11 Secrets To Better Time Management For Entrepreneurs

Why is it that the Bill Gate's of this world are rich and famous? What secret do they know that the rest of us don't? If you study their lives closely, you'll discover the rich and famous have certain habits that attribute to their success. Successful people are very careful about how they spend their time. No matter how you slice it, we all have 24 hours in a day, so the key lies in learning to use our time wisely. Below are some ways you can dramatically increase your productivity through more effective use of your time.

1. MONITOR HOW YOU CURRENTLY USE YOUR TIME: If it seems like your day slips by all too quickly, try creating a log of your daily activities. Once you see where you are spending your time, you can identify and focus on the activities that provide the greatest returns for you personally and financially. Start your log by writing down what time you wake up, get ready, and begin work. Calculate how much time you spend on individual activities such as email, phone calls, and client work.

=> FREE TIME TRACKING TOOL: Here's a personal time survey to help you discover how much time you spend on various work activities: Personal Time Survey Tracker

2. CALCULATE HOW MUCH YOUR TIME IS WORTH: Time is money. Knowing how much your time is actually worth can help you make better decisions as to whether you should perform a task or outsource it. For instance, if your time is worth $200 an hour, you are far better off paying someone $30 an hour to edit your newsletter. You can "bank" the other $170 per hour by spending your time on profit making activities. Also take the time to determine how much time a day you need to spend on billable activities to make your desired profit. I try to spend 1.5 hours a day on money making projects.

=> FREE TIME COSTING TOOL: Here's a time costing worksheet to help you determine how much you are actually when you subtract the expenses. Time Costing Sheet

3. CREATE A DAILY SCHEDULE: Don't start your day without a to do list. Make a list of tasks and categorize them into business building activities, client activities, and personal items. Then break bigger unmanageable projectsinto smaller "doable" chunks so they less intimidating and are easier to accomplish.

=> FREE DAILY TO DO LIST: Try this free all inclusive WebMomz To Do List

4. PRIORITIZE: Have more to do than hours in the day? By prioritizing your tasks, you'll make sure that you are tackling the items that matter most. Create a system that works for you. One standard way of prioritizing is to mark items with A, B, and C.

Ask yourself these key questions:

What items MUST be done today?
Which items can be rescheduled?
What can be delegated?
Which tasks most closely match my priorities and goals?
Which items can be eliminated?

5. LEARN TO SAY NO: Are you adding one more item to your never-ending TO DO list? You are in control of your time. Be strong and uphold your personal boundaries. When you are well rested and treat yourself and your family to the time off you deserve, you'll feel happier and more productive when it's time to go back to work. **

Before you say yes, ask yourself these questions:

Do you really have the time or energy to do that extra task?
Do I like this customer? Are they good for me?
Will it be profitable?
Does it invade on your personal time?
Does it involve doing something you enjoy?
Does it fit in with your list of priorities and goals?

6. REMOVE DISTRACTIONS AND TIME SUCKS: Time sucks are lurking everywhere like viruses. Think about which activities are eating up your time. For me personally, these items include email, social calls, and telemarketers. I "conquer" the email demon by shutting down my Outlook when I am working. When a family member calls during work time, I politely ask if I can call them back during the afternoon and remind them of my work hours. Caller ID valiantly saves me from the "would be" telemarketer time thieves. With one glance, I can quickly differentiate telemarketers from important client calls.

7. STICK TO THE PLAN: Try not to get sidetracked from your plan. One of my friends has a motto, "A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency for me". It's a smart one to live by. Unless it's a true emergency, or you are being paid "rush" time, you probably don't need to squeeze a last minute request in today. Also, by assigning yourself project deadlines, you can keep on top of projects and avoid those dreaded last minute emergencies.

8. CHOOSE AN INSPIRING PLACE AND TIME: We are all "built" differently. Do the tasks which take your most "brain power" when you are at your prime. Are you a morning person or do you work best burning the midnight oils? Create an ultimate work haven that is clean, distraction free, and inspiring. My office overlooks my flower garden and is right in the heart of family activity. As I glance to the right, our Angel fish "Spike" proudly parades across the fish tank. In front of me, Monet has a glorious display of peach poppies in a field. Above me, Monet is painting a vivid portrait of his flower garden. In the living room, my son is softly singing the Spiderman theme to himself - music to my ears!

