Small Business -6

I.Seven Tips for Renewing Your Business

For many of us small business owners, these past four years have been very hard. I have clients who were doing well nine years ago with a moderate amount of marketing, who over the past four years have seen those same marketing activities bring in fewer and fewer results. Many small business owners are currently faced with either going out of business or having to start again.

For me, I'm always up for a challenge! I'm always on the "see what else you can do" side of things. I feel a great deal of hope because of this past election and I think with renewed effort, and perhaps a few updated marketing strategies, we all can start rebuilding an economy where cash flows more freely.

If you find yourself with debts up to your ears and few reserves in your savings account but STILL adore what you do for a living and want to continue being self employed, here are seven suggestions for turning your situation around.

1. Now is a great time to reconnect with all the people you know through your business: this means your past, current and potential clients; your business colleagues; people you have met through networking; and perhaps even people you want meet and know. Send them a note that lets them know your doors are still open, that you feel hope for the future, and wish them the best in the coming time of reconstruction. The important thing is to communicate a sense of optimism and to offer a sincere wish that their business does well this coming year. Do it now, before the rush of business holiday cards gets started. Slip in a note about any current offerings for your business. If you have money, send a card. If you don't, send an e-mail.

2. From the list of people to whom you sent your note, select a list of people you are now going to call personally. This is a second touch. When you call, use your basic networking skills. Ask: How are you doing? What's new in your business? Have your target clients changed at all? What would you like me to tell someone I meet who might be a good potential client for you? In addition to keeping you in mind for referrals, is there anything else I can do to help you with your business? Put the other person first and communicate your interest. Then tell them about you and your business. Be sure to ask for what you want. "Do you know anyone who might need my product or service right now?"

3. Give yourself a block of time to reassess your marketing strategies. Keeping in mind that most marketing strategies are more like cultivating a garden than going out and shooting something for dinner, look for some new strategies you can get up and running quickly. Remember, the most effective strategies are those that get you DIRECTLY in front of your target clients or people who can refer them to you. Thus inviting a group of your target clients to come meet with you will be more effective than advertising.

4. This one is a biggie: Make yourself the focal point for a brand-new co-marketing group. Invite 5 to 7 other business owners, who have the same target clients as you do but provide non-competing products or services, to meet with you once a month. You can actually do this by free teleconference which saves everyone time and gas money. Have everyone teach the others about his or her business. Then brainstorm ways in which you can market together to the same clients.

5. If you have been holding back on using any of the up-and-coming marketing strategies, like using LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or writing articles on the internet to build your business, now is the time to take a crash course from someone who knows how to do these things and get started.

6. In fact, if you have never hired a business consultant or coach before now, and you have any money at all to invest in yourself as a business owner, now is the time to do it! Getting some professional advice, training, and help can short-cut the amount of time it will take you to turn your business around.

7. Finally, you must find some way to stay positive, motivated, intelligent, clear thinking, generous, and alive! These are qualities we all need right now and those small business owners who can bring them to their business life will become a magnet for clients and referral partners. If you are keeping a good face on when you are in public but feel a dread or fear in private, now is the time to learn how to change the way you think and feel. Really! Learning how to "Change your own mind" is tremendously useful skill, essential in helping you turn any situation around.

I wish you the VERY BEST of luck. May we all begin right now to co-create a better economy and a better world!

II.Rising trend of BPO Companies

Outsourcing means delegating your non-core processes to another company. Nowadays most of the organizations outsource their product or services in some way or the other. BPO companies are getting very popular for back office support, chat support, email support, accounting and many other things.

BPO Companies are categorized as follows: 1. Offshore BPO Companies 2. Onshore BPO Companies 3. Near Shore BPO Companies

Offshore BPO Companies are companies located overseas. Most of the Offshore Companies are located in India, Philippines, China, Pakistan, etc.

Onshore companies based in the same country are called Onshore Business Process Outsourcing companies. It means, a company based in US is outsourcing the chat support to a US based company and the service is also delivered by a US based Call center.

Near Shore BPO Companies would mean companies which are based very near to the nation. For example: A Company based in Canada servicing to a US based company. Some examples of Near Shore BPO Companies are call centers based in Dominican Republic, Romania, Costa Rico, Mexico, etc.

