<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>World Village &#187; Glenn Cutforth</title>
	<atom:link href="http://worldvillage.com/author/glenn/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://worldvillage.com</link>
	<description>A village of you.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:46:17 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1</generator>
		<item>
		<title>Start a Home Business &#8212; But Don&#8217;t Quit Your Job</title>
		<link>http://worldvillage.com/start-a-home-business-but-dont-quit-your-job</link>
		<comments>http://worldvillage.com/start-a-home-business-but-dont-quit-your-job#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 23 Dec 2006 17:23:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Cutforth</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Home Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.worldvillage.com/start-a-home-business-but-dont-quit-your-job</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As with all types of businesses, large or small, it takes time to achieve consistent success. If you&#8217;ve started a Home-Based business, you might be tempted to quit your job at the first sign of success, however, if your business is in it&#8217;s infancy, it&#8217;s wise to give yourself more time and hang onto that [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As with all types of businesses, large or small, it takes time to achieve consistent success. If you&#8217;ve started a Home-Based business, you might be tempted to quit your job at the first sign of success, however, if your business is in it&#8217;s infancy, it&#8217;s wise to give yourself more time and hang onto that job until you&#8217;re absolutely sure you&#8217;ll be able to support yourself and your family with your home business.</p>
<p><span id="more-11733"></span><br />
Here&#8217;s a few reasons why you should not consider giving up your job immediately when starting your home business:</p>
<p><b>Benefits:</b> If you&#8217;ve had your job long enough to qualify for benefits that may include medical, dental and other personal benefits, such as maturnity leave, or a retirement pension, these will all disapear when you quit your job. This is a major reason why you must carefully consider how long it will take to replace these benefits through the income from your home business.</p>
<p><b>Income:</b> Getting a business off the ground can be costly, even if you&#8217;re a one person operation on a shoestring budget. If you&#8217;ve used your savings to get started and not taken out any loans, you may still need the money to pay your household expenses, buy food and to support your family. If you must depend totally on the income from a growing home business, you&#8217;ll probably have to cut out any vacations and extra-curricular activities you participate in, which you may hesitate to do. Hanging onto your job during this stage of your home business will help you to maintain all of these costs.</p>
<p><b>Proof of Income:</b> If you decide to apply for a small business loan, you&#8217;re going to have to prove you have a steady income, an important consideration if you hope to receive any money from the government or private lenders. They&#8217;ll require you to prove you have the income to pay back any loan money or you may not quality. Therefore, even if you&#8217;re tempted to quit your job immediately, don&#8217;t make the mistake of doing so before you&#8217;re new source of income is assured .</p>
<p><b>Emergencies and Unexpected Expenses:</b> Life can be unpredictable. You never know what might happen from day to day. Your car could break down and need major repairs, a strong wind could knock a tree down that crashes through your roof or a member of your family could suddenly becove very ill and require emergency medical attention. Any of these situations could be devastating to your future if you no longer have the benefits or security of your regular job.</p>
<p><b>Loan Commitments:</b> Starting your business with as little money as possible is a good idea when possible and maintaining your job will help fund your business. This will help you to avoid having to take out a loan to cover start-up expenses. The advantages here are obvious. Money you earn from your job to start and run a business doesn&#8217;t have to payed back. Therefore, hanging onto your job for as long as possibe and this will reduce the the amount of debt you will have to take on.</p>
<p><b>Discipline:</b> If you&#8217;re like most people, maintaining a regular schedule at the beginning stages of your business will actually help you work better. Thus keeping your job will not only help fund your new home busines, it will also help you stay focused. Just knowing you have a busy schedule can help you discipline yourself and not take your time for granted or waste time.</p>
<p><b>Networking:</b> If your business isn&#8217;t a conflict of interest with your employer, why not network with your co-workers. There&#8217;s always the possibility that your home business will be of interest to someone, whether you&#8217;re selling a product or service.</p>
<p>These are only a few examples of the wisdom of keeping your job while starting your business and I&#8217;m sure you can come up with additional ones. For example, you may want to monitor the success of your growing business for a while to make sure it will be able to sustain and grow your income in the long term. Income is important, of course, but you&#8217;ll also want to make sure your business is something you&#8217;ll enjoy doing full time and have to rely on to take care of your family&#8217;s needs.</p>
<p>If you discover the business you&#8217;ve started really isn&#8217;t right for you, maintaining your job will make it much easier to try something different until you find the type of home busines that will take care of your financial needs while you find a business you enjoy doing for a living. On the other hand, if you&#8217;ve commited to your business and no longer have your job, it may be a lot more difficult to turn back. You will have to either ask for your old job back or find a new one. To avoid that from happening, you may consider keeping your job for as long as you feel is necessary.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>Glenn Cutforth is a writer and publisher of quality eBooks at <a href="http://www.maxxpublishing.com">MaxxPublishing.com</a> who has worked from home since 1994. For more information on operating your Work From Home business, check out his website at: <a href="http://www.homebiz-advisor.info">HomeBiz Advisor.info</a> and download your free copy of the &#8220;Home Business Startup Guide&#8221;.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://worldvillage.com/start-a-home-business-but-dont-quit-your-job/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Don&#8217;t Let Your Customers Take Advantage of You</title>
		<link>http://worldvillage.com/dont-let-your-customers-take-advantage-of-you</link>
