Cross & Silver jewelry designs by LoveRelic.com

I wanted to promote the silver and cross jewelry blogs of Jill Brahms of LoveRelic.com. She is quite a designer of silver and symbols such as cross jewelry. Most of our her first set designs are with cross jewelry pendants and cross ring designs. Here is an excerpts of her recent blogs.

Designer Silver Jewelry - Out and About Dec 21

Author: Loverelic December 21st, 2007

Check out these gorgeous dangly silver earrings worn by the equally beautiful Amanda Lamb at the UK premier of Will Smith’s gripping zombie thriller “I Am Legend“. These earrings are amazing, and we are searching for a better photo of them. They appear to have a celestial theme, which we love, being in the business of symbol jewelry,. such as the super start Cross Jewelry. Girls and boys take note: Silver jewelry looks spectacular with navy blue.

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Designer Silver Jewerly Out and About Dec 19

Author: Loverelic December 19th, 2007

Christina Ricci wore a very cute gold and silver star and moon necklace to the press conference for her new movie “Penelope” in Japan today. This is a great example of tasteful symbol jewelry. Check out the trailers for Penelope. We can’t wait to see it!

Small Business is not the same as a Start Up business

Small Business is not the same as a Start Up Technology business

I was reading a not so great article today in the Seattle PI, Seattle’s second best paper, don’t get me started on the lack of quality of it’s journalists. I would write their editor in large, but why waste my time. I just choose not to buy the paper. Gosh, they erk me, I have been known to mention their biased towards their friends business before to friends, Seattle is a very small town you know, everyone seems to know everyone. But, I do congratulate them for their blogs and forward thinking, not their journalists quality of writing. The article today in the business section, down right makes me think that they along with most corporate types, simply don’t understand small business. They think a small business is the same as Start Up, why do we care? We actually care about helping small businesses with their marketing, and helping them to make more money. We do this through our barter and trade exchange network of ITEX, which has 22,000 small business customers. This woman writes an article titled “What you need to know to start a small business”. She has investment banking background, not any small business experience. She wrongfuly talks about selling your company down the road, looking beyond your product, and not being in love with it. She does not understand small business, but rather does know the Seattle Technology start up scene. These types of businesses, not a get rich quick scheme, but the greedy high tech entrepreneur types (oh–I am just teasing, I use to be one of them), that want to grow big or have a make a quick buck by selling their hot start up.

Small business people do make more money than the average salaried corporate types, and usually they have 3 times the Networth. Wow, I did learn something from her article, yippee. She has good points, but misses the boat completely on small business, which is NOT THE SAME AS STARTUP HIGH-TECH. Folks we are biased, we actually make money via Bartering and the ITEX Trade Exchange Barter network, and actually helping small businesses have success.

Do follow her advice if you are looking to start an Internet Company. But if you are a small business owner or want to start a small business, read other sources for more credible business sources. If you are one of the 23 million entrepreneurs, that have a solution to a problem and want to start your own business, go to your local SCORE office at the local SBA.gov branch. There are amazing resources there that would help any small business. Who is a typical small business person, and how do they get to be worth millions? First thing, go read “the millionaire next door”, than read “Small Giants”, they will give you the profiles of the best small business people and businesses. Recently, I started to write about small business marketing, bartering and ITEX barter Trade exchange, why? To help by sharing my Internet Marketing 2.0, SEO, and blogging experiences and strategies for small business marketing people.

So who comprises of the average small business, and what types of business is an average small business? Folks, I don’t mean to be hard on this Seattle journalist, I think most of us Entrepreneurs do want our high-tech or not, small businesses to be a huge business. We all need to focus on growing a profitable business small or large. Too often greed misguides us all to want to be a billionaire, but a true entrepreneur never looses sight of the problem they are trying to solve. The problem we are trying to solve is to help 22,000 small business make more money with Barter. Even though there was no professional barter network thousands of years ago, people have been trading for goods and services for centuries. Now with the ITEX Barter dollars they can do it with ease, with a large selection of choices, and with ease of a process that works for thousands.

