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Blog Tour: Starting a Micro Business: Introduction, Review and Giveaways

(Cincinnati, OH) With unemployment rates high, the teen population is finding it harder and harder to find work. Adults are competing for the same minimum wage jobs. But there’s an alternative—starting a micro business. What is a micro business? It is a very small, one-person business that you can start easily and quickly with what you already know or own. No money needed, low risk and no debt! Students can spend as much time running a micro business as they wish and can even close it down during busy times. The best advantage for teens to own a micro business is that it not only brings in extra cash (often more than imagined), but students end up learning a great deal about business, money and themselves. It may lead to an entrepreneurial life or at the very least, prepare students for higher learning opportunities.

Starting a Micro Businessis a practical guide for teenagers who want to earn money without losing their lives. This book is not only an ideal resource for parents and grandparents, it also has a strong appeal to the homeschool community. Moreover, this book will help teenagers earn money while learning how to start their own business. A micro business is simple to start, usually home-based, low risk, educational and easy for a busy student to run. This book offers ideas, a business plan, starting with no debt, pitfalls to avoid and resources to get a teenager started making money running their own micro business.

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About author:

Carol Topp, CPA advises teenage business owners though her Micro Business for Teens book series. Carol’s day job is accountant to business owners, and she enjoys teaching teenagers to succeed beyond their dreams. Students appreciate how she shares what they need to know in clear and helpful lessons. Her website is MicroBusinessForTeens.com

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Spring Cleaning: A Time For a Teenager to Make Money, by Carol Topp

Here are some ideas for a teenager to start a micro business this spring:
1. House cleaning: Offer to tackle large jobs like washing windows, moving furniture, etc. Many people are grateful for a young, strong teenager to help them with heavy lifting. What is easy for you might be very difficult for them, especially if they are an older person.
2. Routine house cleaning: Some customers need regular house cleaning and may hire you on a weekly or monthly basis. Don't wait for them to ask: offer to come weekly or twice a month and see what they say.
3. Attic cleaning: Offer to help people do a job that they put off, such as cleaning an attic.
4. Garage cleaning: A big job that can earn you big bucks!
5. Yard cleanup: Offer to trim bushes, pull weeds, plant flowers and spread mulch to spruce up a yard.
6. Car and van cleaning: People spend a lot of time in their automobiles and their cars and vans need frequent cleaning. Melissa gladly paid to get her van cleaned inside and out every week because her four children could really make a mess in it. You can make some cash by offering to clean a van inside and out.
7. Organize: Organize a house, playroom or garage. Charge the customer for any bins, tubs and labels that you purchase for them and then add on the value of your time. Take before and after photos to use on your advertising fliers.
8. Declutter: Do you love HGTV shows on organization? You might be able to find someone to hire you to declutter their house like you see on TV.
9. Garage sales: Advertise, organize and run a garage sale for your neighbors. Get several neighbors to participate together and really earn the bucks!
10. eBay sales: Offer to sell your neighbors' stuff on eBay and take a cut for yourself. Combine the decluttering, garage sale and eBay tasks into a full package to help your customers profit from their excess stuff.

(This is an excerpt from Carol's article. Full article available at docstoc.com)

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Giveaway details

# By April 22, 2011, the names of those who commented on the blog tour. They will be entered into the grand prize giveaway.
# On April 25, 2011 KCWC will draw and announce a winner of the grand prize.
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Lies the Government Told You : Myth, Power, and Deception in American History - A Review

Lies the Government Told You

Myth, Power, and Deception in American History

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano

Published by Thomas Nelson

Summary:

In this book, “Lies The Government Told You – Myth, Power, and Deception in American History”, Judge Napolitano explains how politician of both parties have routinely disregarded the constitutional limits on federal power and violated our natural rights. The lies they have told in our daily basis, from our food, money, economy, medication, health to security. Judge Napolitano uses 17 chapters to describe and categories these repeatedly deceptions, such as “all men are created equal” and “America has a free market”. This book will definitely shift your paradigm toward what the government has told to salvage the freedom of the people.

