Get RV Insurance And Enjoy Life on Road!

An RV is your home on wheels. An RV has all the amenities you need to live in comfort or even luxury, and it can cost almost as much as a house in some cases. Much like your home, a recreational vehicle is an investment and insuring your new "home on wheels" with an insurance policy that is specifically geared toward RV's is one of the best ways of protecting this investment. RV Insurance covers all the things that regular car insurance cannot even begin to cover, like:

• Your clothing

• Your camera

• Your laptop

• All of the other items that you would bring to make your Recreational Vehicle feel more like home.

Your RV itself cannot protect your personal effects from fire, flood, or other destructive forces; however, your RV insurance can offer you the peace of mind that will at least allow you to replace these items with minimal fuss. RV insurance not only covers your personal items but also covers the costs of replacement of your RV if it is totaled or stolen and not recovered. Before you purchase your RV insurance policy, it is good to know a little about this type of insurance and, as always make sure you look for the best Recreational Vehicle Insurance Agency in Los Angeles, Stockton, Oakland, San Francisco, or Sacramento.

What is RV Insurance?

RV Insurance is coverage that protects not only the vehicle itself, but much like Homeowners Insurance, most of the contents within. While regular vehicle insurance can be purchased for a Recreational Vehicle, many people fail to consider the full coverage that RV Insurance offers. Coverage not only for your vehicle, but also for your BELONGINGS is not only smart, but is a necessity if you travel. For example: Let's assume that you and your family are travelling across country from Sacramento and along the way, you stop for a nice meal and your RV is broken into and your valuables stolen Or, let's assume that the RV park you are camped in suddenly floods due to bad weather and water leaks in damaging your clothing and electronics. What would you do if you simply had a standard vehicle insurance policy? You would be headed back to the nearest department store to restock your wardrobe and the nearest Best Buy to replace that flat screen. A good Recreational Vehicle insurance policy will have offer full replacement, meaning that one bad accident or run of bad luck will not force you to give up your RV trips for good because you had to spend all of that money on replacing your belongings.

How does RV Insurance protect my vehicle differently from Auto Insurance?

Some insurance companies underwrite an auto insurance policy as an RV Insurance policy, but it is important to make sure you check the fine print because many of these have limitations to what items you can claim. In regards to the vehicle itself, a true RV insurance policy will cover those parts of the RV that a regular auto insurance policy will not cover such as the stairs, the slide outs, and the awnings. Not only that, this type insurance also covers towable/trailer RV's or truck campers. Your typical auto insurance policy will not cover those types of accessories.

Where you get the RV Insurance and for which type of RV?

Although, there are many insurance companies that offer RV Insurance, and you can most certainly shop around online, your best bet is to contact an Insurance Agent that specializes in Recreational Vehicle Insurance. Sure, you can surf around and get quotes online, but in reality, there are so many options when purchasing RV insurance and when it comes to protecting you, your family, and your investment, taking pot shots for the cheapest price is not the best idea. Although you can insure any type of RV, whether it is a trailer/camper or a full-size rig, you should make sure that you understand all of your coverage options in order to make the best decision and get the best rates. When shopping online for insurance, consumers tend to overlook the small print and ultimately end up paying more for some coverage they may not have needed. Don't be lazy! Take the time to contact an insurance agency specializing in Recreational Vehicle Insurance and spend the time to review your options...You'll be glad you did!

RV Insurance Sounds expensive! Is it?

Just like auto insurance, home insurance, life insurance, or health insurance, there are MANY different levels of coverage and insurance companies running national deals. That being said, it is possible to find great deals on RV Insurance just the same. Once again, the best way to get a great rate is to let your insurance agent do the shopping for you. Whether you are an Recreational Vehicle owner in Los Angeles, or in the Bay Area of Stockton, San Francisco, & Oakland, all the way to Sacramento, seek out a reputable insurance agency that can help find the right Recreational Vehicle Insurance policy for you!

Why Take the Trouble to Insure Your Motorbike?   Analyse That Caravan Insurance Policy Before You Buy It!   Beginner Motorhome Buyers, What You Need to Know   Shopping Online For Classic Bike Insurance   Choosing The Best RV Insurance   Making Motorcycle Accident Claim   

10 Different Ways to Save Yourself a Small Fortune on Bike Insurance

Would you wish to fork out a lot less for your personal bike insurance? Maybe, you may have only just picked up a Harley or Ducati and will want insurance to safeguard your motor cycle. The following top bike insurance tips and hints should place you in the most suitable track and additionally ideally save on the cost.

1. Try not to be punished for customer loyalty. Regardless if your motorbike insurance agency has granted you a reduction perhaps you may definitely be forking out excessively. Invariably you should contrast bike insurance quotes if your insurance coverage is up for renewal.

2. Highly developed sport bike driving lessons from Bikesafe could help you save with your insurance not to mention keep safe while traveling. They're just out there all around England and Wales and cost you just £40.

