Archive for May, 2008

Attracting the Next Generation of Crafters

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

By Reeve Bunn The craft and hobby industry is currently experiencing growth, in large part due to the baby boomers nearing retirement and having some spare time on their hands. These are the customers that we have had for years, and they will continue to buy from us, they may even begin to buy more once they find a few extra hours to craft. But if you are looking to grow your business, how do you find new customers? The answer is to figure out how to sell to these boomers children and grand children. The problem is, most adolescents and young adults arent going to drop the remote or Playstation controller and pick up a knitting book. So how do we bridge this gap? The two main aspects we will focus on are education and marketing. Education is the key to growing you business with the youth of today. However, the way that this younger generation learns has changed. This generation is unlikely to teach themselves to crochet through a black and white pattern book. They search out information over the internet, not the phone book or library. They learn by watching DVDs, not reading books. They dont get information through newspapers, but through pod casts, television, and the internet. If you would like to reach this audience, you have to be seen where they are looking. Creating a website is a good starting point. If dont have the budget for a website, an alternative is to make your store a My Space page (www.myspace.com), which is extremely popular with the youth. The best part, its free! The 14-34 age group also need to feel included and valued in the marketing of your store or products. For example, if a grandmother were watching a television commercial about the latest video game, she would be completely uninterested because the market for that commercial is young people that are her grandsons age. The opposite is true as well. When the grandmother is reading her craft store mail out flyer, the grandchild would be left uninterested because it is not marketed towards him or her. For young adults to feel included, they need to be shown that this market wants their business and values them as customers. It could be as simple as having a young staff member to establish a younger presence in your store. You could also include a photo of a few younger people crafting on your next poster or mail out. Our goals are to educate the youth and also make them feel welcomed. Hosting crafting classes specifically for this age group covers both of these goals. They are learning to craft and by welcoming them into your store, you are making them feel very included. However you must make these classes to suit their tastes. Shorter, more relaxed classes are what they are looking for. Some ways to make the atmosphere more youthful is adding music in the background, making the class more of a socializing event (party), and having a younger instructor they can relate to. Make your classes cheap or free, keeping in mind you arent trying to make your money off the classes, you are trying to make these new crafters who need product loyal shoppers of yours. After all, you helped them learn this great new hobby! And of course, make sure you drop your class flyers off at all the local junior and senior high schools! Attracting these younger customers to your stores now will not only increase your current business, but it will keep your company healthy for generations to come, until todays grandchild is tomorrows grandparent Reeve Bunn is the general manager of Mathew’s Craft and Hobbies, a supplier of crafting products in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. You can learn more about them at www.craftandhobbies.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Reeve_Bunn http://EzineArticles.com/?Attracting-the-Next-Generation-of-Crafters&id=299370 florida bad credit new car loan dallas merchant cash advance cash till payday texas bad credit new car loan

