Have you ever worked for hours, days or months on a sales presentation, only to have the big day arrive and you somehow can’t close the deal? Or maybe you have a terrific offer for a potential customer, but you just can’t seem to get the powerful message that’s in your mind to sound as exciting once it comes out of your mouth.

Developing a winning sales presentation is key to having a successful business, and it’s always a good idea to learn from the experts. So in this two-part series, you’ll learn about the four stages of great presentations, according to one of the world's leading human resources and management consulting organizations: Dale Carnegie.

Everyone who has ever been in the sales arena has heard about Dale Carnegie courses, and how the company has perfected the practice that allows anyone with public speaking and presentation needs to become polished professionals who communicate their ideas across with poise and enthusiasm.

"Whether you are persuading colleagues, selling a client or energizing a team, the power of your presentation makes the difference between success and failure," says Peter Handal, President, Chairman and CEO of Dale Carnegie Training. "These techniques are useful for managers, executives, sales people and anyone who might meet members of the media. Anyone that is part of a workplace will find the opportunity to utilize these techniques whether they are presenting to colleagues, clients or potential investors."

Dale Carnegie Training provides four stages to perfecting your presentation, and here is the first one:

Plan - Describe your audience as it relates to the topic and define the purpose of your talk as it relates to the outcome you seek. Plan the content of your presentation around your purpose and your audience's interest and level of understanding. Use words and phrases common to your audience, and focus on your purpose.

The final three stages are key, and will be shared in the next installment of this series.

Chances are, if you’re running a business out of your home, you’re also spending lots of hours driving to meet with clients, potential customers or vendors. And even though your car and the money you put into it are probably tax-deductible, it’s still coming out of your pocket.

With the high fuel prices of today, everyone is trying to cut back and find ways to save money on gas. Here are some money-saving tips that can help you pinch your pennies and cut down on spending at the pump:

Keep your car in shape. If your car is in excellent condition, you can actually increase gas mileage by 17 percent or more. This includes keeping your oil changed on time, according to your manufacturers recommendations.

Air your tires. Experts say that keeping your tires inflated, rotated and aligned can actually extend your gas mileage by as much as 3 percent. Also, making sure your engine is tuned properly and your air filter is clean can increase fuel efficiency.

Get the most out of your trips. Try to schedule your business appointments and other errands on the same day, in the same area of town. If you’re driving fewer miles, you’ll see the pay off in fuel costs, and even in your auto insurance rates and parking fees.

Don’t idle around. If you stop your vehicle for more than 30 seconds, turn the car off. Idling has shown to burn more gas than restarting an engine. You can think of this the next time you’ve stopped for a train, for a carpool or drive-up lane, or to talk to a neighbor along the street.

Keep your windows up. You might be surprised to learn that experts advise drivers to keep the windows rolled up and use the air conditioner. Drivers can consume 10 percent less fuel this way, since traveling with the windows down increases drag on your vehicle.

Go Cruisin'. Take advantage of your cruise control, even when not on the highway. You’re less likely to speed, which consumes more of your fuel.

Slow it down. Even though the speed limit might say 70 mph, be aware that once you drive over 60 mph, your gas mileage drops significantly. Also, avoid those “jackrabbit” starts and stops, which drives your fuel use up.

Travel light. If you have a trunk full of heavy boxes fill with samples and supplies, consider moving them into your garage and take only what you need. Studies show that extra weight in the trunk can cut fuel economy, as does strapping bags and other items to the roof of your vehicle.

In today’s tough times, every penny saved is appreciated. By taking small but smart steps when it comes to your driving habits, you can relieve some of the pain that you feel at the gas pump.

Many of us are great when it comes to running our business, but then we get in front of a crowd of strangers and we clam up. Or maybe we speak, but we don’t necessarily sell our product as effectively as we could. If you think you could use a little help when it comes to marketing your company and getting your product or service out there, then you might be interested in PERSUASION IQ: The 10 Skills You Need to Get Exactly What You Want (AMACOM 2008). The author, Kurt W. Mortensen, makes a living as an authority on the psychology, art and distinctive intelligence of pursuasion.

