I had an old, outdated book on government grants for small business, so I went online to research some of the government sites to access info on these. The government sites are hard to navigate and read, and I came across a site which had all this info in one place. I skipped over several sites that seemed “scammy”, and came to one that was $1.50 to try it out. I thought, hey, $1.50, for 7 days, I’ll give it a go. I read their agreement twice. I went to the checkout page and never found ANYTHING that made me say “hey, I don’t want to sign up for this, it’s a binding agreement.” I am VERY alert to being scammed, and I should have known better but I didn’t find ANY red flags. So I gave it a go. The site kind of stunk and I left, but hey, it was $1.50.
Well, no it wasn’t. Today I found a $49.50 charge to my bank account (I used debit). I called the company, and of course they said I had signed an agreement to a 7 day trial and I HAD TO CANCEL WITHTIN 7 DAYS or I had agreed to be a member for $49.50 a month. I said I had never seen that anywhere and they pretty much said “how could you miss it, it was right on line 2 of the agreement.” Sigh. It wasn’t. Oddly, I can’t even GET to the web page I originally landed on to sign up, to even double check myself. The lady I first spoke with hung up on me (I did get mad, but still). I called back to confirm that my account was cancelled. Then I found TONS of info on these scams online and was heartened to find one person reporting a similar scam and she argued until she got them to refund the money. I called back and did my best, which just wasn’t good enough. The guy called me a liar, pretty much flat out said he didn’t CARE about if I was a happy customer or not when I told him I was his customer and not happy, and wished me good luck getting my money back from my bank since I had given them my credit card information and “signed an agreement”. He was apparently the 2nd person under the people who owned the company because I asked for a manager and he said he was the manager, then I said well why don’t you get me one of the owner’s and he said he was an owner. I got to the end of what I could do and had to settle for asking him how he slept at night with such a black soul and reminding him that karma IS real and it IS a bitch, so enjoy the high times now.
So now I feel really stupid. Upset. Mad. Worried that I am down $49.50. Defeated. My ONLY consolation is that I am going to tell EVERYONE I can about this so NO ONE makes the same mistake! Stop giving these people your money! It is a waste. They are thieves. I filed a complaint with the BBB, more as an FYI. I’m SURE they had that disclaimer SOMEWHERE in a TINY font so I’ll never get that money back. I’m sure my bank won’t back me up (I hate my bank too but that’s another story). As that jerk off so snidely pointed out on my third call “I gave them my credit card info so good luck.” Thanks for stealing from me and then rubbing my nose in it too. REAL nice customer service.
Here is the website I went to (except I cannot find the page I saw originally where you “sign up”)
http://www.grantresearchguide.com/resource/login.php?access=false&redirect=index.php
This is another site which is the same company. (advertising the "free CD" which apparently never comes in the mail and then magically costs $49.50 /mo) www.grantresearchguide.com
I have found SO many complaints online about this company and others like them. DO NOT EVER USE THEM. If you have had trouble with THIS company here’s their address and file a complaint with the Las Vegas, NV BBB!
800-235-1364
Grant Resource Center
Grant Instructor LLC
3155 East Patrick Lane
Suite 1
Las Vegas NV 89120
I got the last guy I called to SAY that he doesn’t CARE what I think about the company, and that nothing I could say would hurt their business, since THEY’RE on the INTERNET. Well, I’m on the internet too, so PLEASE LEARN from my mistake. Don’t give these evil people another cent!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
That wacky internet
Thought of the day:
How to spot a DEAD message board. http://www.wahmboard.com/needajob.html
Take a look. Since not too many people look at my blog yet I am probably not giving them too many hits. I have been doing web searches for “work at home”, “I hate my job” etc. I found this. This site STINKS. Anyways, yes, I posted ads, because, well, I was there and it was free. I just went back and found the next two posts for work at home opportunities above mine, and started giggling. “Dildos and Dongs”. What could that be? I had to know! http://www.theatons.com/dildos That’s the link and the name says it all. One word, bold black letters. I do believe the add below it IS really an ad for some guys advertising/internet business, although THAT site sucks too. The link for “sex toys” brings you to his amazing info page. YUCK. Internet pollution! The dildo link is amusing though.
