I could nearly fund my children’s future education if I received money every time I’ve heard a woman say, “I wish I could afford to stay at home full time.” Sometimes you can recognize a few working women making this statement to avoid judgment from the stay-at-home parenting world (and they shouldn’t feel this way). However, a majority of these women truly prefer to be at home, and are spending days trapped in a work “cell” and feeling committed for life.
First and foremost, I would like to stress that I am not going to join the pros or cons of either side of this debate. I have been both a working mother and a stay-at-home mother. I think they both have their advantages and disadvantages. I have equally loved and loathed both on any given day!
When I was working in sales and marketing, I loved the ability to meet new people, to negotiate, to close deals, to be given a task, a goal, a deadline, and to be able to start and finish a project. The hardest transition to full time “mommy” world for me is that no task or project ever seems complete. I make the meal and it’s quickly eaten. I make and clean up after another meal, and another meal only to be greeted by requests for many impromptu snacks. I do the laundry, and it’s worn, becomes dirty and needs to be done again. I wash the dishes, the floor, clean the house, and within a matter of hours my hard work is all undone. This applies to the bigger projects as well, like reorganizing cupboards, closets, and drawers, although at least this usually buys me a few days of pride and satisfaction, rather than just a few hours.
However, even though my tasks may never seem accomplished, my house never as clean as I feel it is suppose to be, there are days when I am playing with my children, laughing, hugging, holding them and I think I would have missed moment. Everyday they grow and change and it becomes harder to remember what they were like the month prior, nonetheless a year prior. For this I am thankful for an opportunity to have these special “mommy” moments.
I think that we as women have such strong bonds and influence on each other in friendships and in family relationships. We need to use that influence and stop debating each other over who is right and who is wrong in the stay-at-home or work debate and just accept that we each have our own “right”.
For women who desperately yearn to be home with their children, we need to fight for employers and businesses to create better work at home opportunities so that if money is an issue, and a dual income is necessary, it doesn’t have to be at the cost of our desired family life. After carrying a child inside of us for nine months and giving birth, we have earned the right to spend every waking moment with him or her is we so desire.
For women who truly enjoy and thrive in a work atmosphere, I say then don’t feel guilty. I am taking pleasure in a hiatus right now, but I sincerely enjoyed working as well. Women have labored a long, hard time to pave the way for the success were seeing in today’s culture and you needn’t give that up to become a mother if working makes you happy. The popular saying that relates to families “if Mom is happy, we’re all happy” couldn’t be more true!
I will emphasize that as a working Mother or parent, you do need to set boundaries with your employer, and let them know that your family is as important as your career. When I was working, I fought for and demanded a part-time flexible schedule that worked for my family.
Except for the occasional project, I made it a priority to leave the office on time everyday, making it understood by my boss and coworkers that this was my schedule and I would not impress anyone with late night office departures.
Coincidently, in every office I have worked in, it is often those who consistently spent most of their day accomplishing very little, that ended up burning the “midnight” oil. I spent my days working smart and efficiently, and felt no guilt at my “on time” departure routine. So don’t feel pressured to stay late, because it looks good in the eyes of your coworkers. My bosses always knew how hard I worked, and none of them blinked an eye when I left for the day.
So ladies, instead of debating each other, let’s use our influence, our power, our minds, and our hearts, to help each other do what is right for one another; even if our “right” may be different from someone else’s. We all need to work together in order to continue to make a difference. Together, we can make certain that work choices, family flexible schedules, and genuine work from home opportunities are available to us so we can support our families both financially and emotionally.
We may not always agree when it comes to various parenting issues, but I am certain as parents we can unanimously agree that we all love our children.
Tina Frazer is the Founder of Let’s Be Friends.net, a friendship website for women.
Let’s Be Friends.net promotes and encourages new friendships among women of all ages* and stages of life who share similar interests, lifestyles, and values. Our mission at Let’s Be Friends.net is to reintroduce friendship as a priority in women’s lives. For more information about Let’s Be Friends.net visit http://www.letsbefriends.net
*Members must be at least 18 years old.
This week’s article assumes that you have chosen a goal, dream, or task for yourself. You may or may not have started implementing your step by step plans yet. Are you a bit shaky in your faith though? Maybe you have a tendency to doubt your ability to carry this thing out to completion. You need a support system that will hold you up when the road gets rocky.
Think about the people you know. Who believes in you? Who do you think would believe in your goal? Ask them to be your cheerleaders. Don’t be discouraged if there is only one person whom you feel is truly safe and will give you unconditional support. Whether it’s one person or one hundred does not matter. You decide how many cheerleaders you need for any given dream and which ones to choose.
Tell them your dream. Don’t be squeamish or shy about it. Just say it out loud. Ask that they hold you to your highest potential and help you to not make excuses when you are afraid and want to quit. They will say yes and do it for you or you would not have chosen them to be your cheerleaders.