“Regardless of our actual job title, we all persuade for a living,” notes Mortensen, as he shares what he has learned about the talents, traits, habits, and mindset of top persuaders—people who stand out as exceptionally successful and prosperous—over nearly 20 years of wide-ranging research. First, he of an intensive self-assessment to help everyone identify their own persuasive strengths and weaknesses. Then, he provides a transformational roadmap for anyone to become a master persuader.

“If you can effectively present your ideas and persuade others, you will be highly influential and highly respected,” says Mortensen. What Mortensen calls “Persuasion IQ” or “PQ” is similar to “street smarts,” but focused on achievement goals. PQ relies on a combination of IQ (raised continuously through reading books, taking seminars, and learning from experts) and EQ (the ability to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of self, others, and groups), with the addition of specific dynamic qualities.

As Mortensen explains, the way to attain a high PQ is to become a naturally persuasive person—someone who inspires long-term trust and respect from clients, prospects or other persuadees. PERSUASION IQ tackles 10 common obstacles that limit persuasion success—fear of rejection, over-persuading, and limited persuasion tools among them. From there, chapters focus on developing 10 essential PQ skills for success. Readers will learn how to:

• Take an honest look at their past mistakes and their current situation, and then move on to visualize success.
• Make a strong, positive first impression in 30 seconds or less, and determine whether they really are connecting with others.
• Overcome skepticism and quickly establish genuine, lasting trust by demonstrating compe¬tence, confidence, credibility, congruence of word and action, and character.
• Stay consistently self-motivated and motivate others by understanding internal drives and external pressures, as well as their passion and purpose.
• Bounce back from setbacks, design a self-development program, and upgrade their future potential.

Do you ever see an idea and think, “Wow, I wish I would have thought of that?” It seems like clever entrepreneurs can take a simple idea, market it just right, and find a niche in an untapped market.

So when I read a story about a Kansas City entrepreneur, I thought I’d share her success story to help inspire those of you who might need it. It seems that this innovative thinker, Sharon Young, was already creating designs for political campaign buttons, which she sells on her website, PoliticalShop.com. Young also happens to own a pet, and she had a brainstorm that linked the two together, which resulted in a success story.

The result? Patriotic Pets^TM. With slogans such as "Bark Obama for President," "100% McCain9," "McCain for Top Dog," and a colorful Obama peace sign design, pets and their owners can now support their candidates in style with these novel 1-1/2" buttons.

"I was putting a new tag on my dog, Wolfgang, when the idea came to me," said Young. She developed some prototypes, adding clips to the buttons instead of pins. She clipped one on Wolfie's collar and put it to the test. A few weeks later, Young included pet buttons in a merchandise selection she was taking to a campaign rally in St. Paul, Minnesota. They sold out immediately. When she returned, she noticed several pet button sales in her Internet orders. Shortly thereafter, someone called and ordered some Obama peace sign pet buttons.

"When the caller mentioned that they were for her pet goats, I knew I was onto something," said Young. Cat buttons are in the works and she hopes to have them available by late July. Young began selling political merchandise in 1992 and developed the Internet's first shop featuring political buttons in 1996, renaming it PoliticalShop.com in 1999.

"PoliticalShop.com has always specialized in unique and original products," said Young, "but now that the Internet has gotten so competitive, you have to be more creative to stay in the game." Young also recently developed "Button Bling," a line of political jewelry including earrings and necklaces made with small campaign buttons adorned with beads and charms.

So let this be an inspiring tale. If you think your product or service is stale, maybe it’s time to think outside the box, spot an unmet need no matter how nutty it might seem, and seize the moment!

Yeah, your joints might hurt more, and your back might ache a little as you age, but you also might be happier. At least that’s what a new study suggests from the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Starting at about age 60, participants reported more feelings of ease and contentment than their younger counterparts.

Catherine Ross and John Mirowsky, professors of sociology, have published the findings in "Age and the Balance of Emotions" in the May 19 issue of Social Science and Medicine. The research was funded in part by the National Institute on Aging. The findings reveal aging is associated with more positive than negative emotions, and more passive than active emotions, Ross said.

