There are a lot of coffee shops for sale these days. And there are just as many reasons why these coffee shops are for sale.

Before you go to a business broker, or a real estate agent and start looking at the listings it might be a good idea to understand why buying a coffee shop might be a great idea, or a bad idea.

Actually, you’ll find that buying a coffee shop is fairly easy. There are motivated vendors who will help with financing, or others that are selling at a discount price.

Buying a coffee shop is the easy part. Keeping it open, and making it turn a profit is the challenge.

Here is some information that might help you learn a few things before you buy a coffee shop!

Technorati Tags: buying a coffee shop, coffee shop for sale, profitable coffee shop

Buying a lingerie gift for your partner can be a daunting experence especially if its your first time in a lingerie store. Do you go for something sexy like a satin basque or an elegant pure silk nightgown. The unsurprising truth of the matter is that most men buy lingerie because they like it and like the idea of their partner wearing it. The problem is that what men think women like and what they actually prefer are two completely different things.

You would just love her to wear that silky satin basque whilst the silk nightgown will appeal to her far more. Your ideas are tied up with passion whilst her mind is more on romance. The secret is to find a compromise that falls somewhere between these two extremes. Colour is another problem area in this lingerie buying mine field as well. You know she will look fabulous in red but she is going to leave it in the drawer because there is nothing in her wardrobe that she would every wear over red panties and a matching bra.

Then of course there is the whole nightmare of size. A, C double D, what the hell is all that about then? Most men don’t know a C cup from a coffee cup anyway. So what do you do about that one? Well I do have a tip for you here and its pretty logical when you think about it. When she goes out have a rifle thgrough her lingerie drawers and see what size the stuff she has already is. See that was easy wasn’t it? Now you are most of the way there guys and ready to brave the lingerie store itself.

Now you have the size of the lingerie sorted lets take a look at the colour problem. You are always safe with white or ivory lingerie and she can wear those colours under just about anything. Lets get things into perspective. If its something she will get a lot of use out of then she will appreciate it all the more which is good news for you. Avoid the bright tarty colours unless you are expecting them to be reserved for the bedroom only although in certain circumstances you can get away with something in black.

O.K. so now the question remains, what to buy. Will it be the sexy satin basque or the elegant pure silk nightgown that gets her cooing with delight on the big day? If you want my advice leave the specialist stuff like that to the lady herself and go for a nice set of matching lingerie. The nice lady in the lingerie store will even do the gift wrapping for you and you are all set to go. If you want to take an even easier route with your lingerie buying why not shop online? It’s discrete and easy with all the benefits of the conventional store such as a gift wrap service as well. The picture quality of the online lingerie catalogues is brilliant which means the only thing you can’t do is feel the goods. (hopefully you will get to do that later). Should you still settle on that silky satin basque or elegant pure silk nightgown after all and you get it wrong at least she can send it back.

Kev Moore
http://www.articlesbase.com/women’s-issues-articles/satin-basque-or-sexy-silk-nightgown-85449.html

It’s not just CEOs and corporate spokespeople who need effective language to be the message. The most successful advertising taglines are not seen as slogans for a product. They are the product. From M&M’s “melts in your mouth, not in your hand” to “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin” bathroom tissue, from the “plop, plop, fizz, fizz” of Alka-Seltzer to “Fly the friendly skies of United,” there is no light space between the product and its marketing. Words that work reflect “not only the soul of the brand, but the company itself and its reason for being in business,” according to Publicis worldwide executive creative director David Droga.

In the same vein, advertising experts identify a common quality among the most popular and long-lasting corporate icons: Rather than selling for their companies, these characters personify them. Ronald McDonald, the Marlboro Man, Betty Crocker, the Energizer Bunny — they aren’t shills trying to talk us into buying a Big Mac, a pack of smokes, a box of cake mix, a package of batteries; they don’t even personalize the product. Just like the most celebrated slogans, they are the product.

Walk through any bookstore and you’ll find dozens of books about the marketing and branding efforts of corporate America. The process of corporate communication has been thinly sliced and diced over and over, but what you won’t find is a book about the one truly essential characteristic in our twenty-first-century world: the company persona and how words that work are used to create and sustain it.

The company persona is the sum of the corporate leadership, the corporate ethos, the products and services offered, interaction with the customer, and, most importantly, the language that ties it all together. A majority of large companies do not have a company persona, but those that do benefit significantly. Ben & Jerry’s attracts customers in part because of the funky names they gave to the conventional (and unconventional) flavors they offer, but the positive relationship between corporate management and their employees also plays a role, even after Ben and Jerry sold the company. McDonald’s in the 1970s and Starbucks over the past decade became an integral part of the American culture as much for the lifestyle they reflected as the food and beverages they offered, but the in-store lexicon helped by setting them apart from their competition. (Did any customers ever call the person who served them a cup of coffee a “barista” before Starbucks made the term popular?) Language is never the sole determinant in creating a company persona, but you’ll find words that work associated with all companies that have one.

