One of the most popular work at home money makers today is paid surveys. I'm sure you've seen one of the following ads:

Cash for taking Surveys, Paid Survey, Get Paid for your opinion, Online Paid Surveys, Get Paid To Take Surveys, Take Online Surveys for Cash!

If you are like I was I'm sure your wondering how does one learn how to make money by taking surveys.

The fact is there are many companies that will pay you to participate in Online surveys, focus groups, and product tests. These are market research companies that are paid by large companies to find out what the public feels about their products. They want to know if their advertising campaigns are working and how everyday people feel about their products. Many Major corporations spend a huge amount every year on advertising. So paying you a few dollars to find out if their advertising is working is not that big of a deal and considered money well spent. They hire market research companies and the market research companies send out surveys to everyday people to see what is appealing to the public.

So now that we understand where the money comes from lets move on to how one finds which companies to do business with, because there are many companies that will waste your time and pay you nothing. The best method in my opinion is by either doing alot of major research or finding a reputable company that has done the work for you. There are a few of these companies around and I highlight them on my website. They companies are called Paid Survey database companies. It's easier to research a few of these than the hundreds of survey companies that are currently out there.

The major benefit to these types of programs is that it saves you time and time is money. You could spend hours searching the Internet for Free Survey companies on your own or you can join one of these Survey database companies that have done the leg work for you. I lean toward Paid Survey directory database companies myself, because I felt I could make more taking surveys during the time I would be going through the many Survey companies. Time is money and many of the companies I have on my website charge a modest fee for access to their database.  Online paid survey databases are not free. Paid Survey database companies charge about $35 - $60 for their paid surveys directory.  Again the time you save and the training you get is well worth the modest fee and I'm glad my wife and I chose to use one of these companies. My wife actually does that side of our business.

Okay, we understand how we make money, how to find the survey companies to deals with and now we will deal with the last bit of information, which is how do we start and what do we need to start making money from home taking surveys.

All you will need is a computer, access to the Internet, email address and a few hours a week to put into your new work at home business. I would suggest setting up a separate email address for you survey business. You don' t have to do this, but I like keeping it all separate myself.  You will need a phone line if you want to participate in some of the areas like focus groups. You can choose whether you want to do that portion or not. It's all up to you.

The next thing for you to do is to choose which Paid Survey Database Company you choose to use.  You can either do the research yourself or feel free to access my site whereby you can read and review the research and recommendations I have made.

In summary

1. Review the available Online Survey database Programs

2. Narrow down the choices to 1-3 programs

3. Find out which ones have a money back guarantee

4. Use your charge card if possible for further protection

5. Sign up & start making money!

Making Money Online - What Separates The Dream From Reality?

The answer? Firstly accepting that making money online is an ongoing process resulting from hard work, patience and knowledge of internet marketing.

If you look for other people to make you money online, by joining their scheme or plan, then sadly, this will be the truth you will have to face again and again: You'll make them money (because they've put the work into building their online business - and know internet marketing - and are patient enough to see the results) whereas YOU will lose your hard earned cash lining someone else's pocket.

How to get resell software?

Buy software one by one or join a membership club?

You can go to eBay or other sites to find resell software. The problem with this is that you are ending up getting many of the same products each time you are buying a product. You must also use much time looking around the web for new products to add to your site.

If you find yourself a serious membership site where you can download  as much as you want for a small fee. You save the time looking for products yourself and can concentrate on selling and making a great site. This is what a good resell seller would do. He would let other find the products for him and concentrate himself on selling and marketing his site.

Who to trust?

There are many schemes out there and finding the right membership site for resell software are not easy. To help you we have tried several sites and we have a winner. The winning site is not the site with most products but this is the site that takes care of you and help you if you need it. The member service are excellent and if you are a "nice" member they will help you with free marketing of your site.

SoftwareLady.com

After joining and sending a couples of emails to the management of SoftwareLady, we where overwhelmed by the service of this site. We therefore decided to give them some extra point in this article. The site have about 200-300 products you can download. Most of the products comes with resell rights and others are for personal use and some you can use in your work. They have just started a forum for peoples dealing with resell products. There are not many post in this forum yet, but its a start.

The good thing about this site is that they add new products all the time, you will therefore always have access to new products. The second thing is that they always help you if they can. After joining them they gave us free submission to 20 search engines and added us to over 500 link directories. The admin of the site wrote in the email with this offer: "We are trying our best to get our members to succeed".  This is the feeling we have about this site.

