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Write a Bankable Business Plan – Ten Action Steps

Action Step # 1

Define Your Company: What will you accomplish for others?

Write down all the specific needs your company will satisfy. Potential investors need to know that your business will be meaningful and marketable to people who can use your product or service. So concentrate on the external needs your company will meet. What will your product or service enable people to do better, more cheaply, more safely, or more efficiently? Will your restaurant make people’s palates delirious with new taste sensations? Will your new mouse trap help people capture mice without feeling sick to their stomachs? Will your new bubble gum scented bubble bath revolutionize the way children agree to take nightly baths?

Think of all the positive benefits your company will provide. Write them down. Admire them. Absorb them into your consciousness. Believe in them. These are the primary motivators that readers of your business plan will respect and value.

Action Step # 2

Identify Your Company’s Initial Needs: What will you require to get started?

Whether you want to buy an existing company with 300 employees or you can start your business by only adding an extra phone line to your home office desk, you need to make a list of the materials you’ll need. Some may be tangible, such as five hundred file folders and a large cabinet in which to store them all. Other requirements may be intangible, such as time to create a product design or to do market research on potential customers. You may need to hire an assistant to develop a retrievable filing system for the five hundred folders, or hire a consultant to set up a computer system that’s beyond your technical skills.

If you’re going to build a better mousetrap, you may have constructed a prototype out of used toothpaste tubes and bent paperclips at home, but you’ll need a sturdier, more attractive model to show potential investors. What exactly will your mousetrap look like? What materials will you need? Do you require money for research and development to improve on your original toothpaste tube and paper clip construction? Do you need to hire an engineer to draw up accurate manufacturing designs? Should you patent your invention? Will you need to investigate federal safety standards for mousetraps?

Next, do your homework. Call a real estate broker and look at actual retail spaces in the neighborhood where you’d like to open your restaurant. Make a chart of the most expensive and least expensive sites by location and square footage. Then estimate how much space you require and how much money you’ll need to allow for rent.

Make a list of all the tangible and intangible resources you need to get your business going. The total estimated price of all of these items will become your start-up cost whether you’re buying highly sophisticated computers or simply installing a new telephone line on your desk. If there’s any item in your estimates that seems unreasonably high, research other alternatives. But keep in mind that it’s better to include every element you truly need along with a reasonable estimate of the cost of each item, so you don’t run out of money or default on your loans. Be honest and conservative in your estimates, but also be optimistic.

Action Step # 3

Choose A Winning Strategy: How will you distinguish your product or service from others?

Although there are millions of types of businesses, there are actually only a few basic strategies that can be applied to make any enterprise successful. The first step in selecting an effective strategy is to identify a competitive advantage for your product or service. How will you establish that your product or service is better, cheaper, more delicious, or more convenient? How can you make your company more noticeable than your competitors? What restraints in your business or its industry might determine which strategy you choose?

Your competitive advantage may include designing special features not found in rival products. It may entail superior service characteristics such as speedier delivery, a lower price, or more attentive sales people. Perhaps you’re establishing an image or brand of exceptional quality or reputation. Does your product or service bestow a certain status on its users? Does it create more profits or other benefits for your customers’ own endeavors?

Perhaps you want to position your mousetrap for a primarily upscale market because the best design requires titanium and manufacturing costs will be so expensive only rich people will be able to afford your product. But maybe the mousetrap is so fantastically effective that wealthy people will want hundreds of them around their vast country homes and polo pony barns.

You must have a reason why your business will succeed. This is the competitive advantage your product or service will deliver. Once you’ve established the competitive advantage, you will be able to select the best strategy to reach your goal.

Action Step # 4

Analyze Your Potential Markets: Who will want your product or service?

To determine your targeted market, write down the demographics of the people who will use your product or service. How old are they? What do they do for a living? Will mostly women use your service? Is your product or service attractive to a particular ethnic or economic group of people? Will only wealthy people be able to afford it? Does your ideal customer live in a certain type of neighborhood, such as a suburb with grass lawns, in order to use your lawn mower? Answering these questions about the demographics of your prime market will help you establish the clear characteristics of the people you need to reach.

If you’re selling soap, you may believe that every dirty body needs your product, but you can’t start with the entire world as your initial market. Even if you’ve developed such a ubiquitous item as soap, you need to identify a smaller, more targeted customer group first, such as children under eight for the bubble gum scented bubble bath. If your soap only works with pumped well water without fluoride, you must acknowledge that your intended market has geographical limits as well.

Establishing the size of your potential market is important, too. This will be easier once you’ve completed the demographic analysis. Then you’ll be able to research the numbers: How many car mechanics, house painters or bathroom contractors are there in any given community? How many children in the United States are currently under the age of eight? How much soap will they use in a month or a year? How many other soap manufacturers already have a share of the market? How big are your potential competitors? And where do you find the answers to all of these questions?

Identifying your market is one of the great satisfactions of starting your own business. You’re thinking about the actual people who will use your product or service and how pleased they will be buying it as you are selling it.

Action Step # 5

Develop a Strong Marketing Campaign: How will you reach your customers and what will you say?

Entrepreneurs, especially inventors, often believe that their business concept is so spectacular that promoting their product or service won’t be necessary. Sort of a “build it and they will come” attitude, especially if what you’re building is the proverbial better mousetrap. One of the most common flaws I see in plans is the entrepreneur’s failure to describe exactly how customers will be reached and how products will be presented to them. Potential investors, staff, and partners won’t be convinced that your idea can succeed until you’ve established well-researched and effective methods of contacting your customers – and the assurance that once you’ve reached them, you can convince them to buy your product or service.

Marketing describes the way you will position your product or service within your target market and how you will let your potential customers know about your company. Positioning your company means concentrating on the competitive advantages you have identified: will your product or service distinguish itself by its superior quality, its revolutionary features or its ability to make your customers happier than they’ve ever been in their lives? Marketing helps you focus on identifying your competitive advantage so you can position your product or service. It also establishes the best ways to reach your potential customers and what to say to them.

When you have the right marketing campaign in place, you have an operating plan to gain market share, generate revenue, and bring your financial projections into reality.

Action Step # 6

Build A Dynamic Sales Effort: How will you attract customers?

The word “sales” covers all the issues related to making contact with your actual customers once you’ve established how to reach them through your marketing campaign. How will you train your sales staff to approach potential customers? Will you divide up your sales staff so some become experts in selling your bubble gum scented bubble bath to small, independent retail toy stores? Will other salespeople concentrate on developing relationships with major manufacturers so your product could be sold in tandem through their national distribution outlets? Will you have a sales force expert in buying television slots on Saturday morning cartoon shows or placing ads on the backs of kid-oriented cereal boxes?