Previous research on emotions associated with aging focused on negative emotions, such as depression. However, a second dimension underlying emotions is an active versus passive dimension, which is less studied, but may be important in explaining how emotions shift as people age, according to the researchers.

"The passive/positive combination reveals that contentment, calm and ease are some of the most common emotions people feel as they age," Ross said. "Emotions that are both active and negative, such as anxiety and anger, are especially unlikely among the elderly."

Participants responded to statements such as "On how many days in the past seven days have you...felt that you couldn't shake the blues, felt sad, felt lonely, felt anxious and tense, felt worried, felt so restless that you couldn't sit long in a chair, felt angry at someone, felt mad at someone, felt outraged at something somebody had done, felt calm, felt at ease, felt contented, felt happy, felt overjoyed by something, felt excited about or interested in something, felt proud, felt embarrassed, felt ashamed."

The researchers then grouped the emotions in four categories: active, passive, positive and negative. Secondary findings reveal women had more negative than positive emotions, and more passive than active emotions than men. Also, participants with higher income and education levels had significantly more positive emotions than those with lower income and education levels.

So aging might have its share of negatives, like gray hair and body aches, but as you get up there in years, you might just find yourself smiling more. Your colleagues will surely love that, don’t you think?

So do you have an extra spring in your step today? Are you just filled with joy, and do you have an inexplicable smile on your face that just won’t go away? Well maybe your dog died, or your house is in foreclosure, but you’re going to have a fabulous day, darn it, because today is the happiest day of the year. Don’t you feel it?

June 20 has been given the title of Happiest Day by a guy named Cliff Arnall, a researcher at the University of Cardiff’s Center for Lifelong Learning. Just how did he choose today, of all days? Well, according to the research, this has been worked out using the equation O + (N xS) + Cpm/T + He. Huh? That’s what I said. Here’s how it breaks down:

• O stands for being outdoors and outdoor activity.
• N is connection with nature.
• S is socializing with neighbors and friends.
• Cpm stands for childhood positive memories.
• T is the mean temperature.
• He is holiday expected.

Of course, there’s nothing in there like E for economy (which is dismal), W for weather (which has been horrendous this year for thousands of flood and storm victims), or P for politics (which we’re all kind of tired of hearing about).

Now, I agree that having a Friday upon us is always cause for joy. Also, knowing that July Fourth is just around the corner is comforting, for it will bring neighbors and families together for relaxing picnics and parties. I also know that the grass is green, and the weather in my city has been beautiful. So according to my experience, today is a pretty darn good day.

Yet I’m not exactly sure if everyone feels the same. I do, however, marvel at the concept that a researcher has been able to calculate this happy day (he does miserable days of the year as well) and somehow get the whole world to listen. If you research the day or his name on the internet, you’ll see countless articles written about Arnall and his theories.

Which makes me think that small businesses can learn quite a bit from such marketing scenarios. Maybe there’s a special day that you can name and designate within your company that will gain attention and help promote your business. It’s something to think about.

But then again, maybe we all just need to relax on this Friday, go socialize with neighbors outdoors while enjoying the flowers in bloom, remembering sweet childhood memories and anticipating July Fourth! It sounds like a great way to start out the weekend.

Do you have special concerns when it comes to workplace issues? Would you like to participate in a serious discussion about the challenges you face? If so, you’ll be excited to know about an opportunity to speak your mind.

In an unprecedented collaboration with its audience, BusinessWeek announced that it will publish a special August double-issue focused on workplace challenges. This initiative, called "Business@Work," is designed to more deeply engage BusinessWeek's audience, bringing together the wisdom of readers and editors in an interactive, collaborative exchange. This issue is the first of its kind for BusinessWeek, where readers will not only identify the topics covered, but will also submit case studies, personal vignettes, and videos about the challenges they face at work. BusinessWeek.com users have already selected the workplace issues they find most pressing.