And when the message, messenger, and recipient are all on the same page, I call this rare phenomenon “language alignment,” and it happens far less frequently than you might expect. In fact, virtually all of the companies that have hired my firm for communication guidance have found themselves linguistically unaligned.

This manifests itself in two ways. First, in service-oriented businesses, the sales force is too often selling with a different language than the marketing people are using. There’s nothing wrong with individualizing the sales approach to each customer, but when you have your sales force promoting a message that has no similarity with the advertising campaign, it undermines both efforts. The language in the ads and promotions must match the language on the street, in the shop, and on the floor. For example, Boost Mobile, which caters to an inner city youth demographic, uses the slogan “Where you at?” Not grammatically (or politically) correct — but it’s the language of their consumer.

And second, corporations with multiple products in the same space too often allow the language of those products to blur and bleed into each other. Procter & Gamble may sell a hundred different items, but even though each one fills a different need, a different space, and/or a different category, it is perfectly fine for them to share similar language. You can use some of the same verbiage to sell soap as you would to sell towels, because no consumer will confuse the products and what they do.

Not so for a company that is in a single line of work, say selling cars or selling beer, where companies use the exact same adjectives to describe very different products. In this instance, achieving linguistic alignment requires a much more disciplined linguistic segmentation. It is almost always a more effective sales strategy to divvy up the appropriate adjectives and create a unique lexicon for each individual brand.

An example of a major corporation that has confronted both of these challenges and still managed to achieve linguistic alignment, even as they are laying off thousands of workers, is the Ford Motor Company — which manages a surprisingly diverse group of brands ranging from Mazda to Aston Martin. The Ford corporate leadership recognized that it was impossible to separate the Ford name, corporate history, heritage, and range of vehicles — so why bother. They came as a package. Sure, Ford maintains individual brand identity, through national and local ad campaigns and by creating and maintaining a separate image and language for each brand. For example, “uniquely sensual styling” certainly applies when one is talking about a Jaguar S Type, but would probably not be pertinent for a Ford F 250 pickup truck. But the fact that the CEO carries the Ford name communicates continuity to the company’s customers, and Bill Ford sitting in front of an assembly line talking about leadership and innovation in all of Ford’s vehicles effectively puts all the individual brands into alignment.

The words he uses — “innovation,” “driven,” “re-committed,” “dramatically,” “dedicated” — represent the simplicity and brevity of effective communications, and they are wrapped around the CEO who is the fourth-generation Ford to lead the company — hence credibility. The cars are the message, Bill Ford is the messenger, the language is dead-on, and Ford is weathering the American automotive crisis far better than its larger rival General Motors. Again, the language of Ford isn’t the only driver of corporate image and sales — but it certainly is a factor.

In fact, the brand-building campaign was so successful that GM jumped on board. But Ford quickly took it a step further. In early 2006, they began to leverage their ownership of Volvo (I wonder how many readers did not know that Ford bought Volvo in 1999 and purchased Jaguar a decade earlier) to communicate a corporate-wide commitment to automotive safety, across all of its individual brands and vehicles. Volvo is one of the most respected cars on the road today, and aligning all of Ford behind an industry leader is a very smart strategy indeed.

So what about the competition?

General Motors, once the automotive powerhouse of the world, has an equally diverse product line and arguably a richer history of technology and innovation, but their public message of cutbacks, buy-backs, and layoffs was designed to appeal to Wall Street, not Main Street, and it crushed new car sales. At the time of this writing, GM is suffering through record losses, record job layoffs, and a record number of bad stories about its failing marketing efforts.

It didn’t have to be this way.

The actual attributes of many of the GM product lines are more appealing than the competition, but the product image itself is not. To own a GM car is to tell the world that you’re so 1970s, and since what you drive is considered an extension and expression of yourself to others, people end up buying cars they actually like less because they feel the cars will say something more about them.

Think about it. Here’s a company that was the first to develop a catalytic converter, the first to develop an advanced anti-tipping stabilization technology, the first to develop engines that could use all sorts of blended gasolines, and most importantly in today’s market, the creator of OnStar — an incredible new-age computerized safety and tracking device. Yet most American consumers have no idea that any of these valuable innovations came from General Motors, simply because GM decided not to tell them. So instead of using its latest and greatest emerging technology to align itself with its customers, GM finds itself in a deteriorating dialogue with shareholders. No alignment = no sales.

