Adding just a touch of black to a white-themed room provides a focal point. Everyone will notice immediately and be drawn to the touch of black. It draws the eye to whatever you want seen - that special picture or art object, for example.

A touch of black in a white-themed room, or a touch of white in a black-themed room, can be very dramatic. Place a black rug in a white walled and light furniture room or the converse, and the effect will be, well, dramatic. Add black trim, paint one wall black, use a piece of black furniture or accessorize with black paintings, wall sconces or lighting and see what happens to a pale room.

Black and white, used well together, play off each other’s strengths. The starkness of their placement together creates an elegant and contemporary look. It is fresh and startling, elegant and sophisticated. Black and white can be the perfect color combination.

There are a variety of ways to approach the black and white decorating theme in your home. Start off by considering the floor area. Try changing your floor tiles to a simple “checked” theme of black and white. There are a number of ways to achieve this. Buy and install solid black and solid white tiles in an alternate pattern, buy black tiles with a white border or black tiles bordered by black, or experiment with patterned black and white tiles.

As noted above, hang black-framed or frame black art pieces against a white wall. Combine the two colors within the wall and painting, photograph or print scheme by placing the dark painting or other work, on a white matte surrounded by a black frame and hanging it on a white wall. This will not only highlight the art work and emphasize your walls, but provide a depth to the work so displayed.

In a bedroom or living room, utilize the black white theme in the coverings. Bedspreads, linens, pillows, throw pillows, seat covers and afghans or other coverings can be white or black or both. In any room, the table tops or floor coverings can reflect this decorating theme with class. For romantic or a medieval touch place black metal sconces against a white wall or black candlesticks on a white dresser or table. Both also add a touch of sophistication.

Black and/or white countertops in the kitchen or bathroom can provide a sense of elegance. The use of iron or wicker furniture in black or white in the living room, sunroom or outdoor patio, add a sense of old fashioned grace. Top an iron table with glass. Set upon it white pots holding colourful flowers or black metal containers containing plants of various shades of color. The contrast between the black and white will be heightened by the touch of color.

If you ever want to add drama, elegance and a touch of sophistication to your decorating consider working in the two starkest colors of all - black and white.

About the Author: Hunter Pyle wrote this article to talk about another theme: black and white. Check out Get Organized or Kitchen and Much More for some more cool theme ideas.

Many people ask me how to start going organic and live a healthy organic lifestyle? There are so many products, so much information they don’t know where to start. Other questions I get are: Do I need to buy everything organic, food, cleaning products, clothes, personal care and skin care products? Are you vegan? Do I have to throw everything away and start from scratch? Where do I start? It gets expensive. What does it mean by going organic?

Lets start with my definition of going organic and living an organic lifestyle. To me going organic is more than the food I eat. It is about making healthy choices with the food I eat, the products I use in my home, on my skin and body, and in my garden. To me organic, green, non-toxic living is about eliminating toxins from our homes and life. It is about the environment and ensuring that it is clean and healthy because last time I checked we are all earthlings which means we are part of the environment. If the environment is unhealthy then so are the earthlings. Finally, going organic, non-toxic and green is treading lightly on the earth so that I leave it better than I found it for future generations.

Here are some simple steps to help you transform your home from conventional, toxic to organic, non-toxic, safe, green and healthy. First I would like to say that it isn’t about being perfect or having everything in your life organic and green. A few simple changes will make a huge difference in the way you feel and in moving forward to an organic, green, non-toxic, healthy lifestyle. Take one step at a time and have fun.

There are a couple of different ways you can incorporate organic living into your lifestyle. One is to use the products you have now, finish them and replace them with healthy, organic choices as needed. The other choice is to throw everything away and replace your old choices with healthy new organic products. Either choice is awesome. Note: If you are throwing away cleaning products that are made with chemicals be sure to do it properly. Contact your local waste management company and ask them how to safely dispose of chemical products.

I took the slow less expensive root and used products until they were finished then I replaced them with green, organic choices. Products like food, cleaning products, personal care, skin care and gardening products were choices I started with when I went green. I took one step at a time to a green, organic lifestyle. It seems the more I do the more that I want to do.