Generally, BPO companies are located overseas and represented by call centers, data entry specialists, email answering specialists, telemarketers, copywriters, etc.

Benefits of Outsourcing Companies:

Cost Reduction: Cost Reduction is the major benefit of outsourcing. Outsourcing Companies operate at very low costs, especially the Offshore Companies. An average Call center in US charges $15- $20 per hour for technical support or customer service, whereas, call centers in India charge $8 - $12 an hour for the same job.

24/7 operations: BPO Companies operate 24/7 and 365 days a year. This is a major advantage over Onshore BPO Companies.

Quality of Service: Offshore BPO Companies are focused on delivering high quality service to their clients. Various quality and data security measures like 6 Sigma, Lean, BS 7799, ISO, COPC are implemented to maintain high standards of quality.

BPO Companies are one of the fastest growing companies today. In India giants like GE, American Express, IBM, Convergys, Aegis, Wipro, E4E, 24/7 have around 10000 employees servicing different aspects of the industry.

Considering the growth of BPO Companies, it would be a wise decision to venture into the industry. Experts predict that the Outsourcing Companies will rise in near future, opening more avenues for all. One BPO Company is established almost everyday in India alone. This is not just the present, it is the future.

Small Business - 5

1.3 Requirements of Starting an Efficient Small Business - By: Joe Coffee
There are 3 factors that drive the success of small businesses.

1) Acquiring start-up capital
2) Finding customers
3) Accounting, budgeting, and controlling cash flow

Acquiring Start-Up Capital
An adequate supply of capital is essential as many profitable businesses fail because they don't have enough cash to pay their employees and suppliers. But what is an adequate supply of capital? The only way to tell is by doing a significant amount of research on your potential market and formally documenting this in a business plan. I'm sure you know that a business plan is a very important document that is crucial to convincing your banker to lend you money.

There are two ways to obtain a business plan. Do it yourself by amending a business plan template, or hire a professional to do it for you. Obviously the first option will be a great deal cheaper, but probably not as effective.

Our research led to a website that has over 60 high quality and free business plan templates. We also found a directory that you can use to easily find a business plan writer in your city where ever you live in the world. Using a search engine query produced most of these results.

Finding Customers
Finding customers can be a difficult and expensive task for service business owners such as accountants, lawyers and plumbers. One cost effective marketing strategy for service business owners is to simply give all their personal contacts a few business cards. It may be surprising, just how far a personal relationship goes.

Many websites have pre-designed business card templates. The diversity and quality of these designs was outstanding. In addition, a significant savings can be obtained by finding a printing service on the Internet. We found that you could get 2,000 full color business cards for as little as $150.

Accounting, Budgeting, and Controlling Cash Flow
Accurate small business accounting is very important for owners. It's essential that you have timely access to information that could make or break your business. If stocks are running low, you need to know about it. If a large proportion of your debtors haven't paid, you need to know about it. If you do not react to these situations quickly you may have a situation where you don't have enough money to pay your employees, or worse still someone is stealing cash out the till.

Our research led to a website that compares and reviews top small business accounting software. The cheapest software for small business accounting, cost $89.99 and the most expensive software cost $1,499. It was interesting to note that the top 3 ranked websites were not the most expensive and cost between $250 and $300. As well as price you also want to consider quality and reliability. The relationship between price and quality equals value. The two companies with the most value are Quickbooks and Peachtree.

Hopefully you now have an idea of some of the tools that you can use to grow and maintain your small business. These three business aspects have a great impact on overall success and longevity.

2.Owning Your Own Business: Here Are A Couple Of Steps To Business Success

Maybe you are reading this and have been thinking about owning your own business. Or, you have a small business running either that is doing well or where you wish it could be more. Regardless, to have a successful small business and to have the freedom and abundance you seek, the first step to business success is it must be about you.

You may say, now wait a minute where is this heading? Over 30 years of self-employment and working with hundreds of self-employed individuals I can assure you that most successful small businesses and the ones that experience small business growth have one thing in common. The first step to business success is that they are built around the founder or owner.

At first you may think this is a selfish approach. But, if you look at the original definition of selfishness, it is about self-preservation. I think you would agree that building a business that preserves and enhances you is a huge plus. After all, without you, where is the business?

