Why Spend on Holiday Entertaining in Tough Economic Times?

Much of the news these past few weeks has been about the economic mess we find ourselves in right now. The economy, along with the current election cycle, is cause for uncertainty and anxiety.

As I caterer, it gives me cause for anxiety, too, since this is all hitting the fan at the time when people are usually planning their holiday parties. As I was faced with putting out a newsletter to my client list recently, I wondered what I could possibly say that would be pertinent. Who’s thinking about throwing catered parties, right now, with such other pressing matters on their minds, I asked myself?

I thought back to one of my favorite quotes from the immortal and irrepressible Julia Child which I have often used when speaking before groups.

“Dining with one’s friends and beloved family is certainly one of life’s primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal.”

Wise words indeed! After all, Julia Child developed her skills a culinarian and hostess during post World War II Europe- certainly a challenging time.

I remind myself (and you) to take a deep breath! This crisis, too, shall pass. Let’s not let anything rob us of one of life’s most primal delights. What’s important in life is those beloved family and friends. Even during times like these-maybe especially during times like these- it’s important to gather together and dine with our beloved family and friends. Entertaining our clients in tough times will help us to stand out from the competition. And having a holiday office luncheon can boost morale amongst employees and associates who will greatly appreciate knowing we think enough of them to give them that little extra treat even in times like these.

When thinking about your entertaining needs, it’s still a good investment to call on party planning professionals. A good caterer and/or event planner can strategize with you to come up with creative yet cost effective ideas for your entertaining needs.

Insurance Software Solutions

Insurance software solutions have changed the insurance market in a big way. This software is produced by a number of Internet companies and provides innovative and cost- effective solutions for the insurance field. A good insurance software package will enable a business to reduce operational costs, improve customer service and stay current on emerging business and regulatory needs.

Insurance software solutions packages often include business information and services to enhance customer service. This can include customer service management, premium-benefit issues and claims processing. The software program you select should have a proven track record and offer professional, courteous services for integration, conversion, training and support.

Softwarenetwork.com recommends the following Insurance software solutions programs:

The Gen4 Product Suite is a leader in providing integrated, full service agency, human resources and employee management solutions. Insurance companies benefit because the program offers more features, efficiency and data accuracy, as well as easier data migration and the best end-user experience to meet your companies specific needs.

Strategic Insurance Software, Inc manufactures SEMCI PARTNER – a full-featured management system that provides an integrated prospect client and policy database with features like notes, reports, word processing and marketing.

AGO Insurance Software, Inc. has computer software and services for the property and casualty industry. The packages include solutions for policy administration, claims processing, accounting, bureau reporting and expert systems. They provide implementation and on-site training on both the micro and midrange platforms, including client/server installations.

The IBQ Systems is an application service provider (ASP) focused on increasing productivity in the insurance industry via the Internet. IBQ’s products focus on the exchange of data between insurance companies and agents. Moving the industry away from paper transactions, IBQ increases the efficiency of insurance sales and maintenance, while reducing the cost per transaction. IBQ’s tightly integrated suite of products includes rating programs (Q-Rater), application software (Q-App), and administrative modules (Q-Admin) that allow you to offer virtually any type of insurance to your agent base. All products are Internet- based, and they can be used from any computer with web access.

Business Online Marketing Advice

Online marketing is the term used to describe the activities, techniques and methods used in promoting goods and service via the Internet. This niche of marketing is increasingly becoming popular because of the increase in the number of online business establishments and the swelling of the volume of business transactions being done online.

Stripped of all the jargon and the exotic concepts, online marketing simply involves increasing the amount of online visitors a website receives. With the increase in visitors there is a greater chance of turning these visits into income. There is however, very stiff competition for online traffic and marketing efforts need to be sustained if one wants to keep growing.

Thus, online marketing is a full time preoccupation which may take one’s time away from the other aspects of business. Many online businesses decide to outsource their online marketing needs because of its demands. While outsourcing can be a viable option if you have enough capital for it, the costs involved can be prohibitive for those who are just starting out. Luckily, there are some marketing techniques we can do ourselves which involve little to no cost.