3. Almost all people understand that putting in general performance customizations to the motorbike may well boost price tag for cover. This runs specifically true if you happen to personally own an already ultra powerful motor cycle say for example a Ducati. Nonetheless, even cosmetic customizations which will massively maximize your motorcycles value may affect the expense of your cover. Before you decide to try to make any sort of alterations, email your own insurance company to see what more you have got to fork out

4. The more costly and robust the bike, the larger the cost of insurance cover. When you're a new rider or maybe a revisiting motorbike buff you can get a motorbike which happens to be a lot less powerful plus older. The luxury of this can be your cover would be more cost effective and you could grant your self enough time to put together some continual bike riding experience without any claims. This way, you can purchase cheaper insurance coverage any time you plan to up grade.

5. Entirely comprehensive cover is typically dearer when compared to 3rd party. If you own a motorbike which happens to be reduced in value, you ought to look into selecting third party insurance. However this would lead to trimming the level of cover which might end in truly serious effects assuming you have a collision.

6. Non-obligatory insurance coverage extras like legal cover, complimentary motor vehicles and break down cover are helpful provided you can manage to pay for these products. Should you wish to automatically reduce the cost on your cover you don't need to obtain them.

7. Affixing endorsed alarms and immobilizers out of vendors such as Thatcham are able to reduce the cost on your cover by nearly 10%.

8. If you happen to primarily use your bike now and again with your total usage is less than 3, 000 kilometers you can actually purchase a good deal cheaper insurance as opposed to anyone which employs their bike for work requirements. Be certain to consider what amount you plan on driving your bike and be as specific as you're able whenever locating a bike insurance premium.

9. The place you keep your bike after dark may have an impact for the expense of your cover. If you've got a car port or even a backyard ensure that you call your insurance provider.

10. Obtaining bike quotes from specialized vendors means you pay less. These days you can save time and cash by way of comparing motorbike insurance quotes via the internet

Why Take the Trouble to Insure Your Motorbike?   Analyse That Caravan Insurance Policy Before You Buy It!   Beginner Motorhome Buyers, What You Need to Know   Shopping Online For Classic Bike Insurance   

Cool Scooters Are Becoming More Popular

With the rising cost of oil which everyone is complaining about, more people are turning to a cheaper mode of transport to get them from A to B. This can take the form of a motorbike, but some people would prefer to use another kind of bike. Insurance for motor scooters, which are more favored for those short trips to the local mall etc, is available for those who are already driving or who hold a car driving license. Scooter insurance is much cheaper if the driver has a good reputation so this should be taken into account when considering purchasing one.

Most companies will require that the machine is kept under lock and key at night. If it can be proven that the machine is kept in a locked garage overnight, then the rates will come down. Also, if the driver has made no claims for several years on his car cover, he will attract a 'no claims' bonus which could amount to a very high percentage of the overall cost of cover. Indeed, many people guard these bonuses quite well since they know that it will save them money in the long run.

Of course, any kind of deviation from the perfect record will incur costs. Tickets or charges for driving violations will mean less of a discount so it may be a good idea to keep driving safe without getting tickets for speeding etc. The risk for injury is obviously higher on any kind of bike, so making sure that all is done to reduce the risk will allow companies to offer a better price on their own particular cover.

The use of cheap imported machines also brings a lot of problems for some people. Because they tend to come from countries which do not have the same standards as ours, they are often not road worthy when they enter the country. This then makes it practically impossible to get covered. It may be better to go for a machine which adheres to the regulations stipulated in that particular country where it is to be driven rather than to save a few dollars. After all, this machine is very open and no one will consider this until they actually get hurt while driving it.

If the would-be driver is already covered for a car, it may be a good idea to use the same company for the bike too. They will already have experience with this driver so are far more likely to look upon him as a good risk. Approaching other companies may bring a reluctance to cover since they have no idea who he is or how he drives anyway.

The good thing which happens these days is that these companies have a unified database which lists all the claims that anyone has made regardless of which company they were covered by. In this way, they can check to see if the driver is telling the truth and set the premiums accordingly. Likewise, this 'pool' will also cover drivers who are not covered and will pay out damages to those who have been hit by those irresponsible enough to drive without cover.

Why Take the Trouble to Insure Your Motorbike?   Analyse That Caravan Insurance Policy Before You Buy It!   Beginner Motorhome Buyers, What You Need to Know   Shopping Online For Classic Bike Insurance   

Finding Quality Motorhome Insurance

There are a lot of people out there who would like to find a better deal on coverage for their motorhome. However, they simply do not seem to know where to begin. It can be hard when you are told that you need to trust the advice of the people who are trying to make money off of you. In order to make sure that you are indeed going to have quality coverage and for a price that you can afford, you are going to want to do a little it of the research on your own.

First, it is important to make sure that you are researching the various kinds of polices available, if you do not already have that knowledge. When you know what all of your options are, you will have a better shot at understanding what policies might work for you and which policies are clearly policies that you need to avoid at all costs. With this information, you can save yourself a lot of time, money and frustration.