What advertising and promotional efforts will you employ – two for the price of one specials or free coupons inside those same kid-oriented cereal boxes? Where can you locate lists of the greatest concentrations of children under the age of eight or whatever group constitutes your market?

In planning your sales activities, you will also need to answer questions such as: Is it ethical to contact your colleagues and clients from your former job as a door-to-door soap salesperson to tell them about your new business. Will you be the only salesperson in the beginning stages of your company? When will you know it’s time to hire more sales staff? How do you convince your clients that your sales staff will take care of them as well as you did? What will your basic sales philosophy be – building long-term relationships with a few major clients or developing a clientele of many short-term customers?

You will also need to consider how you will compensate your sales staff – with a base salary plus a commission? Will you hire full time staff with full benefits, or part time staff without benefits. How will you motivate your staff to do the best sales job possible?

Knowledge of your competitive advantage is just as important in designing a dynamic sales effort as it is in developing an effective marketing campaign. You’ll need to think about what product or service qualities will be the most compelling to your prospective customers. Then you’ll have to devise convincing language that clearly communicates this competitive advantage to your sales staff who will in turn use it when talking to your customers. In my experience, the most important element of an effective sales effort is having a sales staff that thoroughly understands your business and the needs or your potential customers. Therefore, your sales plan must address the issue of how you will create a sales staff that is as knowledgeable about your business as it is about your potential customers.

Action Step # 7

Design Your Company: How will you hire and organize your workforce?

By the time you’ve reached this stage of thinking about your potential business concept, you’ll probably have a good idea of the number of people you’ll need and the skills they’ll require to get your enterprise up and running. Keep in mind that your initial plans will undoubtedly change as your business grows. You may need to hire more managers to supervise your expanding staff or to set up new departments to meet new customer demands. Projected growth and expansion for your company should be mentioned in your business plan, but it’s not the primary focus. For now you want to secure help in getting started and convince your funding sources that you will become profitable.

Investors will want to know if you’re capable of running the business. Do you need to bring in experienced managers right away? Will you keep some of the existing employees or hire all new people? And where do you find these potential employees?

Funding sources will also want to know if any of your partners expect to work along side of you or if their obligations are only financial.

Your plan will need to specify the key management jobs and roles. Positions such as president, vice presidents, chief financial officer, and managers of departments will need to be defined along with stating who reports to whom. You may hope to run your company as one big happy family – and it may work out that way – but organizations require formal structure and investors will expect to see these issues addressed in your plan.

And as soon as you have employees, you need to consider how you will handle their salaries and wages, their insurance and retirement benefits, as well as analyzing the extent of your knowledge of tax related issues. As you think about hiring personnel and organizing your workforce, you must also confront your desire and ability to be a good boss. If you haven’t contemplated this aspect of your commitment to owning your own business, now is the time to give it serious consideration.

Action Step # 8

Target Your Funding Sources: Where will you find your financing?

As your business concept begins to take shape, you can begin to home in on the most likely financing sources. Issues such as the size of your business, the industry it is in, whether you are starting a new business or buying an existing one, and whether you can provide collateral to a lender are among the issues that must be considered in creating a target list of funding sources. Banks and other funding sources don’t lend money because people with interesting business ideas are nice. They follow specific guidelines, such as the RMA database, which are designed to insure that they will make money by investing in or lending to your business.

For the vast majority of entrepreneurs, the well-known, high profile means of raising money, such as through venture capital companies or by going public, are not viable options. Your own credit, credit rating, and business history are key factors in obtaining financing for your venture through Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed loans and other bank credit. Your ability to tap into your personal network of friends, family, and professional contacts is crucial to raising money beyond what your own personal funds or credit can provide. In all of these cases, there are important considerations such as the potential impact on relationships when family and friends become investors.

When you have completed this process of identifying the likely potential funding sources and writing a bankable business plan that addresses their needs and answers their questions (even before they ask them!), you will have greatly increased the likelihood of obtaining the financing you need.

Action Step # 9

Explain Your Financial Data: How will you convince others to invest in your endeavor?

The accuracy of your financial figures and projections is absolutely critical in convincing investors, loan sources and partners that your business concept is worthy of support. The data must also be scrupulously honest and extremely clear. Since banks and many other funding sources will compare your projections to industry averages in the Risk Management Association (RMA) data, I’ve stressed throughout my book how you can use the RMA figures to test your projections before the bank does. Your numbers will be more credible if they compare reasonably to the industry averages.

The actual number crunching portion of your business plan is the place to discuss how and why you need certain equipment, time or talent, how much these items will cost, when you expect to turn a profit, and how much return and other benefits your investors will receive.

More new businesses fail because they simply run out of cash reserves than for any other reason. Investors lose confidence in the entrepreneur and the business and become reluctant to invest more when projections are not met. Had the projections been less optimistic and the investors asked to invest more in the beginning, they probably would have done so. In most cases, proper planning and more accurate projections could have avoided this problem completely.

Your business plan should clearly state the amount of funds you need, how soon you require them, and how long before you start repaying investors. You should also explain what type of financing you hope to acquire, either equity (such as through the sale of ownership shares in your company) or debt (such as loans to the company).

If you’re planning to buy an existing business or already own a business you would like to improve or expand, you will also need to provide a detailed historical financial summary of how well – or poorly – the business has done in the past. This analysis should also include a comparison of this venture’s financial performance compared to the industry standards.

Action Step # 10

Present Yourself in the Best Light: What are your qualifications for bringing your plan to fruition?

The talents, experience and enthusiasm you bring to your enterprise are unique. They provide some of the most compelling reasons for others to finance your concept. Keep in mind that investors invest in people more than ideas. Even if your potential business has many competitors or is not on the cutting edge of an industry, the qualifications and commitment you demonstrate in your plan can convince others to proffer their support.

Your resume will be included in the separate appendix of exhibits at the end of the plan, so this is not the place to list every job you’ve ever had or the fact that you were an art history major in college, especially if these experiences have no direct bearing on your ability to start your own business. But it is the place to emphasize qualifying skills that may not be readily apparent from your resume.

But don’t overlook the impact being some part of your background that might even seem unrelated to your new venture. For example, having been a pilot may demonstrate that you know how to supervise a crew of people working together to make a group experience if not comfortable, at least safe. You have undoubtedly handled dissatisfied or enraged customers. Even that BA degree in art history may enable you to make your products or store more appealing to the eye.

Your unique qualifications will separate you from all the other people who have sought venture capital for similar ideas. Boasting about these skills is not hubris; it indicates that you have a highly honed business savvy.

