of laughter.

Laughter is, more often than not, triggered by a sudden release of tension. The door opens slowly in a dark room. As you wait with baited breath, a kitten walks in. You laugh. The system relaxes. There is much recent evidence that laughter aids emotional well being and health. A belly laugh is said to result in muscle relaxation. The processe is aerobic, providing a workout for the diaphragm. The workout reduces the hormones associated with the stress response. Decrease in stress hormones relieve constricted blood vessels and support immune activity. It is a wholly beneficial response. Unfortunately, belly laughs are hardly the response of normal people when faced with stressful situations. Laughter is not exactly easy, when you are seething with anger, or sweating in fear. Yet, you need a response to stress, which you can produce naturally.

Cough CPR.

There is such a remedy. It is a simple mechanical response, which can subdue the destructive effects of emotional upheaval. One hint of this possibility appeared in a procedure advocated by Dr. Tadeusz Petelenz at a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology to save the lives of people having a type of heart attack brought on by rapid and erratic heart beat. He suggested coughing vigorously until an ambulance arrived. The technique, called cough CPR, forced blood to the brain while the heart was beginning to fail and kept patients conscious long enough to call for help. Other experts said the concept was provocative, but unproven and doubted whether it would have practical value. But, could this process provide a clue to a response to stressful situations?

A simple response.

The muscle movements involved in coughing could also dissipate adrenaline. But, you could hardly cough on receiving a dismissal notice. But, at the first sign of an uneasy emotion, you could pump your stomach. Repeatedly expel air by tightening stomach muscles close to the pelvic area. Stomach pumping helps spread the adrenaline in the system and subdue that tension. It is a practice with endless benefits. When you pump your stomach, the muscles that do not participate in the process, relax. After you finish pumping, those muscles involved also begin to relax. So, the action takes place in two stages. Both beneficial. With habit, it could be a simple, built in response to any stressful event. Long after Paul's window had opened, this habit could help still the unbidden turmoil of your mind. Laughter is not easy. But pumping your stomach is. Even if you find it difficult to laugh in the face of imminent danger, you can still be calm and ready for battle.

Abraham Thomas is the author of The Intuitive Algorithm, a book, which suggests that intuition is a pattern recognition algorithm. This leads to understanding of the powerful forces that control our mind. The ebook version is available at http://www.intuition.co.in. The book may be purchased only in India. The website, provides a free movie and a walk through to explain the ideas.

It?s Spring Cleaning Time? Let?s Make Room For Abundance!

I gathered some things you can do this spring while you take a minute to smell those roses. There are things we need to do to clear our space and to reflect on what exciting things we'd like to bring in. My approach to Spring-cleaning touches on areas that all professionals and entrepreneurs can relate to:

- Reevaluation of our businesses
- Follow Up Calls
- Getting Rid of Clutter
- Fire That Client
- Take "Me Time" Breaks

1. Re-evaluation Time:

We are halfway through the year. My, how time flies! How has it been for you thus far? I suggest you give yourself a "Company Evaluation" every month to make note of your progress and see where you still need to tighten up your act. I made a similar format to the evaluation form used at one of my past jobs. I tried it on myself for a few months and it really helps you re-focus and remember what your overall VISION was in the first place. It also brings your strengths and weaknesses to the forefront! Try it now, looking back on your own performance since January. Here's an example of how to do it.

List your responsibilities and objectives and rate each one. 1 being the worst and 5 being the best:

EXAMPLE...

Evaluation of The Sweet Tooth (Pastry company):

- Make an income of $3,000+ with orders for June: 2
- Develop a buzz about my company: 4
- Increase catering for events to at least 5 parties per month: 4
- Improve time management: 1
- Manage and build an effective team: 5

Pros: I did great with developing buzz, because of the press I received in the Daily News. Giving the editor free pies worked!

Cons: I was late for two important meetings, because of poor time management.

I like to write out the pros and cons of the overall performance as well. What did you do exceptionally well and why? What are the steps needed to make next month's evaluation better? When you elaborate on your highs and low, you can be your own coach to some extent. You can then set goals to make improvements instead of floating through each month with no direction. Having this on paper might help stop you from repeating the same destructive patterns. You might even want to get a folder or binder to keep them all in, so you can note your progress.

FOR MORE TIPS: http://www.gotstohaveit.com/may03_newsletter.html

2. DUST OFF YOUR ROLEDEX with "How ya been?" calls

Have customers you haven't spoken to in over six months? Pick up the phone and call them, even if it's just to say hello. It's even better if you have a special "SPRING TIME" promotion in mind just for old customers. Following up is very important, although it's hard to do. Make the time for it, starting today!

3. Get Rid of the Clutter: Spring Clean your office/home office But of course, it's what first comes to mind when we say spring-cleaning! The question is: how many of us actually take action in getting rid of the clutter and start organizing?

Are you someone who?