Jennifer and I had been friends for about three years when I had finally decided to start my own business as a motivational speaker and writer. I had been telling everyone for years that I would be doing this ’someday’. While staying the weekend with her, she asked me how my new career was going. I told her I couldn’t do it because I’d been overcome by fear and doubt. I recited for her all the logical fears and doubts that I’d come across. I pointed out how outsiders were also bringing up these same concerns and therefore they must be real and valid. There were just too many logical reasons to quit.
She never responded. I felt as if I was talking to a wall. She just sat there blank. This was my very best friend. We were known for talk-a-thons that our husbands and children couldn’t compete in and yet she wasn’t saying a single word to me. She wasn’t responding to my very real fears. I took it as validation. She must agree with me and since it’s her nature to be incredibly loving and supportive, she must not want to say it out loud. “Yep, Jen knows I bit off more than I could chew and is just too sweet to say it out loud!”
Later that same evening, we were sitting at her kitchen table and I told her I was somewhat surprised that she didn’t utter a peep when I was telling her all the reasons I should not, could not, would not start the business after all. I assured her that I wasn’t angry at her for not responding, but that I was just surprised. I had never known her to be speechless before.
She looked at me straight faced and said, “As long as I’ve known you, you were going to do this. I just figured you would still do it. Have you come up with a name for your business yet?” She then offered some ideas for business names. I pretty much hated all the ideas that she threw out at me. My daughter jumped in and suggested we call it The Motivation Station. Jen and I were laughing as we quickly discarded that idea. We pulled out paper and pens and started brainstorming business names. We were also playing around with designing a logo, letterhead, and business cards. I completely forgot that I had given up on starting my own business.
I did not choose a name until the next day while driving the four hours to get back home. She had planted the seed of naming my company. She had set me back into forward motion. She had simply stated her undying faith in me, carried my dream for me, continued forward with my dream when I did not think I could, and then handed it back to me when I wasn’t even looking. She expected me to live up to my best. She never doubted that I would keep moving forward and succeed.
Not only had I picked my dream back up, I had named the thing! I couldn’t wait to get home because my next three or four steps were laid out for me. I had to register my business name with the state, print up business cards, and start doing trademark research. I couldn’t wait to get back to work! Jen’s the best cheerleader.
Originally, I had not thought to include the idea of a personal coach in with the concept of cheerleaders. Now that I’ve chewed on it for a while, I think of them as professional cheerleaders. You may or may not feel unconditional love from them like you would a personal friend or relative, but they are making their living at being really awesome cheerleaders. They are paid to give you rah rah speeches and to have clever ideas and such to help you when you hit those down times while on the road to living out your dreams. Personal coaches can definitely be of help. Like anything else, you get what you pay for, so shop wisely.
Even if you only have one cheerleader in your corner, know that they are perhaps your most valuable resource when battling against fear. Your cheerleader will carry your vision for you when you can’t see it clearly. Your cheerleader believes in you with or without your goals. Your cheerleader holds you accountable for your life. Your cheerleader will let you give your goals voice until you get used to hearing it said out loud to others.
Thank your cheerleaders by returning the favor. You can cheer them on with their goals and dreams too. What greater way is there to say “thank you” or “I love you,’ then to be someone’s cheerleader?
This article was adapted from a segment of Beyond the Inner-Critic by Skye Thomas, copyright 2003.
About The Author
Skye Thomas began writing books and articles with an everyday practical approach to spirituality, motivation, and inspiration in 1999 after twenty years of studying spirituality, metaphysics, motivation, and parenting. More of her articles can be found at www.tomorrowsedge.net as well as free previews of her books.
skye@tomorrowsedge.net
Although the autopsy is inconclusive and tests on the food are not yet complete, a porridge made of EdenSoy Extra soy milk and cornmeal may be responsible for the deaths of two infant brothers living in Brooklyn.
When their mother attempted to wake them, shortly after noon, she found they were unconscious and took them to the hospital. Both were pronounced dead on arrival.
Initial thoughts were that the twins had been overcome by a gas leak, but tests showed no leak.
Because medical examiners also found no evidence of choking as a result of consuming the food, or any signs of foul play, the police instead began focusing on what the infants had eaten. The police cleaned out two nearby supermarkets of EdenSoy milk and cornmeal for testing.
New York Times October 21, 2005 Registration RequiredNYNewsDay.com October 22, 2005
Dr. Mercola’s Comment: If you ever wondered why I’m so concerned about the health dangers tied to the rampant use of soy products — especially in processed foods — this kind of incident is exactly the reason. In my view there just simply isn’t any justification to ever use soy formula or worse, soy milk, in infants.
