http://www.articlearmies.com Articles posted by Sudhir. en-us Copyright (c) 2005 ArticleTime.com http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Management/raising-capital-for-your-business--how-long-does-it-take.html Most companies vastly underestimate the time commitment necessary to successfully complete a financing. In actuality, a company seeking financing needs to budget between 500 to 1000 work-hours to the capital-raising process, spread out over a 6-9 month time period. The key processes in the capital-raising process include 1) perfecting the business plan, offering memorandum and other company due diligence materials, 2) developing a comprehensive, targeted prospective investor list, 3) contacting this list and responding to investor due diligence requests, and 4) negotiating the transaction. Completing the business plan typically requires at least 200 hours of work. This time is dedicated to conducting the market research to validate the opportunity, developing a comprehensive financial model, determining the most effective way to lay out the business strategy, and actually writing and proofing the business plan. The next step, developing a comprehensive, targeted prospective investor list is also very time consuming. There are thousands of potential investors, each of which has very different tastes regarding the types of ventures that interest them. Some invest by market sector (e.g., healthcare vs. telecommunications), stage (seed stage vs. later stage), geography, or a combination of these. Many hours must be dedicated to determine which investors is the right fit for your venture. This process involves creating a master investor list, visiting each investor’s website to view investment criteria and past investments, and determining who the right contact at the firm is. To see how easily the time adds up, consider that only about 25% of prospective investors who show an initial interest in a transaction actually progress to detailed company due diligence. Only about 10% of this 25% actually progress to a bonafide offer of funds, of which only 25% of these actually result in an investment transaction. So completing a financing transaction requires, on average, contacting approximately 160 pre-qualified prospective investors. The due diligence process, where investors scrutinize the investment, can also be very time consuming for the company. Investors often request many documents, some of which can be easily retrieved from files (e.g., prior tax returns), while others may take more time to prepare (e.g., additional market analysis, customer lists with past purchases, contact information, etc.). Finally, negotiating a transaction can take a significant amount of time depending upon the complexity of the transaction and number of parties involved. Too many companies fail to raise capital since they are unaware of the significant time requirements to do so. Those firms who understand these requirements and budget accordingly are the ones most likely to persevere and end up with the capital they need. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Computers/computer-learning-center-for-kids-is-committed-to-the-federal-no-child-left-behind-law.html We would like to assist the educational community in meeting those goals by providing a small classroom environment, with a focus on individual student and adult learning at affordable prices. Hiram, GA (PRWEB) February 23, 2004 -- Computer Learning Center for Kids exists to respectively serve as a highly valued resource for this regions educational, economic, social and cultural advancement with a commitment to a teaching / learning environment. And, provide computer training skills for children and adults of all ages in a diverse, ergonomic, safe environment and meet the technological needs in this technical world in which we live. Serving Paulding County, Powder Springs, Carroll County, Cobb County, Douglasville and neighboring counties in Georgia. The pride in understanding basic education and computer skills is priceless. Students will feel secure in the pace of classroom instruction due to the small class sizes and interactive teaching methods. Each student addressed at a personal learning pace that will boost their emotional appeal to learning the computer skills needed for tomorrow. The ease of use of the training programs will attract prospective students to our facility, and encourage existing students to return for more instruction. Computer Learning Center for Kid's Inc will benefit all peer groups of the community. Children will benefit from the advanced computer learning by increasing their appetite for technology and learning. Parents will benefit from the increased appetite for learning their children will experience, as well as the assistance of an additional educational institution to help raise their child's real world IQ. The benefits of our service extend beyond the realms of education into security of childcare and social activities with the belief in “No Child Left Behind”. The learning facility is an 1800 square foot office space located at 1899 Lake Road, Suite 211, Hiram, Georgia 30141. The learning center has a restroom, break room, 6 computer workstations, along with fax-scantier, copier, printer, and e-learning educational manuals that will allow ample supplies for an effective learning environment. A sitting area is available for parents that allow visual observation of their child learning sessions. The learning center for children held at the facility with set business hours of operation of Monday-Friday 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM. Saturday hours 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM. The primary objective of our organization is to teach computer skills to children of all ages to include adults and senior citizens. On hand, experienced trainers will lead small class sessions from beginning to end of basic computer functions and tutorial programs. Tutorial courses in math, spelling, reading. Computer training in computer basic, word processing, excel, e-mail, Internet usage and web design explored in a fully comprehensive instructional setting. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Education/15-ways-to-promote-elearning-programs.html Pre-note: In this article, teleclass is an example used to illustrate one type of eLearning market. The tips work the same for other eLearning programs, including, but not limited to, teleseminars and ecourses. In the mid-1990s, the teleclass format began and was named, distance learning. During these early years, learning institutions, particularly universities, were chief users of this format. Mainly due to the large equipment investment needed at that time. Now, due to technology changes and cost reduction, people can give and attend ePrograms without leaving their chair or selling their first child. No parking challenges, auto expenses, or travel time required. Another benefit to learning by phone is that your listening skills will reach new heights quickly. In 2003, technology allowed a single conference line to expand from 30 to 150 participants per line. Affordable conference lines were previously only available in certain states, Florida and Nevada. Now other states, like New York, are jumping in on this bandwagon with affordable rates. Currently, a 24/7 conference line, is available to rent around $600 a year. An alternative is to rent the line by the hour. This can range between $10 to $20 per hour depending on the service features desired. You can also share a line with one or two others to reduce your cost. I recommend finding line-share partners who are in other time zones, it makes sharing easier. Zero-cost teleconference lines at available at http://www.mrconference.com and by other vendors. Most of these services have flaws that range from automatic disconnect if no voice is detected every 8 to 10 minutes, to being blocked from entering the call because of overstressed lines. I recommend the leader dialing in 5 to 10 minutes early to secure the line, however, this doesn't mean that all participants may not experience over trafficked busy signals. Actually, teleprograms will not take the place of "being there" for all people. The skills and experience of the teleclass leader or host can also make or break the learning experience. There are just as many teleclass leader styles as people. If you have never experienced a teleclass, I recommend attending four or five before deciding if the format is or isn't for you. 15 Tips To Help Promote Your eLearning Programs 1. If you produce your own eNewsletter, electronic newsletter, or eZine, electronic magazine, or printed newsletter, add an eLearning announcement section. 2. Contact other newsletter editors and ask to have your program announced in their issue. You can swap ad space, your ad for their ad, exchange ad space for participation, offer a commission option, purchase the ad, or pay per click-through. I don't recommend paying for click-through unless excellent tracking systems are in place. In order to attract, make sure their target market and yours match. 3. You can also use pay-per-click through search engines like Google’s AdWord program. If you go this route, I suggest you purchase ad analyzer software (about $100) or a service (average $19.95/month) to maximize time and reduce mistakes. 4. Place notices all over your web site -- especially your main page -- about the program. Remember: posting announcement notices is actually passive marketing. You will still need to pull visitors to the site. 5. Write and distribute Internet articles on the same subject. Unable to write, hire a ghostwriter. Allow four to twelve weeks for this process to begin pulling visitors to your website. The number of articles distributed will proportionally be your return. My low end measurement has been: 1 article = 10 visitors or more = 8 new eNewsletter subscribers = 1 sale. High end: 1 article = 350 new visitors = 125 new subscribers = 10 sales. This is now one of the top five Internet promotion building attractions. 6. Since ePrograms don't require people to be physically present, attendance is now open internationally. Thus, you will want to distribute information about your eLearning opportunity globally. Find places in other English-speaking countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. If you speak a foreign language, you can even offer the same program in that language. Spanish speaking ePrograms are in high demand. 7. Mention your eProgram on other ePrograms you attend. You can slip it in with a question or when presenting your personal information to the class. 8. Add a promotional paragraph about the program to all your outgoing e-mails, called signatures in Outlook. Choose HTML design in your software and add a picture of the leader/host along with a link to where someone can register or find out additional information. 9. Join market-rich discussion lists, billboards, or chat rooms. If direct solicitation isn't permitted, sell gently through your signature or indirect questions. 