Now, this doesn't mean that the business is all about you. It means that you either deliver and exceptional product or service for your customers but with an organization, routine or performance strategy that enhances you. After all, if you are not at your best, where will your business be?

For the entrepreneur successful in his business, the first step is to have something he or she is passionate about. The second step is to be able to build the business around who they are. Let's take three attributes that all people have to different degrees. They are create, execute and finalize.

Most people are good at one or two of these. Know what you are good at and build your business around your strengths. For example, maybe you are strong at creating and finalizing the process. Yet, the execute part, which is in the middle, is not where you really enjoy spending your time. If you are spending most of your time in this area you and your business will be at peril. In the beginning you will probably have to do all three.

Yet, if you continue to do all three you and your business will not experience the small business growth you desire. Take a look at yourself. If executing is the least enjoyable aspect, either create systems to insure that the execution takes place or have someone help you with it. If it continues to be a challenge you can look at hiring a small business coach or reading a small business book or small business ebook.

To grow small business and to have a successful performance strategy you must be in alignment with who you are. Pursue your passion and build your small business growth plan around your strengths. When you do you will get off the treadmill of deadening uniformity and be moving to the success you desire.

Business-Affilate Marketing -4

1.Your Own Affiliate Marketing Business And Working From Benefits!

As an affiliate marketer with an online business, you can enjoy many benefits of working from home. Today, many people want to work at home and earn money online and avoid being stuck in a nine-to-five job.
Working at home as an affiliate marketer brings many benefits, namely you are your own boss and you can control your own time. This means that you can set your work hours and adjust them to suit your personal life. You can spend more time with your family or kids. You don’t have to drive to work everyday. You set the targets of what you want to earn from your affiliate business, for more details visit to www.money-secret-exposed.com and you simply go for it! Although having your own affiliate marketing business and working from home has many benefits, but working from home requires a lot of discipline and organizational skills so that you can schedule your time properly. There can be many distractions at home, and you must make sure that each day you do what you need to do to grow your affiliate marketing business. This article outlines five great tips that you can use as a work-from-home affiliate marketer so that you can manage your time effectively and have enough time to expand your business and earn huge affiliate commissions.

1. Set the hours that you will be working everyday and keep them. Affiliate marketing involves a lot of work especially when you are still starting to build your business. It is therefore important that you schedule enough time everyday to work on your affiliate marketing business. While working at home, for more details visit to www.affiliate-manager-pro.com many things can happen that can take you away from your work, but you must exercise a lot of discipline so that you do not neglect your business.
2. Have your own office where you can work undisturbed. Although the benefit of working from home is that you can work in your pajamas anyway you want, it is recommended that you have an office where you can organize your work and be able to work in peace and quiet without any disturbances. Having a suitable working environment will increase your productivity.
3. Get the necessary tools. Obviously, to succeed as an online entrepreneur you need the necessary tools. This includes your own computer, printer and fast internet connection. If you handle your affiliate marketing business professionally, you will succeed in making money online.
4. Do not neglect your health. Most affiliate markets are driven to succeed quickly. As a result they can work long hours during the day and night to grow their business and start to earn big commissions. It is important for you to relax, exercise and get enough rest.
5. Get a mentor and interact with other affiliate markets. Depending on your experience in internet marketing, interacting with other marketers can help you learn some tips that you can use to grow your affiliate marketing business.

2.Affiliate Marketing can be a Great Way to Earn Revenue

An affiliate website is a pretty basic model. Simply put, the affiliate website attempts to sell products or services of other businesses. In return you are paid a commission for either direct sells or in some cases just for referrals or leads. The great thing about this model is that you don’t have to worry about inventory or customer service.
For more details go to: www.success-affiliate-marketing.com the bad thing is that you are limited as to what percentage of the profit you make from a sell.

After you decide what you want to sell, to get started you need to address three areas. First you need a website. Second you need products or services you can refer visitor so. Finally, you need people to visit your website. The great thing is that you can get all of these things for little to no money.

