Month: October 2022

Using Props in Marketing

When we say the word “advertising”, it means making your business differentiated from the others. This is very clear that advertising is all about being unique and creative. Props have always been an important element to attract and make feel realistic. Props are used in many situations such as in arts, movies or theaters give a real effect. Keeping this reality in mind, different marketing managers of renowned brands agree that the use of props in marketing helps a lot in engaging audience. The basic purpose of using marketing props is that it attracts and grabs the attention of people. This is the reason that top notch brands of the world showing their creativity by using props in their marketing strategy.

Here I am going to describe key methods that can give you an idea that how as a marketing manager you can use props to correctly engage with your target market.

Set Marketing Objective:

The first thing which works as a foundation of your entire marketing strategy is to set your clear objective. This practice helps you to be specific in your goals and plan things subsequently.

Select Relevant Props

The props that you are going to select must be relevant to the marketing message. Make sure that marketing builds your brand image so your choice of props should be perfect and accurate.

Create Connection

The prop that you have selected must be connected logically with your target market. This requires a seamless workflow and clear marketing strategy because if the pros do not match with the advertising theme, it will give an awful experience.

Execute Your Props Campaign

Once you are done with what you have planned for props, advertising campaign, it’s time to execute. Display your ad at different places that you have decided and make sure it is placed in a same way across all targeted points.

Analyze Results

After you have executed your strategy, now you need to closely analyze the results. Assess that to which extent your audience has attached with the props and the message is delivered as you had planned. If it is like that, you are successful in your job and if not then it’s time to go through your plan and find out flaws to correct them.

Advantages of Using Props

Following are a few advantages of using props in marketing or advertising campaign:

Make Memorable

Use of props makes your message looks creative and thus makes it memorable by making it distinguishable from the others.

Create Realistic Thing

This is the primary attribute of a prop that it makes anything look realistic. It gives life to the objects that you have used.. Props are also a part of visual advertising that uses Graphic Design to make it more valuable.

It Grabs Attention

If you use props with creativity, it definitely attracts the people by holding their attention. If you have set the objective of increasing awareness, props can help you a lot.

To Add Fun

Props also help to make your message fun loving by adding life to it. It all depends upon the idea behind the marketing message that how you can use props to create fun.

Point Of Difference

This is the crux of this article hidden in this advantage that props helps to make a point of difference and allowing you to get an edge over your competitors.

5 Definite Dont’s When It Comes to Graphic Design

Not paying attention when receiving instructions

Communication is always important, especially when it comes to the relation between a client and a professional ofering a service. Clear and informative instructions are a requisite from the client, but it is also the responsibility of designers to make sure that these instructions are understood even if this means asking some more questions when something is not clear.

Of course, it would be a good idea from the designers to review their clients’ directives over and over, take notes and brainstorm. If they are confused about any of these, it is crucial to contact them so everything will be clear.

Using a large variety of fonts

It may be fun to play with fonts. However, this can prove to be annoying to viewers who read an article with text that keeps changing as much as ten times in a paragraph. Ideally, there should only be a maximum of three types of fonts in a single layout.

Nevertheless, it would be recommended to use only one or perhaps two fonts. Using a single font gives the text continuity, which is great. Keeping the number of fonts to a minimum is best for business card designs since the available space is limited.

Overthinking it

When you can include more to a design doesn’t necessarily mean that you should. They should keep it simple as this looks professional and is more effective. Therefore, they should avoid overusing Photoshop filters. While overdesigning is not a major error, it can also lead to serious issues.

Excessive things included in design make it more difficult for users to get the information they need. A design should breathe and flourish by itself. Blank space can actually be good and in most cases, it is a lot better than filling a blank space with a lot of things.

When a brochure is crowded with several fonts, colors and images this should be simplified and maintained to a minimum. This will allow customers to focus on the most important features that businesses would like to emphasize.

Thinking in a limited frame

Though others may think that it is just a cliché to think out-of-the-box, it does not necessarily mean that this is not true. One really big error in terms of designs like logos is getting stuck in the rut and sticking to known practices.

Graphic design is a process that involves creativity and because of this, designers have to be creative to succeed. They should try and experiment with different things even if these are out of this world. Though this does not guarantee success, there are better chances when they try.

Promising a lot and then delivering less

Perhaps the gravest mistake that can possibly cause damage to businesses is promising more than they can deliver. As stated by the Go Layer site, in graphic design, people seldom find a job that is quickly done.

Therefore, when it comes to expectations and deadlines, designers should make sure that do not promise something they could not fulfill. It is much better to complete a project before a long deadline than after a short deadline.

Why You Should Hire an Exhibition Designer for Your Next Trade Show Event

The visual aspect of your company’s marketing materials will make the biggest impact on your target audience. Everything from shape and structure, to colour, logo placement and taglines will make an impression – and you’ll want it to be a good one.

It’s no secret that, as consumers, if we receive an uninspiring flyer through our letterbox, we’re likely to throw it in the bin without as much as a second glance.

An exhibition stand is exactly the same. To spark interest, a display needs to be innovative, current and eye-catching, using the highest quality materials. These days, people have increasingly short attention spans, so if something doesn’t generate immediate interest then they’re likely to move on to the next thing without hesitation.

