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Are you the kind of person who spends meticulous hours trying to fashion the best crafts with your hands? Well, you might want to know that this hobby of yours can be more than just a favorite past time. That’s right because in Illinois, there’s a lot of people who enjoy these kinds of crafts for themselves. And this is a great opportunity for you to make some money out of it.

These trade shows that exhibit the wonderful products are the best way to make some extra money from your favorite past time. More and more people are realizing that there is business to be found in these little events and believe or not some of them are actually making a living out it!

But hold your horses! Starting a business, crafts or not, is always full of risks and you definitely don’t want to get caught up in a whirlwind of problems even before you can start. Fortunately, there are people who are willing to help you with the best thing you’ll need to be prepared: information.

You might think that a crafting business, like all business start ups, is too risky. There are a lot of things that you might find at stake like time, money and effort. Well let me tell you that these doesn’t have to be the case all the time. Because if there’s one thing that you can have to prepare for these events better, it’s information.

These calendars are an invaluable tool for anybody who wants to start a journey into the business side of the crafting industry. You can every bit of important information, useful updates and many more from the fairs and festivals calendar in Illinois. Anything you’ll need to become the best hobbyist and businessman in the state.

So what are you waiting for? The business opportunities are incredible and you just might make it big when it comes to your beloved handiwork through fairs and festivals in the crafting world of Illinois.

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Filed under: Small Business

You should know what you want to apply for before starting the job hunt. In this way, your hunt will lean towards only one profession and a number of positions which will narrow down your choices. Make a resume that emphasizes your strengths, but at the same time, avoid placing unnecessary “achievements” just to make your resume longer (like your perfect examination in your English course). Make it interesting enough so that the employer would want to know more about you. Also remember that it is best to make your resume concise, so only place the experiences that would contribute to your job qualification. The resume is the written counterpart of an interview, so arrange it in a way that it would be deemed formal yet fun.

You should be able to stand out (in a positive way) during your interview. It is important then that you would be able to get your ideas across and commended for the way you speak. So be able to keep the interviewer interested on what you have to say. Be serious yet keep the conversation light. Be confident from head to toe. Not only should you speak calmly, but also your body language must demand respect. Answers are meant to be thought of, so do not just talk and talk to fill in lull moments. Make sure that you understood the question and then try your best to quickly think of an answer with a good explanation to match.

It is a known fact that first impressions are crucial, so it is important for the job hunter to wear something formal for the interview. It shows how you carry yourself (which evidently shows how you work) and how important this job is to you. Be mindful of what you are wearing. Do not wear anything that may stand out and give a negative impression (like a low neckline, big hoop earrings or bright-colored ties). What they see is as important as what they smell; therefore, be aware of the kind of perfume you use and what you eat right before the interview. It is better to have a mini dress rehearsal to mix and match and find out what needs to be fixed in your overall look.

Getting a second interview is a step closer to the job; however, this does not mean that you can now relax and just throw this one away. Be very well-prepared for the interview. Make sure that you have the right names, date and location. Choose an outfit that will make you look sensible and respectable. Conduct a good research about the company and the job you are applying for. It is expected that the questions will be more directed towards these. Analyze how your first interview went and take note of what you have to improve on. Most of all, do not forget to send a thank you card to your interviewers and/or recruitment consultant.

Some interviewers love putting you on the spot, so show them that you are ready for anything that they throw at you. Maintain composure at all times and think as quickly as possible. Being witty is a plus factor most of the time; just make sure that you do not overdo it. Be ready for any kind of marketing work like selling something on the interviewer’s desk. Remember that your resume is not just a prop. The interviewer will read it, so make sure to have explanations on questionable areas such as years without work or years in the same position.

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Filed under: Careers

Downloading Bluetooth ringtones is very easy, assuming that you have a Bluetooth dongle to enable you to do it. A dongle costs less than $10, and can be used to interface between a PC or laptop and a Bluetooth activated cell phone.

Free ring tones can be found all over the internet, and even some of the better real tones are amazingly inexpensive. Your problem, having found one that you like, is how to get it onto your mobile phone, and how to get it activated once you have it there. That process is much simpler than you might believe. Many people purchase ringtones, and then find difficulty uploading them to their cell phone: don’t let that be you. It’s not difficult. Here’s how.

