I don’t know if you’re anything like me, but I don’t take advice usually until I’ve gone through all the painful lessons the advice was meant to save me from. Here’s a case in point.

When I first started freelancing on the Internet I wanted to learn all I could so I decided to read a few articles I found about my new chosen profession. One in particular told me that although there were many benefits to freelancing like setting your own hours and being your own boss, one of the big downfalls was having to be constantly looking for work because contracts and clients change frequently.

So far, I’m glad that I’ve never really run into trouble even though I ignored that kind of advice at first and had a few big contracts tank over the years through no fault of my own. Still, I’ve been able to get some experience from even those periods when I’ve had to look for work quickly and some of the lessons that I learned include,

• The fact that some clients don’t fully understand search engine optimization.  I’ve run into a few people over the years that think seo is a magic bullet that works as quickly as you can switch on your computer but that’s not the case. A good campaign that involves both blogs and articles will take a few months to get rolling. It’s much the same as any print campaign but some companies still think they can force the issue with the search engines somehow. It’s good to let clients know what to expect right away.
• The fact that as a writer you need to shift gears. When you’re copywriting for a client on the Internet it’s important to remember that even though the content is what will hold the reader and convert them into a sale, it’s the seo that gets them to the site. As a content writer, I’m  always trying keep in mind that it’s important to juggle those two balls.

So the advice I was given by the article I read those years ago said that part of the freelancer’s life is constantly making sure you have enough work. There have been several times I ignored that important piece of advice and when I had enough for the moment I neglected to keep my feelers out there.

The result was a few situations where I had to scramble early on and that taught me a few things about promoting myself. One of the first things I learned was the art of Internet networking. The links are always the Holy Grail and when you can get them in the right places like niche forms and on the websites of colleagues you’ll always have some momentum even when you’re not looking for work.

It only takes a few minutes a day to update a Twitter or Facebook account as well and there are quite often groups that you can join there that pertain to your field. By the way, a great way to keep expanding is to always be on the look out for new business opportunities as well. I’ve just started an enterprise with Terry McElligott,  a Toronto based web designer called Bluestripe.ca

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Looking For Work Should Be Ongoing


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Not many know about the Fledgling Initiative by Twitter, the micro-blogging site that everybody loves. The Fledgling Initiative is a Twitter project that makes wine for the benefit of a non-profit organization named ‘Room-to-Read‘ that extends educational opportunities for deprived children worldwide. According to the description on the website: “These wines are being made using some of the best vineyards in California by the acclaimed winemaking team at Crushpad”

A single bottle, “a suave rendition of Pinot Noir produced from top-flight California vineyards,” will cost you 20 $ while a case (12 bottles) costs 240 $ (you also have the option to donate more). This Twitter initiative was announced in October 2009. You can read about an event related to it on the Twitter blog.

“Every case sold will provide approximately 60 local language children’s books and promote education in the world’s poorest regions,” says the Fledgling Initiative website. So go ahead and buy a bottle/case of the finest wine and help the education of poor children in some of the most deprived regions of the world.

You can also follow the Fledgling Initiative on Twitter; it has about 0.3 million followers and appears in about 760 lists. Who bought the bottle of the said wine and when? It was a guy from Brooklyn on 15 October 2009.

The following image is of Twitter staff Maggie Mutgoff at a Room to Read site in India.

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Twitter Sells Wine to Promote Literacy


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

Firewalls are network systems that block out unknown plans and internet processes from entering the system that is protected. It prevents any unknown user or program from accessing the system and therefore is not like Antivirus software program. Antivirus software program detects and removes plans which are infecting the system while the firewall only blocks anything from accessing the system that’s getting protected.

Firewall software program is the first line of defense you’ve for your personal computer against viruses and customers. It blocks out potential hackers and prevents them from accessing and retrieving any info from your PC. Identity theft is a very common issue today and essential information can get stolen from your system should you do not have the correct safety. A firewall filters out info that is coming into your house network and only allows recognized users or plans to get via it. This really is just what an inbound firewall does.

There are now firewalls that not just block out unknown customers and plans but likewise keep the info on your system from getting stolen by hackers. If a hacker does handle to get past your firewall, you’re able to get firewall software program that prevents that hacker from taking information out of your network system. This is an outbound firewall and is your last line of defense against hackers.

Even though, protection software program developers are now starting to come out with antivirus firewall software which combines the benefits of antivirus and firewall software together. It protects you from unknown users or programs as nicely as detects and removes plans which are slowing down and negatively affecting your computer. Antivirus firewall software is just what we the recommend for protection safety software program.