Most businesses understand full well the impact of visual marketing materials, but creating high quality design is often easier in theory than in practice. Perhaps you simply don’t have the right tools for the job? Without access to the latest software or a team of designers, it’s easy to get left behind, despite your best marketing efforts.

But there is little point attending these events if you don’t intend to make an impact. This is where the phrase ‘Go big or go home’ comes to mind. Competition between businesses of every sector is vast in the current climate – you won’t want new and upcoming entrepreneurs stealing your limelight with a more professional display.

Employing an experienced designer could be the solution your business needs to create a real buzz. There are hundreds of highly qualified designers out there with invaluable marketing and events expertise, and they are probably itching to get their hands on your company logo design and give it the refresh it needs.

Your upcoming trade show could be the excuse you’re been waiting for to revive your marketing materials and start gaining new custom. An experienced designer will work alongside you every step of the process to create something unique to represent your brand.

You may be anxious about the costs involved in hiring an exhibition designer, but there are many companies out there offering high-quality services with affordable price tags, specifically aimed at small businesses. Besides, they will be able to offer a range of services – from booth design to full event management – and you don’t need to go the whole hog.

If you do decide to employ someone to take care of the entire event process, you could end up saving yourself a whole load of time and company resources. An experienced events manager will take care of everything, from the design and build of your exhibition stand, to the logistics of the event, so you can carry on with the day to day running of your business.

Not only will an events manager oversee the design of your innovative, show-stopping booth or stand, they will also liaise with delivery teams and coordinators to ensure your display materials are delivered safely and on time – so all you’ll have to worry about is turning up and representing your brand.

What’s more, you’ll end up with a booth or stand that you can use for future events. Many of these designs will be versatile, so you can alter their size of structure to suit different marketing occasions. Some companies will even arrange storage for you until your next exhibition, saving you from having to seek out storage space and spend extra company resources.

Exhibition design companies can be found online, where you can browse their vast array of services and compare the best prices. For an accurate quote, it’s best to speak to an advisor directly by seeking out their customer service telephone number.

Catering Business Profits, Earnings and Salaries – How Much Money Can You Really Make?

Many people have turned their love of cooking and entertaining into a good living by starting catering businesses.

Catering is a multi-billion dollar industry in the U.S. and as one of the fastest growing segments of the food and beverage industry, the catering business offers great opportunities for those wanting to start a small business with a low start up cost.

In this article we will look at catering business profits, earnings and salaries and how much money it is really possible to make in this industry. Then we will examine some of the things that separate the really successful players from the amateurs.

Is a $100,000 Yearly Profit Possible in Catering?

Many people consider a $100,000 pre-tax salary or profit to be a benchmark for success and they wonder if they can reach this level of earnings in catering.

Most small catering business owners who put in the effort can expect to earn between $20,000 and $40,000 profit per year for the owner during the first couple of years. After a couple of years in the business, you can easily scale up to earning a ‘six figure’ annual income from catering.

Tips for Getting to the ‘Six Figure’ Level

1) Forget catering from your home kitchen if you want to get to this salary level. Business savvy caterers do volumes that require them to either rent commercial kitchen space by the hour, arrange access to restaurant kitchens during off-hours or focus on ‘on-premises’ jobs only and use the kitchens of their clients.

2) Successful players love spending time creating menus, following food trends and interacting with people without neglecting the business side of catering.

3) Start to create a powerful brand right from the start with your logo, company values and unique service that will grow into a valuable asset that allows you to command a premium price for your catering services in the market.

4) Develop systems for every part of your business to streamline day-to-day operations. Analyze the way that you and your staff work and strive to increase productivity.

5) Understand that there are ‘niche’ markets within the catering industry that you would never think of until you really start looking. Top caterers find these untapped opportunities, and carve out a business catering to the specific needs of these groups.

6) Perfect the process of consulting with new clients and learn how to politely up-sell them on some of your more expensive offerings.

7) Realize that you are leaving money on the table if you don’t also up-sell additional event related services to your customers.

8) Learn how to hire, train and organize a small team to assist you with food preparation, delivery, service, and even sales if you want a realistic chance of getting to an income level above $100,000.

9) Don’t neglect traditional advertising methods but also pursue other modern marketing methods such as networking, cross promotions and guerrilla marketing.

10) Successful caterers also recognize the importance of customer referrals. Customers may introduce friends to you because they like your food and services but there are also other ways to get them talking about your company.

To get started on the right track, do as much reading as you can about general small business management and the catering business specifically. Many highly successful caterers have published start up guides and you have a chance to learn from their mistakes instead of making your own and you can benefit from their expert advice and insider tips.

It is possible to make a lot of money in the catering business if you put in the effort. Reaching a level of earnings that will allow you to make a ‘six figure’ salary from your catering business is entirely possible within your first two years in business.

Is Your Company Making These Graphic Design Mistakes?

Companies use graphic designing to depict their brand image, promote their products/services and research its business. This provides them with a lot of opportunities to maximize their creativity while nurturing their business. No matter what they plan to design: a website, logo, brochure, business card or product replica, this doesn’t have to be a daunting task.