In this series of small business blogs, we will try to uncover what it takes to succeed. And who the average small business person is, and what does he/she do, and how do they make money and be a success. Most importantly, we will share with you the best strategies for small business marketing. We all know that our local Restaurants, dry cleaners, specialty retailers are a small business. But what about the local accountant, attorney, the real estate agent, and the website developer, they too are small businesses too right? Our friend’s at ITEX barter Trade exchange have 22,000 small businesses as members, and they know a thing or two about small business marketing and success, and their people will share with us proven strategies for small business success.

In fact, the main charter of the ITEX barter network is to help small businesses succeed, via small business marketing and developing small business networking opportunities. So we will try to profile a few successful small businesses that do that. We will discuss the most important issues facing a small business, barter or not. We will look at marketing, accounting, sales, operations, and Human Resources and Legal Issues.

Do you run a small business? We want to hear from you. For our purposes, we want to call a small business a business with less than 200 people, maybe a retaurant that has 50 people or less, not a chain. Any business with revenues of less than $10M, usually 1-7 people, independantly owned and operated by one or two people.

So as we start the new year, do come back and visit this blog back again, we will be discussing “how to start a small business”, and hopefully doing it in a series of blogs. First thing first, call your State Incorporation or small business office and get their incorporation and small business guide. This is usually the best place to start, along with visiting your local SBA branch or sba.gov website. We of course promote Bartering through our cashless trade exchange network @ ITEX, Bon Voyage!

Posted by Admin in Small Business Marketing

Barter Network

Small Business Barter Network

A few years ago I belonged to a small business networking group called La Tip. It’s basically the same as the bigger counter part, BNI (Business Network International), well I don’t know if it’s bigger–I think it is, based on what I have heard. Surprisingly, a lot of small business marketing people don’t know about these networking opportunities. The ITEX barter network is basically a similar opportunity to grow your business. Small business networking is nothing new to small business people, they have networked in their local communities to promote their business.You may have heard of groups like Chambers of commerce and Rotary? Each city has one, and these groups are a perfect system of referrals and business card & trade exchanges. BNI and La Tip maybe be a modern phenomenon, but small business networks have been around for a while. I am sure they have been congrating and bartering and trading for goods and services and growing their business via bartering items, either through discounts and trade exchanges, or just simply favors.

A professional smalll business barter network can actually help grow sales and promote your business. It all depends on which items you Barter, and how other small business owners can benefit from it. But almost anything can be a barter item, your product or services, it all depends on the size of the Barter Network. You have to have a large enough pool of Barter items to buy from. So that you are not stuck with trading for chickens for your doctor and medicinal services, and you happen to be a vegetarian. Yesterday I spoke with a Video production business owner in Seattle, when learning about the ITEX Barter Network, he was all exicted about Bartering. He asked if they needed a Video Production business to be part of the 22,000 small business Barter network. Are you kidding, why wouldn’t they, ofcourse I said. The cool thing is he can sell his Barter for services, buy selling his services, at ITEX Barter Network, anf get the ITEX barter dollars, which he use to buy things he needs either for his business or personal needs, just like real dollars, but they are Barter ITEX dollars. Enjoy David, and see you in the Barter Network!

Oahu Hawaii has it's own Grand Canyon--Called WaiMea Canyon

Hawaii has it’s own grand canyon?

January 5th, 2008 at 01:29 am by Admin in Vacation Homes Rentals

I have wanted to finish writing about the Vacation hot spot called Hawaii, but no time to go on vacation and actually write from there, maybe soon if the bosses at RentExpert.com allow it:-). I bet Hawaii is not just one of the top vacation rentals destinations, but a #1 beach destination. One thing that surprised me about Hawaii vacations, is that it has the second biggest canyon in the world. Did you know that Grand Canyon is the #1 most visited natural tourist spot in the world, wow what a natural wonder. Well, as you will see that the reason for my love of this Vacation Rentals Software project is that it will allow me to travel to different parts of the world and write a travel blog from there.