Once you have all of that information, you will at least know what it is that you are shopping around for. Now, all you have to do is to find the companies that are going to give you the best possible prices for the particular policy that you are interested in. There are several ways to do this. One of the best ways is to this is to take advantage of one of the many websites that can do the comparison shopping for you.

All you have to do is to enter your personal information once, along with the type of coverage that you are looking for, and the website will do the legwork for you. Within a few minutes to a few hours, the website will send you information on the top quotes for motorhome insurance that it found for you. It is up to you to then get in contact with the company that interests you the most.

From there, you will fill out an application and you will get the exact price settled. Remember though, it is important to make sure that you are not allowing your current motor-home policy drop, especially for non-payment because you are not yet legally covered until the official effective date on the new insurance policy. Until that date arrives, you have to keep your old motorhome insurance policy intact, no matter how much you dislike paying the higher premium.

As you can see, there is a lot that you can do in order to make sure that you are finally getting the best policy possible and that you are not paying an absurd about for that policy. It will take just a little research on your end but once it is done, it is done and you will not have to worry about it for a while. In a few years though, you are going to want to make sure that you are once again looking for the best deals on policies for your motorhome.

Why Take the Trouble to Insure Your Motorbike?   Analyse That Caravan Insurance Policy Before You Buy It!   Beginner Motorhome Buyers, What You Need to Know   Shopping Online For Classic Bike Insurance   Choosing The Best RV Insurance   Making Motorcycle Accident Claim   

Getting the Most Out of a Touring Caravan Insurance Quote

When you are looking for a touring caravan insurance quote, then you are probably looking for a combination of cover that is suitable for the way you use your caravan and, of course, a cost effective solution.

Although a heavy emphasis on the cost component is perfectly understandable, it is maybe advisable to spend at least as much time, if not more, studying the detail of the cover outlined in the quotation.

The reason for that is pretty simple - in the event that you need to make a claim you will no longer have any interest whatsoever in the price of your policy. All you will wish to understand is whether or not the circumstances of the problem are covered by the policy you hold.

It may be the case for some people, that the first time they seriously study the terms and conditions of their caravan insurance policy, is when they are considering making a claim.

That might prove to be an expensive mistake.

To get the most out of a touring caravan insurance quote, it is necessary to be prepared to find that time to read the quotation carefully and examine its provisions.

The touring caravan insurance, provided by different insurers, will vary and some may prove to be a rather better match your requirements than others. These differences may be based in areas such as:

whether or not contents cover is provided on a new-for-old or market valuation basis; a towing driver's age/experience requirements; the extent to which your touring caravan insurance will protect you (if at all) if you take your caravan outside of the UK; where you may, or may not park your caravan overnight when in use; whether or not emergency holiday accommodation will be paid for in the event that your caravan is stolen or put beyond use by severe damage.

This is far from an exhaustive list and what is important to you may not be the same as what is important to another caravan owner.

What is critical is that you study your touring caravan insurance quote carefully and make sure that it is suitable for your purposes before you commit to buying the insurance.

Why Take the Trouble to Insure Your Motorbike?   Analyse That Caravan Insurance Policy Before You Buy It!   Beginner Motorhome Buyers, What You Need to Know   Shopping Online For Classic Bike Insurance   Choosing The Best RV Insurance   

Look For Moped Insurance Online To Get The Best Deal

Many people these days are looking for cheaper modes of transport if only to cut down on the amount of gas that they are using. Indeed, gas prices always seem to go up and this bites into the budget of many families which brings its own problems for sure. People are turning towards motorized bikes, in one form or another and this then means that some companies are vying for the business of offering moped insurance, for example, to cover those who are likely to ride it. Insurance for mopeds is not so hard to come by, particularly if the intended driver is already driving, or has driven, a car.

When someone has a car, they need to have some form of coverage. If they make no claims for any accidental damage, with each year that goes by, they attract some form of discount in the following year which means that they will not pay too much out. If they add-on the bike too, this may not make so much difference to the premiums and there is no one who does not like to save money for sure! Although this cover is amongst the most economic, it is still an expense so people really should shop around to see what they can get.

On top of this, some companies offer comprehensive cover for anything else that is being carried on the bike. Pannier bags or other accouterments can get stolen if the bike is left for any length of time, and what is inside them may prove to be very valuable. However, do not forget that any claim will eventually wipe out the bonus reduction in the following years so sometimes it is just better to buy replacement articles rather than expect the company to pay for them.

Of course, anything which is motorized and that will travel on public roads will also have to be licensed. This obviously adds to the cost, but knowing that everything is in order will surely allow the driver to be at peace when he is out on the road. No more looking over the shoulder or being distracted by the presence of the police is surely enough reason to get all the necessary paperwork done.

It is obvious that some of these machines will be imported from outside the country. It is important to check, however, is that they follow all the directives for the country where it is to be ridden. Although, some will say that it is ready to drive, they may be talking about their own country so when it gets to the country where it is to be driven, it could well be illegal.