Another problem with GM: No one knew that the various brands under the GM moniker were in fact . . . GM. Even such well-known brands as Corvette and Cadillac had become disconnected from the parent company. Worse yet, all the various brands (with the exception of Hummer, which couldn’t get lost in a crowd even if the brand manager wanted it to) were using similar language, similar visuals, and a similar message — blurring the distinction between brands and turning GM vehicles into nothing more than generic American cars. Repeated marketing failures were just part of GM’s recurring problems, but as that issue was completely within their control, it should have been the easiest to address.

When products, services, and language are aligned, they gain another essential attribute: authenticity. In my own market research for dozens of Fortune 500 companies, I have found that the best way to communicate authenticity is to trigger personalization: Do audience members see themselves in the slogan . . . and therefore in the product? Unfortunately, achieving personalization is by no means easy.

To illustrate how companies and brands in a competitive space create compelling personas for themselves while addressing the needs of different consumer groups, let’s take a look at cereals. Anyone can go out and buy a box of cereal. But different cereals offer different experiences. Watch and listen carefully to their marketing approach and the words they use.

Most cereals geared toward children sell energy, excitement, adventure, and the potential for fun — even more than the actual taste of the sugar-coated rice or wheat puffs in the cardboard box. On the other hand, cereal aimed at grown-ups is sold based on its utility to the maintenance and enhancement of health — with taste once again secondary.

Children’s cereals are pitched by nonthreatening cartoon characters — tigers, parrots, chocolate-loving vampires, Cap’ns, and a tiny trio in stocking caps — never an adult or authority figure. Adult cereals come at you head-on with a not-so-subtle Food Police message, wrapped in saccharine-sweet smiles, exclaiming that this cereal is a favorite of healthy and cholesterol-conscious adults who don’t want to get colon cancer! Ugghhh. Kids buy Frosted Flakes because “They’re grrrreat!” Adults buy Special K because we want to be as attractive and vigorous as the actors who promote it. When it comes to cereal, about the only thing parents and kids have in common is that the taste matters only slightly more than the image, experience, and product association — and if the communication appears authentic, they’ll buy.

And cereal certainly sells. From Cheerios to Cinnamon Toast Crunch, more than $6 billion worth of cold cereal was sold in the United States alone in 2005. If you were to look at the five top-selling brands, you would see a diverse list targeted to a diverse set of customers. The language used for each of these five brands is noticeably different, but in all cases totally essential.

In looking at the first and third best-selling brands of cereal, one might initially think that only a slight variation in ingredients mark their distinctions. Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios are both based around the same whole-grain O shaped cereal, but are in fact two very different products, beyond the addition of honey and a nut-like crunch.

The language behind Cheerios is remarkably simple and all-encompassing — “The one and only Cheerios.” Could be for kids . . . could be for young adults . . . could be for parents. Actually, Cheerios wants to sell to all of them. As its Web site states, Cheerios is the right cereal for “toddlers to adults and everyone in between.” The subtle heart-shaped bowl on each box suggests to the older consumer that the “whole-grain” cereal is a healthy start to a healthy day. But the Web site also has a section devoted entirely to younger adults, complete with testimonials and “tips from new parents” talking about how Cheerios has helped them to raise happy, healthy children. The language behind Cheerios works because it transcends the traditional societal boundaries of age and adds a sense of authenticity to the product.

While you could probably live a happy and healthy existence with Cheerios as your sole cereal choice, there is a substantial segment of the cereal market that demands more. For the cereal-consuming public roughly between the ages of four and fourteen, a different taste and linguistic approach is required. Buzz the Bee, the kid-friendly mascot of Honey Nut Cheerios, pitches the “irresistible taste of golden honey,” selling the sweetness of the product to a demographic that craves sweet foods. While the parent knows that his or her child wants the cereal because of its sweet taste (as conveyed through the packaging), Honey Nut Cheerios must still pass the parent test. By putting such statements as “whole-grain” and “13 essential vitamins and minerals” on the box, the product gains authenticity, credibility, and the approval of the parent.

Two different messages on one common box effectively markets the same product to both children and parents alike, helping to make Honey Nut Cheerios the number three top-selling cereal in 2004. So with the addition of honey and nuts, General Mills, the producer of the Cheerios line, has filled the gap between toddlers and young adults, and completed the Cheerios cradle-to-grave lifetime hold on the consumer.