		<comments>http://worldvillage.com/dont-let-your-customers-take-advantage-of-you#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Dec 2006 17:36:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Cutforth</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Home Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.worldvillage.com/dont-let-your-customers-take-advantage-of-you</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You know what they say &#8212; the customer is always right &#8212; but do you believe it? What do you do when the customer is actually wrong, or more likely, when a customer does something wrong, such as trying to take advantage of you? This may be a rare occurence, however, all small business and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You know what they say &#8212;  the customer is always right &#8212;  but do you believe it? What do you do when the customer is actually wrong, or more likely, when a customer does something wrong, such as trying to take advantage of you? This may be a rare occurence, however, all small business and work from home business owners will have to deal with the occassional customers who&#8217;ll try to take advantage. So what do you do? Do you always maintain the idea that the customer is always right? Or is there a different approach you can take to deal with this situation?</p>
<p><span id="more-11692"></span><br />
Here are some helpful tips that could save you some time and frustation dealing with this type of customer:</p>
<p>Always maintain clear and effective communication with your customers to prevent anyone from trying to take advantage of you. Most of the time a client doesn&#8217;t intentionally try to take advantage, but somewhere along the way something may not have been communicated clearly until it&#8217;s too late, leading to a misunderstanding and thus the client has your business in a position of disadvantage. You can prevent misunderstandings by practicing clear, unambiguous communication skills. Make sure everything you promised your client is in writing whether you deal with contracts or you work online using email. Most of the time a misunderstanding will happen when there is only a verbal agreement, either on the phone or in person.</p>
<p>So, always get it in writing. Have you ever been in a situation where you wished you had a recording of a conversation to prove your point? Getting all of your deals in writing will usually avoid being taken advantage of by one of your clients. If you have a verbal conversation that leads to an agreement, it&#8217;s always smart to take notes and to send out a follow-up letter or email to summarize and confirm exactly what was discussed. This takes some extra work, but will, in the long run, save you from any misunderstandings that could arise. Keep all the proper paper work required for your business on hand so you have it when you need it. Even better, try to avoid verbal agreements with clients all together.</p>
<p>Make sure you&#8217;re organized. Keeping your files and accounts organized makes it a lot easier to find the information you need when a customer disputes their account or a sale. If you have a messy, disorganized office and can never find the proper documentation, you put yourself at a disadvantage with a customer.</p>
<p>If you have employees, the hiring process will play a significant role in preventing your business from being taken advantage of in a negative way. Do your due diligence when hiring staff and make sure you hire someone you know you can trust. Carefully screen all applicants and hire staff with specific qualities. This is especially true if your staff are directly dealing with customers. They&#8217;re your front line of defense, so make sure they&#8217;re fully aware of the rules and guidlines of how you operate your business.</p>
<p>If you don&#8217;t have guidelines, then get busy and put some together to ensure you and your staff are working together and make sure you enforce these guidelines. Confusion and guesswork are the most likely reasons a situation may arise that leads to a customer trying to take advantage of you. By eliminating any possible confusion and guesswork before it begins you&#8217;ll also eliminate areas of weakness where a customer can get the upper hand. If you&#8217;re working alone, then you only have yourself to hold to strict guidelines, but it&#8217;s still important to follow-up with your customers and be consistent.</p>
<p>Finally, the most effective way to avoid misunderstanding is to promote integrity and honesty with your clients. Build solid relationships with them based on truly listening. understanding and communicating. Do your best to be a model for the type of behavior you expect from your employees as well as customers. Create and develop an environment that clearly shows how much you value honesty and integrity. If you do this, there&#8217;ll be no excuse for anyone to try to bend the rules and those around you will most often follow your example.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>Glenn Cutforth is a writer and publisher of quality eBooks at <a href="http://www.maxxpublishing.com">MaxxPublishing.com</a> who has worked from home since 1994. For more information on operating your Work From Home business, check out his website at: <a href="http://www.homebiz-advisor.info">HomeBiz Advisor.info</a>.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://worldvillage.com/dont-let-your-customers-take-advantage-of-you/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Tips on Choosing a Health Insurance Company Online</title>
		<link>http://worldvillage.com/tips-on-choosing-a-health-insurance-company-online</link>
		<comments>http://worldvillage.com/tips-on-choosing-a-health-insurance-company-online#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Nov 2006 16:23:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Cutforth</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Insurance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.worldvillage.com/tips-on-choosing-a-health-insurance-company-online</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Purchasing health insurance used to be a tedious process since you usually had to make appointments with an agent, visit their offices, fill out a lot of paperwork and then have a physical examination. Fortunately for those with busy lives, times have changed, and you can now preview and choose a health insurance company on [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Purchasing health insurance used to be a tedious process since you usually had to make appointments with an agent, visit their offices, fill out a lot of paperwork and then have a physical examination. Fortunately for those with busy lives, times have changed, and you can now preview and choose a health insurance company on the Internet from the comfort and convenience of your home. Do keep in mind, however, that convenience has a price. Buying health insurance online can be a good experience if done properly.</p>
<p><span id="more-11679"></span><br />
Here are a few tips to keep in mind:</p>
<p><b>1. Get Rid of The SPAM</b></p>
<p>Anyone with an email addres receives SPAM e-mails every day. Aside from the prescriptions and get-rich-quick scheme e-mails, some have now ventured into health insurance coverage scams. If you&#8217;ve received a SPAM e-mail advertising insurance coverage, health plans or even prescription drug coverage, delete them immediately! If a company has stooped so low they&#8217;re sending unsolicited e-mails to prospective customers, they won&#8217;t likely be picky about other business ethics as well.</p>
<p><b>2. Protect Your Privacy</b></p>
<p>When taking advantage of insurance companies and agents who offer a free online quote, a prospective client will usually be asked to give out personal information including an e-mail address. Unless you&#8217;re absolutely certain you want to do business with a particular company, make sure you examine their privacy policy. These privacy policies tells you what the company promises to do with the data you provide them. It&#8217;s a lot safer to do business with a company who will not share or sell your information so you won&#8217;t have your sensitive data floating around and you start receiving solicitations from other companies.</p>