Most teenagers, where this particular model is gaining in popularity, can get cover for as little as one hundred dollars. Some companies will even offer better deals than this so it is vitally important to compare them side by side, possibly on the internet, before opting for one or the other. Different companies offer different deals, so it is important to get the one which best suits the needs of the main driver.

Why Take the Trouble to Insure Your Motorbike?   Analyse That Caravan Insurance Policy Before You Buy It!   Beginner Motorhome Buyers, What You Need to Know   Shopping Online For Classic Bike Insurance   

The Function of Multi Car Insurance Comparison These Days

If you happen to have a large family, say like a 6 family unit, then there is a big probability that you may have several cars. In particular if your children are in the age where they are starting to drive or some might even already have a license and been driving for several years. If this is the situation in your home then it is would be wise to consider having multi car insurance for your vehicles.

But of course, it is not easy to be getting and choosing a possible insurance group to cover your cars. This is the reason that an insurance comparison website for cars is available online for your needs. These multi car insurance comparison exist to help you out in selecting the best possible choices you may have. Remember, different insurances cover different things and I cannot say that they all have the same offers of interest rates depending on the cars. Some good comparison sites can actually be found online. You simply type in the words multi car insurance comparison in a search engine and a number of possible sites will be returned in the search results for you. You might even consider the different types depending on what country you are living in. For example the multi car insurance comparison for the United States may differ from the multi car insurance comparison in the United Kingdom.

The bottom line is that no matter how much you might think multi car insurance is not a necessary thing for your cars I happen to disagree. I happen to own 2 cars myself and for the most part I am not the one using them most of the time. It is my wife and my son who use them since my office is just near our house while my son studies in a university far out, whilst my wife's work is around 30 minutes away from the house. I cannot count how many accidents or bumps they had in the cars and each time the insurance companies have had to shell out for the repairs. So if you have more than one car you had better check out the available insurance by looking through an insurance comparison databases online.

The biggest thing about using an insurance comparison website is to determine which is your best choice and the fact that you can have a clear understanding of what the different car insurance companies have to offer. For myself, if I have to search out an insurance databases online I would happily do so as I know I really need to make the best choice possible based on price and the level of cover available. Insurance policies are a necessity these days for cars and if you own a whole lot of them then all the more that these comparison insurance websites can help you out in your decision. The internet is your best friend in this case and a simple search engine query of the and you will have yourself a list of viable comparison websites to use.

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Vital Information About Pet Insurance

Proper health care is one of the most important aspects of having a pet. You have to ensure that your pet is properly taken care of by giving it access to good veterinary care. You can do this effectively by buying affordable pet insurance. Veterinary pet insurance is available no matter the kind of pet that you have. There are policies for dogs, cats, guinea pigs, parrots and other kinds of domestic animals. This article will give you valuable and reliable pet insurance information.

It is not difficult to find out the cost of insurance for pets. You just have to spend a few minutes on the internet to find several insurers that are ready to give you the best pet insurance. The pet insurance quote tat you will be given will depend on the animal's health history, species or pedigree, age, location and other risk factors. You will be presented with a range of coverage options to choose from. You may decide to buy coverage for certain conditions or choose a basic or premium package.

It is good to shop around to find the cheapest pet insurance but you have to ensure that the coverage that you choose can sufficiently meet the needs of your pet. You should find a reasonable balance between cheap pet insurance and the quality of service that is provided by the insurer. It is important to choose a good pet insurance company that has a reputation of offering excellent service.

Insurance for puppy/dog is designed to provide the best possible health care. You can save a lot of money every year on your pet's visits to the veterinary. The coverage usually includes prescriptions, hospitalization, surgeries, diagnostic tests and so on. With ban-field pet insurance, you will know exactly what is included in the coverage and the benefits that are available to the pet. All pre-existing and recurring conditions are usually treated at no charge.

There a re a few things that you can do reduce the premiums that you have to pay on medical insurance for pets. Taking advantage of exclusions will help to keep your rates low. A list of possible exclusions will be given to you by the provider. You can decide what you want to include or remove. If your pet is healthy and relatively young, you can go for the minimum coverage that is available. Exclusions usually include hereditary conditions, congenital conditions, grooming, behavioral problems, elective procedures and so on.

The cost of dog or cat pet insurance varies from one provider to another. You can expect to pay up to a dollar per day on a good policy. This will of course depend on your location, pet species, breed size and age. Most providers are reluctant to provide insurance for dogs or cats that are above certain age limits. If you have more than one pet, you can take advantage of multiple pet discounts which will help you to reduce the premiums that you have to pay.

Your application for pet insurance will have to be reviewed by the insurance company. It may be necessary to provide the pet's medical records. In cases where medical records are not available, a medical examination will be used to establish the state of health of the pet. This is usually common with adopted or rescued animals.

It is important that you buy pet insurance for your dog as early as possible. A lot of providers will not accept dogs that are above a certain age. However, they will continue to provide insurance for pets that have existing policies before attaining the age limit. Ensure that you choose a reliable insurer that has a good reputation and a system that makes easy for customers to file claims.

