Marketing, Advertisting & Communication in Iowa

I am a single mom to a seven month old. I have been staying home with him but now find that I need to start generating my own money.

I have a degree in Graphic Design just acquired in February last year and am a mural artist as well. I have been toying with the idea of starting a design business and/or mural painting business. I don’t have any money to really do any kind of major startup, besides registering the business, but these seem like ideas that wouldn’t take any major investment.

I have a website for my portfolio which needs some polish, but it’s a start. I still am not sure if I should do the graphic design, mural painting, both, maybe just create a website to maintain that I can somehow get traffic to. I don’t know what would be most lucrative and most efficient in time managment. Any suggestions on how to decide, or getting started are appreciated.

Find the type of business on the link below that best describes what it is that YOU do (or want to do). Then see how to truly use the Net to make your specific business (or business idea) thrive. http://www.wotsnext.com

Or check out their new blog: http://blogit.sitesell.com/wotsnext.html

as the title says: how does the promotion of human rights in China serve western interests?

this is a class discussion question i am having. i know the western world is concerned about human rights in China, but i dont really know why.

Wow…so much to type here…but it’s dinner time. SO I shall summarize: because it will eventually make them like "us" (i.e., the West). That is what we want.

P.S.—To a previous poster who mentioned about wages going up, etc. That is EXACTLY what we want to happen! If wages were identical over there, US companies would not be relocating all their operations to China.

I am a professional dancer but I would like to get a business degree to help me further my dance career. I need to learn how to manage money, run a studio, promote myself, etc… All the things that artists are known to be bad at. I will eventually be starting my own business. What business degree would be best to help me accomplish my goals?

General business. If you can find a general business with concentration in entrepreneurship that’d work well. A bachelor’s degree in your art followed by an MBA would be even better.

Specific majors like accounting, finance, marketing, etc… are for people that plan to get a job in that specialty working for someone else - they aren’t really being taught to run a business. You’ll benefit much more from a general understanding of all of those functions.

I’ve noticed a trend in MBA programs in the last couple years. There are a lot of us "artsy people" following our artistic bachelor’s degree with an MBA for exactly the reason you state in your question. If you plan that route, get a minor in business in your undergraduate degree.

i dont agree with wait unitl the ecomeny gets better. there are buisness out there eager to advertise due to the fact that there slow busness need to advertise all the time to keep there name out there otherwise they will probaly fail so give it a shot start small local buisess etc.

Whats the average cost for advertising a house so that it can be sold on the market?

There is no answer to your question. Some houses remain unsold for much longer periods than do others, and thus cost far more in repetitive advertising to procure buyers. Quality advertising, however, is expensive. Many agents maintain websites on which to display listings to potential buyers, and agencies themselves mostly have similar websites for all properties listed. As well, there is newspaper and real estate guide advertising, some TV advertising on ‘local homes for sale’ channels, plus the costs of MLS and www.realtor.com exposure. It all adds up.

A friend of mine needs a job. He has been a business owner all his life, but due to the economy being so bad, he sold his business. Now he wants to work for someone, but doesn’t know how to write a resume as a business owner. Is it the same as writing a resume if you worked for a companies?
Would it be negative for the employer to know that you owned a business (for many years)? Would they think he is over-qualified?

It should be achievement-oriented. It should elaborate on specific achievements for which he is responsible while operating his own business. It also should outline some of the skills, both managerial and manual, that he acquired during the course of his work in his business, because they may be transferable.

It should remain within the guidelines of a standard resume in terms of length and information. Certain categories concerning personal information and background would remain the same. He would maybe benefit from using a lot of business references who do not present a threat as rivals.

I think your friend should visit his local human resources office and ask whether any sample resumes are available for reference. I have found one on the Internet, but I think I have seen better sample resumes for individuals who have remained in the same position for a number of years.

http://www.freeresumesamples.org/samples/sales/outsidesales.asp

As well, he might benefit from looking at different links on the web site shown above.

Having owned and operated his own business would not necessarily be a negative factor. I think it is more likely to be a positive influence, because it generally seems to be an indicator that he is well-motivated. How much of an influence it would be could depend on the type of job he is seeking and on the individual personalities involved. Whether he is over-qualified for a job would depend on the position under consideration.

Hi there, I have a 10% promotion code for Cadbury Gifts Direct, MYVALENTINES, and whenever I keep on clicking Recalculate Totals, nothing happens to the total of the cost. What am I doing wrong and how do I get the Promotion Code to take effect? Thanks.

Does the promotion have a phone # you can call?
If not you could write to them and explain your difficulty.
Sometimes *promotions* are fake. Not by Cadbury, to my rather limited knowledge they are a honest and equitable company, Even if they do sabotage my waist line on occasions.

I need information about a cattle branding, I live in New Mexico, more specifically for dona ana county. About who owns it.

http://www.nmlbonline.com/index.php?id=4

Here is their contact info:
Mailing Address:
300 San Mateo NE, Suite 1000
Albuquerque, NM 87108-1500 Directions and map

Phone:
505-841-6161

Fax:
505-841-6160

Hope this helps!

I just wanted to know if they are any other websites similar to this one, also specifically for marketers and people interested in marketing?

I am aware of yahoo answers but very broad and general. I am also interested to know what websites offer marketing trends, information and news.

As you can see i’m very keen to expand my marketing knowledge.

I have come across a number of great Marketing web sites. I think your search may be more successful, however, if you first identify which areas you are most interested in learning about. After all, as you are no doubt discovering, Marketing is a very broad category and covers several fields and disciplines.

I’ve listed below three of my most favorite marketing sites.

If you wish to chat about Marketing in greater detail, feel free to e-mail me.

Good luck to you.

I am planning on purchasing a limousine business and I know that the business has debt. Will I be acquiring the debt as well or is this is something that the current owners will have to deal with before or after selling to me?

Yes, of course you will be. That is part of the value of the business.

Carrying debt can actually have a positive effect as it works as a tax shield (depending on the debt). Also if you are a new business an incapable of getting loans, acquiring existing debt can be a good thing, however, the debtors may have covenants saying that the debt needs to be repaid in the even of a change of ownership.

I think you need to seriously look at how you have valued the company. If you have valued it properly, then the debt is already considered. If you haven’t even valued it, you are likely heading into a world of hurt.

You need access to their financial statements and to value the future sales projections. This can be very complex, and it is likely worth the time and expense of hiring someone to do this.

Or you can start here and be prepared to do a lot of research.

http://www.score.org/article_business_valuation_101.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_valuation

If you start reading about a WACC, then instead use a rate of return that you feel you want to make on the business every year for discounting (like 10%, 12% etc.) make sure it is reasonable, as it basically stands for the amount you could have otherwise invested the money for.

Or you can just gut feel it, and go for it, but I highly advise against it.