Yes like that old business clich?, where you go will dictate who you'll meet. So if you are a lonely student, then go and spend some time downtown at Uptown Espresso, or hang out in the University Union.If you want to break the ice, play it cool. When dealing with college students in a casual atmosphere, ask questions like "What are you studying?" Basically, take some time to introduce yourself, and start making connections. Don't be surprised to find out that you are both taking intro to bowling next quarter, or maybe you both are in the ski club. Speaking of clubs, joining organizations like the ski club will help you meet like minded people.

The secret to meeting someone you have something in common with is by going out of your way to join some new groups, a new class, and saying "Hello".Now for those of you out of the dorms and constant presence of members of the opposite sex, meeting your dream date can initially appear more demanding. While some may claim that the bar scene in downtown SLO is overrated, there are hidden gems where all the hotties congregate. Case in point, on a recent Wednesday, I stumbled into Grappolo, and was greeted by a ration of two stunning beauties for every one scruffy looking guy. On the flipside, all you single ladies (Yes, they do exist in this town) should check out Corner View on a Friday night. Not only will you get away from the token college boys, but you can sample their extensive drink selection, and enjoy a more cultured experience.Planning your first dateA wise man once said, "Don't reinvent the wheel." So listen up my aspiring Casanova, and you too will be rolling in no time.

First of all- if you were planning dinner and a movie tear up that worn out idea and get over that tired old fallback. Take a moment to look outside. We live in paradise people! You are constantly surrounded by awe inspiring vistas, sandy beaches, and a majestic blue sky.With that in mind, whenever I think of a perfect date, I imagine a Saturday afternoon in Pismo Beach. All you gentlemen should plan on staring the day at Pismo Beach florist, and purchase a single rose. It shows that you aren't afraid to give, but you also aren't out to buy their love.

Pick up your date and head over to the Steaming Bean, and order up a pair of mocha lattes. Mention that Daniel K. O'Leary from VirtualSLO sent you, and take a seat at my regular table. After chatting over your frothy beverages, talk a stroll down to the shore, and sit and listen to the surf crash. The rest is up to you.

Total Cost- $12.Keeping it lively"I'm bored" are three words you should eliminate from your vocabulary when it comes to the SLO life. There is a reason millions of tourists descend upon or community every year, and you need to understand why.You can eat at a new restaurant every week, and not repeat for over a decade. You can go to a new beach every weekend for an entire year. Whether you want to bike, listen to classical music, or make your own wine, the options on the central coast are as limitless as your imagination. I'm fairly unoriginal, so I cheat and look at the events calendar on VirtualSLO to keep abreast of what is happening during the next week.

Go see a show at the PAC, take a wine tour, or go bird watching. In my personal experience, I've been on more dates than I can remember, and I've yet to repeat.So good luck meeting the right person, and in case someone introduces themselves as Daniel K. O'Leary the next time you are downtown, run. You probably wouldn't want to date me anyways. If you would like some personal advice, send me an e-mail and I'll see what I can do..

In an effort to shed light on the subject he knows best, Dr. Ivan Misner, CEO of BNI, the world's largest referral networking firm and author of many books on the subject, has recently published a list of the types of people most of us can consider viable targets for referral help:1)???People in your contact sphere ? a group of businesses or professions that complement rather than compete with each other. It's a sure thing: if you put a caterer, a florist, an entertainer, a printer, and a photographer in the same room, you couldn't stop them from doing business.2)???Satisfied clients ? having firsthand experience with your products of services, they are believers and can communicate convincing testimonials.3)???People whose business benefits from yours ? nobody stands to gain more than those who get more business when you get more business. If you sell workbooks, the printer who prints them for you benefits when you do.4)???Others with whom you do business ? perhaps your business has nothing to do with dentistry or hairstyling or automobiles, but every day you do business with dentists, hairstylists, and auto mechanics. By contributing to the success of their business, you gain their goodwill; to keep you as a customer, they're inclined to help you secure customers of your own."It's amazing every time," Misner says, "when I see people react to this kind of list.