Companies today cannot operate without the web and therefore expose a lot of essential info and it can certainly cause a good deal of damage to the organization in case that information is stolen. So a organization should have a security policy to prevent this and the adequate protection software needs to be in place to protect the information of the company. While you may get away with just Firewall safety, the popular choice within most companies and users are to obtain the best of both worlds and buy antivirus firewall software.

Learn more about free virus and spyware removal. Stop by David Debuses’s site where you can find out all about free online spyware scan and what it can do for you.

Those who are able to achieve higher yields on their investments typically don’t have a broker and don’t listen to the advice of a financial planner. After all, if either of them knew what they were talking about they wouldn’t be hustling others into allowing them to learn the trade game off of other people’s money.

The reality is the few that have gained a comprehension for seeking out and getting involved with trades that open the floodgates to massive profits use their own money and operate as part of a small, tight knit group. The members of this ‘group’ always have their feelers out like tentacles sucking up and analyzing potential transactions, immediately looking for strategic elements and immediately dumping 99% as they don’t meet the criteria.

Two major components that professional investors who use their own money and are able to consistently pick winning transactions are companies that are in merger and/or acquisition mode and companies that are seeking seed capital specifically to go public.

Let’s focus on the latter. Companies seeking seed capital to go public are often financially viable companies with modest liquidity but are taking on seed investors so that they can meet the SEC minimum criteria of having 40 investors on the books to qualify for going public. Investors that are able to, literally, make millions per transaction have a way of getting into these opportunities by connecting with consultants who take companies public.

If you are able to get involved with these consulting firms and if you have some capital to designate as a seed investor, you can literally be placed in 4,5 or even 6+ pre IPO investments per year. When you are one of the 40 investors in a pre public OTCBB corporation you are usually investing seed capital at a fraction of the future public price by way of DPO (Direct Public Offering). The difference between what you pay for the seed stock and what the company charges per share when public is the profit.

It isn’t at all out of the ordinary to buy seed stock at 50 cents and have that stock gain in value of $1.00 to $1.50 when the company goes public and yes, you just made 50 cents to $1.00 net profit on each share. The great thing is you can often invest as a seed investor with as little as $5,000 to $10,000. If you have more capital you can spread it out over multiple pre-IPO opportunities. Seek out the pre- public companies and make a fortune!

For Corporate Consulting or Invest Seed Capital In Pre-IPO Companies, call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183Take Your Company Public the easy way!

Investors, are you tired of running into dead ends when it comes to trying to get brokers and lawyers to give you real, honest hot tips on that next big IPO where you can double or triple your money quickly with minimal risk? Are you tired of having to be the last to know about opportunities that you could have made a killing with but no one gave you this insider information?

What if I told you there was a way to come out on top virtually every time you made an investment regardless of whether the stock market is up, down or sideways? How would you like to be a “seed” investor in a new fully reporting publicly traded company on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) at a discount to the market? How would you like to have “liquidity” in your investment? How would you like to have a built in “exit strategy”? How would you like to have an opportunity to spread your risks among three or four promising opportunities rather than one?

Here is how this can be done. Skip the clich route of getting investment tidbits from your broker; it’s rare that they actually have specific details about these hush, hush scenarios and most likely couldn’t put you in touch with the executives of the pre-public structure which is obviously a mandatory prerequisite for investing seed capital in these companies. Your best bet is to find a consultant or consulting firm who specializes in complete facilitation of going public. Chances are, at any given time they’ll have 5 to 10 different companies who are only a few weeks or months away from trading and are offering stock at a substantial discount to the public in exchange for that seed capital. Contacts in this business are crucial.

Many times they will allow you to invest for no other reason other than they are trying to meet the 40 investor minimum qualification by the SEC to go public.

Many times you can put as little as $5,000 to $10,000 into the company as seed capital and when the company is public your investment skyrockets. So the moral of this story is, team up with a good ‘go public’ consultant. Be serious when you’re talking to them and be ready to show some sort of proof of funds as these consultants get this type of inquire many times daily but if you are a serious investor and low maintenance, these consultants will most likely hand you a stack of some of the most valuable investment material you’ve ever held in your hands. Each page will have descriptions of the next big thing in the technology, biotech, alternative energy, natural fuels industries and each document offers an opportunity and each opportunity is usually worth its weight in gold, literally.

For Corporate Consulting or Invest Seed Capital In Pre-IPO Companies, call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183Take Your Company Public the easy way!

