Vinyl Record Organizer

I’m looking for an online organizer for my music collection…?

I have a lot of vinyl records and my collection keeps growing, so I was wondering if there was some freeware online where I can keep a list of my albums…?

How to Find the Billion-dollar Opportunities

How many times have you kicked yourself because you had the chance to get involved with a new business opportunity, and you passed it up because you just didn’t want to take a chance? Well, you don’t have to leave your success to chance.

There are clues that the next billion-dollar companies give you. There are some very specific indicators that a company is destined for greatness. The purpose of this article is to help take a little of the guesswork out of determining the potential of an investment opportunity in the network marketing industry, or any industry for that matter. Your time and your hard earned money are precious commodities. However, life is too short to pass up on the real opportunities that, on the average, come around about once every ten years. These indicators apply to any company in any industry, but are especially true when evaluating a network marketing company.

Be first to market with a new product, new market, or an innovation to an existing product or market.

The luggage industry is the perfect example. Everyone has luggage. It was a large, but stagnate, market for many years. Then, someone put wheels on those heavy suitcases. Do you ever see anyone carrying a suitcase now? An existing market redefined by innovation!

How about redefining a market? Music has always been around. However, every time an innovation is made, fortunes are made. Vinyl records begat eight-track tapes which begat cassette tapes. Then came CD’s and now iPods. Get the idea? The drivers of those innovations enjoy huge financial success.

History shows that the company that is first to market with such innovations always maintains the lion’s share of the business. Can copycat companies be successful? Absolutely. Look at all of the “me too” juice companies out there. However, if you are looking for the billion-dollar opportunity, go with the first to market!

The company must be in a high-growth market.

If the market a company is in doesn’t exceed a billion dollars, it is going to be impossible for one company in that market to do a billion dollars by itself. Look for industries that are being driven by the baby boomers. They are by far the largest consumer group, and they are spending money! They are going to define much about our economy for the next twenty years.

In network marketing, consumption is key.

For a network marketing company to survive the long haul, marketing consumable products is a must. Network marketing is driven by volume, and volume only increases through new customers and/or increased consumption. Eventually new customers become hard to get. However, repeat consumption can drive a business for a long, long time.

If a company wants to expand they have two options. The first is increasing the number of customers. The second is increasing the amount of volume being sold. Therefore, a company that only has one product to offer handicaps themselves because they are primarily relying on increasing their number of customers month after month year after year. This becomes very difficult in a relatively short period of time. It is not a good choice for the person looking for long time residual income.

A company that has developed a loyal consumer base can increase volume by introducing new products to existing satisfied customers. Do not underestimate the importance of this difference.

Cash flow is king no matter what the business or industry.

Many great ideas die a painful death at the hands of debt and depleted capital. Look for companies that are profitable quickly. Financing its own growth gives a company huge advantages over their competitors and allows it to survive the “bumps in the road” without so much as a hiccup.

The experience and expertise of key management is a real clue to long-term viability.

A company can have all the right ingredients, but if the management team doesn’t have the correct recipe for success it is all for naught. Look for years of experience in the industry. Look for management personnel with experience in taking other companies to the billion-dollar mark, international expansion experience and large operations and customer service experience are a few important areas.

Finally, take a hard look at field leadership.

Who is out in the trenches training the troops? Have they had success in the past? Do they have a good reputation within the network marketing industry? This is where the rubber meets the road. The foundation of network marketing is “word of mouth advertising.” The distributors ultimately determine the success of the company. So, how well they are developed and trained is paramount. Look at this aspect of a company very carefully.

In summary, can you make money with companies that don’t meet all of these criteria? Sure you can. However, if you are looking for an opportunity that is going to give you the best shot at achieving long-term residual income and financial freedom, I would locate a company with these characteristics, secure a place in their organization as quickly as possible and be one of the reasons for their success!

Is God Really Robin Hood?

Copyright (c) 2009 Good News Publications

You remember the old Robin Hood theme don’t you, “Steal for the Rich and give to the Poor”? So is that what God is doing with today’s economy?

Twenty-two years ago I stood in a music store that was going out of business. For forty years this family owned business had been running in that little town and now it was time to close the doors.

It was a mad house. This was an old fashion music store with vinyl records, sheet music, guitars, organs, pianos and piano lessons and even some accordions. The buzz in the store was almost giddy and I saw a few older women grabbing handfuls of Christian sheet music and albums then rushing to the register paying 10 or maybe 25 cents on the dollar while asking for even more discounts on volume.

