Archive for December, 2009

04.12 2009

Free Money for Energy Efficiency Upgrades

Most small-business owners want to become more energy efficient – they just can’t spare the cash for big upgrades or to replace older equipment.

But some good news: Utility companies will actually help businesses pay for their upgrades, and thus recoup the initial investment much faster.

Many public and municipal utilities are now required under state regulation to spend money to help business customers cut energy consumption. Reducing energy output may actually save the utilities money, too, by preventing them from having to invest in new facilities.

Many utilities now offer financial incentives, such as rebates, grants and low- or no-interest loans, to companies that make energy upgrades. Thi

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Tags: Upgrades

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04.12 2009

Invest In Your Community

Investing in your community is a great way to give back to those who have helped support your business. Volunteer groups and non-profit organizations do so much to help the communities that all of us are a part of, but they can’t do it alone.

As successful members of the community, we have a responsibility to help those that are less fortunate and contribute to the common good. I feel this so strongly that it’s been a longstanding practice of mine to donate approximately 10 percent of my income to charitable organizations. In some years, I admit, this has been a lot less money than other years, but every little bit truly helps when it comes to good works.

When my business was in the red and I wasn’t able to give money, I gave my time, volunteering with local organizations that were able to use my skills.

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Tags: Community

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03.12 2009

How To Use Adwords The Right Way With Your Online Store

I was discussing the merits of using Adwords the other day with a few buddies of mine when I couldn’t help but notice the skeptical looks on their faces. In fact, both of my friends were quite shocked when I told them how much we were paying Google every month to use their Adwords service. I must say that I was a bit surprised by their reaction. Even after explaining to them that our return on investment for Adwords was quite high, they still didn’t see the value. After all, they had both dabbled with Adwords in the past and felt as though it was a complete money pit. So I dug a little deeper and asked to look at one of their accounts and soon everything became clear. There were several things that they were not doing correctly and they were optimizing for the wrong metrics.

A High CTR Means Nothing

I fell into this trap as well when I first started using Adwords. I d

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Tags: Adwords, Adwords Right

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03.12 2009

Electricity conference gets heated

Economist Mike Schussler took the stand and questioned numbers presented by Eskom chief officer for generation Brian Dames. He then accused the government of “wanting to be in this Marxist, socialist kak” by providing free electricity to the poor.

Schussler’s emotional presentation, in which he told Eskom “you don’t need a fucking finance model”, came after Dames addressed a packed room at a conference, organised by Solidarity trade union in Pretoria, on proposed electricity tariff hikes.

Dames defended Eskom’s controversial 35%-per-year-for-three-years tariff hike application to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), saying it “really” only amounted to a 16 cents per kwH increase per year.

Also, the increase in contributions would fund its capital-expenditure programme, said Dames, adding: “The existing business of Eskom will really be increasing pretty much in line with inflation levels.”

But Schussler told the audience he did not know where Dames got his figures from and reiterated an earlier statement that South Africa was headed towards having the most expensive electricity in the world.

He lamented the fact that industry players in South Africa paid much lower rates than consumers.

“The problem is, we give the biggest discount in the world to industrial users … Read more…

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03.12 2009

Motsepe turns down Sanlam chairmanship

Roy Andersen, the non-executive chairperson of the board, had indicated that he wished to step down as chairperson and a director of the company at the annual general meeting to be held on June 9 2010.

At this time he would have completed two three-year terms as a director and he had served as non-executive chairperson since June 2004, the company said in a statement.

Motsepe is deputy chairperson of the board and also leader of Sanlam’s anchor empowerment shareholder, Ubuntu-Botho.

While he was “unanimously requested to accept the position of chairman of Sanlam”, the company said that he had declined the request.

Due to “his extensive business commitments and obligations, he was unfortunately not in a position to accept this appointment”.

The board then unanimously appointed Desmond Smith as chairperson-elect to succeed Andersen.

Smith is currently an independent non-executive director of Sanlam and chairperson of Santam. Read more…

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