Remember do what is right for you not what your friends and neighbors are doing. You and your family are the only factors to consider here. Also it isn’t about being perfect or who is doing the most or making the biggest changes. What matters is that you are giving your family healthy choices and every healthy choice you make for your family is one step closer to the short term and long term health goals you want to achieve.

Take one step at a time and notice how the changes are affecting your family and how you feel about these changes. Maybe keep a diary of why you want to live an organic, green, non-toxic lifestyle and then note in the diary the changes that you are making and how they are affecting your family’s health.

For example, maybe you have allergies or a member in your family has allergies and you decide that you want to change your cleaning products so that they are non-toxic in an effort to see if that clears the allergies. Write this in your diary and notice if the allergies subside and even if they go away.

Another example is maybe you change some of the foods you eat to organic and you notice that your children have more energy or they are more focused; write that in your diary. In a month or 2 go back to the diary I bet you will notice that a lot has changed with your families health. Lastly be sure to celebrate your successes. You deserve it. Remember it isn’t about being perfect it is about making a few simple changes here and there.

Below is a list that I created, especially for mom’s, to help them make the switch from conventional to organic, green and healthy.

1. Recycle

2. Reuse

3. Reduce your waste

4. Any food with High Fructose corn syrup is a big no! Especially if you are protecting your family against obesity. It gives the false feeling that you are still hungry even when your body is full and has zero nutritional value. It is not a necessary food ingredient ever. Read labels carefully as it is used often. You will be surprised how often it is used, even in foods labeled as natural or organic.

5. Eat as many organic foods as possible. If your family eats a lot of something like pasta, absolutely eat organic pasta instead of conventional. Chemicals and pesticides build up in your body over time. Children are most susceptible to pesticides and toxins from conception to 10 years old. Here is a list of foods that are a must avoid. If you only want to change some foods that you eat put these on your list:

· Strawberries

· Blueberries

· Raspberries

· Apples

· Grapes

· Raisins

· Juice - many also contain high fructose corn syrup so be careful and read labels.

· Peaches

· Nectarines

· Apricots

· Pears

· Cherries

· Lemons

· Limes

· Bananas

· Pineapple

· Cantaloupe

· Rice

· Oats - commonly used in cereal

· Milk

· Baby Foods - get baby started off right. Also baby’s immune systems are not yet fully developed so they are more susceptible to the adverse effects of toxins.

· Nuts

· Potatoes

· Corn

· Celery

· Cucumbers

· Spinach

· Lettuce

· Green & Red Bell Peppers

· Hot Peppers

· Green Beans

· Carrots

1. Use non chlorine bleach it works just the same as regular bleach without the toxins.

2. Body lotion for you, children and baby. Remember when you hold or play with your children they touch your skin and body thus toxins from you can rub off on them. Most personal care products contain a large list of toxic, unsafe chemicals like parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate, DEA’s, TEA’s to name a few. Read labels carefully. Try to use products that are organic and free of chemicals. For more information on safe cosmetics and personal care products go to, http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep. They have information on popular baby products too.

3. Face lotion for you and children they also contain many toxic chemicals. A common ingredient used in skin care products especially those that claim anti aging ingredients is methylparaben. Methylparaben has been linked to accelerating aging. Isn’t it ironic?

4. Products that contain phthalates are an absolute must avoid, especially if you have children. They are found in perfume, nail polish, hair care products like hair spray, deodorant and lotions. Phthalates can be carcinogenic and have been linked to birth defects. They also damage the liver, kidneys, lungs, and reproductive system in laboratory animals according to the center for Disease Control. Phthalates are used many products but are not listed on labels in order to protect “trade secrets.” That is where confusion enters. So the best rule of thumb is avoid conventional perfumes, products with fragrance, conventional nail polish remover and nail polish. Don’t panic. The good news is that you don’t have to give up your favorite nail polish color to avoid toxins. There are non-toxic alternatives to all of the aforementioned products. For example, many perfumes and fragrance are made with pure, organic essential oils and are safe. There are non-toxic nail polishes and nail polish removers. Choose products that are fragrance free especially if you are using them on or around your children and baby. If you are pregnant or have children avoid products with phthalates at all costs. Your unborn child’s health and your children’s health are fragile. Before the age of 10 their immune systems aren’t yet fully developed thus chemicals stay in their tiny bodies where they can cause disease and even obesity.

