The Poetry Portal Net

When it comes to running an office, the SOHO entrepreneur has enough on his or her plate as it is. So if you find yourself in the unenviable position of regularly having to set aside your core competencies to handle tedious, repetitive administrative duties such as creating your business documents from scratch, then you need to consider the potential benefits offered by document templates.

Templates enable you to create professional documents that are unified in appearance. With a template, you’ll be able to access readymade documents that you’ll be able to manipulate via a step-by-step process to fit your specific needs. If you are new to the world of business, you can use templates to quickly, easily and efficiently create the professional quality documents you require. If you are familiar with creating business documents, you can use templates to save time.

You no doubt grasp the importance of standard documents such as contracts, business correspondence and agreements. But having to write, edit and print them up each and every single time they are needed is not only costlyin terms of taking away from mission-critical job dutiesbut also frustratingin terms of forcing you to complete the same tasks over and over.

Document templates, however, greatly simplify the task by providing you with the framework for the documents you need. By using document templates, you’ll be able to easily personalize a standardized document. For instance, you’ll be able to input the names of the parties involved, addresses, specific terms of the agreement and other relevant data. The great thing is that document templates actually simplify the process of generating business documents.

When you use document templates, you’ll receive several benefits. You won’t need to spend countless hours creating business documents from scratch. You’ll increase worker productivity, because you and your staff will not have to manually create documents from the ground up. Furthermore, templates lets even non-designers create impressive looking business documents that project a professional image.

You may even be surprised to know that some of the word processing software currently sitting on your hard drive have templates you can use to streamline the process of creating documents. For instance, MS Office contains plenty of features you can leverage to produce professional-looking documents. Using the templates included, you’ll be able to generate various types of business documents. WordPerfect is another word processing application you can use when it comes to accessing templates. And if you don’t have either MS Office or WordPerfect, you can use just about any desktop publishing project to produce templates for business documents.

With document templates, you’ll be able to generate the business documents you need when you need them. By creating your own business documents, then having your lawyer look them over, can save you money. Since you don’t have to pay him to create them from scratch for you. In this day and age when companies are proactively considering cost-containment measures, you should consider the benefits of templates to create your business documents. They will not only reduce costs, but also save you time.

If you’re looking for document templates, you should first check to see if your existing software programs already have them. But while many word processing and desktop publishing programs do provide document templates, most do not provide document templates for specialized business forms that you may require from time to time. So you may need to buy a third-party program that gives you access to these necessary templates.

Fortunately, there are a number of options when it comes to document templates. One of the better known document template programs is Business-in-a-Box (www.envisionsbs.com), a software library that comes with policies, spreadsheets, legal documents, business correspondence and just about any other type of document you will need to effectively run your business. In all, Business-in-a-Box includes over 700 document templates (basic version) or over 1,200 document templates (professional version) that you’ll be able to use. These document templates can also be used on most word processors, so you won’t need a fancy program in order to use them.

Business-in-a-Box is not the only program that provides document templates, but it is certainly one of the most comprehensive. Envision SBS, the maker of Business-in-a-Box, even offers a downloadable demo on its website. So you can give it a test drive before you decide whether or not to buy it.

There are a few other things you’ll want to keep in mind when considering the option of buying a specialized program that generates document templates. For one thing, you will want to get a solution that is not platform dependent. You may also want to consider a template collection that works with the software you already have. You’ll also want to ensure that the solution you ultimately buy has a wide range of templates available, such as document templates for contracts, memos, sales letters, collection letters, request for proposals and more.

Being a small company means that you’ll have to be more judicious when it comes to deciding what qualifies as your firm’s core competencies. When you consider cost containment, productivity improvement and customer service enhancement, I’m sure you’ll agree that using templates to quickly and easily create professional and high impact business documents is a smart business move.

Copyright 2004 Cavyl Stewart

About The Author

Cavyl Stewart is the owner of http://www.find-small-business-software.com, which is dedicated to providing resources and information on finding the software solution that is right for your needs and budget. Check the template directory for links to some of the best template sites on the web.

I have over 25 years in the customer service field, having worked most of her life in banking, retail and employee outsourcing. I amalso a Certified PC Technician. My first small business (pre-internet) was running an office support service.

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Looking for something more than vertical blinds? Check out our Woven Fabric Verticals! Our vertical blind tracks are top of the line making them very easy to operate. You can order them with different stacking options such as one way draws, with slats stacking all on one side or split draws, with the slats splitting from the middle and stacking on each side basically like most draperies do. The slats can be rotated in many different directions to adjust the light in the room or your privacy.

You can order them with different stacking options such as one way draws, with slats stacking all on one side or split draws, with the slats splitting from the middle and stacking on each side basically like most draperies do. The slats can be rotated in many different directions to adjust the light in the room or your privacy.