You should take your time to read through the policy agreement before singing up with the company. Ask the representative to explain any aspect of the policy that you do not understand. It is important that you know exactly what you are getting for your money. You should also be satisfied with the quality of veterinary clinics that are available under the policy. Choose a policy that you can cancel easily if you are not satisfied with the service that is provided.

Pet policy will help you to save a lot of money on vet bills. It will ensure that your pet gets proper medical attention when required. Pets face day-to-day hazards even when they are limited to the home. They could get injured or eat inappropriate food. They can also come up with emergency health problems. A good pet insurance policy will help you to handle any of these unexpected circumstances.

Got A Pet? Read Why Pet Insurance Is So Important For Your Pet And Your Finances   

How You Can Transform Frequent Flyer Miles and Hotel Points They Earn Into Dream Trips of a Lifetime

The best free room I ever had? There have been many, but one that comes to mind is the six-night stay my family and I enjoyed at the Park Hyatt in Tokyo. Incredibly, there was no check-in desk. As we entered the hotel, we were ushered straight to our room on the 40th floor by elevator, where we walked through the elegant lobby marveling at the spectacular views over Tokyo. Only after we were situated in our room did a staff person visit us. We signed the necessary paperwork in about 2 minutes--all from the luxury and comfort of the desk in our own room.

The amenities alone made our stay memorable. The huge bathroom greeted us with marble everywhere, while a giant tub invited us to sit, soak, and relax. Not only were the best shampoos, conditioners, and lotions provided each day, but also a new, top-of-the-line hairbrush and nailbrush. We lounged in complimentary silk kimonos and donned thick bathrobes after using the pool and spa--just a quick elevator ride away on the 52nd floor amid a dazzling 360-degree view of Tokyo.

For all of this, we paid absolutely nothing, not even room tax. But, as we all know, there is no such thing as "free." It actually took 21 paid nights at Hyatt Hotels, using a promotional offer, to earn enough hotel points for that five-night complimentary stay.

But here is the key point: When you accrue hotel points or intend to use some promotion toward free nights, make the most of what they offer! Just as you would use those free nights you earn only at hotels which might otherwise be out of your budget, redeem your frequent flyer miles for the most expensive air tickets in business or first class.

Research consistently shows that almost two-thirds of all redeemed frequent flyer miles are used for free coach class trips within the US or between the US and Canada. This statistic amazes me. Because these awards usually cost 25,000 frequent flyer miles, travelers who cash them in towards domestic leisure trips--for which airfares are unusually low in today's competitive travel market--receive a poor return on their investment. The savvy traveler can reach almost any domestic destination today in coach class for under $400 using an advance purchase ticket. With low-cost airlines such as America West now offering first class cabins for travel anywhere in the US priced under $1,000 (and frequently matched by the major competing airlines), even premium class is more affordable than ever before. Why not wait until you have accrued 100,000 to 200,000 miles and splurge on one or two premium class tickets for travel abroad?

You may argue that you want to use your frequent flyer miles quickly--before the airlines go out of business. Critics across the board are heralding the demise of all major airlines, and with it the frequent flyer mile programs savvy travelers have come to love--and hate! Countless "travel authorities" wax lyrical in newspapers and journals, and "knowledgeable" pundits on radio and TV continue to warn travelers to use up their miles quickly before they are all worthless. How utterly ridiculous....

With the exception of US Airways, which I believe will disappear from the landscape in the next few months, the majors are here to stay for the time being--so continue to accumulate frequent flyer miles and be ready to book your dream trip one day in the not-too-distant future. Will airline miles be devalued in the future? Of course they will--and so will the greenbacks in your pocket and mutual fund account, but that hasn't stopped you going out and earning dollars each workday, has it? Get real now--the major airlines will need their frequent flyer programs for many years into the future, not only as a way to communicate with their customers, but also as a source of revenue from the thousands of businesses (banks, mutual funds, restaurants, long distance phone companies--how do we count the ways?) that offer frequent flier miles as rewards to their loyal customers. Your hotel points are even more secure, not least since the major hotel chains have not hemorrhaged money in the same manner as the major airlines. So keep earning those Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, and Starwood loyalty points to enjoy the kind of stay I describe in the opening story.

It's really the exotic destinations--from Tahiti to Paris, Antigua to Rio de Janeiro--that should excite you, the sophisticated world traveler who lusts for the unique, the unusual, the spectacular experiences. Start imagining--and planning--the fabulous trips that will take you to a whole new level of exhilaration. Decide which portion of paradise has the highest priority on your wish list--and figure out the amount of miles you'll need for one or two or more business or first class tickets to transform your dreams into reality. Then begin working on strategies to start racking up the miles as fast as possible to accelerate your quest toward mileage nirvana.

And bon voyage!

How You Can Transform Frequent Flyer Miles and Hotel Points They Earn Into Dream Trips of a Lifetime   

How Do You Set Consulting Fees?

One of the most frequent questions I receive from those who are trying to start or grow their own consulting business is: "How and what do you charge clients for your consulting services?"