5. Avoid cleaning products or any products that contain anti bacterial ingredients. Antibacterial ingredients contain pesticides. According to the EPA, http://www.epa.gov, pesticides are designed to kill living organisms. They don’t discriminate between pests and humans. The key word here is living organisms. The bacteria and viruses that anti bacterial products kill are also killed with simple warm soap and water. Don’t let marketing hype tell you that you need these products to kill germs in your home. If simple soap and water is good enough for hospitals then it is good enough to kill germs in your home. Why add a layer of pesticide to your surfaces, especially where children and pets play and spend time?

6. Stain remover for clothes is highly toxic use non-toxic. To treat a stain use simple soap and water. Immediately when you notice a stain pore clear liquid soap right on the stain add a little water and throw it in the dirty laundry until laundry day. In most cases the stain will come out. Stains set when they aren’t treated immediately and they are allowed to set into the material of clothing.

7. Conventional air freshener - contains carcinogens. This is a huge NO, especially if you have children. The toxins are inhaled and absorbed through the skin. Extremely dangerous. Instead eliminate the source of the odor. For example if the trash smells, take it out. On nice days open a window. If you must add fragrance to your home use pure, organic essential oils. A trick I use is to drop 3 to 5 drops on a light bulb that will be turned on. Or make your own air freshener using essential organic oils. Simply fill a 29 to 32 oz. spray bottle with distilled water and add 20 to 25 drops of essential oil. Spray the air, your furniture I even use it to iron with. Cook muffins or cookies to make the air in your home smell good. On a cold winter day make some apple cider on the stove and let it simmer on very low heat to add fragrance to your home.

8. Use organic mattresses or put heavy cotton over your conventional mattress - If you can’t or don’t want to replace all of your mattresses with organic then put heavy cotton material over the mattress under the fitted sheet. If possible use organic cotton material. Absolutely do this for your baby and children as they are more susceptible to the effects of toxins found in conventionally made mattresses, because their immune system and organs aren’t fully developed. Toxins found in synthetic mattresses include; phthalates, PBDE - flame retardants, polyurethane, foam, polyester, plastic, formaldehyde. They all emit dangerous toxins that your baby or children breathe in or absorb through the skin while sleeping. In many cases these toxic elements lead to insomnia, have been linked to brain development and thyroid problems, include eye, nose, and throat irritation; wheezing and coughing, fatigue, skin rash, severe allergic reactions and may cause cancer. In asthma suffers formaldehyde has been known to cause asthma attacks.

9. If you have children or pets and they will be on the floor playing use simple soap and water to mop your floors. Otherwise the children and animals are playing on a toxic surface where they are absorbing toxins into their skin and body.

If you find that your supermarket doesn’t carry organic, non-toxic products ask them to. Marketers and supermarkets know that women make the majority of the buying decisions in the US. Yes women you have the power, use it. Tell the supermarkets what you want. If they don’t get it right away, tell them again, and again and again until they carry the products you want. Ask your friends and family to chime in. Don’t give up, you can make a difference.

Remember take only the steps that are right for you at this time. Follow your instincts they are your guide, they are true to you. Once again I will say it; you don’t have to change everything if you don’t want to. Simple changes to start make a big difference. Take baby steps. For example, change the food that you eat to organic. Then change your cleaning products one by one. This is something that should be fun and enjoyable. After all you are protecting your health and your family’s health so that you have a long future together, that is something to smile about.

Good luck!

Another GreenQueen solution.
www.thegreenqueencorner.com

TheGreenQueen writes about green, organic, sustainable, environmentally healthy living, hosts free teleseminars and teleclasses and gives workshops in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego, California along with personal in home consultations. You can find her at http://www.thegreenqueencorner.com

He started designing metal and glass furniture in the early nineties when he discovered the strength, versatility, and beauty of steel. With over ten years experience in the glass & metal working field he has an extensive background in both commercial and custom furniture making. Without unnecessary ornament, beauty comes from the line, the finish, and the detail. This is why for me meticulous workmanship and attention to detail in both the manufacture and finishing have always been paramount’ says Tom Faulkner, the author of great metal and glass furniture collection.