With all of our vertical blinds, you will automatically be sent a Child Safe Tension Pulley that is perfect for households with children or pets that may get tangled in the vertical blind’s chain tilt. Our vertical blinds also offer a Motorized Tilt that will tilt open or tilt closed the slats. In most cases this is an Infrared control only which has a remote control and it operates your vertical blind from up to 50′ from the receiver eye. You can operate a number of grouped vertical blinds together or up to 3 vertical blinds individually. You would operate all vertical blinds simultaneously with Select All channel. The motors and the batteries are concealed inside all head rails. A remote control is ordered for an extra charge. A satellite eye can be ordered too if you have some sort of fabric valance or cornice covering the infrared eye so that the eye can read the signal. The satellite eye will extend out and around your fabric valance or cornice.

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The competition is fierce and ad budgets are tighter than ever. If you’re looking to
boost profits and gain market share, there are some things you can do to gain a
bigger piece of the pie.

Give your product a distinct personality

OfficeMax’s Rubber-Band Guy is an instantly identifiable, highly memorable
character that has boosted sales and brand recognition. It personifies the brand
while selling the message that whatever customers need they can get at OfficeMax.

Offer them an interesting history lesson

Some of the most common products we use today have the most interesting
development histories. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, left historical
records of a powder made from the bark and leaves of the willow tree to help heal
headaches, pains and fevers. By 1829, scientists discovered that the salicin in willow
plants was the key ingredient in aspirin, which was later repackaged and marketed
by Bayer.

Sing your product’s praises

Create a memorable catchy song, poem or jingle that that hooks in people’s minds.
Gillette sold millions of razor blades using “The Best a Man Can Get,” which
continues to stick in consumers’ heads, leaving a positive impression about the
product’s unbeatable performance.

Re-package your product for the customer

Create new convenience packaging that makes your product easier to buy, use or
refill. Motor oil used to be sold in cans that required a punch-in can opener or
separate punch-through spout. These were messy and troublesome to use. Now
oil is sold in twist-open, easy-pour plastic bottles.

Let consumables take the lead

Drop the price of your product, then promote and sell its consumables. Computer
printers can be bought for as little as $20, yet the ink cartridges sell for $29 apiece.
So don’t worry about making a big profit on devices, let your consumables take the
lead.

Use viral marketing

Viral marketing is any word-of-mouth or “tell a friend” mechanism that induces
users to re-convey a marketing message to other sites or users. Leveraged by the
power of the web and email, viral techniques can create exponential growth in your
product’s visibility.

Customize your product

Try to give customers exactly what they want by creating apparently customized
versions of your product. Consider the success of Cycle 1, 2, 3, 4 Pet Foods, or
Burger King’s “Have it Your Way.”

Go high tech

Exploit the latest technological advancements in media to underscore your message.
For example, explore the use of audio chips in magazines, brochures or mailers.
The novelty of these devices gets people talking, and there’s that “V” word again
(viral marketing).

Promote product sharing

This can be done by showing how your product brings friends and family together.
An emotional appeal like this can be very memorable. A good example is Almond
Joy’s, “you can share half and still have a whole.” Another is the ubiquitous Friends-
and-Family discount, which abounds in everything from cell phones to vacation
packages.

Show your product being used by experts

If possible, establish your product as the one used by recognized experts in the
field. A case in point is Canon’s use of photojournalists to endorse its 35mm
cameras.

Make your product sui generis

Establish the fact that your product is generically in a class by itself. Consider
Porsche’s use of the line “there is no substitute.” Or products that have become
household words: “blow your nose with a Kleenex,” or “make me a Xerox copy.”

Think outside the demographic box

Attract a new category of customers by thinking outside the box. Consider gaining
younger or older buyers by expanding the utility and style of your product, e.g., cell
phones for ‘tweens, or health bars for seniors.

About the Author

Alex Kecskes is a former ad agency Copy Chief who has created effective copy and
concepts for a wide range of ad agencies and Fortune 500 companies. As owner of
ak creativeworks, Alex provides strategic copy for brochures, mailers, multimedia,
radio, newsletters, PR and web content. He has published articles in a variety of
publications about health issues affecting both men and women, as well as topics in
business and technology. His creative work has been acknowledged nationally in
Andy, Belding and One Show competitions.
For more information and samples, please visit
http://www.akcreativeworks.com

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A relatively new concept in the online world is “Virtual Real Estate Investing“. There are many variations on what this term means, encompassing everything from using the internet to aid in real estate investing efforts to participating in online games such as SecondLife.

To find out the real story, I had a conversation with Bryan Ellis, widely considered to be one of the originators of the concept of Virtual Real Estate Investing.

Ellis says he adopted the term “virtual real estate investing” sometime before Y2K after he realized that making money online is conceptually very similar to making money with physical real estate.

One example of the parallels between virtual and physical real estate Bryan Ellis cites is the similarity between the monetization of domain names versus physical property. “These types of assets - websites and physical real estate - can be monetized in very similar ways like buy lo/sell high, leasing/rental and advertising opportunities” he says.

The similarities really are obvious. For example, if you’re the owner of a desirable property, its desirability is (in a business context) largely due to its being in a location that is of interest to others. Similarly, ownership of a desirable domain name is valuable for the same reasons. In either case, you could sell or lease the asset and turn it into cash.

In our next installment of this series on virtual real estate investing, Bryan Ellis will share the internet analogies to the physical concept of real estate development.

Business Affairs, Universe Of Marketing, The Real Estate Brokers Way | No Comments »