When there are mistakes in a web design, this can affect the company’s prospects in a negative way. On the other hand, a design, which is given a lot of thought can help businesses strike the interest of their target audience and gain their trust as well.

This article shows a list of the usual graphic design mistakes that can be avoided. In doing so, businesses can enhance their graphic design strategy to come up with flawless designs.

The Common Graphic Design Mistakes that Businesses can Avoid

Some common graphic mistakes that can be prevented to create great designs and impress an audience are the following;

Using Obsolete Effects

Viewers get easily attracted to designs that are creative with their new color schemes and font effects. So, businesses should not use designs with out-of-date effects. For instance, it would not be a good idea to use drop shadows effects, which were popular when graphic designing was just new simply because these will look obsolete.

Using Several Fonts

One of the major mistakes made by graphic designers is using too many fonts, which makes the message conveyed not too clear. Visitors get distracted with the different fonts in a design. When the fonts are consistent, there is continuity and it is easy to convey the company’s message and establish its brand identity. In choosing a font, it is important to consider the size of their piece and length of text.

Poor Execution of Gradients

It is best to avoid using too many poor-quality gradients. To create eye-striking gradients, they need to study the color wheel and know how to utilize trajectory graphic programs. They should see to it that the gradients match their design and are well executed.

Use of Stock Images

Including stock images are effective in projects that require some particular images. However, using stock images in excess can let a project look very unprofessional. In addition, their marketing piece should include new stock images instead of those that are common and which have been already used. It is best to get clear, high-resolution stock images.

Use of Raster Graphics

Raster images should never be used in creating brand logos. Instead, logos should be created using vector images since they can adjust to all mediums and get easily scaled with different sizes. On the other hand, raster images with their array of several color pixels have a difficult time scaling with different sizes.

Building Your Brand Through Forums and Online Groups

Let’s talk about forums and online groups. People talk all the time about how difficult it is in forums and online groups. I don’t get it, I’ve gotten some of my best traffic in the world from Forums, and I’ve had clients that have done amazing well with Forums. Yes, it’s mindless work. Yes, it’s a matter of finding the right post to respond to. Yes, it’s a matter of becoming a trusted poster so that you can put a squeeze page in your signatures. No, that’s not easy. Yes, it takes 2 to 3 months to do. And if you’re not willing to invest 2, 3 months in building a source of great traffic, then Forums and Communities are not for you.

You’re posting great content with a few videos, and you’re posting in a forum or community. Now layer on interviews. Where do I get interviews? Here’s the thing, if you write enough articles, people will ask you to be interviewed. I get interview requests a lot. I turn most of them down, because I just don’t have the time anymore. In fact, I wish that I had found a way to do them all, I really do. But, if all I did was interviews, I couldn’t create trainings like this. I couldn’t do all the other things that I hope add value to the world. If when you’re starting out, you write a few hundred articles and put them on your website, and you write a few hundred more, and you get them posted here and there, and you start ranking in Lifehack, and you start ranking in the websites in your niche, and you start ranking in the forums… I can almost guarantee you’ll get interview requests.

You may say, how do I figure out if it’s a good interview or not? Do them all! Do them all until you’re overwhelmed! Then we’ll talk about when to cut back. And then you start noticing things, cut back. Here’s what you do, when somebody interviews you, you’re going to post that interview. The first thing you do when someone asks you to interview is, you ask, “can I have the right to record it as well, and use it in my marketing the same way you’re going to use it in yours?” They’ll almost always say yes, and if they say no, say no thank you. Unless it’s obviously somewhere you’re setting out to be interviewed by.

When they interview you, you record it as well, and you put it on your website as the interview by so and so. It creates instant credibility for you and you share it on Facebook, you share it on G+, and you get instant credibility. And when 50 different people over the next year interviewed you, and all of those are showing up on the front page of your website, and they’re starting to show up in Google, what’s going to happen? You’re going to have instant credibility.

Before we go any further, I’m going to touch on about three more things that I want to give you. Some of you are still asking, where’s the 1-2-3 formula? THERE ISN’T ONE!

Hopefully by now you’ve got this idea that you’ve got to know what your website is going to look like, you’ve got to know how you’re going to change the world, and you’ve got to start changing the world right there on your website, and then tell everybody that you know about it.

One thing I’ve talked about in the past is, you’ve got a list of 100 Facebook friends. And most of you probably have 100 Facebook friends. You should be able to post a post on your Facebook page that says, “hey, as you know I’ve been working on starting my own business, and I’ve started one. How to create a scrapbook is my new business, and I know you’re probably not interested in scrapbooks, but could you please tell everybody you know that might be interested in scrapbooks?” Here’s the thing, if anybody unfriends you, because you spammed them on Facebook, because you told your friends about your personal pet project. Do you REALLY want to be Facebook friends with that person?