Tom is the real artist. With his work you get his excitement. The style is not really contemporary and seems to predate traditional antiques by hundreds of years. He has designed several different ranges of furniture, some classical and some contemporary. Either way, his aim has always been to create beauty and elegance using the clean simple lines of metal and glass. Creating furniture, Tom is inspired by the things he finds beautiful - the trunk of an elephant, the wing of a bird, the legs of a woman - motivates him as much today as it did ten years ago when he began making furniture.

In Wiltshire he opened his own workshop in 1993 which is the heart of his business and then created then London showroom in 1999.

Almost all of the furniture designed by Tom is made in his studio by the small team of skilled craftsmen and then everything goes through a rigorous quality control process. Everything is finished in the UK, and painted in one of nine different finishes.

This is an article about Tom Faulkner who specialises in designing unique metal furniture

Tiffany lamps are generally considered to have come from the Art Nouveau movement which began in Europe in the late nineteenth century. Tiffany lamps are lauded as one of America’s best and finest contributions to the Art Nouveau period, challenging the rather ornate Victorian style.

A Tiffany leaded glass and mosaic ‘Spider’ lamp sold by auction at Sotheby’s of New York in 1992 sold for $770,000 (£513,300) which was a world record at the time. The first Tiffany lamps did not become available for sale to the public until 1899 and at prices far below £513,000!

The spectacular prices commanded for a Tiffany lamp is thought to come from overseas purchasers and the tremendous interest shown by Japanese buyers, which was tremendous. Nobody could have foreseen or imagined the high prices a Tiffany lamp would achieve.

Louis Comfort Tiffany was born in 1848 and first trained his artistic bent in painting in New York and Paris and by 1880 Tiffany had established himself as a fine artist and indeed became the youngest member of the National Academy of Design. It was when he was 27 years old that he became interested in glassmaking and worked in a number of glasshouses in Brooklyn.

In 1879 Tiffany formed the ‘Louis Comfort Tiffany and Associated American Artists’ and although with the help of his father’s Charles Lewis Tiffany, money and his undeniable talent and leadership the business thrived, he decided to found his own glassmaking firm. In 1885 the first Tiffany Glass Company was established and was known as the Tiffany Studios in the 1900’s.

To obtain the effect Tiffany wanted for the Tiffany lamps Louis Comfort Tiffany worked with glass designers, chemists & craftsmen after registering for a patent in a new glassmaking method using a combination of opalescent glass in different colours. With the help of the said Craftsmen, designers and chemists Tiffany was able to create stained glass in over 5000 different colours and textures.

As well as Tiffany lamps, Louis Tiffany is best known for his designs in glass vessels of various shapes and windows but he also created and designed furniture, jewellery and ceramics. Tiffany introduced his enamel work to the world in 1898. His Art Pottery was introduced in 1900 and jewellery in 1904.

Tiffany produced chandeliers, desk sets and lamps at his metalwork department which were only sold through the company catalogues, department stores and from his New York showroom. His love of interior design spread to him designing textiles and wall coverings.

Louis Comfort Tiffany succeeded in what he set out to do. With his artistic talent and great love of nature and her natural colours, he created some of the most beautiful, vibrant objects, not least his famous lamps which forever more will be known as the Tiffany lamp and even though by the time of Tiffany’s death in 1933 Tiffany lamps were considered rather too ornate for the modern taste, this trend continuing into the early 50’s, by the late 1950’s a revival of interest in his Tiffany lamps had begun. This was after a revival of his work by museums and collectors of Tiffany lamps and Art Nouveau when once again the world admired and respected the work of Louis Tiffany and realised what an important part he played in establishing the style of Art Nouveau. Louis Comfort Tiffany will always be remembered foremost for his Tiffany lamp with designs such as; the Grape Lamp, the Dragonfly Lamp, the Lotus Lamp, the Peacock Lamp, the Water Lily Lamp and the Wisteria Lamp, all designed and created using the unique colours created by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

For more information and useful articles why not visit Oh! So Tiffany Lamps at http://www.ohsotiffanylamps.info

It has been for quite sometime that Sony Ericsson K750i is causing ripples in the mobile phone market and giving sleepless nights to its rival manufacturers. The reason for all the accolades and admiration is very much obvious. The scientists with Sony Ericsson have put in a lot of efforts to produce a piece of impeccable technology in the form of K750i.

