dibya’s blogosphere

Making a sale can be exciting. You and your staff may be tempted into pushing products for the sake of making a sale. However, the savvy shoppers frequenting boutiques today are not down for a push. They can generally tell when you’re trying to sell them something that they may not need. The push itself can turn them off from ever wanting to shop at your store again. The returns and complaints could end up costing you more than you made from the product in the first place.

Learning how to work with your customers, instead of against them, can help you to create the bonds of trust that are needed to maintain a client/customer relationship. Think about why people come into your store. They may be there to browse, get their creative juices flowing, or they could be there looking for a specific product. The first thing that you should do is to put yourself into their shoes.

Let’s say you walk into an interesting boutique for the first time. How would you like to be treated? You’re looking around, appreciating an item here and there, all while soaking in the atmosphere and getting your footing. Do you really want someone to be in your face asking you a lot of questions, rattling off ten different specials, or wanting to walk around and shop with you while pushing every product? Of course not, who would?

The first thing you should do is let your customers start to get a feel for the store. Keep an eye out, just in case they are searching for something in particular and need assistance. After they’ve looked around a bit, you may then choose to make contact. People shop at boutiques for personalized service, not good sales skills.

Make sure that you are honest when you recommend products. It’s okay to say so if you think that a certain product will not work for them. People appreciate honesty above and beyond anything else, especially when it comes to their decisions on whether or not to spend money.

One way to keep a “hands off” approach to your customer service is to set up the store in a way that is informative, non-intrusive, and easy to manage alone. Slatwall panels are useful for this, because slatwall displays put all of your merchandise in easy view. You can use mannequin forms and other slatwall accessories to show the customer what you would normally have to tell them. Using and creative displays can help get most of the work done for you, so that you can respect your customers’ space and time. You’ll be amazed at how much customers respond to personalized service as opposed to “in your face” sales approaches.

Sports clubs are a great part of our community. They give people a social outlet that helps them build friendship, enjoy healthy exercise and play a game that they love. But they can also be very tough to control financial. Expenses for offices, clubrooms, equipment and coaches all cost money, and it is important to keep membership costs low, to encourage maximum participants. So how do you come up with money?

One way is through sponsorship. If your sports club is visible in the community, then it should be easy to entice some local businesses to sponsor your club. Companies might include the local butcher, restaurants, finance companies, the list is endless really. And in return for their money, their logos and information can get added to signage at the sports grounds, the club website and even to the players uniforms.

Sponsorship can go a long way in helping the financial state of a sports club but sometimes it is good to raise additional money yourself. This can be used for end of season trips, new equipment or presentation night celebrations. There are many great fundraising ideas to make money for your sports club, a number of which I will mention here.

A great fundraiser idea is to run coaching or training sessions. Both members and non-members of the club can join in and it lets people learn more about the sport and improve their skills. If you have any contacts to
professional players in your chosen sport, getting them to appear at an event is a great drawcard and can really help numbers.

Organising a match between local businesses or schools can actually help raise funds too. Each team member can
get their own individual sponsor and again if you can invite a celebrity to appear at the match that would attract interest. People could also get charged an admission into the sports event and you could have a sausage sizzle to make more money that way too. Make sure you also provide a yummy alternative that is vegetarian because a lot more people don’t eat meat these days and you want to be able to cash in on their generosity too!

Another great fundraising idea is to hold a sponsored bike ride around the local region. Most cities have lots
of great bike paths and you can set up a route that is safe and fun. You can award small prizes at the end and
provide water and refreshments which the sponsors can take care of. All your ideas for fundraising should be healthy because you are a sports team and looking to promote fitness and good health.

With a little planning and the efforts of all your sports club, there is no reason why you can make good money
through fundraising events that the community will enjoy and help your financial status as the club moves forward.

When your passion and perhaps your livelihood is the creation of quality videos for people’s events, you probably have some heroes. Martin Scorsese is somewhat of an icon because he is known for his stylistic videography in his movies. Now, you don’t necessary need as much style as a Scorsese gets in movies that win him academy awards. But such professionals who are both precise and very good at their work and creative in how they get their shots are an inspiration to the rest of us.

