Powerful Ways of Marketing Your Business Through Golf

Not only is the game of golf big business, but it's big IN business too. Millions of business transactions happen on the golf courses of the world nearly every day of the year. From sales negotiations to legal settlements, the golf club is as mighty as the pen when it comes to getting business done.

It's hard to separate the social from the business aspects of a workday spent on the links, and perhaps its better that way. You see, conducting business on the golf course is just as complicated as conducting business in the boardroom. Only the environment and clothing are different.

While nearly everyone can grasp the obvious benefits of playing golf in business sales and negotiation situations, fewer people understand how to find other ways to use golf in business to drum up new customers.

While anyone who plays can invite a colleague, vendor, or co-worker for a round of 18 holes, how can the lone golfer benefit from the magic powers of golf in business?

It seems that Portsmouth, N.H business woman Dianne Durkin has found a unique approach. According to Durkin, she has snared a number of new clients for her business consulting firm by simply approaching the first tee alone and then getting matched up with others players who need to round out a foursome. Sometime during the game the talk always turns to business, and Durkin gets a chance to make her low-key sales pitch. Now that's one smart golfer!

There are other ways to ride the golf in business success train even if you've never touched a set of clubs yourself. One Long island business executive, who had no interest in the game himself, hires salespeople who play and lets them entertain prospective clients on the area's courses. The end result is more sales, with a higher average dollar amount per sale, and another example of a clever way to make money from playing golf in business.

No matter what size community your business is located in, there are advertising, marketing and sponsoring opportunities tied to golf in business as well. You can sponsor local golf tournaments, or even start a tournament yourself that carries your company's name. If your business is oriented towards school-age children, donating golf shirts to the high school golf club is a great way to reach prospective customers and grab some golf in business publicity at the same time.

Custom-printed golf towels, golf balls, golf hats, and other golf accessories make fine golf in business gifts as well. There are plenty of advertising speciality companies that can print these golf in business items up in any quantity that you need.

The key to leveraging golf in business is to think outside the box. You don't have to be a player to reap the benefits. You just need a golf in business strategy that's capable of getting your name on to the links even if your body remains in the office.

Richard Myers is a keen golfer and his web site http://www.thinkandreachpar.com and http://www.golfforleftys.com contains many free tips and great golfing advice plus training videos and DVDs to help you to improve your swing and lower your score using some very simple exercises.

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Asphalt Shingle Roofing - The Facts

Is it any wonder why almost 80% of homes in north america use asphalt shingles as the roofing material of choice. The prevalence of asphalt shingles has created a vast assortment of fittings and fixtures designed to work with them. Items such as a multitude of flashing configurations, edge products, and almost every skylight manufactured has an appropriate base configuration for a weatherproof connection with asphalt shingles. All of the material that you need for a proper installation, such as the shingles, tarpaper, nails, vent boots and chimney flashing are available at any home improvement retailer.

The primary attributes of asphalt tiles are:

• reasonably priced (economical),
• require very little maintenance,
• versatile,
• provide excellent protection on steep sloped roofs,
• are weather and sunlight resistant,
• easy to cut,
• can be nailed by hand or with powered nailers.

There are two different types of asphalt shingle base material construction - composition and fiberglass. Composition shingles use a base material termed organic felt, which is a blend of paper and wood fibers. Fiberglass, on the other hand, uses a base that is comprised of a fiberglass mat. In both cases, once the base material is produced it is soaked in an asphalt compound. In numbers sold, fiberglass leads the market. They are less expensive, weigh less because they are thinner, have a longer wear life and have a better fire rating than the composition base shingles.

average cost of a shingle roof is $50 to $150 per square, installed. Removal of old shingles will cost between $30 and $50 per square.

Both types of asphalt shingles are manufactured with embedded mineral granules. Seeing the granules in your eaves trough (after the initial installation) is a sure sign that you need to repair or replace the shingles.

Where just a few years ago asphalt shingles were only available in simple tab configurations in blacks, grays and browns, the manufacturers have expanded their product lines to include a vast array of colors, profiles and with the use of laminate coatings have created as assortment of eye pleasing textures. Special chemicals are also being blended into the shingles to make them mold and algae resistant. Although these additional features do increase the price per square, asphalt shingles are still the most economical roofing material available.

Drawbacks:

The serviceable life of asphalt shingles is the lowest of all the roofing materials. Although they are available in numerous grades designated by the expected life, from 15 to 50 years they often need repair or replacement long before their supposed life has expired. The hotter the climate, the shorter the life of asphalt shingles. Many of the asphalt shingle problems that are encountered by homeowners are a direct result of two factors:

• poor initial installation
• damage due to sever weather

Poor installation usually occurs in the area of deck preparation, and not providing adequate flashing around items that are protruding through the roof such as vent pipes and chimneys. Other poor installation methods are not using the required amount of nails per shingle and nailing in the wrong area of the shingle. There are many fly-by-night roofing companies that will quote low prices, because they won't be around to stand behind the workmanship. Choose a roofing contractor carefully.

