The Management Consulting Group

I often awake to find Beverly, my older wife, wrapped around me like a Virginia creeper. In the nineteen years since we met, she has shown me what true love is, and I couldn’t live without it. For the first time, I have someone who wants me as much as I want her.

Falling in love with an older woman is the best thing I ever did, and I’m not alone. The percentage of women marrying younger men doubled over the past two decades, and women marrying for the second time are seven times more likely to marry a younger man.

Listen to women with younger husbands or lovers and you’ll hear:

• “We’re a perfect fit,”

• “He accepts me as I am,”

• “He keeps me young,”

• “I liked it on top.”

If you haven’t discovered the joys of a younger man, it’s probably cultural. Close your eyes and imagine a romantic couple snuggling together. One person is older and distinguished; the other is young and sexy. What do you see in your mind’s eye? If it’s an older man with his second (or third) wife, you’re not alone. Hollywood is run by men, so it’s hard to escape their fantasies.

Perhaps it’s time to rewrite the script. Women who consider younger partners triple their chances of finding the love they deserve. More importantly, older women and younger men enjoy equal, open, and exciting relationships. As one forty-seven year old divorcee with a twenty-eight year old lover says, “Younger men are just more fun.”

The first step in finding the right partner is to know more about yourself. What are you passionate about? Think about people, places, objects, issues, careers, organizations, and hobbies. Write down several, starting with the most important.

Close your eyes and imagine your ideal soulmate. What things must you share? What’s “negotiable?” (Careful, this doesn’t mean ignoring your feelings, denying deeply held beliefs, or trying to change someone else). What’s “non-negotiable?”

Imagine yourself on your deathbed. What are three things you wish you had done? This may seem like a curious way to find a mate, but sometimes we’re too busy living our lives to question whether it’s the right life. Think about what you really want, not what you think you should want. This might include raising a family, succeeding at your career, building a business, fighting for an issue, or finding a spiritual community. We all have many roles in life, but pick your top three priorities.

Now look in the mirror and remember yourself ten years ago. Didn’t you have many of the same hopes and dreams then that you have now? Imagine the ideal partner for your younger self. Before thinking “he’s too young for me,” ask, “too young for what?” It might be time to “think again” about younger men.

If you can’t imagine yourself with a younger man, let your interests, aspirations, and values guide you. The best way to find someone worthwhile is to become the person you always wanted to be. By being good to yourself and others, you help people become better and you attract better people.

Visualize doing something with your soulmate (no, outside the bedroom). Where are you? Browsing at the local bookstore? Jogging? Building homes for poor families? If you’re looking for the right person, you can meet your ideal partner anytime, anywhere, doing almost anything.

The most important thing is to be yourself rather than pretending to be someone you think others will want. Remember the “rules” for women that advised: “Don’t talk to a man first” and “Don’t call him and rarely return his calls”? You can make your own rules by understanding that age is an asset. If you believe in yourself, you’ll look for someone to complement you rather than complete you.

Start by being less concerned about whether a man is older, wiser, richer, taller, or all the things you might have wanted when you were sixteen. the most important thing about a man is his character. Younger guys may need guidance, but we all teach others how to treat us, and older women are better teachers.

No matter what your age, you don’t need to change the world to find love, sometimes all that has to change is you. If you are open to a different kind of relationship, a younger man will appear in your life. It happens all the time.

About The Author

Copyright 2004 - Chris K. Olander

Chris Olander, author of The Ageless Love trilogy at http://www.youngerlover.com, is Executive Director Emeritus of two private foundations in New York City. He lives with his wife Beverly in Cornwall on Hudson, NY.

Olander5@aol.com

If you can track them all, take a look at the line-up of college football teams that make it to bowl games in what has, over time, grown to become a blur of bowls, and it’ hard not to wonder if a qualifying criteria exists.

There is, but with 27 or by some counts 28 bowl games on the schedule, organizers have to dip deep into pool to come up with enough teams to fill the spots. The set minimum standard of a .500 season and six wins to get an invitation has set the bar rather low.