Oahu Hawaii has it’s own Grand Canyon–Called WaiMea Canyon

While I have not been to Hawaii, I have been a fan for a long time, maybe I can go there now thanks to our RentExpert.com online booking system? Please boss will you pay for my vacation to Hawaii, please:-), ok, I will do a travel blog and promise to blog every night while I am there. While my friend Joe got a gift from me and my family to visit Hawaii. Hawaii, especially Maui has been called a very spiritual places, and one of Earths main Chakra points. I learned that one of my favorite inspirational authors Wayne Dyer even lives there. All the Hawaiians I know are also very calm, grounded, and laid back great people.

I have enjoyed watching the travel channel, oh you have no idea how many hours I have spent, being in all of these Vacation Hot Spots, and not being there at all. All thanks to my Vacation Rentals software project, I will soon start traveling again, this time working a little too. Only through my friends at the Travel Channel, and can’t wait to rent a vacation home on the lush water view scenery. Anthony Bourdain is just one of my new Travel Channel friends, well, I wish he was my friend. It’s strange how one develops relationships with these television personalities. Ouch, kind of strange and bordering on the lack of life, all these people that watch the Soap opera’s.

But is a travel channel different, you do learn so much about exotic places, people, and their foods. You see these hot vacation spots, can’t you imagine just spending your whole life in one of these tropical rain forests over looking breath taking waterfalls. Now they are talking about 7 sacred Pools in a place in Maui. Do have to get a travel book, and read up on all of the monumental spots. Don’t you wish you could use an online booking system for your vacation rentals homes, right as you watch a TV show, or read the travel blog? May be that is why I/we are writing about these places, just think of it, your Hawaiian Vacation Rental home just a click away, all because of our amazing vacation rentals software and travel blogs, yippee!

I want to go to heaven, maybe live there, yeah it’s kind of strange that I would leave this wonderful neighborhood of Seattle called Queen Anne, and move to Hawaii, but I would. I do have breath taking views of the down town skyline below us, yes the space needle too, it’s below our hill and I look on top of it daily on my dog walks. And, mount Rainier way beyond the downtown, and ocean water to our right, and Olympic National park to our west, with luscious puget sound in between, way below. You see our Seattle Vacation view spot is close to heaven, but the Hawaiian Islands, they still make me want to move away from this amazing urban retreat. That must say some thing special about Hawaii, does it not. So now all we have to do is, get all of you vacationers to start using our vacation rentals software to do all of your reservations through our online bookings software and off we can write about your favorite place to visit. Maybe we will run some surveys or polls, on the most desired places for people to vacation at. Where do you want to vacation? eat your heart out Microsoft, i want to go to Hawaii and leave Seattle behind.

Posted by Admin in Vacation Rentals software

Fw: Harvey Mackay's Column--Take time for yourself to do ordinarythings

Enjoy this another great article by a Business Guru, Harvey Mackay.


