Classic Contemporary Bedroom Furniture by Carpanelli

Classic Contemporary Bedroom Furniture by Carpanelli:

The Iride bedroom by Carpanelli comes from a balanced marriage between tradition and innovation, resulting in a classic yet contemporary bedroom furniture collection. Elegant, stylish, romantic, curvy - this bedroom collection invites comfort, relaxation and a beautiful aesthetic to coexist. The skilled craftsmanship is obvious, the materials used (wood, metal, glass, leather) are strong but applied in a gracious way. The leather upholstered headboards of the Iride bed are especially unique. Available in a stretched or curled look, it adds a voluptuous dimension to the bed and the room, while the naked wood variation has a cleaner, more minimal appeal. Visit Carpanelli for more information.

Two Key Ways to Reposition Your Brand to Make More Money

Two Key Ways to Reposition Your Brand to Make More Money:

Soda sells for $0.67 at the grocery store or $8 at an amusement park. Steaks are priced from $15 at a casual restaurant to around $35 at a fine dining establishment. A cup of coffee ranges from one dollar to more than $5 depending on where you stop for your morning Joe. The vast difference in these prices is a result of brand positioning and the value that the brand represents in the marketplace.

If you want to increase prices in your business and make more of a margin on each sale, analyze your brand to see how you can reposition it to be more valuable in the minds of your current and potential customers. Do this by boosting actual value or perceived

value.

Actual Value

Increasing actual value likely will cost your business more money but will enable you to charge more too if your customers care about the improvements. For example, in the auto business, a sunroof, leather seats and chrome wheels are considered upgrades. It actually

costs manufacturers more to install sunroofs than solid roofs; more to use leather rather than cloth and more to make chrome instead of aluminum wheels. Since car buyers think these features make a car more comfortable, sporty, luxurious, durable or flashy, these add-ons increase the value of the car and customers will pay more for them.

In your business you are adding actual value anytime you are paying more on a continuous basis for the cost of materials or labor to improve the customer’s view and desire for your product or service. In the case of the cars, the sunroof, leather and chrome wheels must be added or available every time in order to offer the increased value and capture the added profits that result. Using premium or preferred materials or skill sets rather than just “good” or “good enough” materials and labor will allow you to have higher price points if your add-ons are desirable to your customers.

Perceived Value

Increases in perceived value are generally more profitable than increases in actual value because you do not necessarily have to spend money ongoing—or any money at all—to achieve increases in perceived value but you can still charge more for the added value.

Martin Reimann, a psychologist at the University of Southern California, found in his

research that consumers will pay higher prices for attractively packaged products. Making a product package more attractive may not cost more — it can be as simple as using a brighter or darker brand color, a more commanding or refined font or a different shape for

a bottle. These changes can make a product appear richer or of higher quality, yet the inside product may be the same as a lower priced competitor. It’s all about the perception.

Associations, affiliations and trust also boost perceived value. For example, two identical pots may sell for vastly different prices if one has Rachael Ray’s name attached to it and the other does not. Why: Because Rachael Ray’s brand is associated with fun an competence in the kitchen. If a product is worn, used or favored by celebrities then it suddenly achieves higher perceived value.

Professional certifications work the same way. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) may be able to charge a premium for bookkeeping and accounting services than an accountant with a degree but no certification.

Protect, build and analyze your brand to figure out ways to boost value for your customers. Whether it is actual or perceived the added buzz and sales can help you reach your annual profit goals faster.

Felicia Joy is a nationally recognized entrepreneur who created $50 million in value for the various organizations and companies she served in corporate America before launching her business enterprise. She is the author of Hybrid Entrepreneurship: How the Middle Class Can Beat the Slow Economy, Earn Extra Income and Reclaim the American Dream and a regular contributor on CNN. Follow her @feliciajoy.

Are You Stuck in Behavior that Could Guarantee Failure in Your Business?

Are You Stuck in Behavior that Could Guarantee Failure in Your Business?:

(Image: Thinkstock)

Do you have trouble telling your friends that you don’t feel like going out? Or telling the nail technician that the edge of your polish is chipped and needs to be fixed? Or telling your roommate that you’re not okay with his messy girlfriend staying over for a week?

If so, pay attention because you are displaying traits of a behavior pattern that could cause you to fail in business. Sure, these scenarios are small instances of avoiding the truth and they seem to be no big deal. Perhaps, they are in fact not a big deal. Maybe you were just avoiding drama or trying to be nice. But if you find yourself in these avoidance patterns frequently, it’s indicative of a deeper issue. You may be living as a Denier.

I learned that habitual denial was bad for business and I saw how it hurt revenues at a company I co-owned and was running with a Denier; but at the time I couldn’t quite put my finger on the problem. Since I could not name, define and articulate the root problem, the pattern of behavior continued and our hard work and revenues went down the drain. I get it now. And I’m hoping I can save you some trouble.