You see them paging through their mental Rolodexes and immediately finding prospective help."BNI (www.bni.com) is a referral networking organization, which at last count had over 3,600 individual chapters in 22 countries worldwide. BNI's Founder & CEO, Dr. Ivan Misner is the author of several book's including the NY Times best-seller, Masters of Networking, (www.MastersofNetworking.com) and the recently released #1 best-seller, Masters of Success (www.MastersofSuccess.biz).Contact:Michael Drew850-747-8188e-mail protected from spam bots.

Hereare four proven techniques:1. In order to eliminate a bad habit, it must be overriddenwith a good habit. Not eliminated but replaced. When thegood habit becomes stronger, it naturally takes over andfolds into our life. Usually becoming transparent because itmelts into our life and we have already uncovered the nextone to work on.It doesn't matter whether you want to replace the habitof lateness, cursing, or overeating.

The habit's intensitydetermines the effort and time required to replace. Don'tconfuse effort with will power--they aren't the same.Effort is making a variety of alternatives until the oldhabit melts into a new one. The right amount of effort willalways be different for you than anyone else. There isn'tan exact measurement because each of our unique qualities.2. Discipline is an exercise of repetition.

Not once ortwice but until. Until completed.For instance, writing isn't a natural talent. Yes, researchshows that it helps to start the process young. Yet, thereare female Pulitzer Prize winners who began writing in theirfifties -- after family obligations. They replaced theirfamily responsibilities with the discipline needed to be asuccessful writer.

They disciplined their way to success.Most people think positive thinkers naturally flow withconfidence. Yet, positive psychology statistics dispel thismyth. What's different is the amount of time and space theyallow when negative habits or messages appear. They appearincandescent to them.3. Rewards.

As managing partner of a CPA firm for 15years, I thought rewards meant bonuses and paid massages.After attending Coach University and intensifying my studyin the Laws of Attraction, my perspective shifted. Positivepeople don't need an outside push; they seemingly have anatural internal push that continually pulls them forward.Sometimes labeled as determination or drive.When Donald Trump appeared on the Oprah show in April, Oprahasked him, "I heard very successful people don't even seenegative." Donald chewed on this for a few long televisionminutes and then responded, "Yes, that is why I hire otherswho can see what I can't.... Negative isn't on my radarscreen."4. Be assertive on what's fueling you, as diligent aboutall things in your realm, as the quality of food you digest,and the purity of the water you drink.To create a garden of positive habits, surround yourselfwith flowers not figurative speaking either. Complete aregular inventory.

See each item for its truth, intention,and influence. Don't wave it off as "not that big of adeal."Remove negative people, negative television shows, movies,books, even conversations. If Mama, spouse, sister, orbrother fits this description, explain its impact on yourlife. Don't blame, explain. Explain how it affects yoursuccess, your dreams.

I'm sure they do what they do out ofhabit and not purposeful. If presented honestly andlovingly the people involved will see the gift.An ideal choice is to use a positive clean-burning fuel.This begins with new words (language) to self and others.Each of us make choices every second. Get up, sit down,speak, listen, and so on. Make new choices, ones that fuelpositive habits.Take inventory on your environment and what you tolerate.What is broken, dented, stained? Fix, toss, give away,replace. Eliminate each ball and chain, one at a time, inbaby steps.

You will walk taller, talk and think clearer.You will attract more results that are positive into yourlife. Positive attracts positive--the Law of Attraction.Fuel your surroundings with meaningful and beautiful things.That doesn't mean expensive. It can simply be a fresh roseon your desk every week and the stopping by the florist oryour own garden.Many habits tend to hide under the bed until dusted. Expectas you replace one, another can appear. Yes, theyeventually become fewer.

Stay focused and remember, "A roseisn't a rose without all its beautiful petals."Be aggressive. When they appear, and they will, knock themdown, toss them out with the trash. And quickly. Don'tgive them room to smell or grow. You'll soon discover eachday will be lighter, brighter, and even more successful thanthe one before.