10. Write a press release for each eProgram. Become a member of PR Web http://www.prweb.com/. Membership is fr*e*e. This number one website attracts a very high percentage of media personnel. 11. Accumulate a list of all the local newspapers that offer fr*e*e community event announcements. Inquire into their deadline and submission requirements. You will also want to ask how can may confirm receipt of your information. They don't intentionally leave information out, however, they move at a fast pace and things do get lost in the shuffle. Special note: Most community list ads are for fr*e* events. Use a three-ring binder to record the advertising information. You can also save the information in your e- mail software, like Outlook, and your Internet browser software, in a separate "Community newspaper" section. However, if the hard drive crashes, make sure the information safe. Due to the value of this information and the amount of time you spent accumulating it, you still may want to keep updated printouts just in case. Even a backup diskette in the binder. Having a paper version also helps when the computer is off or you need to transport the information. This is also a great item to delegate to a virtual assistant. 12. Add your announcement to your telephone answering script. Change it whenever you are offering a new eProgram. Give instructions as to how to register -- and it’s important to make this as easy as possible for them. Don't forget some marketing tidbits of "what’s in it for them (WIIFM)" to register and do it now. 13. Use fr*e*e ePrograms or offers to provide a taste and attract participants to register for longer paid programs. Offers can include: eBooks, ecourses, special reports, or even a professional white papers. Offering a transcription of the program or an audio copy is another great offer. 14. List your class in teleclass directories. Some directories require that you attend their particular teleclass-leading course. A big downfall in time and expense in the short-run, however, good investment for the long term 15. If you give speaking engagements or even when you participate in other events, seminars, workshops, give out flyers on your eProgram. Works well in networking groups too. Take the flyers to the libraries, senior and civic centers. FYI, names of ePrograms can seem confusing at times, however, there is a standard for what to expect depending on the name. A teleseminar usually has very little interaction between leader and attendees. It is set up to instruct and participants to solely listen. Sometimes a brief Q&A period is spaced in-between subtopic changes. On the other hand, a teleclass provides more time for participant to participant or participant to leader interaction. It has a higher ratio of free forming. A teleclass format copies more of the workshop atmosphere. A teleprogram is a teleclass delivered over a period of time, like a class at a learning institution. The term eProgram is a compilation, or overview term, of all electronically delivered learning programs. http://www.articlearmies.com/articles/Travel/8tips-for-packing-and-traveling-lite.html How-to Pack and Travel Lite In this day and age of traveling echolalia, there are a few packing tactics to employ. To cut out an extra thirty to forty minutes at the arriving airport, start with packing small luggage. Since carry-ones can not exceed a linear dimension of 45 inches, you can escape the fiasco of the baggage terminal by simply packing and traveling light. To learn how to pack all your needs into one suitcase, read more. Use the following pithy packing tips to make your travel light: Make a list. Compose a pack list. Be sure to coordinate shirts and blouses with bottoms. To maximize your traveling wardrobe fashion savoir faire, stick with solids and versatile basics. Rule-out any clothes that do not match other items. Roll ‘me up please. The best way to fit all your clothes is by rolling pants and shirts. First fold each item in half. Then simply roll. To try to maintain any creases, start on the bulkiest end of the article of clothing. Gear up. How to make an awe-inspiring impression out of a basic or mundane outfit? For the most glam appeal, accessorize with a vibrant tie (for him) or a florid scarf (for her). Multihued accessories can liven up just about any attire. Minimize bulk. After you check for space, edit outfits – ruthlessly. Try to pack micro fibers with wrinkle and stain free comfort. With most of your attire, stay in the same color scheme – in case you have to layer up for warmth. Employ shoe smarts. For men, any leather rubber-soled shoes can make the day and night transition, easy. For woman, a pair of flip-flops, satrapy sandals and comfy wedges can serve all casual – chic dressing needs. Put under garments on the top. To reduce the embarrassment of under garments becoming the side show attraction of the open luggage scan, place all panties in a plastic bag free of any clippers, lighters or other questionable paraphernalia. For expedient security review, place the transparent bag on top of your other items so security can access the bag without ruining your efficient packing method. Lose Extra Baggage. Leave the heavy travel guide at home. Duplicate important resources to keep your luggage free of extra pounds. Since most hotels and resorts provide irons and blow-dryers --leave yours at home for light travel. Leave restricted items at home. If you want to make it through security extra fast, avoid any firearms, weapons, box-cutters, scissors, razors, lighters and any other item that may be used in a terrorist situation.