Building An Environment Of Ethical Behavior Ten Tips From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach

Business ethics has become and has remained a popular news topic in today’s world thanks to Enron, Tyco, WorldCom, Adelphia, et al. We have read and heard about the “waiving of the ethics code or standard” and where compromises were made to ethical standards for business advantages. And now we hear about zero tolerance for unethical behavior. It now seems as though the pendulum is swinging strongly in the direction of zero tolerance for unethical behavior based upon the reactions to ethics misconduct cases across the corporate landscape.

Good business leaders have ethics, character and integrity. To lead and operate an ethical organization, you have to create an environment for your people that allows them to operate in an ethical manner. Here are ten (10) tips from your strategic thinking business coach on how to build an environment of ethical behavior.

Tip #1: Create and adopt a formal written Company Code of Ethics for your business and distribute a copy to all employees.

Tip #2: Create and implement a formal system for reviewing, updating and enforcing the Company Code of Ethics.

Tip #3: Communicate the Company Code of Ethics and provide orientation and training for all employees.

Tip #4: Commit to ongoing training and reinforcement of ethical behavior and require employees to take refresher ethics course.

Tip #5: Lead by example and “walk the talk” of following the adopted Company Code of Ethics.

Tip #6: Reward ethical conduct.

Tip #7: Deal with unethical behavior swiftly, firmly and justly when it occurs. Everyone must be treated in the same fair and impartial manner.

Tip #8: Encourage all employees to take responsibility for their behavior and maintain a strong personal code of ethics.

Tip #9: Appoint an ombudsman or other confidential channel for employees to voice their concerns or report unethical behavior in a confidential manner and without fear of retribution. Appoint a formal committee to consider ethical issues in accordance with the Company Code of Ethics.

Tip #10: Promote zero tolerance for unethical behavior.

Ten Reasons To Have an Inspired, World Changing Goal

In a nutshell, having an inspired, world-changing goal is the difference between idly walking along a path leading to nowhere and taking a purpose-filled journey to somewhere.

But before you can really consider why you need an inspired, world-changing goal in your business, it’s important to first understand what exactly an inspired, world-changing gGoal is.

An inspired, world-changing goal is a clear, measurable goal that you’d feel doggone excited to accomplish in the next 10-30 years. It’s a real goal, and not just some pie-in-the-sky mission statement or wish for world peace. It’s a specific, measurable goal that you can clearly define and you can objectively know when it is complete.

A well-constructed Inspired World-Changing Goal has six key attributes:

It lights up your heart and inspires you to your core. When you think about it, you are instantly filled with motivation, purpose, inspiration and excitement. It simply must be loaded with authentic desire within you. Without that, it’s not really an inspired goal, now is it?

It is 50-70% likely that you will be able to achieve it in 10-30 years. It’s indeed possible for you to accomplish this goal, but it will require a great deal of commitment on the part of everyone in your business to make it happen. It’s not a sure thing, but with every ounce of focus and commitment, you can do it!

It will require you to transform and grow. In order for you and your team to accomplish it, you will be required to evolve, shedding fear and embracing empowerment. You will need courage, perseverance, commitment, and inspiration, in order to make this goal a reality. It’s a goal that requires the very best of you to come forward.

It passes the Mount Everest test. In other words, your goal is as specific as climbing to the top of Mount Everest. I know, you know, your team knows, and the rest of the world knows what it means to climb to the top of Mount Everest. The same should be true for your goal. Specific, measurable, achievable, understandable, definable. It is in no way subjective. If you state your goal and people don’t clearly understand what you mean by it, then it fails the Mount Everest test and is not a true inspired, world-changing goal. You should be able to tell your friend what your inspired, world-changing goal is, and she should be able to easily — and in her own words — tell others what your goal is.

It involves more than you. This is what makes it “world-changing.” In some way, an inspired, world-changing goal benefits another. It transcends the self in some way and paves the way for your inner fulfillment to meet the need of the world in some way. Inherent in the goal are benefits to others, who might include your clients, your employees, your family, your community, the environment, a specific group of people, or a social cause.

It’s profound yet simple. You can say it in 20 words or less. It’s no loaded with descriptions, prepositional phrases, adjectives, etc. It’s clear and simple — “my goal is to climb to the top of Mount Everest.” No other colorful expressions are needed to describe it.

Here are some examples of what an Inspired World-Changing Goal is not:

To bring peace to the world. (It fails #2 and #4 from above.)

To sell my product to 300 million women. (Unless you are Procter & Gamble, it’s likely that you’d be failing #2 from above.)

To inspire people around the world with a feeling of hope, possibility, joy, and fulfillment. (It fails #2, #4, and #6 from above.)

To generate $25 million in annual revenues. (It fails #5.)

To consistently have 5 clients and increase annual revenues by 10%. (Sorry but this is just not that inspiring! It likely fails #1, #2, and #3 from above.)

Here are some examples of what an Inspired World-Changing Goal is:

To pass a bill in Congress implementing Department of Peace in the Executive Branch of U.S. Government

To attract 1,000 new clients each month and enroll them in buying an ABC Co. product or service.

To open a Wellness University that provides at least 10 unique certification programs.

To build a retreat center that serves 10,000 guests annually.

To be named as one of Fortune Magazine’s top companies to work for.

To take 1000 artists on a Spiritual Discovery Tour.

To give $1 million to charity (based on a rate of tithing 10%).

So now that you understand what an inspired, world-changing goal is, here are the top ten reasons why it’s imperative to have one in your business:

Reason One: It is the guts of your vision. Every successful business has a clear vision of where it is headed. An inspired, world-changing goal sits at the heart of that vision, making it more real, clear, and powerful.

Reason Two: It becomes your north star. Most businesses are headed towards short-term goals, but who knows if those short-term initiatives are really headed in the direction of your larger vision? Until you have an inspired, world-changing goal, your headed on a path to nowhere.

Reason Three: It is the foundation of your business plan. Once you have a well-constructed inspired, world-changing goal, then it’s easy to build milestones leading you to it. Your milestones then become the focus of your short- and long-term business planning. With an inspired, world-changing goal you have something specific to begin charting your progress towards.

Reason Four: It helps you make clear choices. Every choice will either lead you one step closer or one step farther from your goal. By having an inspired, world-changing goal, you have a litmus test or a system of calibration to determine the best path for your business. It helps you determine which markets to focus on, which products to develop, which channels to leverage, and which partners to attract.

Reason Five: It inspires you every step of the way. Without an inspired, world-changing goal, it’s easy to forget why you started your business in the first place. Getting lost in the minutia and sucked into the grind, it’s easy to loose perspective, momentum, and inspiration. But with a clear, simple inspired, world-changing goal, you are empowered with a glimmering reminder of what your journey is all about. And that is inspiring.