9. BUNDLE LIKE TASKS TOGETHER: As you work through your daily list, try to chunk your tasks into like activities. By creating a separate "chunk" of time for answering email, invoicing, making return phone calls, you'll save time and mental energy.

10. AVOID INTERRUPTIONS: Trying to do the same thing over and over again with interruptions can be maddening. Once you start a task, try to finish it to the end. If something comes up that you need to remember or do, unless it's urgent, simply add it to your list and continue on with your current project.

11. BE ORGANIZED: When things are tidy, it saves you time and frees you to focus on the task at hand. Digging through a pile of papers and finding a squished Twinkie isn't very conducive to the work experience. Follow your own organizational style. PHONE LISTS: For instance, I arrange my phone lists into groups according to how I use them: friends, family, doctors, my children's playmates, etc. I also list people in my phone book that I talk to on a first name basis by their first name alphabetically. For instance, I list my mom under "M" and my brother under "T" for Troy. "D" has a list of all my doctors. This works for me, because it's how I think.

EMAILS: Another time saving idea is to color code your emails. In my personal color scheme I use one color for clients, one for newsletters, and another for my coworkers. You can also group your emails using categories andfolders.

ONE CALENDAR MEETS ALL: Keeping track of work appointments, Brownie meetings, and committee meetings can be very difficult. My secret to keeping on top of family and work appointments is to schedule them all on one calendar.

DAYTIMER SPECIAL SECTION: Create a special section of your Daytimer just for special interests, hobbies, or kids. My husband keeps one with all his stock info. I have a special kid section with phone numbers for Brownie leaders, playmates, doctors, school contacts, bus number and other items.

SUMMARY: Why wait for success when you can literally schedule it! By mastering your time, you can accomplish much more with less effort. Be choosey about how you spend your time. Focus on activities which most closely match your goals. By taking time to monitor, measure, and manage your time, you will enjoy an abundance of success and happiness. 

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Chemicals that Mimic Hormones Explain Birth Defects and 8 year-olds Reaching Puberty

Bisphenol A is a threat to your health. It's all around you - and probably in you. 

And BPA is most likely the cause of early puberty in young girls, plus birth defects in newborns. 
Birth defects caused by exposing an unborn child to toxic chemicals was rarely discussed by doctors and hospitals before fetal alcohol syndrome was first identified. Many women employed in industry do not know all dangers associated with chemicals used at work because of the reluctance of manufacturers to explain in Material Data Safety Sheetsall that is known about individual chemicals in chemical mixtures. What is known is that chemicals that alter DNA do it across the board and life cycle. Birth defects, early puberty and cancer go hand-in-hand. BPA is exactly that kind of chemical. 

Endocrine disruption leads to carcinogenic, reproductive and developmental effects. In addition to early puberty, disruption of ovarian function, reduced sperm production, and reduced fertility are the outcomes. Potential developmental effects include low birth weight and birth defects. 

Endocrine disruptors are found in pesticides, insecticides and industrial chemicals, such as bisphenol A found inplastic containers and can liners, which has been receiving all the bad press it deserves. 

We know that two common pesticides found in polluted water, atrazine and bifenthrin, function in shellfish as estrogen does. 

Environmental and biological scientists have done much to warn us about the hazards in our food supply. 

In 1993 Stanford endocrinologist Dr. David Feldman was conducting research on steroid hormones in yeast cultures, such as estrogen, and he found hormones, but not where he expected them. After sterilizing empty flasks with very high heat and pressure, Feldman said he "discovered the molecules must be leaching from theplastic, because they weren't coming from the yeast," 

The plastic flasks were made of polycarbonate, a clear sturdy plastic found in numerous containers and in the epoxies used to paint the interior of cans used for food. . Bisphenol A was contaminating his experiments. He knew that bisphenol A was a chemical relative of DES, diethylstilbestrol, a chemical known to cause cancer in the offspring of mothers treated with DES to prevent spontaneous abortions. Dr. Feldman rang the warning bell and presented his results to a major conference in 1994 in a paper entitled "Estrogens in Unexpected Places: Possible Implications for Researchers and Consumers," later published in Environ Health Perspect. 1995 Oct;103 Suppl 7:129-3. 

Nobody listened, until 2007 when Canada banned the use of bisphenol A in plastic baby bottles. 

Industry did nothing about BPA for years because there were no penalties and no incentives to use alternatives, and as Professor Feldman notes" scientists can only say so much." 