One of the main features of this phone is its powerful 2 Mega Pixels camera that gives the most amazing picture quality. There is no dearth of the mobile phones that come with 2 Mega Pixels camera that are easily available in the market. However K750i has the best picture quality out of all the other camera phones of the same range. This camera comes with auto focus and flash and delivers an amazing picture quality. One of the main reasons of popularity of this handset is its ultra powerful camera.

Talking about some other brilliant features of this handset, it is a Tri-Band GSM phone that ensures brilliant connectivity with GPRS and Bluetooth. You can browse the web at your ease even when you are travelling. It is further equipped with an Mp3 player that brings your favourite music to your mobile phone that you can listen to at your own ease.

However there are a few drawbacks that are seen in this handset. Sony Ericsson K750i is powered with all the high end connectivity features, but surprisingly there is no EDGE facility seen in this model. Secondly, the users are a little dissatisfied with its MP3 player which they think produces average audio quality.

However the above drawbacks are rather negligible and they can be easily overlooked in this case. Overall, Sony Ericsson K750i is an all inclusive handset that is especially made keeping in view the high end mobile phone market.

Adam Jaylin provides you the best mobile phones on Sony Ericsson W880i Black

What needs to be explained is: “What is a southwestern theme?” Originating from the southwestern United States, the idea combines Mexican, Spanish and American influences. The focal point is the landscape - a dry, desert land with reddish outcroppings, dotted with cacti and boasting glorious sunrises and sunsets. The buildings are part of the landscape, their earth tones blending with and not fighting the natural world.

In order to transplant this vision into your home, it is necessary to utilize the vivid and subdued colors associated with the southwest. The palette to draw from is the earthtone colors. These vibrant hues of brown, oranges and vermilions are integral to the design project.

The most obvious use of them is in accessories, on furniture, as floor coverings and one the wall. Although it is tempting to paint an entire wall an earthy brown or soft orange, resist. It might be overwhelming. Instead, hang a woven orange and brown rug or wall hanging in a focal point. Use a neutral color for the wall but apply a soft solid border in the middle or at the bottom of the wall.

Expend the rest of the color throughout the room in throw rugs and floor coverings - spot, rather than wall-to-wall carpeting is more in keeping with the theme. Keep an eye on the detail.

Carry on the theme in furniture coverings. Don’t upholster, use blankets and other forms of draping the furniture. On coffee tables or kitchen tables or beds use the one or two stripe theme - orange stripes on a brown background or the converse, a solid color or a native or Mexican pattern.

The fabric chosen should reflect the brightness of the desert, the earthiness of the theme. Blankets resembling those decorating donkeys or worn as serapes are sources of inspiration and indicative of the direction the theme can take.

The theme is not to be a complex one. The design, the shapes, the colors, the furnishings are simple, rustic and earthy. The materials are rugged and natural, wool, wood, iron and honed stone. Simple in color and design, the fabrics are also rough hewn, home made or at least closely resembling home-made material.

The textures are also rough. The art objects handcrafted as opposed to machine made. Terra cotta and clay tiles reflect the theme best since they are truly southwestern. You will probably not go so far as to tile your roof, but you can place tiles on the floors of kitchens and basements and living rooms or almost any room of the house. You could also use them to build an interior southwestern theme wall or combine several of them to create a decorative plaque on the wall or small section of the floor.

Into this setting, place the right furniture. Your choice should be oversized and rustic. Wood such as knotty pine is a popular choice. Leather, cotton or bright fabrics in the appropriate colors can soften the seating. Choose adobe red, cactus green or the dusty colors of orange with bright yellow to act as accents.

One color you can also add is turquoise. Turquoise is used in jewellery but can be utilized to add a splash of intrigue and highlight certain sections.

Do not forget to add finishing touches. Placing cacti and other succulents around the room in bright potters’ planters and positioning decorative iron and pottery pieces will put the final finishes to a southwestern theme.

About the Author: Hunter Pyle wrote this article to talk about whether or not painting or wallpapering is right for you. I found Get Organized or Kitchen and Much More have a lot of ideas and items to get you started.