Business Owners: Build A Corporate Structure That Investors Love! Ok, you’ve decided to go after investment capital but you’re not sure where to start. Here are the basics that you should pay close attention to before putting your company in front of investors.

First and foremost you need to perform an industry analysis that answers the questions pertaining to where you are in the industry and who are your competitors. It doesn’t matter what product or service you offer. You could be selling underwater sock fitting kits and there is a competitor and industry leader somewhere in the world. Don’t be so naive in thinking that there is no competition or that you are at the pinnacle of your industry. Show your audience that you’ve done your research and that you’ve identified the players in your market.

Next get your executive team together and it better be the who’s who in your industry. If you can’t attract the upper echelon of your industry genre then you need to do some serious PR on behalf of your individual executive team to show the public what they are made of. Brand them as the up and coming powerhouse executives in the industry. Publish their articles and knowledge on industry blogs and article submission sites. When a funding source initiates general due diligence you need to shine like a lighthouse in the fog. Each and every executive team member needs to have an image that screams power, success and investor security.

The next thing you need to do is take a serious look at your board of directors. Who is on your board, what is their compensation and is there someone that is a better fit for formulating strategies and alliances than those who are currently populating your director staff.

One of the main reasons that investors turn down companies for funding is because they lack the backup of industry players in connection to strategic alliances. You need to identify and contractually reach out to companies that will enhance your overall business strategy. Your minimum goal should be 10 solid, aged companies that have already branded their names in the marketplace and are willing to add you to their mix of advertising and ongoing strategy and they will expect the same from you. Show investors that it’s not just you treading water in the industrial whirlpool and that you’ve built a life preserver of alliances.

Now you are ready to write a business plan and private placement memorandum that takes all the essential elements above and puts them in two well authored and to the point documents that will make an interesting and informative read for investors who have a track record of investment in your particular industry. If you’ve written your own business plan, toss it. If investors are going to take you seriously you need a professionally written business plan that touches on all the triggers that investors are currently looking for.

Next, it’s best to use the Regulation D, Private Placement Memorandum as the vehicle for staying within SEC guidelines for raising capital and you should use a Direct Public Offering as the process for raising the actual capital. Reaching out to friends, family, industrial counterparts and alliances should be the first place you go for funding. If you are lucky the consultant you hire to assist you with the above processes will have a solid database of investors to assist you in your initial, first round raise via DPO.

Last but not least you should consider, even though it’s not a mandatory requirement for a PPM or DPO, getting an independent audit done on your company to demonstrate an objective analysis of your financial reality so that investors can find their comfort level quicker without a prolonged comments stage.

There you have it. These are the basics to what it takes to achieve equity investment in this current market. Get out there and raise some money!

Foreign, Indian and Chinese Companies, Take Your Company Public, call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183Take Your Company Public the easy way!

Many companies have a unique service or product but either lacks the capital or know-how to go public. Going public slams open the doors to massive global capital possibilities and massive partnering and strategic growth capabilities. A financially broke company should never try to go public to raise money to stay afloat as you’ll only attract the fee based predatory consultants who make their money on individual fee oriented services without the ability to bring it all together in a turn-key solution so in the end there is no accountability.

The prototypical company that will succeed in going public is either a profitable and mature company or a start-up with contracts in place for capitalization and patented and/or proprietary technology or systems that give it a massive edge over competitors. The decision to go public should be based in the desire for rapid growth and capitalization. The qualities of a company that will succeed on the public forum is one with a solid executive staff, experienced board of directors and a service that is recession proof (Yeah I know, what business is recession proof?), and finished with the actual developmental stage with a solid product or service and identified partners and distribution sources.

If you realistically have a chance at going and staying public you’ll attract consulting firms and/or broker dealers and market makers and many times law firms that focus on taking companies public in return for minor upfront fees and a solid equity position. Be careful not to sign on with a company that does not offer a ‘one stop shop’ or turn-key solutions which includes everything if you are going to be paying an upfront fee and equity. Many solid firms will ask for both fee and equity compensation and it’s worth it if they are truly capable of delivering a full range of services.

You should have a polite yet rigorous interview process with the firm before signing on. The ideal situation for a company going public is to partner with a consulting firm or broker dealer who offers absolutely everything you will need to succeed in the pre-IPO and post-IPO market. Expect to pay a fee for corporate structuring, business plan, private placement memorandum and Direct Public Offering to the firms database of investors (if they do not offer an introduction service to investors you should not take them seriously as a full service consulting firm as they are only offering you a sandwich without the bread).