<p><b>3. Do Call If Necessary</b></p>
<p>The Internet will likely provide you with the information you need however, it&#8217;s wise to check out an insurance company&#8217;s telephone support ahead of time. Digging through long pages of fine print in order to find a phone number is probably a bad sign. If the company doesn&#8217;t offer a toll free number, expecting you to pay for a long distance call, you should consider whether you want to pend money when you will, inevitably, be put on hold when talking to an agent. You might want to call their customer service line to get a feel for their average hold times, times of operation and the quality of their services offered by telephone.</p>
<p><b>4. Hire An Agent</b></p>
<p>Unless you&#8217;ve already decided which insurance company you plan to do business with, it&#8217;s a good idea to contact a licensed health insurance agent who can access, compare and discuss health insurance plans from several different insurance companies. In addition to comparing prices and products, an agent will be able to give you personalized service, including how other consumers feel about a particular company, their support, services and rates. Of couse, an agent should be able to give you suggestions about the coverage you&#8217;ll need and ideas about foreseeable changes to your situation that will necessitate a health plan update or even an overhaul.</p>
<p><b>5. Don&#8217;t Compare Apples To Oranges</b></p>
<p>With so many different health plans to choose from it&#8217;s easy to get side-tracked. In addition to the foregoing, some insurance companies will showcase a full range of their products online, while others may only highlight their most popular plan choices. If you rely on a website for complete information, it&#8217;s wise to choose one that will allow you to have access to a broad range of plan information.</p>
<p>So keep in mind that buying health insurance online is certainly convenient since there are no weekend restrictions or the faxing of lengthy documents to and from an office fax. However, even though health insurance is critical and will help to ensure the quality of your life and that of your loved ones, always beware!</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>Glenn Cutforth is a writer and publisher of quality eBooks at <a href="http://www.maxxpublishing.com">MaxxPublishing.com</a>.</p>
<p>For comprehensive information on all types of Insurance, visit his website at: <a href="http://www.maxxinsuranceguides.com">Maxx Insurance Guides</a></p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://worldvillage.com/tips-on-choosing-a-health-insurance-company-online/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Dealing With An Abused Cat</title>
		<link>http://worldvillage.com/dealing-with-an-abused-cat</link>
		<comments>http://worldvillage.com/dealing-with-an-abused-cat#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 18 Nov 2006 18:36:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Cutforth</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[House Pets]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.worldvillage.com/dealing-with-an-abused-cat</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Abused cats, whether physically or emotionally, are no different than any creature who&#8217;s had to deal with a bad situation. They can be difficult to deal with because of the abuse and it will take patience to get them back to normal. Physically abused cats are obviously easier to spot since they likely will show [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Abused cats, whether physically or emotionally, are no different than any creature who&#8217;s had to deal with a bad situation. They can be difficult to deal with because of the abuse and it will take patience to get them back to normal. Physically abused cats are obviously easier to spot since they likely will show physical damage to their bodies. However, those that appear to be in perfect shape on the outside may have sustained internal or emotional damage and are more difficult to spot. Physical damage is certainly bad, but emotional damage is a lot tougher to repair. However, cats who&#8217;ve been physically abused will still respond to a soft touch and voice, as long as they know the abuse has ended.</p>
<p><span id="more-19987"></span><br />
If you&#8217;re dealing with a cat who&#8217;s been emotionally abused, your best plan of action is to wait until the cat comes to you. This will require patience, since the cat will be confused and not know if you&#8217;re planning to hurt her or not. If you take your time and let her know she doesn&#8217;t have to be afraid of you, she&#8217;ll eventually come to you and when that happens, pet her gently and let her sniff you. She&#8217;ll start to understant that she can trust you and will come to you when you call.</p>
<p>Raising your voice and yelling or using a flyswatter or water gun to disipline a cat in an improper manner can lead to emotional damage. If you continue to use the wrong means of discipline on an already emotionally damaged cat, you can cause her to become mean or lethargic. If a cat has become mean from physical or emotional abuse, they&#8217;re easier to reach because they still care somewhat about what happens to them. On the other hand, a lethargic cat could care less and will be more difficult to return to normal.</p>
<p>Cats who&#8217;ve become lethargic won&#8217;t play, take treats or respond to anything anyone says to them. Therefore, one of the best ways to get her to respond is to bring in a companion cat. Eventually a lethargic cat will start to crave some attention, either a scratch or a pat and when this happens, always speak in a soft voice and give her a loving snuggle. Of course, you should never raise your voice but try to let the cat know that this behavior is better.</p>
<p>When you&#8217;re around a lethargic cat, it&#8217;s best to make slow movements since she&#8217;s still quite traumatized. As she gradually starts showing some life and letting you touch her again, you&#8217;ll know she&#8217;s getting back to a normal state of mind. Remember, however that this may take some time, which isn&#8217;t surprising in this situation. If the cat starts to get upset again or if you start to raise your voice, she&#8217;ll just start hiding again, so make sure you continue to use a soft voice, remain patience and she&#8217;ll eventually get past this behavior. If you have to deal with a letargic cat, be prepared for a long and very intense healing process.</p>
<p>Mean cats, on the other hand, will either fight and scratch or just run away and all you can do to deal with this attitude is to use a gentle treatment and a soft voice. Never raise your voice or use strict discipline because this will just make a mean cat even meaner. Never try to trap a mean cat either because this will make the cat react badly and try to fight back. Patience, as always, is the key and once the cat understands you&#8217;ll be there for her, she&#8217;ll eventually calm down and get back to normal behavior.</p>