After mentally reviewing that entire business experience for the treasures (lessons) I could take with me in life and into my next business venture I came to recognize and understand the Denier’s pattern. For a person operating in this way it is most likely affecting every area of your life but here are a three ways it may be manifesting itself in business, and a few thoughts on how to address it:

(Image: Thinkstock)

You’ve started a business in the same industry more than one time and you have failed at the past ones and are failing now. Failure in itself often simply means that a person is trying new things, growing and will eventually be better because they have. However, a Denier is failing because they refuse to acknowledge that something they are doing needs to change. If you suspect for even a moment that this is a culprit in your life, stop right now and decide to change. It may be too difficult or overwhelming to figure out in your own head what you’re doing wrong so ask some people around you. Trust me, somebody knows and they’ve been wanting to tell you. If you make it emotionally safe for them to give you honest feedback they will.

Do that by starting with something like, “I know it may feel odd to be blunt and honest with someone because it feels like you’re being rude. But I need to ask you something and I need you to be totally honest with me, even if you feel like it’s going to hurt my feelings. I promise I am not going to hold anything against you. I just really want to change for the better.” Warning: Prepare yourself in advance. They are probably going to share some things that will tick you off. Some of it may not be true, much of it will be. Be patient with yourself as you come to a place of acceptance. Take all of it in and pray and meditate on what they share so that you can glean what is true and find a way to change.

(Image: Thinkstock)

You’re always borrowing to pay your personal bills and keep your business afloat because your business is not profitable. If you have been in business for two years or less and you’re not profitable then maybe you’re just still in a learning curve. However, if you’re unprofitable and you’ve been in business for five or more years—unless you are in a capital-intense cyclical business like mining or oil drilling—then you’re operating as a Denier.

This is a fact: A business is made to be profitable. Even non-profit organizations are need to make profits; they just reinvest all the profits in support of the cause. So if your “business” is consistently unprofitable and you’re struggling financially as a result, then you don’t a have business. You have an expensive hobby and you need to make a change immediately. Maybe your prices are too low. Maybe your prices are too high. Maybe you give hook-ups. Maybe not enough people want to buy what you sell. Or maybe plenty of people want to buy what you sell but your sales, marketing, service and systems aren’t in place to deliver the goods and collect the money. Or maybe you’re a poor money manager and spend too much on overhead. If you stop, assess your business, look at yourself and give honest answers you’ll figure it out. A Denier will blame everyone and everything else: “My customers are cheap, I need an investor, the economy is down.” All may be true, but what are you going to do about it?

You avoid conversations that may include discussing uncomfortable topics or you avoid sharing your true thoughts because you have a fear (often an unfounded one) that people will think you are mean. Of course none of us wants to be rude or to be thought of as a jerk, but a lot of times we blow out of proportion the things we think will cause us to be labeled in this way. Sometimes we fake our way through situations and conversations only to later reach a boiling point, which causes us to express what we wanted to in the first place only with anger and irritation. Waiting until you can’t take it anymore may earn you the label you were trying to avoid all along—plus “crazy” on top of it. It’s better to just learn how to have conversations with people and ask questions or make requests. Sure there is a way to have these kinds of conversations if they’re on touchy topics so if you’re uncomfortable with that then get some help, take a training course on communication, or practice in the mirror but don’t sidestep what needs to be said.

A Denier will avoid these kinds of conversations even if asked directly for their feelings on something. Often a Denier will come back later and claim to have been wronged or disrespected because their feelings weren’t considered, but the Denier won’t share their true feelings, even when specifically asked. In business, you will make tough decisions from time to time and you’ll have to communicate about prickly topics. Don’t make a big deal of it and it won’t turn out to be such a big deal. If you’re asked about something give your honest thoughts and you can do that diplomatically — and if you change your mind about something later take it upon yourself to communicate that if it matters.

If you think you’ve been living as a Denier, it’s not the end of the world. Chapter 15 in the book What’s Really Holding You Back – Closing the Gap Between Where You Are and Where You Want to Be by Valorie Burton will help you a lot. Just thinking about your answer to the chapter title alone—Are You Working Around Problems or Working Through Them? Break the Cycle of Unhealthy Behavior—is enough to get

you headed in the right direction. Reading the book is sure to provide an epiphany. Ultimately, make a commitment to yourself to stop denying the problems you face and start solving them. Your business, and life, will be much better.

Felicia Joy is a nationally recognized entrepreneur who created $50 million in value for the various organizations and companies she served in corporate America before launching her business enterprise. She is the author of Hybrid Entrepreneurship: How the Middle Class Can Beat the Slow Economy, Earn Extra Income and Reclaim the American Dream and a regular contributor on CNN. Follow her @feliciajoy.