They can’t all be classic match-ups. With 117 Division Ia teams taking 54 Bowl spots there’s no way. But hey, with more than $190 million to be divided up among participants and an average Bowl game attendance of 51,879 does it really matter? It adds up to a pretty good shot in the arm for a lot of athletic programs.

If there is a flaw it’s the rich get richer and harder to catch. Roughly $139 million of that $190 pay-out goes to the eight big Bowl participants.

That’s lots of action packaged up over 16 days of the holiday season. Stick television in that package too. Network broadcast hours will top the hundred mark. Consider too that these games are more than a few hours of parking one’s butt at the stadium come game time. They are the impetus for organization of week long festivals of spending in host cities.

Just as the pay-out for all Bowl games cannot be equal, the economic impact of tourism and spending on a host region can not all be like the Rose Bowl. The $$$ that festival generates is the grandmother of them all and the model to shoot for.

It’s hard to be picky about a name when corporations are lining up to throw sponsorship money at organizers to the tune of $30 million like FritoLay put into the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. It’s serious money. Serious enough, fans who mightn’t be impressed with the rhyme have to agree with the reason.

Sports Picks and Sports Handicapping at Maddux Sports

TIME, MONEY, HASSLE - You can make a sale on one of
the Three Little Words, but when you sell on two of the three,
you’ll have a very loyal client.

You’ve have product training and sales training, you
reviewed your company’s web site and literature, you
understand the demonstrations, and the marketing ideas
behind the exhibit design. You’re ready for the show.

But now you’re standing in the booth and it’s Duh? time. You
can rattle off the features and benefits, but what does the
person standing in front of you want to know?

It can be boiled down to three little words - Time, Money,
Hassle.

They want you to save them time, charge less money and
cut the hassle. Actually, it’s what we all want when we shop
ourselves, whether for banking or broccoli, wine or widgets.
For example - We pay for chopped but bagged lettuce at the
grocery store. Saves us money? No, costs a lot more than a
head of lettuce, but it saves time and hassle because we
don’t have to chop it. Go through everything you buy and
you’ll find an example.

You can make a sale on one of the Three Little Words, but
when you sell on two of the three, you’ll have a very loyal
client.

Frame your opening comments around these three words
and you’ll get people’s attention. Don’t make them ask the
questions - be ready to find which of these words is most
important to them and match your presentation to their
concerns.

TIME - We all want time, more time, and trade shows are a
time problem. It is compressed - there are only so many
hours the show is open, so few hours to walk the aisles and
minutes to stop at a booth. Conversations are brief,
listening skills are strained and you’ll never have enough
time to go through the leisurely sales call process.

Here are 10 things people want to know about your
company and Time:

1. What’s your order-to-shipment time?

2. How long for custom orders and modifications?

3. How long is design time?

4. Do you stock everything I need, or do I have to wait for
parts?

5. When will a salesman call on me?

6. How long does it take to learn?

7. How long does it take to teach someone?

8. What training materials and people are provided?

9. How long does it take to put together?

10. How long will it last?

MONEY - Money is important, and saving money in tight
times is critical, but remember that beyond pure coin is
value. Value is what you should sell. The simple definition is
Value = Price + Performance. We all have something in the
closet or the garage that we were sold on price alone, and
we feel cheated.

Here are 10 things people want to know about your
company and Money:

1. How much is it?

2. What’s my discount?

3. Do you take credit cards?

4. Will you finance this?

5. What are your payment terms?

6. What’s your guarantee?

7. What’s my pay back?

8. Why are you higher (lower) than your competitor?

9. Do I have to pay for modifications?

10. What’s the best deal you can give me?

HASSLE - If time is money, hassle is both time and money.
If you save $500 when you buy, but it costs $1,000 in staff
time to get a problem solved, was that a good deal? Of
course not. These are the days of push-the-phone-button
customer service, of voice mail hell with no live people, of
cutbacks in staff who provided the corporate memory of how
things really work, and increasingly of look on the web site.
(Note - are you aware that more firms are adding a toll free
number to help you find what you can’t find on their web
site? But you have to go to their site and read the small print
to get the number!)

