Squeeze the Stone

Archive for February, 2010

I am a lover of branded shoes, and one of my choices when it comes to running shoes is the Adidas shoes . This is the kind of shoes that is always fashionable and durable. To mention the quality and the lasting impression that people gave to this shoe brand. Another brand that I really looking to must have is the Christian Louboutin shoes known for its jewel like accessories. Christian Louboutin’s trademark is the glossy red soles in which give an instant stamp of fashion excellence. The designer’s thinking is to “make shoes that are like jewels” and each unique design demonstrates unparalleled quality and an innate sultriness. From vertigo-inducing pumps to the seasonal must-have metallic lace-up brogues as well as a range of totes and clutches, Louboutin is the accessories brand for today’s fashion lovers. When it comes to watches I usually go for Breitling replica a one of a kind brand of watches that are known also for the durability and lasting quality. I want to have my own chain of stores that is why as early as now I am trying to save so that when the right time comes I will make all my dreams come true.

I am a business manager in profession. I can say based on my experience on business some days are just boring days. And so i decided one time to go out shopping with my friend. I invited her to my badminton game one time. But before we went with her in one of my session we decided to go out shopping for new NFL jerseys and polo shirts . Even if we are both girls we liked to look and make fun of clothing trends. We went to some stores and malls that have lots of stocks available for new designs and trends. Life must be boring sometimes decide to go out with close friends to venture out something new. Ed Hardy is a good brand and has a good quality. Even if it is much more expensive than the other brand still you will enjoy its cotton touch in your body as you wear it. When we go shopping, my friend is the one who shops a lot. She knows a lot of branded clothes. Even when i go in my badminton session you can see many players wearing branded clothes. Many players are businessmen and businesswomen also and so they can always afford to buy something new for themselves. Money is not an issue to them.

Our family owned a fashion boutique that sells different kinds of fashion accessories. We have a lot of items that can only be seen just in our store. One of the most in demand brand in our store is the True Religion jeans a brand of jeans in which very affordable and fashionable that’s why most of the men and women who bought from us usually recommend our store to their friends. We also have the different style of UGG boots which is very cool to wear even on winter. In addition to all these items my mom displayed different kinds of Louis Vuitton items. These various brand of clothing are very in demand and usually we have to place an order to our supplier ahead of time so that we can be able to cater all the demands of our valued customers. In the business industry you need to be very careful in terms of your customer’s demands because they are the life of your business. We need to continuously give their needs so that they will not leave us. We have a lot of faithful clients that keeps on coming back for their fashion needs. I believe this is a big business opportunity for the whole family.

Build and expand on the discussion of the market for your book that you included in the overview section. Quantify the size of the specific groups and demographics that you identified as those most likely to buy your book, and state the buying power of each. Describe your market in terms of
Statistics, facts, and figures on who will buy your book, why they will buy it, and the amount of money that is annually spent in each market.
List how your audience gets information from sources such as magazines, radio,TV, cable, and Internet sites. Specifically name what they read, listen to, watch, and browse. Provide the circulation or viewership numbers for each source.
Outline what the members ofyour market do, theirjobs, duties, hobbies, and interests. State where they vacation, travel or go for entertainment, health, and conditioning, or for stimulation or relaxation.
If they will buy your book in some special or unique way such as through schools; businesses; and religious, community, or charitable organizations; state how and explain why.
To obtain hard data for your proposal, conduct research via the Internet and at libraries. Check your subject matter and everything related to it on Google and other search engines. Also research online booksellers.
The government, specifically the Department of Labor, is a great source for figures, trends, and statistics. So are industry and trade associations. Indexes of trade and industry associations can be found on the Internet by checking such sites such as http://dir.yahoo.com/Businessand_Economy / Organizations /Trade_Associations and www. marketingsource. corn /associations.
Most industry and trade associations put out publications that are loaded with helpful statistics and projections. They usually report the number of people the industry serves and the size of the market. You may also find great articles on trends and wonderful quotes. Some of these publications, or portions of them, are online. Other helpful industry and trade information can be found on associations’ Web sites. Make sure to check news, publicity; and pressroom sections.
Regularly read these publications and clip out items with information that you could include in your proposal. In addition, check these publications’ archives to see if any of them have published articles on your book’s subject. If so, get copies and attach them to your proposal. Articles from such sources will give your book’s champion powerful information to take to the board.
Also speak with people in your field(s) of interest. Find out what publications they read and how they get information on their businesses, careers, interests, hobbies, etc. See which of those sources are online and how you can access the others. Ask them to put you in touch with knowledgeable people in their fields.