Reason Six: You are assured fulfillment. So often business owners chase goals that sound reasonable, logical, and prudent; but often these goals fail to produce the feelings of joy, fulfillment, purpose, and higher purpose that business owners long to feel. By following the path of an inspired, world-changing goal, your spirit aligns with what it deeply craves, and thus the feelings of fulfillment, self-actualizations, and real satisfaction are finally available along the way.

Reason Seven: It’s more attractive than you can possibly know. When you are onto big aspirations and accomplishments, everything about your business resonates, vibrates at that higher level. The high-frequency feelings combined with the clarity of a specific goal give you the exact ingredients to make your business a success-magnet.

Reason Eight: Others will be inspired to help you. When you’re up to big things, others will be inspired by what your doing and automatically feel compelled to help you. Not only does an inspired, world-changing goal build buy-in from your employees, it builds loyalty and confidence in your customers and partners.

Reason Nine: It keeps you aligned with your highest path. Because your inspired, world-changing goal is grounded in something that lights up your heart and inspires you to the core, it is, by definition, aligned with your highest path. Gifting yourself with an inspired, world-changing goal guarantees that your business be an instrument for divine good. I can’t imagine anything more empowering than that. Can you?

Reason Ten: Success becomes automatic. By taking consistent, constant action in the direction of your hearts deepest desires, you are essentially choosing to work with with the flow of the universe and all its abundance. Success, by any definition, becomes effortless and automatic. Your only job is to stay focused, inspired, and committed to the goal at hand.

Indeed having an inspired, world-changing goal at the foundation of your business can give you many benefits. But don’t take my word for it. Experience it for yourself today.

Ten Book Options to Use For Business Gifts

Ever find a business book that is referred to again and again or that others say they re-read or continually use as a resource? So why not consider giving the business gift that keeps giving in the form of a good book? There are so many great new books and classic titles out there to meet every type of business need.

Below are ten unique ideas to consider as gifts that help with common business problems or provide for an individual’s professional growth. These books are not listed in any particular order.

1. A book on how to give presentations can be used by any business professional to become a better speaker in front of co-workers or clients.

2. Everyone can use more efficient and effective meetings, so a guide book on meeting management also makes a great gift for business team members or customers.

3. Time management is important for any professional individual, so a book on this topic is often appreciated as even the best planner can get new ideas.

4. If the person getting the business gift is a new manager, supervisor, or team leader, a book that will guide them in their new role may be an alternative to consider.

5. Many professional individuals and teams need help setting goals and performance, as well as plans to achieve them. Therefore a goal-setting or planning book may be helpful.

6. Conflict management or resolution is another business issue many individuals and teams may have to deal with, so this is another option to consider when looking for a gift book.

7. Another business issue that often gets overlooked is communication. Consider books on improving interpersonal communication or writing business communications for those that may need this.

8. Negotiations skills are important for salespeople, but books on this topic can also be helpful to other professionals as well.

9. Most people like to think about how they can help their community as well as their own personal growth, so be sure to consider a book on making life matter or self-esteem as well.

10. People who travel a lot for business are spend a lot of time waiting for meetings might find a book of essays or short case studies from other professionals a helpful and easy read since it can be taken in small amounts as their time permits.

When considering the best business book to give, think about complaints or concerns the recipient has expressed in the past and look for a title on that subject or area. The person getting the book as a gift will appreciate the fact that someone remembered their problem as well as getting the gift.

The Teacher As Disciplinarian: Ten Ideas That Really Work!

Ten Ideas You Can Try Right Away

“Discipline is not the Enemy of Enthusiasm!”

– Morgan Freeman as Joe Clark

When it comes to Discipline in the schools, there are many well-publicized and well-marketed “systems”. People sometimes get carried away with systems, or programs, structures, textbooks, etc., arguing passionately, for example, that block scheduling is better than traditional scheduling, or integrated math is better than traditional math, or whole language is better than phonics, or this discipline system is better than that discipline system. Similarly, real estate agents will include the name of various school districts in their advertisement for a particular home based on how beautiful the district’s buildings are.

The focus, wrongly, is almost always placed on things, and not people. The truth of the matter is, and I’ll wait while you etch it in stone, my system will do better than your system if my people believe in our system and are passionately committed to its success. So when you hear the arguments, ad nauseum, for this system over that system in the schools, know that it is not the “thing” that caused the success, but the caring and passionate people working within the system.

The rules of golf, my friends, state that you are permitted to have 14 clubs in your bag. In the “golf course” of life in the schools, do you remember the teacher who only had a “driver” in his or her bag?

As we approach the topic of School Discipline, we must begin with the a priori acknowledgement that the American Juvenile Justice System is built on a rehabilitative model. This starts with the understanding that kids- you were a kid too, remember- are not perfect, that they will make mistakes, and that it is our duty as grownups to help them acquire the social skills needed to function as a productive individuals in society. If the Juvenile Justice system is set up this way, then how much more so must the school disciplinary approach be one that attempts to assist young people so that they improve their inappropriate behavior and become productive individuals? Naturally, this means that kids are supposed to get second and third chances, and some attempts at modifying behavior might take several years.

If the people who work in the schools were able to actually “fly the plane” in all respects, there would be no “Zero Tolerance” policies, either, and you would not read about kindergarten kids getting expelled for having a nail file, or because they gave a member of the opposite sex a hug. These coward politicians love to show how tough they are by passing legislation to expel kindergarten kids for hugging somebody or having a pocket knife. Media people, please listen: No real educator would ever come up with a policy like that- even criminals get three strikes- the one strike baseball game was concocted by politicians trying to get votes, not the educators you criticize when this tragedy occurs!

In the Broadway Show Bye Bye Birdie, Paul Lynde, bemoaning the behavior of teenagers “today” (circa 1960) sings in one of the songs this phrase- posed as a question… “Why can’t they be like we were, perfect in every way…what’s the matter with kids today, etc.?” A school I attended as a child had this quote on the wall by John D. Rockefeller… “What I am to be, I am now becoming.” So, everyone listen carefully… The kids you have right now or are going to have when you are out there teaching have not, unlike you, attained to perfection yet!!! However, perhaps through your caring efforts, patience, and rehabilitative strategies, they might get a few steps closer to the target- but they are not there just yet. So you will have discipline problems.

There are still teachers around who make kids stand in the corner and hold a dictionary in their outstretched arms or have someone write the dictionary, or “I must not talk in class” 500 times. We have all heard the horror stories of actions taken by teachers that do nothing but guarantee that the student will continue to do the wrong thing- often with greater enthusiasm. Don’t forget the line from Bye Bye Birdie…they are not perfect yet like you! Remember also that we are not selling a system in this book. You can buy books and take courses. Our purpose in this chapter is to give you a variety of tools- more like 14 clubs for your disciplinary “golf bag” if you will. These are strategies that have a high degree of success and can effect quick change.

