Won Me

The constant struggle to get people to want to work for you is an enigma most business owners wrestle with. I have isolated successful methods through growing my multi-million dollar company from the ground up. In my experience it all comes down to how you want to be treated. I was raised in a lovey-dovey family where my parents wanted me to feel great about myself. Maybe it is because I was raised Jewish and all Jewish mothers think their children are superior - who knows… Whatever the reason, I grew up hearing and believing I could do anything.

That kind of confidence instilled in me led me to believe that I could instill that confidence in others. When I first started out I could not afford to hire expensive help and found the most successful type of personnel for my business were young, inexperienced adults in their late teens that had an abundance of willingness. And I do mean an abundance of it - in my viewpoint, there is no better commodity.

A Little Bit Goes a Long Way

My Senior Vice President over Operations and Quality Control who now manages six other executives and a colossal number of employees was only 19 years old when she started with me. Now she is 27. She had that willingness, but virtually no experience. I recall then that she wanted $10.00 per hour. I would only give her $9.00 but I gave her an incentive - to prove to me she was worth it before I consented to that kind of pay (which was a lot of money to me at the time). She did so well that I gave her $11.50 per hour within two weeks of her hire date.

That little bit extra that I did went a long way. She took notice and she consistently proved to me that she could do even more. That was the first time I noticed that rewarding your employees for hard work really paid off. Today, she makes a six-figure income and earns every penny.

I love to validate and reward the staff - it is a driving force of mine in my company. We have an “employee of the month” that gets company recognition and a designated parking space as well as an “employee of the year” that gets a three-day trip to the Big Apple, plus spending money. Not to mention the runner up gets no short shrift. And my employees work their tails off for those coveted prizes, but mainly for the pride they feel after doing so well. The stipulations are that they go above and beyond the call of duty and really set great examples for the rest of the group. I’ve never seen such stellar work from staff at other companies that don’t acknowledge and don’t reward - I know because I used to work at them.

More Freedom = More Responsibility

A major factor in increasing the responsibility level of the employees is giving them more freedom and responsibility. If you do, they will own their position. The best employees are those that really take ownership of their position and run it like it was their very own company. You may think that it is a bit precarious to let someone run their area like it was their own company because what if they took it way off course from what you had designed where that organization would go? Well, I found that the more freedom I gave my executives to do the job the way they thought it should be done based on their understanding of the company’s goals, they became even better at what they did. That really opened my eyes. It was like the circle of life - they would do better and better to warrant the responsibility I had given them.

Another manager of mine is a great example of this. When she first came to work for me, she didn’t necessarily make me feel confident that she could do the job - but she sure was willing. And I have a philosophy about just throwing them in and seeing if they can make it go right or die trying.

She impressed me. She did a great job over and over again. I couldn’t help but acknowledge and validate her. She was only 18 years old when she started working for me and I was so amazed how well she did her job - she was neat, tidy, systematic and never made mistakes - so I told her how great she was all the time. The end result? This shy girl just blossomed into one of my fifteen executives who has several subordinates and runs a tight ship.

So, I learned that the way I should treat people is the way I like being and have been treated. I know it’s the Golden Rule that many of us have heard or read, but I learned to apply this in regards to staff and it works well for me. I grew up knowing that it works from the recipient end. I used it later in business and learned how much it really empowers others when you tell them they can - it becomes instinctive. Application of that in the corporate world brings out the natural abilities of the people you bestow that confidence in. Their abilities really start to shine through.

I remember another girl that worked in my company in the early days. We’ll call her “American Mary” (she chose that nickname herself) even though that’s not her name. She wasn’t a real fast duplicator or speedy at comprehending; but I learned that if I wanted to work with her, I had to, in essence, “Be” her. Incidentally, a marketing principle that helps a graphic designer attain a better idea of what kind of design will “pull” (get responses) for a totally alien industry to that said designer is to learn to “Be” the recipient of the direct mail piece. Once someone learns to assume the views and ideas of the recipient, then he can design something that will elicit a reach - a call or an order, etc. This principle also applies to employees. “American Mary” could not work with a certain person in my company because he would not tolerate her slowness. He couldn’t or wouldn’t understand what it was like to be her. So, he barked his orders as fast as he usually did and he got nowhere. On the other hand, I would just “Be” her. I’d slow it down, be really kind, maybe draw a map for her even if she had been there five times before…and she would do anything for me. And she’d make sure she’d do a perfect job if she knew it was for me. Even today, she still calls me from Europe every now and then just to say hello.