Parts that a consulting firm will partner on if they can truly take your company public from A to Z is the initial Direct Public Offering to an in house group of investors who will invest the capital needed to pay for the audit (though many times this will have to come out of your pocket even if you team of with the best firms in the business), S1 filing and comments, SEC and FINRA approval and ultimately to the point where a market maker or broker dealer is selling your securities to the public. Sometimes it’s good to just hire a company that is strictly fee based for your ‘going public’ ambitions but be prepared to pay hefty fees. If you are a solid corporation with a realistic chance at going public, you’ll be able to tell by the tone that consulting firms have with you when you engage them in the initial phone consultation. If you’re ready to go public, a proper consultant will be able to identify your position in the market place to fill in the blanks.

Want To Go Public With Your Company, call Princeton Corporate Solutions at 267-233-0183Take Your Company Public the easy way!

Knowing which program works the best with your system is the leading option a user would have to make. With so many different spyware programs in the marketplace today, it’s really hard to know which one is the best for your system. Spyware is a dangerous and sneaky in a way wherein it will download to your computer without you knowing and cause havoc for your computer as well as to your finances.

Spyware would be hidden in a program you’re downloading and have adverse effects on your system. An ideal full spyware elimination software is currently required in the marketplace today. You can buy a plan that rids your computer from spyware and uses freeware for download on the internet. Those programs generally provide protection that is better than the freeware, as freeware doesn’t normally offer complete spyware detection and removal.

A plan that updates on its own on a regular basis, searches and finds spyware in detail and comes with excellent online support is ideal. The full spyware removal software program will work on a number of different platforms and discover and remove Spyware, but at the same time remove unwanted Adware. This will give the user added protection against unwanted info.

Defense for your system will be given relative attention so no other spyware can access your system. A full spyware removal software program provides protection not only for personal use by also for companies of all sizes. This software program offers real time support, safe security when online, automated cleanup of your system plus a number of different choices with which you are able to customize your security.

A complete spyware removal plan will run on your present operating system settings. Your computer won’t slow down and contain the latest anti-malware defense. It can kill root kits and has optimal level protection. This powerful program runs off very little resources and you will not even notice it working while you’re utilizing your computer. The advantages of the full spyware elimination program can be unlimited. There are many programs available, should you really want to stop spyware, malware or adware from infecting your computer systems in the onset.

Looking to find the best deal on online anti virus scan, then visit www.freespywarescanandremoval.com to find the best advice on best spyware removal tool for you.

Yesterday I talked about ReBuzzThis, a button that you can add to your blog for others to share your posts on Google Buzz. Well what about those blogs that don’t have a button or that cool site you come across while browsing and want to share? Luckily, there seems to be an increasing amount of Buzz sharing tools popping up, including the five listed below. From desktop apps to browser plugins to Facebook apps, you’re sure to find a method you like for sharing items on Google Buzz.

Submit to Google Buzz

This is an extension for Google Chrome that lets you share the current page you’re viewing on Google Buzz. Just install it and you’re good to go. To use just click on the button in your browser and you’ll get a popup that will allow you to add a note and share.

Other similar Google Chrome extensions include Google Buzz Pad, Buzz Mobilizer Extension and BuzzIt.

Buzz It!

Speaking of BuzzIt (mentioned above in the Chrome extensions), there’s also a Buzz It for Firefox, SeaMonkey, Flock and Mozilla Suites. This button will automatically create a Buzz update with the link and title of the current page you’re viewing. All links are also automatically shortened with Bit.ly. The unique thing is that it does this all through an email message via Gmail.

Google Buzz Desktop

This is a simple app built on Adobe AIR. It’s updated every 2 minutes. There’s not much to it but it does the job.

HomePuzz

This is a web application that lets you post to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Google Buzz from one single page. You can share text, photos and videos with ease. You can also share what others have posted on Facebook, Twitter or Google Buzz.

BuzzTweep

This is a Facebook application that will let you update your status on Facebook and Google Buzz at the same time. There are simple instructions on how to set it up. In short, after authorizing the application you’ll need to create a filter in Gmail that will forward the update to Buzz.

Buzz2Twitter

As an added bonus, if you want to use Google Buzz as a Twitter client, you might consider Buzz2Twitter. It lets you sync your Google Buzz to Twitter so that whenever you post on Buzz it will automatically post on your Twitter account. Buzz Can Tweet is also a similar service. If you’re someone that is now using Buzz more than Twitter, these will definitely come in handy.