Small business is BIG BUSINESS at the 2012 Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Conference + Expo hosted by Nationwide, May 23-26, at the Hilton Chicago Hotel in Chicago, IL. Expect innovative sessions, high-powered speakers, and an early peek at the products, trends, and services you’ll need to stay ahead of the curve. Beat the March 16 Early Bird deadline to get a $200 registration discount at www.blackenterprise.com/ec/! And be sure to nominate your company or another business for our Small Business Awards! Want to pitch your business idea and win $10,000? Don’t miss the chance to enter our Elevator Pitch Competition before March 30 to qualify for the $10,000 grand prize. To register and find out more, visit www.blackenterprise.com/ec/

The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Good Sleep

The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Good Sleep:

Despite centuries of study, science doesn’t fully understand why humans, or other animals, need to sleep.

Though there’s little to no explanation as to why we need to lose consciousness for a third of the day or more, what is clear is what happens when one doesn’t get it. The health impacts are far-reaching, ranging from decreased focus to higher risk of heart attack and stroke. There’s even a known link between sleep deprivation and obesity.

However, getting a good night’s sleep often isn’t easy for an entrepreneur. The 7-9 hours recommended for most adults can be elusive for those running their own business as both the demanding hours and high stress levels can easily chip away at the hours of shut eye an entrepreneur gets.

However, avoiding sleep is not an option either. Though many entrepreneurs pride themselves on their ability to “go without sleep”, the truth is that sleep deprivation impairs you almost the same amount as being legally drunk, making you a hazard both on the road and in the boardroom.

So how can you ensure you get the sleep that you need? Here are five tips to help you get the amount of shuteye you need to function the next day.

1. Eliminate Stimulants (in particular Caffeine) Before Bed

Caffeine, as well as other stimulants, can keep your mind and body awake long after it’s time to go to sleep.

Caffeine affects everyone differently, but most people will need to either stop or cut back on caffeine at least 4 hours before bedtime to make sure that it is out of their system.

This means that, if your normal bedtime is 11 PM, you need to stop drinking caffeine (or seriously curtailing its use) at dinner time. If you use caffeine regularly, stopping cold turkey could create more trouble than it solves through withdrawal symptoms. If that’s the case, you can still benefit by having less in your system when it comes time to sleep.

2. Relax Before Bedtime

If you attempt to jump straight from work right into bed, you’re likely going to find that it takes a long time for your body to relax, unwind and then go to sleep.

Most people need to have a buffer between work, family and sleep, something that is relaxing, ideally dimly-lit and gets both body and mind ready for sleep.

This can be something like taking a hot bath, reading a book, doing light exercise, listening to calming music, etc. As long as the activity isn’t too bright (meaning TV watching may not be wise) and helps relax your body and mind, it can help get you in the right mindset to fall asleep.

3. Spend Money on Your Bed

Considering that you spend approximately a third of your life in your bed, it makes sense to spend money getting the most comfortable mattress, best pillows and other accessories that you can reasonably get.

A comfortable mattress that helps you sleep better can improve your overall quality of life and is usually well worth the investment.

Besides, the more you look forward to crawling in bed and getting sleep the more likely you are going to do so. Having an uncomfortable mattress is a great way to ensure you don’t want to spend time getting the rest you need.

4. Avoid Technology in the Bedroom

Strong lights cause your mind to wake up instinctively and reduce the amount of melatonin, an important sleep hormone. Backlit devices such as LCD monitors, smartphones and tablets produce a lot of light and can wake your brain up.

If you want to use your iPhone as an alarm clock, keep the screen off and don’t read on anything with backlighting before going to bed.

In a similar vein, you may want to trade out the light bulbs in your bedroom for softer, dimmer bulbs that won’t blind you.

5. Maintain a Regular Sleep Schedule and One Bedroom Rule

Though this may be the hardest thing for an entrepreneur, especially one balancing work and a family, it’s crucial to have a sleep schedule for your self that includes a consistent bedtime and a consistent wake time.

Sadly, this includes weekends.

If you feel the need to nap during the day, it’s best to do it earlier in the afternoon rather than a few hours before bed, making it imperative that you fight off the after-dinner grogginess.

Also, it’s important to use your bedroom for just sleep and sex. Using it to watch TV, do work or just about anything else can prevent your body from relaxing fully when it’s in there.

If you make it clear what the bedroom is for, it will have a subconscious impact on your mind to start getting ready for sleep when you go inside it. This should help you in both falling asleep and staying there.

If these and other tips to get more sleep don’t help you, you may want to consider trying over-the-counter medication. Most medicines available today are non-habit forming but should still only be used to fight occasional bouts of sleeplessness, not as long term solutions.

If those fail, consider seeing a doctor about your sleep troubles, especially if your lack of sleep is impacting your day-to-day life.