From: Harvey Mackay <alerts@harveymackay.com>



Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 07:01:50

To:vipin@urbantango.com

Subject: Harvey Mackay's Column--Take time for yourself to do ordinary

things




Harvey Mackay's Column This Week

Take time for yourself to do ordinary things
Author Mitch Albom says he wrote his book "For One More Day" when he became fascinated by how people answer this question: If they could spend one more day with a loved one already departed, how would they spend it? What would they do?
In Parade magazine, Albom says that he repeatedly found that people wanted to spend an ordinary day doing ordinary things with the people they had loved. Notably, almost everyone wanted to tell a special person just one more time how much they loved him or her. Others mentioned that they wanted to do the things they always did with that person, such as head to the racetrack, eat in a favorite hamburger joint or talk about old times.
One son wished that he could share knowledge that would have eased his father's guilt over an incident where the father threw a snowball and accidentally blinded another son. Later, after the father's death, the family learned that the son had a condition that had predisposed him to such an injury. He wanted to help his father lift his burden.
One man longed for a moment with his son who died in a car accident. He wanted to relive a favorite getaway, a walk with him in the woods.
Asking people to describe their wishes helped Albom understand what we yearn for. Often it's not something exotic or faraway. The most common responses involved personal connections and realizing that a normal day is something we should all treasure.
Chances are, you've been blessed with success and tremendous opportunity. You can likely recall some colossal failures and deep disappointments. Would you choose any of those for one more day? No matter how much the big things have changed your life, it seems that it's the little things, so many of which we take for granted, that make our lives worth living.
How does this relate to careers and work issues? No matter how passionate you are about your work, it's only part of your life. As you've heard so many times, don't work so hard at making a living that you forget to make a life. When work stress spills over to disrupt the rest of your life, you need to plug the dam. Is this how you would spend your "one more day?"
When you feel like you are tottering on the edge and you just need a break—you should take one. In today's busy world, it is easy to fall into the trap of never taking any time for yourself. Just about every time you pick up a newspaper or magazine these days, you find a study declaring that Americans are more stressed, sleep deprived and time-crunched than they ever have been. That's no way to spend one more day.
While you can't turn the clock back, you could certainly benefit from some real time away from the things that drain you. Spend that time instead with the people who are special in your life. Here are some simple suggestions:

* Disconnect. Promise yourself that you will not answer your cell phone, return a text message or check your email. Lest you think I'm crazy, let me remind you that people have survived for centuries without these things. It's highly likely that you'll not only survive, but also probably emerge refreshed from unplugging and turning off for a change. When was the last time you had an uninterrupted dinner?

* Escape for an evening. Leave work on time and stash your briefcase in a closet. Spend the hours doing something you love—anything but work! You know the old saying about all work and no play. Would you really come back—just for one more day of work?

* Take your vacation time. Hoarding earned days? Do you lose them if you don't use them? Maybe you are just building up a cache of time that you will use "when you need to." People seem to be almost unwilling to take breaks when they really need them. Keep in mind that the workplace and world will survive, probably quite well, if you go on vacation. If you think you are indispensable at work, stick your finger in a bowl of water and notice the hole it leaves when you pull it out. Now try to imagine the hole in your family's life without you. It suddenly becomes a clear choice!

Mackay's Moral: You can't count your days, but you can make your days count.
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are always archived online <http://www.harveymackay.com/columns/> .

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Best Small Business Marketing Strategies

Best Small Business Marketing Strategies

For the longest time, I wanted to grow one of my small businesses to be a large company. I never really was satisfied with being small, I think a lot of people and businesses are not. But millions of small business owners are laughing being content and making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. How do they do it, and what is wrong with being small anyway? Nothing at all, and they are small because they choose be best, rather than big.So what does being a small business have to do with best marketing strategies. A ton, I feel that to be competitive, small business marketing is what makes the difference. If you can’t compete on size, you compete with creativity, and creativity is the hidden secret edge of all small business marketing. Creativity just means thinking out of the box, and Small Business Marketing is most often the place I see it. And, the companies that make it, do that well, well some times they Barter too:-). All seriousness aside, companies that are successful from small business to big, usually have creative marketing ideas.

As mentioned before, think of a unique name for your brand, your product or better yet do all of the above and help your customers in a unique and memorable way, and they will come searching for you! How and why? When your brand becomes a house hold name, such as MySpace, people search for you on Google and other places. And, that is the goal of any brand development of small business marketing.

*As mentioned this Free blog is brought to you courtesy of our sponsors: ITEX the Barter Network, and Silver Cross Jewelry by Jill Brahms, and infrared heaters by Greenisbetter.org, better than Edenpure Heaters.