PROACTIVE vs. REACTIVE

1. Start With a Positive…

Very few kids are discipline problems the first day of school or the first week of school. You probably already have an idea about the reputation of most of your students because the grapevine has informed you. The kids that have the potential to be problems have parents who usually are also aware that their child is a problem because that same child is a problem at home. So when these parents come to school angry at you the teacher, it’s really a case of misplaced aggression because it is their kid who is driving them over the edge. These same parents have literally cried on the telephone to me when they received good news about their child from the people at school- because it never happened before this. What’s the message for you? While it’s still early in the year- before the problems have manifested themselves, look for something positive that these potential problem individuals are doing and contact the parents to tell them the good thing that their child was doing.

Later, you will need the help of these parents to help change their child’s behavior and they will remember this phone call and view you as a nice person- a fair person- maybe the first person in the school district who has ever said something nice about their child. When you call later, you begin by saying… “Hi Mrs. Smith. This is Mr. Jones from the school. You probably remember that we talked when I called you about the nice thing your daughter was doing in my class.” Mom will say that yes, she remembers you. You then say, “I need your help with something.” Then you explain the discipline problem that her daughter is involved with and ask her if she could get involved at home and perhaps, working together as a team, you and Mom can help the child to improve this problem she is now having. Most of the time, the parents will go out of their way to help you. They will also remind the child that you actually said something nice about them and we want to keep this nice teacher on our side- he’s a friend. This potential problem child may start acting better anyway because he realizes that you also make good comments, not just negative ones like everyone else. This is an example of a teacher being PROACTIVE.

2. The Unknown Time-Out

Although this strategy works best with younger students, used sparingly, it will also be equally effective with high school students. Make a plan with one of the secretaries, the Athletic Director, the Principal in a smaller school, or some other person- perhaps the Librarian, the Nurse, Custodian, etc. You can arrange multiple destinations for the Unknown Time-Out maneuver. When you have one or more particularly difficult students or ones that start well but get mixed up in any of the commotion that occurs in class, you call one of the students up to you desk, hand him a colored envelope that has something in it with the name of the person the envelope is going to on it. You tell the student to take this envelope to the person and wait for a response and then bring the response back.

When the recipient of the envelope sees that particular student or that colored envelope, he or she knows what is going on and tells the student to sit in the waiting area while they get the answer ready. Now they take 10 minutes to prepare the response, give it to the student and tell the student to take it back to you. This student just got a “Time-Out” lasting perhaps 15 minutes without knowing it. This Proactive strategy kept the student from being yelled at again for what would have been his inevitable misbehavior, he has done something that seemed to be responsible, and so you the teacher comment on his reliability and thank him. The anticipated daily problem never occurred in the first place. In this process, the envelope, not the student, can be the indicator, so more than one teacher and additional students can be involved in this process. It is unlikely that the students- even high school students, will ever catch on to this strategy.

3. Inviting the Principal to Provide the Positive

If you had the pleasure to attend a Catholic Elementary School in the mid 50’s, you may remember this- ruefully, I do. The report cards were distributed every 6 weeks, so every 6 weeks, the priest would come into class on a Friday to be involved in the process of handing out the report cards to 65 or so students in the class. As the Priest gave out the report cards, he always added a moment or two of editorializing. To this day, I have bad dreams about him saying… “Daniel. Hmmm. Let’s see…My goodness, I know your Mother…The Poor Woman will be broken-hearted when she sees this awful report card.” Of course, everyone is sitting all prim and proper with their hands folded, but your buddies are looking at you and silently making faces and laughing all the while. All of this had quite the dramatic effect.

What’s the message for you? DON’T INVITE ANYONE IN FOR A NEGATIVE!!! But, invite the principal in and when he is there, publicly acknowledge the student by saying something like… “By the way Dr. Stevens(The Principal) Billy here has been one of my most improved students this report period- he is doing some very nice work!” – Or, “Billy, why don’t you show Dr. Stevens your excellent Social Studies project?” Billy has been doing some excellent work lately Dr. Stevens! The principal knows that this is his cue to congratulate the child and talk more about how nice it is to see students behaving this way, etc. This is another very proactive way to reinforce any positive behavior being shown by a student who does not show it that often.

4. The Sandwich Technique

The Sandwich Technique comes to us from the world of sports psychology and has been an effective tool for modifying behavior and encouraging people for over 30 years. It has application to almost every area of human endeavor- in fact, you can even use it with your spouse. It begins by getting a person’s attention by saying something positive. We say this because, for the most part, whether you are a spouse, an athlete, or a misbehaving child, your ears tend to close when you sense that a negative comment is coming your way- we all tend to tune this stuff out. So we get people’s attention by saying something positive first- the ears perk up. The positive is followed by what we really wanted to say- the criticism or negative and any disciplinary action that might be occurring. It is followed by a final upbeat and positive comment. Thus the negative is the Peanut Butter and Jelly, and the positive in front and at the end are the two pieces of white bread.

We’ll leave it to you how best to apply it in other walks of life, but consider how it can be used in the school setting by looking at the following hypothetical:

Johnny misbehaved in you class again today. He’s actually an intelligent individual who simply is not working to the best of his ability. He has shown flashes of brilliance, but for the most part, is usually at the center of any commotion that goes on in class- he’s been turning in some sloppy work lately as well. Write a script of what you would say to Johnny making sure to apply the Sandwich Technique.

It might go like this: Johnny, you know that I like you- you and I have developed a pretty good friendship over the last couple of months haven’t we? That’s why I am surprised that it is you I have to talk to so much. I have looked at your test scores and I have seen some of your work and it is excellent- you have the ability to be one of my brightest students. Here’s the problem, though…this is the fourth time in a row that you have turned in such sloppy work. So I am going to just keep giving it back to you till you do it correctly, and I don’t care if it takes you a month to do it correctly. You will have to come in after school to redo the work, Also, if you do not change the quality of your work, then I am going to have Mom and Dad come in, and you know what your father said he would do if I call him about you, don’t you? What do you think would be a good way to fix this problem? (Avoiding the Yes-No question)All right. Let’s get back to work, but I want you to know, I think you are a sharp kid, and I was just talking about you in a good way to Dr, Stevens. So let’s start doing the work I know you are capable of. Etc.”

5. Divide and Conquer

In this situation, two students are a constant disruption in class. Take one of the students and treat him in a way that is a little less strident than the other. This can be done by rewarding one of the students for doing something right and making it seem as though he is not the real trouble maker in all of these class problems- it’s the other guy. The second person will not stay too friendly with the first person, and the first person will begin to distance himself from the second person. You say to the first student, “You know Billy, I look at you as one of my better students and I don’t think of you as a troublemaker like some students seem to be in this class. What do you think you could do to improve this problem? (Again, not a yes-no)Following the private discussion, you move Billy making sure to explain to him that you want to get him away from the problems so he can do good work and not be bothered all the time. The partners in crime will not be so friendly with each other after you take this action.

