Advertising ideas

Word of mouth is excellent small business advertising – but it’s slow, and may be practically non-existent for new businesses. If you want to grow your customer base more quickly, you have to advertise.
This collection of small business advertising ideas presents both the tried and true and advertising ideas you may not have tried yet – advertising ideas for your small business to effectively reach your target market and attract new customers.
 
1. The Yellow Pages.
There’s still a lot of people who use the yellow pages to find the businesses they’re looking for – and they won’t find you if your small business isn’t listed there. Get the biggest yellow page ad you can afford; the more visibility the better.
2. Newspaper advertising.
Besides box ads and advertising inserts, local newspapers also often offer special advertising features showcasing particular businesses – all powerful small business advertising opportunities. Don’t overlook special interest newspapers as an advertising idea if they exist in your area. They may be delivered to exactly the audience you want to reach.
3. Direct mail.
Direct mail can be very effective small business advertising – and is much more favourably received than other direct marketing media, such as email or telemarketing. And even if you don’t have a mailing list, you can still geographically target your mail.
4. Magazine advertising.
This advertising idea can be a very effective way of reaching a target market. The trick is to choose the magazines or e-zines that best match the market you’re targeting.
5. Business cards.
Sure, they’re advertising. Every time you hand one out to a prospective client or customer, you’re advertising your small business. But why not take this advertising idea further and Make Your Business Card a Marketing Vehicle?
6. Joining professional/business organizations.
Every professional or business organization offers exclusive advertising opportunities for their members, ranging from free promotion on the organization’s website through special section newspaper advertising. And being a member can be good small business advertising in itself.
7. Vehicle advertising.
The reason you see so many vehicles emblazoned with advertising is that it works; vehicle advertising is very visible small business advertising. If you’re not ready for custom graphics or a magnet quad sign that sit atop your vehicle, go for a magnetic sign that you can take off when you want.
Advertising Ideas You May Not Have Tried Yet
8. Sending promos with invoices.
Little advertising ideas can be powerful, too. If you’re sending out an invoice, why not take the opportunity to include some small business advertising? To draw new customers, try something such as a “bring-a-friend” promotion.
9. Cable TV advertising.
So you can’t afford to advertise your business during the Super Bowl. That doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the household reach of TV. Cable TV companies offer advertising ideas within the budget of small businesses, from advertising on the TV Guide Listings or Real Estate channels through running infomercials.
There are more small business advertising ideas you may not have tried yet on the next page. Click to continue reading.

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experimental adhesive

Washington, Aug 12 (IANS) Scientists already know that the tiny hairs on geckos’ toe pads enable them to cling to vertical surfaces.
Now, University of Akron researchers are unfolding clues to the reptiles’ gripping power in wet conditions to create a synthetic adhesive that sticks when moist or on wet surfaces.
Place a single water droplet on the sole of a gecko toe, and the pad repels water. The anti-wetting property helps explain how geckos maneuver in rainy tropical conditions, the Journal of Experimental Biology reports.
However, saturate that same toe pad in water or drench the surface on which it climbs, and adhesion slips away, researchers say, according to an Akron statement.
Alyssa Stark, doctoral candidate in Akron’s Integrated Bioscience Program and research team leader, explains that geckos don’t fall from trees during downpours in the tropics. What, then, makes them stick?
The team hopes to make that discovery to create synthetic materials that hold their grip in wet environments, such as inside the body, for surgical procedures.
“We’re gathering many clues about how geckos interact with wet surfaces, and this gives us ideas of how to design adhesives that work under water,” says Ali Dhinojwala, professor of polymer science at Akron.

adhesive developed by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, may be the closest man-made material yet to mimic the remarkable gecko toe hairs that allow the tiny lizard to scamper along vertical surfaces and ceilings.

The researchers say that such an adhesive could one day be used to outfit a small robot that could climb up walls.
Taking a cue from the millions of hairs covering a gecko's toes, researchers squeezed 42 million hard plastic microfibers onto each square centimeter of material and loaded it with various weights. They found that on a smooth, clean, vertical surface, two square centimeters of the synthetic adhesive could hold 400 grams (0.88 pounds). At the same time, the adhesive easily lifts off with minimal force and no residue.
Scientists have long marveled at the gravity-defying feats of the gecko, and a number of research teams across the world are working on duplicating the lizard's adhesive forces. Fearing notes that previous research on gecko-like adhesives has focused on the strength of the adhesion. He said that the ease of attachment and detachment are equally important when developing a material that can practically be used for scaling vertical walls and ceilings.
What sets this new gecko-inspired adhesive apart from the others created thus far is that it is directional, only "sticking" when it slides along a smooth surface, not when it is pressed down.
"This difference is critical because if you're climbing up vertical surfaces, you can't afford to use a lot of energy pressing down into the surface to stick," said Ron Fearing, UC Berkeley professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences and head of the research team developing this new material. "Using force to attach also requires force to detach. A gecko running uphill may be attaching and detaching its feet 20 times a second, so it'd get very tired if it had to work hard to pull its feet off at every step."
The microfibers, made of polypropylene, are 20 microns long, or one-fifth the thickness of a sheet of paper, with a diameter of 0.6 microns, or one-hundredth the diameter of a human hair.
The structure is similar to a microfiber array developed by the same group in 2006. That material relied upon friction to work, however, requiring the application of force to make it stick. Changes made to the plastic backing enabled the directional adhesion reported in this new material to work on truly vertical surfaces.
"For a gecko, this seemingly subtle change could mean the difference between life or death," said Fearing. "With friction only, a gecko would fall from a wall or ceiling. With directional adhesion, a gecko can stop itself from falling because the mechanism works without the need for force that is perpendicular to the surface."