If you are thinking about starting your own internet business with resell software - www.softwarelady.com is a place to start

After spending 20 years in corporate America, I decided it was time for a change. It was time to step down from the long hours of laboring for someone else’s benefit, to say “no” to the business trips and after-hours functions, and to begin a new career as a freelance writer. Finally, I’d be able to enjoy the fruits of my own labor, set my hours, and pick and choose my clients and assignments. For the first time, I would be in control, I would be my own boss, and I would write the rule book by which I would play.

Sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? As I’m sure you can guess, becoming a successful freelancer wasn’t as easy as I expected it to be. Instead, it took a lot of patience, persistence and hard work. Whether you are considering becoming a freelance graphic designer, Web master, writer or consultant, here are five points to think about when deciding if freelancing is right for you:

Consider what products or services you’ll offer.

If you enjoy making jewelry, buying and selling real estate or finding priceless collectibles, you may, indeed, have a talent that can translate into a full-time business. If building ant farms or playing online poker is your passion, however, be sure to research the income potential before quitting your day job. Do you have a marketable skill, talent or hobby that you’d like to share with others?

Evaluate your finances.

This step is a critical one, particularly if you are the primary breadwinner in your household. Is it your job that brings in the majority of the income and provides benefits to your family? If so, you can still start your own freelance business, but you will have to plan ahead to ensure your family’s needs are met during the transition from your current job to your new venture. This will not only include managing your current bills, but setting funds aside to invest in your business for equipment, supplies, inventory, staff, marketing, etc. Are you financially prepared to make the necessary sacrifices?

Enlist support.

If you choose to start your own business, you’ll obviously want the support of your family and friends. Take their “you can do it” attitude one step further. Ask for their help answering the phone, sending out mailers, or sharing your business with their friends and acquaintances. In addition, seek out the support of professional groups and organizations in your community as well. Most cities have a chamber of commerce that will allow you to visit once or twice before joining. Other towns have a women’s professional network or marketing group you might join. Do you have a network of support available to you? If so, what will it take to put that network in place?

Assess your personality.

While businesses vary far and wide, the most successful business owners often possess similar traits. Many of us are independent, forward thinking, objective and analytical, while others are creative, passionate, flexible and communicative. We know our products and services, and we know our customers. Above all, we are comfortable making difficult decisions and taking risks. The question is, are you?

Identify your strengths and weaknesses.

Through education, experience, and heredity, we have each been blessed with strengths and saddled with weaknesses. It is crucial to each and every business owner to identify those strengths and weaknesses. I suggest getting out a sheet of paper and dividing it in half. On one side, list your strengths – things like “good with people,” “business savvy,” “ability to make solid decisions.” On the other side, list your weaknesses such as “uncomfortable hiring and firing” or “mediocre bookkeeping skills.”

Once you’ve completed both of your lists, ask someone who knows you well (spouse, friend, peer, mentor, etc.) to objectively critique your lists and make adjustments. For example, maybe you don’t think your bookkeeping skills are up to par, but your wife knows your checkbook is always balanced to the penny.

Afterward, carefully consider your strengths and weaknesses. Make your strengths your greatest assets. If you are good with people, for example, you should be your company’s key spokesperson. If you are creative, assist in the design of your Web site and marketing materials. If you are not particularly business savvy or if you just hate working with numbers, however, consider outsourcing some of those management tasks to an outside firm. Let someone else hire key staff or perform regular bookkeeping. Are you willing to relinquish control enough to maximize your strengths while delegating the other tasks to professionals?

After carefully evaluating these five points and assessing your resources, you should be able to make a sound decision about whether or not a freelance business is right for you. Best wishes to you for many years of freelance success!

When it comes to inventory, buyers and sellers face similar dilemmas. For the individual or business that sells goods on eBay, in discount stores, or at flea markets, it's a challenge to find high quality products at wholesale prices. For the business or manufacturer that has surplus merchandise or who is on the verge of going bankrupt, it's a challenge to find wholesalers who will buy entire stocklots.