How to spot a DEAD message board. http://www.wahmboard.com/needajob.html
Take a look. Since not too many people look at my blog yet I am probably not giving them too many hits. I have been doing web searches for “work at home”, “I hate my job” etc. I found this. This site STINKS. Anyways, yes, I posted ads, because, well, I was there and it was free. I just went back and found the next two posts for work at home opportunities above mine, and started giggling. “Dildos and Dongs”. What could that be? I had to know! http://www.theatons.com/dildos That’s the link and the name says it all. One word, bold black letters. I do believe the add below it IS really an ad for some guys advertising/internet business, although THAT site sucks too. The link for “sex toys” brings you to his amazing info page. YUCK. Internet pollution! The dildo link is amusing though.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Business 101
So, my background is not technically in "business". I have only owned one dress suit in my life. I hadn't worn it in so long that the last time I went to put it on it was WAY too big (I suppose that's a good thing, at least it wasn't too small!) I DID once purchase an awesome baby blue silk shantung skirt/jacket for a steal at the old Filene's Basement in Boston but my pet rats got a hold of the bag it was in and chewed a hole through the back of the jacket, but that is a whole other story. I digress.
My point is just that, it is amazing to discover all the things I don’t know about certain subjects. I did an innocent Google search for these key words: “business card holders”. The results I was hoping for were actually to try to find little “promo” ideas for leaving tips at hotels and such, with your tip and your business card in some sort of memorable (but inexpensive) “package”. Instead, I came across a wealth of information about “how to give out your business card”! Don’t you just hand it to people? Here, it’s a card. Well, no, apparently not! I think it was good to come across these articles instead, since I have never really had to think about how exactly to give out a business card. The more articles I found, the more I realized it might not be a bad idea to try to absorb some of this info. I mean, people do judge on appearances, and how can it hurt me to know how to hand out my business card appropriately. Little details do add validity to your business, and these little things can only help. So here’s what I learned:
“Don’t hand them out like playing cards”
http://ezinearticles.com/?Business-Card-Etiquette---How-to-Give-and-Receive-Business-Cards&id=584852
That actually IS helpful as I have a pile of my business cards in an envelope in my purse, which I already knew did not scream professionalism! This article just drove it home that I need to acquire a nice little business card holder soon. Just a cheap one, nothing fancy, and VIOLA you have a whole new professional appearance! No more fishing around in my envelope for my business info.
Marketing ideas for lazy people?! That’s for me!
http://www.theadvocates.org/library/five-lazy-ways.html
This one I found interesting because, well, it had the word lazy in it. The article is about someone who is not a realtor using a few of a realtor’s marketing ideas for his own ends. I am not a realtor, and I will use some of these ideas for my own ends as well. It just drove home the idea that everything you do, everywhere you go, every interaction you participate in with another person, is really a marketing opportunity. So why not take the 2 seconds and hand put those business cards?
Is your business card telling everyone who looks at it that you suck?