Why You Shouldn’t Sign-Up For A Free iPhone

Monday, May 26th, 2008

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Ian_E._Wright]Ian E. Wright If you are interested in getting free stuff online or anywhere else for that matter you have probably seen offers for free iPods. Immediately following the announcement of Apple Inc. that were going to be producing the iPhone, websites began offering similar promotions for free iPhones to people once they were on sale. The problem with both of these offers is that they are essentially scams. Websites claiming to offer you a free iPhone usually require you just enter your e-mail address or zip code to see if you qualify. The thing is everyone qualifies, assuming they meet certain minimal requirements. Then you have to complete some combination of offers or refer a certain number of friends to get enough points to redeem your iPhone or other gift of your choice. The most obvious problem is that the website you register with may be a scam. This is especially a problem for products such as the iPhone that have yet to be released. The website may get lots of people to register and complete the sponsor’s offers, only to close right after the official release of the iPhone. While, this is the most common worry of people who are thinking about registering for these offers it is not actually the biggest one. In fact most websites claiming to be giving away free iPods actually do give them away. They just make it extremely profitable to do so. Thus there is no need to scam people. Since many of the website offering free iPhones today are part of these same companies, they are probably as legitimate as can be in this industry. The main thing to know about these companies is that they make good money from you before they ever send you and iPod, iPhone or any other gift. You might think that this sounds strange but I will explain. These companies get you to register for certain offers from certain advertisers, which they make money on. Then they force you to refer your friends, who also have to complete these offers for you to get your iPhone. The company makes sure that their cut from the completed offers, more than makes up for the cost of the phone itself. This still might not seem like such a bad deal, after all, you knew that you wouldn’t be able to get the iPhone for nothing. The even bigger problem though is that as more people join it becomes increasingly difficult to refer friends who are interested and not already registered for the offer. Essentially, these schemes are just a variation of a pyramid scheme. While there may be no initial upfront cost, it is still mathematically impossible for the people at the bottom to refer enough people to ever get an iPhone. Thus, most people end up completing a few offers and referring a few friends (but not enough to qualify), yet get nothing. In the meantime the company that originally offered the free iPhone has gotten rich from these people. Sure the company had to give away a few iPhones but it has more than made up the cost through these other sort of shady tactics. If you really want an iPhone my recommendation is to wait until they are released and buy it then. Better yet, if you don’t mind waiting a few months you will be able to buy slightly used ones at a discount. As I have demonstrated, offers of a free iPhone are at worst a scam and at best extremely difficult if not impossible to complete. Save yourself the stress and worry and just pay for it once it is released. I know it’s not free but products like iPhones never really are. Ian Wright is a recent university graduate who knows the value of getting things for free. He currently runs a [http://www.free-samples-newsletter.com/blog/index.php]New Free Samples Blog as well as a list of his Top 10 [http://www.free-samples-newsletter.com/top10.html]Best Free Samples. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_E._Wright http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-You-Shouldnt-Sign-Up-For-A-Free-iPhone&id=436634 e-z payday loans in tucson nevada cash advance no fax no teletrak no verify personal secured loan unsecured uk loans

Lose Weight Spinning

Saturday, May 17th, 2008

By Gregory Boileau Whats all this spinning talk about, and why is everyone so keen on riding a bike in a gym to lose weight? Easy answer…because spinning works!!! If you havent yet enjoyed a spinning class ask yourself why. Spinning is fast becoming one of the most effective ways to lose weight and keep it off. Benefits of Spinning! Fast and effective weight loss. You wont just lose weight if you start spinning…youll melt away the pounds quicker than you ever have. Spinning can burn up to 800 calories an hour!! Bigger heart. Aerobic exercise increases the size and strength of your heart and will allow you to pump more blood to your organs, tissues, and cells with less energy. Sleek beautiful legs and glute. We all want to look good and have nicely toned muscles. Spinning wont bulk you up. In fact, it will do the total opposite. It will give your legs, especially your calves that tight sleek sexy look. Confidence! The sense of achievement after completing a tough spinning class is phenomenal. Youll feel as if you can take on the world. Dont be surprised if you can! Increased energy. You have to move and put out energy in order to create energy. The fitter you get the more energy youll have. If you want to lose weight faster than you ever have than you should consider spinning. Dont be shy about starting a class. Many gyms have a beginner class to give you instructions on setting up your bike and what is required. Once youve done a few your confidence will be soaring and youll be ready to handle the advanced classes. After that its just a matter of time before you watch the fat melt away!!! Greg Boileau proudly presents another quality written article on behalf of the-today-diets.com. The Today Diets is packed with qualified ways on how to lose weight, cutting edge information that destroys weight loss myths, and highly touted expert methods on how to shed pounds correctly and safely. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gregory_Boileau http://EzineArticles.com/?Lose-Weight-Spinning&id=439996 sba 504 loan program independent payday loan providers pay day loans ohio overnight payday loans