<p>Any living creature who&#8217;s been abused is truly a sad thing and an abused cat will react no different than an abused person, especially those who were physically abused. For an abused cat, the solution to bringing them back to normal behavior is to give them a loving home and a loving owner who&#8217;ll provide them with a friendly environment and take care of their every day needs. Gentle and loving treatment will do wonders in restoring the physical and emotional health of an abused cat and, if you&#8217;re patient, they&#8217;ll eventually respond with the same loving companionship as any other cat.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>Glenn Cutforth is a writer, eBook publisher and graphic designer.</p>
<p>Get your free eBook, Pamper Your Cat, a collection of 100 gourmet cat</p>
<p>recipes your cat will love at <a href="http://www.thecompletecat.com">The Complete Cat.com</a></p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://worldvillage.com/dealing-with-an-abused-cat/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Best Location for Your Rose Garden</title>
		<link>http://worldvillage.com/the-best-location-for-your-rose-garden</link>
		<comments>http://worldvillage.com/the-best-location-for-your-rose-garden#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 05 Nov 2006 02:10:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Cutforth</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gardening]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.worldvillage.com/the-best-location-for-your-rose-garden</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You&#8217;ve decided to start a rose garden but, of course, before you begin, you have to decide where to plant it &#8212; one of the most important decisions you&#8217;ll make regarding the beautifel rose bed you expect to grow. One major consideration is the weather conditions in your area because this will have a huge [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You&#8217;ve decided to start a rose garden but, of course, before you begin, you have to decide where to plant it &#8212; one of the most important decisions you&#8217;ll make regarding the beautifel rose bed you expect to grow. One major consideration is the weather conditions in your area because this will have a huge effect on whether or not you end up with well formed roses or wilting, weepy ones. If you&#8217;re really hoping for gorgeous roses that will make everyone stare at them with awe, then make sure you carefully consider the location of your rose grade.</p>
<p><span id="more-19976"></span><br />
This may take some thought. So where do you think the best place to plant your future prize winning roses should be? Regardless of whether you have a big, beautiful yard or a little nook in the corner of a big city, whatever the space available, you should be able to find a suitable location for your rose garden.</p>
<p>The first step in choosing the location is critical. You need to find a bright, open area of your yard, since roses generally need a lot of sunlight. Don&#8217;t plant your roses somewhere that is shaded most of the day, but an area that receives many hours of sunshine. However, keep in mind there may be areas where the roses will bake, so try to find a happy medium &#8212; ample sunlight without having your roses fry.</p>
<p>Now that you have a good spot to plant your roses, get rid of any turf and take a few soil samples to determine the grade of soil, making note of the acidity. Soil with a high level of acidity is drained of nitrogen making it unsuitable for growing roses.</p>
<p>You don&#8217;t need the help of a biologist to determine the pH balance of you soil because testing the level of acidity is quite easy. Just dig 3-4 inches into the soil and gather a few small samples. Then buy yourself a soil evaluation kit from a gardening store or nursery, however, if you don&#8217;t understand how to interpret the results, a knowledgeable nursery attendant should be able to help you translate them.</p>
<p>With the pH balance of your soil in hand, you&#8217;ll know whether you&#8217;ll have to add dolomite lime or not. A pH balance of 6.0 to 6.5 is excellent for growing roses, so check another area of your yard if the first area isn&#8217;t favorable.</p>
<p>Once you have your rose garden going, you&#8217;ll discover that roses aren&#8217;t big on sharing, but rather, they need room to grow and thrive in their own space. You do, of course, want your rose bed separate from your other plants anyway, so this shouldn&#8217;t be a problem. Just steer clear of tall buildings and shrubs.</p>
<p>Be wary of black spot and other diseases because they can happen when there isn&#8217;t proper air circulation through the rose plants. The amount of space needed between each plant will depend on the type of rose you&#8217;ve planted. Hybrids need about 5 feet while miniatures need 6 &#8211; 12 inches and Floribunda&#8217;s need about 2 to 3 feet.</p>
<p>So remember, your roses will be growing and you should take into account what their mature size will be. Try to projecyt what height and width your roses will reach. Have you chosen small roses that won&#8217;t take up more space than they do now?  Or have you planted larger roses that will burst out of their space?</p>
<p>Climbing roses are one of the few that work well with other plants. Roses will thrive with other roses, but keep in mind that they must be planted at the same time. Don&#8217;t try to plant a new rose in the same soil your old roses are using, rather, begin fresh and start growing a new rose bed.</p>
<p>Another mistake new gardeners often make is planting too many rose bushes. If you&#8217;re new to gardening, then slow down, there&#8217;s no need to become an instant  master gardener. Take your time and get acquainted with the intricacies of your rose bed first. You can start out small and learn all of the responsibilities of caring for roses as you go along.</p>
<p>Finally, make sure the location you planted your roses is open and easily accessible because you&#8217;ll need to water the bed deeply 2-3 times a week. You&#8217;ll also have to ensure you have proper drainage, so make sure other plants don&#8217;t get in the way of you easily maneuvering around your rose bed.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>Glenn Cutforth is a writer, eBook publisher and graphic designer. For more information</p>
<p>on the growing and care of roses in your garden, visit his website <A href="http://www.lawnandgardenmagic.com/Rose-Gardening">Lawn and Garden Magic/Rose-Gardening</A></p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://worldvillage.com/the-best-location-for-your-rose-garden/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Work From Home Time Management Tips</title>
		<link>http://worldvillage.com/work-from-home-time-management-tips</link>
		<comments>http://worldvillage.com/work-from-home-time-management-tips#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 28 Oct 2006 17:14:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Cutforth</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Home Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.worldvillage.com/work-from-home-time-management-tips</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It takes action to achieve your goals and time management is one of the most critical skills you can implement to help you get there. Therefore it&#8217;s extremely important, especially if you operate a Work From Home business, to have a time management action plan set up to ensure the high productivity you will need [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It takes action to achieve your goals and time management is one of the most critical skills you can implement to help you get there. Therefore it&#8217;s extremely important, especially if you operate a Work From Home business, to have a time management action plan set up to ensure the high productivity you will need on a daily basis in order to sustain the growth of your business.</p>