This isn’t the first time soy milk has been investigated for its toxic side effects. Separate incidents in California and Arkansas prompted the FDA to issue a 1990 warning against using soy milk as a formula substitute. Most brands have followed the tougher FDA labeling guidelines, except EdenSoy, says Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food.
In fact, the deaths of three infants prompted the Israeli Health Ministry to issue a health advisory earlier this year, recommending babies not be fed soy formula — except as a last resort — and severely limiting a child’s intake of soy products.
Without question the best food you can give your infant is breast milk and this should be your primary choice if at all possible, as it is the healthiest source of milk you can give to your infant. I believe very strongly all soy formula should be avoided andis not fit for human consumption.
If breastfeeding is not an option,the best article I ever read on the topicis one published in a recent edition of the Weston Price ogranization. I am on their board and was able to obtain reprint rightsfor their article onhealthy alternatives to breast milk and commercial formula from Sally Fallon to run it in our newsletter. I would strongly encourage you to review thismulti-part series in this issueif you are unable to breastfeed.
When making the alterntaive to breast milk described in the article, ideally, it would be best to use raw milk as the base (other ingredients to add are described in the article). The best way toget it is tofind a local dairy farmer in your areathrough your local health food store orthe Real Milk Web site. Raw milk is a safer and farhealthier alternative to pasteurized milk.
This article is reprinted from Mercola.com, the world’s #1 most visited and trusted natural/alternative health website. For a limited time only, you can take the FREE “Metabolic Type Test” to help you learn the right foods for your particular body type so you can achieve optimal fitness & health. Just go to http://www.mercola.com/forms/mt_test.htm right now to take this quick test!
Q: I am an executive at a large company and in our industry we are seeing a trend wherein smaller companies are gaining market share at an alarming rate. Our CEO believes the reason for this is that smaller companies are more prone to innovation and more entrepreneurial than larger companies. He has instructed me to form a committee to study this trend and make recommendations on how we should deal with it. I’m an executive, not an entrepreneur. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
– Name withheld by request
A: Your question reminds me of the time my teenage daughter tricked me into doing a chemistry project for her under the pretense of asking for my advice. “But, daddy, you’re just so smart…” The result was that her/my experiment got a C instead of an A and almost started a fire in the chemistry lab. Reckon daddy wasn’t so smart after all: at least that was the opinion of the principal, her teacher, the fire marshal, and ultimately, my manipulative, yet adoring daughter.
However, you’re in luck, Mr. X, because I know considerably more about innovation and entrepreneurship than mixing combustible chemicals.
Judging by your use of the buzzwords “innovation” and “entrepreneurial” I’d bet your CEO’s opinion (which I believe is dead-on, by the way) may have come from the Conference Board’s CEO Challenge 2004, which reported that 87% of the 540 global businesses surveyed cited innovation and enabling entrepreneur- ship as priorities for their companies. Furthermore, 31% of companies surveyed considered these issues to be of the “greatest concern.”
FYI, the Conference Board is an 88 year-old, not-for-profit, global, independent membership organization that “conducts research, convenes conferences, makes forecasts, assesses trends, publishes information and analysis, and brings executives together to learn from one another. “
What many Conference Board members are learning is that they are getting their big corporate behinds kicked by smaller, more innovative, entrepreneurial companies that are not burdened by the need to have a meeting once an hour or to bury every great idea under a mound of red tape. You said it yourself: your CEO told you to set up a committee to study the trend. You might as well paint a big black hole on the wall and have everyone take turns trying to run through it. Committees and superfluous meetings are the biggest wasters of time and money in the corporate world and rarely produce anything even remotely resembling results and they are indicative of why smaller companies are gaining ground on their larger brethren.
The fact that innovation and entrepreneurship run rampant in smaller companies, but is often suppressed in larger companies is nothing new. Management guru Peter Drucker first addressed the issue in his 1985 book, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Drucker wrote that one of the most often-asked questions in many a 1985 boardroom was, “How can we overcome the resistance to innovation that plagues most organizations?”
The question they should have been asking in 1985 and the question that you should be asking today is not only how can you overcome the resistance to innovation and entrepreneurship within your own organization, but how can you make your organization more receptive to innovation and more open to entrepreneurial practices?
Therein lies the key to your recommendation. To compete with the small boys, the big boys must create an environment in which innovation and entrepreneurship run rampant. Everyone in the organization, from the CEO to the executives to the managers to each and every employee must become innovation generators and entrepreneurial thinkers. You must create an environment where shooting for the stars is the norm instead of the shooting down of ideas.
To put it simply, you must turn your lumbering giant Goliath into a raging horde of Davids. Now I don’t mean that you should arm your employees with slings and rocks and turn them loose on upper management, although that could be really fun to watch. What I’m talking about is turning your organization into an innovative, entrepreneurial machine where everyone from the CEO to the janitor works to make the company more competitive and profitable.