From the first reported synthesis of BPA in 1936 it has been known as an estrogen. Dodds, E.C., Lawson W. "Synthetic Oestrogenic Agents Without the Phenanthrene Nucleus," Nature 137:996 (1936). Today BPA is associated with causing damage in reproduction and is a suspect in a myriad of other problems, including breast cancer, diabetes, testicular cancer and more, as shown in tests on laboratory animals. 

Bishpenol A can be found in baby bottles, water bottles and the white linings of canned foods. It was thought to be just fine, but we are eating it. BPA has been found in 93 percent of Americans who were tested for it. 

Industry, as expected, claims that it is safe. But it's not acceptable if it leaches into humans. The Environmental Working Group found that bisphenol A lines the cans of baby formula, including Nestlé, Ross-Abbot (Similac), Mead Johnson (Enfamil), Hain-Celestial (Earth's Best), and PBM (sold under various names at Walmart, Kroger, Target and other stores). 

Researchers say BPA acts like the hormone estrogen and can affect a developing brain and reproductive system. It is among the chemicals now known as environmental estrogens. 

"There is mounting scientific evidence that BPA is toxic, especially to children," Aaron Freeman, Policy Director with Environmental Defense, says in a statement. "Governments should be acting quickly, starting with a ban on BPA in food and beverage containers." 

In a recent article in the San Jose Mercury News, Edwin Garcia wrote that lawmakers in Sacramento have recently introduced an increasing number of bills to clamp down on potential toxins in our lives -- bisphenol A and others. Environmental authorities in our northern neighbor, Canada, were so alarmed about bisphenol A that retailers yanked from their shelves many children's toys containing the chemical. 

And the same should be true in the United States. 

Unfortunately, that's not happening. 

There will be consequences once the rest of the world knows what industrial already knows about this chemical. 

Exposure to chemicals that mimic estrogens in the body is thought to be the reason more girls are entering puberty at younger ages, according to Jeanne Rizzo, executive director of the Breast Cancer Fund. 

Dr. Marcia Herman-Giddens of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill school of public health, in a 1997 study of 17,000 Girls in the US, found that black girls begin puberty shortly before age 9 on average, while white girls begin just before age 10. 

Dr. Herman-Giddens found an astonishing 45 percent of all Afro-American females reach puberty at age 8 and have begun developing breasts, growing pubic and underarm hair or both 

Think that through and consider the consequences of early development. 

Third grade girls, without the benefit of judgment or maturity, have reached the beginning of their sexualdevelopment without the emotional skills to make appropriate decisions. That's more than a family problem - it's a major social problem. 

Bishpenol A mimics hormones and because of its widespread use BPA is among the environmental chemicals suspected to be responsible. 

The San Jose Mercury News on April 7, 2008 opined that bisphenol A should be deemed safe until proven guilty and in doing so maligned the research of Dr. Vom Saal and falsely stated that the scientific door on bisphenol A was still open. http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_8837191 

Both claims were false, as was the Mercury's premise that bisphenol A is safe. 

On April 10, 2008 the Mercury responsibly admitted that its editorial supporting the safety of bisphenol A mischaracterized the credibility of biologist Frederick vom Saal and the position of the National Academy of Science. The Mercury conceded that the Vom Saal studies of bisphenol A have stood the test of peer review and that recent studies by National Academy of Science scientists have produced results questioning the safety of bisphenol A. 

The US should be adopting the principles of precaution and prevention, long advocated by the Environmental Research Foundation in numerous papers. 

Bishpenol A is too high on the suspect list to be granted a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Our daughters are at risk and that means this chemical must not be used until its has been proven safe. There's no second chance if it disables your daughter or grandchild. 

Chemicals should be deemed dangerous until proven innocent because we can never unring the bell of altered human DNA in this generation and the next. 

The Kids Safe Chemicals Act places the burden of proof on the chemical industry, which has produced more than 60,000 new chemicals in the last 30 years without safety testing, to prove that chemicals are safe for children before they are used in consumer products. See "Shouldn't Chemicals be Proven Safe for Kids Before Marketing, May 21, 2008. 

Why stop there? Why not make it "Everyone's Safe Chemical Act"? 

Think about it. Learn more. 

Onward. 