If you’re scared to tell your friends about your business, maybe you need to create a business that your friends would like. Or maybe you need to reevaluate some of your friends. I’m serious! Your friends should be the #1 people that are supporting you. You say, “well, so and so doesn’t support me,” maybe you just need to unfriend them for 3 months. I don’t know what the answer is, I don’t know all the social etiquette rules, I don’t know if you unfriend somebody that your kid goes to school with and they won’t speak to you anymore, and your kids can’t play together. I don’t know how all that stuff works. You’re going to have to figure that out on your end, I’m not a relationship expert.

What I’m saying is, if somebody dislikes the business that you’re building so much that they want to unfriend you? I question their friendliness.

I believe you should be able to tell everybody. I believe that you should be able to go get a business card made up that all it has on it is your website name, and your logo.

And any time you meet people in the grocery store, and you’re talking, and you say “hey, what do you do,” and they tell you, and they ask you what you do, you pull out your card and you say, “I run this website.” Doesn’t make any difference if you started 3 days ago, you run that scrapbooking website, right? Great, “I run this website, and let me ask you this, do you know anybody that’s interested in scrapbooking? Here’s another card.” You may not want to be that aggressive, but I’m just trying to give you the point, you can do this offline as well. This should not be some secret project that you have online. Do you think that Dropbox was a secret project? Do you think that Taskrabbit was a secret project? Is Google a secret project? Is Facebook a secret project. Is Business Insider a secret project?

NO! They’re not secret projects, they’re social projects!

When you take your website and allow it to become a social project, you’ll find that amazing things are going to happen.

Top 50 Job Sites Worth Your Time

Your carefully crafted cover letters and resumes are considered worthless if you do not have a clue where to submit them. In the midst of this recession, you might get yourself lost and lose your path to success and these documents you spent so much time perfecting will do nothing but look pretty in the documents file of your computer. However, behind the curtains of the economic depression, there lies wide and broad range of job openings that you can imagine are found conveniently online. So, if you really are tough enough to pursue your dream occupation, here is a list of top 50 job sites and their descriptions.

Entry Level Job Sites:

* After College – this is specifically created for college students and recent graduate students. This is both an employment and internship site that allows seekers to post their resume. This site has a search engine, providing seekers easy access to numerous openings across different states. For more convenience, hopefuls can filter their search by type, area, industry, and type of career. The site also offers information and career advice.

* CollegeGrad – currently, the number 1 entry-level site as it provides search service for college students and recently graduated students. It is probably the only entry-level site that list down the Best in Class Employers, Top Intern Employers and Top Masters Employers. The site also offers job search advice and virtual career fair. Furthermore, it allows resume posting, and internships searching.

* College Recruiter – a site designed for providing entry-level job and career opportunities for college students, recent graduate students and graduates. It also displays part time and full time job listing.

* Raytheon – offers listings and descriptions for the current opportunities. It has jobs section that gives every seeker the chance to look for the perfect work according to their field of interest, location and type choice. It has profile matching and internships and co-ops features to help college students and recent college students have hands-on experience. The site also offers recruiting events specifically for North America.

* The Job Box – This site is open to high school and college aspirants. It brings opportunities from seasonal and part time to entry-level job and internships. Job seekers can search using keywords, category and location. The site includes career news and resources.

International Job Sites:

* BilingualCareer.com – site dedicated to bilingual or multi-lingual job seekers. For the sake of communication, the seekers are required to be at least knowledgeable in the English language. The site also allows applicants to search by location, industry and keywords. In addition, seekers can search by language. This site also provides advice on interviews and resume creation. Job seekers can post their resume here.

* Indeed.com – it is a meta-search site that aims to pull thousands of postings from different places around the world. It compiles together job postings from major boards, top newspapers, professional associations and career centers. Job seekers can browse by title, company, location and keywords.

* jobalot.com – this is one of the mega-meta sites that use simple search interface. From hundreds of job sites and thousands of listings, seekers can simplify their search by searching using keywords and location, and browsing by category. In this site, searchers can learn about job hunting process. The site is also dedicated to providing information about continuing education opportunities.

* Jobs.NET – a site that accommodates applicants across the globe, allowing them to browse through thousand of employments, post confidential online resumes and receive tips and advice about job hunting. Seekers can search by criteria, such as keywords, location, recent postings, salary, position, industry, company size and so on.

* LatPro – this site is dedicated to provide assistance to Hispanic and bilingual professionals. It is a leader in online employment all over the world, giving seekers the opportunity to scan through listings from employers that are pre-screened. It also allows hopefuls to post multiple resume, create email job agent and access career resources.

* Monster.com – considered one of the oldest career sites online. It has thousands of job listing across the globe. The site includes career advice, relocation services and an auction-style marketplace, perfect for independent professionals.

* Prohire.com – it includes more than 150,000 postings from all over the world. It is one of the free sites with the largest database. Seekers can submit and post their online resumes and check out competition and openings within their location.

* TwitterJobSearch.com – this is Twitter’s search engine for job seekers twitter users. Applicants can search using keywords. The results are then displayed using tweets.

* Yahoo! HotJobs – considered one of the best resource sites online. It offers search resources for seeking professionals, free of charge. Online users can create their own personalized career management page that provides the necessary tools for fast, convenient and safe search.