After 8,500 votes, the six topics are: work-life balance, staying entrepreneurial, toxic bosses, time-management, negotiating bureaucracy, and generational tension. In the next phase, readers can upload essays, videos, photos, and comments via BusinessWeek.com, or through "Business@Work" pages on Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr. Utilizing a new tool, LinkedIn users will also be able to participate in a poll on workplace issues and leave comments and essays.

BusinessWeek writers and editors, working with experts and global gurus, will build upon these contributions to create the special double-issue. In addition, BusinessWeek.com will feature articles and videos, and BusinessWeek TV will air segments on workplace issues. BusinessWeek Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler said, "Business@Work takes the multi-platform model one step further by building an issue from ideas and content generated with our audience. We like to think of this as a joint project with readers, working shoulder-to-shoulder and sharing ideas to produce smart, useful journalism on a topic to which everyone can relate."

"Business@Work builds on BusinessWeek's digital growth and positions the company for continued success in the user-engagement arena, as well as serving marketers' needs," said BusinessWeek President Keith Fox. Readers can visit the Web site at http://www.businessweek.com/business@work to join in the dialogue, contribute their ideas, and access the features on Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr. The special August double-issue, "Business@Work," will hit newsstands on August 15th.

Have you given much lately? In terms of your philanthropic dollars, are you generous or sort of frugal? If you’re like other business owners, you are probably rather generous when it comes to spreading the wealth.

For business owners, personal passion -- not personal reward -- drives philanthropic involvement, according to a survey released by SunTrust Bank Private Wealth Management. Business owners cite "helps make a positive change" as the top reason for charitable giving. Nearly three-fourths of respondents say satisfying their personal moral beliefs drives their philanthropic impulses. And fewer than half say they give to receive tax credits; to bring positive attention to their business; to network; to establish a legacy; or to gain recognition.

Here are some interesting figures that reflect the habits of well-intentioned business owners:

• Seven in 10 agree that "even if there is an economic downturn that moderately affects my business, I plan to keep my current level of nonprofit or charitable giving in the coming year."
• They are "charity multipliers," in that more than half encourage employees to donate time and/or money to company charities. And one in three say they will match donations made by employees.
• Their generosity extends beyond simply giving money. Business owners are a critical component of the nonprofit world as members of nonprofit boards.
• About half (47%) of respondents sit on the board of a philanthropic organization, particularly those that focus on:
• religious concerns (21%),
• arts/culture (18%),
• children's needs (18%),
• healthcare issues (17%).

"Business owners are extending their generosity beyond donations and board or event involvement," explains Johnston. "Many recognize the importance of planning for the future by incorporating philanthropy into their financial plans with the inclusion of nonprofits in their wills, engaging in planned giving and establishing family foundations."

It has been emphasized over and over again how much of an impact small businesses make on the U.S. economy, and it’s worth noting that the impact of business owners’ generosity is a crucial factor as well. Business owners are nothing short of generous, so cheers to all of you!

Having an office within the walls of your home is challenging. Whether it’s the constant battle with clutter, or dealing with never-ending interruptions from well-meaning friends or family members, maintaining an office in your home is difficult. So have you ever thought about getting a new one? I’m talking about a separate room, a separate building, and one that you can custom build to fulfill all your wildest business fantasies.

Okay, it may sound unrealistic, but there’s a book out there that serves to inspire and encourage all of us who dream of “having our own space.” And for home based business owners, this book can help you think outside of the box and find solutions to your home business dilemmas.

In Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways, Debra Prinzing and William Wright showcase twenty-eight innovative and beautifully imagined spaces from New York City to East Hampton, from Seattle to San Diego, and from Atlanta to Austin to Santa Cruz. Some are elaborate and luxurious; others are delightfully modest. They are built in urban gardens and suburban backyards and tucked away on rural properties.

Yes, that’s right, they’re sheds. But they’re not the old dusty wood sheds of your grandfather’s day, with dirt floors and cobwebs. And they’re not used for storing gardening equipment or tools. The sheds that are highlighted in this book use imaginative materials, elegant design and whimsical touches that meet the needs of the inhabitant. Today’s sheds are stylish, hassle-free and affordable, when it comes to finding creative ways to add space and carve out a private place for office needs.

