VR1
(WE
ARE ONE)
+ve
NEWS
Mayawati’s security to be strengthened
In a bid to make Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Mayawati’s security more foolproof and strengthen the communication
network, the U.P. police will seek feedback from Central and State
agencies investigating the causes behind the disappearance of Andhra
Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s helicopter on Wednesday.
The
Additional Director-General of Police, II ( Law and Order), Arvind
Kumar Jain, told journalists here that the State’s security and
intelligence agencies would secure the findings of the case related to
Dr. Reddy’s helicopter, and would draw lessons from it.
Ms.
Mayawati is already the most heavily guarded Chief Minister in the
country, with the State’s agencies taking no chances with her security.
ALMOST EVERY FRAUD involves
VICTIM
sending “CASH” money to a
Fraudster/Scammer.
ABSOLUTELY DO NOT send any money
using
Union
Always deal ONLY locally by meeting
the seller/buyer in person.
READ and UNDERSTAND the methods used
by Fraudsters in the link above.
50 Ways to Save Money in Your Business
Save your company thousands of dollars with these
penny-pinching tips.
On a
shoestring budget (and what entrepreneur isn’t?), it really pays to scrimp and
save. Just in case you’ve forgotten the value of a hard-earned penny, we’ve
come up with a slew of money-saving ideas to boost your business’s bottom
line-from cutting your legal bills to inexpensive ways to draw in customers.
Though some tips will save you more money than others, the end result of your
overall spendthrift strategy could add up to a bundle.
Penny-Pinching Promotions
1. Piggyback your advertising. Including
advertising material in other mailings, such as in invoices, saves postage and
other costs, says J. Donald Weinrauch, co-author of The Frugal Marketer.
Likewise, make the most of your point-of-purchase opportunities by tucking
coupons, newsletters or other promotional fliers in the bag with customers’
purchases.
2. Be a good neighbor. Split advertising and
promotion costs with neighboring businesses. Jointly promote a sidewalk sale,
or take your marketing alliance further by sharing mailing lists, distribution
channels and suppliers with businesses that sell complementary goods or
services.
3. Ask the people you know for help. The kind of
support you’d most like to get from your contacts is referrals-the names of
specific individuals who need your products and services. So go ahead and ask!
Your contacts can also give prospects your name and number. As the number of
referrals you receive increases, so does your potential for increasing the
percentage of your business generated through referrals.
4. Got a happy customer? By telling others
what they’ve gained from using your products or services in presentations or
informal conversations, your sources can encourage others to use your products
or services.
5. Make a special TV appearance. Local cable TV
stations often have very reasonable advertising rates at time slots throughout
the day and night. Though you won’t necessarily reach prime-time viewers, you
will make an impression where it counts-in the comfort of potential customers’
homes.
6. Offer expert advice. Teaching a class,
speaking at a community meeting, or writing an article for a local paper not
only makes you look like an expert but garners low-cost attention for your
business.
· Read more online here.
Internet Ideas
7. Start your search engines. Research your
market and find potential visitors for your Web site by looking through Usenet
newsgroups (forums on the Internet where people post messages for public
viewing) and special-interest groups related to your target market, product or
service. Or, if you have
Online, visit their
which includes libraries of small-business information you can download at no
charge.
8. Cut costs when setting up your online store. Think going online
has to cost an arm and a leg? You can start out by selling items for next to
nothing on online auction sites like eBay and Yahoo!
Auctions. If you want to create a professional storefront, there are
several “Web site in a box” solutions available, usually for a low
monthly fee.
· Read more online here.
9. Start chatting. Find newsgroups that cater to your audience,
and join the fray. “I didn’t start [participating in online discussion
groups] to generate business, but as a way to find information for myself on
various subjects,” says Shel Horowitz, owner of Northampton,
Massachusetts-based Accurate Writing & More and author of several marketing
books, including Grassroots Marketing. “But it turned out to be the single
best marketing tool I use. It costs only my time. [One] list alone has gotten
me around 60 clients in the past five years.” Always include your URL in
your signature, but don’t do any hard selling-most groups will ban you
immediately. Instead, provide useful information that’ll make people will want
to click on your site.
10. Spread the word yourself. Are you letting
people know what your URL is? Try putting it on your letterhead and business
cards and in e-mail signatures-wherever potential visitors are likely to see
it. Include it on employee uniforms, any promotional items you give away, all
press releases, in your Yellow Pages ad and on company vehicles.
Location Logic
11. Get a suite deal. You don’t have to
run your office full-time from an executive suite to benefit from its services.
Many homebased entrepreneurs find executive suites meet a range of needs,
including access to a private mailbox and a receptionist to answer or forward
calls to your home office. Visit the
Association International Web site for more
information.