6. The Phone Call From Class

Signal for the misbehaving child to join you in the hallway. Tell the child that you have your cell phone “right here in your hand”, and if you ever see this kind of behavior again, you are going to call his or her Mom at her place of work right here from class and the child is going to have to explain to her Mom the reason why the call is being made. The teacher then asks the student how happy he thinks his Mom is going to be to receive such a phone call from school when she is working? When he replies, “Not very happy”, say, “Right, not very happy, so I expect to see some very quick improvement in your behavior- got that Billy? This is one time where a yes answer is all that is needed. The next day, or for the next few weeks or so, if Billy is acting out, the teacher merely holds the phone up and looks at it and then looks back to Billy. Billy will understand completely. Additionally, can you imagine the effect this will have on the other students, notably potential problem individuals when they find out that someone had to actually call his or her mother from class!

7. The Letter in the Drawer

Let’s say that a child uses foul language in you class. First you tell him that this kind of language is not appropriate for class and that you and he are going to have to talk about this after class. Quietly, without any overreaction and typically after class, although there might be occasion to use this technique within earshot of classmates, you tell the student the following: You are really surprised that a person like him would be speaking like that. You then tell him to write down what he said on a piece of paper. Make sure all of the words and details are included in the writing. Then, with a flourish, you place the writing in a business envelope and put a stamp on it and tell the student that normally, this would go directly into the mail with a phone call to let Mom know it is coming. Also, you dramatically write out a disciplinary referral.

Then you might tell the student that you are going to give him a detention for his behavior, but since you the teacher are such a nice person, you are going to keep this letter and the referral in your desk for mow. If this behavior ever occurs again though, both of these items are being sent along with a second mailing for the additional offense. Then you tell the student that this will stay in your desk till the end of the marking period at which time you will dispose of it if he, the child, continues to behave properly. Like the technique involving the cell phone, if the child is starting to misbehave a few days letter, you can point to the letter or the referral as a silent reminder. The child will get the point and probably appreciate your kindness.

8. Invite Mom to come in

This is a great technique for improving everyone’s behavior because one visit to your class by someone’s Mom who sits right next to her normally misbehaving child for one or more periods and everyone will behave because they will fear that they might be next. Kids would rather have root canal than have Mom come in to sit next to them for an entire period or several periods. The process works like this: You make an effort ahead of time to establish a good working relationship with the Moms of some of your most significant problem individuals. You call Mom and invite her in because Junior is misbehaving. Mom comes to class and sits right next to her child and can remain for one or more days. Nobody wants to endure this humiliation. Do it just once and many of your discipline troubles will be over. The next day after the visitor leaves, the teacher can say… “Well, you saw a parent in here to visit because there were some problems I wanted her to see…who’s next?” Don’t expect any hands!!!

9. Involve the Guidance Counselor

Without fail, you will find guidance counselors more than happy to assist you in dealing with a student experiencing problems because it gives them the opportunity to do what they went to school to learn how to do. This is important to guidance counselors because, in the present national testing zeitgeist, they have all too often become the de facto assessment coordinators for their school. They have less time to actually counsel kids because much of their time is being spent checking bubble sheets, counting booklets, and filling out forms for the state as well as sifting through mountains of paperwork related to special education, for example. As a teacher who sees the same students on a daily basis, you know which students have the most pressing issues related to discipline and which ones would profit most from a visit with the counselor as opposed to a visit with the Principal or Dean of Students. Not every matter needs to go to the principal.

On the other hand, you are out there amidst the masses and you hear various stories about kids regarding things that are happening in their lives. Sometimes you have established enough of a rapport with a student that he or she shares it with you himself. Once a student was talking to me about where she was going for the holidays and matter of factly told me that she and her two sisters are from 3 different fathers and they would be going to see all of the fathers as well as the related grandparents, and even though one of the fathers used to “beat my Mom up”, things are pretty good around the holidays as long as he doesn’t get too drunk, etc. The child acted as though this was completely normal, and although she was a discipline problem now and then, after hearing this story, I looked at her much differently. I realized quickly that this was something that should involve the guidance counselor.

Remember also that kids spend more time around the people in school than the people at home, so you will often know immediately when a kid just does not look right which might be an indicator of sexual abuse, drug use, eating disorders, pregnancy, self abuse, etc. Maybe the grapevine knows about a death, a loss of a job, marital unrest, etc. You are the first line of defense in this process. The counselor has all of the right contacts and phone numbers of professionals that she can bring into the process. When a kid who was never a discipline problem starts to become one, or his work starts to take a negative turn, pay attention and don’t just turn directly to the discipline code page in the student handbook. You and the counselor, working together, can be a great force for changing a kid’s life- and the matter never has to get to the discipline office. Don’t be upset, however, if after the counselor gets involved, he or she is unable to share all information about the child with you. There are some issues with Confidentiality involved, so maybe all you will hear is that “The matter is being taken care of.” That might be all you are able to find out.

10. Careful About Examples

Do you remember the movie Home Alone? In it, Mc Cauley Culkin, the child who was left behind is talking to the old man who used to scare him. They are sitting in a church and the kid tells the old man that a certain third grader got “nailed” when kids found out that he wore dinosaur pajamas. If you are not careful about certain examples you speak about to misbehaving kids, you might get somebody “nailed”. To clarify, if you had brothers or sisters, do you ever remember hearing this from either of your parents, “Why can’t you be more like your brother who always makes the honor roll- he always does all of his work so neatly!

If, as a teacher, you make an example like this by saying, “Why can’t you people in the back turn in neat work like Jimmy here- he is such a wonderful student?”… you may be insuring that poor Jimmy is going to get “Nailed”. The world of kids is difficult enough, don’t put someone in peril because he or she is a model student. You can still have pageantry involving awards, but never expressed in a comparative way as in, “Jimmy got this, but look at you Billy, you only got this!” Your parents did that. It did not necessarily endear you to your brother or sister when the comparison was made.

Ten Internet Business Secrets Exposed to Earn Money Online

So your looking to earn money online with an Internet Business? You are not alone, as the world wide recession has hit many a hard slap of reality regarding the scarcity and severity in the job market, many are turning to an Internet Business to help them to earn money online. While an online business is becoming more recognized for offering flexibly and freedom while working from home, there are several factors that you must consider before you start to build your new career online.