General/Diverse Job Sites:

* Best Jobs in the USA Today – this is a site with comprehensive resource. It is integrated with databases, corporate profiles, post resume feature and career resources center.

* CareerBuilder – probably it has the largest diversity of listings. It posts help wanted ads from the leading newspapers today at the same time provides listings and openings from leading employers. As its name implies, the site helps to build a seeker’s career by providing resources such as tips and advice.

* Careerjournal.com – allows seekers to broaden their search. It has great resources of articles that guide searchers on their hunt. The site is created by The Wall Street Journal.

* CareerPark.com – Posting a resume on this site is relatively easy. Also, it brings convenience to seekers searching for job using the Internet. In this site, seekers can find other helpful career and sites online, increasing and widening their options.

* DiversityWorking.com – This site is perfect for ethnic and sexual orientation groups. As a diversity site, searching professionals are allowed to search for jobs by posting recency. In addition, seekers can search by location, type, industry and keywords. Furthermore, seekers are given an option to either sign up or not in the site’s free newsletter. Also, hunters can post their resume here.

* FreshJobs.com – a site endeavors to provide the freshest listing online. Its database consists only of postings not older than 7 days. The search can be filtered by skills, benefits, location, company and type of job. For matching service, seekers are required to sign up. Post a resume here and get a confidential mailbox.

* GOJobs.com – considered as a general job board, this site provides help to applicants searching for openings. The listing can be browsed by state, keyword and function. Also, it is a site dedicated to bring information to seekers.

* Jobfox – utilizes Mutual Suitability System to match seekers to opportunities. This matching sites has an in-depth profile system to be able to learn the seeker’s experience, wants and needs. The opportunities are rated based on how the seeker matches the description. Also, the employers are matched the same way. This site has membership fees.

* JobSimply – a site providing wide range of opportunities from part time and summer jobs to professional and executive jobs. Seekers can look into retail, hospital, restaurant, teenand cruise ship jobs. They can search through industries, locations and keywords. The site also includes resources about career tips and advice.

* Jobzerk – a site that is socially driven, allowing its members to interact and communicate to each other. As a community based site, searchers can publish and share useful information about their search and/or hiring process.

* Juju – this is one of the best sites for finding interesting career resources. In this site, seekers can look into 15 different sites such as CareerCity, CareerMosaic, JobOptions, NationJob and so on. Searches can be quickened using keywords.

* NationJob Network – a search service integrated with thousands of latest listings. It features company profiles and it is incorporated with email job matching service, based on your qualifications and preferences.

* Net-Temps – one of the top sites where seekers can scan thousands of postings and post their resume. The postings include contract, temporary and even permanent jobs. The site is designed with tools and resources, including career enhancement articles.

* Realmatch.com – a job-matching site that requires seekers to submit their qualifications and preferences and matches the information provided to the employer’s requirements. Searching professionals can use the listings to search for job by keyword and location.

* Vault.com – this site has more than 150,000 postings from up to 27,000 employers. Due to its popularity, the site branched out into recruitment. It has insider reports on different companies and it allows seekers to search through multiple criteria, including categories, keywords, experience, location and date posted. The site also has email job matching service.

Local/National/Specific Job Sites:

* Careercast – One of the coolest portals that feature niche and local jobs from all over the United States and Canada. It gives seekers the freedom to choose where they want to live and work. To search for a job, seekers can filter the listing by title, category, and company. There is also an advanced option to better target the right openings for the seekers. Also, the portal gives searchers the opportunity to post their resume.

* CareerSurf.com – It accommodates US and Canadian seekers from different industries and niche. Job seekers can search for different types of jobs using category, location and keywords. It also accepts resume from applicants and posts them.

* EmploymentGuide.com – This is a good option for searching jobs locally on the United States. Currently, the site developed around 56 metropolitan areas listings. As a career site, seekers can post resume and find helpful career advice on this site. And with the integration of localized areas listings, seekers can now look for position in a prospective geographic area.

* FindARecruiter.com – This is ideal for seekers looking for recruiting or hiring professionals such as headhunters, executive search and staffing firms. The applicants can browse into the site’s database with more than 10,000 recruiters. For searching option, seekers can use the company’s name, location and specialty.

* GetTheJob.com – It is a portal specifically designed for direct employer jobs only. It collects different posts from different corporate career centers of different companies. When approximated, this site probably has at least 2 million of openings information. For email alerts, seekers are required to register.

* JobCircle.com – It is considered the largest non-newspaper affiliated job board in Mid-Atlantic, operating in 10 states. The site provides information, discussion and careers. Seekers can browse and search for the job they wanted and they can also post their resume.

* Jobcentral – formed by the alliance of two non-profit associations, this site has an extensive network across US. It provides employment and career opportunities to hopefuls in different industries and category, from entry-level to chief executive position. Seekers can search by company.

* Job Search Shortcuts – providing links to thousands of listing web pages, seekers can browse and search jobs in up to 30 metropolitan areas nationwide. For faster search, searchers are allowed to search by category and by city. This site connects seekers to their prospective employers.