12. Be mobile. While the costs of establishing a permanent
retail location can be steep-you may spend up to $100,000 or more, with leases
spanning three to 10 years-carts, kiosks and temporary spaces can be an easier
way to get a foot in the door with a lot less risk. The upfront investment for
a kiosk or a cart ranges from just $2,000 to $10,000, according to Patricia
Norins, publisher of Specialty Retail Report. License agreements for
carts and kiosks are shorter and are usually renewed every month up to one year
depending on the location. This arrangement makes it easy for entrepreneurs to
“come in, try it out for a month, and if their product isn’t working,
shift to a new product line or close up shop and move to a new location,”
Norins says.
Office Overhead
13. Buy recycled printer cartridges. Check Google or
your Yellow Pages for a local recycled printer cartridge supplier. Or if you
want to mix your charitable instincts with your printing needs, visit www.lasermonks.com,
a remanufactured printing supply company run by a group of monks in
business expenses are paid, donate their profits.
14. Fill it out for free. Instead of buying
forms at your local office supply store or spending time creating them
yourself, you can find tons of free forms online that you can download,
customize and print. Our free forms on Formnet can
get you started.
15. Get free software. Visit Download.com to
try hundreds of software products for free through trial downloads, freeware
and limited versions of the full product. Visit our Complete
Guide to Software to find the best software options for small
businesses, including many links to the free trials of those brands. Another
tip: If you haven’t found what you’re looking for through Download.com or our
software guide, check out the manufacturer’s site. Most offer free trial
downloads.
16. Buy used equipment. Save up to 60
percent by buying used computer equipment, copiers and office furniture from
stores such as the nationwide Aaron Rents & Sells chain. Auctions and
newspaper classifieds are other good sources of used equipment.
Insurance Intelligence
17. Save by association. When looking for
insurance, check with your trade association. Many associations offer
competitive group insurance.
18. Be prepared. Buying appropriate insurance upfront saves
money in the long run, says Jeanne Salvatore of the Insurance
Information Institute, a nonprofit organization in
be catastrophic to your business and protect yourself with adequate insurance.
“Disaster recovery,” says Salvatore, “is one area where business
owners shouldn’t scrimp.”
19. Make a foul-weather friend. By arranging for
an alternative place to run your business in case of a major disaster, you may
be able to save on business interruption insurance, advises the Insurance
Information Institute. For instance, you could arrange with a firm in the same
industry to use their facilities in case of damage, and vice versa.
20. Check up on your medical insurance. Before choosing a
medical insurance carrier, ask for information on past claims and the loss
ratio of paid claims to premiums, advises the Council of Better Business Bureaus in
21. Raise your deductible. Raising the
deductible on your insurance usually lowers your premiums. Even if you end up
having to pay the deductible, it’s likely to be less than the amount you save.
Employee Economics
22. Aim to lease. Employee leasing-in which you turn over your
work force to a professional employer organization that leases your employees
back to you-can save you substantial cash on employee benefits, says Bruce
Steinberg at the American Staffing Association (ASA). For referral to a leasing
company near you, visit the ASA online at www.staffingtoday.net.
23. Go with the flow. Rather than paying
for employees who sit idle when business is slow, consider hiring temporary
employees to handle surges in business.
24. Make experience count. Get free or
low-cost help-and give local college students a chance to learn the ropes-by
hiring interns.
25. Use independent contractors. Employers
generally don’t have to withhold or pay any taxes on payments to independent
contractors. But be very careful that your independent contractors fit the
definition provided by the IRS or you could face penalties.
26. Commission your sales force. Overhead,
salaries, incentives, training costs, fringe benefits and expenses add up when
you’re hiring your own sales representatives. Contracting independent
manufacturers’ sales reps, paid on commission only, is less expensive-and often
equally effective.
Shipping Savings
27. Clean up your mailing list. The
Service will clean up your mailing list for free, correcting addresses, noting
incomplete addresses and adding ZIP+4 numbers so you’ll be eligible for
bar-code discounts.
28. Prune that mailing list even more. The Direct
Marketing Association offers this checklist of cost-cutting ideas. Eliminate
nonresponders and marginal prospects; print “Address Correction
Requested” on the face of your mail; investigate co-mingling your mail
with that of other small mailers to take advantage of discounts available
mainly to large mailers; and stockpile mail to build up larger volumes.
29. Be an early bird. Send mail early in
the day, and you can usually expect to get one- to two-day delivery for the
price of a first-class stamp.
30. Shop around for an overnight courier. Overnight delivery
rates for the major couriers are competitive; however, if you’re willing to
wait a few hours-or even an extra day-you could save.