I promise!These four techniques, continually proven by hundreds of myworkshop graduates, will work for you too. They willmultiply your dreams and successes over night. Begin small,begin big, just begin, and keep the momentum going...until.(c) Copyright 2004, . All rights reserved.~*~*~*~ PUBLISHING GUIDELINES ~*~*~*~*~*Publishing Guidelines: Permission is granted to publish thisarticle electronically in free-only publications, like a website or ezine (print requires individual permission) as longas the resource box is included without any modifications).All links must be active. A courtesy copy is requested uponpublication..

Therefore, much more thought and concentration is required to win a game of chess than is required to win a game of checkers. Like chess, marketing your business is a complicated endeavor. A successful chess player anticipates future moves and will position his pieces in such a way that each piece helps add strength to other pieces already in place. A successful marketing strategy is no different than a winning chess strategy. Every move you make must reinforce previous and future moves.

Instead of rooks, bishops and queens the moves made in the game of marketing are made with advertisements, web sites, marketing messages, brochures and so on.As a small business owner you don't risk losing pieces to your opponent you risk losing business to your competitors. Great chess players have a strategy that helps them win with consistency. Here's a marketing strategy you can use to consistently win new business. Focus Your MarketingTarget your market with a marketing message that speaks directly to the population you serve. A marketing message is a phrase or sentence that clearly demonstrates who you help and the problems you solve.

Develop and use your marketing message as often as you can. Doing so will help get your business get noticed by those most likely to buy from you. Use your marketing message in your marketing materials, your website and any and everywhere your business comes in contact with potential clients. Effective use of a marketing message can be a small business owner's best friend. A good one will work hard for you to generate new business and will never ask for anything in return.

Inspire ActionOnce you've used your marketing message to grab hold of your prospects' attention, be it at your website, after reading one of your ads or an article you've written, be sure you clearly instruct them to take the action you want. It doesn't matter what the action is as long as it requires them to provide you their contact information so you may continue marketing to them. Offer something useful and free in exchange for their information. Give away free recipes if you're a caterer or tips on designing bouquets if you're a florist. Just be certain to give clear directions about what should be done next to move your sales process along.

Build a RelationshipAfter you've successfully culled from your prospects' their contact information it is now time for you to develop a relationship with them. The nature of the relationship you develop should be one that makes it clear that you know your prospect is out there, that you understand your prospects' problems and that you can help solve your prospects' problems. Common methods for developing relationships with prospects are distributing articles, publishing an ezine and conducting surveys. Be sure to include your marketing message with every article, ezine or survey.Over time you will become the obvious solution to your clients' problems when they decide to take action to solve what concerns them.Move Your Marketing forwardUsing each of the above methods will help you position your business much like a champion chess player positions his pieces. In the end victory and more sales will be yours.

Copyright 2005, Jeremy Cohen and Better Marketing Results.

Networking is a form of marketing, and any form of marketing is most effective when you don't come straight out and say "buy this!" The best marketing techniques work on building relationships ? courting trust, showing your intentions to be honourable in what you are offering. And there are certain market characteristics too:

• People buy people.
• People work with (and refer) people they like.
• People don't like being sold to.

They are interested in other people and what they do. They want to help as well as be helped, not just because it will see them get business in the future, but because they like helping others. And most importantly, they don't talk ? they listen. Many networking events involve a ?round robin' of everyone there, which certainly has its uses ? you get to tell everyone who you are and what you do, and if there is someone there who is looking for the service you provide, they will very likely come up to you for a chat. But that's not networking, that's hit and miss, and it's very important to understand the difference.

What I call hit and miss is what I just described above. You tell as many people in one go what you do in the hope that one of them is looking for it ? the social equivalent of a mailshot, and just about as effective. When you network, it involves who you get to know, and who they know, and who they know. This is called Six Degrees of Separation, the theory of psychologist Stanley Milgram. Milgram theorised that there was a chain of six people or less connecting us to everyone else on the planet, and this is also where Six Degrees Network gets its name from.