To take another example, if you want people to think you’re hip and healthy, you make sure they see you drinking bottled water — and the fancier the better. No one walking around with a diet Dr Pepper in hand is looking to impress anybody. These days, there’s almost a feeling that soft drinks are exclusively for kids and the uneducated masses. There’s a cache to the consumption of water, and expensive and exclusive brands are all the rage. Now, there may be a few people who have such extremely refined, educated taste buds that they can taste the difference between Dasani and Aquafina (I certainly can’t), but the connoisseurs of modish waters are more likely than not posers (or, to continue the snobbery theme, poseurs). You won’t see many people walking around Cincinnati or Syracuse clutching fancy bottled water. Hollywood, South Beach, and the Upper East Side of New York City are, as usual, another story.

There’s one final aspect of being the message that impacts what we hear and how we hear it. How our language is delivered can be as important as the words themselves, and no one understands this principle better than Hollywood.

At a small table tucked away in the corner of a boutique Italian restaurant on the outskirts of Beverly Hills, I had the opportunity to dine with legendary actors Charles Durning, Jack Klugman, and Dom DeLuise. The entire dinner was a litany of stories of actors, writers, and the most memorable movie lines ever delivered. (Says Klugman, an Emmy Award winner, “A great line isn’t spoken, it is delivered.”) Best known for his roles in The Odd Couple and Quincy, Klugman told a story about how Spencer Tracy was practicing his lines for a movie late in his career in the presence of the film’s screenwriter. Apparently not pleased with the reading, the writer said to Tracy, “Would you please pay more attention to how you are reading that line? It took me six months to write it,” to which Tracy shot back, “It took me thirty years to learn how to say correctly the line that took you only six months to write.”

Spencer Tracy knew how to be the message — and his shelf of Academy Awards proved it.

Excerpted from WORDS THAT WORK by Dr. Frank Luntz. Copyright 2007 Dr. Frank Luntz. All rights reserved. Published by Hyperion. Available wherever books are sold.

Dr. Frank Luntz
http://www.articlesbase.com/leadership-articles/be-all-that-you-can-be-the-company-persona-and-language-alignment-96205.html

Men, we know it is not easy buying a gift for Valentine’s Day. You don’t know what to buy and aren’t sure about the right size or style. Don’t you wish you could take a woman with you when picking out that special present? Look no further. I’m here to help with a few tips and pointers to guide you toward buying the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day.

1. Remember that this is an opportunity to tell her you care.

Valentine’s Day is just one more opportunity to tell her how you feel about her. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get something she’ll love. Just be romantic and thoughtful. A beautiful bouquet of flowers, while seemingly unoriginal, is always sure to please. Women love getting flowers, especially when coupled with a gift that tells her you remember something special about your relationship. For example, is there a picture of the two of you that she loves? Frame it and give it to her. When was the last time that you went back to the restaurant you took her to on your first date? Why not go and recreate the evening. Just knowing that you remember these details and that you care enough to memorialize them is a gift in and of itself.

2. Buy her something she wants but wouldn’t buy for herself.

There are some items that we would love to have but can’t justify buying for ourselves because the item is too expensive or just seems frivolous. However, that doesn’t mean YOU can’t buy it for us! Has she been stressed at work or taking care of the kids? Why not get her a massage or a day at the spa to help her relax. Or how about buying her a really soft pair of shearling-lined bedroom slippers or super comfortable pajamas? A few more items we really like, but might not buy for ourselves include:

- a beautiful sterling picture frame

- pair of small diamond “huggie” earrings

- a totally impractical pair of designer shoes or a designer handbag (for a real splurge) 

- any other item she’s been eyeing or talking about a lot, but hasn’t purchased

3. Remember that a gift doesn’t have to be something she wears

Sometimes the gifts we love most are those that beautify our home or further a hobby or interest we have. Does she love to cook? Why not get enroll her in a cooking class. Better yet, why not bring in a personal chef to cook a meal for the two of you. A woman who loves photography might enjoy a beautiful coffee table book by a famous photographer she admires or two tickets to a photography exhibit at the Art Museum. Think outside the box and look to her interests. There are plenty of original and interesting gifts you can buy that won’t invoke the wrong size, wrong style dilemma.

4. Be spontaneous

Do not underestimate the power of spontaneity. Is there a restaurant she’s been wanting to try, a show she’s been wanting to see or a bed and breakfast she’s been wanting to go to? Surprise her with a night out or a weekend away. You’ll get a lot of points for your thoughtfulness, forethought, and attention to detail.

5. Unless you know what scent she likes, avoid perfume

Likely Page Break I honestly think that perfume, and other scented items, might be among the most difficult gifts to buy and the ones that are most fraught with the potential for error. Everyone reacts differently to different scents and if you don’t know what kind of scent your woman likes (sweet, spicy, flowery, fruity, etc), you might be walking into a land mine trying to buy perfume. The same advice holds true for scented candles and reed diffusers. We love all of these items, but before embarking, please look at her perfume bottles and candles and give them a smell. Try and stay in that same aroma range. You don’t want to buy a very sweet smelling perfume or candle for someone who prefers a more musky scent.