* LocalHelpWanted.net – it is incorporated with numerous features and benefits for searching professionals. The site allows seekers to view and narrow the listings by state and major city. The members can post different kinds of resume, including audio resume, video resume and portfolio once registered. This site has a membership fee. However, seekers can still use the basic services without a cost.

* myCareerSpace – allows seekers to search by category, region or keywords. It accepts up to five different online resumes for applying online openings. The site is integrated with hunting resources such as career expos, salary, relocation, insurance and so on.

* SnagAJob.com – it is probably the largest site for searching part time and full time jobs. It is built with career resources and advice and seekers can scan the listing by type, and location. It also has email alert feature upon registration.

* thingamajob.com – a free career site, allowing job searching and online resume posting. It has alert feature and career tools for seekers to utilize. Job searches can be done by categories, location, keywords and date posted.

Professional/Niche Job Sites:

* Dice.com – this is designed specially for technology professionals. It is great career site that provides more than a thousand of openings for professionals. The list can be filtered for search convenience by job type, location and employer. It securely protects confidential profile from seekers, making seekers’ resume safe from devious minds. Here, searchers can find useful career resources and they can create email job alert.

* USAJOBS – open to seekers looking for information about jobs and employment in the United States Federal Government. The listing can be viewed by keyword, occupation and location. Seekers on this site can post their resume and register for job matching service. The site also has resource and tips for job seekers interested in working at the government.

* VetJobs.com – designed specifically for veterans and transitioning military personnel. It also accommodates seekers with relation to a veteran and it allows seekers to post resume online. The openings include all levels and types of jobs. Job seekers can view results by type, keyword and location. The site also includes key resources for veterans.

New Concept Job Sites:

* The Interview Exchange – a job board that rates seekers based on how closely they matched on the position. The job seekers can receive the matching results via email. Also, it permits seekers to post their resume.

* Jobirn: Insider Referral Network – known for its uniqueness, this site has a job board, online interview system and employee referral system, connecting job seekers to employees of their prospective companies. The purpose of the employee referral system is to assist seekers in getting a referral.

* JobShouts! – a site that uses the power of social media. It helps create connections and provides matching results for job seekers. As much as possible, it delivers real time job postings at the same time automated one click searching from different social media networks.

* Jobs in Pods – this is a web 2.0 site. It gives seekers the opportunity to listen to their prospective employer’s jobcast. This includes audio interviews that discuss the company’s culture, benefits and how to and where to apply. The podcast comes with blog post for information and links about employers and

* LiveHire – one of the innovative sites today. Through this site, job seekers can get online interview via webcam. However, seekers need to submit their professional profile first and if employers are interested, they will contact prospective employees via email. This is highly recommended for long-distance job search.

* Simply Hired – Job seekers can be updated when new jobs are listed via email, social media networks, blogs, homepage and even through mobile phone. This is a search engine for searching job listings using keywords. The results will come from multiple resources.

Featured Sites:

* LinkUp – a job search engine with new and unique features. The site has the list of more than 20 thousand jobs from company websites. It is always updated with comprehensive job listing. Job seekers can search by title, keyword, and by location. The site is also built up with WorkSearch, a tool to track how long a jobseeker is searching for a job. It also has Tabs feature where in a job seeker can keep track of his job searches.

* TweetMYJOBS – a job board that provides notification of open positions INSTANTLY via short messaging service. The site tweeted thousands of jobs within a day and at least a million in just a month. This new innovative service brings together recruiters, hiring managers and job seekers. Browse jobs by company or by location.

Reasons Why Local Banks in Cameroon Failed Within the 1980-1990 Peroid

Financial distress has afflicted numerous local banks IN Cameroon, many of which have been closed down by the regulatory authorities or have been restructured under their supervision. In

Cameroon banks such as the B.I.C.I.C. Meridian B.I.A.O. Cameroon Bank were closed

Many more local banks were distressed and subject to some form of

“holding action”. Failed local banks accounted for as much as 23 per cent of total commercial

bank assets in Cameroon.

The cost of these bank failures is very difficult to estimate: much of the data is not in

the public domain, while the eventual cost to depositors and/or taxpayers of most of the

bank failures which occurred between the 1988 to 2004 period will depend upon how much of the failed banks’ assets are eventually recovered by the liquidators. The costs are almost certain to be substantial.

Most of these bank failures were caused by unprofitable loans. Areas affecting more

than half the loan portfolio were typical of the failed banks. Many of the bad debts were

attributable to moral hazard: the adverse incentives on bank owners to adopt imprudent

lending strategies, in particular insider lending and lending at high interest rates to borrowers

in the most risky segments of the credit markets.

Insider lending

The single biggest contributor to the bad loans of many of the failed local banks was

insider lending. In at least half of the bank failures referred to above, insider loans accounted

for a substantial proportion of the bad debts. Most of the larger local bank failures in Cameroon,

such as the Cameroon Bank, B.I.A.O. Bank and B.I.C.I.C. Bank, involved extensive insider

lending, often to politicians. Insider loans accounted for 65 per cent of the total loans of

these local banks, virtually all of which was unrecoverable.

