Well one of the issues as a writer we seem struggle with is better communication. Sometimes we just hit writers block or we want to draw in more customers to our site but yet we still need help in content development. I went looking for better communication skills and found communicatebetter.org. They offer great packages for bloggers at very reasonable prices. Of course, the first place I check on their site was their Customer Testimonials. I found great reviews asserting their professionalism, prompt production schedule, great writing style and that they stick with price that was agreed upon. They are very proud that they have two hundred third party verified reviews of which all have 100% satisfaction! Now that is well worth my investment for my blog, which I am ready to take to the next level. I like the packages they have put together which are at great rates. I found the Blogging Package #2 probably the best for me at this time. It includes five new 400 word articles a week for one month at $349 and on any topic I choose. Next, I enjoyed their recent article on 3 ways to develop customer loyalty with content development. Sometimes as a writer you forget that you must keep up a loyal base to be sound patrons of your craft and that where commmunicatebetter.org comes in. They will make a great change in my blogging.

One of the more difficult products we will buy are announcements for babies, business and weddings etc. I know that we have to make a baby announcement for a relative and of course its time to already think about graduation announcements too. I went out looking for help and found www.vistaprint.com. I love this site. I know my nephew is graduating soon so I walked through the process. Here I clicked on the Select Design button, which then took me another page where I fill out the necessary information, click approval and I am done. They make it so easy and have pages of designs to choose from! I can even upload a photograph to include in the announcement. How vistaprint.com really stands out in my opinion is their Creative Services. Here you can use their professional designers and copywriters. These guys can even create a website for you! Another favorite option is the Free Logo Design. Simply type in the name of your company or whatever you are creating, they will then immediately pop up some ideas based on what is most popular or related to your industry etc. I am not the most creative guy in the world, so using a site like this will save me time and money because they have already done the leg work or will do it for me.

Introducing the Grant family. I was very young, well a teenager, when I first came to learn of the Grants in the neighborhood. We never really knew them deeply, just that so many neighbors wanted to know them better and better. They were the talk of the town and so it seemed, the talk of the nightly news. “Tear down this wall Mr Gorbachev” was exclaimed on the television from our great leader President Reagan and next the finish of the stock market and finally, “that’s the way it is and good night.” The pressure cooker is heard simmering ready to give way at any time and the sound of ice hits the bottom of the glasses, now I know that dinner time has come and the news will be switched on and again three times each half hour for all we knew was network news and the Grant family.

The Grants never moved. The family was mentioned at the dinner table as ruining our lives yet we needed to know them better to survive. It seemed all so crazy. They said it was a decade of decadence and overabundance of the self. The Grants wanted to be a part of family and we were told they would come, but at a trickle.

I have been in sales now for over 8 years. The last opportunity I took mandated that I use my own car and gas within a very large territory. What I have found and that many large corporate operations are finding is that travel budgets have to be cut. We all waste a lot of time when other methods could be used to maximize travel and business. That is when I found One Source Insight’s Find Prospects by Geography.  Plus, they have a great, clean web site that is very easy to use. They have links to research, client development, sales and marketing. I will be using these guys this year to drive sales!

They have a better approach optimize your face to fact contacts in three ways: First they will help target lists by using radius searches within the territory. Second, they will help create a travel window each metro area so then you can start planning early. Third, You call the prospects by geography and make that planned trip a reason to meet.

One of the new struggles my family is facing is the fact that our grandparents are using a wheelchair full time and are in need of dependable transportation to get to and from doctor visits etc. You just cannot go out and find any type of van, it has to have special equipment. That is when I found mobilityworks.com who sells vans that have an electric wheelchair lift among other items to suit your access needs. They have 12 dealerships around the country that look and work like any other auto dealership. They have hundreds of new and used vans from all the major van manufacturers. You may want the typical minivan or a full size Econoline van. Perhaps you just need a lift to attach your scooter, they have those too. Their website is great! They have a very cool link to YouTube to watch videos to demonstrate their product. They have a link to their conversion van inventory. I looked into their current specials and found everything from $9,000 to $30,000 vans with all different kinds of ramps for wheelchair access. Make sure you read on their EZ lock docking system to find out just how your loved one will be secure once the van is on the road! Finally, what will be great for my family is that my grandfather is a veteran and they can help you through the process of getting the VA to help pay for the system as well as for Medicare and Workers Compensation programs. So its not just a nice site with an inventory list. Its much more with customer service, financing, great videos on YouTube and rental information. It is truly a one stop shop for wheelchair access vans!