Ask Not What I Can Do For You…

It all comes down to the point of exchanging properly with an employee; and that’s a tough one to balance. The person has to bring in a return to the company. With my employees and my executives, I start at what I can afford to pay them. I provide them an atmosphere where they can prosper by giving them the freedom to do the job themselves - always observing that they have the willingness as the biggest factor. In the initial interview process, I tell them the truth: “I expect the world. You are expected to give 110% and take pride in a job well done. You give to me first and then I’ll exchange back with you.” And I do. I demand a lot. And when they deliver and go above and beyond what I expect, I give back to them over and above what they expect. It’s that circle of life concept I was talking about earlier.

Another example of how to apply this is to spread their accolades through word of mouth. I don’t ever plan this; I just may be talking to my PR about one of my designers and I just say how great that designer is doing - and guess what? Next thing you know that designer has heard about it. That really does something for the person you are praising. They know you think they are great at their job and that really makes them want to work even harder for you.

Loyalty Pays Off

The President of my company, Jennifer Custer, is a gem. I recall one day her mother asking me what the gross income was for the week. She said she wanted to know so she could predict what kind of weekend she was going to have. I didn’t understand - what did this have to do with her weekend? I found out; Jenn was not fun to be around when the company’s revenue was down. I learned from her mother that she wanted so badly to make it, for me and the company, that when she did not, she really felt down. I never thought that she wore her duties that personally.

To instill that kind of loyalty you have to be loyal. When somebody flows me a lot of help in a particular area, I never forget it, I never disconnect from that. I have someone that was with me that has been with me from the beginning. She was a “Doubting Thomas” and would comment behind my back that I “sure had a big pipe dream in regards to growing the company.” But she was really good at her post - her division does a lot of production in that area and she runs it well. They are result driven and have deadlines that would even try the patience of Job. It would have been hard to replace her, plus she had been with me so long. Once my President found out that she was negating my dreams to others, she addressed it and that person never did it again. But I never held onto that as a grudge. In fact, I ended up giving her a raise above what her position was worth in our geographical area. In my opinion, she had warranted it - the good she constantly did surely outweighed her verbal negativity. She was with me a long time and truly developed her area. I never disconnected from her because she helped me, despite her verbal transgression. Not only did she make amends for what she has ever said about me, she would never naysay me or my company again, and now she’ll probably never leave me. So always take a look at what the staff member DOES (as opposed to says), regardless of the apparency.

Lastly, I think it’s important and warrants mentioning that I want my employees to enjoy their time here at work. I’ve had a few jobs where I hated going in to work in the morning and couldn’t wait until the end of the day. Although I’ve learned that ultimately I am responsible for my condition in life - at work and at home - I could also notice things that existed in the workplace that were surely less than optimum. I wished that there was some person to tell, someone that would listen and be able to do something about it. You need to make sure that your executives and employees know you are their friend and know that you genuinely care about them. You will build a juggernaut like I have and your executives will carry forward your ideals to the rest of your crew.

Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2005 the company did over $12 million in sales, employed over 100 people and made Inc. Magazine’s prestigious Inc 500 List as the one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. As an Expert Author, she is always willing to share her marketing advice through articles, interviews and speaking engagements. Visit her web site at http://www.postcardmania.com

Why have I got a leaky skylight?

A skylight is an excellent source of both warmth and light for your home and they can enhance the overall appearance of your house as well as giving you a little extra air when required. There are a number of different factors that can lead to a leaky skylight but the most common factor is an improperly fitted or installed skylight. This inadequacy is usually brought about because having a skylight fitted by a professional roofing contractor can cost a lot of money, and people tend to revert to a handyman or, often worse still, doing it themselves. Without proper knowledge of construction regarding the skylight fitting and the roof surrounding it, though, can lead to disastrous results. Even the inadequate fixing of an existing leaky skylight can make things worse.

Use Roofer911 to fix your leaky skylight.

Roofing contractors tend to charge quite a high cost to fit a skylight because they would rather work on better paid, roof installments. That doesn’t mean you can’t find a reputable and highly skilled roofing contractor who will complete the job at a reasonable price. However, because fitting a skylight is a skilled job, as is all roofing, you will need to pay more to have one fitted properly by an expert when compare to paying a handy man to fit it.

Why is my skylight leaking?

The slightest hole, crack or blemish on the skylight, the panels surrounding the skylight or the roof can lead to a leaky skylight so it is important that whoever is fitting your skylight has a good knowledge of all these factors. Of course age, extreme conditions and accidents can also be the cause of your leaky skylight and it is important that you employ an experience and knowledgeable professional to repair the leak as soon as possible to prevent further damage to the skylight, the roof and the inside of the house.

Condensation.

