Client Referral Systems

Any small business owner worth his salt will tell you word of mouth publicity is one of the best ways for securing more business. Client referral systems are based on this very thought. Generally, when a satisfied client refers your name to someone chances are good the person will end up becoming your client as well.

However, you can’t depend only on the whims of clients to refer you to their friends. To secure referrals you may have to offer your clients incentives. A lot of businesses successfully use an incentive-based system to get more client referrals. The following are five of the most recommended and used client referral incentive programs or techniques currently being used.

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Perfect Moment Monday: The Simplest Things

My Perfect Moment for this week …

…was quite simply becoming conscious of full my life has become.

The moment was Saturday evening. My husband and I were sitting on the couch with our two year old sitting between us. On my left was our dog Aine, curled up with her head on my lap. And on my husband’s right…

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Pregnant? Upset Stomach?

An upset stomach is believed to be one of the first signs of pregnancy. The exact cause behind this side effect of pregnancy is not known; however, many researchers believe pregnant women experience an upset stomach because of the sudden hormonal changes. Another reason attributed to this is the acid levels in the stomach increase as digestion slows down during pregnancy.

Nausea (a side effect of pregnancy) is also believed to trigger of an upset stomach as well. Constipation is yet another side effect women experience. With that said, I personally did not enjoy these side effects when pregnant with my son, for which I am grateful. But I did receive quite a few recommendations and tips about how to offset these side effects that I think might be helpful for those who are pregnant, may become pregnant or know someone who is.

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Social Entrepreneurship: What Is It?

Is profit the sole focus of entrepreneurship? Is maximizing returns the only thing that matters? If we answer these questions with a yes, we would not be doing justice to a whole class of social entrepreneurs—people devoted to bringing social change through their business ventures.

Social entrepreneurs are in the business of touching lives. Such individuals do not believe addressing social issues is the responsibility of the government and large corporate houses alone; they take it upon themselves to champion the cause in which they believe. Social entrepreneurs go beyond philanthropy to bring radical changes in their society and put forth new and sustainable models of businesses with a cause.

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Breast Cancer: One Degree of Separation

I sat down to write a blog about breast cancer, not really sure why since I know so many people who are first-hand experts and I am fortunate enough to be at arm’s length and hold an inexperienced and innocent view. I truly believe there is not one thing that happens on this earth that there is not a higher reason to support the experience, but when it comes to the C word I often wonder what in God’s name is a good enough or high enough reason for anyone to experience cancer. And then I always pose the question, “Isn’t there another way to learn the same lesson or experience the same emotional learning opportunity?”

My very first experience with breast cancer came just two months after moving to California from Vancouver, British Columbia. One of my closest friends, Roberta (Bobbi) Stackhouse, called me with the news she had found a lump while in the shower. I was 28, she was 34, and it was September 1997. When we hung up the phone I cried: not because I felt bad, but because I had not one clue about breast cancer or what she might have to go through in the coming months. From my perspective, my fears of being of “uneducated” and “ignorant” had come true.

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Pet Therapy and Depression

That animals have cathartic effect on humanity is more than just a statement expressing the belief of doting pet owners across the world. Pets are being increasingly used by psychiatrists and psychotherapists to help patients recover from depression. The reason is simple: pets, with their almost childlike antics and the ability to respond freely to the love and affection shown to them, offer several emotional and social benefits to the humans who seek their company.

There is no coincidence behind what we seek as humans and what animals provide; in previous writing we’ve touched on the importance of Pet Therapy and how one might consider embarking on having his animal become a certified therapy dog, but today we would like to lift the veil of awareness with regard to how the therapy actually works through four very specific interactions.

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Perfect Moment Monday: Flying High

My Perfect Moment for this week…

Today my Perfect Moment is actually happening on a Monday! My father arrived for a visit from Canada last week, and today he and I took my son Caden to Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.

Going to the Evergreen Museum is a treat all by itself (It's even home to the internationally known Spruce Goose!) since it's full of stories about history and heroics....