Review:

My motivation to read this book is to find out how many lies can be revealed, explained and discussed in a book of 346 pages. Frankly speaking, I am not a USA citizen. However, I realize that almost all I knew before from newspaper, mass media, and internet is a lie from the government after finished this incredible book. In fact, many important events and realities from the history can be found in this book.

Besides, few questions appear in my mind immediately, which are: “What is the relationship between “mainstream” idea and deception?”, “what we should do when we know the truth?” etc.

Although nobody can correct and change the history, we can prevent the same mistakes occur again, don’t we? This is a book for the people, who care about human freedom, who are taxpayer, or who really care about their next generation future, to make a better decision in the future. Lastly, I would like to give it five out of five stars for Lies the Government Told You.

This book is available in Amazon.com now.

That's all for today. More fascinating articles and sharing will be updated from time to time in Xaivier Blog. Therefore, do subscribe our feed, look at our sitemap or simply visit our Homepage.

Review by:
Xaivier Chia

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Notes:

As a record and remind, I jot down few ideas and sentences from this book as follows:

“profit is privatised, risk is socialized”

“If the road to hell is paved with good attentions, then the road to tyranny is paved by believing the government”

“The government remembered its earlier lesson well, and knew that as long as it lied and lied well, the Court could be seduced”

“Government deception has been fed to us for so long that it has become an accepted fact, without any basis in actual reality”

“... as long as you did not take responsible for your action, then you could receive more money.”

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Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com http://BookSneeze.com; book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Your Teen Can Own a Micro Business : How to Launch It in Ten Simple Steps

“I want to walk dogs; what do I need to do to get started?” asked a teen boy. I had inspired him to think about starting a micro business and he was ready to get going!

I encourage teenagers to start very small businesses—micro businesses. A micro business is a one-person business that can be started easily, usually without any up-front cash, using what a teenager already owns. Micro businesses are usually home-based and very flexible so a busy student can keep up with homework, sports and a social life.

Teenagers can use their skills to develop businesses such as teaching guitar lessons, doing web design or caring for children. Other teenagers have started micro businesses by offering services such as house cleaning, pet care, and lawn mowing. One easy-to-start micro business is tutoring. Some students tutor math, Spanish or computer programs such as Photoshop.

After your teenager has an idea, he or she can launch a micro business in a short amount of time with very little start up money. Share these starting steps with your teen:

1. Conduct a mini market survey.
Start by asking a few potential customers if they need your service and what price they are willing to pay.

2. Decide on a price.
From the mini-market survey, you should be able to set a fair price. You may get your first customers by undercharging the competition. One teenager charged half what other piano teachers charged and quickly had eight students.

3. Volunteer a few jobs
Volunteer a few jobs to practice your business skills and build a reputation. Use recommendations from these jobs in your future advertising. Sarah took senior pictures as a favor for a friend and received three other jobs from referrals.

4. Launch your first advertising campaign.
Try to use free advertising such as emails, Facebook posts and handing out fliers to friends and neighbors.

5. Work your plan on a small scale.
Start with one customer at first. Learn a lot from that experience and grow slowly.

6. Evaluate, adjust and change.
As you grow in experience, you may be able to charge more. You will probably need to create a payment policy. Sarah discovered that she needed to be paid up front and have a cancellation policy when she scheduled photo shoots.

7. Pick a name and register it.
Usually, you can use your own name, such as Cathy Smith's Babysitting Service, without needing a name registration. If you do want a business name, learn what your state or local government requires. This website is a good place to start: http://www.business.gov/register/business-name/dba.html

8. Open a checking account.
Accountants usually recommend a separate business checking account to keep from mixing personal and business expenses. A teenager can usually get by with one checking account, if you keep good records. Usually a parent must agree to be a co-signer on a checking account for minors.

9. Read up on taxes.
You’ll need to file your own tax return, may owe federal or state income tax, and may be subject to self-employment tax also. Self-employment tax is Social Security and Medicare taxes for self-employed people.