Here’s are 10 things people want to know about your
company and Hassle:

1. What are the most common problems with your product?

2. How do you solve those problems?

3. Have you ever called your own customer service
department?

4. Are you 24/7/365?

5. How long does it take to get parts?

6. Who does the repair and how long does it take?

7. What’s the guarantee process?

8. Who handles my account and what happens when she
leaves?

9. What happens if you merge or go out of business?

10. What if it just doesn’t work for us?

We all have true stories about customer service and the
time-money-hassle factors. Here are a few of mine.

1. I needed a toner cartridge for an old and faithful printer.
The local stores didn’t carry it and didn’t want to special
order it, so I called the 800 number of a staple in the office
supply business because I had a 15% coupon. It took one
hour of call waiting, checking and finally my item was found!
It could not be sent to the store so I could use the coupon
and save the freight, but had to be sent to me directly. Now
I’m on their mailing list and receive a catalogue every week.
What a waste, but I’ve been told it’s too difficult to take me off
the mailing list. Is this my favorite store? Used to be. Not any
more.

2. There are lots of ISP tales. Two years ago when the big
one bought my little one, I had 13 days of intermittent service
while they merged. This year, they changed “something”
(their term) and I could receive mail but not send it. I spoke
with 11 people over the course of a week, a total of 14
hours. I heard lots of music, lots of “what have you done?”
and “let’s just start all over”. I spoke with supervisors, tech
support and marketing. Finally, I found a new kid, who said,
“Oh, yeah, we changed something. There, it’s all fixed.”
Without billing them for my time, I figure this one experience
cost the ISP five times what I pay in yearly service fees. Will I
stay with them. Yes, because I’m afraid the next service will
be worse.

3. Since I refuse to do business with people who know less
about their company than I do, I often ask to speak to a
supervisor. Now, I keep pad and paper whenever I make a
call, and ask for name and extension. Recent responses -
all true!

* There is no supervisor.

* They can’t take incoming calls. Leave a name and number
and they’ll get back to you in 3 days.

* 20 minutes of music, then disconnect.

* Just disconnect.

* Call customer service. One hour of argument and being
passed along via long holding patterns. We can’t, never
have and/or refuse to solve your problem. Hang up, call
same number. Problem solved in two minutes.

* Voice mail hell with no option to speak to a real person.

* Web sites without real addresses or phone numbers.
Contact us is an e-mail address which never responds.

Be Brief. Start your conversation with “(My Company) can
save your company (time, money, hassle) and we support
our customers.”

Do customer service problems appear at trade shows?
Occasionally. Do they happen after shows? All the time. The
more you can define Time, Money and Hassle for your
clients and prospects, the more profitable everyone will be.

Julia O’Connor
Speaker, Author, Consultant
Expert in the Psychology of the Trade Show Environment
Trade Show Training, Inc.
PO Box 17155, Richmond VA 23226
804-355-7800
http://www.TradeShowTraining.com

Irrespective of the service provider, at the end of the day, the user may find that conference call services are the most cost effective way to arrange a trans-continental business meeting.

Conference call services are service providers facilitating conference call facilities to all those who want to perform an audio or web conference at a short notice. The clients can avail their services for a definite fee - that may vary from service provider to provider - and the users in turn are offered the best of services and support all through the session. The costs of a session are generally affordable, especially when compared with the expenses of a business travel and hotel accommodations, but may vary from one provider to the other. But, irrespective of the service provider, at the end of the day, the user may find that conference call services are the most cost effective way to arrange a trans-continental business meeting.

The conference call services – as offered by the conference call service providers – vary from simple audio conferencing to web conferencing, and each comes with different schemes and special offers. Audio conference call services or audio conference calls are for those who want to communicate things verbally, the same way as one does in a round table meeting, without any visual data exchange. On the other hand, web conference calling involves not only talking, but the participants can also see each other and share a document or parts of a document online if wished so. Audio conference call services are usually charged on a per minute basis while online conference calls levies a fee on a per seat per month basis. It may be $100-150 for a web conference session on an average and $60 for audio conferencing. Concessional rates may be offered to those who are using these conference call services quite frequently.