Tax Tactics
31. Mind some petty pointers. Don’t get careless
about your petty cash account. “Though you don’t need receipts for
expenses under $75, you should still track these expenses since they can add
up,” advises Holmes Crouch, author of 18 tax books.
32. Hire your children. If your children
are at least 14 years old and pay their own taxes, it pays to take advantage of
their lower tax bracket. “You can essentially transfer income from your business
to them [to save money],” says David L. Scott, author of The Guide to
Saving Money (The Globe Pequot Press).
33. Take a stand on taxes. If your business
is new in the neighborhood, you may be at a higher tax rate than those who have
been there longer. “Go to city hall to determine what your neighbors are
paying, and use this to negotiate a better rate,” says Pete Collins of New
York City-based PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. “Expanding businesses can
often negotiate with community authorities, who want them to stay in town
rather than move and take jobs elsewhere.”
34. Homebased? Don’t overlook crucial tax
deductions. In addition to being able to deduct a portion of your rent
or mortgage interest and utilities as a business expense, you can also deduct a
percentage of various home maintenance expenses, along with a portion of the
cost of services such as house cleaning and lawn care. Check out the IRS’s Web site,
or check with a knowledgeable tax advisor for more information.
35. Get out on the town. If much of your
business is conducted at restaurants or you find yourself driving to clients’
offices, make sure you take those deductions. If you entertain clients or
potential clients to discuss a current or future project, you can deduct a
portion of your entertainment costs. To qualify for this deduction, you must
maintain a log of entertainment-related expenses you plan to deduct. For
mileage, you can deduct 37.5 cents per mile in 2004. This figure usually changes
annually, so check with your accountant at the beginning of each year.
Financial Focus
36. Make credit comparisons. If you tend to run
unpaid balances on your credit cards at the end of the month, shop for a card
with a low interest rate. If you pay in full, it’s more important to avoid an
annual fee and look for a longer grace period. “Often credit card issuers
waive the annual fee or reduce the interest rate if you ask,” says Scott.
“Just tell your credit card company you’ve had several solicitations from
other companies with more favorable interest rates or no annual fees, and ask
if they will reduce yours.”
37. Avoid cash advances. “Credit card
companies usually charge an upfront fee of up to 2 percent of the advance, with
interest accruing immediately,” says Scott.
38. Bank on an early deposit. Make bank deposits
early enough in the day so you get credit (and start earning interest) that
day.
39. Get checks in the mail. Ordering your
checks from a printing company often costs less than getting them from a bank.
Options include Checks in the Mail and Designer
Checks.
40. Form a buying alliance. Join with another
business or a trade association for bulk purchasing discounts.
41. Take it with you. If you’re near
your suppliers, pick up your order yourself-or perhaps have a friend or family
member do it for you, suggests Sarah Williams Steinman, president of Casco Bay
Herb Co., an herbal soap manufacturer in Cumberland, Maine. For example,
Steinman’s husband travels throughout the Northeast. “He keeps me updated
as to when he might be near one of my suppliers,” she says. “He often
travels through the town where my olive oil supplier is, and he’ll pick up a
few hundred pounds of oil on his way home. That saves me about $75 in
shipping.” Caution: Pick up supplies yourself only when it truly saves you
money. If it’s taking you away from a revenue-producing activity, you’re not
really saving.
42. Be reluctant to give credit. If you do extend
credit, thoroughly check the client’s credit background, says Collins. For
less-than-creditworthy accounts, Collins advises considering the following
actions: Collect cash in advance; send partial shipments; request letters of
credit, personal guarantees and a pledge of assets; take out credit insurance;
or think about factoring (see below).
Professional Policies
43. Query your consultants. The professionals
you work with regularly are often easy to bargain with, thanks to the rapport
you’ve developed with them. Ask your insurance agent, accountant or attorney
how you can cut back on their costs. You’d be surprised at the suggestions they
might offer on ways to cut your premiums, reduce billable hours or avoid huge
retainers. You might also barter your services.
44. Be a legal eagle. When hiring an
attorney, make sure you have a written fee agreement to prevent surprises. It
should include an estimate of the time to be spent on your case and specify
what’s covered in the fee-including typing or copying-and what is not.
45. Learn something new. Rather than pay a
consultant to write your press releases, for example, hire one for an hour or
so to show you how to do it yourself.
46. Run from the law. “Avoiding
lawsuits is a big factor in business success,” says tax book author
Crouch. “Even arbitration can get expensive.” The best alternative:
Try to work out any problems before they grow to the point that attorneys get
involved. “Don’t ignore any written or phone complaints.”