Selecting what you want to sell is an important first step. While the topic for another article, it is important that you select products or services that will be in demand and deliver buyers. Choices range from niche products that have relatively small but loyal buyers, for instance Yankees memorabilia fans, or a large buyer pool, for instance baseball memorabilia. Make sure you research the topic, find out who your competitors will be, and think about how you will best get buyers to come to your site.

Once you’ve decided what to sell, the first thing to do is get a website up and running. This can as simple as a blog site or as complex as a custom hosted website. While there are reasons for both ends, I recommend ‘cutting your teeth’ with a simple, free (or almost) website. Consider a free blog site from Google Blogger, or WordPress. You can get a relatively unique domain name for free and set-up is extremely simple. As an alternative, consider registering a domain with a hosting service like 1and1 or GoDaddy. You can get a basic website of a few dollars a month and have the advantage of having a completely unique domain like. If you have a website already, consider adding complementary affiliate links to the existing site. For instance in the Yankee’s example, if you have a ‘stats’ site already in place, consider adding memorabilia affiliate links.

You’ve now got a place to sell your affiliate products now it is time to get products and services that you can sell. There are essentially two ways to go here. First you could find the products and services you want to re-sell and establish an affiliate relationship directly with the merchant. For instance maybe there is an artist who sells Yankee’s lithographs. Directly established relationships likely will have a number of disadvantages, such as a lack of prepared marketing graphics or automated affiliate tracking. The advantage may be a higher referral fee. An alternative I recommend is to use an affiliate management service like Linkshare, Commission Junction or Shareasale. These services provide affiliate business site owners with affiliate relationships with potentially thousands of products, services and merchants.
For can visit to: www.boost-website-traffic.com these services offer ready-made marketing and automated tracking of referrals and sales. The disadvantage is that the management service becomes a ‘middle-man’ who will get a small piece of referral profits. Again, for your first affiliate website I would definitely recommend using a management service.

Finally, you need traffic. Unfortunately, you are not the only person or business that will be selling whatever you are selling. That means you will have to compete for traffic. Again, there are whole articles, websites and books on the topic but you have to market your website to get traffic. Getting traffic to your website is an ongoing effort as for any business. You’ll need to use a combination of marketing alternatives ranging from publishing free articles on sites like ArticleDashboard to paying for traffic through services like Google Adwords. While getting traffic to your website can take both time and money, any business has to consider this an investment in the business.

By creating a new website or adding affiliate links to your existing website affiliate marketing can be a great way to earn revenue. Get started with products or services you think will be valued by others. Set up a storefront to display your affiliate products and then drive traffic to the website. There are lots of great information sources on each component of an affiliate business. Take the time to explore these sources to get the most benefit.

Business-Affilate Marketing -3

1.The Basics of Affiliate Marketing

There are many ways to make money on the Internet. In fact, there are many people who make a very good living on the Internet through what is called Internet Marketing. And one of the easiest and best ways to make money is through affiliate marketing. But what exactly is this type of Internet Marketing? Well, here are the basics of affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing is actually a way to make money by "working" for others. It's a partnership between a salesperson (you) on the Internet and a business on the Internet. Every time the sales person gets another person to perform a specific action (usually buy something but it could also be something like filling out a survey or just clicking on an ad) then the business pays that salesperson a specific amount of money.

The Internet giant, Amazon.com, was actually the first site on the Web to use affiliate marketing. Amazon created a system that allowed "associates" to join a program and then try to sell Amazon's products to other people on the Internet. http://www.trafficgoldrush.com

Now there are too many affiliate programs to count all of them. There are thousands upon thousands of programs. To find out which sites have an affiliate program all you have to do is scroll down to the bottom of the home page and look at where there are pages listed. One of the page links at the bottom will probably read something like "Affiliates" or "Become an Associate." This is for that site's affiliate program. If you click on it then you'll be
taken to a page that tells you all about the affiliate marketing
program that the site offers.

You will need to sign-up with the site in order to become an affiliate. After you sign-up you'll then be able to begin marketing the site or individual products/services on the site. You'll be given a unique URL that you'll tell people to click on in order to buy a product or visit a site. When they person uses that URL then the site will know you sent them there and you'll get credit for that.

Depending on the site and the affiliate marketing program that you join, you might make as little as 2-3 commission. In fact, there are some Internet Marketers who let their affiliates keep all the profits (100% commission!) whenever a sale is made.