One reason that large organizations are resistant to innovation is that everyone is so busy just keeping the wheels in motion and putting out fires and dealing with the day-to-day drama of big business that no one has the time to even think about innovation. And Heaven forbid they have to think like entrepreneurs. No one has time to even consider the opportunities that innovation and entrepreneurial thinking might bring. They are too busy to see that their product is becoming dated and their market share is becoming smaller. They are too busy to see the smaller, more innovative companies speeding up in their rear view mirrors. Competitors in your rearview mirror are larger than they appear…
So, here’s how you begin. First off, you should develop an innovation plan that outlines how the process of innovation will work within your entire organization. If someone has an idea for a new product, for example, the innovation plan would explain the process by which their idea should be brought to the attention of management and how it can be shared with others throughout the organization. The plan should also detail how entrepreneurial employees will be rewarded if their idea is accepted and further rewarded if their idea brings future profits to the company. Here is where most big companies drop the ball. They take a great idea, brush aside the person who thought of it, then hand the idea off to upper management so it can be buried under a mound of red tape, never to be heard from again.
This is a key point: to make innovation work you must reward the innovators monetarily or by letting them take a key role in bringing their idea to fruition. It’s my opinion that you should do both: pay them and promote them.
Secondly, innovation and entrepreneurship must be promoted within your organization as the norm, not the exception. There must be a clear understanding that the best way to preserve and perpetuate the organization is through innovation and entrepreneurial thinking. If you can get everyone in the organization thinking like entrepreneurs, innovation will soon run rampant.
This is how you create the raging horde of Davids.
Next week we’ll talk more about how large companies can become more innovative and entrepreneurial so they can compete with those pesky little guys.
Here’s to your success!
Small Business Q&A is written by veteran entrepreneur
and syndicated columnist, Tim Knox.
Tim’s latest books include “Small Business Success Secrets”
and “The 30 Day Blueprint For Success!”
Related Links:
http://www.smallbusinessqa.com
http://www.dropshipwholesale.net
The range of mp3 players on the market today is perplexing to say the least but their main benefit is convenience. With the right mp3 player music can be downloaded from CDs or from subscription sites on the internet.
1) So how does the mp3 player work? Basically, mp3 is a method of audio compression that maintains the original quality of the music. Due to the small size of this file, there is a large capacity for storing music.
2) What kind of mp3 players can you choose from? There are two basic types of mp3 player. The first is a flash player, which has no moving parts and is therefore good for people using their player while jogging or in the gym. However, the disadvantage of this is that the memory capacity is quite low. However, this isn’t an issue if you only plan to use the mp3 player for short periods of time. The flash model is able to hold about 200 songs and the popular SanDisk mp3 player is available for about $70.
3) The second choice of mp3 player works by holding their memory on a hard drive, much like a computer. This means that the capacity is much higher than the flash models. These can hold 20GB or even higher hard-drive, which should keep even the most impassioned music fan quiet! Its important to note that you are unable to add memory to your mp3 player therefore it is important to get it right now or it could end up costing you more in the long run.
4) The must have mp3 player currently on the market is the Apple iPod. But it is important to shop around and do your research since there are some good deals to be had. This way you can get a bargain since prices may vary greatly depending on where you look. An online price comparison may be a useful way of finding the best prices available at the current time.
5) Its important not to buy a mp3 player on impulse and you should really do some research first. The best way is to get on the internet and read the reviews of other users and guides from the official literature available. This tells you things that you would only know from actually buying and testing the mp3 player.
6) Another feature of mp3 players is their battery life. Some come with a built in battery that need to be recharged whereas others work in standard batteries. In either case it is important to look at how long the batteries will last. If they constantly need to be recharged or replaced then it won’t be cheap to run or necessarily very portable. It is also important to work out the battery life for yourself since the time quoted by the manufacturers may not be accurate.
7) One of the main reasons for buying a mp3 player is its ease and convenience of use. However, this is not always the case. Consulting reviews of the mp3 player that you are interested in again can assess this.
Finally it is important to make sure you have permission to download and play music since not all players work with all download services. You must also remember that it is illegal to trade mp3’s without permission from the song copyright holder.
Gillian Todd is an author at http://www.a1-mp3-players.com.
If you run a pressure washer business you need complete uptime on your equipment, break downs can be costly if your billing rates are $100 to $150.00 per hour. If you are bidding by the job there are times when it is absolutely a great profession to be in. That is if your equipment is working properly. Here are some preventative maintenance for your high-pressure hot water skid unit.
Air Cleaner:
To clean air cleaner, spray WD-40 on it and beat it against a wall. Beat it two to three times before you spray it then beat it again after spraying. If it’s still dirty, blast it from two feet on the lawn, not on the sidewalk or gutter. (The effluent may go into a storm drain. $10,000 fine.)