Almost half of the loan portfolio of one of the local banks local banks had been extended to its directors and employees .The threat posed by insider lending to the soundness of the banks was exacerbated because many of the insider loans were invested in speculative projects such as real estate development, breached large-loan exposure limits, and were extended to projects which could not generate short-term returns (such as hotels and shopping centres), with the result that the maturities of the bank assets and liabilities were imprudently mismatched.

The high incidence of insider lending among failed banks suggests that problems of moral

hazard were especially acute in these banks. Several factors contributed to this.

First, politicians were involved as shareholders and directors of some of the local banks.

Political connections were used to obtain public-sector deposits: many of the failed banks,

relied heavily on wholesale deposits from a small number of firms.

Because of political pressure, the small banks which made these deposits are unlikely to have

made a purely commercial judgement as to the safety of their deposits. Moreover, the

availability of micro deposits reduced the need to mobilize funds from the public. Hence

these banks faced little pressure from depositors to establish a reputation for safety.

Political connections also facilitated access to bank licences and were used in some cases to

pressure bank regulators not to take action against banks when violations of the banking laws

were discovered. All these factors reduced the constraints on imprudent bank management.

In addition, the banks’ reliance on political connections meant that they were exposed to

pressure to lend to the politicians themselves in return for the assistance given in obtaining

deposits, licences, etc. Several of the largest insider loans made by failed banks in Cameroon

were to prominent politicians.

Second, most of the failed banks were not capitalized, in part because the minimum

capital requirements in force when they had been set up were very low. Owners had little of

their own funds at risk should their bank fail, which created a large asymmetry in the

potential risks and rewards of insider lending. Bank owners could invest the bank deposits

in their own high-risk projects, knowing that they would make large profits if their projects

succeeded, but would lose little of their own money if they were not profitable

The third factor contributing to insider lending was the excessive concentration of

ownership. In many of the failed banks, the majority of shares were held by one man or one

family, while managers lacked sufficient independence from interference by owners in

operational decisions. A more diversified ownership structure and a more independent

management might have been expected to impose greater constraints on insider lending,

because at least some of the directors would have stood to lose more than they gained from

insider lending, while managers would not have wanted to risk their reputations and careers.

The high cost of funds meant that the local banks had to generate high earnings from

their assets; for example, by charging high lending rates, with consequences for the quality of

their loan portfolios. The local banks almost inevitably suffered from the adverse selection of

their borrowers, many of who had been rejected by the foreign banks (or would have been

had they applied for a loan) because they did not meet the strict creditworthiness criteria

demanded of them. Because they had to charge higher lending rates to compensate for the

higher costs of funds, it was very difficult for the local banks to compete with the foreign

banks for the “prime” borrowers (i.e. the most creditworthy borrowers). As a result, the

credit markets were segmented, with many of the local banks operating in the most risky

segment, serving borrowers prepared to pay high lending rates because they could access no

alternative sources of credit. High-risk borrowers included other banks which were

short of liquidity and prepared to pay above-market interest rates for inter bank deposits and

loans. We all experienced in Douala and Yaounde how some of the local banks were heavily exposed to finance houses which collapsed in large numbers in the 1990s.

Consequently, bank distress had domino effects because of the extent to which

local banks lent to each other.

Within the segments of the credit market served by the local banks, there were probably

good quality (i.e. creditworthy) borrowers as well as poor quality risks. But serving

borrowers in this section of the market requires strong loan appraisal and monitoring

systems, not least because informational imperfections are acute: the quality of borrowers’

financial accounts are often poor, many borrowers lack a track record of successful business,

etc. The problem for many of the failed banks was that they did not have adequate

expertise to screen and monitor their borrowers, and therefore distinguish between good and

bad risks. In addition, credit procedures, such as the documentation of loans and loan

securities and internal controls, were frequently very poor. Managers and directors of these

banks often lacked the necessary expertise and experience.

Recruiting good staff was often difficult for the local banks because the established banks

could usually offer the most talented bank officials better career prospects. Moreover, the

rapid growth in the number of banks outstripped the supply of

experienced and qualified bank officials.

Macroeconomic instability to an extent contributed to these failures;

The problems of poor loan quality faced by the local banks were compounded by

macroeconomic instability. Periods of high and very volatile inflation occurred in Cameroon, just before the devaluation of the FCFA. With interest rates liberalized ,nominal lending rates were also high, with real rates fluctuating between positive and negative levels, often in an unpredictable manner, because of the volatility of inflation .

Macroeconomic instability would have had two important consequences for the loan

quality of the local banks. First, high inflation increases the volatility of business profits

because of its unpredictability, and because it normally entails a high degree of variability in

the rates of increase of the prices of the particular goods and services which make up the

overall price index. The probability that firms will make losses rises, as does the probability

that they will earn windfall profits .This intensifies both adverse selection and adverse incentives for borrowers to take risks, and thus the probabilities of loan default.

The second consequence of high inflation is that it makes loan appraisal more difficult for

the bank, because the viability of potential borrowers depends upon unpredictable

developments in the overall rate of inflation, its individual components, exchange rates and

interest rates. Moreover, asset prices are also likely to be highly volatile under such

conditions. Hence, the future real value of loan security is also very uncertain.

