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Dear
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Click
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 Guest author Matt Bacak:
HOW TO STAY FOCUSED AND BUILD YOUR BUSINESS
You have a detailed business plan, which showed the overall intent of your company. You presented the business plan to your bank before start-up and they submitted funding in the amount that you both deemed acceptable.
The original business plan contained the basis of the procedures that will help you stay focused while the company grows.
Let’s examine some of these processes that you will use to give your business the focus it needs to grow and succeed.
1. A marketing plan. If sales are a part of your operation (and it seems that some form of selling is always a big part of every company), then, you will need to have your sales group focused on a marketing plan. Short term and longer-term analysis should be a part of this planning and will likely contain an analysis of your competition, market potential and sales projections.
Be careful not to fall into the trap of letting “the business take care of itself”, stay focused at all times and be sure your managers are tuned into this market monitoring regularly, nothing is more defeating to the general manager/owner than to be told by a sales manager…I didn’t see that coming! YIKES!
2. Accounting procedures. If sales are important, then the need to stay focused on receiving the proceeds from sales is equally important. Accounts payable, expenses and accounts receivable need to have fixed procedures in place to allow money to flow freely through the company coffers.
Focusing on these procedures at regular weekly and monthly meetings will put the accounting and marketing groups on the same path. A rift between marketing and accounting is a common bureaucratic occurrence; so don’t be surprised if one point you hear from someone from sales state, “We make the money here, how come I have to live by their rules?” Getting these two operations to stay focused on a bottom line results oriented approach is a regular part of an owner’s job description.
3. Human resources. If you have ever worked for a manager, who considered his employees as expenses rather than assets, then you will be familiar with the need for managers to stay focused on human resources within the company.
A manager who is fixated on staff reduction regardless of their accomplishments will create an atmosphere of fear. Certainly, no one wants to be grossly over-staffed, but a good owner/manager will focus on keeping adequate employee base numbers, and ensure continuing training, safety programs and top of the line employee benefits. It’s your campground, why not have “happy campers?”
4. Selling your business. This does not mean selling in the true literal sense. It means focusing on being sure your company image is one that is the envy of your competitors and is known in the business world as a first class operation.
You can do this by having key managers attending industry conferences. Be clear and tell them that their focus at these seminars is to network, thoroughly gathering as much new information that they can. They should also ‘sell’ other attendees on the importance and efficiency of their company in the industry. Upon their return, have follow-up meetings with these managers where they will report in detail on what they have learned. Managers attending conventions and seminars should take opportunities to enjoy themselves, nevertheless, they will be the “face” of your company, it’s wise be sure that they focus on making them business meetings, and not all “playtime.”
If planning, organizing, staffing, direction and control are five major factors in managing a company, staying focused throughout the process, is paramount!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matt Bacak, is the owner of The Powerful Promoter and Entrepreneur Magazine e-Biz radio show host. Click here to read another delivery by Matt Bacak about Financing Basics. For more visit Bacak's site at http://www.powerfulpromoter.com
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| | Business
Opportunities PART V: - CATFISH: A PERFECT FISH SPECIE TO SETUP INCOME BUILDING OPERATIONS FOR AFRICAN RURAL COMMUNITIES
In most African countries, there are, here and there, research stations on fish-farming development. But sadly enough, such researches had not resulted into full promotional activities to establish Tilapia as protein provider for the populations.
- CATFISH BREEDING CHARACTERISTICS
Catfish are generally produced by allowing brooder catfish to spawn in shallow open ponds, then collecting the egg masses and incubating them in indoor hatcheries or in (deep) outdoors ponds.
Ponds for catfish production generally run from 2 to 10 acres. Standard (well managed) pond production of catfish is 25,000-40,000 lb/acre. [11 to 18 kg/acre]
Channel cattish, Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque), is the most important species of aquatic animal commercially cultured in the world and particularly in the United States. It belongs to the family Ictaluridae, order Siluriformes. Members of the order Siluriformes are found in fresh and salted water worldwide.
