thehouseofneal.com

Offering hand crafted children’s furniture online for sale is a terrific niche market. If you drill down a bit more you will find that you can offer items like tables and chairs sets, small bookcases and wall decorations. People love anything that is handcrafted and do not seem to mind spending money to make their kids rooms look great. Add the fact the children’s demographic is continuous, and you have a terrific market opportunity. Demand is strong for this market if you approach it with a good plan and a sensible mind.

Pros and Cons

Cons

First of all, anything that is hand crafted involves significant time. If you plan on making the items yourself, it can involve an amazing amount of time. I started out in this business out of the passion of creating something special. I quickly learned that the time to make each unit actually ate away at my bottom line because of the time it took to make the units. If your items are painted you have to contend with sanding, priming, painting at least two coats, artwork and sealing the project. Any shortcuts you can make will help cut down on your assembly time. If I were to coach someone through this process today, I would recommend having someone cut your parts or even supply everything you need. Anything you can do in this capacity will save you time which means you save money.

Pros

Just about everything today is made overseas. Finding good quality craftsmanship with a personal flair is getting harder and harder. You can build up a great following if you can offer special made items. Younger children’s items like tables and chairs do especially well. Targeting the right crowd of buyers also helps you sell for a better price. The “walmart” price conscious buyer is not who you are really after. Goods on the very high end also do well offering a higher margin but less frequency of sales. Of course this all is a matter of research. We made the habit of using commercial artists that were just starting out and willing to work for reasonable items. We would offer to name a line of products using their name and that had some good selling appeal. Who would not like having their own furniture line? (it reminds me of giving a person a title instead of a raise, but it does work)

Another technique that works well is outsourcing your parts after you develop a good feel for what is selling. There is nothing wrong with importing chairs or blank parts to help cut down your production time. Submit your own designs and many importers will build to your exact specifications. Finishing the product yourself using this technique can still be labeled with the handmade label. This is a powerful technique but you have to order parts in larger quantities to make it work best.

If you are thinking about setting out to specialize in this field, it can be very rewarding. Knowing the obstacles before you get into is, can make the difference between staying in the market or moving on to something else.

Ken Schulte is a contributing editor to http://www.routertabledepot.com as well as a coach for small business specializing in manufacturing.

Survival of the Savvy: High-Integrity Political Tactics for Career and Company Success

Authors: Rick Brandon Ph.D. and Marty Seldman Ph.D.

Survival of the Savvy was on my bookshelf about a month before I had the privilege of meeting the author, Rick Brandon, at a leadership conference in San Francisco where we both were speaking. Our talks were at different times so I was able to attend Rick’s presentation.

That was when I realized how important this book could be to all the women I work with who are sometimes underestimated, overlooked, and denied proper recognition for their accomplishments because they abhor and avoid anything associated with the word politics. If this sounds like you, you are not alone.

Survival of the fittest! That is what it feels like in the work world sometimes. I know how tough it can be. I have worked in business since the mid 1980′s where I have witnessed political games of all sorts – power struggles, back biting, turf wars, and blind ambition.

Reading the book you will learn that the stereotypical image of the term ‘political’, that usually is thought of as overly political and at time unethical behaviors are definitely not what the authors are recommending.

Survival of the Savvy describes the political style continuum that ranges from the less political type who believe hard work, facts, and good ideas are enough to the overly political individuals driven by self-interest.

Brandon and Seldman suggest a high integrity middle ground (aka ethical and more palatable,) approach to politics that even the most politically averse can employ. They call it the green light/safe travel zone. This vital balance is neither too political nor politically naive.

Power and politics are not dirty words. You can promote yourself with integrity. These are important messages in the book for all women in business and especially for those in the traditionally less political career tracks who want to advance to leadership positions – women in science, R&D, Information Technology, engineering, and other technical fields.

The authors successfully help readers, who hate the thought of workplace politics, reframe how they think about power and politics. They offer useful and practical advice even for the political novice.

The further you advance, the more vulnerable you are if you remain politically naive. The authors claim in their experience ethical political skills are a leadership competency.

If you want to get ahead, but are so opposed to the concept of politics and to any of the ideas in the book the day will come when your subject matter and expert technical status are no longer good enough for you to advance. Your career will plateau. Shunning even high integrity, ethical politics can mean you are destined to succeed only in a job in the ranks below management and leadership. If you do progress into management you are at risk to derail in all but the most non-political cultures.

Reading and applying the information in the book is not easy but worthwhile for all who want to land the top jobs and earn the income they deserve. If you feel frustrated or have plateaued in your career advancement, it may be a political blind spot and reading this book can help.

Although not a book written specifically for women, the authors offer ‘political’ success strategies especially relevant for women.