6. If buying lingerie, remember that she needs to feel good about herself in it

Lingerie spans the gamut. Remember that this is supposed to be a gift for her – not for you (although you will benefit as well). So make sure and buy her something that she’ll love and feel comfortable and sexy in. This requires taking her body shape and personal style into consideration. There are a few articles on MenHATEshopping.com that can guide you into selecting the right piece of lingerie for a specific body type.

Men, at the end of the day, you know your woman best. Always remember who she is, her interests and likes, when picking out a gift for Valentine’s Day or any occasion. Still need more help? Go to menHATEshopping.com where you can shop painlessly and get free advice and product recommendations to help you find what you’re looking for.

Visit menHATEshopping.com to help you find the perfect Valentine’s Day Gift.

Good Luck!

- Rach

Rachael Carp
http://www.articlesbase.com/shopping-articles/valentines-day-gift-advice-for-men-who-hate-shopping-727066.html

Men, we know it is not easy buying a gift for Valentine’s Day. You don’t know what to buy and aren’t sure about the right size or style. Don’t you wish you could take a woman with you when picking out that special present? Look no further. I’m here to help with a few tips and pointers to guide you toward buying the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day.

1. Remember that this is an opportunity to tell her you care.

Valentine’s Day is just one more opportunity to tell her how you feel about her. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get something she’ll love. Just be romantic and thoughtful. A beautiful bouquet of flowers, while seemingly unoriginal, is always sure to please. Women love getting flowers, especially when coupled with a gift that tells her you remember something special about your relationship. For example, is there a picture of the two of you that she loves? Frame it and give it to her. When was the last time that you went back to the restaurant you took her to on your first date? Why not go and recreate the evening. Just knowing that you remember these details and that you care enough to memorialize them is a gift in and of itself.

2. Buy her something she wants but wouldn’t buy for herself.

There are some items that we would love to have but can’t justify buying for ourselves because the item is too expensive or just seems frivolous. However, that doesn’t mean YOU can’t buy it for us! Has she been stressed at work or taking care of the kids? Why not get her a massage or a day at the spa to help her relax. Or how about buying her a really soft pair of shearling-lined bedroom slippers or super comfortable pajamas? A few more items we really like, but might not buy for ourselves include:

- a beautiful sterling picture frame

- pair of small diamond “huggie” earrings

- a totally impractical pair of designer shoes or a designer handbag (for a real splurge) 

- any other item she’s been eyeing or talking about a lot, but hasn’t purchased

3. Remember that a gift doesn’t have to be something she wears

Sometimes the gifts we love most are those that beautify our home or further a hobby or interest we have. Does she love to cook? Why not get enroll her in a cooking class. Better yet, why not bring in a personal chef to cook a meal for the two of you. A woman who loves photography might enjoy a beautiful coffee table book by a famous photographer she admires or two tickets to a photography exhibit at the Art Museum. Think outside the box and look to her interests. There are plenty of original and interesting gifts you can buy that won’t invoke the wrong size, wrong style dilemma.

4. Be spontaneous

Do not underestimate the power of spontaneity. Is there a restaurant she’s been wanting to try, a show she’s been wanting to see or a bed and breakfast she’s been wanting to go to? Surprise her with a night out or a weekend away. You’ll get a lot of points for your thoughtfulness, forethought, and attention to detail.

5. Unless you know what scent she likes, avoid perfume

Likely Page Break I honestly think that perfume, and other scented items, might be among the most difficult gifts to buy and the ones that are most fraught with the potential for error. Everyone reacts differently to different scents and if you don’t know what kind of scent your woman likes (sweet, spicy, flowery, fruity, etc), you might be walking into a land mine trying to buy perfume. The same advice holds true for scented candles and reed diffusers. We love all of these items, but before embarking, please look at her perfume bottles and candles and give them a smell. Try and stay in that same aroma range. You don’t want to buy a very sweet smelling perfume or candle for someone who prefers a more musky scent.

6. If buying lingerie, remember that she needs to feel good about herself in it

Lingerie spans the gamut. Remember that this is supposed to be a gift for her – not for you (although you will benefit as well). So make sure and buy her something that she’ll love and feel comfortable and sexy in. This requires taking her body shape and personal style into consideration. There are a few articles on MenHATEshopping.com that can guide you into selecting the right piece of lingerie for a specific body type.

Men, at the end of the day, you know your woman best. Always remember who she is, her interests and likes, when picking out a gift for Valentine’s Day or any occasion. Still need more help? Go to menHATEshopping.com where you can shop painlessly and get free advice and product recommendations to help you find what you’re looking for.