http://www.davidlaplante.com/2007/08/15/personal-branding-the-business-card-tips-for-appearing-more-professional-legit-andor-possibly-employable-plus-dead-give-a-ways-of-the-dangleberries-and-other-personal-branding-screw-ups-you/
This article is more about the information ON your card and how it is presented. I am happy to find that my business card PASSES most of these little pointers. I run my own home business, but I am also a designer/web designer so I know the basics of good design. I knew to stay away from serif fonts as they are illegible on small printed material, especially when scanned or faxed. Don’t use them on anything you want people to be able to read clearly! Especially numbers or email addresses. Gold star for me. The only rules I broke were not making my phone numbers “international” as I am not really international and don’t need to be. For ME it would just be pretentious. The only pretentious thing I like to do on my cards is use periods between my phone digits instead of a “-“. Example: 555-555-5555 vs., 555.555.5555. I think it looks kind of euro. I even chose to NOT do this on my most recent cards as I think the dash was more legible. I also broke the “quality” rule as, well, I’m not in some 80’s movie about wall street or “American Psycho”, and I am NOT a high roller. My inexpensive cards are just fine… but they are NOT home printed. I DO agree with that. For my purposes, and my audience, Vistaprint is sufficient. My audience is PEOPLE not giant companies, so it would be silly and vain to print out fancy business card on some crazy expensive stock! As I said, I am a designer and graphic artist… I WANTED to design cool cards and logos and stuff for my business. I stopped myself and thought about my goal and if that was a necessary step. It wasn’t. I have all the marketing materials I need supplied from my team, so holding off “work” to “design” right now would be procrastinating! For my purposes, a Vistaprint template gets my point across in a professional manner in an inexpensive way, which works for me!
I am on a learning curve, and it was enlightening to find so much though devoted to a subject I had just never thought about myself. Well, now I know, and to quote J.I. Joe, “knowing is half the battle”.
My point is just that, it is amazing to discover all the things I don’t know about certain subjects. I did an innocent Google search for these key words: “business card holders”. The results I was hoping for were actually to try to find little “promo” ideas for leaving tips at hotels and such, with your tip and your business card in some sort of memorable (but inexpensive) “package”. Instead, I came across a wealth of information about “how to give out your business card”! Don’t you just hand it to people? Here, it’s a card. Well, no, apparently not! I think it was good to come across these articles instead, since I have never really had to think about how exactly to give out a business card. The more articles I found, the more I realized it might not be a bad idea to try to absorb some of this info. I mean, people do judge on appearances, and how can it hurt me to know how to hand out my business card appropriately. Little details do add validity to your business, and these little things can only help. So here’s what I learned:
“Don’t hand them out like playing cards”
http://ezinearticles.com/?Business-Card-Etiquette---How-to-Give-and-Receive-Business-Cards&id=584852
That actually IS helpful as I have a pile of my business cards in an envelope in my purse, which I already knew did not scream professionalism! This article just drove it home that I need to acquire a nice little business card holder soon. Just a cheap one, nothing fancy, and VIOLA you have a whole new professional appearance! No more fishing around in my envelope for my business info.
Marketing ideas for lazy people?! That’s for me!
http://www.theadvocates.org/library/five-lazy-ways.html
This one I found interesting because, well, it had the word lazy in it. The article is about someone who is not a realtor using a few of a realtor’s marketing ideas for his own ends. I am not a realtor, and I will use some of these ideas for my own ends as well. It just drove home the idea that everything you do, everywhere you go, every interaction you participate in with another person, is really a marketing opportunity. So why not take the 2 seconds and hand put those business cards?
Is your business card telling everyone who looks at it that you suck?
http://www.davidlaplante.com/2007/08/15/personal-branding-the-business-card-tips-for-appearing-more-professional-legit-andor-possibly-employable-plus-dead-give-a-ways-of-the-dangleberries-and-other-personal-branding-screw-ups-you/
This article is more about the information ON your card and how it is presented. I am happy to find that my business card PASSES most of these little pointers. I run my own home business, but I am also a designer/web designer so I know the basics of good design. I knew to stay away from serif fonts as they are illegible on small printed material, especially when scanned or faxed. Don’t use them on anything you want people to be able to read clearly! Especially numbers or email addresses. Gold star for me. The only rules I broke were not making my phone numbers “international” as I am not really international and don’t need to be. For ME it would just be pretentious. The only pretentious thing I like to do on my cards is use periods between my phone digits instead of a “-“. Example: 555-555-5555 vs., 555.555.5555. I think it looks kind of euro. I even chose to NOT do this on my most recent cards as I think the dash was more legible. I also broke the “quality” rule as, well, I’m not in some 80’s movie about wall street or “American Psycho”, and I am NOT a high roller. My inexpensive cards are just fine… but they are NOT home printed. I DO agree with that. For my purposes, and my audience, Vistaprint is sufficient. My audience is PEOPLE not giant companies, so it would be silly and vain to print out fancy business card on some crazy expensive stock! As I said, I am a designer and graphic artist… I WANTED to design cool cards and logos and stuff for my business. I stopped myself and thought about my goal and if that was a necessary step. It wasn’t. I have all the marketing materials I need supplied from my team, so holding off “work” to “design” right now would be procrastinating! For my purposes, a Vistaprint template gets my point across in a professional manner in an inexpensive way, which works for me!