The new research is described in a pair of papers published online Jan. 23 in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. Members of Fearing's UC Berkeley research team are Jongho Lee, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, and Bryan Schubert, a graduate student in electrical engineering and computer sciences. Co-author Carmel Majidi, a former UC Berkeley graduate student in electrical engineering and computer sciences, is now a post-doctoral researcher at Princeton University.

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ٍAcrylic painting

Acrylic painting is one of the newest painting mediums, being introduced as 'recently' as 1955. These paints have come a long way since then, with an ever-widening range of paints and associated art supplies. If you've ever painted the walls of your home with latex or emulsion paint, you'll have used a very close cousin of the these paints. In fact I use white matt emulsion, tinted with yellow or brown, to put a base coat on the canvasses I prepare for some of my acrylic painting work. The acrylic painting technique offers both the new and experienced artist a very versatile method of painting. It's a water-based medium and the usual texture and consistency is similar to oil paints. However, unlike oils, you can get acrylics in a wide variety of densities (or 'viscosity' as it's sometimes called).These range from a very thin, ink-like consistency able to be used in airbrushes through various degrees of 'flow' to the consistency of soft cream cheese. This allows really heavy 3D (impasto, or paste) effects. And you have the choice of either mixing the paints with the additives to create a solid color throughout the impasto, or letting the impasto dry, then painting over it. Various substances are available to be added to the paint to create all sorts of textures. Or you can use your own, such as plaster or sand, for a further variety of textured effects. All the brands and thicknesses can be thinned back down using water. Some artists actually use thinned down acrylic in a pure 'watercolor' style. Acrylics, although similar in style and finish to oils, gives subtely different but important qualities to your work. Probably, its biggest benefit is its speed of drying. But hold on! I'm getting ahead of myself here... Click on the links below to find a series of articles on paints, brushes, surfaces and additives. Each page is packed with tips that will help the newcomer to acrylic painting get off to the best start. I'll tell you as well how you can save time and money, by using household items instead of searching for those 'must have'expensive accessories the manufacturers would love you to buy!

The process of exploration is one of the most exciting things about acrylic painting.  The excitement of a new discovery, and the possibilities for painting it make me jump up and down like a small child (possibly not far from the truth!).  
Exploring the world around us allows us to discover some amazing moments.  These "simple" moments, translated onto canvas through painting with acrylics, have kept food on my table for over 20 years. They keep me excited about life.
What excites you about your acrylic painting process?  Is it the process of exploration and discovery? Preparing your surface?  Actually getting into it?  And what frustrates you?  Mixing colors?  Wrestling with your paintbrushes?  Creating compositions that pop?  Or even knowing when to stop?

Explore on this site:

▪ the potential of acrylic paints
▪ the way acrylic mediums work
▪ how limiting your brushes can be a Good Thing
▪ how improving your palette set up can improve your paintings
▪ the simple complexity of a seascape
▪ super realism techniques
▪ how your underpainting can set up your piece
▪ how to paint clouds, skyscapes and more
▪ the colours of tropical & beach landscapes

After 20 years of painting professionally, I have a lot of knowledge stuck in my head.  Before old age causes this knowledge to disappear from my brain forever, I want to share it with you!  Painting processes and techniques are something I feel should be accessible for everyone.  No elitism here.  Professional or beginner, we can all learn.
When I went to art college (longer ago than I care to remember) it seemed that unless there was angst, turmoil or negative emotion involved in the process, that there was no "art", or that the work was somehow not as "good".  I have always rebelled at this way of thinking.
Growing up on the sunny, light-filled north coast of NSW in Australia, my world was (and still is) full of nature's magic and wonder. Celebrating the amazing nuances of light, shade, tone, colour and texture was for me the only way to go.  And the feeling when it all comes together! That feeling is what it is all about.
The process of creating art should lift us up - inspire us; improve our lives, even enlighten us.  And this, in a nutshell, is the focus of this website.  Inspiring you to explore new techniques. To improve your acrylic painting processes, tools and workspace. To fill your images with light and life!  And, most importantly, to have fun while you're at it.
Take some time out for yourself and really explore your love of acrylic painting. Your curiosity about the world will be refreshed.
So let’s get into it! It's a contact sport after all; let’s chuck some paint around!