Conclusively ,we should not be scared when we see micro financial houses multiplying in the economic capital of Cameroon, Douala, and Yaounde today, all, heavily involved in the banking sector, it is merely as a result of these huge bank failures recorded in the past years.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Ideas for 2011

With every new year, we all get a “fresh start.” This applies to both our personal interests and our professional pursuits. If you own or manage a business or have a serious hobby, now is the time to think about your online plans for 2011. A big part of your online strategy should focus on how to better Search Engine Optimize your website.

When it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), there are two components: On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO.

On-Page SEO refers to your website’s overall design, navigation structure, internal linking structure, page titles and content, as well as the “behind the scenes” meta tags for Title, Description and Keywords.

Off-Page SEO refers to building links that reside on websites other than yours. The purpose of these types of links is to bring real people to your site from all around the Web, and as importantly to help the search engines find and index your website’s pages so they are available to be listed in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) – preferably on the first page – so real people who are using search engines to find information will see your listing(s) and click through to your website.

In order to properly Search Engine Optimize your website itself, i.e. On-Page SEO, you should: (a) design your website in a way which promotes simple and effective navigation from page to page so that a website visitor can easily access all of the information on your website; (b) produce and present unique content that adds value to your website visitors’ experience, and (c) ensure that each website page is properly set up “behind the scenes” by having the Title, Description and Keyword meta tags filled out completely and accurately.

In order to properly Search Engine Optimize your website around the Web, i.e. Off-Page SEO, you should produce and distribute unique content that adds value to real people visiting websites other than yours. Content distributed via article directories, video directories, blogs, forums, social networking websites, social bookmarking websites and news and information websites, contains links either within the text itself, or just outside of the text area, or both. Therefore, as you distribute your own unique content, you are building links back to your website. In other words, you are Search Engine Optimizing your website.

To put proper SEO into practice, you need to understand how to effectively design and structure your own website, as well as learn how to generate and distribute unique content around the Web. Content generation and distribution is not rocket science, but it does require a combination of training, natural skills and “insider knowledge” that not everyone has. Therefore, to maximize your SEO efforts, consider hiring an SEO professional. Before you hire an SEO professional, make sure you receive a free SEO consultation.

In conclusion, a couple great Search Engine Optimization ideas for 2011 are these: (a) your SEO strategy should focus on real people who are using the Web, and (b) carefully choose and invest in the services of a professional SEO consultant.

Microsoft’s Strength is It’s Greatest Weakness

Henry Blodget, mostly is known mostly for being spectacularly wrong during the dot com bubble of the early 2000s, and Silicon Alley Insider have decided to put pen to tablet (so to speak) and wax on about how Microsoft is poised to take advantage of the current weakness in the stock market. This is probably due to the observation that Yahoo can now be had at a much cheaper price that the $30 odd per share they they were floating this past summer. That may indeed be true, but Microsoft has a history of completely screwing up any online initiative that they attempt. It has so far been a complete money pit for them with no end in sight.

In order to understand Microsoft and online, you need to understand that they got into online business because of AOL. MSN was originally designed to protect it’s Windows business from the threat of dial up services and a potential (which didn’t materialize) Netscape/AOL combination. MSN created online properties completely in the AOL walled garden model. They were maniac in making sure that Internet Explorer (nee Spryglass browser) was preloaded on all PCs. Anyone who disagreed was threatened to have their Windows license revoked (read Compaq).

AOL had a one time a vision to render the Windows Desktop a OS layer from which you run the AOL Client you got from those ubiquitous CDROMs at the supermarket. However, perhaps thankfully, those ideas did not come to fruition as people began to choose naked Internet connectivity and the Google search page as the defacto standard for the Internet entre.

Fast forward to 2008, AOL is no longer relevant, relegated now to Seniors and the very rural. MSN is still fully embedded in past battles, unable to make itself relevant to today’s Facebook swinging youths. MSN is like a Soviet era airport terminal, still trying to sell 3 day old muffins and warmed over Fogers coffee. In between faux Dick Clarke hamburger joints are kiosks trying to sell you Burberry knock offs, Viagra and offers to transfer Nigerian oil millions (AOL at least has had a coat of paint). MSN is not so much a destination, as a necessary stop off for some on their travels to Google goodness.

Along comes Google Apps and Microsoft suddenly has the threat that they thought would materialize in 2000. Their response is Windows Live. Along comes Amazon Clouds and their response is Azure. Microsoft fundamental response to any online initiatives is to copy. In other words, Microsoft’s total online strategy is to respond to perceived and actual threats, not to build real innovative products and services that people want, but to build on top of this rickety MSN and catch people from the default IE home page, who are too inexperienced to find the exit.

And here in lies the problem that Microsoft has. As long as their complete motive is to protect the Windows/Office franchise, they will never succeed in building true innovation into their products and their competitions are free to out execute them.

Their true dilemma is that they view their customers as Windows/Office users that need extra stuff that they cannot get from Microsoft, rather than people that need a problem solved.

If they need some guidance, they need only look at Xerox, Digital Equipment, Shugart, Hayes Modems, 3Com, Palm……

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