The idea of the cottage is just that, an ideal. Yet, if you love the decor, and the feeling it conveys, why not try capturing the sense in a cottage style decorating theme. If you wisely choose colors, furniture, and all the right accessories, no matter what style home you have, you can create a cottage within it.

The warmth conveyed by the ideal of the cottage is easily conveyed through your choice of color. What should you paint the walls to evoke that homey-feeling? Cottages are warm and inviting. They beckon you to come in and shed all your worries.

In color, this can be conveyed in selecting warm colors such as soft oranges or yellows, as well as earthy tones but floral prints are also very effective. They call to mind gardens and growth. Check out wallpaper that conforms to this theme - floral is readily available, and examine the colors of paint you might wish to use. You can always combine the two of them in a paint and border combination. Or you can paint the walls and reflect the floral designs in the upholstery and coverings you use.

The coverings and upholstery, for your cushions, chairs, couches, bedspreads and rugs can carry on the cottage theme. If your walls are painted, the floral theme can be reflected in this part of the overall scheme. You do not want, however, to have the walls, the coverings and upholstery all done in a floral pattern. This would not be comforting, or warm but overpowering.

In all things, keep it simple. It does not, however, have to be antique. This is a theme you are trying to capture don’t let it engulf you.

Cover the floors with handmade rugs. They should be bright, colourful and possibly match in some fashion the color scheme or theme of the upholstery.

If you are completely into recreating the theme, the floors will not be made of vinyl but of wood. Hardwood floors, though, are quite expensive. They may be beyond a pocket-book or be considered carrying a theme that could change in a year, a bit too far. Instead of a wood floor you could consider the laminates or other paneled floors or other pseudo-wood products.

Wood, in fact is a feature of the cottage theme of decorating. Wood and its relative wicker are considered necessary design elements in recreating this theme. Both work, naturally, to provide a rustic appearance. Keep the designs simple and charming.

These two words also describe the character of the embellishments or accessories or finishing touches you can add. Paintings, photos, and other materials should be simple. Still-lifes of fruit, vegetables and flowers best reflect the theme. Photos of family members, past and present in the appropriate simple frames, can hang on the wall or be propped on tables.

There you have it - the basics of the cottage decorating theme. It is now up to you to put it into practice. Do not be afraid to experiment. Read further on the subject and then render your version or vision of the theme.

About the Author: Hunter Pyle wrote this article to talk about another theme: the country cottage theme. Check out Get Organized or Kitchen and Much More for some more cool theme ideas.

You don’t need to guess the distance to an object in today’s hi-tech
world. Today’s hunting rangefinders can provide you an accurate
estimation of
distance at the push of a button. If you want to find one of the best
hunting rangefinders, then you are reading the right article.

Hunting Rangefinders will work under any conditions.
Within seconds, your Nikon Monarch
laser 800 range finder is able
to tell the exact range to the prey you are looking for.

When it comes to hunting, you have many options to choose from
for the best hunting equipment. Many hunters carry along a
laser hunting range finder and consider this as the best
and perfect rangefinder.

Nikon hunting laser range finder has the standard look and
excellent performance. It is also compact and lightweight. Other
features include:

1. long eye relief
2. waterproof and fogproof construction
3. the unit comprises a belt case, neck lanyard and
   battery
4. bright sharp viewing optics

In field-testing, the Monarch 800 matches all stated specifications for
this model. Its maximum range is 800 yards with +-.5 yard accuracy. The
6X21 magnification optics allow you to see the objects
clearly, though they are several hundred yards away.

The performance of the 800 is so fast and highly accurate. The delay
time to range a target is almost instant. Even though the
target is over 450 yards away. If you think the reaction time is very
important in unexpected hunting, this would really be a nice
feature.

In addition, the targeting viewfinder has symbols and target
distance readout to facilitate easy hunting. Along with the
normal operational mode, you also have two other best modes. First,
target priority mode. This provides you very specific ranging to
objects like individual trees or buck. The next is distant target
priority mode. This provides you the distance to the remotest
target while ranging multiple objects.

Speaking of, the Monarch Laser 800 is not only fashioned for hunting
but also for golfers as a great rangefinder. At the driving
range
and on the course, this will allow you to spot pins, trees, hazards and
bunkers and determine their exact distance in yards.