Let’s not forget about posting via the Gmail tab and the ability to view other user’s Buzz updates from their Google Profile; you cannot post to Buzz from here but you can leave comments on updates. Also, you can link your other social profiles to Buzz and have those updates automatically posted – although that can become a bit “noisy” depending on how often you update those other services.

Well, I don’t know about you but now I’m all buzzed out! What’s your favorite method for sharing items on Buzz?

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Copyright © 2010 Blogging Tips. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us so we can take legal action immediately.

5 Ways to Share on Google Buzz


A selection of e-books to help you improve as a blogger. Find out more at www.bloggingtips.com/books/

As you’ve arrived here it’s possible that either you’re considering a career change into IT and the MCSE has reared its head, or you’re someone with a certain amount of knowledge and you’re aware that the next stage is the MCSE certification.

As you do your searches, you’ll come across training providers that lower their out-goings by failing to provide the latest Microsoft version. Steer clear of such training providers as it will create challenges for you at exam time. If you’re learning from an out-of-date syllabus, it could be impossible to pass.

Look out for computer training companies who’re only trying to make a sale. Always remember that purchasing a course to qualify for an MCSE is much like purchasing a vehicle. They’re very diverse; some will be fantastic, whilst others will constantly let you down. A valid provider will offer you time, expertise and advice to check you’ve got the correct course. When providers are proud of their courses, you’ll be shown samples of it before buying anything.

Many people are under the impression that the state educational path is the right way even now. So why then are qualifications from the commercial sector becoming more popular with employers?

With university education costs increasing year on year, along with the industry’s recognition that accreditation-based training most often has much more commercial relevance, we’ve seen a large rise in Adobe, Microsoft, CISCO and CompTIA based training courses that educate students at a much reduced cost in terms of money and time.

University courses, as a example, become confusing because of too much loosely associated study – and much too wide a syllabus. Students are then prevented from understanding the specific essentials in enough depth.

When it comes down to the nitty-gritty: Commercial IT certifications let employers know exactly what you’re capable of – the title is a complete giveaway: as an example – I am a ‘Microsoft Certified Professional’ in ‘Managing and Maintaining Windows Server 2003′. Therefore an employer can identify just what their needs are and what certifications are required to perform the job.

We need to make this very clear: It’s essential to obtain proper 24×7 round-the-clock instructor and mentor support. You’ll definitely experience problems if you don’t.

Don’t accept study programmes that only provide support to you through a message system outside of normal office hours. Training schools will defend this with all kinds of excuses. But, no matter how they put it – you want to be supported when you need the help – not when it’s convenient for them.

Top training companies utilise several support facilities across multiple time-zones. An online system provides an interactive interface to join them all seamlessly, any time of the day or night, help is at hand, with no hassle or contact issues.

Don’t ever make the mistake of taking second best when it comes to your support. The vast majority of IT hopefuls who fall by the wayside, are in that situation because of a lack of support.

Many companies are all about the certification, and avoid focusing on the reasons for getting there – which will always be getting the job or career you want. Always start with the end goal – don’t get hung-up on the training vehicle.

It’s possible, in many cases, to obtain tremendous satisfaction from a year of studying only to end up putting 20 long years into a tiresome job role, entirely because you stumbled into it without the correct research at the beginning.

You also need to know what your attitude is towards career development, earning potential, plus your level of ambition. It’s vital to know what will be expected of you, which particular qualifications will be required and where you’ll pick-up experience from.

Seek out help from an experienced professional that has commercial knowledge of your chosen market-place, and who can give you ‘A typical day in the life of’ understanding of what duties you’ll be performing during your working week. It’s sensible to ensure you’re on the right track long before your course begins. What’s the point in beginning your training only to find you’ve taken the wrong route.

Many students come unstuck over one aspect of their training usually not even thought about: The breakdown of the course materials before being couriered to your address.

Drop-shipping your training elements piece by piece, according to your own speed is the typical way that your program will arrive. While sounding logical, you should take these factors into account:

Students often discover that the company’s typical path to completion is not what they would prefer. They might find a different order of study is more expedient. And what happens if they don’t finish inside of the expected timescales?

To avoid any potential future issues, many trainees now want to request that all their modules (now paid for) are posted to them in one go, with nothing held back. It’s then up to you in what order and how fast or slow you’d like to take your exams.

Written by Scott Edwards. Pop to college-it-courses.co.uk or HERE.