The communication domain is a fast changing one and hence it is only a matter of time before newer and better technologies emerge and replace the existing ones. In other words, web and audio conferencing, as it exists now, may be substituted by newer technologies in the near future. But until that happens, business will continue to rely on conference call services for their mass business communication, as a cheaper alternative for the costlier business travels, since conference call services are easy, cheap, and effective.

Our experts have executed a research to find the best conference call services. Find the results only on www.leandernet.com/Conference_call/Conference_call.php . More valuable conference call info on www.leandernet.com

A breed of dog called a Boxer is very family-oriented and they always love to be around people. Treat them as family members. Never underestimate their need for human companionship, which is the most notable trait of this breed.

The Boxer is happiest when it is with people. Its whole pelvis moves when a Boxer wags its tail in delight and exhilaration. It can adapt to any environment as long as it is with people.

They love being with their “families” and don’t like to be alone. Include them in your gatherings when company is around.

They love to be your shadow. Boxers are intelligent and are quite capable of participating in many family adventures.

Boxer dogs are like humans and they need lots of love to feel like a part of the family.

Accept them for what they are and give them time to show how loyal they can be. They are very sensitive animals too so never hit them.

Boxers Work Well With Kids
Boxers are gentle with children. Boxers love to play and are always ready for a romp or game, “…so make sure you have kids,” said one owner.
Introduce the Boxer to the children early, as this will bond the Boxer and child together and help prevent jealousy from either one. You will find the Boxer will be more protective towards that child it grew up with as well.

Some owners found their Boxers love to be around children more than adults.
They are good-natured, accept friendly strangers and will calmly suffer the pokes and prods of children.
Boxers are also accepting toward other family pets.

One owner said: “My girl Boxer is wonderful to my daughter’s little half-rat terrier puppy. She lets the very hyper puppy do whatever to her and they even sleep together.”

About the Author

For more information about boxer dogs visit: http://www.dog-owner.net

It is nothing short of annoying when a person does not have an answering service. Let’s face it. In this day and age, everyone should be able to manage at least an answering machine, right? When it comes to business transactions, it is even more important to have some sort of answering service available to your customers. Whether they are calling in with orders or calling in to answer questions, you need to have the proper tools for the job and that includes a well qualified answering service.

But, how do you find something that will work for your specific needs? For example, if you need an answering service that is able to make and take appointments for you, then you need someone live on the other end to do this work for you as well as software to help them fit the appointments into your schedule, right? Now, you may be able to find and hire an answering service that simply conveys this information back to your secretary or to you and tells the individuals who are calling that you will call to confirm the information.

There are many set ups for these answering services. You have software programs that can virtually do all the work for you. You have a wealth of live people to call on in various situations as well in organizations and companies that do the work, live, around the clock. Depending on the quality that you need and the specifics that you are looking for, you’ll have the ability to find just the right type of answering service for your needs in no time. Even better is the simple fact that you can find these options ready and waiting for you right here on the web. It is great to know that answering services are able to take care of your business in times when you cannot.

For more information please see www.answering-service-help.co.uk

If you run a home business, you know that budgets can be pretty
tight. Saving money wherever possible can be the difference
between the business that succeeds and the one that fails. This
article represents a broad survey of things you can do, from
consolidating your student loans to getting small business deals
on supplies, that will help you spend less each
month.

Next Time You’re Online, Buy Something

Billions of dollars are spent each year online. Rather than
suggest that you hurry and move your business online, I’d like
to suggest that you add some of your dollars and cents to those
billions already spent. Companies who move operations online
reduce their overhead costs and often pass on those savings to
you. Computers, airplane tickets, even student loan
consolidation, can be purchased or arranged online. It has been
my experience that I can find almost everything I want online
for less than I can find it anywhere else. Next time you’re
thinking about biting the bullet and making that big purchase,
spend a little time shopping around online and see if you can’t
save a few dollars.

Consolidate Student Loans and Get
Your House in Order

Chances are good that you’ve been out of school for a while, but
don’t skip this paragraph. If you consolidate student loans or
other financial obligations, you will typically save a great
deal of money each month on your monthly payments. Running a
home business often blurs the line between personal expenses and
business operating costs – do yourself a favor and make sure you
have your personal financial affairs taken care of before you
find yourself overwhelmed with past obligations. The government
might not have cared about your credit score when they gave you
those student loans, but banks looking to give business loans
are a whole different story. Making sure everything is taken
care will keep financial doors open that, once they’re closed,
are very difficult to reopen.