The ways of billing clients are numerous. There are hourly rates, by-the-job fixed rates, contingency or performance arrangements, flat fee plus expenses, daily fee plus expenses, and many other methods of charging for your consulting services. Which one is best?

Let us consider some ways of billing for your time.

1. Hourly or Daily Rate

Many consultants charge by the hour or day. To establish an hourly or daily rate, they try to calculate the number of billable hours in a year. Many hours will be spent marketing and in administrative and other functions, so this time is not chargeable to the client. As well, vacation time, holidays, sick days, and so on, can not be directly billed to the client.

Consultants, like other businesses, must charge enough to cover their overhead expenses and also earn a profit. If a consultant wants to earn twenty-five dollars per hour of working time, he (or she) might have to charge one hundred dollars per hour to the client. This assumes one half billable hours and fifty percent overhead and profit.

Your hourly or daily rate may be limited by what your competition charges, especially if you have not positioned yourself as different from them.

2. Fixed or Flat Rate

Some consultants charge by the job or a flat rate. For example, a tax consultant might charge three hundred dollars to prepare a tax return for you and your spouse, including an unaudited income statement for your business from information supplied by you. If the consultant takes only one hour to do this, he grosses three hundred dollars per hour. If, though, the tax consultant miscalculates the time required, he could take twenty hours to complete the job and make only fifteen dollars per hour.

Of course, consultants can also make a profit on the labour of their employees or subcontractors.

Many consultants claim to make more on a flat rate than on a hourly basis. Advantages include being able to give a quote to the client up front and less disputes on price (as the total bill was agreed upon in advance).

To protect yourself on flat rate assignments, always limit the scope of your engagement to something that you can calculate easily.

For example, if you are asked to give a quote for setting up a website for a business, you might break this project into smaller assignments.

First, you could give a quote for preliminary research and recommendations. Estimate the time required to meet with the client, learn about his business and goals, develop strategies and a budget, and prepare recommendations on how to proceed. Then, give the client a quote (perhaps in the form of a one page letter agreement or proposal). Upon acceptance of the offer by the client in writing, you may proceed with this phase of the project.

Some consultants collect one-half of their fee up front and half upon assignment completion for each phase of the consulting project.

If the client doesn`t like your recommendations, at least you get paid for the work you did. Perhaps you can charge him to prepare alternative suggestions.

If your website project was not broken into smaller steps or assignments, you could find that you spent way more time on the project than anticipated.

Also, you might not find out until you present your bill for the whole project that your client won`t pay, either because he is not satisfied with the results or because he is unable or unwilling to pay.

Breaking down a project into smaller assignments helps you estimate more accurately and limits your financial exposure.

3. Contingency or Performance Arrangements

Sometimes clients will ask you to become their partner. If you do, you are no longer an objective consultant.

What if your client asks you to do management consulting for twenty-five percent of the net profits? Will there even be any profit by the time he writes off his car, home office, entertainment, travel, wages to self and family members, and other expenses?

On the other hand, if you are a marketing consultant that is absolutely certain that you can increase a client`s sales, you may feel confident charging a fee based on the increased sales volume of the client. Are you sure your client will co-operate with you in the attaining of this goal?

Some consultants charge a flat rate plus a percentage of ownership or profits for their services.

Fees based on contingency or performance arrangements are risky. Most consultants are better off charging a fair price for their services and leaving the risk of the client`s business to the client.

4. Value Based Fees

Sometimes consultants can justify fees based on their value to the client. For example, if you save a client one million dollars in taxes, your fee may be higher than normal to reflect the value of the services rendered.

You might pay an accountant or lawyer a fee of fifteen hundred dollars based on time for certain tax related services. What would you be willing to pay to legally save an extra million dollars in taxes? Ten thousand dollars, one hundred thousand dollars, or more?

Can you apply this information to your own consulting practice? Is there some particularly valuable service that you can render that would justify premium rates?

However and whatever you charge, be sure that your fee is a good value for your client and also compensates you fairly.

For further Information and resources about consulting, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/consulting.html

How Do You Set Consulting Fees?   

The Ivory Tower Syndrome

"His cardinal mistake is that he isolates himself, and allows nobody to see him; and by which he does not know what is going on in the very matter he is dealing with. - Abraham Lincoln on his reason for relieving Gen. John C Fremont of his Missouri command. (September 1861)

How many times have you been given direction from your boss or the "head office" where you find yourself just shaking your head, wondering how the executive team could possibly have made such an uninformed decision? Maybe they have implemented a new cost control program that eats at the heart of your implementation process, putting you into a position where you can't possibly meet your delivery commitments. Or they roll out a new sales promotion that is not supported by your systems and almost assuredly will result in unhappy customers.

In my younger years I worked as an accountant at the head office of a shoe retail chain. We were suffering some significant losses in some stores and implemented some new control systems. Later I was shopping in one of our stores where the sales clerks did not know me. They were bemoaning the latest directive from "The Ivory Tower" and how silly it was and how difficult it made their job.