You’ll also get sample plans for building a shed, along with advice when it comes to the logistics and décor of your hideaway. Imagine if you could get up in the morning, grab your cup of coffee and commute to work by walking across your lawn. You could find peace, independence and a little distance from the day-to-day activities of your home without having to get in a car or ride a subway.

After looking at the book, I found myself staring out the back window and surveying my yard in a whole new way. Perhaps a stylish shed is just the answer to home based business needs. Or perhaps the ideas in the book provide a few minutes of fantasy for those of us who are buried with paperwork and surrounded by endless piles of documents. Either way, this book is sure to stimulate your imagination and dare you to think, “What if”?

If you’ve seen any of the news footage lately of all the floods in the Midwest, you know how many thousands of people have been devastated. This doesn’t even include all the thousands of others that have been affected by tornadoes, fires and other natural disasters around the country.
So as a small business owner, are you prepared for a disaster? If you’re like most of us, you probably have some room for improvement. I heard about one new product that I thought was certainly worth noting, as it is a valuable resource in case you become a victim of disaster.

The Regus Group announced that it has launched a suite of products, Regus Disaster Recovery, designed to allow companies to cost-effectively plan for the unexpected. The Regus Disaster Recovery product suite is a solution that provides companies of all sizes with immediate access to business facilities if their workplace becomes unusable.

For 2008, the Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project's forecasting team is predicting 15 named storms and eight hurricanes, of which four will be major hurricanes, registering Category Three or stronger. These figures are about 160 percent of an average hurricane season, which would normally include 10 named storms and six hurricanes, of which two are major.

"Problems caused by every day business disturbances such as power outages or unexpected IT and telecommunications downtime can easily interrupt business operations, and natural disasters such as floods, tornadoes or hurricanes can cause even more disruptions," said Guillermo Rotman, CEO of The Regus Group Americas. "Our new Disaster Recovery portfolio offers businesses of all sizes the flexibility and the means to minimize disruptions through seamless transition of operations to our worldwide network of business centers."

The new suite of Disaster Recovery services consists of three levels of protection for Regus clients:

Workplace Recovery Assist - provides temporary workspaces, high-speed Internet access and access to day offices, meeting rooms and videoconferencing suites for $99 per person per year.

Workplace Recovery Restart - provides business continuity compliance, with priority access to temporary or longer term office facilities, with high-speed Internet access and telephony as well as access to Regus' full range of business center facilities for $449 per person per year.

Workplace Recovery Reserve - provides complete business continuity and reassurance, with a dedicated office complete with telephony and IT connectivity that's reserved for whenever a company may need it, with prices available on request.

For more information on the new Regus Disaster Recovery suite visit: http://www.regus.com/disaster-recovery.

How many people do you know that had a terrific small business or home business idea, but just couldn’t find a way to make it a reality? I, myself, have had hundreds of “brilliant ideas,” and they’ve stayed brilliantly within my head. We all want to be one idea away from a million or more dollars, but if it was so easy to implement all those great ideas, we’d all be filthy rich!

In the first part of this series I shared with you suggestions made by Lynn-Ann Gries, Chief Investment Officer of JumpStart Inc., the venture development organization behind IdeaCrossing (https://www.ideacrossing.org), a free online resource that connects entrepreneurs with investors.

We first took a look at the main roles you, as an entrepreneur, will need to fill when launching a business and following through with inception. Here are some additional tips that will help you when it comes to building your management team and sourcing top talent.

Unfortunately for entrepreneurs engaged in management team building, many top-caliber individuals are already employed. As a general rule you can forget attracting talent through want ads and job boards - your potential candidates simply aren't looking at them. Executive search firms specializing in your industry niche can be a smart route to take, but beware of potentially hefty price tags attached to your new hires.

Networking is a tried and true method for finding quality employees -- a process streamlined thanks to the Internet. Online business communities and networking sites such as LinkedIn connect thousands of like-minded business pros every day. The management team building process will go more smoothly if you follow a few hiring tips:

• Begin with clearly defined job descriptions, written to further your business plan's goals.
• Seek candidates in step with your ideal corporate culture and values.
• Set crystal-clear boundaries before hiring friends and family.
• Check your ego - smart entrepreneurs often hire their own bosses and every management team building move you make should raise your startup's overall IQ.