Cleaning Cooling Fins on Motor
To clean oil-cooling fins, make sure the machine is cool and spray them with a little white wall cleaner you use to clean truck rims with. Three squirts on each side. Then blast it from six inches away without hitting hoses or electrical parts. Use another pressure washer machine to do this. Otherwise you will be spraying cold water on a hot machine, which can crack the block. If you want to use your own unit, turn the heat on full blast. When you reach 200F you can start. Try not to get water on the belts or pulleys because the water will make them slip and you will have no pressure to clean with. Also, stay away from electrical wires otherwise it might shock the ever living shit out of you. Trust me. It will definitely wake you up. If you plan on working on your machine for anything more than a simple oil change, do yourself a favor and disconnect the giant red cable on the battery.
Other stuff you should remember include:
Do not smoke within five feet of the machine
Do not refuel the tanks while your machine is running, unless you want to win the Darwin award
Do not breath carbon monoxide from the exhaust when working in unventilated areas
Do not leave oily rags next to the machine
Remove excess grease from around the machine
Do not work on things you don’t know anything about (especially electrical)
Make sure you buy the right spark plugs
Do not put gas in the diesel tank or vice versa
Do not touch both sides of the battery terminal at the same time, obviously
Do not take off the shroud covering the belts and keep your fingers out of there
Do not spill or splash hot oil from the engine on to your self when changing the oil
That takes care of the engine part. The engine is set for a certain rpm and idle speed. The carburetor is set at exactly what it is supposed to be based on; the PSI of the pump, the number of gallons per minute, rpm of the generator, the load on the machine, the noise of the unit, etc. If you screw with the: Carburetor adjustment screws, Governor low speed adjustment screw, Main fuel adjustment, Throttle stop screw or the Idle fuel screw; then your machine will: Run less efficiently; Break sooner; Run too rich; Run too lean; Cause premature failure or even Cause high pressure hose failure.
Who needs that. Don’t tune up your own machine, especially the heart of your machine, the engine, unless you know what you are doing. You should only follow routine scheduled maintenance in the operations manual. Pay attention and play it smart with your routine maintenance regiment. Think about it.
“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/
There is an unnerving trend facing American businesses today: small companies are finding themselves embroiled in legal battles with an alarming frequency. These independent businesses, many of which are small-scale operations that survive on a meager budget, are faced with defending their intellectual property rights- everything from their company name to the items they produce and sell. Legal battles over intellectual property have a varied effect on the general public, who will eventually pay the price of court cases aimed at those who lack the available means to fight back.
In order to understand the current battle, one must first understand what Intellectual Property is. Intellectual Property is defined as “Property that derives from the work of the mind or intellect; specif An idea, invention, trade secret, process, program, data, formula, patent, copyright, or trademark or application, right, or registration relating thereto”. (1) What does this mean in layman’s terms? Intellectual property is an item with commercial value, such as a new purse design, that can be protected by patent, trademark or copyright law.
Many business owners in the United States are surprised to find that Intellectual Property rights originated with the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8)(2), which states that Congress shall have the power “to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”
It seems that even the founding fathers felt that we should have the right to exclusive ownership and use of our inventions, as well as the right to reap the rewards gained by granting permission of use to others.
Protection Under the Law
Today, there are three methods through which intellectual property can be protected. These methods include patents, copyrights, and trademarks.
* A patent protects “exclusive rights to a process, design, or new invention”. (3)
* A trademark protects “a name, symbol, or other device identifying a product”. (4)
* A copyright protects “literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic work”. (5)
The cost of enacting these methods of protection can be exorbitant. An excellent example of the fee for protecting your work is the price tag attached to a patent, which can range from approximately $400 to $1,000 or more. According to one law firm, the actual cost to file a patent for something easily described is roughly $2000, while something more complicated can incur a fee up to $10,000. (6)
While filing for a trademark is typically less expensive, the process can still rack up fees in excess of $1,000 to $1,500 per application. (7)
The average start up investment for an arts and crafts business is $9,000.(8) When you take into consideration the requirements on city, county, state and federal levels for business licences, the amount paid out for basic office supplies, the cost to generate a website or other marketing materials, and the cost of ordering the necessities to produce a final product, there is little room left in the budget for filing for these most basic protections under the law.
There is more to the story than just the fees incurred when registering for a patent. Every patent can be challenged, with many leading to trial cases with outrageous amounts of money exchanging hands. As one law firm reports, the average cost of patent litigation through trial can range from $500,000 to near $2,000,000- and that amount is only for one of the constituents! These costs can climb rapidly for high profile cases requiring intensive work by the litigator, as patent attorneys charge roughly $200-$500 per hour.(9)
Importance of Intellectual Property
People often underestimate how essential intellectual property rights can be to a business. The media is rife with examples of battles over intellectual property, which range in severity from questionable copying to blatent theft.