<p><span id="more-11579"></span><br />
Dealing with the many obstacles that may block your path should include a compiling a list of everyday tasks that must be completed in order to accomplish your goals. These lists help you to stay focused on the major tasks that must be accomplished regularly, assuming you&#8217;re taking the proper action. These lists also help you to set a focal point so your attention is always looking directly towards the most important tasks that lead directly to success.</p>
<p>Software programs are available to help you compile your list of &#8216;to do&#8217;s&#8217; and by using one of these programs it can help you speed up the process. You can print the list and view it each day to help you stay focused. Whether you use a computer, or just a pen and notebook, it should only take you a few minutes each day to compile your list of tasks to be accomplished that day.</p>
<p>The advantage to using software is the additional tools for storing names, addresses and other vital data on your hard drive for easy access. It&#8217;s also wise to regularly backup your data as part of your time management plan because this will save you money and time if your computer ever crashes.</p>
<p>If your job is in a computer related environment, then your company will be responsible for backing up data, taking this responsibility off your shoulders. Most large companies will back up PCs every night and store the data on a mainframe computer in a central location.</p>
<p>However, if you&#8217;re operating your own business, it&#8217;s essential that you take on the responsibility of backing up your files yourself. This is a relatively easy task and will only require a bit of research on your part to understand how to do it quickly and efficiently. You&#8217;ll also discover there are companies who specialize in backing up data as well.</p>
<p>This process should only take a few minutes of your time and this will greatly contribution to your successful time management skills.</p>
<p>Computers can be tricky at times, so it&#8217;s important that you implement a good maintenance program, as well as installing Virus Scanners, Spyware Programs and Adware Programs on your computer to prevent a potential disaster.</p>
<p>These virus protection programs will help prevent the invasion of your computer by worms and other viruses and will save time and money in the long run. Spyware and Adware Programs are vital these days because of the constant increase of dangerous attacks from spyware and viruses. Some viruses have the potential to destroy your computer&#8217;s hard drive and all the data stored on it, so make sure you&#8217;re protected. Taking this action should be a part of every time management program and will work to increase the chances of reaching both short-term and long-term goals.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s also important to store your paperwork in filing cabinets, labelled accurately so you can find them when they&#8217;re needed. You might want to invest a few minutes of your time to sort through the outdated data that you no longer need and throw them out. Paperwork is critical if you&#8217;re running your own business, and even more critical if you&#8217;re working for someone else.</p>
<p>When you put a time management plan into action, you&#8217;re also working to improve your way of thinking. If you&#8217;re a pessimist, then it a good idea to work on positive thinking techniques. It takes a lot of motivation to make time management work smoothly, but it also takes good self-esteem and self-confidence to ride the fast-paced road to success.</p>
<p>Taking the right action is the key that will help you to continue to move ahead. When you&#8217;re moving ahead, you&#8217;re getting closer to our goals one step at a time. When you&#8217;re not taking action, you&#8217;re only delaying what could have been.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>Glenn Cutforth is a writer, eBook publisher and graphic designer who has worked from home since 1994. For more information on developing a Time Management Plan for a Work From Home business, go to his website at: <a href="www.homebiz-advisor.info/Time-Management">HomeBiz Advisor-Time Management</a>.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://worldvillage.com/work-from-home-time-management-tips/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Don&#8217;t Burn Yourself Out Working From Home</title>
		<link>http://worldvillage.com/dont-burn-yourself-out-working-from-home</link>
		<comments>http://worldvillage.com/dont-burn-yourself-out-working-from-home#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:05:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Cutforth</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Home Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.worldvillage.com/dont-burn-yourself-out-working-from-home</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You&#8217;ve taken the plunge and escaped the rat race by setting up your own Work From Home business. You&#8217;re now a few months into your new enterprise and everything seems to be going well, except you&#8217;ve noticed how tired and cranky you&#8217;ve become lately. What surprises you the most is how much you miss the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You&#8217;ve taken the plunge and escaped the rat race by setting up your own Work From Home business. You&#8217;re now a few months into your new enterprise and everything seems to be going well, except you&#8217;ve noticed how tired and cranky you&#8217;ve become lately. What surprises you the most is how much you miss the attention and feedback from your former boss and co-workers. Working from home has turned out to be a lonely proposition since you don&#8217;t have anyone to consult with before making decisions. You also realize that you&#8217;ve been working many more hours than you did at your corporate job, and as yet, you&#8217;re not making enough sales to keep a hamster in regular chow, let alone a family.</p>
<p><span id="more-11567"></span><br />
This has led to anxiety and a bit of depression, even though you expected it to take at least a year to get off the ground and planned your finances accordingly. With a sigh, you sip on your morning cup of coffee and realize that you&#8217;re burning yourself out and it&#8217;s time to reevaluate where you&#8217;re at and make some adjustments before it&#8217;s too late.</p>
<p>The simple fact is that burnout can happen to anyone who&#8217;s working long hours with little appreciation or positive feedback and having more work than they&#8217;re able to handle comfortably. Of course, burnout can be found in any job, but with a regular job, you could always get up and walk out the door at the end of the work day and not have to worry about money too much because at the end of the week you knew that pay cheque would be there.</p>
<p>Fortunately, there are a few steps you can take to help eliminate work from home burnout, which will help get you to where you want to go without driving yourself crazy.</p>