Jean Caton is a Career, Business, and Life Coach, Speaker, and Virtual Educator. She has over 20 years of business experience working in four Fortune 500 companies. Now, as an entrepreneur, Jean combines her practical experience in business, with her education and training, to coach, teach, inspire, and empower others. She invites you to visit her website to learn more. http://www.JeanCaton.net

Jean helps women move to the top in their careers or small business. Her clients strengthen their business savvy and expertise and develop the self-confidence required to advance to increasingly higher levels in their organization or business. Take a taste of what Jean can offer you by requesting a complimentary telephone coaching conversation. http://www.JeanCaton.net You may also get a sample of Jean’s expertise by joining one of her complimentary preview teleclasses.

Jean specializes in entrepreneurial women and those working in the health, science, pharma and engineering fields.

Jean has an MBA from Boston University and is a graduate of the Advanced Coach Training Program of Coach U.

If you see fewer auto repair shops in your area then you are witnessing a trend that is spreading throughout the auto repair industry. The small independent auto repair shop is getting squeezed by both the dealers and the ‘backyarders’ creating shrinking margins and putting many auto repair independents out of business.

The global problem is the auto repair and service market has been shrinking in the last ten or fifteen years. Technology has made cars much more reliable with fewer breakdowns, repairs and scheduled maintenances.

Many manufacturers offer some sort of 100,000 mile warranty meaning that the independent will get little chance to work on that car for the first 5-10 years it is owned.

As new car sales margins have gone down, VW, Chevrolet, Toyota and other manufacturers are looking to their service departments to make up the difference.

Additionally many dealers such as Porsche and Saab have been adding other value added benefits such as a loaner car while repairs are being made. Independents are now being forced to give courtesy rides to customers in an effort to keep up with the dealers since customers now expect this service.

Furthermore dealers such as Mercedes and Ford are now directly offering specials on services making their dealer prices comparable to independent repair shop prices.

But it’s not just competitive pricing that is worrying the independents.

The battle for skilled labor is also being won by the dealers: the dealers have always competed for skilled labor and now have become even more aggressive. With fewer young people entering the auto repair profession and opting instead for careers such as health and technology, the total talent pool of the top skilled auto technicians is shrinking.

Increasingly it is becoming harder for independents to hire and retain these highly skilled employees. As an automotive technician, would you rather work for Audi or Joe’s Garage?

The dealers are picking up the best ‘mechanics’ or as they are known today, ‘technicians.’ A top end dealer technician can make $100,000 a year with benefits while an independent shop owner would have to gross over a $1,000,000 a year to make that and still have to pay for their own benefits and social security.

Because of these economic realities many independent owners are now closing their shops and going to work for GM, Nissan and other dealers.

This puts the independent auto repair shop at a distinct disadvantage when diagnosing and repairing difficult drivability, fuel injection, electronic and computer related problems.

Additionally, if a diagnosis is made and a part needs replacing the dealer will have it in stock, not only verifying the diagnosis but greatly speeding up the repair time and increasing customer satisfaction. Big advantage Cadillac and Mercedes.

But it’s not just a skilled employee war. Techs cannot fix cars without information and there has been a long and ongoing dispute between the dealers/manufacturers and independents over technical information access and diagnostic tools.

The manufacturers claim that their technical information is proprietary while the independents claim the information should be available to anyone that owns or fixes that make of car.

If the dealers wanted to they could stop all outside repairs on their vehicles but the problem is there are not enough dealerships to service all geographic areas, especially smaller towns and less populated areas. So the manufacturer/dealer gives out some information but not all, often charging the independent repair shops for this information.

Not only does the independent have to buy some parts from the dealer, but also some of the technical information as well. Big advantage Honda and Dodge.

Some independent owners simply watch their business steadily decline over the years as they go out of business. Younger independent owners are willing to work harder and for less financial reward hoping industry conditions will eventually improve.

In essence the independent auto repair industry has matured and is now in a decline. Some consolidation is going on but much of the repair work has either disappeared or is now being done by the dealers, auto repair chains or one person ‘backyard’ shops.

The opportunities are there for those that want to work hard but those opportunities are increasingly limited. In a declining market, only those independents that can develop new competitive strategies will survive and thrive.

As with all mature and declining markets there will be new opportunities for those owners that can adapt and make the changes. Those independent auto repair shop owners that don’t modernize, strategize and compete will go the way of the Edsel and Model T.

Jack Deal has worked in the auto industry for many years and is the owner of JD Deal Business Consulting, Monterey and Santa Cruz, CA. Related articles [http://www.jddeal.com] may be found at [http://www.jddeal.com/blog/strategy]

http://www.freeandinquiringmind.typepad.com

Introduction

Whilst it is recognized that South Africa is still in a process of transition regarding higher education to address the imbalances of the past, it should also be emphasized that Institutions of Higher Education in large are still underplaying the importance of higher education as commercialized commodity in the global world. This resulted in a low commercial higher education presence in the global world, a limited capability to attract quality students from foreign countries and a national oriented education approach. Even the school law that will soon be introduced in South Africa to address the imbalances of the past may have a negative effect of institutions of higher education to play a significant role in the commercialized educational world. The proposed new law emphasized adherence to the principles of equitability, rectification and representativeness above competence in the appointment of teachers. This may undermine the quality of education firstly, in schools and later in institutions of higher education in South Africa.