Entrepreneurship is about realizing something much greater than you can accomplish alone. Your job is building a management team capable of achieving the vision you've articulated so eloquently in your business plan, making your dreams come true.

So you have these great ideas that will help rocket your business into the stratosphere of success, right? Now all you need is a plan to make it happen. Entrepreneurs and home business professionals often have the terrific ideas, the unstoppable smarts, and boundless energy. But when it comes to implementing those ideas and actually making them work … well, sometimes it’s not so easy. You need help, lots of help. In this two-part series, we’ll examine some ideas, as offered by the experts, to help make your dreams reality.

Building a management team is one of the most important and exciting challenges any entrepreneur undertakes. Surrounding yourself with top-caliber talent sharing your goals and vision brings your business plan to life. Here are some tips on management team building that can help take your business venture to new heights of success.

"A key component in translating a great business plan into a successful business venture is utilizing the right talent to execute your strategy," said Lynn-Ann Gries, Chief Investment Officer of JumpStart Inc., the venture development organization behind IdeaCrossing (https://www.ideacrossing.org), a free online resource that connects entrepreneurs with investors. Team member skills and abilities are paramount to achieving your business plan's vision, but it's just as important to consider the chemistry between the people who will make up your team.

"It's the thoughtful blending of talent, personality and communication styles that constitute great management team building," said Gries. Central roles entrepreneurs typically fill include:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - The buck stops with the CEO, who must have a big-picture grasp of strategy and prove skillful at staffing.

Chief Operating Officer (COO) - This unflappable operations guru loves details and multitasking .

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) - The CFO builds budgets and is master over your startup's financial minutia - something your investors are sure to appreciate.

Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) - Business battles are often marketing battles, so make sure you place a competent marketing captain at your brand's helm.

Chief Technology Officer (CTO) - Skilled at blending tech trends with business, you need a CTO if your startup relies heavily on technology.

If you’re serious about building a management team, these are the roles you’ll need to fill. In the next part of this series, I’ll share with you how to source top talent, according to Gries.

My high school reunion is this summer, and I’m not saying how many years we’re celebrating. But I will say that I don’t plan to attend. There are two basic reasons for my absence: 1) I’m going to be traveling with my family that weekend in another state entirely, and; 2) I can’t lose twenty pounds, get liposuction and obtain a million dollars by then. I’m really only kidding.

But thinking of my high school friends always makes me wonder, “What are they up to now?“ According to a new survey, what they were up to twenty-something years ago might directly influence what they’re doing today.

CareerBuilder.com asked over 6,000 full-time workers age 30 and older to categorize their high school persona, and then compared those personas in terms of job level, salary, industry and job satisfaction. Categories included personas such as student government, athlete, geek, honor society, cheerleader, drama club, teacher’s pet and class clown.

Comparing job levels, the study suggests that cheerleaders were more likely to hold a vice president role. Those who were in student government and teacher’s pets had the greatest number of workers serving in director/manager/team lead positions today (24 percent). Teacher’s pets also had the greatest number of workers holding administrative/clerical positions (41 percent). Former honor society members, athletes and geeks were more drawn toward professional and technical services positions at 59 percent, 55 percent and 52 percent respectively.

When examining industry groups, a greater number of cheerleaders reported going into travel and insurance than other personas while a greater number of those in student government went into education. The results also suggest that drama club and honor society members had more workers drawn to healthcare positions. Drama club was also ranked as one of the highest among personas in public administration/government. More geeks reported holding positions in engineering and retail than other personas while teacher’s pets were ranked as one of the highest in construction and banking and finance. Class clowns were among the more likely of all personas to pursue a career in manufacturing and communications while more athletes were drawn to transportation.

