Archive for the 'Business' Category
As the housing market continues to dwindle, I must admit there are some great deals to be had out there. I mean with the home sales dropping, people needing to rent a home has increased. With that said, the way to increase the attractiveness of a house, is to remodel the kitchen and bathrooms. It can be a total remodel, from new tile flooring, granite counter tops, and replacing of cabinets. But it also can be slight changes to fixtures in both the kitchen and restrooms.
What do I mean by fixtures? I mean by changing the faucets, the handles and knobs on the cabinets and doors, can also change the appearance of the kitchen and restrooms. It will not be as expensive, but will bring attractiveness to a house you want to rent out.
I already spoke about the Tile Outlet in Monterey that can help with a complete remodel if you have the luxury to do so. But I have come across some very nice websites that can help save money, plus also make an impact in altering the appearance of the kitchen and restroom. The first is called House of Knobs. It is a wholesale website for all hardware and accessories for both the kitchen and restrooms. There are so many options here that you will find anything you need.
The other is called eFaucets, which is an online leader in the sales of kitchen and restroom faucets, fixtures and accessories. They are considered the “The On-Line Kitchen & Bath Store”. Again, there are so many options that you can easily make your kitchen or bathroom so appealing, it will appear remodeled. Like I said earlier, during these difficult economic times, there are great opportunities to invest in properties and the three listed websites above can help upgrade the look and appeal of the property for easier renting.
I came a cross a franchise, but still considered a small business, that has done quite well despite our economic condition. It’s called the Tile Outlet in Monterey, CA. Although their discounted prices and great selection is attractive, it’s their customer service that separates them from their competitors. The last time I was there, I witnessed their salesperson/service provider connect with customers on a human level. For instance, a customer walked in and immediately the employee called the customer by name. Obviously, this customer had been there before, but when the customer greeted the employee back and asked how he was, he responded with, “It’s great now that you are here!” I have no idea if this was a true statement, but the customer was directly impacted in a very positive way. They chit-chatted for a little while and then went into their business transaction. In my previous postings, I have stressed the importance of connecting with customers on the human level, before going into the business side of a service interaction. There is no doubt in my mind, this was a Positive Defining Moment for that customer, which will build Customer Loyalty. Companies that can connect with customers on the human level, can and will excel in their business.
Another differentiating aspect of this small business, is the knowledge of the service provider. He has an interior design background and provides great suggestions and explanations of their products. I was only there for a while that day, but I came across a review of this small business on the yellow pages website. Here is the link to the review, but I wanted to post, what I consider the differentiating factor that this customer experienced, it was as follows:
“At the Tile Outlet we found an excellent selection of tiles and counter tops, but we were most impressed with the service. Efrain’s background in interior design made all the difference to us.”
As you can see, the combination of the service and knowledge of the service provider, made this experience a positive one for the client, and I assure a loyal customer as well.
If anyone in the Monterey area is contemplating remodeling their kitchen or bathroom, I strongly suggest stopping by the Tile Outlet. Even if you do not have a good idea of what you want to do, the knowledgeable service provider will guide you through all their available options. Also, I would like to hear your experience if and when you decide to stop by for a visit.
A few years ago, I had one of my best vacations in the city of Boston, MA. One of my friends was getting married there, but my wife (at the time) and I decided to spend the entire week there prior to the wedding. Since she had a sister living in Boston, we had a place to stay. There is so much history there that I found fascinating.
There is so much to do and see, that I felt a little overwhelmed to say the least. My ex-sister in-law took us through the Paul Revere trail, which he took to warn everyone that “the British were coming”. We also took a tour of the Boston Harbor, which was nice. But being such a huge sports fan, going to watch the Boston Bruins hockey team was a thrill. As I recall, it snowed the night before the game, and being a Californian native, I thought we were going to get snowed in and not be able to go watch the Bruins. But amazingly, by the time the game started, the snow was already removed from the streets and people were going out. The people from Boston do not allow the weather to hinder them from having a great time. The game was awesome and the night life was great.
As much fun that I had, I think I could have had an even better time if I new about Trusted Tours and Attractions. I mean they had everything we needed and wanted to do, from tours, aquariums, museums, etc. Boston is only one city of many that TT&A provides online travel guides for. If anyone is thinking about planning a vacation you need to sign up to their newsletter and they are giving away $150 of itunes gift card, so sign up today! For details click here. Also, they have other tours to almost all locations. Check this one out for Las Vegas.
Metropolitan museum of art
I started i3 Enterprises LLC to provide Interesting & Informative Information via blogging to the public. I joined several social websites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, Facebook, Myspace and LinkedIn, to try and reach as many people with my blogs. But the more I wrote, the more I was actually very interested in other blogs as well. This website has not only provided me an opportunity to share my expertise and experiences, but also allows me to read up on all sorts of topics, which is expanding my horizons.
But when I first started, I did not know exactly how my blog(s) would eventually make me revenue. I have tried to use ads as a source of income, but not to great success I would have to admit. But thanks to PayPerPost (P3), which is one of the best ways to be compensated for your time and efforts, I can put all my energy and focus into my posts.
Plus PPP, as they call themselves on their website, provides you with a disclosure badge so your readers don’t have to wonder if you were paid to review a product. Your badge is proof that you were paid.
With so many blogs out there on the net with so much important and vital information, thanks for companies like PPP, blogs with valuable content, are being compensated.
I know most of us have a particular person that is extremely difficult to buy gifts for. You know the ones that always frown when they open their birthday, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and / or Christmas gifts. They seem to always return the gift no matter how much we searched for the “perfect” gift for them. At first it was a challenge to find the right gift they would like and not return. But after several years, we all give in to the fact that whatever gift we give this person, they will find something they do not like about it. Well, I have found the gift they would keep.