This, to us, is exactly what networking is about: working that chain, getting your details through to the person at the other end, by getting to know people who can pass that information on. Word-of-mouth marketing relies on this being a small world, and networking makes it even smaller. This is also why the IT consultant, for example, shouldn't ignore the mechanic or the florist ? firstly it's rude, and secondly who knows who they know?So how do you get your name down that chain? It's unfortunate but true, that meeting a truly nice person is a rare occurrence these days. People remember meeting them when they do, and they feel an obligation to do something nice for them in return. Business card thruster guy will be bunched in with all the rest that person has ever met, but you, the sincere, friendly person who they chewed the fat with for half an hour about their business, their family and life in general, will be remembered.

And if someone ever mentions your type of service to them in the future, you get the all-important "You know, I met a really nice guy/girl who does that called?" Just in case business card thruster guy is reading this and wonders what my point is here, this is called a referral. Its ok, I know you haven't seen one before. Don't be scared..

Barbara Jackson the owner says, "Without customers coming back over and over again we would be out of business, the customer is our number one priority, if they are not happy, we are not happy". The large supermarkets are now selling flowers but cannot possibly compete with the service offered by a small business such as Millers Florist who go out of their way to make sure fresh flowers are always used and presented immaculately.Millers Florist has been in business for 28 years, always coming up with new ideas and are on hand to offer free advice to all their customers regarding their needs and aftercare of their purchase. Their website can be found at www.flowermill.co.ukContact: Barbara K. Jackson E-mail: e-mail protected from spam bots Web address: www.flowermill.co.ukTel: +44 161 633 5842Toll Free: 0800 074 2851Fax: +44 161 633 5842Millers Florist is owned by Barbara Jackson who holds one of the highest qualifications in Floristry NDSF (National Diploma of Society of Floristry)..

I left as fast as I could hit the Back button. While the creators of these sites may think they looked great, in reality they chased people away. What good is having a website if people leave after just a few seconds. Whatever these people were trying to accomplish, it failed. If people leave your web page before they can read your copy or look at the products or services you sell, then the site is useless, no matter how great you think it looks.The first thing you need to do is decide what colors will best fit the theme of your site.

You can then use these colors when you, or a website designer, create your site. A Goth site may include black, dark red and purple, while one for Renaissance Faires could use earth tones and a florist may want pinks, reds and purples.Here are some common responses that people feel for several colors.

• Black - seriousness, darkness, mystery, secrecy, power, elegance, death, evil, formality.
• Blue - trustworthiness, success, seriousness, calmness, power, professionalism, health, tranquility, knowledge, integrity.
• Brown - earth, nature, tribal, primitive, simplicity, stability, masculine qualities.
• Green - money, nature, animals, health, healing, life, harmony, ambition, greed, jealousy.
• Grey - neutrality, indifference, reserved.
• Orange - comfort, creativity, celebration, fun, youth, affordability.
• Pink - softness, sweetness, innocence, youthfulness, tenderness, romance, love, friendship.
• Purple - royalty, justice, ambiguity, uncertainty, luxury, fantasy, dreams, romance.

• Red - love, passion, rage, anger, joy, sexuality, danger, warning, excitement, food, impulse, action, adventure.
• White - innocence, purity, cleanliness, simplicity, goodness, virginity.
• Yellow - curiosity, playfulness, cheerfulness, amusement, caution, joy.

Just remember to selections shouldn't be an annoyance to your visitors.You can easily select the colors you want by visiting one of the following links. Some of these sites will help you pick a main color while others will show you what will work well with that central theme.

• Visibone - http://www.visibone.com/colorlab/big.html
• MoreCrayons - http://www.morecrayons.com/
• Color Scheme Generator 2 - http://wellstyled.com/tools/colorscheme2/index-en.html
• Color Schemer - http://www.colorschemer.com/online.html
• Defence Mechanism - http://www.defencemechanism.com/color/
• Slayeroffice - http://slayeroffice.com/tools/color_palette/
• YCOLN Design Services - http://www.ycoln- design.com/WebColorCharts/WebColors.asp
• Color Blender - http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/tools/color-blend/

I've seen various sites use white, red or beige text, and it worked very well. If you are going to have pictures or artwork on the site, you should also put several pieces on your sample page. Make sure that the pictures show up well and don't blend into the background, or that the colors in the artwork don't clash with your site.I've found that it's a delicate balancing act between my vision of a site and what it looks like in reality. Always keep usability as one of your key measures when designing a site. If people find your site hard to use, look at or read, then they will leave quickly, never come back and won't tell anyone about your site.