Fortunately, most sleep disorders are easily controlled and treated but they first have to be diagnosed.

So, if all else fails, don’t hesitate to talk with your physician about your sleep problems and get the help you need to stay happy and healthy.

This guest post is written by Lior Levin, a marketing consultant for a psd to html 5 service and, who also consults for a to do list application company.

Portland Street Duplex by MPR Design Group

Portland Street Duplex by MPR Design Group:

MPR Design Group have designed the Portland Street Duplex in Sydney, Australia.

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Visit the MPR Design Group website – here.

Photography by Karl Beath

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The Anatomy of Online Success #infographic

We all know the major impact social media and other online tools has had on marketing, advertising, and branding as a whole. But here is a the break down of how online marketing works and what works best.

How to Use YouTube to Generate Leads

How to Use YouTube to Generate Leads:

Business decision makers love online video and more and more executives are watching online business videos at work. Many businesses owners and corporate marketers realize the power of marketing with online video on YouTube, but are not sure how to get started.

With more than 48 hours’ worth of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, it might be harder than ever to break through and gain top ranking for your videos. A consistent VSEO strategy that includes research and content can improve rankings and brand visibility and can drive and create qualified leads for your business. And businesses have a lot to gain from strong YouTube rankings.

A well-executed and high quality YouTube video marketing strategy will drive new business opportunities by improving your search algorithm rankings to catapult you ahead of your competition and give you ongoing investment returns to your online video production. Now is the perfect time to establish your firm’s YouTube presence and ensure that your content rises above your competition with these simple steps.

©iStockphoto.com/dem10

1. Optimize the Video Title

The title of your video is the most important element for video optimization and critical to it being found. Perform some preliminary video keyword research and add them to the title. If you have older videos, go back and optimize your video tags and metadata to reflect changes in your keyword strategy.

2. Include URLs in Your Description

This will improve your YouTube algorithm rankings and make it easy for viewers to get more relevant content. Add at least three URLs in your video SEO rich description, such as your homepage URL, a link to product or category landing pages or other videos in your channel, and/or a link to your Subscribe button. To get subscribers automatically, you can use following link structure to automatically subscribe viewers to your channel:

http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=USERNAME

For example, http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=MVProductionsNYC

3. Create YouTube Playlists

Organize similar videos into sets, or playlists. Create YouTube playlists based on highly searched keywords, viewer interest, or topics, and follow best SEO practices when writing your title and description.

4. Coordinate Description and Tags with Contextual SEO

Add your most important keywords at the beginning of your description and within your tags. These should be consistent with the title of your video and textual SEO keywords on your website to produce best video marketing results. YouTube is always changing their algorithms, but at the time of this publication, 15 to 20 VSEO keyword phrase tags are optimal.

5. Direct Viewers to Take Action

Depending on your goals, direct viewers towards actions you want them to take, such as Facebook Likes, sharing comments, subscribing to your newsletter, or website traffic. YouTube loves when viewers interact with your content and these actions are key algorithm metrics to get your videos higher search engine rankings.

Just like any sound SEO strategy, getting found on YouTube takes research, time and consistency. Now is the perfect time to establish your firm’s YouTube presence and ensure that your content rises above the crowd.

New Music: Bun B "Stop Playing" Feat. Royce Da 5'9 & Redman

New Music: Bun B "Stop Playing" Feat. Royce Da 5'9 & Redman:

This is some real Hip-Hop right here.

Bun B "Stop Playing" Feat. Royce Da 5'9 & Redman

Spotted: HHNM

Vintage Style Kitchens by Marchi Group - 1956 and Loft

Vintage Style Kitchens by Marchi Group - 1956 and Loft:

These vintage style kitchens by Marchi Group have awoken our appetite for some retro style. The Loft and 1956 kitchens have an unmistakably old-school appeal that reminds us of Mom's classic culinary space, pride in every last quirk.

The 1956 kitchen (above) has a country-chic aesthetic, featured in a sweet cream finish - delish! The floating cabinets and shelves are handy for added storage that keeps all your kitchen essentials close at hand. And throw-back to the streets of London, a phone booth-style door conceals the fridge.



The Loft kitchen (above) has a more industrial feel. Adding to its traditional flair, we love the '50s-era pastel teal color complementing the steel-patchwork range hood and handles. Paired with stainless steel appliances, the look is "old-fashioned for the future."

Check out the vintage style kitchens by visiting Marchi Group.

McLaren MP4-12C High Sport

McLaren MP4-12C High Sport:

McLaren's stunning new MP4-12C High Sport takes the hypercar to the next level with aerodynamic modifications from the MP4-12C racing program, new wheels, and of course, more power, 667 horsepower to be exact. And if you're hoping to charge this one to the Black Card, tough luck, because there's only five examples and all of them are owned by one lucky McLaren client. Link

Images: Tomirri Photography