There are many different tactics and strategies that are used by affiliates. These tactics include buying pop-up ads on sites, writing articles, creating social networking pages, creating storefronts, and many other practices. Some people make thousands of dollars a day with affiliate marketing while others make just a few dollars a month. But if you know what you're doing and you work really hard at it then you will make a decent amount of money.

The basics of affiliate marketing are that you find a site that accepts affiliates, sign-up with that affiliate program, market for the site, and then make money when you get people to perform the action that the site wants people to do (usually involves buying something). Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money and it is relatively easy to do.

2.Use Clickbank and Other Affiliate Networks To Make Cash

While doing some basic research online, I was surprised to find so few articles written about Clickbank. As one of the largest affiliate networks, Internet marketers have been making money with Clickbank for as long as I can remember. There are a number of other providers of affiliate programs such as commission junction, and paydotcom. These programs have a lot in common.

The concept of an affiliate program is rather simple. These programs bring together manufacturers or providers of informational products with website owners, marketers, and vendors who wish to resell their products.

There are a number of reasons why someone would want to resell a third party product or service. The real motivator is money but there are additional benefits as well. When serving as an affiliate and selling someone else's product:

1. You don't have to take inventory. As an affiliate, you don't have to worry about buying the third party product, storing it, and then shipping it when you get a sale. Rather, you simply promote the product and receive a commission when someone that you refer buys from the manufacturer or originator of the product itself.

2. You don't have to create promotional material. In today's competitive affiliate marketplace, most product creators proactively create all the promotional material you need to sell their product. Banners, buttons, emails, and pitch pages are readily available and can be easily implemented on your website or blog.

3. You don't have to invest any money. Getting started as an affiliate doesn't require any cost. You simply sign up through an affiliate network and receive a publisher ID. When sales are made through your publisher ID, the affiliate site takes a small percentage of the sale. This is essentially how they make their money. The good part is that you don't have to spend any money out-of-pocket.

4. You can select products that are closely aligned to your niche. If you have a website or blog that focuses on a specific subject, area, or niche, you can find products that compliment your site and are closely correlated to your content. When matching the appropriate products with the right audience, conversion rates increase.

5. You can earn a nice living from commission 24/7. As you know, the best part of doing business online is that the Internet is always open, 365 days per year. This allows you to make sales of third party products at anytime.

Getting Started

When I first began in Internet marketing, there wasn't a lot of variety in the area of third party affiliate products to sell on my websites. As a result, I had to do online research, speak directly with vendors and often set up complicated tracking schemes in an effort to accurately track and record all sales being made. Since then, a lot has changed.

With the advent of affiliate networks, finding the right products to promote via your website or blog and getting up and running is very simple. To begin, visit one of the affiliate networks mentioned at the beginning of this article and sign up for a free account. Next, visit the market place and search for products related to your website's niche. Once you've identified a product that is relevant, create a tracking link and place it on your website along with any assets (banners, buttons, etc.) that can be used to promote the product or service.

The key is to remember that each link or piece of creative that you place on your site needs to have your tracking link included. This is very easy to do and is often a matter of cut and paste depending on which affiliate network you're using.

Each affiliate network offers support as well. Whether through live support, email, or some type of forum, you can get you most common questions answered quickly.

If you want to start making money online, then take a closer look at affiliate programs. It's quick, it's easy, and can add some money to your pocket.

Photography - 2

I.Buying A Digital Camera; The Essential Considerations

The camera is one of the gadgets that seemingly everyone will use at some point. It is ideal for capturing those moments in time that are simply magical, be it a stunning vista or a night out with friends. But buying a camera requires careful deliberation and consideration, for those without technical savvy it can be extremely difficult. Hopefully the following article will help consumers make the right decisions over which cameras to choose as well as the key considerations that should be made.

The first question to ask yourself is whether to go digital or non-digital. While many may see the film camera as defunct they are still used by many photographers, both amateur and professional. Ultimately however it boils down to time; film takes far longer to develop and for those who wish to place their images on the computer a digital camera is the most advisable choice. Digital image recording also makes the development of photographs far cheaper.