African catfish species are here listed. [Lake Nasser in Egypt is full of catfish (the dam holds back the mud and silt that the catfish like to live in), and Egyptians do not harvest them as - for cultural reasons - they consider Catfish not suitable for food: Source]
In North America, there is a thriving catfish industry that relies on 6 of the 39 species available: the blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus (LeSueur); the white catfish, Ictalurus catus (Linnaeus); the black bullhead, Ictalurus melas (Rafinesque); the brown bullhead, Ictalurus nebulosus (LeSueur); the yellow bullhead, Ictalurus natalis (LeSueur); and the flathead catfish, Pylodictis olivaris (Rafinesque).
In natural waters channel catfish live in moderate to swiftly flowing streams, but they are also abundant in large reservoirs, lakes, ponds and some sluggish streams. They are usually found where bottoms are sand, gravel or rubble, in preference to mud bottoms. Channel catfish are freshwater fish but they can thrive in brackish water. Channel catfish generally prefer clear water streams, but are common and do well in muddy water - particularly in Africa.
Feeding can occur during day or night, and they eat a wide variety of both plant and animal material. Channel catfish usually feed near the bottom in natural waters but will take some food from the surface. Based on stomach analysis, young catfish feed primarily on aquatic insects. Adults have a much more varied diet which includes insects, snails, crawfish, green algae, aquatic plants, seeds and small fish. When available, they will feed avidly on terrestrial insects, and there are even records of birds being eaten.
Channel catfish grow best in warm water with optimum growth occurring at temperatures of about 85° F (29.4° C). With each 18° F (10° C) change in temperature there is a doubling or halving of their metabolic rate. This means that within limits, their appetite increases with increasing water temperatures or decreases with decreasing water temperatures.
The size and age that channel catfish reach in natural waters depends on many factors. Age and growth studies have shown that in many natural waters channel catfish do not reach 1 pound in size until they are 2 to 4 years old.
In production ponds the mouth rate of channel catfish is determined by water temperature; length of time held at different water temperatures; quantity and quality of food fed; palatability, or taste of food; frequency of feeding; water quality, etc. Most farm-raised catfish are harvested at a weight of 11/4 pounds at an age of about 18 months. [Source]
| DEFINITIONS USED FOR CATFISH PRODUCTION |
Broodfish - Fish kept for egg production, including males. Broodfish produce the fertilized eggs which go to hatcheries. The most desirable size is 3 to 10 pounds or 4 to 6 years of age.
Large Foodsize - Fish weighing over 3 pounds.
Medium Foodsize - Fish weighing over one and one-half pounds to 3 pounds.
Small Foodsize - Fish weighing over three-fourths pound to one and one-half pounds.
Large Stockers - Fish weighing over 180 pounds to 750 pounds per 1,000 fish.
Small Stockers - Fish weighing over 60 pounds to 180 pounds per 1,000 fish.
Fingerlings/ Fry - Fish weighing 60 pounds per 1,000 fish and less. |
Based on previous deliveries' contents, the next issue (March 15, 2006) will consider investments briefs about a small-scale polyculture operation based on Tilapia and Catfish - in African countries.
For more on Catfish's Breeding As Income Building Operations In Rural Communities in African Countries Click here
Control Your Desktop
CREATE VIRTUAL DVD DRIVES. DON'T MOVE AROUND WITH PILES OF DVDs OR CD-ROMs
This issue is a continuation to the previous one: File Sharing Made Easy, Secure and Speedy.
When you download files and movies from the Internet, some had "weird" / non common (.iso, .avi) extensions - .bin (standing for binary), .cue (that is a complementary files to a binary file; that should absolutely come with a .bin file to allow you to play the binary file), .cdd/.cdi, .bwt, .mdf/ .mds. These files cannot be opened/ played with mainstream utilities such as Windows Media Player or Real Networks Real One. For most asked questions about such files click here
So what to do to make use of such files that have weird extensions?
You have to turn to so called Virtual Drive that emulates computer's CD/DVD-ROM drive, and enables you to run CD & DVD programs directly from your hard drive without the use of the physical CD/DVD-ROM drive or the actual disc.
These virtual drives are much more convenient, reliable and quicker than physical ones. Their speed is ten times faster than the the best physical CD/DVD-ROMs. They are silent, consume no power and don't take time for CD swapping and speeding-up. For anyone who deals with CD/DVD-based programs - it is a must have.
There are score of software available to assist downloading these files: eDonkey, eMule, Ares, Torrent family and so on - (make research in your favorite search engine for links to said software.)
Click here for more about which utility to use to create Virtual DVD / CD drives on your system.
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