Do Not Throw Away Your Old Cell Phone! Trade it In, Get Cash and be Eco-Friendly

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Thomas_Arouet]Thomas Arouet What to Do With Your Old Cell Phone So you have just received your new cell phone, an ultramodern gadget packed with features that until a few years ago were likely to exist only in Agent 007’s secret tuxedo-pocket. As you eagerly open the FedEx package, you happen to glance at your old phone, which has served you well and is now staring at you wondering: what will be my destiny? The good news for your trusty old companion is that it can still serve many useful purposes, including getting you cash back, being reused, or at least ensuring that our environment is not polluted by non-biodegradable and often hazardous electronic waste. Have You Considered the Trade-In Option One of the smartest ways to dispose of your old cell phone is by trading it in for cash with an organization that will either reuse it or recycle it. Besides being generally easy, quick and hassle-free, this option has two benefits: firstly, it turns your old phone into cash in your pocket; secondly, it keeps the phone and the materials of which it is made out of our environment. In general, as long as what you trade in is in usable condition and does not have cracks, missing pieces or a broken screen, these companies will compensate you for your old cell phone. How much money you will get depends on the condition of the phone you are returning. Naturally, the better the condition of the phone you return, the more money you will get: for instance, a Motorola RAZR in very good condition can get you over $40, while a more advanced model such as the T-Mobile Sidekick in the same condition can be worth as much as $120. So, depending on the price you had paid for the cell phone you are now trading in, you will either recoup a good portion of it or actually end up making money. In either case, this is a better option than letting your old cell phone languish in a drawer or, worse, dispersing it in the environment. Because no matter what the condition of your old cell phone, cell phone trade-in organizations will generally ensure that if it cannot be reused, it is recycled. Electronic waste can be a significant pollutant, especially considering that upward of a hundred million cell phones are retired each year. The Simple Process of Trading In Your Cell Phone Trading in your old cell phone is simple and, depending on the company you choose, may not even require you to leave your computer desk. You commonly log on to the site of the organization accepting trade-ins, identify your cell phone make and model as well as the condition in which (to the best of your assessment) your cell phone is. The last step consists of mailing your cell phone to them. Afterwards, you typically wait a couple weeks for the company to check out your handset and make sure it’s really in the condition you describe, then you will get the trade-in value of the phone. Please visit [http://www.cellphonetradeins.com]cellphonetradeins.com to find our more about how to dispose of your old cell phone in a safe and responsible manner–while getting cash for it. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_Arouet [http://ezinearticles.com/?Do-Not-Throw-Away-Your-Old-Cell-Phone!-Trade-it-In,-Get-Cash-and-be-Eco-Friendly&id=533703 ]http://EzineArticles.com/?Do-Not-Throw-Away-Your-Old-Cell-Phone!-Trade-it-In,-Get-Cash-and-be-Eco-Friendly&id=533703 stop social security withholding paycheck payday loans with 30 days to pay online loan companies cash untin payday