Bear in mind that if you have drip on the inside of your skylight it does not necessarily mean you have a leaky skylight and condensation can often be the cause of sleepless nights and panicking homeowners. This is especially true in extreme conditions. Dryers, washing machines, hot baths and even the occupants of the home can cause condensation to build up on the inside of your skylight and this will inevitably drip off giving the impression that you have a leaky skylight. This becomes even more pertinent when the weather gets colder outside. A build up of ice or snow on the outside of your skylight is a sure fire way to promote condensation on the inside of your skylight and even a small crack means that this condensation can be in between the two panes of glass if you have double glazing.

The damage a leaky skylight can cause.

A leaky skylight causes relatively minimal damage in the short term, however over the long term this damage can become significant so you should make sure that the drops you saw coming off your skylight are actually condensation and not the first tell tale signs of a leak. You may end up having to replace wallpaper, carpets and worse still making structural repairs to the inside of your house (although only usually in extreme circumstances). A leaky skylight may also be indicative that you have bigger problems with your roof so you should get someone out to check it as soon as possible.

Steven Briesemeister who is the owner of http://www.roofer911.com has 33 years experience in all types of roof repair problems and new roof installation for residential and commercial accounts. As a Long Island and Northern Virgina roofing contractor, we believe, “Quality Doesn’t Cost…It Pays!

Many experienced live poker players rely on “tells”, an action by the opposing players that will help tip their hand. I am sure you have seen players wearing sunglasses at a live poker game, this isn’t due to the bright lights in the casino, it is avoid any chance of another player picking up on a widening of the eyes or any other habitual gesture that will give away a strong or weak hand.

There are a few virtual tells that can help tip the hand of those you are playing against. A beginners tells are always easiest to spot. They will bet with a weak hand and hold with a strong hand, taking note of their behavior early will help you take later hands. Once you have spotted a beginner at the table you can use their behavior to help build the pot on your strong hands, allowing them to try their strategy on your refined play style and maybe helping fish in a few players along with him. An ideal situation would see you at an online table surrounded by novice players all using the same tactics to help build the pot for you!

Speed of play is another factor to help you spot the tells of other players. Quick bets are often a sign of weakness while a delayed bet is a sign of strength, Typically the delayed bet tells you the player is calculating his strategy for his big hand. Always try to make a note of the hand a player hand when he quick bet and what cards he held when he made a series of slow bets.

Auto Plays are another ways to sports virtual tells. Online casinos make use of check boxes such as “fold”, “raise any” or “call any”. You can spot auto plays as the bet comes in seconds after the player before him. What should you be looking for? “Raise Any” bets denote a strong hand, “Check” denotes a weak hand while “Call Any” will usually denote a player waiting for the miracle hand. As with other strategies discussed here you should follow this behavior for a few hands and be aware of betting patterns of certain players. Novice players may be using the “Raise Any” checkbox to scare away other betters and trying to take small pots.

While tells are never an exact science, they will help give you an advantage at the online poker table, where every little advantage makes your game stronger.

Check our online poker room reviews, Party Poker bonus codes, and our online Party Poker promotion at www.poker-reviews-online.com.

Hemp protein contains all 20 known amino acids including the 9
essential amino acids (EAAs) our bodies cannot produce. Proteins
are considered complete when they contain all 9 essential amino
acids in a sufficient quantity and ratio to meet the body’s
needs. Hemp seeds contain an adequate supply of these high
quality proteins (EAAs) for a well balanced diet.

Hemp protein is free of the tryspin inhibitors which block
protein absorption and free of oligosaccharides found in soy,
which cause stomach upset and gas. Not as easy to get lean now
that you are no longer in your twenties, right? Or maybe you’ve
never been very fit, but are trying to lose fat for the first
time and don’t have the benefits of that youthful high
metabolism. No bizarre fad diets are needed, just the standard
high protein/low fat plan. Each daily meal should feature a good
source of lean protein but very little animal fat or sugar.

An increasingly educated and health-conscious public is learning
about the health benefits of supplemental protein powders,
recognizing that they can be part of a healthy lifestyle for
just about anyone, not just bodybuilders. In health fitness,
muscle growth is perhaps the most important thing that you can
do. In fact, it may be the most important thing you can do for
your body and mind. The reason growing lean muscle is so
important is because it will help with controlling your weight
by helping you burn more calories. It helps the mind by
increasing confidence and self worth.

It is of utmost importance in the elderly population, because it
will help with osteoporosis, by building stronger, bigger bones
and also allows one to be physically stronger and fatigue less
easily. So by growing more muscle daily tasks are much easier,
not to mention much safer, helping prevent falls and
injuries.

Protein is an essential part of our (living) body and there is a
difference between protein that has been cooked and protein in
its raw (living) form. We should realize that our body (which is
made of some 100 trillion living cells) is composed of 15
percent protein, making protein the primary solid element in our
body, and second only to water, which composes 70 percent of our
body. Protein is composed of amino acids, and amino acids are
made up of chains of atoms. These atoms that make up amino acids
that make up protein literally become the building blocks for
our body.