So how can you go about becoming your own version of “Scorsese” in reaching higher standards of professionalism in the video you do for your customers or friends? Well, sometimes you just have to go back to basics

When you go on a shoot, think of yourself like you are going on an assignment into a war zone. Of course, hopefully, nobody will be firing guns at you. But like a battle, you have to be totally prepared going in. There is no calling “cut” if you are filming your son’s first baseball game. You will get it or not on the first take so your equipment has to be ready and you have to be ready. So think through some of your pre-shoot preparations for the big day.

Inspect, clean, repair and test your equipment the night before. Make sure you have any support materials such as batteries, lights for your flash or if you use a lamp to accentuate indoor shots. And think through the various ways your equipment may have to support you and how you can support it?

What if something needs electricity but is too far from the outlet? Bring extension cords. What if you need more electricity, then plugs are handy? Bring power strips. What if have extension cords where people will walk? Bring duct tape. What if you have to get that duct tape up fast? Bring a good knife or cutting blade. It pays to play these situations out in your mind and be prepared as you go to battle.

Framing a shot so it looks good in the final cut takes some talent and skill to get what you want where you need it to happen. If the scene is very active, like a sporting event, you need to be able to move, set, shoot and break down and do it again and again all day long.

That means your equipment has to be light and self contained but you need to be armed to swap things out on your feet. A well prepared supplies bag that you can get into, swap out a lens, a battery or other needs on the fly is essential to being that mobile. And you have to know your equipment so well that you can literally lock and load in seconds so important shots don’t leave you behind. Some practice with your camera, tripod, lights, supply bags and anything else you have to have for such mobility will pay off big time during the shoot.

You may have cringed when you saw the word tripod but get used to it. Don’t cut corners on this “accessory.” The tripod should be as flexible as your body so you can drop it for a ground shot and have it up and set quickly each time you need to reposition. But despite the bother this might cause, the tripod alone may make your shots 100% more professional.

Knowing your gear and being prepared are the two top commandments of producing high quality professional video. It may not make you a “Scorsese,” but it will take you a long way in that direction in the improvement you will see in your work.

Compliment yourselves, believe in yourselves, and give yourselves credit.

You are wonderful people; each and every one of you has many talents. You have achieved much in your lives. You are dear people. All you have to do is acknowledge it, believe in it and cultivate it. I once heard a dear person say – “The perfect person for being myself – is me”. And so, the most perfect person for being you – is you”. It is a wonderful sentence. Please remember it and give yourself credit for the wonderful person you are. Believe in yourself and in what you are able to do. Believe in your ability to love and be happy. Believe in your inner light and that you can create so much. Even the sky is not the limit. Believe in the multitude of possibilities for you. Believe that you can believe!

Give yourselves a kind word. Stand in front of the mirror and say a kind word to yourselves. Give yourselves credit for things you are successful in, for things you have accomplished, for gifts you have given to the world, for your good qualities, for the beauty within you. Thank yourself for the beautiful plant that you have placed in your house, for the good cake you baked, or for the beautiful picture you hung on the wall. Let yourselves enjoy who you are.

Two exercises that will assist you

First exercise – complimenting one’s self

Make a list of things you love about yourself. For example: “I am smart”, “I am kind”, “I have a great sense of humor”, “I have pretty eyes”, “I am very friendly and I make people feel good about themselves”.

Make this list and within it you will find yourselves. You will find out how loveable you are. You will find out your useful and good qualities.

First you might need to strain your brain a little but the rest will soon to follow.

You are wonderful people. Much love to you…

Here is an example of the one of my attribute lists:

Complimenting Myself:

I am filled with love and give love to the universe

I am kind and helpful

I am friendly

I am beautiful

I am filled with happiness and optimism and I share it with my surroundings all the time

I am aware of my ability to create in my life

I am able to solve any dilemma

I eat healthy and take care of my body

I am intelligent

Second exercise -Accomplishments

Make a list of all the things you have accomplished in your daily life, things you feel you have been successful in. Note these things and add a few of the sentiments you that have felt while achieving them. Describe them in detail. Experience once more those good sentiments through the writing. Later you will be able to relive the event and sentiments while reading them once more. You can also add more small achievements every time you recall them. Soon enough more and more insights will come to you as you realize that the act of adding achievements is the greatest success.