Buying Brainpower
47. Stretch your budget with barter. Swapping one
product or service for another is a good way to avoid cash outlays-and unload
slow-moving inventory. If you’d rather not bargain with other businesses
directly, hire a commissioned barter broker (listed in the Yellow Pages under
“Barter”), or join a commercial barter club or exchange. The National
Association of Trade Exchanges (NATE) is a clearinghouse for member exchanges
across the country, allowing business owners to swap just about anything with
anyone. Participants typically receive “trade dollars” for their
goods or services, which are brokered across cities nationwide with the help of
NATE. Visit NATE at www.nate.org.
48. Time your payments. Ask suppliers if
they give discounts for early payment. If not, it’s to your advantage to pay
your bills-including utilities, taxes and suppliers-as late as possible without
incurring a fee, advises Scott. “The longer funds are under your
control,” he says, “the longer they’re earning a return for you
rather than someone else.”
49. Join an association. Many trade and
business associations have reasonable membership fees and offer discounts on
everything from insurance, travel and car rental to long-distance phone
service, prescriptions and even golf course fees.
50. Seek at least three bids on everything. Even mundane
purchases merit shopping around. If you quote a competitor’s lower price, a
supplier or vendor will often match that price to win your business.
Wealth
is lost nothing is lost INTERNATIONAL JIVAKA
PRESUMPTIVE HEALTH PROTECTION (IJPHP)
Family : Acanthaceae
Commonly available decorative plant.
This is a prostrate herb with rooting branches. leaves 6 to 10 cm long and sparkling silvery violet underneath red purple.
An unbelievable wound healer
It cures fresh wound, cuts, ulcers, inflammation, it is used internally for anemia.
| Scientific Name : |
Hemigraphis colorata |
| Family : |
Acanthaceae |
| Common Name : |
| Creeping herb having silver grey leaves, underside is deep purple-maroon. Flowers are insignificant. Ideal plant for hanging planters. H. colorata ‘Exotica’ has crinkled leaves. Though these plants are capable of tolerating full sunlight, they may get scorched if the climate is dry. |
| Propagation : |
Stem cuttings |
| Longevity : |
Perennial |
Health is lost something is lost
A BLUE PRINT FOR LIFE
ON RELIGION
THE WAY OF FAITH
Religious
faith can inspire us with the courage and
strength to face the future. It can provide us with the
magnanimity to forgive the unfairness of life and thereby
create an entirely new fate. The teachings of Buddhism,
especially the
Way
law of cause and effect and kammic retribution, and
Nibbana can all help us solve the riddle of life, revealing
The original Buddha Nature of all people. Thus, to believe
In Buddhism, one must pogress from beseeching, believing in,
And worshipping the Buddha to studying Buddhism and
Doing as the Buddha did to become a Buddha, which is the
Highest faith.
FREE
ONLINE
TRAINING ON BUDDHISM FOR CHILDREN -29
The God in the Banyan Tree
[A Bad Promise]
In the past, and even in some places today,
people have had superstitions. One such is that a large or unusual tree is
inhabited by a tree god, or some kind of spirit. People think that they can
make a promise to this tree god, so he will help them in some way. When they
think the god has helped them, then they must keep their promise.
Once upon a time, in the city of
banyan tree. He immediately thought there must be a god living there. So he
made a promise to this tree god that he would perform an animal sacrifice, in
return for a wish being granted.
It just so happened that his wish was
fulfilled, but whether by a god or a demon or by some other means - no one
knows. The man was sure the tree god had answered his prayer, so he wanted to
keep his promise.
Since it was a big wish, it called for a big
sacrifice. He brought many goats, mules, chickens and sheep. He collected
firewood and prepared to burn the helpless animals as a sacrifice.
The spirit living in the banyan tree appeared
and said, “Oh friend, you made a promise. You are now bound by that
promise. You think you must keep the promise in order to be released from the
bondage to it. But if you commit such terrible unwholesome acts, even though
promised, the unpleasant results will put you in much greater bondage. For you
will be forced to suffer those results in this life, and even by rebirths in
hell worlds! The way to release yourself into future deliverance is to give up
unwholesome actions, no matter what!
“And furthermore, since you think I’m a
true god, what makes you think I eat meat? Haven’t you heard that we gods eat
better things, like ‘ambrosia’ or stardust or sunbeams? I have no need of meat
or any other food offerings.” Then he disappeared.
The foolish man understood the mistake he had
made. Instead of doing unwholesome deeds that would force unhappy results on
him in the future, he began to do only wholesome deeds that would benefit
himself and others.
The moral is: Keeping a bad promise is worse than making it.
Precepts (Character, morality
self-discipline) is lost everything is lost
COMPREHENSIVE PALI
COURSE
LESSON 10
Exercise 3
a)
Compare Declension-endings: between Masculine
‘i’ and Masculine ‘ī’.
b)
How is consonantal declension formed? Decline:
Sukhi,