10. Learn about customer service, marketing and record keeping.
Become a student of business and seek to be continually learning more. Read books, take a business class, find a mentor and ask a lot of questions.

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About the Author:
Carol Topp, CPA advises teenage business owners through her Micro Business for Teens book series. Carol’s day job is accountant to business owners, and she enjoys teaching teenagers to succeed beyond their dreams. Students appreciate how she shares what they need to know in clear and helpful lessons. Her website is MicroBusinessForTeens.com
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Review: A Leader's Heart 365-Day Devotional Journal (John C. Maxwell)

A Leader's Heart 365-Day Devotional Journal
By John C. Maxwell
Published by Thomas Nelson

“A Leader’s Heart – 365 Day Devotional Journal” is designed as a one year journal with “January 1” as its first page of content until “December 31” as its last page of content. Each day occupied only one page with a systematic structure, which is, starting with a short Scripture followed by a quote or a summary from the previous publications of John C. Maxwell, and then, ending up with a direct question. The remainder space in each page can be used to jot down a thought or answer for further review.

"Leaders need encouragement too, and who better to send it than the leader of leaders!
Applauded as one of the world's most popular leadership experts, John Maxwell brings many of his winning concepts and scriptural meditations into a daily devotional/journal format, designed specifically for leaders. Each devotional is delivered with John’s trademark style of confidence and clarity, followed by space for writing personal reflection. Included are a host of relevant topics including success, stewardship, teamwork, and mentoring—all topics that ring true to every leader’s heart."

In the beginning, I found it is difficult for me to start this book. I was wondering whether I should start from the first page, the page dated today or wait until the beginning of coming year. After reading few pages, I realized that it seems there is no connection from one page to another page. In other words, it does not matter whether I start from which page.

It cannot be denied that this book recorded abundant of useful point of views and concepts from John C. Maxwell. This book plays a role as a daily inspiration for leaders to simulate their thoughts. This is true because sometimes we are too busy with our career development, and repeating same mistakes in daily basis. Besides, I agree that as a leader, somehow, he or she might feel lonely and need some feedback or “mirror” to keep growing in the right direction. Therefore, the 365 questions in this book make it becomes one of my indispensible collections.

Review by: Xaivier Chia

More reviews can be found in Amazon.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com http://BookSneeze.com; book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Enjoy Writing Your Science Thesis or Dissertation

After finished this book, what I can conclude is always make your thesis writing precisely, shortly, systematically and clearly.

1. Precise - Using "the length of the fish is 50m" instead of "the length of fish is quite long" make reader easier to understand and imagine what you are trying to describe in the text.

2. Short - Using "because" instead of "due to the fact that" to avoid wordy words.

3. Systematic - Have a plan for your writing. From Introduction to Conclusion.

4. Clear - Using correct grammar and tenses in the thesis. Avoid tenses interchange in a sentence such as "I was writing while my friend calls me".

Last but not least, there are lots of examples, interpretations and summaries which you can find from this comprehensive book. As Dr. Karloff stated "Possibly the most important book in its field". Feel free to give me a comment about this topic. It will be a great support to Xaivier Blog.

Review by: Xaivier Chia

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Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference (Review)

Outlive Your Life
You Were Made to Make a Difference
By Max Lucado
Published by Thomas Nelson

A total of 16 chapters can be found in this book. In each chapter, Max Lucado started with an inspiring story and ended up with his thought. After these comprehensive chapters, Max Lucado used question and suggestion method to interact with readers in such ways that readers not only read and understand each chapter of what Max Lucado want to convey, but also will take actions, experience them in their daily basis, and outlive their live eventually.

It was quite confusing for me at the some parts of this book because I do not familiar some terms like CEV, NLT, Psalm etc. However, it cannot be denied that lots of impressive thought and global views are presented in Outlive Your Life: focus on the inside and outside with take care of itself; no one can do everything, but everyone can do something; poverty is not the lack of charity but the lack of justice etc. These statements are not only recalling me back for what I believe, but also let me know that I am not the only one who persist these beliefs in this world. Besides, the length of around 10 pages in each chapter made me easy to digest the essence of the chapter. Lastly, I rate 4 stars out of 5 for this book.