Visit menHATEshopping.com to help you find the perfect Valentine’s Day Gift.

Good Luck!

- Rach

Rachael Carp
http://www.articlesbase.com/shopping-articles/valentines-day-gift-advice-for-men-who-hate-shopping-727066.html

The FREE Background check has been one of the most frequently advertised and often misleading products on the Internet since the beginning of World Wide Web time. A safe rule of thumb is…If someone is paying to advertise it, then it’s not free. You will have to give up a credit card number to see the results of the “search” which may or may not be relevant.

The good news is, YES YOU CAN conduct a free background check online if you know where to look and you don’t mind doing a little leg work. Please note: If you’re a corporation conducting background checks for employment screening purposes you should always use a professional background screening company that is well versed in federal and state F.C.R.A (Fair Credit Reporting Act) compliance and has references to prove their track record. The Securities Exchange Commission and Department of Labor have steep financial penalties for companies that do not follow the rules when conducting background checks. Not to mention civil liability from the applicant. End of Friendly Warning

Now…onto the occasional background check you want to conduct on the guy/girl you met at the coffee shop, the neighbor that’s been eyeing your new lawn mower, or the accountant that was referred by a friend of a friend. How can you check them out without hiring a professional or using a service that you don’t know a lot about?

Step 1: Get a Date of Birth (if possible)
To do an accurate criminal background check on anyone, especially if they have a common name, you need to know their date of birth. The exception to this requirement is Sex Offender Records which you can search NATIONALLY with just a first and last name as well as Federal Inmate Records. We’ll get to these parts shortly.

One easy way to find date of birth information online is a free search such as http://www.birthdatabase.com/. Keep in mind that although this free database is very accurate, not all persons’ date of births will be found in it. If you have no luck there, try one of the following to get your subjects date of birth…

·Social Networking Sites such as MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Bebo etc. often display a date of birth in the user’s “profile” page. Go to each one and search for the person by name within your state.

· If the person is a licensed professional, search State Licensing Agencies as their date of birth is often public record. You can typically search by occupation and name.

· As a last resort, just ask em! What the heck, tell them you want to buy them a birthday present or put their D.O.B. on your Outlook calendar. You can even be sneaky and say you want to see how good their driver’s license picture looks. Be creative.

Step 2: Search Sex Offender Registries
Okay, so you have their name and date of birth, what next? A good first step for any background check would be the National Sex Offender Registry. Here (as we mentioned above) you can search with just the first and last name and then narrow it down by state, city, etc. All sex offender records have pictures in the detail so if you do come across a record on the person you’ll know if it’s them and likely get their date of birth as well if you don’t already have it. Of course you also might be ending your search at that point and changing your phone number.

Note: Make sure you search by any known version of their name such as Bob, Robert, Bobbie, Rob or Dick, Richard, etc. Alias names will show up if they’re known by the arresting authority but better safe than sorry.

Step 3: Search FEDERAL Inmate Records
Use the Federal Bureau of Prison’s Inmate Search to search for people that have served time in a federal prison between 1982 and present. This search requires only a first name and last name to search but you can enter an age to limit your results. I don’t recommend limiting your search with an age or middle initial unless you get too many results to sift through. It’s always better to make your search as broad as possible, then narrow it once you see the results. Federal crimes can include many financial or white collar crimes, internet related crimes, and other crimes that fall into multiple jurisdictions.

Step 4: Search STATE Department of Corrections Records
Move on to individual state Department of Correction’s records. On Virtualgumshoe.com we list and link to all the searchable Department of Correction’s sites. Be sure to search the Department of Corrections for every state you know the subject has lived, has immediate family in, as well as neighboring states if they lived near the border of other states. Of course the more states you search the better, but we’re putting this in terms of a reasonable expectation of time. Note: You may find that some states will only show information for current inmates, but most will have past inmate records as well.

Step 5: Search Available County and State Court Databases
Common Question: Wouldn’t County convictions result in time served in a state prison?
Answer: Not always. Many convictions result in probation or supervision. Even if a defendant is sentenced to up to a year in jail, that sentence may be served at a county jail as opposed to a state facility.

Use the County and State criminal record search links found here on Virtualgumshoe. We only link to the ones that are free and searchable. Even if your search lies in a state that has free statewide criminal record search online, use the county level search as well if available. Free state databases (there’s only a few) such as Wisconsin and Missouri are great but they still rely on updates from the individual counties which are more current. If you know the cities but not the corresponding counties, you can use the “Investigator’s Tools” section of Virtualgumshoe to locate the county by entering the city. Note: Make sure you follow the instructions and proper search format on each county site such as (last name, first name). Once again, be sure to search any available county or state database that is available for every location the subject has lived. The more jurisdictions you cover the better. Professional background screeners determine this information by tracing the social security number, but that is not publicly accessible information.