<p>You can start by setting your work hours and sticking to them. Even though it&#8217;s always a temptation to take Rover for a walk, or the kids to the park and do all your household chores before getting down to do your work, you should keep in mind that you can&#8217;t do it all, despite what the TV commercials tell you. The idea that you can be super-mom or super-dad is a myth that has little to do with reality.</p>
<p>If you work from home, you must set your regular work hours and stick to them, which means you have to make your family and friends aware to make sure you&#8217;re not disturbed during work hours. Let&#8217;s say you&#8217;re working part-time from home and need at least four hours of work each day to deal with your responsibilities. You can do the four hours in one sitting, or divide them into two two-hour blocks. Whatever you decide works best for you, make sure you set your schedule &#8230; and stick to it!</p>
<p>Keep your equipment up-to-date and efficient. For example, if you&#8217;re a freelance writer and you have to submit your writing in a certain format, you should own the proper software that permits you to complete the assignment as required. If your computer and software has been around since the day Bill Gates made his first million, then it&#8217;s time you considered doing a major update of your equipment. Trying to get by with old, out-dated tools of the trade isn&#8217;t a smart move. The time and frustration you spend dealing with a slow computer, incompatibility problems, computer crashes and so on reduces your productivity and increases your stress in a big way.</p>
<p>And how about that Internet connection? Still trying to get by with dial-up? Not a good idea in this day and age of High-Speed DSL connections that not only increases your efficiency, it allows you to take phone calls even when you&#8217;re surfing online. That&#8217;s critically important so you don&#8217;t miss any calls from potential customers.</p>
<p>So make sure you have the proper tools you need to do your work in a fast and efficient manner. Also, if you spend a large amount of time at your computer, but you don&#8217;t have a proper computer desk, you may be asking for trouble health-wise. A regular table or desk isn&#8217;t designed for healthy computing so, if you&#8217;ve started suffering from back and shoulder pain, take a hard look at your work space and make it as comfortable and ergonomically correct as you can. A few dollars spent in this area will pay back a hundred fold in higher productivity and a better mental state of mind.</p>
<p>Make sure the home business you choose is something you like doing, rather than something you must endure. Starting a home daycare may sound like a great way to make a living, but if you dread the idea of having a house full of screaming children to deal with every day, you should probably consider a business that is less disruptive to your personality and lifestyle.</p>
<p>Reward yourself by taking a regular day off. Doing this is a lot easier said than done when you&#8217;re operating a work from home business, but try to remember that life is never about non-stop work. If you don&#8217;t take the time to regularly recharge your batteries, then your batteries will certainly go dead. If you feel it&#8217;s necessary for you to work every day in order to meet your goals and expectations, you should probably rethink your goals and expectations.</p>
<p>If your work from home business doesn&#8217;t allow you to have a social life, a family life and some alone time that doesn&#8217;t require you to work, then perhaps you should consider going back to the rat race. Any job that requires you to work until you drop from burnout just isn&#8217;t worth it when it comes to your health and family.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s easy to fall into the trap of burning yourself out whether you&#8217;re working from home or holding down a regular job that requires driving into the office every day. So make sure you make a plan that fits well with your personality and financial needs but don&#8217;t be afraid to make adjustments as required that will help you become more productive, while at the same time enjoying all the good things in life &#8230; fun, family and friends!</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>Glenn Cutforth is a writer, eBook publisher and graphic designer who has worked</p>
<p>from home since 1994. For more information on starting a Work From Home</p>
<p>business, go to his website at: <a href="http://www.homebiz-advisor.info">HomeBiz Advisor</a> and download a free copy of The Home</p>
<p>Business Start Up Guide.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://worldvillage.com/dont-burn-yourself-out-working-from-home/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Extending the Life of your Perennials</title>
		<link>http://worldvillage.com/extending-the-life-of-your-perennials</link>
		<comments>http://worldvillage.com/extending-the-life-of-your-perennials#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 21 Oct 2006 17:59:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Cutforth</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Gardening]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.worldvillage.com/extending-the-life-of-your-perennials</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A perennial garden is a beautiful sight to behold and any gardener working with the simple beauty of these flowers and plants can&#8217;t help standing back and admiring the results of their hard work in bringing them to life. Spending time gardening is an excellent escape from the often frantic lives we live. Not only [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A perennial garden is a beautiful sight to behold and any gardener working with the simple beauty of these flowers and plants can&#8217;t help standing back and admiring the results of their hard work in bringing them to life. Spending time gardening is an excellent escape from the often frantic lives we live. Not only does it help to revitalize the spirit, it&#8217;s a great form of exercise which helps to keep your body and mind healthy. A perennial garden, however, can also be a lot of work, since it requires constant maintenance and replanting. For those who shy away from the hard work required, there are a few ways to extend the life of your perennials with regular garden upkeep which can reduce much of the regular replanting usually required.</p>
<p><span id="more-19952"></span><br />
The first thing to do in order to extend the life of your perennials is yearly <b>pruning</b>. Cutting a plant may not appear to be the best way to extend its life, but it will, in fact, keep the need for upkeep to a minimum. Most people, when they think of pruning, think of the trimming of trees in the autumn and spring using gigantic pruning shears. However, pruning in a perennial garden has a different meaning.</p>
<p>There are a number of ways to prune your perennial garden. One is called <b>deadheading</b>, which should be done on a regular basis. This is simply the process of ridding the plant of old blooms by pinching them off. Deadheading could also include removing an entire flower stalk, but make sure that when you use this technique that you remove right down to the new bud, otherwise you may be taking too little, or too much, off of the plant.</p>
<p>Another way to prune your flowers is <b>cutting back</b>. This should be done when deadheading isn&#8217;t appropriate. For instance, you may decide to cut back an entire section of a perennial including the stalks and new blooms, if the plant isn&#8217;t growing properly. This is a way to help encourage new growth.</p>