Find it out at Amazon now.

Review by:
Xaivier Chia

Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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A Century Turns: New Fears, New Hopes--America 1988 to 2008 (Review)

A Century Turns

New Fears, New Hopes--America 1988 to 2008

By William Bennett

Published by Thomas Nelson

Based on the author own experiences and contemporary notes, from momentous history to America's recent, the New York Times Best-selling author, William Bennett, reveals his insights at America between 1988 and 2008 in A Century Turns. This book records significant events in America in the past two decades, which consist of the contentious election of 1988, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of global Communism, the presidency of William Jefferson Clinton, the technological and commercial boom of the 1990s, the war on terror, and the election of American's first black president...

Frankly speaking, I am not an American. Therefore, this review was based on my personal perspective and logical thinking about the content of this book. My motivation to read this book is to increase my understanding about the American history.

Instead of summarizing the history, the author shared his enriched and valuable experiences about the players in the America. Besides, the author recorded his feeling and thought in footnotes so the readers will have better understanding about the situations. I found that this book is not only readable, but also full of valuable information. Furthermore, few memorable photos in the book are definitely helpful for me to recall back some major events which occurred in my life.

Personally, I believe that this book is very helpful, as a record or reminder, for those who are eager to have a better review about the American politics, the presidents, the presidential elections, and the “war against terrorism” in the past two decades. Lastly, I would like to give it five out of five stars for A Century Turns.

A copy can be found at Amazon.com.

That's all for today. More fascinating articles and sharing will be updated from time to time in Xaivier Blog. Therefore, do subscribe our feed, look at our sitemap or simply visit our Homepage.

Review by:
Xaivier Chia

Book Review: The Marshall Plan(R) for Novel Writing. by Evan Marshall.

The Marshall Plan(R) for Novel Writing
A 16-step program guaranteed to take you from idea to completed manuscript
by Evan Marshall

To be a writer or student, novel writing skills are very important to be distinction among others. This is the main motivation for me to read "The Marshall Plan(R) for Novel Writing".

This book is divided into 5 parts, from "Planning" to "Marketing". A total of 16 steps are used to clarify make reader easier to adapt these skills in a step-by-step format.

The author did a good job to interpret the details of how to start from null to a completed novel in a market. In other words, the framework, which is built by the author in the step-by-step format, is very user-friendly for those just want to getting started in their novel writing journey. Besides, I believe the ideas from this book will be very useful as an recap for an experienced writer or as an guidance to those just getting started in novel writing..

Last but not least, the author not only shared the ways to be a good novelist in this book, but also provided important suggestions to market the manuscript. Although I haven't tried all the suggestions from the author, what I can comment now is it sounds a good idea.

A similar copy can be found at Amazon.com.

Review by: Xaivier Chia

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Venom and Song The Berinfell Prophecies Series - Book Two

"Venom & Song"
By: Wayne Thomas Batson & Christopher Hopper

The Spider King is planning to conquer both Allyra world and earth. People are in danger. This novel describes how the Seven, the seven young Elven lords, save Allyra world and earth. The Seven, they are young and lack of experience. But throughout the training, seniors will help the Seven to build the most powerful skills, discipline and team work. Finally, the Seven can make everything possible.

Personally, I think this book is very helpful to nurture positive spiritual and thinking to kids in terms of teamwork, discipline and persistence. I was very excited while reading the chapter of “The Art of Discipline” which describes how the Seven were trained by their seniors, wake up early each morning etc. Besides, readers of this book will also realize the difference between skill and talent.

However, I believe using a flow chart, as addition, to explain the relationship between “Principle Cast” and few pictures to illustrate the appearance of characters or places will enhance understanding and subsequently increase interests of readers. Therefore, I give it four out of five stars.

A copy can be found at Amazon.com.

Review by:
Xaivier Chia

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