Bizarre Food with Andrew Zimmern and Travel Channel

I so want to have my own show on the Travel Channel, they need an E. Indian, cultured man, Urban/Seattleite, mixed American, point of view don’t they? I also love all the Vacation HotSpots, without the Bizarre foods, that is. The Durien fruit I can do without Andrew, along with the all the Insects and crazy delights. But as far as exotic travels and foods go, you are the king. And you are one of the main reasons I watch the travel channel. Doesn't it feel like we are on vacation, right there with you, when we watch these shows? Yes, my vacation is on again, right now on the television. As Andrew talks about Stinky Tofu and how much he loves the Tofu, I did have a Tofu Phad Thai today, umh so good.

So I don’t just want to write a vacation rental homes blog, just for the fun of it, well I do. But, we do have to pay our bills, and they are paid by the folks at the Online booking software and vacation rental software providers RentExpert.com. If you or anyone you know has a vacation rental property and could use an online booking system, they have the most comprehensive feature rich system.

So what is my vacation and travel channel unique angle, doesn’t angle misspelled say Angel? Maybe pretty people with families could be a theme, for family tourist hot spots, and festivals of the world, and their Sacred Shrines. Ah, I think the Sacred Shrines from religious to spiritual places with their philosophies is taken, and probably done way too many times? Who wouldn’t want to visit a vacation rental home in an exotic tourist party spot with amenities for the whole family? Got any pretty people traveling through some hot tourist stops, go ahead send them to me, and we will post them on our blog. Or better yet, you will see us and our talent, maybe wife Jill will go on camera, David our video producer/photographer is ready to be our camera man, and travel to exotic destinations. Who wouldn't be a travel blogger right? We are actually thinking of doing a vacation blogspot tour. We actually did just get the URL VacationBlogSpot.com. We and they at the RentExpert.com vacation rental software is the same by the way, my blog writing grammar is not fully polished yet. Well, it just needs some attention and time does it not?

Back to bizzare foods, and why people just love to eat on a vacation, it’s called culture folks, and food is a big part of experiencing it. Going to distant beaches and hanging out doing nothing and gambling types of vacations just don’t do anything for me. I need exotic food, people, and places. That is why people LOVE this show, Bizzare foods from exotic places, wow, let’s get back to him. Andrew Zimmern started out his Bizzare food travels in Japan, where we learned how they eat raw fish and slow grow and message cows for Kobe Beef. Now, I love my Sushi as much as the next person, I had Sushi two days ago, in a local Seattle favorite restaurant, Chinoise. But, I had no idea that Japanese people eat 30-40% of all of the worlds sea food? Did you also know that Kobe Beef taste so good, because they massage their Cows, and take care of them more than most people in the world are taken care of, that is amazing. No wonder that Kobe beef is the highest saturated fat beef, umh, that maybe why it tastes so good.

Most people want to go on vacation and don’t want to think about the fat of their beef, but they do want to look like a hunk of a “Beef Cake” or a “hottie” wouldn’t you agree?

Weird, that we care so much about our diet until the day we get on vacation, than we let it all go, and pig out like we are starved. Did I ask yet, If you know of anyone with a vacation rental property or a vacation rental home? If you do, you really should get them to visit RentExpert.com which provides the best vacation rental software and online booking system? I didn’t ask you say, want me to again, ah, argh, I won't do that to you. Did you hear or see the Taco bell commercial in the middle of the World Series? They interviewed the CEO about the special they were running, and that was the Ad, this is called embeded advertisement in the content. It happens every where, and I am sorry to say that it is happening to you, as you read the blog. Don't worry, since it's contextual it should be all kosher with everyone and you are more likely to buy the product or services any way.

Now back to the Travel Channel show, NaaNa a Food photographer just joined Andrew in Taipai Taiwan, she is so young and a world famous photographer too. She is guiding Andrew Zimern of the Bizare foods of Taiwan, most of this stuff is mild compared to the crazy stuff of the Asian islands, he ate earlier. Maybe, I could be a Fashion photographer of all Vacation and travel hot spots of the world, and give the fashion models a tour of exotic beaches? Maybe Jill won't like that too much, Well Sianara for now, I am missing my show, go Andrew Go, my channel surfing vacation hot spots, unlaid chicken eggs eating friend. Sorry I will stick with veggies or just cheese pasta, especially when I travel:-).