“Isn’t God good!” one lady said cheerfully to the other. “We are a poor church you know and now look at the deal God has given, us—He really takes care of the righteous doesn’t He?” Her friend totally agreed. In fact it appeared that everyone in the store agreed. The frenzy was like that scene from the nature channel when some poor unsuspecting animal tries to cross a stream filled with Piranha and half way across the feeding madness begins. This 40 year old business was like that helpless animal being picked to the bone.

But, hey, it’s capitalism, right? Only the strong survive. I certainly would rather have heard that, then the comment that God was somehow now benefiting so many poor Christians with the sale of this business. But wait, doesn’t it say in the scriptures that God will take the riches from the unrighteous and give it to the righteous? That the ungodly may prosperous for awhile but in the end God will balance it out—right?

So was God acting like Robin Hood and taking from the rich and giving to the poor? That seems to be what people are saying today when they can buy what used to be a 500K home for 100K and then the prayers flow to God for all the blessings finally being poured out to the righteous.

The only problem is I knew the owners of that 40 year old Music Store. It was my wife’s parents, my father-in-law and my mother-in-law so I know they were not the ungodly or those nasty unrighteous wealthy business mongers that everyone hates so easily. The only mistake they made was staying too long in a Mall that no longer wanted Mom and Pop stores.

I’m glad that in today’s hard hit economy some people are benefiting, that some homes and cars and other items out of reach to many are now in their grasp and I really don’t have a problem with them thanking God for their good fortune. But please don’t make the mistake of thinking that God is Robin Hood and while those prayers and praises are heaven bound, perhaps some prayers could be offered for those who lost their dreams on the other end and are having to move on.

Yes, there are those that over-extended themselves, but like my In-laws, just maybe there are those who simply made a mistake. I know everyone wants a deal and most Christians are quick to point their stewardship responsibility to make the best deal. All of that is well and good; just remember that in the family of God all His children count so while it is right to thank God for our good fortune, let’s at least leave it at that or perhaps even better, pray for the good fortune of all.

Hotels of the World

Hotels are meant to be your home away from home. Often, though, especially with the advent of boutique and luxury hotels, they are even more than that, they become experiences in and of themselves.

From art-themed, to book themed, to green and clean to haute cuisine and high fashion, hotels have clung onto every chic and hip meme out there, developing them into posh design concepts which easily attract the curious and smart from all corners of the world to lay down their heads and their dollars for a night’s sleep.

Of course, you’ve got your standard beachside paradises, fully equipped with peace invoking reflecting pools, shabby-chic villas with mosquito netting romantically slung around the beds and organic chocolate covered coffee beans on the pillows; and you’ve got your upscale, metropolitan affairs, architecturally zeitgeisty structures that double as upstanding lessons on high class and elegance as well as those staid, institutional hotels which never go out of style.

But, for those looking for something different, for something a little more off the beaten track, something more adventuresome or creative, there are a host of options out there.

Here’s a look at some of the world’s most unique and unusual hotels.

The Magic Mountain Hotel, in Panguipulli, Chile, at the center of the Huilo Huilo nature reserve, is a hotel in the shape of a  mountain. Water spouts from the top of the mountain, cascadeing down the sides creating a spectacular sight. This is definitely not your ordinary hotel. It’s set in the middle of a forest in beautiful southern Chile; there are hot tubs made out of tree trunks, perched on a wooden deck overlooking the woodlands; and there’s also a nearby golf course. Rooms start at around $170USD per night.

In Sweden, visitors to Jukkaskjarvi can stay in a hotel made out of pure, solid ice. Although there are several ice hotels in the world, this one was the original Ice Hotel; it’s also the world’s largest hotel made out of ice and snow, covering some 5500 square meters. The hotel started out as a small igloo built on the Torne River, as an art exhibit. Some visitors decided to sleep in the igloo and the ice hotel concept was born from there. Today there are several ice hotels all over the world.

The Lighthouse at Harlingen Harbor in the Netherlands, once served to shepherd sailors and ships in the harbor; it was closed in 1998, however, one intrepid individual determined that although the light might be extinguished, the historic structure and landmark itself could still be put to good use. The lighthouse is now a luxurious hotel; guests can sleep in the tower, where the beacon once was, or they can stay in the lifeboat, which now rescues people from the daily grind, rather than the harrowing north seas.

The Franklin Feel the Sound Hotel in Rome is all about music. This place is dedicated to good tunes, good design and modern technology. Located a few blocks away from the Vatican in the Prati quarter, this hotel offers guests all the creature comforts including high quality stereo sound systems and vinyl records.