* Consistently misplaces things in your home?
* Forgets to pay your bills?
* Has a war-zone for a home office?
* Still has that outfit from 1983 (that you KNOW doesn't fit)?
* Wants to improve the energy and harmony of your home or office?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then you'll love the resources we have available to you!

Get rid of the clutter that has invaded your life. Learn how you can create balanced harmony in your home, office, and life with the help of these Gots To Have It friends?

La Shell Wooten http://www.spiritspacefengshui.com Feng Shui for urban living? Is it possible to have balance in an urban environment? Contact La Shell and learn about the basics of the ancient Chinese technique called Feng Shui. Find out how to change the energy of your home and office and to improve your daily living with effective Feng Shui Consultant La Shell Wooten. (La Shell was most recently featured in September 2004 Essence Magazine!)

Tonja Oates, CPA, http://www.thetmogroup.com Ever wondered what other professionals do to get their financial mess in order? Learn basic tips to keep track of your finances, set goals, and best practices for keeping sound records with Tonja Oates of The TMO Group. Two Give ' N Take members who offer superb cleaning services? Sincerely Chores, "Organic Cleaning for You & Yours" laverne@sincerelychores.com (718) 846-2104 Nikia Sharp of Domestic Diva http://www.domesticdivanj.com/ (973) 865-8826

4. Fire That Client!:

Yes, it's true, sometimes you must let go. Are you drained by the negative energy of a particular client or project? Do you just have personality clashes? Are they asking for more than you agreed upon originally? Unfortunately, it happens. Sometimes you do have to let go and move on to keep your sanity. Unless you have a contract that is holding you to it, you do have the choice of who you want to work with. That's the beauty of having your own business. Consider "Firing a Client" if?

- They try to take advantage and ask for more than what you originally agreed on AKA trying to get the "HOOK UP".

- The client is not respectful of your time.

- Invoices are nit-picked to death or payments are consistently late.

- The client fails to review critical documents in a timely manner. When you do send them on their merry way, always have a person to refer them to. And most importantly, try to leave things on good terms even if you did not see eye to eye.

Go here for more articles on how and why to fire that client: http://content.talentmarket.monster.com/contractor/freeagentguide/managingyourbusiness/fireaclient/ - http://welchwrite.com/dewelch/ce/ce991203.asp

5. Create "Me Time" Rituals Throughout Your Day

Now the weather is getting nicer, take short breaks in your day to go for a walk. Sit outside in the park and eat lunch. Do something that is a little rewarding for yourself after you finish a major project. People feel guilty sometimes just taking a 15 minute break (I know, I'm one of them...lol), but what most people don't realize is that those "me time moments" allow you to recover and put your all into the rest of your day. DO IT FOR YOURSELF, YOU DESERVE THOSE GUILT FREE MOMENTS.

Simone Kelly is CEO and founder of Gots To Have It, Marketing, a firm that specializes in marketing and empowering entrepreneurs with a series of workshops and networking events. Please view her company web sites here: http://www.gotstohaveit.com and http://www.giventakenetwork.org

Wedding Planning Tips and Tricks

Planning a wedding is an exciting thing, and can be very scary. With some basic tips and tricks, you will be sure to make you day special.

Be sure to setup your honeymoon at the same time as you setup your bridal registry! This will allow your guest to be able to choose the perfect gifts for you and even help you with your honeymoon. We have put together some wedding tips and tricks to help you speed up the process a little.

Pay all deposits on your credit card. Do not give any money without a contract, and never pay deposits by check! If you paid by credit card, and they do not provide you with what they agreed in the contract, you can always have the transaction taken off your account. A check is harder to collect on you will be required to take them to court.

What to Do First

The first three things should be done right away.

1) Choose the church, temple, or other ceremony location, and the date you want to be married.

2) Choose the reception location, date, and time.

3) Choose your photographer.

Most brides think they can always just choose the day they get married and that is the end of it. Nevertheless, this is not the true in most cases, be prepared to give up the date you have chosen for your special day unless you are fortunate enough to get the reception location and church available the same day. It is a known fact that you really are not the one that decides when you want to get married the place of the ceremony and reception halls do.

Our Recommendations

Choose at least three dates that you would consider getting married on

Choose one or two places you would like to have the ceremony and reception and book them immediately

Start on the wedding guest list as early as possible, this will then give people enough time to plan for your wedding.

Start picking out what decorations and flower arrangement at least one month before your wedding.

Arrange and book honeymoon travel as early as three or four months ahead, this will allow you the best possible price.

Prepare as much ahead of time as you can, so that you do not have a lot to do at the last minute.

Try to get your future spouse involved in the decision making process on all things, this will help you to learn to work together on things.

Do not be afraid to ask for help or designate work for others in the wedding party to do. If you choose your wedding party early, you can get all the help you need.

Remember if you need additional sources there is software that will make it easy for you to plan the most special day of your life. In addition, there are resource links below.

For more information, visit these sites:

http://www.WeddingPlanningInfoCenter.com
http://www.WeddingFavorsInfo.com
http://www.WeddingCakesInfo.com