First you need the dongle, unless your computer already has Bluetooth. An increasing number of new laptops are being launched with Bluetooth included, but if not then you need the dongle. It’s nothing more than a device that plugs into you USB port in fact it looks just like a USB memory stick. Its purpose is to interface your computer with another Bluetooth device (i.e. your cell phone).

You will first have to install the dongle using an installation disk. That is just as simple as installing a printer or other device. Once that’s been done, you have to activate it, and then switch your mobile phone to the Bluetooth option. You will likely find that somewhere on your ‘settings’ section, or equivalent. Each different make of cell phone has its own way of naming these things, but you are basically looking for Bluetooth, or the Bluetooth logo (two white triangles in the form of the letter B, on a blue background).

When you find it, activate it, and then find on your computer the downloaded free Bluetooth ringtones that you want to transfer to your cell phone. You can copy that and then use your computer to browse the folders on your mobile: when you do that it will be just like browsing any other folder structure. Once you have found where your ringtones are stored, just copy over those that you want to transfer.

Bluetooth will allow you to do that just as if you were transferring files from one folder or directory in your computer to another. You can either copy and past, as suggested above, or drag and drop the latter being particularly useful if you have two screens, or are using two windows on your computer, one for the PC and the other for your mobile phone.

That’s all there is to it! It is as easy as that. The hardest job of the lot will be to get the free Bluetooth ringtones to transfer. In fact they are not really Bluetooth ringtones people only call them that because they use Bluetooth to upload them to their cell phones. They can be any type of ring tone, such as realtones or free MIDI ringtones. However, it doesn’t matter what they call if they are free, and there are lots of free offers if you know where to look – and how to transfer them from your PC to your mobile!

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Filed under: Computers & Technology

1. Mergers and Acquisitions

Sales is already known as a high turnover profession, but the recent rash of mergers and acquisitions in telecom make it highly unlikely the representative who signed you to your term agreement will still be there to assist you within a year. After making it past the phase of bankruptcies following deregulation, the next phase is mergers and acquisitions. In the past couple of years, a few of the major mergers include Level3/Broadwing (Focal), XO/Allegiance, ATT/SBC/Bell South, MCI/Verizon, Paetec/US Lec, and Time Warner/Xspedius among many others. By using an Independent Telecom Agent, you can be sure that regardless of continued merger activity or bankruptcies, your Independent Telecom Agent will continue to have the same contact phone number and email address. He/She will not be laid off or fired, and will continue to supply you all of the options you need.

2. Single Point of Contact

Regardless of whether your Independent Telecom Agent recommends a single carrier solution or a multi-carrier solution, you still have a single point of contact to deal with the person who knows your account best. During the pricing and evaluation process for a new carrier, it is typical to get at least 3 bids and have at least two appointments with at least three carriers. The number of appointments you have to schedule could easily reach up to a dozen before an educated decision is made on your company’s communications. If you use a qualified Independent Telecom Agent, you can spend one appointment determining the best course of action, and just one more evaluating the best options available in your market. Having a single point of contact is a huge time saver!

3. Person who understands your company, how you make decisions, and why

Your Independent Telecom Agent acts as an assistant buyer once he/she understands your business needs and preferences. He/she gets to know your organization, your goals and long range needs, and how you make decisions and why. Why would you want to repeat that process every couple of years?

4. You get to hear the truth!

Perhaps this should be ranked #1! When you use an experienced Independent Telecom Agent, you tap into a wealth of knowledge and experience of someone who has been in the field for many years-and most likely with multiple carriers. Your agent will typically have experience dealing with multiple carriers in your market, and can tell you how they really perform. Not the rosy picture they all want to paint for you. Who has the most reliable network? Who has billing problems? Who is going bankrupt? Who can make the desired install date? When using an Independent agent, you don’t have to listen to “The Company Story” for each carrier, as they always tend to dress up their deficiencies. You get to hear the truth.

5. Unbiased opinion of multiple carriers and their product lines

Based on where your business is heading, whether that be expanding, streamlining, or contracting, your Independent Telecom Agent can put you in the right situation. Just like buying an inexpensive phone system that can’t grow with you, and can create the need for a forklift upgrade sooner than expected, getting stuck with a carrier that can’t meet your future expectations can be crippling to your operation. Since most carriers have gone to term agreements in the T-1 age of communications, it’s key to get set up with a carrier that can move with your needs. Do they have MPLS? Do they do SIP trunking? Can they offer an IP-VPN solution for your remote sites? Your Independent Telecom Agent knows the carriers’ products and limitations, and can put you in the right solution for your company.