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accounting machine

Mechanical office machines reached their technical peak with accounting and billing machines. These masterpieces of precision mechanics were first built around 1900, and were replaced by electronic computers in the 1970s. They combine the capabilities of arithmetic and writing, and can be regarded as early data processing machines. The exhibition gives an overview of the most important machines. Inflation gives an impetus In the course of industrialization, accounting departments were confronted with ever larger amounts of data that made it essential to rationalize processing with the aid of machines. In Germany, the inflation of 1923 was a major impetus for using accounting machines, especially in medium-sized companies. The first machines were developed towards the end of the 19th century in the USA. German office machine manufacturers became active in this sector in the 1920s. Companies from Saxony and Thuringia were particularly successful (Mercedes, Astra, Wanderer, Rheinmetall and others). Typewriters and calculating machines as technical bases Most accounting machines were actually based on typewriters or calculating machines. There were hardly any accounting machines which had been designed as such from the very start. This is why they were nearly always made by manufacturers of typewriters or calculating machines. In the case of Anker and NCR, however, cash registers were the starting point for the development of accounting machines that were used in banking and public administration.
 
In contrast to accounting machines, billing machines could also multiply and were used to write invoices. The price of accounting and billing machines was very high compared with today. A relatively small machine was almost as expensive as a car, which is why they were generally not used in smaller companies until after World War II. Their introduction led to major organizational and social changes in accounting departments. It was mostly women who worked on the accounting machines. The work was monotonous and noisy, and required a high level of concentration. Accounting machines thus helped pave the way for women to work in offices, but the higher positions were still dominated by men.

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Accounting Lecture - Basic Concepts

Course Description: The first part of this course is designed to provide students with an insight into key financial accounting concepts needed for effective decision-making. This includes a brief discussion of how to record transactions using T accounts; preparing adjusted trial balances; preparing income statements, balance sheets, and statements of cash flows. Techniques for analyzing financial statements to examine a company’s financial status with respect to profitability, liquidity, and solvency are also discussed. This course subsequently builds on traditional concepts of managerial accounting (break-even analysis; strategic decisions involving product line decisions; downsizing, outsourcing; profit planning and how to set and examine budgets; and transfer pricing to maximize company value. We will also explore strategic cost reduction and waste/inefficiency reducing techniques such as Value Chain Management and Activity Based Management. The focus of the course, in summary, relates to how to effectively understand and use managerial accounting data in executive planning and control.



This course is very intensive since we will be trying to cover a large amount of material over the semester. Absolute student commitment is required. Students must allocate a certain amount of time each day on this course. I will leave it up to you to judge for yourself the time required based on your learning ability. Course Description : The first part of this course is designed to provide students with an insight into key financial accounting concepts needed for effective decision-making. This includes a brief discussion of how to record transactions using T accounts; preparing adjusted trial balances; preparing income statements, balance sheets, and statements of cash flows.


 Techniques for analyzing financial statements to examine a companys financial status with respect to profitability, liquidity, and solvency are also discussed. This course subsequently builds on traditional concepts of managerial accounting (break-even analysis; strategic decisions involving product line decisions; downsizing, outsourcing; profit planning and how to set and examine budgets; and transfer pricing to maximize company value. We will also explore strategic cost reduction and waste/inefficiency reducing techniques such as Value Chain Management and Activity Based Management. The focus of the course, in summary, relates to how to effectively understand and use managerial accounting data in executive planning and control. This course is very intensive since we will be trying to cover a large amount of material over the semester. Absolute student commitment is required. Students must allocate a certain amount of time each day on this course. I will leave it up to you to judge for yourself the time required based on your learning ability.

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Accessories Collection

Axis provides a wide range of accessories that complements its network cameras and video encoders and assists in your network video installation. Helping you build complete video surveillance solutions Whether the network cameras are to be placed in demanding outdoors environment, mounted on ceilings, walls or corners, or used for night-time surveillance, it is important to find the right accessories that fulfill these demands and are quick and easy to install. Tested and approved with Axis cameras Axis provides a wide range of accessories to facilitate the installation and maintenance of network video systems. This includes protective camera housings, mountings, illuminators and lenses and equipment for power over Ethernet (PoE). Accessories from Axis are always tested to work with Axis network cameras, making sure that installation is straight-forward and that you get the performance you expect. Accessory Selector Tool Accessory Selector Tool provides you with a list of accessories required to mount your camera correctly in a specific location.
 

he Accessory Development Kit (ADK) is a reference implementation for hardware manufacturers and hobbyists to use as a starting point for building accessories for Android. Each ADK release is provided with source code and hardware specifications to make the process of developing your own accessories easier. Creating new and alternative hardware based on the ADK is encouraged!
Android accessories can be audio docking stations, exercise machines, personal medical testing devices, weather stations, or any other external hardware device that adds to the functionality of Android.
Accessories use the Android Open Accessory (AOA) protocol to communicate with Android devices, over a USB cable or through a Bluetooth connection. If you are building an accessory that uses USB, make sure you understand how to implement the AOA protocol to establish communication between your accessory hardware and Android. For more information, see the Android Open Acessory protocol.
The following sections provide more information about the Android Accessory Development Kits, how to use them, and how to get started building your own accessories for Android.

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