After this vital decision has been made there are other questions you should ask yourself when finding the ideal camera for your needs. The following questions are included as a checklist of considerations that should lead to the right camera choice.

As a photographer what are your goals? An amateur who simply wants to record family and friends will not need an all singing, all dancing camera whereas someone who fancies themselves as a semi-professional will have better results with an SLR variety of camera.

For those people wishing to print their images in large sizes a digital camera with a high resolution is the best choice. The more megapixels, the larger the image can be printed, if photos are going to be regular size or posted onto the internet, resolution is not as important. This should be reflected in your purchase.

If the camera is to be taken travelling the amount of storage space should be a major concern. For example some cameras can only utilise 2 GB or less memory cards. If the camera will need to hold many images a larger capacity to utilise 4 and 8 GB cards is a more sensible option.

It is also worth considering how the images will be taken and what the subject matter of the images will be. For instance if many photos are to be taken of small items, such as flowers, insects, coins or even stamps then a camera with a macro option is suitable. Additionally it is worth considering the distance photographs will be taken from. While it sometimes possible to get up close to subjects this is not always the case, for recording images at distance a camera with an optical zoom lens is essential.

Whether images will be recorded in low light level situations, such as concerts or indoors and whether the targets will be moving at speed should also form part of the decision making process if the right camera for your needs will be found.

Once these considerations have been made it is possible to find the right piece of photographic equipment. By taking this detailed approach that accounts for a number of different factors the correct decision can be made. The final consideration is the money you have to spend, once this is combined with the previous questions it should be possible to find a camera that matches you criteria and falls into a suitable price range.

II.How to Hire a Wedding Photographer and Videographer

After the wedding, all you have are the video and pictures. Nobody can be able to tell the event as better as pictures and sound. You thus have to acquire photos that can capture the whole ceremony and bring back all the joy and fun it was about. It is not enough to get a photographer to cover the event. It is essential that you get one who will produce images and sound you can view later and feel satisfied about it.

Your choice of expert should take proficiency into account. Weddings are one time events. If the photographer gets it wrong, you cannot hold another one to correct the errors. For this reason, you will have to consider the competence of the person. He must have covered lots of weddings of the same elegance. It is especially important that he has covered formal weddings.

You will have to take a look at his previous samples. For pictures, you should examine the photos and their sequence. You will have to take note of anything that was missed out or not done correctly. Did he capture everything so he could have done better? Are the photos fuzzy or sharp? The videographer must provide good continuity. Everybody must look at the tape and then be able to follow the story. He must have supporters and many cameras so that as the bride swap rings, he can capture the moment and that of the viewers at the same time. Listen to the sound of the video. Is it off high quality? You will also need to look at the way the editing has been done. It must reflect professionalism.

Both the videographer and the photographer must be in use to the wedding and reception halls at least once before the occasion takes place so they can make known themselves with the venue and know where to stand on that day. The visits will also let them know what equipment to bring. Lastly, give them a copy of the wedding program so they can know what event follows the other so they can able to prepare to cover.

Professional wedding videographers know the environment of the wedding service and are familiar with the ins and outs of capturing all of the important moments. They also are familiar with the dynamics of working with the people concerned in your wedding, including the clergy, photographer and others. I don’t know how many periods a photographer has told me they missed a good quality shot because Aunt Mary was in the way. More often while I listen to from clergy about the uncle Charlie’s that crossed the line of modesty several times by not abiding by the rules of the venue or understanding the sanctity of the church.

Photography - 1

I.Digital Cameras and Camcorders - Digital Zoom vs. Optical Zoom

The zoom lens of digital cameras and camcorders is the ability to vary focal length and, thus the angle of view. Both digital cameras and camcorders have zoom capability. For the consumer this can be confusing because there are two different types, known as Digital Zoom and Optical Zoom. When in doubt always go for optical zoom when shopping for cameras and camcorders.

Digital Zoom vs. Optical Zoom

The digital zoom enlarges images by magnifying the actual pixels. The finished image is thus affected and lacks clear definition. Simply put, digital zoom merely captures pixels and magnifies those and produces inferior photos, always go with Optical Zoom, which is a much better quality zoom capability.