Now, is every county or state going to have a free and searchable database for the general public to use online? No, they’re not. Although criminal records are “public information”, that doesn’t mean the state or county can’t charge a fee or make you subscribe to a service to get that information electronically. The ones listed on Virtualgumshoe are indeed free and online. Those listed on Virtualgumshoe and most other counties not listed will let you walk into the actual courthouse and search a public computer terminal for criminal records. It’s just not realistic for most people to take the time to go to the courthouse, learn how to use the computer terminal correctly and do the search on site. Especially if you have multiple jurisdictions to search.

Step 6 Optional (Moving Beyond the Criminal Record)
If you have the time and the patience to do a little more detective work, and depending on the situation, there’s a few options. Above, I mentioned the State Licensing Agencies. If the person is a “professional” such as an Accountant, Doctor, Lawyer, Investigator, Nurse, etc. You can find registered complaints against the person or their office. If the person is with a financial institution, check out the “Got Money, Then Protect it” post on the Virtualgumshoe Blog for instructions on how to conduct due diligence on brokers, financial advisors and banks.

Earlier we mentioned the use of Social Networking Sites to locate a possible date of birth. We’ll if you haven’t already, you can also use those sites to gain a lot of character information as well. Many people carelessly post pictures and comments that reveal far more than they might wish to outside their immediate circle of friends. Of course take it with a grain of salt; everyone is entitled to being a little crazy when they don’t think the world is looking.

Another much overlooked method to checking on someone’s online activity and character is simply using Google. Searching their name is a good start, but also search any known email addresses they use and change or break them up a little bit. For example, if the person’s known email address is “vixen123456@gmail.com”, search for the whole email address on Google but also search for “vixen123456″ by itself. You might find the person set up a secondary account under hotmail, yahoo, or other service for posting in more discreet chat rooms. Trust me, it happens.
Overall, the key to a successful background check is to use the above suggestions as an outline more than an instruction manual. The best resources to use will change depending on the subject of your search and the information you seek. Use keyword searches on Virtualgumshoe to find additional free sources of information in other areas. Remember, the resources we link to on Virtualgumshoe are all free. Free is great, but it takes a little work, so weigh your options accordingly. If you’re considering a paid search to save time, read the following. Otherwise, good luck with your searching!

Are the Paid Criminal Record Searches any different from what I can do for Free?
They are quite different. For example, the “Guardian Report” or any true “Nationwide Criminal Record Search” you see advertised online is a database compilation search that combines any criminal record information we could gather electronically and update fairly frequently. So there are hundreds of government sources feeding into our “Guardian Report” search totaling over 500 million criminal records. These sources include most all of the county, state, department of corrections, and sex offender registries mentioned above plus many others that do not make their information available online. We have to contract with these jurisdictions and pay fees to access their data. You can see the exact coverage and update frequency of our National Database on the Guardian Report Coverage Database.

Which is better for me. Free or Paid Criminal Record Searches?

To most people, free is always better, but the do it yourself method has its limits as does the pay search. If the states and counties your subject has lived in have online access, stick to free. You can then search as many variations on the name as you like and check back as frequently as you’d like. However, if you have time constraints or the places the subject lived are not accessible online, than check the coverage page of the Guardian Reprot or other online database and see if the areas you require are listed and updated frequently. Just be careful when selecting a pay service for an “instant” background check. They are not all created equal and some are rarely updated. Note: NO CRIMINAL RECORD SEARCH YOU’LL FIND ONLINE CONTAINS ALL CRIMINAL RECORDS FROM EVERY JURISDICTION. Any advertisement that makes this claim is likely a scam. Make sure that the online service you use does the following.

· They list their full criminal record coverage detail online for every jurisdiction.

· They list an active phone number and physical address in their contact information.

· They have sample reports to view online.

· They have a terms and conditions statement availably for printing.

Tip: Watch out for phony “Top 10 Site Reviews” or “Consumer Reviews” of the best criminal record databases. Unless the reviews are through a well known source these are usually advertisements for fake databases or subscription services.

Just remember, the Internet is becoming more and more of an amazing resource for information. We can all conduct research in minutes that would have taken months, or years just a decade ago. With its growing accessibility and popularity, scam artists naturally follow. When conducting your own research, be skeptical of any site that offers to find out “everything” about “anybody” for a small fee. Always call and ask questions. For more in-depth research or legal matters, always use a licensed private investigator or professional background screening company.

It may all be “public information” but professionals will always have greater access to in-depth information than is available online to the general public.