Liquidation Wholesalers

Liquidation wholesalers serve an important function for both buyers and sellers. They buy huge quantities of clearance items, bankrupt stock, surplus stock, overstock, and end of lines from businesses and manufacturers, and then resell it in smaller lots to individuals and businesses. The customer base for a company that sells liquidated stock can include other wholesalers, online merchants, garden centres, grottos, retail shops, market traders, and even those who do car boot sales.

If you are a business owner or an individual looking for high-quality products at bargain prices, you need a liquidation wholesaler. If you're new to the liquidation scene, here are some things to keep in mind.

Variety of Products

Liquidation wholesalers buy from a variety of sources, including large importers, local and regional manufacturers, and bankrupt businesses. Because liquidation wholesalers deal in bankrupt stock, overstock, and end of lines, they have a wide range of product types. They may have seasonal merchandise, jewelry and fashion accessories, tools and hardware, decorative items, pet products, car products, bathroom items, and kitchenware. Virtually everything you find in a retail store will eventually make its way into a liquidation warehouse.

Ever-Changing Products

The most successful liquidation wholesalers go through an enormous quantity of stock. Indeed, their success lies in their ability to buy huge lots, warehouse them, sell them, and ship them at a breakneck pace. For that reason, the wholesale inventory that's available is constantly changing. You might be able to buy candles and candle holders one week, but once they're sold, they're gone. That's why it's important to keep checking liquidation wholesalers' available stock. If possible, work with a wholesaler that offers a mailing list, and who will send you email newsletters about special offers and new lines that have arrived.

Quantities

Many people assume that, in order to buy from liquidation wholesalers, they have to buy whole pallets of a single product. To the contrary, there are some liquidators that sell products by the case. Because you don't have to commit to buying thousands of the same product, you can easily add variety to your own offerings.

Prices

Because liquidation wholesalers buy their stock so inexpensively, and because they are motivated to sell it quickly, you can get unprecedented bargains on high-value items. For example, you might be able to buy 120 wallpaper borders by a well-known designer for only Ј1.20 or 48 porcelain dolls for only Ј12.00.

Where to Find Wholesalers

Like most businesses, liquidation wholesalers are opening up their customer bases through the Internet. Because their stock is stored in warehouses, potential customers can't browse in showrooms. The Internet, however, is the perfect medium for both liquidators and those who want to buy stock, since pictures of items can be viewed and transactions can be performed online. After a transaction is completed, the stock is shipped to the buyer, and the liquidator makes room for more products.

Turning to a wholesale liquidator is the perfect solution for both those who need to sell quantities of stock and those who wish to buy merchandise for resale.

Here are six guidelines to help you avoid seeing your notebook PC disappear!

So there you are, rushing to catch a plane. You've got an important presentation on your laptop, along with sensitive company and personal information. And then, suddenly, it's gone.

Either you've lost it, or it's been stolen.

Airports and hotels are favourite places for thieves. Laptops disappear from both and that's bad enough. But often, irreplaceable data has gone with them. According to Safeware, an insurance agency specialising in insuring high-tech equipment, in the US alone 591,000 laptops vanished in 2001.

None of this has to happen to you. But you have to be extra careful today. With the increased security at airports, losing track of a laptop is easier than ever. Here are six guidelines to help you avoid seeing your notebook PC disappear — or, if it does, help you find it or get a quick replacement.

Tips for Getting Through Security Checks

Oddly, some airports have collected stacks of laptops. They're left behind by harried passengers in security areas. Most are reclaimed eventually. But some people never come back for their machines.

Obviously, you've got to allow yourself plenty of time when you fly. When I travel, I carry my laptop in a backpack. There's lots of room in there, and it's inconspicuous. I see fashionable businesspeople carrying laptops in expensive cases. They're asking for trouble. Those cases say, "Laptop! Laptop! Steal me!"

Security people most likely will want to check the laptop. If possible, handle it yourself, rather than having them do it.

Don't be afraid to speak up. You don't need your machine damaged.

Be sure your battery is charged. The security people may well want to turn on the machine. Most important, don't let it out of your sight. This becomes especially difficult if you are selected for a random head-to-toe check.

Once on board your flight, put the computer — safely stowed in your bag — under the seat in front of you. Try to avoid putting it in the overhead bin. Others will have more access to it there.

Have Sensitive Data? Encrypt It

If you have sensitive information on your computer, consider encrypting it. If you have Windows XP, you already have the tools needed. While the thief has your machine, these extra steps will make it much more difficult to access the laptop's data.