Optical Zoom, unlike Digital Zoom, actually utilizes the movement of the lens. The focal length is changed and the image that passes through the lens is captured with optical zoom. Higher optical zoom ratings give better image quality. Simply put, optical zoom magnifies the size of an image by adjusting the lens. Unlike digital zoom, optical zoom enlarges the subject without sacrificing resolution.

Optical zoom ratings vary from 3PX to 20PX and the higher ratings give the best image quality. Optical zoom gives you all the benefits of the camera's and camcorder's maximum resolution, combined with the camera's ability to focus in tight on faraway action.

Often times an optical zoom is more important than resolution because it means you won't have to magnify your subject and then use software to crop the image and discard some of the resolution as a result. Optical zoom works much like the zoom lens on a 35 mm film camera. It changes the length of your camera lens and draws the subject closer to you.

Digital zoom has its place. It can be used if the only destination for your photos is to view them on your computer, and send them via email. Photos online can be a much lower quality in the camera and still appear acceptable when sent through e-mail or posted on a web gallery. But, if your goal is to print any of your photos you need a camera that has a high optical zoom rating and if your camcorder or camera also has a digital zoom function you should turn it off when taking those pictures. Your digital pictures will be much better in the end, even if they are not as close up.

Another important camcorder or digital camera shopping tip is to ignore digital zoom ratings within optical zoom. Some vendors tout a high total zoom that includes digital zoom, and it is not the true Optical Zoom rating. Always look for the true optical zoom rating.

II.Five Things That Can Go Wrong With Your Custom Website and How to Avoid Them

These days, every business needs a website but launching one isn't always straightforward, and it definitely isn't cheap. While there are thousands of companies out there who will try to sell you a cheap product, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Here are five things that can go wrong if you choose the wrong website developer.

1. Your website doesn't get built at all.

Many young developers will promise you the world while quoting you your dream price. They might have the best of intentions. Perhaps they're business is new and they really want to get started so are willing to work for less. Maybe they don't have much experience and think they can do things faster than they really can. What usually happens, however, is they find themselves many hours into your design project with very little done. Maybe they thought they knew how to build what you were asking for, but are now struggling with tasks far over their head. Instead of being honest with you that they made a mistake, many of them will just stop answering your emails or phone calls. They can't give you your deposit back because they've already spent it. You lose whatever money you gave them and end up with nothing.

2. Only your developer knows how anything works.

Website programming is complex business, but maintaining a website should be easy. A good developer knows how to make a user-friendly website. An inexperienced developer is often making things up as they go along, programming your website based on trial and error. It's a miracle if they can even figure out how they did things once they're done, let alone teach you how to use it.

3. Your ideas are bigger than your budget.

This is a common one. Of course we all want as much as we can get for as little as possible. But when it comes to website development, you really do get what you pay for. If you want a lot of fancy features, you're going to have to pay for the extra time it takes to build them, as well as find a professional with the skill to build them. Professionals aren't going to work for free. Expect to pay at least $50 an hour for a quality website. If you can't afford everything you want, scale back your expectations. A good developer should be able to make suggestions for a satisfactory website that's within your budget.

4. Your developer says they can do what they actually can't.

This one is related to the first, but even experienced developers can fall into this trap. There's a diverse range of expertise that goes into building a website. This includes photography, graphic design, database management, an understanding of information architecture, business and time management, and programming. Many web developers will tell you they can do what you want, even if they can't. Maybe they're hoping they'll be able to figure it out after they get the job, that they can just take a quick photograph and it'll look fine, or that designing your logo will only take a few minutes. They may be an expert programmer, but that doesn't mean they've got good aesthetic taste. When someone agrees to do work they aren't experienced at, the finished product is a shoddy-looking website.

5. Your developer gets you to buy features you don't need.

Many web development companies will try to sell you all sorts of extra features, for plenty of extra money. Many of these can be useful in the right context, but many of them require even more time and money to make them do what they are supposed to do. If a feature is going to need ongoing maintenance and information input long after your website is complete, ask yourself if that's really within your budget.

So before you fall for someone's siren song, do your research and get references. A truly professional web developer isn't going to try to sell you the moon. They're going to listen to what you need, consider your budget, and come up with a website that works for you.