<p><b>Pinching</b> is another way to prune your perennials. This is simply eliminating  the tips and new leaves to keep a plant from getting too big. Thinning is another way to prune your plants, which is the elimination of specific stems in order to maintain a plant&#8217;s size or shape.</p>
<p>You may also need to <b>disbud</b> during the pruning process, which will help you  control flower growth. If you want to determine where the flowers will grow on a particular plant to enhance the overall look of your garden, you can help control this by disbudding.</p>
<p><b>Dead leafing</b> is also an important way to prune your perennials. This is simply eliminating old dry leaves, which is another way to encourage new growth.</p>
<p>In addition to pruning, there are a number of ways to extend the life of your perennials. You should <b>check the soil pH of your garden</b> on a regular basis. This is usually done in the fall, and it helps to ensure your garden has the right kind of soil to grow the kinds of plants you prefer. If you discover that your soil pH is off a bit, you should consider adding specific types of fertilizers to adjust the balance back to where you need it to be. Don&#8217;t be afraid to consult with a local lawn and garden company to help you out when dealing with soil. Better to bring in an expert than to ignore the situation and have serious problems in the future.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s also a good idea to <b>add new plants</b> to your garden regularly in order to stagger the times they bloom. When perennials bloom, they use up extra energy from the soil, which means you can extent the life span of your perennials by making sure there aren&#8217;t too many plants blooming in your garden at any one given time.</p>
<p>A final step in extending your perennials lifespan is <b>insect control</b>. There are a lot of nasty insects out there that will prey on your garden if you&#8217;re not careful. So make sure you are utilizing a good insect control method to ensure the extended life of all of your plants.</p>
<p>With all the hard work you put into your garden, using these techniques will result in less work in the long run and ensure the long term health of your plants.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>Glenn Cutforth is a writer, eBook publisher and graphic designer. For comprehensive</p>
<p>information on all aspects of lawn and garden and orchid care, visit his website</p>
<p>at <A href="http://www.lawnandgardenmagic.com">Lawn and Garden Magic.com</A></p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://worldvillage.com/extending-the-life-of-your-perennials/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why You Should Consider Working from Home</title>
		<link>http://worldvillage.com/why-you-should-consider-working-from-home</link>
		<comments>http://worldvillage.com/why-you-should-consider-working-from-home#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 14 Oct 2006 18:32:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Cutforth</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Home Business]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.worldvillage.com/why-you-should-consider-working-from-home</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Many people have turned to a work from home business as their main source of income for a lot of different reasons and this trend continues to gain much momentum in the business world. Though some people only work part time from home, others have gladly given up the hassle of working for someone else [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Many people have turned to a work from home business as their main source of income for a lot of different reasons and this trend continues to gain much momentum in the business world. Though some people only work part time from home, others have gladly given up the hassle of working for someone else and now work full time from the convenience of their own home office. However, even though working from home can be a lot of fun, it requires a number of responsibilities, commitments and time just like any job.</p>
<p><span id="more-11534"></span><br />
There are many ways you can setup your work from home lifestyle, and the benefits can be very rewarding. Whether they&#8217;re a mother, father, single, married or divorced, people are working from home making a living in every type of job imaginable. These include computer graphic artists, or freelance writers or home-based hair salons, or catering businesses, and many more. However, all of these business owners have one thing in common &#8212; they truly love the independence and freedom of working from home.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s less important to them the type of work they&#8217;re doing, it&#8217;s the fulfillment and satisfaction of doing a job they really enjoy that counts. Working at a job that is drudgery and routine is one of the reasons many choose to work from home doing what they love to do. However, if you&#8217;re someone who would dearly miss the socializing and companionship of fellow workers, a work from home business probably wouldn&#8217;t work for you.</p>
<p>Along with the freedom and satisfaction of having a work from home business, there are also some practical advantages as well. With the constantly rising expense of cars, gas and insurance many have been motivated to get off the jammed highways and work from home. The wear and tear on their vehicles having to commute to work adds a substantial amount of extra cost for oil changes, engine repairs and new tires etc.</p>
<p>The increase in road rage due to over crowded roads and drivers always in a hurry is another reason many have abandoned the hassle of driving to an office or factory. Statistics shown that an average driver who drives to work spends over 150 hours commuting per year from home to work. This time spend fighting your way to and from work every day is time that can never be replaced.</p>
<p>Another added expense when working outside your home is the necessity of eating out at least once a day, and sometimes more often. Eating out for employees may consist of breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner as well. If you calculate the  average cost of a fast food meal at five dollars, this totals a minimum of $30.00 per week to the cost of working, not to mention the dubious nutritional quality of these fast food lunches. Bringing a lunch often doesn&#8217;t work very well for busy people, so many just skip a meal, which isn&#8217;t any healthier than eating junk food every day. Thus poor eating habits can become part of a person&#8217;s routine and could lead to health issues that will cost a lot more in the long run.</p>
<p>Another good reason to consider working from home is the presence of children too young to go to school. Some daycare centers accept children as young as six weeks old, but the cost can be extremely high. Though costs vary throughout the U.S. and Canada, daycare usually costs a couple of hundred dollars a month per child or more.</p>
<p>These days, with the continuing advances in Internet technology and the rising cost of expenses for business, telecommuting is starting to be offered by a lot of employers in today&#8217;s job market. Sometimes a company will offer to split the time required in the office and time spent working from home, and more and more companies are offering full time work at home options for certain segments of their employees. These companies often allow full time status, so there is no loss of health insurance or retirement plans.</p>