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Secrets about Meditation

I’ve written about meditation before and how it is a simple exercise, how to easily begin fitting it into your daily life, and the many benefits it offers, Yet there are lots of misconceptions and myths surrounding it. I thought I would take some time today to share with you a few of these secrets before you start or get too far down the enlightening and invigorating path of meditation. Having a clear understanding of its concepts will allow you to travel a little easier. The following are five of the common meditation facts of which people may be unaware.

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The Science of Intuition

Instinct, gut feeling, intuition: all of us have had moments when a hunch has proved correct, only to wonder later whether it really was intuitive brilliance on our part or just a lucky coincidence. After all, intuition is a just “acquisition of knowledge without using rational reasoning and logic,” right? Perhaps not!

If certain research studies are to be believed, intuition is probably an amalgamation of past data, increased sense of observations and a skill to look beyond the obvious and the reality.

According to research, intuition really is the result of our brain’s information processing mechanism. Several other research studies have also put forward similar theories.

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Wayne Dyer: LOA Godfather?

There are a lot of talk shows, books, videos and “gurus” focusing on the Law of Attraction, but there is one man who just might be considered or referred to as the “Godfather of LOA.” Wayne Dyer gave the world undying and unparalleled hope when he put forth the Law of Attraction, which argues that "if you really want something and truly believe it's possible, you'll get it."

Dyer has touched many lives, as he is so much more than just a good author. He has built his own life on the theories in which he believes. Dyer served in the United States Navy from 1958-1962 and pursued an academic career thereafter. He published several journals, ran a successful private therapy practice and took lecture at St. John’s on positive thinking and motivational speaking techniques. These lectures brought him a lot of popularity. The turning point in his career, however, came when he published his first book, Erroneous Zones.

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Perfect Moment Monday: Of RVs and Memories

My Perfect Moment for this week…

This past week I was fortunate enough to have my best friend visiting from Vancouver, BC. She and her nine-year-old son spent the week camping with us in Pacific City, OR. Beautiful!

We were able to spend a lot of time chatting, sharing stories and watching our two boys playing and interacting—similar to what we could expect two siblings to be doing. The weather was wonderful, with only one day of rain. For us, fortune was staying in an RV and having a portable DVD player along with GameBoys for each.

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Aromatherapy Dos & Don’ts

New to Aromatherapy? Confused by the sheer number oils and their uses? Feeling overwhelmed with too much information? So was I. Then I took an online course offered through Tito’s Learning Center and was given a basic list of Dos and Don’ts by the instructor, Doris Payne. It has definitely helped me, and I wanted to share some of this new-found knowledge. My intention is that this list of Aromatherapy Do’s and Don’ts will make your journey into this fragrant world simpler.

Don’t Buy Perfumed Oils
They do not offer the therapeutic benefits of essential oils. If you want to practice Aromatherapy or simply want to use oil for its healing powers, make sure you buy only authentic, pure grade essential oils. They will be more expensive but the results will be worth it.

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Perfect Moment Monday: Golf Tourney "Fore" a Good Cause

My Perfect Moment for this week …

Well, it seems I missed sharing my Perfect Moment this week—but that does not mean there weren’t any. Definitely there was excitement building up to last Friday’s Blue Butterfly Campaign fundraiser golf tournament. The power of people coming together to help raise funds for research was enough to carry over be two perfect moments of focus.

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Stand Tall or Stay Flat?

As an entrepreneur, what was the first organizational decision you made? Most likely it was accounting or something to do with internal procedures, or maybe it was something to do with the product or service you were going to be selling. If you are like most small businesses, one of the distant decisions you rarely think about when you go into business is how you’re going to structure your business as it grows—organizationally, that is.

Choosing your organizational structure is a strategic decision that involves a careful evaluation of your options, but long before this decision you need to believe that what you are creating will grow and ultimately become its own entity; therefore, it needs to have its own family tree. This article will help you with the visualization of two of these main organizational hierarchical structures.

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