###

Find Out How You Can Quickly And Easily Buy Discount Hunting RangeFinders By Going To http://www.HuntingRangefinders.org/ And Reading Every Single Word On That Page Right Now.

Failing to do what needs to be done in your business will certainly undermine your business success. There are some proven things you must do to be successful in business. If you ignore these proven things by failing to take necessary action, you will be undermining your business success. Based upon some strategic thinking and more than 35 years of professional business experience, especially those years as a strategic thinking business coach, here is my list of twelve FAILING TO DO items that will undermine your business success.

1. FAILING TO develop a strategic plan with a clear focused vision, mission and goals.

2. FAILING TO develop a strategic Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Plan.

3. FAILING TO develop your Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

4. FAILING TO identify and consider the lifetime value of your clients.

5. FAILING TO measure customer satisfaction to find out whether or not your clients are truly satisfied and why.

6. FAILING TO develop effective leadership.

7. FAILING TO develop efficient financial management.

8. FAILING TO review and understand the real reason why you do not win client projects you know you should win.

9. FAILING TO develop and implement an effective client contact and relationship management system.

10. FAILING TO develop an effective plan to retain and recruit good employees.

11. FAILING TO use your company’s IT capabilities to maximize the probability of reaching your goals.

12. FAILING TO use a proactive approach to deal with ineffective employees, project leaders and partners.

If you in fact are guilty of any or all of the twelve “FAILING TO’ items on my list, you could be identified as your company’s worst enemy. If you want to learn how to take some very proactive and decisive actions to prevent the undermining of your business success and you becoming “public enemy number 1″ against your company’s business success, please contact Glenn Ebersole today through his website at www.businesscoach4u.com or by email at jgecoach@aol.com.

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, “Glenn’s Guiding Lines - Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach” and has published more than 250 articles on business.

To find out more about the benefits & rewards of effectively working with a strategic thinking business coach, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his web site at http://www.businesscoach4u.com or jgecoach@aol.com

In this article I’m going to explain how to track your ClickBank sales AND traffic. Don’t worry if you don’t promote any ClickBank products, the techniques outlined below can be used with any affiliate network that has a “Tracking ID” facility. Everything is also 100% free, I’m not trying to promote any tracking systems here!

Ok, let’s get started. If you’re not familiar with ClickBank’s tracking ID system then you can read more about it at ClickBank (read their Hoplink FAQ). The problem is you can only track sales, not clicks. Let’s take a look at an example to demonstrate the problem, and the solution. Let’s say you have a webpage at this address:

http://www.yourdomain.com/index.html

On that page you’re promoting a ClickBank affiliate URL:

http://yourid.publisherid.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=code1

You can see that “yourid” is your ClickBank affiliate ID, “publisherid” is the ID of the merchant you’re promoting and “code1″ is the tracking ID for this particular link. If 100 people click on that link and 3 of them buy the product, that’s a conversion ratio of 3%. A conversion ratio is the percentage of people you send to an affiliate URL who then go on to buy the product. In this case, the figure of 3% means that 3 out of every 100 visitors, on average, became customers.

3% isn’t bad, but hang on a minute - ClickBank only tells you there were 3 sales for the tracking ID “code1″. You don’t know there were 100 clicks on the link, and without this figure you can’t calculate the conversion ratio. What if 500 people had clicked on the link? The conversion ratio would be just 0.6% (i.e. 0.6% of the 500 visitors became customers). Ideally you should only promote websites that have a relatively high conversion ratio. If you’re promoting two different ClickBank products for example, and one has a conversion ratio of 1% and the other 4%, you’d be better off focusing your attention on the second one and ditching the first. You’ll only know this if you can calculate the conversion ratio. Luckily, this problem is easily solved with the use of a simple click-tracker PHP script. The script simply counts the number of times someone clicks on a link.

Don’t worry if you’ve never used PHP before, there’s nothing complicated about it. As long as you can upload files to your webspace you’ll have no problem following these easy steps. It goes without saying that you also need PHP running on your server.

Go to PHPSuccessTools (see the resource box at the end for the URL), click “mailing list” in the navigation bar at the top and subscribe, then check your email for the password. This will give you full access to all the scripts that are available. Click on “Free Scripts” in the navigation bar and then click on “Tagged Click Tracker”. Then fill out the form as follows:

“Password”
You should always choose a random combination of letters and numbers for your passwords, but to keep things simple for this example enter “showstats” as the password.