We can look to the recent media headlines for a more in depth view of the problem at hand.
Earlier this year, Nike, Inc. issued a formal apology to “the members of iconic Washington, D.C., hardcore act Minor Threat and frontman Ian MacKaye’s Dischord Records for “the creation of a tour poster inspired by Minor Threat’s album cover”".(10) Why was Nike, Inc. issuing an apology? MTV reports that, “The poster, for Nike’s Major Threat skateboarding demo tour (used to promote its newest line of SB shoes), misappropriated not only the Minor Threat logo, but the imagery from the band’s 1981 self-titled EP and its 1988 Complete Discography.” (10) Sources have not published any further information on the topic.
Another example of this infringement of intellectual property can be found in the case of Margaret Nicole of Manhattan and Abercrombie & Fitch Co..
According to the New York Times, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. was selling a bag identical to those made by Margaret Nicole of Manhattan, and Margaret Nicole of Manhattan owner Nicole Dreyfuss “said that within two weeks, Abercrombie’s lawyer, Frank J. Colucci of the New York law firm Colucci & Umans, agreed to pull the purse and make a settlement.”.(11)
Defending the Store
These stories are, however, unusual. The majority of small businesses do not have the means to fight large companies when their designs are stolen or their livelihood threatened by lawsuit. Instead, they are forced to hand over the results of their hard work to colossal corporations simply because they can’t afford to defend themselves.
The epitome of this instance would be the current litigation brought against the small online retailer Virgin Threads, LLC.
Virgin Threads, LLC was formed in August 2004, and is currently being sued by Virgin Enterprises. As one media outlet reported, “Virgin Enterprises, Richard Branson’s group of companies, has tried to stop others from using the word “Virgin” in names and domain names.”(12)
The complaint documents filed in this federal lawsuit indicate that Virgin Enterprises believes the defendents named, “registered the domain names VIRGINTHREADS.COM, VIRGINFASHION.COM, VIRGINCIGAR.COM, VIRGINPUBLISHING.COM, and I-VIRGIN.COM with bad faith intent to profit from VEL’s VIRGIN mark and with specific intent to mislead consumers.”(13)
The owner of Virgin Threads, LLC, Jason Yang, says this of his current situation, “I had planned to trademark Virgin Threads soon but in November 2004, I was served with the lawsuit and my lawyer suggested that I do not try to trademark the name until after the lawsuit.”
When asked if he intended to bank off the household recognition of the name Virgin, Mr. Yang responded, “No, I never considered Virgin Threads to be similar to Virgin Enterprises in any way. The thought had never crossed my mind.”
While Mr. Yang continues to fight the attempt to shut down his website, the cost of the battle continues to rise. Because of this, the Virgin Threads website features a new department entitled, “Legal Fund”. The unique designs sold in this section help raise money for the defense against Virgin Enterprises, with a portion of each sale going toward the Virgin Threads Legal Defense Fund.
Despite the recent headlines and media attention, the majority of the consumer market remains unaware of these lawsuits and the dangerous trend they represent. Of those who are aware, many do not realize the true effects that will result from these court battles.
If the current bias is allowed to continue unchecked, it will leave the consumer in a precarious situation- staring in the alarming visage of a monopoly. The rising costs of protecting and defending intellectual property, along with the cost to defend against percieved violations, make an extremely hostile environment for small businesses to survive in, while rendering their growth nearly impossible.
With the disproportionate resources available to each catagory of businesses, it takes only an allegation of infringement to bankrupt many of the so-called “little guys”. This ability by large corporations to remove their competition from the outset leads directly to a dominance in the marketplace.
Marketpace dominance (or more plainly described as a monopoly) has a direct effect on consumers in the form of limited choices and higher prices, something even the famous 18th century English economist Adam Smith recognized when he declared: “The price of monopoly is upon every occasion the highest which can be got.”
The Loss of Small Businesses
With the monopoly in place, consumers are not only limited on their choice of product, but they could easily be forced to pay inflated prices for imported goods.
Many large companies are now outsourcing their labor to other countries. As once media source reports, “Forrester Research estimates that by 2015, as many as 3.3 million US jobs and $136 billion in wages will move not only to India, but also to China, Russia, Pakistan, and Vietnam.”(14)
Can we afford to lose our small companies? Here’s a closer look at what small firms (with 500 or less employees) bring to the United States:
Small firms
* Represent more than 99.7 percent of all employers.
* Employ more than half of all private sector employees
* Pay 44.5 percent of total U.S. private payroll.
* Generate 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually.
* Create more than 50 percent of nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP).
