The world around us

Although this week has been super busy, I have been able to catch up a bit on my reading. I am actually quite close to finishing Wild Swans by Jung Chang, which I have been reading since we went to Goa on vacation in mid March. Way too long, in my opinion. I didn’t realize how well known this book was when I bought it a couple of years back (yes, that is my current backlog on reading material!), as it chronicles the lives of three generations of women in China from the late 1800s to Mao, a tumultuous period indeed. It’s a really great book, so do read it if you have a chance to.

Don’t waste time looking through local classifieds for a summer job, use SnagAJob’s huge database of quality employers instead. You will be able to find all the best employment opportunities in one place at this site! SnagAJob probably has the best selection of summer jobs for teens and college students, so take a look at their site and see what kind of job you would like for yourself this summer. I already know what I would do for the summer.

Marketing was always an important field but with the emphasis on brand and promotion, it has become even more crucial. Even if you have the best product or service in the market, unless you promote and market it as such, it’s probably going to get lost among all the other not-as-good products and services that are marketed better.

Branding and promoting your company, product or service is key to success these days. At every opportunity you get you should promote your brand and increase it’s visibility. The ways to create brand awareness are plenty but not all are as unique as Neet Feet, which uses die-cut flip-flops to create a sort of walking billboard. The company has been in business since 1987 and has been known to come up with some really innovative ways of advertising and promotion. Everyone from Fortune 500 companies, to spa resorts and exclusive hotels have used Neet Feet for is promotional sandals. The type of Corporate Logo Gift that they can create will ensure that your company gets noticed. The company is the best source for promotional as well as private label sandals.

I love browsing for stuff on the Internet, regardless of whether I’m actually going to buy it or not. One of the things that I love to browse for is art and craft stuff and I have been visting Etsy for the past few months and have found some really great stuff there. A lot of art work there is small in size, usually postcard size or so, and is priced as low as $10 and up. If you have a good eye, you will be able to find some really great stuff there and invest in a good frame and wide matte to make it look fabulous. See if you can come up with a winner.

I’m always surprised at the low level of knowledge so many people have about how credit works. I’m not saying that I know a lot, but I do understand the basics at least and know how one bad decision can have an effect on my credit history for the rest of my life. I think a lot of people are just past caring, since they want to have the things they want to have. It’s a consumerist society we live in, that says that you must have all the creature comforts no matter what your financial status is. What happened to living within your means? It’s non-existent nowdays, I think, and it’s totally wrong and we’re definitely heading for a disaster.

How do you select a credit card? Do you make your decision on cosmetic factors such as the look of the card or the name of the bank associated with it? Or is your decision based on the maximum credit limit figure? The majority of consumer make the wrong decision when it comes to credit cards, selecting them for wrong reasons, using them for wrong reasons and eventually not paying them off at the right time and ending up in debt and with bad credit. Study the basics before signing anyCredit Card Applications, check the facts and numbers that will rule your world, such as interest rate, late fee etc. There are lots of resources for getting this information and one of the most popular seems to be CreditCardSearchEngine.com which has lots of companies and types of cards listed. So if you are specifically looking to get a credit card to pay your gas bills, then get a credit card with special offers on gas. Likewise, check to see of there are cash back or other reward programs associated with it.

Fashion footwear and accessories retailer, Steve Madden will be making a larger investment in in e-commerce, with it’s acquisition of Compo Enhancements, a developer and service provider of e-commerce applications. Steve Madden has been seeing sales of $5 million from it’s online business, which will increase with this acquisition and also due to the trend of buying footwear online.

ValueVision which runs ShopNBC.com is restructuring is operations after reporting low sales. The company will be cutting approximately 12% of its staff and will consolidate its two distribution operations into one. The company will also close its two outlet stores. ShopNBC.com is listed at #64 on the Internet Retailer’s Top 500 Guide. These changes will cost the company $2-3 million, but will save about $10 million in about a year.

Today, looks like it’s going to be another super busy day like yesterday. I like work to be hectic but lately the exhaustion and the low sleep is getting to me. Would love to take a few days off. Actually, I did have the option of taking a few days off last week, but got so bored with the free time, that started to work again. Think I’ve got the ‘grass is greener on the other side’ syndrome.