“Destination URL”
This is your ClickBank affiliate URL with a tracking ID appended to the end. It should look like this:
http://yourid.publisherid.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=[TAG]
Make sure you replace “yourid” with your ClickBank ID and “publisherid” with the ClickBank ID of the merchant you’re promoting.

“Optional Expiration”
Leave this box as it is, we don’t want the link to expire.

“Name”
Enter “go” for this.

You can leave all the other boxes as they are, unless you understand what they do. Now hit “Submit”. Follow the instructions on the next page, where you’ll be asked to save several files onto your computer and then upload them to your webspace and change the permissions. Upload them to the same folder as your index.html page (as this is the page we’re going to edit in a few moments).

If you’ve never changed file permissions before then there’s a simple guide at PHPSuccessTools - just click on “Guides” in the navigation bar at the top.

In this example we’re assuming that you’re linking to a ClickBank affiliate URL on your index page, so instead of linking directly to ClickBank, change the link on your “index.html” page to this:

http://www.yourdomain.com/go.php?code1

Let’s recap what we’ve done. We replaced the ClickBank affiliate link on your “index.html” page with a link that goes to the click-tracker script (called go.php). The click-tracker script, in turn, counts how many clicks the link gets and redirects the surfer to the actual ClickBank affiliate link.

Now we understand what’s changed, lets see how it works. Note the tracking ID (code1) at the end of the click-tracker link:

http://www.yourdomain.com/go.php?code1

When somebody clicks on that link, the click-tracker looks at the destination URL (which you entered when the click-tracker was created) and replaces [TAG] with the tracking ID. So in actual fact, the destination URL becomes:

http://yourid.publisherid.hop.clickbank.net/?tid=code1

Now all you have to do is view the statistics for this click-tracker and you’ll be able to see how many clicks your link got. The stats are available at this URL:

http://www.yourdomain.com/go.php?showstats

Now let’s say that 100 people click on your new click-tracker link and 3 of them buy the product. By looking at your ClickBank stats you’ll see that the tracking ID “code1″ has produced 3 sales. If you look at your click-tracker stats you’ll see that “code1″ also generated 100 clicks. Use the two figures together and you can calculate the conversion ratio of 3%. In other words, 3% of the people you sent to the merchant actually bought the product.

The conversion ratio is important to know. There’s no point sending traffic to a merchant that converts at 1%, when you could send that same traffic to a different merchant that converts at 3%. Assuming the commissions earned per sale are the same, you’re better off with the second merchant. You’ll only know this by testing different merchants and calculating the conversion ratio of each.

In fact there’s no need to even calculate the conversion ratio manually - the click-tracker does it for you! Simply view the stats for the click-tracker and enter a “sales” figure for each tracking ID. The click-tracker then automatically generates the conversion ratio for each one.

To finish off this article, let’s just quickly see how you’d track sales with more than one tracking ID. If you only have one link to your ClickBank affiliate URL then you won’t need to do this, but what if you have two links to ClickBank, one on “index.html” and the other on your blog? Simply use the following URL on your blog where your ClickBank affiliate URL normally goes:

http://www.yourdomain.com/go.php?code2

Now when you view your click-tracker stats, just look for “code2″ to see how many clicks this particular link received. Similarly, your ClickBank stats will show “code2″ as the tracking ID for any sales that came from this link.

You are free to choose any tracking ID you want (you don’t have to use “code1″ and “code2″). Just make sure your IDs only contain alphanumeric characters (no spaces or symbols) and are 50 characters or less in length.

As I mentioned at the start of this article, you can use the above techniques with any affiliate network that has a tracking ID facility. When creating your click-tracker(s), simply enter your affiliate URL as the “Destination URL” and place [TAG] wherever the tracking ID should go.

If you’re feeling adventurous, I recommend you make use of the hit-tracker script, also freely available at PHPSuccessTools Place a separate hit-tracker on each page in your website that contains affiliate links and you’ll be able to calculate the click-through ratio as well as the conversion ratio of those links.

Neil Cahill is a PHP programmer and part of the team at http://www.phpsuccesstools.com
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