I am on a learning curve, and it was enlightening to find so much though devoted to a subject I had just never thought about myself. Well, now I know, and to quote J.I. Joe, “knowing is half the battle”.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Down Time
So, I'm not perfect. Just so you know. I was NOT ready and rarin' to go yesterday. I woke up with the full intention of having a full day of work ahead of me, but when I sat down at my computer and started to research my eyes were just swimming all over the page, glossing over words, and I just couldn't focus on anything at all! I felt like crap, quite frankly. Not to get into the details, it was a bad time of the month for me and I gave up and ended up laying in bed for a long time, just sort of zoned out and curled up in a little ball. It dosn't help that I was very hormonaly unbalanced and had been watching sad movies on AMC the night before (the end of "Awakenings" and "Mr. Holland's Opus"). I cried like a baby. Yeah, something was messed up inside me and my body was just not cooperating with my plan of action.
So I gave myself most of the day off. I felt a little guilty, but I tried my best. If I tried my best I shouldn't feel guilty about it, right? We have to remember to be good to ourselves. Sometimes our bodies need extra care and it is OK to stop, rest, and regroup.
I often find myself getting caught up in my idea of what I should have been able to accomplish, could have done, where I should be now. I get frustrated when I am NOT there! Why am I not there yet? I get mad, frustrated, guilty. NOT good feelings to have in you. Remember to be good to yourself, forgive the weaknesses of the human body, and the mind. No one is "perfect", if you consider "perfect" as some sort of universal ideal outside of the context of yourself. There is no such thing. We make our reality every day, and the only ideal you can strive for is doing the best you can do. Every mistake is a learning experience, if you fall a little short of your expectations or goals, it gives you a realistic view of what you can accomplish in any given time. You can try harder or adjust your goals. Just do your best, every day, and you have no need to look back on the day with regret or guilt.
Figure out what your best is and do it every day, and that, my friends, is the best you can do. The goal doesn't matter, just put your head down and do your absolute best! You'll be there when you get there, and not a moment sooner. So why worry about it?
So I gave myself most of the day off. I felt a little guilty, but I tried my best. If I tried my best I shouldn't feel guilty about it, right? We have to remember to be good to ourselves. Sometimes our bodies need extra care and it is OK to stop, rest, and regroup.
I often find myself getting caught up in my idea of what I should have been able to accomplish, could have done, where I should be now. I get frustrated when I am NOT there! Why am I not there yet? I get mad, frustrated, guilty. NOT good feelings to have in you. Remember to be good to yourself, forgive the weaknesses of the human body, and the mind. No one is "perfect", if you consider "perfect" as some sort of universal ideal outside of the context of yourself. There is no such thing. We make our reality every day, and the only ideal you can strive for is doing the best you can do. Every mistake is a learning experience, if you fall a little short of your expectations or goals, it gives you a realistic view of what you can accomplish in any given time. You can try harder or adjust your goals. Just do your best, every day, and you have no need to look back on the day with regret or guilt.
Figure out what your best is and do it every day, and that, my friends, is the best you can do. The goal doesn't matter, just put your head down and do your absolute best! You'll be there when you get there, and not a moment sooner. So why worry about it?