This is in sharp contrast with international trends signaling that the international higher education market is becoming more competitive as education competes as export and import commodity. Figures available indicate that higher education export represents on average around 6.6% of total student enrollments in 2000. This figure can still not be matched b South African Institutions 5 years later. In countries like Switzerland, Australia and Austria these figures were above 11% in 2000 making these countries the highest internationalized higher education countries in the world. Similarly, educational services in Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America respectively represent the third, fourth and fifth largest service export sectors. This clearly provides evidence that these countries realize the significance of higher education to transfer intellectual capital and enhance the economic competitiveness of nations.

Interventions required

It is important that Institutions of Higher Education in South Africa position themselves as nodes in an increasingly seamless knowledge base in the global world, which could have a greater interface with the knowledge-driven global economy. Therefore, Institutions of higher education in South Africa should given even more attention to integrate with influential international institutions that will enable them to internationalize higher education.

Currently, internationalization of higher education in South Africa happens more by incident rather than through thoroughly planned and organized approaches. If institutions of higher education in South Africa intend to consider higher education as a commercial trade commodity, serious emphasis should be place upon:

· Introducing purposeful policies and strategies that clearly indicate the road forward with regard to internationalization intentions and the specific areas that would need priority attention. However, this should not be developed as separate internationalization strategies, but should e seen as a natural element of the overall strategy of the institute.

· Implementing induction and course programmes that will attract quality foreign students to the institutions.

· Supporting academics to participate in conferences as well as in reputable academic journals to publish research results.

· Ensuring that all course offerings meet international accepted criteria as defined by the leading institutions of higher education in the developed world.

· Creating conducive learning environments equipped with the latest learning technologies.

Internationalization requires that institutions of higher education in South Africa should emphasize a somewhat loosening of the relationship with Government to create new transformational bodies to address the imbalances of the past, but also to broaden this mission to play a more active role in regional economic development. This can be achieved by establishing strong horizontal links with other universities research institutions and industry in the Southern African Development Community. If this can be achieved, the activities of institutions of higher education will no longer be isolated from the marketplace and its outputs could become merchandise products as well. Loosening the relationship with government will not only provide for more freedom to autonomously decide what educational and research outputs to create, but will also increase the pressure on institutions of higher education to perform better as they take up the responsibility to raise funds for projects and salaries.

It is imperative that higher education in South Africa can no longer take the disposition that placed research and development in contrast to one another. Rather, it should take the stand that the outputs of institutions should have a strong:

· Social development and application in which the simultaneous promotion and integration of education, scientific research and production occurs;

· Science and Technology Financial Management Support System in place in order to create a safe and secure research environment for academics; and

· Set of ” Key State Laboratories” where research and education of strategic importance to the development and well-being of the country can be carried out.

Conclusion

South Africa institutions of higher education currently rated only among the top 40 of the world’s host countries. An urgent need exist to rethink and reformulate the educational thinking models of institutions of higher education in South Africa. Because of the changing political situation accompanied by a changing global economy, many traditional ways in which institutions of higher education were previously governed will change. Unless institutions of higher education in South Africa succeed to internationalize successfully, huge opportunities to earn foreign currencies using higher education as a trade commodity will be lost.

Jan Grundling is the Head of the Centre for Entrepreneurship at Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa. He has published extensively in accredited Journals nationally and internationally.

Cat Declawing

What is the use of cat declawing?

The main reason people decide to declaw their cat is to protect their furniture. An untrained cat’s claws can be very destructive in a home, damaging furniture, curtains and carpets. Cats like (and need) to scratch and claw at wood and rough surfaces, and if they are not properly trained, your furniture will look very inviting to them. Another reason people give for declawing their cat is to prevent the cat from injuring them. Cats use their claws and teeth to defend themselves and to fight. Small children may mishandle a cat and provoke it in scratching them. Some cats also have a more aggressive or nervous nature and will scratch people when they feel threatened.

Toxoplasmosis and Bartonellosis are two diseases that can be transmitted from cats. It is important to note though, that those diseases are most likely to be contracted from a litter box, or even from biting – but it is highly unlikely that it will be contracted from cat scratches.

Declawing a cat is a selfish and very drastic solution for problems that could be solved in many other ways and may bring forth much more serious problems. Owners that decide to declaw their cat do this solely for their own comfort and do not take in account the problems that may sprout from doing this.