Richard Alexander 

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10 Sure-Fire Steps to take the Fear out of Public Speaking

Do you "feel the fear" when asked to do some Public

Speaking? 

Public Speaking is still one of our greatest fears and it turns grown men and women into nervous wrecks. The mere thought of it turns our tongue to cotton wool, causes our internal plumbing to act up and turns our knees to jelly.

Well, there's no need for all of this because help is at hand. All you need to remember are your P's and Q's. Let's start with the P's

Preparation -

When you sit down to write what you're going to say, bear in mind who you'll be speaking to. Will they understand what you're talking about; will they understand the technical stuff and the jargon? If in doubt remember the old saying -
"Keep It Simple Stupid". 

Make sure that what you say has a beginning, middle and an end. Think of some anecdotes that help reinforce your story. People think visually so paint verbal pictures for your audience. And always remember, people want to know what's in it for them - so make sure you tell them!

Place -

Have a look at the venue before the event if you can. It's not always possible, however, even if you get there half an hour before, you can check out where you'll be speaking. 

Stand at the point where you will deliver from, imagine where the audience will be and check that they can see and hear you. You may even wish to place a glass of water where you'll be able to find it. 

Personal Preparation -

Before any Public Speaking event, think about what you are going to wear; when in doubt dress up rather than down. You can always take things off for a more casual look. Men could remove their jacket and their tie. Women could remove items of jewellery. 

Part of your personal preparation should include some mouth and breathing exercises. Practise saying some tongue twisters to give your speaking muscles a good work out. Take a deep breath and expand your diaphragm. Then breathe out, counting at the same time; try and get up to fifty and not
pass out.

As part of your personal preparation, write your own introduction. Write out exactly what you want someone to say about you, large font, double-spaced and ask the person introducing you to read it. Believe me they won't object and will probably be pleased and impressed.

Poise and Posture -

Whenever you're called to speak, stand up or walk to the front quickly and purposefully. Pull yourself up to your full height, stand tall and look like you own the place. Before you start to speak, pause, look round your audience and smile. You may even have to wait until the applause dies down. Remember, you want the audience to like you, so look likeable. 

Pretend -

I'm suggesting you pretend you're not nervous because no doubt you will be. Nervousness is vital for speaking in public, it boosts your adrenaline, which makes your mind sharper and gives you energy. 

The trick is to keep your nerves to yourself. On no account tell your audience your nervous; you'll only scare the living daylights out of them if they think you're going to faint. 

Some tricks for dealing with nerves are: 

Before you're called to speak, get lots of oxygen into your system, run on the spot and wave your arms about like a lunatic. It burns off the stress chemicals. 

Speak to members of your audience as they come in or at some time before you stand up. That tricks your brain int

thinking you're talking to some friends. 

Have a glass of water handy for that dry mouth. One word of warning - do not drink alcohol. It might give you Dutch courage but your audience will end up thinking you're speaking Dutch. 

The Presentation -

Right from the start your delivery needs to grab their attention. 

Don't start by saying - "Good morning, my name is Fred Smith and I'm from Smith Associates." 
Even if your name is Smith, it's a real boring way to start a presentation. Far better to start with some interesting facts or an anecdote that's relevant to your presentation. 

Look at the audience as individuals; it grabs their attention if they think you're talking to them personally.

Talk louder than you would normally do, it keeps the people in the front row awake and makes sure those at the back get the message. Funnily enough, it's also good for your nerves.

PowerPoint -

And for those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a software programme that's used to design stunning graphics and text for projection onto a screen. 

As a professional speaker, I'm not that struck on PowerPoint. I feel that too many speakers rely on it and it takes over the presentation. After all, you're the important factor here. If an audience is going to accept what you say then they need to see the whites of your eyes. There needs to be a big focus on you, not on the technology.

Use PowerPoint if you want but keep it to a minimum and make sure you're not just the person pushing the buttons. Why not get a bit clever at using the faithful old Flip Chart, lots of professionals do.

Passion -

This is what stops the audience in their tracks. This is what makes them want to employ you or to accept what you're proposing. Couple this with some energy, enthusiasm and emotion and you have the makings of a great public speaker. 

Give your presentation a bit of oomph and don't start telling me - "I'm not that kind of person." There's no need to go over the top but you're doing a presentation to move people to action, not having a cosy little chat in your front room. 

That's the P's finished, so let's look at the Q's.