Score One for the Little
Guy

Believe it not, most people want small businesses to succeed.
There are a lot of people willing to give you a break on prices
because you own a home business, but you might need to ask about
it. Office supply retailers and computer distributors sometimes
offer discount prices to registered small business owners. The
savings are not always monumental, but even the smallest savings
multiplied over a year or two start to add up to pretty
substantial amounts. Shop around to see if the suppliers you use
are willing to offer you a discount on supplies or
equipment.

Do Without…For a While

I’m probably not the only person that drove a car that was older
than I was during college, or who ate Ramen noodles more than
once almost everyday. Don’t forget the lessons you learned while
you were a poor college student – the same ability to make do
with what you have can save you a lot of money in the long run.
I had just graduated from college and I wanted to get a new
computer to replace the older, though fully functional one I was
using. This was before I took my own advice to consolidate
student loans, so money was still pretty tight. I wanted to kick
myself when I saw that the price on the computer I bought
dropped $300 in three months. Some expenses are necessary and
unavoidable. For everything else, look to see if you can manage
with what you have for a while longer.

Don’t Do It
Alone

Nobody likes data entry – it’s time consuming, boring, and time
consuming. If you find yourself spending too much of your day
punching numbers into spreadsheets, consider hiring someone or
outsourcing it to another company. If you think that you can’t
afford the part-time salary, do an inventory of your time and
see if what you would pay someone is worth the amount of time
you’ll be able to invest into the meatier matters of your
business.

I know I’m risking sounding like your father giving you a
lecture about money, but remember that a penny saved is a penny
earned. A successful business minimizes costs while maximizing
profits.

Passwords have a strange dual nature. The stronger and safer the password the more likely it will be undermined by human weakness.

It is widely known that passwords are the most common means of access control. It is also common knowledge that passwords are the easiest way to compromise a system. Passwords have two basic functions. First, they allow initial entry to a system. Next, after access, they grant permission to various levels of information. This access can range from public data to restricted trade secrets and pending patents.

The best passwords are a lengthy and complex mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols. The tendency for people when using these formats is to write them down, store them on a hand held device, etc. thus destroying the integrity of the password.

The integrity of passwords can be circumvented through “Human Engineering.” People can unwittingly make grave errors of judgment in situations that they may view as harmless or even helpful. For example, a password is shared with a forgetful employee and a system can be compromised. In more ominous cases, a con artist or hacker can phone a naïve employee and present themselves as senior executives or help desk personnel and obtain that persons password. People have also been duped by callers claiming emergencies, cajoling or even threatening the employees job if a password is not provided.

These human lapses can be addressed through employee training and written policies that provide solid guidance and procedures in these circumstances. Training in information security, including password protocols, should be mandatory for every employee of the enterprise. Management support of this training and the security policy is critical to its success. To be effective, training should be repetitive with quarterly reviews of the company policy. There can also be frequent reminders, such as banners, about password security that appear during logons.

Management must not only support security measures, they must also provide a written and enforced policy statement. These written policies should be developed with assistance from the I.T. department as well as the human resource and legal departments. Written policies should be a part of the employee’s introduction to the company and should be reviewed at least twice a year. It is also critical that the employee sign off on the document indicating that they received, read, and understood its contents. Firms that ignore these practices do so at their own risk.

Enforcement is an important partner to training. A policy that is not enforced is far worse than no policy at all. In fact, haphazard enforcement or lack of enforcement can increase a company’s liability in many legal actions. To work, a policy must have “teeth”. There should be a range of consequences for lapses whether it is a single event or multiple or flagrant incidents. This can range from a verbal warning all the way to termination.

In summary, passwords can be kept more secure by recognizing the human factor. Through management initiative, communication and training, as well as written and enforced policies and procedures, companies can have more control over their information assets and keep their clients and partners much safer.