Brad Jones
http://www.articlesbase.com/human-resources-articles/how-can-i-conduct-a-truly-free-background-check-online-706764.html

Running low on cash to complete shopping for Christmas Gifts for your kids, and hoping that you’ll have money to pick up the last minute Christmas gifts you need?

Many things in life that are “Free” are overlooked or ignored. As people of habit we tend to do the same things over and over again. We shop at the same stores. We buy the same products. We shop out of need rather than planning. We are in a rush and shop without taking advantage of bargains and sales.

At the grocery store we shop for what is in our heads or on the shopping list after work, and then go home and prepare dinner. We ignore the free weekly sales brochure at the entrance of the store. We buy the same brand name of soup without comparing prices of soups in the same area. We buy bread and mayonnaise for sandwiches that will go with the soup.

So what did you miss? You missed a lot of savings that would provide you with EXTRA MONEY for shopping for Christmas gifts. If you would have picked up the weekly sales brochure at the entrance, you might have seen that Campbell’s Chucky Soup was on sale….Buy 2 Get 3 Free. So instead of buying your regular brand of soup at approximately the same price with no sale you could have SAVED MONEY.

You also may have found that instead of the loaf of bread that you normally purchase which was not on sale, you could have purchased a Brownberry 100% Wheat Bread and got ONE FREE (this also is a healthy made bread). As for the Mayonnaise, you could have just grabbed any jar including Hellman’s. You overlooked the fact that one of the jars of Hellman’s offered for the same price included “FREE 33% More mayonnaise” …10 ounces for free.

Hopefully when you shop you carry the store’s loyalty card that not only provides you with additional savings on other products throughout the store, but provides savings to you and your wallet on every visit. There was also a page of grocery breakfast items that were on sale and adding another $1.00 off each product when you bought any five of these named products for an additional savings of $5.00.

On Mondays, Dominicks/Safeway offers a rotisserie chicken for $5.00 and on Friday a pizza with one additional topping for $6.99 (you can even call and order it in advance, and have it ready when you arrive). This means more savings each time you shop with your loyalty card and that saved money can keep you shopping for your last minute Christmas gifts.

If you really took advantage of the sales on the soup, the bread, and the breakfast items by buying in bulk, you saved money not only this trip but also on your future grocery trips. On a recent trip to Dominicks/Safeway I took advantage of these sales, and filled my cupboard with 10 cans of soup (6 free) and 4 loaves of bread for my freezer and 5 breakfast items that included juice, sausages, coffee. Before swiping my loyalty card at the cash register, the total was $53.01. After swiping the card, the total was $19.62 which represented a savings of 63%. Dollar wise the savings amounted to $33.39.

Remember the Christmas gifts for your kids or last minute Christmas gifts needed to be purchased. This savings of $33.39 might make the difference for you and your loved ones. Feel free to take advantage of one of my many tips on how to save money this Christmas Shopping Season, and enjoy a good hot cup of coffee with toast and sausages for breakfast, and soup and a sandwich for lunch knowing that you got everyone on your list a personalized Christmas gift.

Robert Walsh
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/tips-on-how-to-save-money-for-christmas-gifts-for-kids–688753.html

Shopping for furniture online is easy and fun with huge selections, buying guides-including huge discounts on bedroom, living room, kitchen and kids furniture. The following are tips on how to furnish your home for less.

Checking for online clearance outlets and sales. Most online furniture stores have centers with on going or periodic furniture sales. Check dates on when the prices will be reduced. This is usually between 30-60 days.

Buy furniture that matches the theme of your rooms. Choose a style that you like and stick to it. It’s cheaper to furnish your home with a popular style since most pieces are available.

Consider buying furniture with versatility in function. For instance, buying kids furniture that is functionally multifunctional will maximize floor space, cut cost and make it easy for parents to prioritize the right tools for sleeping studying and storage, as opposed to buying each piece for a different function; this may turn out to be incredibly expensive.

Decide on what price range you can afford and stick to it. For online furniture buying, shop around a lot. Visit different online furniture stores and get an overall feel for what’s out there. Perhaps a list of the furniture you need and one of all you want would help.

Buy the best quality you can afford and available. Poor quality furniture is less likely to hold up, which means that you may have to buy the item twice.

Consider the space you have. Measure your rooms before shopping for your piece. This will ensure that you know the amount of space available. This will prevent incurring the cost of returning and restocking a big piece that didn’t fit in a small room.

Buy with an eye to refinish. Sometimes you won’t be able to get what you want and you’ll need to be creative. Begin by considering its line, scale and details. A dark wood can be repainted and updated with new hardware. A beat up coffee table can be sanded and stained.

Elijah Gichuhi
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/how-to-buy-furniture-on-a-budget-128032.html