Encryption will protect your business secrets, but it won't retrieve your data. To do that, you've got to back up your information to another computer. If you run your own server, you can easily upload files to it.

You don't have to back up everything on the laptop. Just copy the files you will need to the server. If your laptop should be stolen on your trip, you may be able to borrow a computer at your destination and download your important files. Finding time for backups is a pain, I know. But they can save you.

Make Your MP3 Player do Double-Duty

If you don't have a server, or don't want to back up to it, take a look at MP3 players. Some today have huge hard drives. They are easily hooked to a laptop through the USB or FireWire ports. The data can then be copied to the MP3 player. These things can copy any data, not just MP3s.

Trace a Stolen Laptop's Location

If your laptop does get stolen, wouldn't it be great if the system could do the high-tech equivalent of phoning home? There are programs that will report the location of a stolen laptop. They work when the laptop connects to the internet.

Security experts also say that engraving your name on the computer is helpful. That will make it more difficult to sell on so thieves may look elsewhere.

Set a System Password

Every road warrior should protect their laptop with a start-up password. This way, a system password prompt will appear each time you start your computer before Windows even begins to load. It will prohibit any access to the computer at all.

To create a system password, you'll need to access your computer's setup utility (also known as BIOS settings, which stands for "Basic Input/Output System"). Typically you do this by pressing Delete, Esc or F1 as soon as you turn on the computer. Check the manual though, as some computers are different.

Consider Laptop PC Insurance

If your laptop is expensive (and aren't they all?) you might want to insure it. Some homeowners, renters and business insurance policies don't cover computers, and if they do, there may be many conditions attached.

Today's laptops are ripe targets for thieves. If you follow these basic guidelines along with some good common sense, you won't have to give yours up.

Podcasting is a new way to get your message out to millions of people without costing you an arm and a leg.  A podcast is a digital media file that gets distributed over the internet using syndicated feeds for playback later and can be downloaded to a portable media player or computer.  Listeners can also subscribe to your podcast so that when you record a new one and publish it to the internet they are notified and can download it for their listening pleasure or a fee if you choose to go that route.

How can podcasting help your business?  The ways are limitless so instead of having a blog a million pages long and boring no less, we are going to highlight two of the best reasons, in my opinion of course, here.  Reason number 1?  You are in complete control! No one will tell you what you have to record, you control what your listeners hear, how long the cast is and who is allowed to listen to your message.  Reason Number 2?  It’s easy and you can do it for free!  What is better than growing your business and doing it affordably?  There are programs out there that let you record and edit your audio files for free like www.audacity.com.  If you want to pay for a program they come in all shapes, sizes and price ranges.

To reach your target audience you will want to do some research to find the appropriate place to link your site and then get it out to all the RSS feeders that you can.  If you don’t know what an RSS is that’s alright.  An RSS is Really Simple Syndication and is how your podcast is syndicated and found by others on the internet. Many websites today will have RSS somewhere on them with a logo or icon.  When you click on this little logo you will be able to subscribe to the feed and be notified when there are updates and new content available. It is an easy way to get updates without having to manually visit a web page or blog to check for updates or news.

Having your podcast associated with an RSS feed will allow those listeners that have subscribed to your feed to be notified automatically and immediately when you have new information.  No more sending emails out to everyone individually, this saves you time and therefore money!

Podcasting is yet another wave of the future.  To get ahead and reach more people than ever you need to grab your board and ride the waves into the next age of technology.  Surf’s Up!

Windows appears to be fine and superlative if they are clean. Cleaning should be done on a regular basis, at least twice a year.

Given below are some useful techniques for cleaning a window:

•      Clean one part of a window with the horizontal strokes and the other part with the vertical strokes. By doing this, you can identify which area of the window have a streak.

•      To steer clear of streaks on a large window, employ squeegee. Situate it at the top of the window and pull down effortlessly. The trick for no streaks with the squeegee is to introduce a dry rubber blade on the dry window.

•      Bring a flexible toothbrush or cotton swab in use to clean the corners.

•      To give a superfluous shine to the window glass, polish it with the well-washed cotton T-shirts or old cloth diapers. Or else rub a clean blackboard eraser over a freshly rinsed and dried out window to furnish it a brilliant shine.

•      Polishing windows with the wrinkled newspaper will provide a luminous shine. Besides, it leaves a film which is resistant to dirt.