Questions -

Decide when you're going to take them and tell people at the start. In a short speech it's best to take questions at the end. If you take them as you go then you may get waylaid and your timing will get knocked out. 

Never - never - never finish with questions; far better to ask for questions five or ten minutes before the end. Deal with the questions and then summarise for a strong finish. Too many presentations finish on questions and the whole thing goes a bit flat.

When you're asked a question, repeat it to the whole audience and thank the questioner. It keeps everyone involved, it gives you time to think and it makes you look so clever and in control.

Quit - 
Quit when you're ahead. Stick to the agreed time; if you're asked to speak for twenty minutes, speak for nineteen and the audience will love you for it. Remember, quality is not quantity. 

One of the most famous speeches ever - "The Gettysburg Address", by President Lincoln, was just over two minutes long.

Right, that's my cue to quit when I'm ahead. Now that you're armed with this information you too can
minimise your fear of Public Speaking. 

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Creating Landing Pages For Google Adwords

In creating a Google AdWords campaign, advertisers often spend most of their time creating their ads and researching theirkeywords. There is often little or no thought to where the surfer will be sent when the ad does its job and generates a click. Oftenadvertisers send the surfer to the home page of their website, hoping the website will do the rest of the work. Theseadvertisers are neglecting a very important part of their AdWords campaign: the landing page. A good landing page is just as important as a good ad, good keywords and strategic bidding. By creating an effective landing page advertisers can increase conversions, which will make their campaigns more competitive and profitable. 

When creating your landing page remember to make it specific to the ad that is sending the traffic. As with everything else, the landing page must be highly targeted. If a surfer clicked an ad expecting to find gold plated doorknobs, then you better make sure the corresponding landing page has just that. There is nothing worse than having a customer who is ready to buy but can't.

The role of your ad is to get clicks. The role of your landing page is to convert those clicks into leads or sales. Make sure you can convert the surfer within 3 clicks or less. If the surfer has to click more than 3 times to buy your product you will probably lose the sale. Ideally you want the surfer to click only twice, once on your ad, and once on your landing page to get to your order page. That's it. The more clicks you have, the less sales you make.

Remember that surfers are impatient. You need to give them what they want with as little effort as possible on their part. Therefore, it is important to always keep your original objective (conversions) in mind, as well as to refer to the specific keywords and calls to action in your ad, when creating your landing page.

The landing page is where you will use all your copywriting skills to complete the sale. As I said before, the goal of your ad is to get the click, and the goal of your landing page is to get the sale. It is in your landing page where you have all the room you need to explain all the benefits and features of your product or service. It is important to remember that your landing page is your sales page.

Your ad did its job by generating enough interest in the surfer to click through to your landing page. Now you should continue to hook and draw the prospect into your copy to complete the sale. The best way to do this is through a good headline. This headline should hook the prospect by appealing to her self-interest. What's in it for her? How will your product or service benefit her?

Continue to expand on your headline in your copy with more benefits for the prospect, and support these benefits with the features of your product or service. Do this throughout your copy and with subheadings. Make sure you keep the prospect interested and try to build some excitement in your product or service.<

Use plenty of bullets and lists in your copy to show your benefits and features. Bullets are essentially mini headlines. Bullets can be used to summarize all benefits the prospect will gain from your product or service. They can also summarize all the problems your prospect is experiencing and that your product or service can solve.

Headlines, subheadings and bullets are very important aspects of your landing page. As I said above, surfers are impatient and impulsive. They tend to be in a hurry and want instant gratification. As a result, they often only scan the page. If a surfer is scanning your page, they will only read your headline, subheadings, and bullets. It is important that you get all the benefits to the prospect included in your headlines, subheadings, and bullets, for this reason. Of course there are also surfers who will read your whole page, so you will need to have good copy, which provides greater detail and all the information the prospect needs to make a decision.

Pictures are usually very effective, especially if you are selling a product. In this case make sure the surfer gets a good, clear look at the product. Since the surfer cannot touch the product it is important that they get as much visual information as they need. Your copy should support your pictures and your pictures should support your copy. The important thing is that the landing page is focused on what the prospect wants. So if the prospect is looking for gold plated doorknobs, then when they click your ad they should go to a landing page where they only see pictures of gold plated doorknobs, and only read text that describes the features and benefits of gold plated doorknobs.