Roof Repairs:

You should inspect your shingled roof and all the flashing at least once a year and after any major storm such as a hurricane. hurricane winds will remove entire shingles and lift others. sun and rain can cause asphalt shingles to crack. You should also go into the attic and look up, any sign of daylight means that there is a hole. When inspecting the roof look for shingles that have lost the granule minerals - bald spots, cracked and/or curled.

If you have to make a roof repair, choose a warm day so that the shingles will be flexible and unlikely to crack when lifted. The roofing cements also spread easier in warmer temperatures.

You will know when you have a roofing problem when you see beige spots appearing on ceilings and walls close to the ceiling. Beige spots are a sign of water damage.

Maintenance:

Roofing cement is the equivalent of duct tape for roofs. It will repair most leaks, cracked or torn shingles, patch flashing around vent pipes and chimneys. You can also use the roofing cement to cover nail heads that have been exposed.

Shingles fade with age so any replacement shingles used will most likely be visually obvious. Shingle over damaged ridge shingles, by nailing down all the corners of the old shingle first - do not remove them.

If you have to replace an entire shingle, lift each of the tabs and pry the nails out of the shingle of the one that needs to be replaced. Remove the top corners of the replacement shingle and very carefully, without damaging the tarpaper, slip it under the existing shingles.

Use roofing nails (large head, galvanized) to fix the new shingle to the roof decking. Use roofing cement to cover the nail heads.

Planning and knowledge are the keys to any successful home improvement, remodel or landscaping project!

For additional information on roofing materials for your home or other renovation projects, including landscaping, visit Renovation Headquarters

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Practical Applications of Yogic Philosophy - Perception and Myth

Where does a student of Yoga start his or her practice? What is the foundation of Yoga practice? Why do so many Yoga classes and teachers avoid approaching the foundation of Yoga?

Where does a student of Yoga start his or her practice? Much like the desire to learn Yoga, the practice of any form, or style, of Yoga, comes from within the self. You should seek a Yoga teacher to act as a guide. Not all forms of Yoga are physical, but if physical mastery is what you seek, there are Hatha, Raja, and kundalini, Yoga to consider. These are just three of the nine main forms of Yoga and there are many sub-styles to consider, as well. You must also take the availability of styles within your local area into consideration.

Researching may take some time before visiting a Yoga teacher. When you make an appointment for a discussion, find out what your Yoga teachers methods are. Does this teacher have patience, understanding, and compassion?

A Yoga teacher is a guide, who teaches you to eventually become your own teacher. This does not mean to visit a Yoga teacher every so often, but it does mean to practice what is learned in each lesson by bringing it home.

Unfortunately, many Yoga instructors do not place enough emphasis on the value of home practice. If a student practices in Yoga, casually, once a week, takes the summer and Christmas season off, that is thirty-three lessons per year, without any home practice. after three years, how much has this student learned?

What is the foundation of Yoga practice? The foundation of Yoga is to be totally present within the lesson, and if possible, to be without distractions. If there are any distractions going on in the mind, you should learn not to judge yourself harshly because you were not mentally present in your Yoga class.

To be in the moment, or to be mentally present for your Yoga practice, is the key to advancing your practice in Yoga. In fact, physical postures (Asanas) are part of the practice, but they are not the primary emphasis of most forms of Yoga.

Why do so many Yoga classes and teachers avoid approaching the foundation of Yoga? People are stimulated by superficial things. In the case of Yoga, the results of asana practice can be felt immediately. many Yoga instructors give up on teaching meditation and the deeper aspects of Yoga. The result is the perception that Yoga is an exercise class only. The myth stems from the classification of asanas as beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

It is true that Yoga posture should be classified according to difficulty level, but Asana has little to do with classifying a Yoga student. Consider this: Is a gymnast who is completely stressed out, and who knows nothing about meditation, an advanced Yoga practitioner?

If this is so, then we do not need Yoga teachers at all. Yoga studios can hire teenage gymnasts to perform physical feats, and wow the students, with their prowess. This would be very cost effective for Yoga studios, and most young gymnasts would love to perform physical feats to impress crowds of adults for a salary.

This may seem riduculous, but it does bring your view full circle. People have been duped into seeing Yoga as a gymnastic event. asanas are one component of Yoga, but they are one of the eight limbs. All of the eight limbs of Yoga, described by Patanjali, should operate together for a complete practice.

If we practice asanas without higher forms awareness, and that is it, we are not practicing Yoga. We are then focusing on muscles and breath, which is fine for weight resistance. In truth, Yoga requires the eight limbs described within the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

The many healing aspects of Yoga are barely realized, when we consider it a physical competition.

Copyright 2007 paul Jerard / Aura Publications

paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, has written many books on the subject of Yoga. He is a co-owner and the Director of Yoga Teacher Training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. http://www.riyoga.com

He has been a certified Master Yoga Teacher since 1995. To receive a Free e-Book: "Yoga in Practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

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