Many are dreaming of easy, carefree days at home with easy money raking up in their bank accounts. The reality is, that while the World Wide Web offers a new market place to start to earn money online, there are still responsibilities in creating success online. By the end of this article you should be enlightened to what is necessary in order to have your Internet Business making money online.

While you may have seen the over hyped advertising claiming easy money while golfing, playing with the kids, or vacationing in the Caribbean’s, there are some facts they are not telling you. In order to earn money online, while enjoying this freedom, there was work, marketing and training to achieve this level of freedom. These people also have to maintain their work schedule in order to take those long weeks, and continue to make money. Its not that you set your Internet Business up one week, and you will b profiting the next. The hard reality is it will take time and effort to reach these added bonus.

Below I have added the ten steps that are critical to have your Internet opportunity profiting.

Ten Easy Steps To Have Your Internet Business Earn Money Online

1.) Website Development – Your website is your chance to sell, intrigue, and engage with your market place. It is suggested to find a mentor or trainer who will help you create a webpage at the beginning of your Internet opportunity. As your training progresses you should also learn how to create websites.

2.) Marketing Strategies – Marketing is the core of your online business. How you market will be in direct reflection to your earnings. The Internet is a mass resource allowing us to connect with a worldwide audience. But the marketing is what puts you in front of those buyers. Seek training and expertise in free marketing strategies, as well as knowledgeable Internet Marketers to teach you the right way to market in order to have your business earn money online.

3.) Social Networking – The latest online platform that when used properly can help you grow your business opportunity. Getting involved in the social networking platform is proven to help create not just contents, but lasting and profitable business relationships as well.

4.) Search Engine Optimization – Most buyers are going to the major search engines and typing a search phrase to find what they are looking for. You have two options to tap into this marketplace. You can either pay for the exposure, which can be costly, or you can learn search engine optimization techniques. Even if you pay for the service, it is beneficial to utilize the free method as well to maximize exposure and earnings.

5.) Video Marketing – The Internet has one barrio, and that is losing the face-to-face interaction. Video marketing is becoming a tool to break that barrier. While allowing Internet Business owners to engage, it can also be used for additional traffic to a website.

6.) Business System – Every successful business needs a system. Make sure you have a system or a process in which your clients will take in order to review your products, buy your products, and to follow up with your potential clients. Having a pre-established business system will assist you to proper manage and sell your products or services.

7.) Consistency – You need to be consistent with building your business. You have to practice and learn your steps in order to continue to get the traffic to your website. One traffic stops and no one is viewing your site, than you will be out of business.

8.) Continued Education – The biggest mistake you could ever make is thinking that you know everything there is to know about Internet Marketing. The difference between those that make a little bit of money and those that are making extraordinary money is they continue to learn new business building skills, and continue to connect with people who can teach, and help them enhance their Internet Business.

9.) Tracking – It is important to track the results of your marketing campaign. Understanding which marketing strategies, are making you money, and which marketing campaigns are not making you money. You don’t want to spend your day working on task that are not going to have your earn money online. Rather you want to put your effort and time into money generating strategies.

10.) Identifying your target audience is and how to get your website in front of your target audience is critical for current and ongoing success. Executing task on weekly basis to ensure that your information is consistently getting in front of the audience who will buy from you is important when building your Internet opportunity.

When starting an Internet Business you have to be clear on what your expectations are. It would be fantastic to believe that the world wide web has evolved to the magnitude where you could push a button and an automated income would be generated. The above ten steps should be used, practiced and executed in order to reach the level of success you desire. Yes it does take work, and yes it is not push button marketing, but the fact remains those that learn and implement these techniques are more likely to experience higher level of success with their Internet Business.

Top Ten Factors in Running a Successful Construction Contractor Business

It is not easy running a construction business. There are many pitfalls and ways to lose money but if you follow some basic steps you can not only make a living but become very wealthy. Many successful construction contractors have learned there are certain things you absolutely must do right all the time and certain skills you must have or acquire in order to make it in this very competitive industry. In this article I will summarize what it takes to be a successful construction contractor in their order of importance.

Most Important Factor: Hands On Experience

Do not even think about starting a construction contractor business unless you have at least five years of broad (meaning general, not specialized) construction experience. The only exception to this is if you intend on specializing in one area and one area only. We call this a niche. Niche’s can be very profitable, but they can also go away, change or be replaced by technology, new products, changes in the industry or societal changes. The best chance for success in the general contractor business is to gain experience doing everything. This general experience has many benefits. It gives you the ability to identify and hire competent individuals, fire incompetent ones, evaluate good work product and identify poor work product. Probably the most important thing it gives you is the ability to transition from being a technician to being a manager. The best experience comes from small to mid-sized construction companies that require you to be a jack of all trades. Larger companies have a tendency to pigeonhole you into niches. That is fine if your business model is a niche, but if you start a general contractor construction business with skills in only a few niche areas, you will fail unless you hire to your weaknesses.

Second Most Important Factor: Outstanding Accounting System

If you do not have a sound accounting system your construction business will eventually fail. This CPA has witnessed this too many times than I care to recount. Sound accounting systems allow you to evaluate whether or not you make a profit on a job by job basis. Going with gut instinct is dangerous and fraught with risk. A sound accounting system helps you identify those things you do right on each job as well as the mistakes you’ve made. Numbers don’t lie. Unfortunately, my experience has shown me that most construction contractors pay little attention to their system of accounting. There is a fear that proper accounting will set the business owner up for higher taxes. Thus, cash received on a job and cash disbursed go unreported in an effort to avoid tax. What a mistake. I don’t care how great your gut feeling is on each job, if you don’t have an accounting of every penny on each job, you can rest assured you are flying blind and losing money on each job. You will go out of business and your family life will suffer. If you decide to start your own business you need to act like a professional business owner and that means creating a sound accounting system. Failed accounting systems lead to litigation, failure and bankruptcy.

Third Most Important Factor: Effective Management

When you have hands on experience in the industry, forged by many years (at least five years) of working in every facet of the construction business, you are better able to make the transition from technician to manager. Effective management requires that you have sound procedures on many aspects of your business. Well-defined work product processes, along with accompanying task-specific checklists, allows you to drill your workers on every aspect of a task within a job. You should have a work product process with accompanying checklists for just about every major task within a job. This eliminates human error and allows you to make corrections before the task is officially completed. It is a construction company owners #1 management tool. You must develop a process for each job and each task. This process must be in writing and stored in a binder for each job, along with the task checklist. The task checklist should be calendarized. Your jobs binder should include the following:

Tab #1 – A copy of the signed contract and any change orders.

Tab #2 – Budget for the job. Budget for each change order.

Tab #3 – Accounting for income and expenses. The income portion would include the contract bid price, monies received either as deposits or as the stages of the project are completed and monies received for change orders.