Finally, at some point you will need to ask for the sale. This all needs to be done on your landing page. Do not ask the surfer to click through to another page and try to close the sale there. You must close the sale on your landing page. The surfer should only have to click through to your order page to provide their credit card information. If you are only looking to generate leads, have the form they need to fill out on the landing page as well.

The landing page is a very important aspect of a Google AdWords campaign. You should spend the same amount of time, if not more, creating your landing page as you do creating your ad and generating your keywords. By creating effective landing pages you can improve the overall profitability of your campaigns. Improving the profitability of your campaign can allow you to bid more per keyword and generate more traffic. In end, the landing page is an integral part of your search engine marketing and should not be neglected. 

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Credit Card Processors

As per 2005 statistics released, on line trade grew more by more than 22% over previous year. To accept credit cards for online trade, you need a merchant account. Getting a merchant accountis not easy for all. It does involve a lot of money. To solve this issue, another fast emerging choice is use of third-party factoringservices, also known as credit card processors. These processors process third party orders through their own merchant accounts. A good processor provides a secure environment for sale, ensure that supplier fulfills the obligations of trade and ensure payment for the sale to the trader.

The growth of criminal methods on the net to steal informationand rob off wealth is growing at alarming rate. To help these issues, these processors provide very valuable service to newbie merchants who can not afford own merchant account and are quite instrumental in fraud prevention as well as to protect the consumer interest. A good credit card processor instills a strong sense of satisfaction among consumers to protect their interests and thus at a nominal cost boosts the revenue of on-line trader.

A good processor has to be very stringent as they are answerable to their own merchant account provider. Too many dissatisfied customers or traders can make them go out of business. I came across http://www.InternetMerchants.info, which very elaborately describes about various credit card processors. It would be a good idea to check from here.

One of such reputed and well established credit card processor is 2CheckOut (2CO), which is online distribution center for over 300,000 products and services. It provides a customizable transaction interface, multi-level customer service interaction, security features using SSL encryption network. One can get started immediately with no hassles of term contracts, additional equipment and can deal with any international suppliers, except for few prohibited products.

What does it cost?

Charges wise, it may not be cheapest one, but in terms of customers rating and appreciation, it definitely stands out. Initial set up charges include one time setup fees of $49. Besides, a commission of 5.5% per transaction and additional charges of $0.45 are levied. These transaction charges can go up on some classes of products. Charges for additional services are even higher. 2CheckOut supports 28 currencies for payment. For payments in local currency, if it is one of the supported currencies, wire option can be exercised at a cost of $5 per transfer. You can also choose to receive funds in US dollars at fees of $20 per transfer. These charges are definitely steep for small payments, but, 2CheckOut does give option to set a release level of payments and payments would be held till it reaches that level. Additionally, there are charges for stop payment of check and for charge backs

However, being a processor with one of the lowest fraud rate, such steep rates also gel with market.

Payment to Suppliers

Generally all payments are made on 1st and 16th of the month, when all transactions that occur within 48 hours of this period will be processed, and payment remitted. However suppliers with sales volumes of over $1,000 a week qualify for weekly transfers.

Types of Products

A supplier is not allowed to sell certain types of goods as adult content, firearms, ammunition, tobacco products and multi-level marketing etc.

Protecting Consumer Interest

Protection of consumer interest is basically in own interest of a credit card processor to be able to stay in business. As the terms of agreement with 2CO, a supplier agrees to readdress all the customers complaints addressed to him directly or through 2CO, to the satisfaction of customer, proficiently and harmoniously.

To protect interests of sellers, it reserves the right to impose limits on purchase of products by specific buyers for any reason, in its sole discretion, as it may deem fit.

Payments on an account are made after 2CO's verification processes it also holds money from suppliers account to protect buyer's interest. Generally a 5% of the gross sales are kept as reserve for at least 90 days would be held and in some cases the Reserve is retained at a higher rate for period exceeding 90 days.

It has a provision for refund and charge back too. Either 2CO or supplier may ask for reversal of transaction leading to refund and return the funds to a customer's account. Credit card issuing bank may dispute the validity of transaction through the given credit card either on its own volition or on instruction of its clients and initiate reversal of funds transferred. This is called charge back. In such cases, where supplier feels victimized, he may opt to initiate a dispute and seek assistance of 2CO. 2CO would assist by way of providing any documentation that supplier may need and would charge a fee of $14 for each such dispute that supplier decides to contest.