What does the declawing process involve?

Cat declawing is also known as onychectomy and is a much more complex operation than simply removing your cat’s nails or claws. The declawing operation is in fact the amputation of each of the cat’s toes at the first joint. It involves cutting of the front part of a cat’s toes and means cutting through nerves and muscles and removing bone. This operation is extremely painful (it has been proven to be much more painful than sterilizing or spaying your cat) and it will take a long time to heal. Even after the wounds have healed, the cat may suffer from a series of after-effects.

Are there any disadvantages to declawing your cat?

Yes! There are numerous disadvantages, not only to your cat but to you as cat owner as well. Cat declawing is illegal in many countries around the world and considered as inhumane and as a form of animal abuse and mutilation.

Many people don’t realize just how painful a declawing operation can be. Scientists have proven cat declawing to be extremely painful and even test new painkiller drugs on cats that are being declawed. Although the cat may not show signs of pain outwardly and seem to be content, it will definitely be in a lot of pain after the operation. Big operations or rather amputations like declawing can hold many of the usual dangers related to surgical complications. A lot of vets also only use the minimum amount of painkillers and anesthetics during the operation, and prescribe no painkillers for the recovery process at home. The wounds take several weeks to heal, and the pain may continue months after the operation.

Complications after a declawing operation are also very common. The wounds may become infected or some of the amputated toes can begin to grow back. Some cats may experience lameness and even be crippled. You may notice a declawed cat trying to scratch at surfaces. They reason for this is because it is common for the tendons of the severed joints to detract and cause a constant feeling of stiffness in their paws.

Cats need their claws for balance and also use it to hook their paws on surfaces and stretch themselves. This stretching forms a very important part of the cat’s exercise and muscle toning. A declawed cat will need to learn to walk differently (because it doesn’t have any front joints) and its body weight will rest on their feet which can even cause arthritis.

It is very common for declawed cats to develop behavioral problems. It may develop a fear for its sandbox, because scratching in the sand may be painful. So, instead of having a cat that damages your furniture, you will have a cat that refuses to use its litter box. Also, because it has been deprived of its best means of defense, its claws, it may now revert to using its teeth to protect itself and can start to bite people when feeling threatened.

Declawed cats will also not be able to defend themselves effectively against other cats or dogs and can even die in fights.

Because of these behavioral problems developed after declawing, many cat owners become detached from their cats and may even want to get rid of them.

Professional cat declawing

If you do decide to declaw your cat after all, at least make sure that it is done professionally and with as little discomfort to your cat as possible.

The most developed method of declawing to date is laser declawing. Laser declawing is less painful, because bleeding and swelling is reduced.

Always ensure that your cat or kitten is older than 4 months before declawing. It is also not advisable to declaw cats that are old and not so active anymore, because they will take a longer time to recover.

After the operation, your cat may be kept in the hospital for the night, or a longer period of time depending on the cat. When taking your cat home, try to keep it from getting overexcited and prevent it from jumping or putting heavy strain on its paws. It is common for the paws to start bleeding every now and again, but ask your vet’s advice if the bleeding alarms you.

To minimize the pain your cat can experience when using its sandbox, put newspaper strips in the sandbox. Sand or clay can infect the wounds on the paws or cause pain when “scratching” in the box. After your cat is fully recovered you can replace the sand again. Your cat may not like the newspapers and this can become a messy affair.

Always look out for the following warning signs, and notify your vet if any occur: Swollen paws and frequent bleeding. If your cat display extreme difficulty in standing up or walking after one day.

Alternatives to cat declawing

Before deciding on such a drastic measure or “solution” as declawing your cat, first consider some of the (often more effective) alternatives. The main reason for declawing a cat is to prevent it from damaging your furniture. Scratching is a necessary instinctive habit for removing the dead cells around its claws, practicing balance and stretching and toning muscles.

Cats are highly trainable animals and can be taught to use only a scratching post for these purposes. There are numerous scratching posts or “cat furniture” to choose from, whether your cat likes scratching vertical or horizontal surfaces. You can even buy “cat trees” with attractive objects hanging from the tree to catch your cat’s attention or build your own (just make sure they are stable and won’t fall over on your cat).

To train a cat to use scratching posts, and to discourage it from scratching your furniture, you can place netting or foil over your furniture. When you see your cat trying to scratch your furniture, pick it up and put it down in front of its scratching post.

Nail caps can be applied to a cat’s claws, this need to be applied every 3 to 6 months depending on the cat. Nail caps will prevent damage to your furniture and to yourself while causing almost no inconvenience to your cat (compared to the serious discomfort caused by declawing). You can also trim your cat’s nails frequently to keep it blunt.

For more information about taking care of cats see cat-urine.net

Claudine du Plessis is a cat lover and webmaster of http://www.cat-urine.net.