Choosing a domain name is important if you want to attract traffic. It should not only be related to the service or product one is offering and should also be something which is easy to remember.

Once you have your website up and running, the next step would be to register the URL of your website with search engines such as Google and directory sites such as Yahoo. Studies have shown that about eighty to ninety percent of traffic a website receives usually comes from search engines while then to fifteen percent come from directory sites. Submitting one’s website to Yahoo and Google is completely free of charge and very easy to do.

In order to further establish one’s presence on the Web, it is also important to pay attention to the content of one’s website. People who go on the Net have little patience for content which do not satisfy their need for the information they are looking for. Moreover, they read online content differently from the way we usually read printed media. Thus, content on a website must not only be informative but must also be short and to the point.

These are just some of the methods we can use to get started in marketing our businesses online and strengthening our website’s Internet presence.

How Does Instant Internet Lifestyle Compare?

Most of us have wondered what it would be like to be able to quit our day jobs, win the lottery, start our own business or find a way to earn a lucrative Internet based income from home. Some of us have even actively looked into doing it instead of just dreaming about it – which is certainly a step in the right direction!

Still, how many have actually ‘made it’ in Internet marketing? Is the fabled instant Internet lifestyle just that – a wonderful myth?

It’s perhaps understandable that some people dismiss such courses as scams or at the very least as wishful thinking – or maybe (just maybe) they work for ‘other people’ but not for normal folk like you and me.

Honestly, I thought the same thing.

Sometimes, though, hitting ‘rock bottom’ can actually be the beginning. With my back against the wall I knew it was time to either take a chance or linger without hope until all my money ran out and I lost my home and everything I’d worked for.

Have you ‘been there’, too?

You see, I’d lost my job and with the economy the way it is, over a year later (with no job prospects in sight) my unemployment was running out. I had run through my savings. I had no one to turn to and was desperate to find a way to not only pay my mortgage and other bills but to finally, at nearly 50 years of age, start to build the life I always wanted – complete with the freedom to work from home.

I wanted to have a chance to make a breakthrough in my earnings by running my own home-based business instead of being at the mercy of someone else again.

So, with my heart thudding, I decided to buy Lee McIntyre’s Instant Internet Lifestyle and make a radical investment in my future.

Radical not because it was super expensive (Instant Internet Lifestyle was easily affordable, even for someone in my position) but because I was taking a chance on two things – Lee McIntyre’s integrity and a belief in my own ability to change my life.

Next thing you know I had instant access to Lee’s website, and his upside-down inside-out video workshops. Instead of the flash and hype of other courses I’d been flirting with buying, I found real people, humble people, like me, who had managed to ‘make it’ as Internet marketers.

Another difference was Lee’s philosophy on how to build a real business – a business that can support almost unlimited upward growth rather than having to be retooled and re-launched every few weeks. Some of the ‘business plans’ from the other so-called guru’s were enough to make my head spin. Lee McIntyre’s Get More Momentum Instant Internet Lifestyle was a breath of fresh air – straight from the glorious English gardens of the UK!

That’s one thing you might find a little bit challenging unless you’re already used to the British accent. I love it, but if he talks a little fast once in a while and you miss something, don’t worry; he’s sure to repeat it again later.

You see Lee used to be a school teacher. He taught the ‘tough’ kids who didn’t want to be there in school – and he taught them to excel. So if he can teach them (and teach me) surely he can coach you to internet marketing success, too.

I’m not going to try to lure anyone with impressive earnings or throw a bunch of numbers at you – let’s just say I have never regretted my decision to buy Instant Internet Lifestyle, and by the end of this year I’ll be making more than I ever made in one year working for someone else; considerably more.

All while staying in the comfort of my own home, having time to play with my dogs throughout the day, visit with neighbors or enjoy my garden… If that’s not my dream come true, I don’t know what would be.

If you want to check it out for yourself just follow this link – but don’t put it off, because if you’re reading this right now it just might be the right time for you to start living your dream too.