"These guys just don't get it", they were saying. "They've totally lost touch with what goes on in the real world." I was young, and very confident that we in the head office had a bigger, more complete view of the situation than these sales clerks did. I was confident that they were the ones who had lost touch. They just didn't see the big picture. Sound familiar?

I know that I heard a similar refrain at least 100 times in my career. The people in the field were convinced that the people in "The Ivory Tower" were out of touch. The executives in the home office were convinced that they had taken the proper steps based on "the big picture".

Who was right? It's hard to tell. There is no pat answer. Surely not every decision the executives make is correct, nor is every decision they make wrong. But as Lincoln intimated when he replaced General Freemont, it's not a good thing to lose touch with what is happening on the front lines.

Leaders that isolate themselves too much from the day-to-day activity of their business take the risk of losing touch with their employees, their customers, and even the companies' mission. In fact, there is an old joke about how decisions are made with input from the front lines that gets so badly distorted by the time it reaches the executives that it bears no semblance to the original message. Some people would tell you that this represents a communications problem. And to an extent, it does. But it also represents an executive team that is out of touch because it relies entirely on the chain of command to get information about important issues instead of being directly plugged into the day-to-day activities.

But here is an important thought that every reader needs to keep in mind. My experience is that the first line managers are just as likely to be out of touch with the day-to-day activities as the executive team is. If you are failing to walk the floor to talk with your employees; If you are failing to open the lines of communications on what happens on a daily basis; If you are so absorbed in meetings that you don't spend direct time with your first line staff then you too take the risk of not truly understanding your business. And that is much more risky then what happens in "The Ivory Tower".

One Bad Apple   

How to Choose a Good Domain Name for Your Business Online

Second only to web hosting in the list of priorities for a successful website, registering a domain name is an important part of website creation and can have repercussions on many other aspects of your business online, including search engine optimization.

Your domain name is your address on the web, but it is also your slogan and holds much information about you and your business online. A good domain name can help your online business by providing trust and authority both to your clients and to the search engines that will determine how well to rank your website.

In this article, we will cover the different aspects that make a good domain name both for the human readers and the search engine robots. Note that you don't have to follow every point religiously when registering a new domain, but rather keep in mind the overall ideas of these points.

The first element to cover is the domain name length. Generally speaking, it is always better both for the humans and the search engines to keep your domain name as short as possible. It's better for your potential clients because they will remember your business name more easily, and it's better for the search engines because some (Google) may penalize too lengthy URLs.

The only exception to this rule would be if you are trying to rank for a long-tail keyword, in which case you should try to get an exact match domain, meaning a domain name that matches your keyword exactly;

The second element is the top-level domain (TLD). Some webmasters choose to use general TLDs like.com or.net, some others prefer the country specific TLDs like.co.uk for the United Kingdom or.cn for China.

Others would rather choose the cheaper alternative which is.info.

Many search engine optimization studies have shown that the most effective domain names choices are the general TLDs, notably.com and.net as they are not only the most used but also the most trustworthy since they are the oldest.

The third point to cover is the quality of the registrar you are selecting. The registrar is the company from which you purchase your domain name, and depending on which type of plans you choose, it can also be your web hosting provider.

Choosing a renown and trustworthy registrar is not only required for the security of your personal information, business information and of your domain name, but it is also a guaranteed help in your SEO efforts. Especially since Google Panda, search Engines take into account the quality of the registrar from which you registered your domain name.

Finally, I would advice you to try and keep your domain name as professional and esthetic as you can. If possible, do not resort to the use of special characters and keep your domain name memorable.

Domain Monitor - How to Catch an Expiring Domain   Do You Really Need a Dot Com (.com) Domain Name? Maybe Not!   Tips for Choosing A Perfect Domain   The Domaining Home Business Model for Entrepreneurs   Finding a Short, Easy to Remember Domain Name - It's Possible!   Get Your Online Presence Started With An Effective Domain Name   

Cheapest Domain Registration - An Alternative to Having A Costly Online Business

If your not sure what a domain name is, a domain name is an identification of a specific location on internet, most commonly known today as a web site. But before the domain name was created, the internet name or id to a specific location was an IP address consisting of a series of dots and numbers. Now for simplicity the domain name was created which essentially is the name of that particular IP address. So when we as consumers go to look up a web site we can easily remember the name as opposed to the series of numbers used to identify that website location.

Domain Name registration has become a pretty easy process over the years. To start this trouble-free process. you select the available domain name that you would like, submit your name, address and other personal information, and voila, you're well on your way to launching your own successful website.

Domain Name registration can be a very competitive and a very expensive process. So, cheaper domain name services are available and more accessible to people. There are more affordable ways to get your domain name registered at much cheaper prices than the leading competitors..

If you are looking to register a new domain name then you have two options - you can either register your domain name with a more affordable domain registration company or pay two to three times the amount you should with a more expensive domain registration company. Whenever you are going to register a domain name, some of the more larger companies may over charge you. They provide domain and web hosting services at extremely high rates but there is no reason to over charge for something that should be quite affordable.