Tab #4 – Task List Summary.

Tab #5 – Task #1 Process Summary and Checklist.

Tab #6 – Task #2 Process Summary and Checklist.

etc.

Last Tab – Customer sign off letter on completed work along with standard testimonial letter signed by customer, listing customer’s name and contact information along with permission to use the testimonial in marketing and as a reference for prospective customers. You will transfer copies of each testimonial letter to a separate binder that you will take with you to each prospect. This testimonial binder may be the only thing separating you from your competition. It gives assurance to prospects that you take customer satisfaction very seriously and may be the difference maker. It allows prospects an opportunity to reach out to previous customers in order to obtain references. It also shows the prospect your company is very organized and well run. Lastly, have a picture of the before and after on each job in this binder.

Fourth Most Important Factor: Strong Business Partnerships

A stable of competent subcontractors who have many years of experience working together is crucial to the success of a job. Each job is a team effort and having a strong network of competent individuals/businesses available to you for each job, and who understand your businesses processes, will make each job run much more efficiently. Efficiency and competency = profit on each job.

Fifth Most Important Factor: Project Bidding Process

You can be the most skilled, best managed construction company, with a stable of talented subcontractors and still go out of business if you do not have a strong process in place on bidding for each job. You can lose your shirt if you underbid a job. How does this happen? The most common cause of underbidding is not doing your homework and relying on your gut or unverified estimates rather than a fail safe process of checking and double checking each cost within each task. The devil in any construction job is in the details. The bidding process is very much like your business plan for each job. It must identify every task, every cost and each cost must be checked and double checked before bidding on the job. Where many construction contractors go wrong is in estimating the cost of tasks incorrectly. These incorrect estimates are caused by flawed assumptions on the tasks and the associated costs, which is the result of not accurately verifying and then re-verifying every task and every cost. It is a painstaking process but you must get the bid right. Your assumptions on each task must be vetted not once but at least twice. You know the rule: measure twice cut once. This adage is particularly true in the bidding process.

Sixth Most Important Factor: Marketing

Everyone in the construction business understands the importance of referrals. Most of your prospective customers come by way of referral. But referrals are not enough. What should be part of your marketing tool belt?

1. You should have an active web site that includes customer testimonials front and center.

2. You should join a networking group.

3. You should join a civic organization.

4. You should provide valuable assistance to local community non-profit groups (one or two will suffice nicely).

5. You should have a regular process of bidding jobs that are not referral-based

6. You should have a process for direct mailings very week.

7. You should have business cards, stationary, job site signs.

8. You should advertise in the yellow pages or local newspapers.

9. Customer Testimonial Binder (referenced above).

10. You should have brochures.

Seventh Most Important Factor: Stay Current With Technology and Replace Old Equipment/Tools

You must upgrade your equipment and tools to stay current with technological changes. This will not only improve efficiency but also the quality of each job. You must also replace old equipment and tools in order to get each job completed efficiently and on time. You will know when it is time for new equipment and tools when the old equipment and tools begin breaking down at a rate that causes recurring delays. When equipment/tools breakdown it can cause cost overruns and result in late completions. No matter how good the quality of your work is, missing completion dates harms your reputation.

Eighth Most Important Factor: Hire To Your Weaknesses

No matter how much experience you have and how skilled you may be there are certain things each one of us does well and certain things we do badly. More often than not, the things we do well are the things we enjoy doing and the things we do badly are the things we hate doing. A skilled business owner will hire people who do have strengths in areas the business owner has weaknesses. As an example, one of my clients nearly went out of business because he did not like having to make calls to collect receivables. My advise to him? Hire someone who is expert in collections. He took me up on my advise and eventually, his collections expert, became his partner. His business is thriving now. Hire to your weakness and watch your business boom.

Ninth Most Important Factor: Document Mistakes and Failures

This should be incorporated into your Job Process/Task List Binder. You must learn from your mistakes. Mistakes should not be considered anything other than an experience learned. Document those bad experiences and incorporate them into your job process and task list binder so as to never repeat them again.

Tenth Most Important Factor: Change Orders

Most contracts include language regarding change orders. Change orders are caused by many factors, which is beyond the scope of this article, but let me be clear in saying that you must cost out every change order as if you were costing out the job. You must then process the change order (list each task and assign a date of completion for each task) and attach a task checklist for each new task resulting from the change order. Lastly, you must get the customer to understand and sign off on the change order or you will not collect your full price for the job. Many construction contractors unfortunately do a poor job in addressing change orders. They are reluctant to highlight it with the customer and gloss over it in an effort to avoid confrontation. The reason? The reality of change orders are not addressed up front when you are bidding on the job. Customers only see the price you gave them and that is in the contract. You must address the reality of a change order occurring at the outset of the bidding process and before the contract is signed. If a customer understands from the very beginning that change orders do occur often and that a change order will increase the price of the job, you will be less shy about confronting the customer when it does occur.

Top Ten Reasons Why I Should Start Taking The GMAT Exam

The Graduate Management Admission Test, which is also known as the GMAT, is required by many of the top business schools. Many people put off taking this test until the last moment. There are many reasons why you should start taking it now or at least take its practice tests. The particular test is a big step for a lot of people, and it may be a requirement for you to get into a graduate program.

Reasons Why You Should Start Taking the Test

The graduate program that you want to attend may require you to take the test before you can begin working on your certified MBA. It is a good idea to get this out of the way as soon as possible so you know for certain come enrollment time that you are a candidate for the graduate program.
It takes a lot of people awhile to actually pass this particular test so you should be sure that you can pass it before it is time to begin your MBA course of choice.
There are many different sections of the GMAT and you need to make sure that you are going to pass them all to get into your graduate program. There is a verbal, quantitive reasoning, and analytical writing section to pass. If you start taking the test now you’ll be sure to have a passing score by the time you need to enroll for your program.
You should start taking the test now as all of the top business schools have different requirements. They all have specifics about the grading of the test and how you score. You want to have plenty of time to take action if you don’t meet the requirements for one school but you do for another.
This particular test will prepare you for other entrance exams that you may have to take to get into business school or a graduate program.
Taking the test and passing will show that you are serious about a job in the business field and your place in a business school.
In addition to a certified MBA many businesses like to see that a person has passed the test as well.
This particular test will give you an idea of where you stand. How well you do on the exam will show, for many people, what your strong points are and what your areas of opportunity may be.
Taking the test now will free up funds for later, as it usually costs $250 and you might need this money when it comes time to enroll.
Top business schools often don’t require the test but will give preference to those that have taken and passed the test.

As you can see, there are a lot of reasons for you to take the test. It’s not the easiest test, but with some studying you’ll be able to take it on. The GMAT will look good on your transcript and give you a leg up on the competition.