Help Eliminate Poverty with World Vision
October 15, 2008
Today is Blog Action Day and thousands of bloggers are uniting to discuss the issue of poverty. We are so blessed in this country and there is definitely something we can do to help fight poverty in our world. An organization that has been making such an important difference since 1950, is World Vision. I encourage you to visit their site and look at the Gift Catalog Giving items. You will certainly be amazed. In our society of excess, we wouldn’t dream of giving these kinds of gifts that are available for donation: a goat, chickens, share of a deep well to ensure safe drinking water, seeds, food, blankets, and the list goes on. It is even possible to help the millions of American children experiencing poverty today.
Who They Are: World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.
Let’s be part of the solution. Won’t you help break the cycle of poverty for those in need in our world?
Dual Monitors, Oh Yea!
October 14, 2008
Recently there were discussions on several VA forums about using dual monitors. What a concept! I had never seriously considered this until my fellow VAs were raving about this setup. At one point, someone mentioned to try it “if you happen to have an extra monitor around”. I chuckled and thought, sure, who has a monitor just sitting around and then I saw it! I had an unused monitor at my archaic desktop machine in the playroom corner. I was thrilled, to say the least, and set about hooking it up.
Now as a bookkeeper, having multiple windows open at all times is an absolute must. There are statement pdf files, emails of transactions and instructions, online project collaboration notes, my time keeper, not to mention the QuickBooks software program. Even though I love my widescreen HP laptop, there just isn’t enough screen real estate to work with everything I need. I have spent a lot of effort zooming in and out, going back and forth between the windows. With my fabulous new setup, I am now able to drag the windows back and forth between monitors, keeping things in 100% view. What a boost to my productivity! I challenge you to dust off those ole’ monitors and try it out, then let me know what YOU think.
Will Big Banks Remember Small Business?
October 5, 2008
I bank at Washington Mutual and several weeks ago I joined in the panic, and transferred the majority of my business checking funds for “safe keeping” until the dust settled. As I kept tabs on the WaMu website, I was initially encouraged to discover JP Morgan had acquired the bank. I felt a little more secure reading the Chase Welcome page about how I was to continue banking as usual.
Then I began to seriously think about how the takeover will affect my banking long-term. I searched hard to find a small business-friendly bank willing to give me free checking, free online bill pay, no monthly service charge and no minimum balance requirement. I was very happy to recommend Washington Mutual as my preferred banking choice. After starting out at Wells Fargo where we hold our personal accounts, it was quickly apparent that spending $12-15 per month for basically nothing was a bad business decision. That money is better spent each month on a combination of web hosting, fax service, or online data backup.
As a national leader in business banking services and the nation’s #1 SBA lender, I really hope Chase does remember the small business community and will market to that segment, as Washington Mutual has done so well. If you feel passionate about your preferred business banking provider, please let us know.