When you cannot event, buy someone who can. My heart goes out to Pfizer. They have tried for years to bring a new pharmaceutical to market with no avail. Lipitor is not there own. They had to buy Warner Lambert at I believe 80 billion dollars. Not bad when Lipitor generates over 12 billion a year. But here is the catch. Now they need to replace it soon and they are still trying to replace Zoloft another billion dollar molecule now on the cheap list at most pharmacy chains. I believe Viagra was their last product they made on their own. So it should come to no surprise that they needed to buy Wyeth who is just blasting away with a new pediatric vaccine. They too have lost Effexor and are trying to replace it. So its just another great marriage, well lets hope so. Today’s WSJ reports that the banks were willing to help with the purchase but only if they can keep their Standard and Poor’s rating high. Hopefully this will mean more money for other top notch companies. I guess we will have to wait and see how the layoff go because they will no longer need that many sales staff or research analysts. We all need to understand too that it is no cakewalk to bring a new product to market. Years and years of billion dollar investment has taken Pfizer almost no where. Its too bad. It also speaks to the fact that the FDA is very hesitant in new drub applications and make the process very slow sometimes. Then you have to hope that your new pharmaceutical will work and not cause too many side effects. Its takes billions and if Pfizer cannot do it, who can?

Well yet another bank will be backed by the Federal Government again today. Is this not the slippery slope to a socialist state all while we are blind just thinking to ourselves, OK do what you have to do now to get us out of this mess? What will be the ramifications? I want someone to create a political cartoon where the board of directors at a bank is actually the US Government. Could you imagine Joe Average family coming to the loan committee asking for a business loan and across the table is a series of elected politicians dictating if your business idea is worth the peoples money. That right, its not your money its the tax dollars that will be used. Private banks who make their own decisions will be limited. It was their money at risk for your start up, not anymore. Perhaps I am a little over the top here, but just think. Your idea will have to pass someone whose only interest is getting re elected and there you are. Or even better, you want a home and now its, “Sorry, you just don’t pass the government test. “Its a little hard to digest, but it could happen. Why? Lets fast forward 5 years and say things have settled down and the government will now sell off the their shares to private market. Who on earth will want to buy that, a bank full of loans with little to no profit margin and totally our to your control all these years or given to people you never would have loaned to. Its time to take pause before we go South.

It has been reported today that now Circuit City is ready to liquidate and release over 30,000 employees. Pfizer will lay over 2,000 and the list goes on and on. What an amazing opportunity for the right entrepreneur to scoop us such a Talent pool and now. If only I could think of the right company for this is the right time and place. Power that be, ever present and oh so more intelligent than I are out there now but I just cannot think of what we should be launching. Whats more, this talent pool will be less expensive than in previous years. My question is to you my loyal readers? If you could own any business and had access to this talent pool, what you do. Where is the next opportunity?

I really thought that the outgoing president did a very fine job of outlining how he took his administration over the last 8 years from beginning to end. Little did he know that within 9 months of his Presidency, that 9/11 would could to pass and alter any strategy or public policies he was looking to move forward. No, all things had to change and tough decisions had to be made. How do you fight an enemy you cannot see, that does not wear an uniform and does not live within the domain of one country. It lurks around every corner, various websites, chat rooms and may even wear a suit and work inside an established company. Its an unsettling issue to say the least. We tried our best and at least our borders remained safe over 8 years but a very high price of the death of so many soldiers. We may never know what victory looks like, because there will be no formal peace treaty signed on the deck of a battleship. No, we will not have that luxury this time. Even when we rest and years go by they may be plotting. Our next president will be tested just like President Bush did. Stay tuned.

I, like everyone else in the world, uses a credit card when ever needed for purchases that may take a while to pay off. I have 3 and they are all 0% balance transfer cards with the same on purchases.  I find these through the mail and really had no idea that a website existed to point out where the best deals are. Then I found 0% balance transfers at www.zeronet.com. I really like this site. It is clean and well laid out. I like the calculator on the right hand side where you put in your current balance, percentage and your total payments and click. They found great 0% deals from Citi, Discover and Capital One cards. If you own a business, then this site is great because they have busines credit cards too. I found offers on mileage plans, double miles, no limit on miles, no annual fee for the first year. Perhaps the point is obvious, but why pay hundreds in interest payments when there are credit cards out there now who want your business? I see no need, plus you may earn some bonus miles along the way. Finally, there is a great resources page. Here I found links to credit help sites and a Life Event Management Center. How great that this site wants you save money on interest and then help you get help so that one can get control of there credit. I applaud them for this!