How Dance Dance Revolution is Getting Kids Off the Couch

Friday, May 9th, 2008

By Denise Nero Are you concerned about the lack of exercise your child is getting? Would you like to see them up and moving instead of sitting around so much?Dance Dance revolution is the lastest dance craze that is a fun and addictive way to help your child get get up and move without realizes they are even exercising. Our kids health and fitness is more important today than ever before since video games, tv and computers are turning our kids into couch potatoes. This new dance craze called Dance Dance revolution is a video game played on a gaming system but it is not your typical video game. This fun and exciting Dance pad is hooked up to any playstation or Xbox then the player chooses one of their favorite songs from the DDR video gameThis fast paced game will surely get your childs heart pumping and their feet moving! The player chooses their song and they move their feet to the pattern of the arrows on the dance pad while keeping the beat to the flashing arrows that are moving side to side and up and down. As your child gets more practice on this engaging game, you will move to higher and higher levels which will progressively turn the game into a fun and challenging workout. There are many kids today that do not like the typical physical activities that sport provide but once they try Dance Dance Revolution they are usually hooked. There are many levels from beginner to advanced even the youngest of children can play Dance Dance Revolution. What better way to get your children involved in exercise than by doing something they love. If you have a gaming system such as a Playstation or Xbox you can own Dance revolution, just connect the DDR Pad to any of these systems. If you want your kids up off the couch doing something that is good for them while they are having fun I highly recommend DDR. What better gift can you give them? Next time your child asks for a playstation or Xbox game buy them the DDR pad and game. Make sure your child keeps his water bottle close by, hes going to need it after this workout. Weight Loss and Dance revolution Dance Dance Revolution games offer a specific “Workout Mode” in which players can choose a song, and play accordingly using either the normal step routine, or a modified step routine designed to provided a workout. The workout mode also allows players to track their progress, not in the standard step scores, but by calories burned, minutes played, and distance traveled. The game also calculates the equivalent of DDR dancing to common exercise activities, and can keep track of a player’s weight as well. The built-in workout features have inspired many DDR fans to make playing DDR their primary source of exercise, and some have built entire weight-loss regimens around the game. However, as with all new diet or exercise plans, it is recommended that one discusses the changes with their doctor There are many different types of DDR pad you can purchase. You will need a gaming system such as a Playstation or an Xbox and of course the DDR pads and DDR games. So if you are interested in an extremely fun way to get in shape go ahead and give Dance Dance Revolution a try! Dance Dance revolution Natalie, 14, was drawn to the pulsing techno songs, and didn’t realize she had slimmed down until she went clothes shopping. “I went to go buy pants and the 14s were too big. The more I played, I gradually had to get smaller size pants,” said Natalie, who now buys size 8 baggy cargoes Zachary 13, I did not even realize that I was exercising until my mom said something to me one day about losing weight. I realized that Dance revolution was not only fun but I was getting a great workout! Denise Nero Personal fitness trainer and owner of Fitness and Kids. To learn more about Dance Dance revolution and other unique fitness items for kids stop by http://www.fitnessandkids.com/Dance-Dance-revolution.html Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Denise_Nero http://EzineArticles.com/?How-Dance-Dance-Revolution-is-Getting-Kids-Off-the-Couch&id=56577 loan money to friend for something in return bad credit personal secured loans government free money to pay off nursing student loans legitimate hard money lenders

Be Your Own Boss With Sim Free Mobile Phones

Saturday, May 3rd, 2008

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Amanda_Dorthy]Amanda Dorthy In the mobile phone industry, there lurks an unbridled energy that is more hyper than the life seen in any of the other industries. This energy is the simplest reason why the subtly progressive industry has shown no signs of slowing down ever since it took its very first breath. In fact, the energy has reached such a crescendo that more and more players are joining in to be a part of the most progressive ballgame in today’s world. What had been introduced as a revolution in communications by the pioneering manufacturer Motorola has been taken forward by an increasing list of players as an escalating path into a new horizon. The mobile phone industry of the 21st century takes in such skilled players as Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson and Blackberry who have made possible things that could just be a figment of our imagination way back in the initial days. However, apart from being mesmerised in the midst of an ever growing number of revolutionary communication devices, an important detail also needs ample care and thought. Choosing the right mobile phone would prove to be much an easier task provided you know which mobile phone deal you want to go for. With the sensational success of the mobile phone industry, the players have introduced their collection through a wide variety of options. Retailers and even online mobile phone vendors have within their sanctums, some awe inspiring mobile phones that have been introduced through various plans. These mobile phones have been associated with the leading network providers to offer the best options to the users. Typically, three mobile phone deals exist in the form of contract mobile phones, pay as you go mobile phones and sim free mobile phones. However, due to the increasing need for a plan that could benefit frequent travellers and the travelling professionals, the sim free mobile phone deal is the best option available. Sim free mobile phones are unlocked mobile phones, which are devoid of any particular network association. This implies that the user of a sim free phone can switch between network providers at any point of time, thereby harnessing the power to be the master of the deal. For more information on latest [http://www.bestcontractmobilephone.co.uk/]Mobile Phone Deals and [http://www.bestcontractmobilephone.co.uk/simfree.asp]Sim Free Mobile Phones on 3 mobile, t mobile, orange, O2, Vodafone network, please visit our online [http://www.bestcontractmobilephone.co.uk/]Mobile Phones Shop. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amanda_Dorthy http://EzineArticles.com/?Be-Your-Own-Boss-With-Sim-Free-Mobile-Phones&id=612302 worse payday loan companies can i use my 401k to borrow against for a personal loan cash advance littleton co direct loan online