By providing these services at a much higher cost, the larger registration companies can gain a much better popularity because this allows them to advertise on a more larger level. The same quality and choice of services are available with a cheaper web hosting and domain registration company, but there are consumers and business owners that are not aware that there are more affordable alternatives available for their domain name registration and eCommerce needs.

When registering a domain name, keep in mind that when choosing the name, it should be easily remembered, and the words that make up your name should be relevant to your website and its content. It does help also if one of your keywords are built into the name. Not always can you do this, especially if your using a business name, but none the less, that can always be solved when creating links to your pages within your website.

Domain Monitor - How to Catch an Expiring Domain   Do You Really Need a Dot Com (.com) Domain Name? Maybe Not!   Tips for Choosing A Perfect Domain   The Domaining Home Business Model for Entrepreneurs   Finding a Short, Easy to Remember Domain Name - It's Possible!   Get Your Online Presence Started With An Effective Domain Name   

Our Little Secret About Domain Names

Sometimes I have to laugh when I see so many people that seem like they know what they are doing, but, I see them teaching people about how to be successful online but they make it so darn hard.

Okay, I must admit that there are times that what is being taught seems to make a lot of sense. But, when put into practice doesn't work in a real online world setting.

When it comes to trying and decide what kind of domain name to have, I believe there is a lot of misinformation going around.

There are those that will tell you that in order to get first page of the search engines you must you're your "keyword phrase" in your domain. This may have been true in the infancy of Internet search engines but, not so important now.

For example; let's say that you wanted to be an affiliate for Canon Camera; it could be a tragic mistake if you were to put a lot of time and money into building a website with a Canon Camera domain name. Why? Because as soon as someone from Canon Camera saw your domain name they would have their well paid lawyers send you a little note telling you to take the name down immediately.

Okay another example on why a certain keyword phrase does not have to be in the domain name. I will give you an example but you can choose almost any phrase you want. I will choose the keyword phrase "how to make money fast".

As of this writing there is only one domain name on the first page of Google that even comes close to having this keyword phrase in it.

There are some domains that may have just one of those words in it. There are even domain names on the first page of Google that don't have any of those keyword phrases.

The search engines such as Google only care about one thing, they want to make sure that when a person puts a different the desired keywords in the search box that only the most relevant sites show up on their pages so that the customer can get what they searched for.

So that tells me that the search engines only care about what is inside of that website not so much the domain name the site has associated with it.

Now, how to make sure that the search engines like what is inside of a website is a subject for another article. I just hope that I have shown that you don't need to spend hours racking your brain on finding the perfect domain name.

Domain Monitor - How to Catch an Expiring Domain   Do You Really Need a Dot Com (.com) Domain Name? Maybe Not!   Tips for Choosing A Perfect Domain   The Domaining Home Business Model for Entrepreneurs   Finding a Short, Easy to Remember Domain Name - It's Possible!   

Domain Privacy

Most people don't know, when they think about getting a domain, that their contact information will be entered into a domain name database called Whois. Each of the registrars of domain names also has its own domain database open to the public. When a domain is registered with an extension such.com,.net or a country code the owner of the domain submits his or her domain name as well as some personal contact information.

With all the privacy issues in society today, you may be reluctant to have your personal contact information available for anyone to see. This cautiousness is why people like to have at least one anonymous email address but what they don't realize is that they can still be tracked using their IP address. Still, it's more protection than listing their real name, address and possibly a telephone or cell phone number.

CIRA, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority oversees the assignment of address blocks and other internet related tasks in Canada. CIRA's functions offer some protection for the public, listing the registrant, technical contact and administrator information and server information. While you can see why this would be beneficial to the public, the current epidemic of identity thefts might make you think twice before you register for a domain name.

You should not let privacy concerns deter you from registering your domain name, however. Like everything else there is a way around this regulation and you can protect your personal information. If you register your domain using a proxy, you still divulge your personal contact information but it is not publicly displayed. Instead, the contact information of the proxy is what the public sees. While your information is available if the proper legal procedures are followed, your privacy is insured when dealing with day to day issues.

There is nothing deceitful about registering your domain with a proxy; indeed, it makes a lot of sense these days. You can make arrangements for your proxy to contact you if there is a problem with your domain but you can also set up a special contact button that allows access.

If you decide to use a proxy to register your domain name there are a few precautions to take. Make sure that the proxy has a good reputation by checking reviews through a search engine. Read through the Terms and Conditions carefully to insure that you know exactly what to expect and what your obligations are. Finally, make sure that you maintain ownership of your domain.

There are all sorts of techniques you can use to legally and ethically insure your privacy and protect your identity. Using a proxy domain registrar is just one of these methods.

Domain Monitor - How to Catch an Expiring Domain   Do You Really Need a Dot Com (.com) Domain Name? Maybe Not!   Tips for Choosing A Perfect Domain   The Domaining Home Business Model for Entrepreneurs   Finding a Short, Easy to Remember Domain Name - It's Possible!   Get Your Online Presence Started With An Effective Domain Name