About The Author

Terrence F. Doheny

President, Beyond If Solutions,LLC

www.beyondifsolutions.com

terry@beyondifsolutions.com

Commercial tanning beds have come a long way in the last few
years. The commercial tanning beds in your local salon should be
safer than ever before.

There are many kinds of commercial tanning beds. You may want to
do a little research on which commercial tanning beds are the
best to use.

When you use commercial tanning beds you may be running a risk
of health issues like skin cancer. If you do some research you
will be able to decide if commercial tanning beds are for you.

Before you use commercial tanning beds you should check to see
if you have any moles, skin discolorations, or freckles. Keep an
eye on these when using commercial tanning beds to make sue they
don’t change in color, texture or size.

There are some people who should not use commercial tanning
beds. If you are under 16 you may want to avoid commercial
tanning beds.

There are certain medications that can not be taken if you plan
to tan in commercial tanning beds.

People who are very fair and do not tan well or at all should
not use commercial tanning beds. If you have a history of skin
cancer in your family, the use of commercial tanning beds may
not be a good idea.

Did you suffer from a really bad sunburn as a child? You may
want to avoid commercial tanning beds.

Some people have a medical condition that becomes worse when
they are exposed to sunlight. If this describes you, you should
not tan in commercial tanning beds.

If you are thinking of using commercial tanning beds you have
the best information so you will be able to tan as safely as
possible.

I remember moving my family to Argentina as Vice President of Sales for Latin America. I was in charge of managing five regional offices, Argentina of course being one of them.

In the company’s ten year history of selling into Latin America it had never exceeded $14 million (M) in annual sales. The Argentina office itself had never produced more than $400 thousand (K) in sales. My task was to increase the sales locally in Argentina, but more importantly throughout Latin America.

I remember sitting in my office one day, looking out the window and wondering, “How the heck am I going to grow this business with problems in Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico and other hot spots? “How can I grow this business beyond $14M when no one in the past has been able to do so?” Forget the movie Sleepless in Seattle, I was “Sleepless in Argentina,” trying to map out a strategy. How would I make “sales” happen?! ”

A confession to you the reader: I was scared! Please don’t tell anyone!

One day while on the phone with a customer, I heard loud noises from across my office building. After getting off the phone, I opened the window and looked at the shorter building next door. On the rooftop, I saw several men using a scrapping machine to rip apart the flat roof the size of two tennis courts. This noise went on for days.

Then one day I noticed the silence. I looked outside and discovered that the men had finishing stripping the rooftop and were now laying small ceramic tiles. Given the size of the roof I remember thinking, “That’s going to take them a very long time.”

A few days later to my surprise and amazement I looked outside and saw that they were three-quarters of the way complete. “Amazing! How were they able to lay so many small tiles so quickly?”

Satori,… a moment of enlightenment.

At that very moment, a new mindset was born for building sales. Instead of focusing in on the enormous task of increasing sales for the entire region (the whole roof), I would focus on building the company’s sales slowly (one ceramic tile or sales office at a time).

It was this paradigm shift, this Latin American version of eating an elephant one-bite-at-a-time that helped me maintain the patience and sanity needed to grow the business. I considered each country in Latin America a “tile.” I set out to make sure that each tile I laid was positioned correctly in the marketplace. The result? First year, we hit $14.3M. Second year $45M. By the end of the third year, the region’s annual sales had grown to $98M. The Argentina office itself went from $400K in sales to $5M.

Success, in sales and in life, starts when you break things up into smaller pieces; you begin to feel a sense of control. And as I began to take action, I began to feel a sense of momentum. Control and momentum became my engine for success. And every time I felt overwhelmed or anxious, I thought to myself, “Victor, let’s just lay one tile at a time.”

Confucius said, “It is not a matter of how fast or slow, but simply a matter of you moving.” I learned that progress or success never happens overnight, but over time…one tile at time. I learned how to become a sales ‘carpintero’ (carpenter who builds things).

Victor Gonzalez, top Hispanic motivational speaker and author of “The LOGIC of Success”. For more info go to: www.thelogicofsuccess.com or by email victor@thelogicofsuccess.com