Or they may submit your site to one of those website that lists terrible sites. There's just some publicity that you don't want.So think about what you want and use the sites I've listed. You'll find that choosing the colors for your site is fast and easy and you'll get a site that's more in tune with the feeling you want to convey..

A dozen long-stemmed red roses will always say 'I love you' no matter how much we might consider them a clich?. Daisies and gerberas, especially those in electric colors, will brighten anyone's day. And a single boxed rose can be as welcome a gift as a large or expensive flower gift basket.Men as well as women respond to the gift of flowers. The type of flower arrangement you choose should have more to do with a person's personality than their gender. Try native or exotic flowers if you want to steer clear of the 'pretty' varieties.

Most florists offer stark, stylish arrangements that are suitable for both sexes.And feel free to get creative with your choices. You can work with your local florist to create something original and spectacular..

You may also find that they have some unique/specialty vases or containers available to showcase Mom's blooms!A Green or Blooming Plant can be delivered with your "Happy Mother's Day" message. A decorative bow can be added for that special touch. Fresh Cut Flowers can also be added to a planted gift for an extra splash of color. A Floral Centerpiece can be created just for "Mom" to highlight her table of homecooked meals she is so famous for! Centerpieces can even be designed with a candle as an extra keepsake for Mother's Day. Fruit/Gourmet Baskets offer Mom some delicious treats in a decorative basket.

Consider sending Mom some special Teas, Coffees, Cookies, Chocolates or any Gourmet treats. Ask your local florist about the many delicious options available for Gift Baskets.For an extra special touch, add some balloons or a plush animal to Mom's flowers, plant or gift basket. It will give Mom's gift a real "WOW" effect!A simple "Happy Mother's Day or detailed sentiment can be included with your floral gift on a message card. Some florists also have full size greetng cards available. Consider sending your Grandmother a floral gift on Mother's Day as well! Mother's Day is a perfect day to celebrate any woman in your life that you honor and respect; Your Wife, Your Grandmother, Your Stepmother, Your Mother-In-Law, Daughter-In-Law.

Mother's Day is a busy floral holiday. We suggest ordering your floral gift a few days early to ensure timely delivery for Mom's Special Day! For the best value and service, you should always order from the florist delivering your arrangement directly. This will ensure that your order is filled to value, and you can discuss any details with the florist designing your order..

Online, this technique hasnever been more powerful.Think of what your prospects and customers want to doand why they come to you. Then pick some aspect ofthat subject and turn it into a special report.For example, a tax attorney could write a reporttitled "10 ways to find hidden deductions in yourbusiness". A florist might write a report on "How topick out the right flowers for the right occasion".The idea is to create a benefit-rich short articlethat people will want to read. And when they read it,they'll think you're the expert just because you wroteit, and the examples in it just happen to plug yourservices.Your report essentially becomes your sales letter.Here are some examples of booklets and reports fromreal businesses:Guarantee Mutual Life came out with "How to ProtectYour Business" U.S. Savings & Loan League came outwith "How to Stretch Your Dollar" National FootballLeague came out with "Official Record Book" AmericanCancer Society came out with "You Can Fight Cancer andWin"You too can create a report that offers realinformation to people while also plugging yourbusiness.

Something as short as 400 words (about twotyped, double-spaced pages of text) would suffice.Think of how your service benefits people, and then write an article that helps them perform that servicefor themselves.If you're a web programmer, it might be "5 Ways toProtect your eBooks from Hackers and ?DownloadTheives'."This is acceptable advertising online. When peopleread your report, they learn solid, helpfulinformation. They don't learn enough to replace you,however. So when they need some programming done on their web site, you are the person they think of tocall!Best riches, http://www.explosivecopycourse.com.