2CO service has been rated as wonderful by most users. The only suggestions for improvement would be more in depth sales reports and the ability to have custom form fields on. It has reputation of being a company that enables businesses to receive funds from businesses and consumers internationally with zero fraud and at a much lower cost than traditional wire payments.

In fact if you are a victim of such credit card processor, you must immediately take steps, which have been very lucidly at http://www.InternetMerchants.info/complainant-guide.html. Do follow them; I am sure these would come handy. 

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A Brief Overview of Gourmet Coffee

The word Gourmet is used to refer to the fancier grade, cut, or quality of many of the foods and beverages we consume. Gourmet foods and drinks have long been associated as the regular fare for the rich and famous who can afford the higher pricing that often accompanies many of these finer food and beverage versions. Coffee is a beverage that has been available in cheap, regular and gourmet versions for a long time and the consumption rate of coffee among people from around the world continues to increase every year. Gourmet coffee may have once only been served in the finest dining establishments and found being served mostly in the homes of the upper class, but gourmet coffee is widely available and affordable to a variety of people and is found in a variety of settings today. 

Coffee is made from coffee beans which are found within the berries that develop and ripen on a number of smaller evergreen bush plant species known as the Coffea plant. After ripening, coffee berries are harvested, and then undergo a processing which also includes drying them. It is the coffee beans that remain after the processing and drying of the coffee berries. The beans are then roasted to various degrees which cause them to change physically and in the tastes they produce. Finally, the coffee beans are grinded down into a fine consistency that is commonly known as coffee grounds, and packaged and shipped to destinations around the world where consumers can buy and brew coffee grounds to make coffee in commercial, hospitality, institutional, and residential settings. Some people prefer to grind their own coffee beans before brewing them for coffee. Packaged coffee beans that have not been ground can be purchased in stores and ground using the grinding mills that are made available in most of the stores selling them, but also with grinding machines in the home. 

The two most commercially grown species of the coffea plant that produce the coffee beans used to make the coffee that the world's population consumes, are Robusta and Arabica. Gourmet coffee is made from the top tier coffee beans from the arabica coffea plant. These top tier arabica coffea plants are typically grown at very high altitudes (above 3000ft) with ideal soil and climate conditions. The coffee beans produced have fuller flavors, are more aromatic, and have less caffeine in them than other varieties of coffee beans such as Robustas. The coffee beans of arabica coffea plants grown at lower altitudes are still noted among consumers as having richer flavors than the flavors produced by Robusta coffee beans, but it is only the top tier arabica coffee beans that are considered to be Gourmet, and thereby from which gourmet coffee is derived.

Coffee bean grounds and coffee beans that have not been grinded down need to be stored in air-tight containers and kept cool in order to protect them from losing their flavor. The containers that coffee is typically sold in are not the most ideal for storing coffee for a long period of time. When you arrive home after purchasing coffee grounds at the store, consider transferring the fresh coffee grounds to appropriate storage containers to extend its shelf life and full flavor. 

Coffee can be brewed in many ways such as boiling, pressuring, and steeping. Most of us brew our coffee using automatic coffee brewing machines and percolators which use gravity to pull hot water through coffee grounds where the hot water mixed with the oils and essences of the coffee grounds empties into a liquid holding container below. Filters are used to keep coffee granules from being emptied into the carafe or liquid holding container from which the brewed coffee can then be served from because most people do not want to drink the coffee granules. Coffee granules can be very bitter once the flavor able oils and essences have been removed through the brewing process. Plants and flowers love coffee grounds though for anybody who is looking for a greener alternative of what to do with coffee grounds after brewing instead of just throwing them in the trash. 

Of course, Gourmet coffee beans are only the beginning to creating a truly gourmet coffee experience for many gourmet coffee drinkers. Some people are quite content with drinking their gourmet coffee black, without adding anything like milk, creamer, sugar or other sweeteners or flavorings, to their coffee. While many others want to enhance their gourmet coffee and drinking experience with tasty additions like milk that is whipped into a froth, sweeteners, and mixing in other flavors like chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, and mint, to name just a few. Big namecoffee chains sell a wide variety of gourmet coffee with different tasty additions and flavors to appeal to gourmet coffee lovers. However, brewing gourmet coffee at home is usually much cheaper, and you can add what you want to your coffee to satisfy your refined, gourmet tastes. 

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