Job satisfaction levels are highest among teacher’s pets and cheerleaders. Eighty-one percent of teacher’s pets and 76 percent of cheerleaders said they are satisfied with their jobs overall. Geeks and class clowns had the greatest number of workers who reported dissatisfaction with their jobs at 21 percent and 18 percent respectively.

Contentment with career progress is more prevalent among teacher’s pets and athletes. Fifty-nine percent of teacher’s pets and 57 percent of athletes reported they are generally satisfied with their career progress. Student government members and geeks had the greatest number of workers who reported dissatisfaction with their career progress at 32 percent and 31 percent respectively.

With gas prices still soaring in a belt-cinching economy, many Americans are planning to spend a lot more time in their homes and backyards this summer and opting for "staycations" instead of vacations. To cope with and conquer climbing temperatures and utility costs, the most effective way to make your home comfortable and energy-efficient this summer, according to some experts, is to consider your windows.

"Windows are the leading source of heat gain, accounting for nearly 50% of the heat that enters your home," says Scott Walker, president of Screenmobile, a national home delivery screen installation company. "Heat gain makes your air conditioner work longer and harder, which translates into higher energy costs." And, according to Ed Moore of manufacturer Shade Solutions, homeowners can reduce their annual energy bills by approximately $40 for every 16-square-feet of glass covered in screened material.

To reduce heat gain in your home:

• Open front and back doors to create cross ventilation. Screened security doors can ensure your home is safe and cool!
• Create barriers from intense sun glare and prevent glass windows from heating up your home by installing sunscreen shades or outdoor awnings on doors, windows, porches and patios.
• Screen-in or enclose your porch, patio or lanai to extend your living space while protecting your family from heat, insects and sun glare.
• Repaint building exteriors with light colors to reflect sunlight away from the building, thus lowering air-conditioning expenses. This is especially true for your roof.
• Install Energy Star windows, which cost about 50 cents per square foot more than standard windows, but save energy and increase comfort.
• Add shade trees or shrubs to decrease heat gain. Deciduous trees will block the sun during summer, yet shed their leaves during winter.
• Create shaded areas on your porch, patio or lanai and protect your interior furnishings with retractable roll-down sun control shades that can be hidden away when not in use.

If you’ve ever been in a business meeting and witnessed an attendee whip out his or her Blackberry and spend the time text messaging instead of listening, you know the impression bad business etiquette can leave. Or maybe you’ve seen a new hire show up for work with flip-flops and spaghetti straps in a suit and tie atmosphere.

There are countless ways you or your counterparts can make business etiquette mistakes, so here’s some tips to help you out. The Protocol School of Washington (PSOW) is sponsoring the 2nd annual National Business Etiquette Week, June 1 - 7, 2008, with tips for recession-proofing your job, no matter what your level of management is. So in honor of the week, consider the following:

• E-mail is never private (you don't know who has been Blind Carbon Copied) and lives forever in cyberspace. Never sound angry, condescending or illiterate.
• During business encounters (including social ones) don't discuss 'hot' topics like religion, diets, health, or money.
• A dirty or tattered business card is a 'deal breaker.'
• Make eye contact 40%- 60% of the time, looking directly in-between the eye brows.
• Dress the part by dressing two levels above your position.
• Keep cellphones on vibrate or turn off.

When it comes to business etiquette in the global business workld, it's a different ballgame. Major deals are lost every day because of a lack of cultural understanding. PSOW recalls one client, a huge U.S. aerospace company, was in Saudi Arabia inking a billion dollar business deal. They didn't do their homework and sent the wrong level executive to sign the contract. They had to get a VP on a plane, fly to Saudi Arabia, sign the contract and turn around and fly back to the States.

Conversely, as more internationals become Americanized, knowing how business is conducted and how one comports oneself is key. "For the first time in the school's 20-year history, we're booking classes with not one or two but 11 or 12 internationals who need help learning the specifics of business etiquette." PSOW, whose students come from around the globe and work for the Fortune 100, universities, the military and are entrepreneurs who start their own etiquette consulting business, is sponsoring National Business Etiquette Week 2008 to spotlight and reverse the decline in business etiquette and help professionals at all levels behave with more civility and professionalism.