•      When you have to clean the soil, grease or the other debris from your window panes, use a product such as baking soda, ammonia, or washing soda.

•      Make certain that you dry out your windows in one direction only, leftwards or rightwards as mingling of the direction will not give a tidy look.

•      If you are cleaning the window sills, scrape the entire surface through the wet cloth sprayed with alcohol so that all the spots get cleared.

By following these tips, you can view the world from a clean perspective which will come into sight as rose-tinted glasses.

Over the past year, I've had the dubious pleasure of buying two different printers: a black-and-white laser printer and a dual-purpose copier and color inkjet printer. My laser printer gets a good workout on a daily basis, while I usually reserve my color inkjet printer for photos.

Although both printers are well made and carry brand names (HP and Brother), they were incredibly inexpensive. In fact, one of the primary reasons I bought both was because of their bargain prices. Imagine my chagrin, then, when I had to replace the toner cartridges in my laser and the ink cartridges in my inkjet, and discovered that each cartridge cost about half of what I paid for the printer.

I quickly - and correctly - surmised that printer manufacturers sell printers at or below the cost of making them, and generate profits from the sale of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) ink cartridges. With dire warnings of possible damage to the printer or voiding the printer warranty, the manufacturers insist that consumers buy only OEM printer cartridges. I resented being gouged by their inflated prices, and so did some of my own research about OEM print cartridges and alternatives. Here's what I discovered:

Option One: Compatible Ink Cartridges

Contrary to popular belief, compatible ink cartridges are not recycled. Rather, they are brand new, generic versions of OEM cartridges. They have all of the quality and reliability of OEM cartridges, but cost only a fraction of the price.

Option Two: Remanufactured Print Cartridges

As the name implies, remanufactured ink cartridges are, indeed, recycled. However, the old cartridges aren't simply refilled. Rather, they are disassembled, inspected, cleaned, reassembled, filled with ink, and individually print tested to meet or surpass the specifications associated with OEM ink cartridges.

Cost Savings

I was astounded when I saw the price differences between OEM, compatible, and remanufactured ink cartridges. For example, one black and one colour ink cartridge for an HP DeskJet 920C might cost Ј50.45 for the OEM cartridges, but only Ј16.95 for remanufactured cartridges. A pack of four ink cartridges (black, cyan, magenta, and yellow) for the Brother DCP117C might cost Ј31.80 for OEM, but only Ј8.95 for the compatible version. Over the lifetime of a printer, those kinds of savings really add up!

Cartridge Life

Typically, remanufactured ink cartridges have a shorter "shelf life" than OEM or compatible cartridges. A remanufactured cartridge will be good for about six months, whereas a compatible cartridge is vacuum-sealed and will be viable for years.

Suppliers

I also discovered that it's important to purchase compatible and remanufactured ink cartridges from a reputable dealer. When shopping online, look for a supplier that uses top-quality ink, has been in business several years, offers free UK delivery, and doesn't require a minimum order.

Massive advancements have been made in the cost and the quality of orthopedic devices, implant devices and many other medical components. These advancements have been supported, and in many cases made possible, by the modernization of equipment and manufacturing investments in the medical products industry.

Injected molded plastic parts, such as artificial knee and hip joints, specially engineered small - to medium-sized medical parts, and plastic injected syringes, pill containers and breathing apparatus devices are all essential to modern medicine and personal health care. Implant devices such as artificial hip joints are frequently made from strong, tough but hard to machine titanium and cobalt chrome stainless steel.

Much of this technological improvement simply would not have been possible without the machine tool advancements that have occurred to help generate these medical applications. And many of those industries and jobs are located in the heartland of America, according to applications engineers at Makino, a global provider of advanced machine tool technology.

This is an area of future manufacturing growth. One major designer and developer of cardiovascular medical products, such as leads that connect to life-saving devices such as implantable defibrillators and pacemakers, says the intricacy of modern machine tools makes all its work possible. The small, detailed shapes with exceptional finishes demanded by modern health industry consumers simply could not be made without the work performed by modern CNC machine tools.

Health care and orthopedic health professionals recognize that technologically progressive equipment and methods are vital to making continued advancements toward superior health care in the United States. Prioritizing the investment in machine tool technology will yield even greater health care benefits and options to an aging American population that continues to grow.