* Are 53 percent home-based and 3 percent franchises.(15)
As these smaller firms close their doors, local economies suffer. Ramifications from these closures can take on a ripple effect, bringing higher unemployment rates and affecting areas of life one might never suspect.
One study purports that, “The social costs of unemployment” can influence everything from mental health to the cost of social programs such as Social Security.(16)
It is clear that we, as a society, need to take steps to prevent the bastardization of our economy in every arena available. We must act to protect our small businesses from extinction.
The current system must be examined and changed to allow small businesses to protect themselves and thier intellectual property. Corporations need to be held accountable for their attempts to create a monopoly, and the resource gap must be closed in regards to the legal system.
While there is no simple solution, there are routes that can be taken to meet these requirements. However, those routes will never be opened until this problem has been acknowledged by both the public and the lawmakers.
The time has come for this acknoweldgement. It is time to put an end to this steamroller effect.
Bibliography:
(1) “intellectual property.” Dictionary of Law.
Merriam-Webster, 1996. Answers.com GuruNet Corp. 15 Jul. 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/intellectual-property
(2) Articles of the Constitution, http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html
(3) “patent.” Investopedia. Investopedia Inc., 2000. Answers.com GuruNet Corp. 15 Jul. 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/patent
(4) “trademark.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com GuruNet Corp. 15 Jul. 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/trademark
(5)”copyright.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com GuruNet Corp. 15 Jul. 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/copyright
(6) Fees referenced from “What does it cost to get a patent?”, © Copyright 1993-1998 Oppedahl & Larson LLP. http://www.patents.com/cost.htm
(7) Fees referenced from “How much does it cost to file a trademark application?”, ©2005 Meyertons, Hood, Kivlin, Kowert & Goetzel. http://www.intprop.com/PatentFAQ_trademarkcontent.asp
(8) “Business Guide - Arts & Crafts”, Copyright © 2005 Yahoo!
(9)”PATENT INSURANCE, IS IT WORTH IT?”, © 2000, 2001, 2002 Bruce E. Burdick
(10)http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1504875/20050628/index.jhtml?headlines=true
(11)http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/19/business/yourmoney/19bags.html
(12)http://www.chillingeffects.org/weather.cgi?WeatherID=507
(13)http://www.heratyhall.com/virginthreads.pdf
(14) “A Brief History of Outsourcing”, (c) Terri Kelly, accessed from http://www.globalenvision.org/library/3/702/
(15) http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sbfaq.html
(16) http://www.solbaram.org/articles/clm502.html
Tamara Dourney is a mother, owner of Natural Magic Soaps (http://www.naturalmagicsoaps.com) and Editor of Craft Revoution (http://www.craftrevolution.com), an online magazine dedicated to restoring the awareness and appreciation of crafts in today’s world by promoting them, and the talented people who create them, as high-value, desirable alternatives to the offerings of big-box stores.
The time spent waiting the birth of a new baby is one of the most exciting events in the life of any woman. It is traditional for this wonderful occasion to be marked by one or more baby showers.
A baby shower is a great way to honor the mother to be, and friends, family members and coworkers’ look forward to sharing the joy of the upcoming new life.
== Planning A Baby Shower ==
Of course this means that someone will need to plan the baby shower, and if that someone is you, you may be wondering just how to plan the baby shower, and how to choose decorations, pick a theme, etc.
Planning a baby shower should be lots of fun, but it can take some hard work as well.
== If You Know The Baby Is A Boy Or A Girl ==
When coming up with ideas for baby shower themes, it helps to know the sex of the baby to be.
Many new parents are choosing to know the sex of their new baby before he or she is born, and this can help the planner of the baby shower as well, after all, knowing whether to buy pink or blue decorations will make the planning easier.
== If You Do Not Know The Baby Is A Boy Or A Girl ==
Of course the sex of the baby to be may still be a glorious mystery, and this does not mean you still cannot come up with some great ideas for a highly successful baby shower.
There are still many places to come up with some great ideas, so be sure to check all available resources for ideas on how to create the perfect baby shower.
== The Internet ==
One great place to find great ideas for baby showers is on the internet. There are literally hundreds of web sites and newsgroups on the internet devoted to all aspects of planning for a new baby, including some great ideas for baby shower themes.
== Family Members And Friends ==
In addition, if your family members and friends have recently attended baby showers of their own, be sure to ask them about the themes for their own showers.
Family members and friends can be great sources of ideas for planning a spectacular baby shower.
Shaunta Pleasant is a professional writer and editor on baby shower topics. Visit my site to learn more about planning the perfect wedding at
http://www.baby-shower-gala.com.
The first birthday is in a lot of ways the most difficult milestone birthday to shop for in regards to a gift. The recipient can’t tell us what they want. The parents shrug and if they say anything at all it will be “oh, just clothes will be fine”. True, clothes would be appropriate and acceptable, but if that would be the gift you wanted to give you would have no need to read this article.