Thursday, May 8, 2008
I'm ready to go at 4 am every day
What the heck is happening to me?I thought I was "lazy". Where did the old "lazy" me go? I guess when you love what you do you get EXCITED to wake up in the morning! I have been waking up around 4 in the morning the past few nights, ready and rarin' to go, and I have to will my brain to shut off because I KNOW my body is not quite ready to get out of bed even if my brain thinks it is. I don't want to get run down in the afternoon (3 pm, always, NAP TIME becomes very appealing).
It is weird, but an amazing change. Loving what you do makes you want to get out if bed and get to it! I haven't felt like this in a very long time. It's refreshing!
Ok, back to work!
It is weird, but an amazing change. Loving what you do makes you want to get out if bed and get to it! I haven't felt like this in a very long time. It's refreshing!
Ok, back to work!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Quit messing around!
Quitting can be a good thing. It's not "giving up" in some cases, it's just drawing the line and taking action when the time comes! Everyone should have a line in the sand, it's called "dignity" and "self respect". Do we all have the same line? No. Your line is determined by a lot of factors, like a complex math equation. We need money to live in this commercial society. How do we get money? Most people I know WORK. Where do we work? In this job market the choices kind of stink, quite frankly! Pick a job, any job. Try for a career if you can. Try to get hours that don't mess up your family and personal life too much. Try to get pay that makes it worth your while to mess up your family and personal life. Try to get benefits. Try to get upward mobility, management that isn't a bunch of idiots, and work that makes you happy and whole.
Having trouble finding these things? I am! Every job, I get on and the more I work there the more comfortable it gets, but the more it slowly eats away at my happiness. I lull myelf into a state of blank, automated action and drudge thru every day wishing I had my time and energy to do ANYTHING other than what I have to do every day.
Your options are shut your brain off completely, become some kind of substance abuser (no, please don't do that), die, or realize that you have reached your line in the sand! Wake up and TAKE ACTION!
I reached my line in the sand and instinct took over. I quit. I quit, quit, quit, quit, quit, quit! And then I almost threw up. What did I do. Me and my darn dignity.
So I take deep breaths when I feel that freek out coming on, and I think about how every problem can be overcome. There are many SMALL problems, and they are all conquerable. Nothing is impossible. I mean, heck, I have been to worse places and lived so why would this kick my butt now?
I'm DONE with the crap life I had and I am making something new and beautiful for myself. I go to bed every night proud of my resolve, glad to have my dignity. I wake up happy to go where I am going.
I have my new business, growing every day with my effort. I go to work part time at a Doggy Daycare... today i get to enjoy this gorgeous day and not talk to annoying client's (like my last job). I get barked at and slobbered on but I love that! I will come home and work on my projects and go to bed and sleep the sleep of the liberated. And I know tomorrow will be another great day!
Having trouble finding these things? I am! Every job, I get on and the more I work there the more comfortable it gets, but the more it slowly eats away at my happiness. I lull myelf into a state of blank, automated action and drudge thru every day wishing I had my time and energy to do ANYTHING other than what I have to do every day.
Your options are shut your brain off completely, become some kind of substance abuser (no, please don't do that), die, or realize that you have reached your line in the sand! Wake up and TAKE ACTION!
I reached my line in the sand and instinct took over. I quit. I quit, quit, quit, quit, quit, quit! And then I almost threw up. What did I do. Me and my darn dignity.
So I take deep breaths when I feel that freek out coming on, and I think about how every problem can be overcome. There are many SMALL problems, and they are all conquerable. Nothing is impossible. I mean, heck, I have been to worse places and lived so why would this kick my butt now?
I'm DONE with the crap life I had and I am making something new and beautiful for myself. I go to bed every night proud of my resolve, glad to have my dignity. I wake up happy to go where I am going.
I have my new business, growing every day with my effort. I go to work part time at a Doggy Daycare... today i get to enjoy this gorgeous day and not talk to annoying client's (like my last job). I get barked at and slobbered on but I love that! I will come home and work on my projects and go to bed and sleep the sleep of the liberated. And I know tomorrow will be another great day!
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