Since the author’s platform is so critical for nonfiction, emphasize your platform in your biography. Although it’s not as crucial for fiction, a strong platform can’t hurt and definitely can help. So, fiction writers should touch on their major platform assets in their synopsis, without going into great detail.
For nonfiction, describe your media experience, what you’ve written, and where you spoke. Do you have a newsletter, and if so, how many people subscribe? Do you have a Web site? If so, how many hits does it get? Don’t worry about repeating information that you included in the overview; just try to lay it out and express it differently.
Once again, let’s turn to Michael McLaughlin’s biography for Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants, which is set forth below. Note how McLaughlin highlights his media experience and names publications for which he has been interviewed as well as those to which he has contributed. He also calls attention to his public speaking experience and the fact that he publishes a newsletter that has 8,500 subscribers.
To solidify his credentials, McLaughlin states that he has an MBA, and he outlines two key association memberships: one for management consultants and the other with a speakers’ association, which underlines his platform and commitment to promotion.
Finally, McLaughlin’s biography provides two short sentences about him personally. The remaining portion of Michael McLaughlin’s biography is reproduced below.
McLaughlin knows how to work with the media, in print, online, television, and radio, and his opinions have been sought on the toughest business management challenges. In addition to guest appearances on local radio and television programs, he has been interviewed by publications such as Chicago SunTimes, Cram’s Chicago Business, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Information Week, and Women’s H/ear Daily. He has also written and published articles, including for
Computerworld, Cincinnati Business Courier, Bran dweek magazine, Chicago Sun- Times, and IHRIM. link.
He has been a speaker for audiences across the country, including Council of Logistics Management, Food Marketing Institute, Grocery Manufacturers Association, Institute of Management Accountants, Internet World, National Millennium Panel: Business in 2005, National Retail Federation, and Northwestern University I)igital Frontiers Annual Conference. He was the keynote speaker at the Institute of Management Consultants annual conference in spring 2002.
In May 2002, McLaughlin launched Management Consulting News, a Web site and newsletter tbr consulting professionals. McLaughlin writes and edits the Web site content and the monthly newsletter, MCNews, which grew to 8,50() subscribers in less than one year.
He is a member of the National Speakers Association and the Institute of Management Consultants, and he holds an MBA in Corporate Finance. He is an amateur triathlete, and usually manages to finish races in one piece. He lives with his wife, Sally, in Northern California.
As for providing personal information, the experts arc divid Although it is seldom a deal maker or breaker, it does help to conne the dots and paint a clearer picture of you.

Don’t exaggerate or make wild, unrealistic claims about your book’s prospects or potential sales. Although it’s important to be enthusiastic, to believe in your work and to pursue your dreams, it’s imperative to face reality. Understand that the book industry is market driven, and if you want to get published, you must present information about your book in a way that will make publishers willing to buy it. This requires you to do your homework—to identify your audience and its size and to explain why it’s going to buy your book.
Claiming that your book will attract a huge audience simply isn’t enough; you must substantiate your claims. Making wild, undocumented claims is a sure way to turn off agents and editors. They want facts and figures. The editorial boards that ultimately approve book acquisitions are bottom-line oriented. If they don’t think a book will make the house money, they usually won’t agree to buy it. So as the author, it’s up to you to show them in black and white that buying your book will be a great financial move.
Many authors believe that it’s the publisher’s job to justify the market, and to some degree that may be true. Few publishers invest without first fully running the numbers, and they will definitely verify
your claims. However, since you, the writer, have so much riding on
your proposal, present your own best case. Point. the number crunchers in the right direction; show them that you’ve done your homework and that you’re a professional. Plus, you may come up with an angle, an approach or something new that they may not have considered.