However, if you like going for something with a little style; if you like the look everyone gives when you hit a homerun in gift giving. This may be may be one that gets some oohs and aahs for you.
If you have ever been involved in making a time capsule, the concept of this gift will not be new to you. First thing you will need is a gift basket of sorts. This can be a plastic or rubber storage tub with a cover or a real gift basket. You will need some type of clear sealable bags. You can also just use a gift bag if you want and the parents can figure out how to best store the items but if you want it to last till the child is an adult you may want to figure out some type of storage system in advance.
The first item you will probably want to put in there is a newspaper from the day they were born. This should not be too difficult if you go to your local newspaper office. If you have thought far enough ahead and you want to you can start a year ahead of time, on the day of birth.
You could record the local news, weather and sports on the day of birth and burn it to a DVD or just a VHS tape. Of course the problem here is longevity, because you want the media to last the child into adulthood.
A magazine or two along the lines of Time or Newsweek is a great addition. You may like to throw in some of the pop culture magazines as well. TV Guide, Rolling Stone, People and US are great choices. Sports Illustrated and Women’s World are good ideas too.
You can record one network’s primetime lineup on the day of birth, so that when the child gets older they can see what was popular they were born.
The digital revolution has given us another way to give something from day of the child’s birth. Walmart and several other websites offer downloads of individual songs. You can make a custom CD of the top 5 or 10 songs that week.
The best thing about this gift is that you can spend as much or as little as you want and it can be extremely fun to put together. Pictures of everything the child may wonder about from the day are inexpensive additions.
There are dozens more items you can come up with for this special day. The main thing is to build a time capsule of memories and have fun.
One of the exercises that I have many clients do is list out all the successes they’ve had in life. I ask them to start with early childhood and list everything they can remember being successful at. One of my clients recently gave the assignment to his girlfriend. She asked me afterwards what the point was. She hadn’t found it very useful.
What I told her is that that I’ve found that this exercise serves two important services. First, it’s a self esteem booster. Most people don’t realize how many successes they’ve had in their lives until they write them down. Some express surprise and sometimes some modesty when sharing their successes. I’d recommend this exercise just for this boost alone, but the second reason for doing this is even more valuable. Success leaves clues behind.
When I ask a client to list their successes, it’s usually because they are stuck in some area of their business. They’ve tried several strategies to get unstuck and nothing has worked. When we take some of their major successes and analyze them, we find patterns. I ask them how they accomplished major tasks. What methodology did they use?
What we typically find is that they have a natural success style. For some people this is setting a goal and creating a detailed plan to meet that goal. For others it’s just jumping in and doing whatever it takes to make it work. Others might just go with the flow and do what appears easy or exciting. One client set a small goal and met it. Then he set higher and higher goals meeting each one before he moved on to the next. It ended with four consecutive world championships.
So if you are finding yourself stuck in trying to accomplish a task in your business, stop right now and list out your successes. Start from being bornit’s not easy to get out and start breathing. Move through your entire life and write down every success you can remember. You might have things like starring in a school play, completing a century on your bicycle, getting an A in a difficult subject. Make sure you cover graduations, college degrees, advanced trainings. Don’t limit it to just work related or school related successes. Make sure you include the things you most enjoyed succeeding at.
Once you have the list, go through and pick two or three major ones and analyze them. What did you do to succeed? How did you feel? Were you afraid beforehand? If you were, how did you cope with or minimize the fear? Did you do a lot of planning? Did you jump right in? Were you alone or did you have help? Find the reasons you succeeded.
Now look for a pattern. I did this recently because I was really struggling to get my business going strongly. The exercise revealed that many of my successes came when I had a structured environment with a lot of creative activities. I realized that I needed more structure in my business. I had plenty of creative time. So I found a friend that I can do weekly check-ins with that holds me accountable for my actions. Each week I share with him my goals or homework for the next week. Then when we meet I share how well I met the goal. This is making a huge difference in the success of my business. Try mapping your past successes and watch as it makes a huge difference in your current success.
Business consultant and professional speaker Michael Clark has been helping businesses including Fortune 500 companies such as IBM and Cellular One succeed for over 20 years. Michael is an authority on getting business owners out of overwhem and getting the most out of their businesses. His is a serial entrepreneur having opened multiple successful businesses over the last 12 years. Before that he had a successful career in finance and accounting for large corporations. He has been interviewed on radio, tv, and in print, as well as been a featured speaker at The Learning Annex, Rotary, and other business and professional groups.
For more articles on small business success, check out http://www.biznbeyond.com. Feel free to copy this article and post it on your website as long as you keep the link to http://www.biznbeyond.com intact and give credit to Michael Clark at Business and Beyond.