The problem is that cooking kills food and de-natures or
re-arranges the molecular structure of the protein, causing
amino acids to become coagulated, or fused together.

In his 1980 book, The Health Revolution, Horne writes, “Cooked
protein is difficult to digest, and when incompletely digested
protein enters the colon it putrefies and ammonia is formed.”
Horne quotes Dr. Willard Visek, Professor of Clinical Sciences
at the University of Illinois Medical School as saying, “In the
digestion of proteins, we are constantly exposed to large
amounts of ammonia in our intestinal tract. Ammonia behaves like
chemicals that cause cancer or promote its growth. It kills
cells, it increases virus infection, it affects the rate at
which cells divide, and it increases the mass of the lining of
the intestines. What is intriguing is that within the colon, the
incidence of cancer parallels the concentration of ammonia.” Dr.
Visek is quoted in The Golden Seven Plus One, by Dr. C. Samuel
West, as saying, “Ammonia, which is produced in great amounts as
a by-product of meat metabolism, is highly carcinogenic and can
cause cancer development.”

And meat in any form is not good for humans. We do not have a
digestive system designed to assimilate protein from flesh: We
do not have the teeth of a carnivore nor the saliva. Our
alkaline saliva is designed to digest complex carbohydrates from
plant food, whereas saliva of a carnivore is so acidic that it
can actually dissolve bones. The digestive tracts of carnivores
are short, about three times the length of their torso, allowing
quick elimination of decomposing and putrefying flesh. All
herbivores have long intestines, 8 to 12 times the length of
their torso, to provide a long transit time to digest and
extract the nutrients from plant foods.

When you consider the health problems caused by consuming too
much indigestible (cooked) protein, it should drive home the
point that our body is a living organism made up of living
cells, and protein composes 15 percent of our body, therefore
the protein we take in should be living rather than dead.

Hemp protein is a living plant protein which contains all 20
known amino acids including the 9 essential amino acids (EAAs)
our bodies cannot produce. When pressed and milled, the result
is the perfect high performance vegetarian whole food which may
be used in place of all protein sources or supplements. Proteins
are considered complete when they contain all 9 essential amino
acids in a sufficient quantity and ratio to meet the body’s
needs. Hemp seeds contain an adequate supply of these high
quality proteins (EAAs) for a well balanced diet. In fact, hemp
Protein is not only very high in fiber, but is unique in the
plant kingdom for its perfect balance of protein, fiber, and
carbohydrates, making it easy to substitute into any type of
diet. A live protein concentrate, hemp protein is loaded with
what your body needs, including all 9-10 essential amino acids,
Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, enzymes, natural anti-oxidants,
vitamins, minerals and fibre.

Hemp protein is free of the tryspin inhibitors which block
protein absorption and free of oligosaccharides found in soy,
which cause stomach upset and gas. Soybeans contain a higher
total percentage of protein, but these are complex proteins that
many people find difficult to digest. An important aspect of
hemp seed protein is a high content of arginine (123 mg/g
protein) and histidine (27 mg/g protein), both of which are
important for growth during childhood, and of the
sulfur-containing amino acids methionine (23 mg/g protein) and
cysteine (16 mg/g protein), which are needed for proper enzyme
formation. Cysteine’s importance is related to the presence of a
sulfur-containing thiol group in its side chain. This group
participates in the catalytic reactions of certain enzymes, such
as that of papain. Methionine is required because it assists in
the breakdown of fats and thereby prevents the build-up of fat
in the arteries, as well as assisting with the digestive system
and removing heavy metals from the body since it can be
converted to cysteine, which is a precursor to gluthione, which
is of prime importance in detoxifying the liver. The amino acid
methionine is also a great antioxidant as the sulfur it supplies
inactivates free radicals. It may also be used to treat
depression, arthritis pain as well as chronic liver disease -
although these claims are still under investigation. Some
studies have also indicated that methionine might also improve
memory recall.

Approximately 65% of the protein in hemp seeds is made up
Edestin and is found only in hemp seed. “Edistins (also spelled
edestine) are plant globulins, and are classified as globular
proteins. Globulins perform many enzymatic functions within the
plasma itself. The human body uses globulin proteins to make
antibodies that attack infecting agents that invade the body.”
Edestin aids digestion, is relatively phosphorus-free and
considered the backbone of the cell’s DNA. The other one third
of hemp seed protein is Albumin, another high quality globulin
protein similar to that found in egg whites.

In addition to being an excellent protein source, hemp powder
can also be used as a quick and convenient blood sugar
stabilizer because of the high fiber content which will again
help in weight loss.