Ifyou find it impossible to write about yourself, ask some ofyour friends and colleagues to write a few paragraphs describing you. Request that they frame it in the context of a letter of recommendation for a job that’s related to the subject of your book.
After you read their letters, make a list of the strong points they described. Usually, they will have addressed your best qualities, rather than your credentials to write the book. Expect to be surprised by how others see you; it can certainly open your eyes.
List the strong points your friends and colleagues mentioned and place them in the order that you think will most impress an editor that you’re the one to write this book. Add any qualifications that your friends and associates may have omitted or may not know about, such as degrees, awards, and special activities and interests. Finally, write up your biography in narrative form and send it back to your friends for their review
When you’re working on this section:
Write in the third person, except if your book is a personal story, and frequently refer to yourself by name. If you want to sound approachable, warm, or less formal, refer to yourself by your first name, otherwise use your last name. Choose a consistent style and stick with it throughout the proposal.
Give only facts and information, not opinions and beliefs, unless your book is about you personally or your ideas and theories.
I Be specific. Don’t say, “I’ve spent many years as an accountant with several large corporations.” Instead write, “In my fourteen years as a Certified Public Accountant, I have worked with one of the world’s largest accounting firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and for two of the world’s largest corporations, Gen— eral Motors and Motorola, specializing in cost accounting for equipment furnished for leased property.”
Write in a crisp, direct tone as if you were writing book jacket copy. Don’t be too formal or chatty. Remember that you’re writing for busy readers, so don’t clog up the information you convey with unnecessary words.
Write no more than one page; three-quarters of a page is even better.
Be honest. Don’t stretch the truth or exaggerate; it can come back to haunt you.
Start your bio with a strong lead sentence, but focus it on you, not on your book. Examine the lead sentence of the biography that Michael McLaughlin included in his proposal for Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants, which appears below.
Michael McLaughlin has been a partner with Deloitte Consulting, the world’s fifth largest consulting firm, since 1994. In nineteen years with Deloitte Consulting, McLaughlin has sold and delivered on more than $150 million in consulting projects. He has a clear understanding of what works in the market . . . and what doesn’t.
Look at this lead, What could be more powerful for a book that targets consultants? In his opening, McLaughlin immediately establishes his expert status: He is a partner with an industry leader, who has sold $150 million in consulting projects and knows the market. And notice that this opening paragraph doesn’t mention the book; it’s totally focused on him.
After the lead paragraph, expand on your qualifications by setting them out in the order of their relevance. If more than one item has equal importance, give, in descending order, those with the most pizzazz. Notice how McLaughlin, in his second paragraph, drives home his professional stature by stating that he worked with highly visible clients. His second paragraph reads:
He has worked with some of America’s highest-profile companies, including Sears, Procter & Gamble, Clorox, and Safe— way. As Managing Partner for Deloitte Consulting Chicago, he had market responsibility for a practice of 800 consultants and served on Deloitte’s Management Committee, which sets marketing strategies for Deloitte.
Since you’re proposing to write a book, list your published writing credits, including assignments that you’ve not yet completed. Give the publisher’s name and the year ofpublication. Mention the good reviews you received and attach copies of them at the end of the proposal. If you’ve written a number of published articles or reports, don’t list every one, but state the number you’ve written and name only those that are related to the present project.
If your book is instructional, lay out your qualifications and teaching experience. Be specific. State where, when, and for whom you lectured, taught, and led workshops and seminars.
Point out your accomplishments as a speaker, advisor, consultant, and board member. State the size of your audiences if it is impressive. At the end of the proposal, provide a list of your speaking engagements and appearances for the past two years and those scheduled for the next year.
In this section, give the reader a full understanding of why you’re an expert on your book’s subject. Describe your hands-on experience in the field, the work you performed, the scope of projects you ran, the problems you solved, and any major players you worked with. Detail noteworthy studies or research that you created, participated in, or ran.