Here is a list of my achievements in the recent past:

My Achievements:

One of my paintings was hung in my parents’ dining room. The painting is pretty and expresses joy.

I made wonderful breakfast for my friends and they all enjoyed it

I finished my Bachelors and Masters Degree

I help people find the good and beautiful within them

I helped a friend buy a shirt that looks good on him

I attended a good workshop on attracting abundance and it helped me attract the things I wanted in my life

I was successful in managing a project at work

Now read what you wrote and see how wonderful you are.

For more great guidelines and tips go to health and happiness – the simple and fun way

If you want to live long and happy, invest in people and what better way to do it than through charity work. You have a great responsibility of volunteering, which unfortunately many think is a choice. The reason why volunteers are not paid is because they are priceless. There is no better investment than in kindness and love. Money and other assets are set to rot or lose value with time. In any case, what you store up for yourself is shared with rodents.

The best exercise for your heart is in reaching down and lifting others up through charity work. Acts of charity gives you pleasure and contentment in the fact that you are able to help someone. One has not lived until he/she does something to somebody worth remembering. The best investment is where you expect no returns. That is the essence of love, it is selfless and unconditional. There are two things that man must have in order to find living worthwhile; and these are attitude and love.

No matter what situations might be, man must always remain calm humble and positive. He should be aggressive in a calm and loving way. One who does not appreciate the events of life finds no joy at all and is thus unable to offer charity works to others; for how can you offer love if you do not have any? Joy begins within a person as a result of high esteem and optimism. One may expect to receive no affection and kindness from others but if he is happy by himself, his affection will surely be contagious.

Life satisfaction does not come from how much your bank account reads but by how many lives you have touched. Those simple acts of charity work that may seem insignificant can be what just another person needs to have hope in life. Therefore, go out there are touch someone who is in need of help.

To move in the crowd of people, to spend time with family and friends and all other forms of lifestyle are very important for one to lead a happy life. One can move in a crowd, run with the world but for emotional and mental balance and for the perfect state of mind one needs to spend time with himself. Human mind appears balanced but actually it is not so and on seeing particular stimuli the wave of thoughts bounces to and fro. To attain peace of mind, spiritual awareness and internal balance one needs to spend time with him. One of the best possible ways to do so is to meditate. How many of you are aware of meditation and how many of you can actually meditate? Some people consider their prayer as meditation but in real terms it is not so. Meditation in simple words means concentration and awareness of feeling things. The term “the god meditation” not only helps to connect with god but also balances the inner state of mind thus providing one with awareness regarding spiritual power.

The process of meditation covers three stages. First stage is the stage of concentrating which brings serenity, second stage is to get connected to the peace of mind which provides clarity and the final stage is to be blessed by the virtue of connection you had to the god and your inner self. At various instances of time we get instantaneous thoughts regarding the stimuli which may or may not be balanced. If I were to prove the above statement I would consider the example of a dog. Firstly on seeing a dog we may get the feeling of having a pet, on seeing it for another time we may think that it is planning to bite us etc. this proves how our mind bounces over various thoughts and stays unbalanced. To take charge of it the first step is concentration which enables a human being to gain control over the mind. Before we undergo the god meditation it is very important to have a point of focus.

There are various techniques and traditions opted by the people who meditate. If we think of the western side then Buddhist trend of meditation has been favored significantly. Since the position opted by the Buddhists for meditation is a very balanced one. Majority of the people are easily able to adjust with this very position because it is highly comfortable and they can meditate longer than the usual. Extending from our forefathers something that has come to us is the use of music for meditation. Some people prefer instrumental music whereas many others prefer old age music. Close your eyes and go is one such music production which levies its main focus on generating meditation music. As per the words of the artist the design is so creative that it forces the nervous system to soothe down and come under one’s control. One just needs to enter the empire of our productions and choose from the wide choices of meditation music. We have huge collection based on all sort of meditation styles.