While I love asian food, and I eat Thai or Japanese food at least twice a week, I do live in the pacific northwest. You undoubtedly know the Asian influence of this city. But, I have no plans to take my vacations in Asia, well maybe renting a vacation home in Thailand in the Island of Phuket may not be so bad, but I would rather be in Hawaii, really?

Yes, you have undoubtedly learned that Hawaii vacation spots are one of the top in the world. Pretty soon we will be high lighting some of the best vacation home rentals with the best vacation hot spots. As we launch our online booking software, with the best features of any vacation rental software. The RentExpert system really is the best, and there is no doubt you will see more and more of it in your favorite destinations, check it out at RentExpert.com

Vacation Hot Spots, from this international traveler:-)

I just wrote this blog for our friends at RentExpert.com the premier online booking software, enjoy! This blog is one of many vacation blogs I will be writing to discuss the fun and unique places that I have traveled to. The pictures below are of Italy one of my best trips ever. I love to travel and be on vacation, who doesn’t? Well, I am sure there are people who would rather work, especially if they are lonely. It’s no fun to be on vacation or to travel alone. I am sure of that, not that I have spent any vacations alone, thanks to my family and friends. I have not traveled to too many places internationally, but here are some places that I have traveled too. Don’t worry, I will write about hot vacation spots and travel destinations that I would love to go visit in the future, more on that later. Here are some TopSpot Vacation places I have been too.Here is a list, I will describe my experiences much later.

1. India, Mussori, Rishi Kesh, Mumbai, New Delhi, but most loved places and memories are from the Himalayas.

2. Paris France launched this wonderful trip back in 1986. I loved south of France, Nice, Cannes, Provence, and Monaco and Monte Carlo. We visited lots of little villages and vacation hot spots such as Grasse. Wow, I can’t wait to get back their.

3. Mexico, Acapulco launched this love of mine and passion for the north American beaches. I ended up going to Cabo San Lucas a couple of times after that. Still to visit the Top Mexico Vacation spot of Cancun, and Playa da Maya, and Playa de Carmen. Of course another place that a lot of Seattleites visit is Puerto Vallarta, I think I want to get a vacation home there. I know of a lot of people who rent vacation homes in Puerto Vallarta.

4. Our honey moon back in 2000 led us to Amsterdam, and the candle light canal tours. But the final destination was Spain, we landed in Madrid-central square. Loved it, but the favorite was a full day and night spent in Toledo. Y ou have to find this Villa that over looks this historic mountain top. My wife found this amazing vacation rental villa, and booked it online for for I think only $30/night or so.

Other Spain hot Vacation spots as I am sure you know are: Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla (my favorite), Grenada where the Ala Hamabra is. I think Malaca and Corodoba are near by and popular Vacation destination, and great for vacation rentals of homes and Villas. But, I never quite made it, as it was too difficult to read the antiquated Spanish road signs. That was 8 years ago, so I would say maybe the road signs are better.

5. Italy is obviously a popular vacation hot spot for Europeans, not just the vacation travelers from the U.S. But how would you like to go to a wedding in a castle near Perugia, Umbria. Our friends Bryce and Chrstine rented a Castle for the wedding, Wow, was that neat or what. They also had these vacation rentals homes (Villas-they call them in Italy), these Villas were amazing, and you can rent just one for the week, or all twenty. Do you think that was a vacation of a life time? Yes it was! We visited Rome, Siena Siena-photo-blog, Firenza(Florence), St. Franciscan d’Assisi, Montepulciano, Monticino. Maybe you have had wine from these cities? Brunello the Monticino and Montipulciano are pretty amazing. Talk about the best vacation spot of your life, can I go back please, it was so long ago:-(

**Don’t worry about check out my spelling when I get to my Desktop:-), and add some pics for you Vacationers, looking for some awesome vacation rentals and homes ideas.

Posted by Admin in Vacation Homes Rentals

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