<p>An increase in productivity and overall job performance is a major reason companies are allowing their employees to work from home, either part time or full time. This can lead to increased raises and job promotions because there are fewer disruptions when working from home and so the work gets done.</p>
<p>Therefore working from home is now a practical option for many employees, with the added benefit of saving both time and money. If telecommuting is an option for you, then this is something you should seriously consider. Working from home isn&#8217;t for everyone because some people must have interaction with others and they feel they&#8217;re motivated better when they&#8217;re in a work environment. However, working from home is a major way to save money and time and if it fits into your lifestyle, you should consider joining the swarms of people who are now taking advantage of opportunities to work from home and loving every minute of it.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>Glenn Cutforth is a writer, eBook publisher and graphic designer and has been working from home since 1994. For more information on starting a Work From Home business, go to his website at: <a href="http://www.homebiz-advisor.info">HomeBiz Advisor</a> and download a free copy of <b>The Home Business Start Up Guide</b>.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://worldvillage.com/why-you-should-consider-working-from-home/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Identifying Eating Disorders</title>
		<link>http://worldvillage.com/identifying-eating-disorders</link>
		<comments>http://worldvillage.com/identifying-eating-disorders#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Oct 2006 17:39:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Glenn Cutforth</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Staying Healthy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.worldvillage.com/identifying-eating-disorders</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As with most disorders of the mind, eating disorders can be difficult to overcome because the person has difficulty acknowledging they have a problem. Unfortunately, these disorders can be very detrimental to a person&#8217;s lifestyle and health and need to be identified and dealt with quickly before they get out of hand. There are a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As with most disorders of the mind, eating disorders can be difficult to overcome because the person has difficulty acknowledging they have a problem. Unfortunately, these disorders can be very detrimental to a person&#8217;s lifestyle and health and need to be identified and dealt with quickly before they get out of hand. There are a number of factors that point to an eating disorder. Once it&#8217;s been acknowledged, the next step is to get help to overcome the disorder.</p>
<p><span id="more-16808"></span><br />
Here&#8217;s a how to identify the most common eating disorders:</p>
<p>An eating disorder involves a person&#8217;s obsession with weight, body shape and eating habits. If the obsession gets out of control, it can be defined as a form of mental illness. This ongoing obsession causes a person to develop poor eating habits, either eating too much, or eating too little while trying to maintain a specific weight and body shape.</p>
<p>There are three major types of eating disorders, the first, and most well-known is anorexia. This disorder can be easily identified when a person who is thin constantly proclaims they&#8217;re overweight. Thus eating, for anyone with anorexia, becomes something they obsess over. An avoidance of food and eating is an early sign of anorexia accompanied by obsessing about body weight and constantly checking to see how much they weigh. This, along with compulsive exercising, becomes a part of their daily routine.</p>
<p>The second type of eating disorder is bulimia, in which a person over-eats, but later purges the food out of their system by vomiting, using medication and laxatives or over exercise. This disorder is characterized by a feeling of a lack of control over the food the person is eating, which is a good sign they have bulimia. They begin to use different  methods to try to lose weight and in time, their weight loss and body shape becomes an obsession that must be changed.</p>
<p>The next type of eating disorder is binge-eating. Although this disorder hasn&#8217;t been defined as a mental illness, it&#8217;s seen more frequently in those with eating disorders. Binge-eating can be identified by a continuous loss of control over how much is eaten to the point of over-eating. The difference between this and bulimia is there&#8217;s no attempt to try to control the food by purging. Rather than trying to control their weight, those with a binge-eating disorder are often overweight.</p>
<p>Anyone with one of these eating disorders has a mental illness, usually accompanied by low self-esteem and a constant feelings of guilt and shame that causes them to try to find a way to balance these feelings. Controlling, or not controlling, the food in their system is one way of compensating, along with trying to maintain the need to be thin that is demanded by society through magazines, movies and television and so on.</p>
<p>Anyone with one of these disorders can be treated, but first they have to  recognize they have an eating disorder. The sooner this is done, the less chance their health will suffer and they&#8217;ll be able to reverse the problems associated with these eating disorder. Each eating disorders has different approaches to  treatment, however, they all follow certain methods.</p>
<p>If the eating disorder becomes extreme, it&#8217;s very possible the person will require hospitalization, which should help their body start to react to food in a healthy way again. Once they start to regain their weight, they might be given anti-depressants to help with shifting moods and weight maintenance.</p>
<p>Another treatment for an eating disorder is psychotherapy, which can help the person regain their self-esteem and give them the motivation to break the habit and cycle of the eating disorder.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re ready to admit that you have an eating disorder, it&#8217;s important to seek out help immediately so that you can overcome this problem and get back on track to living a healthy and balanced life. There are several treatment plans available that will help anyone overcome a eating disorder, so don&#8217;t hesitate to get moving because eating disorders can be one of the most difficult mental illnesses to overcome. As with any illness, early detection and treatment can make a major difference in how quickly normal behavior and health will be restored.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
<p>Glenn Cutforth is a writer, eBook publisher and graphic designer. For detailed information on dealing with Stress, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Depression and Bipolar Disorder, visit his website at: <a href="http://www.conqueranxietyanddepression.com">Conquer Anxiety and Depression.com</a> and download a free eBook entitled &#8220;Dealing With Anxiety&#8221;.</p>
<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8211;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://worldvillage.com/identifying-eating-disorders/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