It is at Sticks and Stones website. This company created a gift idea that everyone would enjoy. They started by creating a photo gallery of letters they found in nature (”Sticks”) and architecture (”Stones”). They then custom frame whatever word or words you want. I created the frame above on their website and posted it here for reference. So by using someone’s name or surname, would make a memorable gift for anyone, no matter how difficult they may be to find a gift for. So for a great gift idea, check out www.sticksandstones.com.
I came across this web site with live TV on-line. There are literally hundreds of TV channels from all over the word, which are live 24-hrs a day, 7-days a week. You are able to register, for free, and watch these channels. Plus as a member, similar to other social websites like youtube, you are able to upload videos yourself, which are available to all members from around the world. I saw one that was pretty funny, check it out here.
The coolest part of the website is that any business, charity or organization can now own a Wi-Fi TV Station. You will be able to provide the content, and Wi-Fi will provide the TV delivery platform which will allow anyone in the world with an internet connection to see your TV station and even chat live. You will also get your own URL (www.YourNameTV.com) that points to your Featured Station page. You will be listed as a Feature Station with a link on virtually every Wi-Fi TV page. How cool is that? You will also be listed under the topics of your choice, plus you get a spot on the Wi-Fi TV Ticker to place links to your station. But the 24/7 TV station with streaming content is what separates Wi-Fi from any other social website. Owning your own Wi-Fi TV Station is the best way to take your business, charity or organization to a new level. No wonder real estate agents, car dealers, churches, and companies involved in golf, wine, art and others are lining up to buy Wi-Fi TV stations. If you want to take your business to the next level, maybe you should check out Wi-Fi TV.
A friend’s daughter went to Spain as a student exchange for a year, and he told me they joined Skype to communicate with her on-line for free. What a great idea! Skype was founded in 2003 by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. They have created software that allows on-line users to communicate to anyone around the world, and if they are both with Skype, it is free! For a minimal fee, you can call landlines, cell phones and even send text messages from your computer. Skype is available in 28 languages and is used in almost every country around the world.
Skype generates revenue through its premium offerings such as making and receiving calls to and from landlines and mobile phones, as well as voicemail and call forwarding. During these times of economic hardship, this is a great opportunity to eliminate or cut on some expense. For detailed product overview and key features, click here.
JetBlue Airways has been known to be a low-cost carrier, but that doesn’t mean they do not offer sky-high leisure. Its flights have offered satellite radio and DirecTV programming. So it shouldn’t surprise many that they are beefing up their WiFi program on select flights (still in beta) to widen the list of email access providers. Originally they only allowed access to the email servers to Yahoo and Research in Motion’s Blackberry. This beta testing will now allow Google, Microsoft and AOL email platforms. This service will apparently be offered for free, although with the high cost of fuel, they will most likely offer greater connectivity for a service fee at some point. I am sure they will not offer the entire Internet on their flights, avoiding content that may be offensive to others, but am sure they will continue adding more approved sites. They may be able to add e-commerce sites on flights that can add commissionable sales and ad revenue. It is nice to see JetBlue continue to be the front-runner of providing new technology for the passengers to better enjoy their low-cost flights.
Time Warner is testing Internet metering in Beaumont, TX. What is Internet metering, you may ask? Well they are testing capping the amount of data users are allowed to upload & download on a monthly basis. Apparently there will be several tiers, from a base of $29.95/month at a download rate of 768 kilobits per second (kbps) and a cap of 5-gigabits (GBs) per month to a $59.95/monthly service at a 15-GBps rate with a cap of 40-GB’s per month, the former being a fairly slow service with the ladder being a very fast service. But here is the catch, once a user passes the cap per month; they will be charged $1/GB. Sound familiar? Similar to how cells phones use to do with minute usage. How many of us had a huge cell phone monthly bill because we passed the allotted minutes used that month.
But it is difficult to make that correlation, because 1GB sounds like a lot of data. Let me put it to you this way. Streaming video on-line is becoming the norm now-a-days with Apple TV and the new Netflix Roku box, to name a few. But a typical movie downloaded, takes about 6-MG’s of data. So in the base tier, you couldn’t download a movie on-line without going over your cap of 5-GB’s. And this does not include the web pages you surf on-line, emails you send & receive, bills you pay on-line, etc. Can you see how easily a user can surpass the cap and start getting charged $1/GB, on top of the monthly fee of $29.95 (for lowest tier). Downloading video on-line is the future of the Internet and it appears Time Warner is preparing themselves to reap the benefits of that demand. Who knows when others will follow suite with this metered Internet. Only time will tell.
Has anyone seen this Genesis from Hyundai? The 2009 Genesis is due to hit the market in July. According to Consumer Reports, it will be a strong competitor to the Mercedes E-Class, Infiniti M, and Lexus GS. Could that be possible? This is a Hyundai isn’t it? I recall when Hyundai first came out, actually, my ex-wife & I owned one. The big sales pitch was the “no-hassle” deals on their prices back then. But they sure have come a long way. The Genesis’ main competitors will be the Lexus GS, Chrysler 300 and Cadillac CTS, but several thousand dollars cheaper. From all the photos, the car looks very sharp. There will be three powetrains: 3.3 Liter V6 (est. base price: $30k), 3.8 Liter V6 (est. base price: $33k) & the 4.6 Liter V8 (est. base price: $38k). They are supposed to process estimated 268 horsepower, 280 horsepower and a powerful 368 horsepower, respectfully. They will all have Luxury features similar to the luxury sedans. Amazing how far Hyundai has come and this Luxury Sedan will surely make some heads turn while driving on the streets.
0 Comments 