6. Agents are invested in your success long term

This is an incredibly important concept to understand when choosing to use an Independent Telecom Agent! When you work with a direct sales representative for a telecom company, one that may be here and gone tomorrow (rep or company), they are paid only to bring in the sale. As we all know in the world of corporate sales, comp plans drive behavior, and sales reps are specifically told, “If the customer has a problem, send them to the Help Desk. Do not get involved. You are paid ONLY to bring in new business.” There is absolutely no motivation, despite the direct representative’s best intentions, for them to ever speak to you again after you sign the dotted line. It’s sad but true. On the flip side, because Independent Telecom Agents are commission only and residual based, earning a small percentage of the monthly bill, it takes them, in many cases, up to 24 months to get paid what the direct representative will get paid in month number one after the sale. The entire motivation for someone even becoming an Independent Telecom Agent is to build a book of business of happy customers that don’t have to find someone new every couple of years to deal with. This relationship only makes sense for the agent if you stay with them for over 24 months, so they have EVERY motivation to assist you in solving any service issues that you may ever have. A good Independent Telecom Agent isn’t just another business associate; they become part of your team.

7. They don’t have a quota to make

One of the biggest issues I have with local RBOC/ILEC, is that if you call in to the call center to order new service, you will only be told about what THEY want to sell you. NOT what is best for you. Everyone LOVES to sell bundles in telecom, but let me ask you this. Why do you need Centrex calling features or voice mail on your alarm or elevator lines? Do you need call transfer or remote access to call forwarding on every line in your hunt group and on your fax lines? Do you have mysterious items in the back of your bill for web hosting or other items you are afraid to disconnect in case you actually use it? When I call the ILEC/RBOC directly from the agent channel, I get offered different packages, and more attractive packages, than I get over the phone through the call center. It is very common for Independent Telecom Agents to uncover up to 10-20% of pure fluff on your bill during the auditing process. Why does this happen? Simple. The direct representatives you buy from have a quota to make and will often sell you what is good for them, not what is good for you. They are directed to sell what is profitable for the carrier they work for, and are paid accordingly based on their ability to do so. Top Independent Telecom Agents, almost without exception; do not carry quotas with any carriers. Because they do not carry quotas, you will not find them pushing you towards a solution that doesn’t feel quite right just to meet their numbers. Be frank and ask your Independent Telecom Agent if they carry quotas with the carriers proposed. If they do carry a quota, be sure to ask enough questions about the solution they are suggesting to make sure it is right for you.

8. Extra Incentives and Promotions

The Telecom Industry is moving increasingly towards the Independent Agent Channel. In fact, last year, a local ATT/SBC agent manager said the Agent channel gained more business through their agent Winback program than they did their direct Winback program. Even they were shocked! There are several reasons for this. Independent Telecom Agents are typically more knowledgeable, better trained, set proper expectations with the clients, their clients tend to remain clients longer (since they were sold the right program), and it is more cost effective for the carriers to deal with Agents. They do not pay base salaries or benefits, in addition to commissions. Strangely enough, where I have seen this benefit the customer most, is in the form of special incentives and promotions offered only through the Agent Channel. It is not uncommon for agents to compete head to head with a direct representative for one of the carriers they are presenting. It is also not uncommon for the agent channel to have promotions or incentives that the direct representative has not been given for the customer, and the agent will typically win the customer because of that fact. If the direct representatives have promotions available, they are often compensated extra if they do not use them. Independent Telecom Agents will pull out any available promotions available in an effort to gain your business for the long haul, as they are typically not incented or penalized for use of promotions.

9. Same Pricing

The exact same standard pricing is used in the Agent Channel and the direct channel. In spite of all of the additional knowledge you can tap into with Independent Agents, you can be sure you are not charged any extra for it. For large projects, special pricing is available to both Agent and direct channels at the same amounts. It’s an incredible model that helps the customer and agent win, and insures all clients are treated equally.

10. They understand Next Generation Technology