A Guide For Writing a Funding Proposal

A Guide For Writing a Funding Proposal A Guide For Writing a Funding Proposal by http:www.articledashboard.comprofileConnie-Nies11747Connie NiesNo guide for writing a funding proposal would be complete without cautioning that a business looking for funding cannot do so without also presenting a completed business plan. Every lender, whether bank or other financial institution, venture capitalist, or private individual, will want to see the firms business plan in addition to the project detail. Theyll want to know the companys mission, its goals, its steps to achieving those goals, its products and services, its available resources, the market, the competition, and your firms competitive edge. The business plan that accompanies the funding proposal you write and present should also include the owners or officers and all major players such as executives and others instrumental in the day to day workings of the company. If youre new to writing a funding proposal a guide is essential, whether a written brochure or publication, online assistance, or a counselor at the local small business development center. SCORE, the Service Corps for Retired Executives, is another top-notch resource that can guide you through writing a funding proposal. The volunteers are all retired executives and other experts who have been where you are and have succeeded. In addition to the standard documents that the bank or credit union will require for the loan application, the lender also expects to see a written funding proposal when you apply for the loan. Rather than looking at writing a funding proposal as a tedious chore, look at it as the guide for your lender to see just how exciting, promising and profitable your idea and firm could be and what an opportunity they have to be a financial part of your great venture. Give your funding proposal a zippy but clear title, then talk about the overview of the project youve planned, supplying background information on the problem as you see it, the details of the project that will solve the problem, what resources you have available and what resources youll need to get the job done, what staff and administration help you have and what else you might need, the facilities available for your project and any that youll need to lease or buy in addition, any supplies or equipment or personnel that will be added, and any communication capabilities or requirements that are pertinent. Present a budget for your project. Step by step, you should.... * Write a cover letter with your funding proposal, both as an enticement to read the proposal and a guide to what will be found in the funding proposal pages. Included in the cover letter, besides the title, are a brief introduction to your firm, the purpose of the loan and the amount of money you are requesting. * The funding proposal should begin with the company name, address, and contact information such as phones and e-mails. Here should also be the names, titles and social security numbers of all the principals, the reason for the loan, the amount requested and details of what you will be doing with the money including the equipment and supplies purchase, perhaps the lease of new facilities, the resources now available, the staff that might be added, and the administration personnel that will oversee the project. * Next offer extensive details about the firm, including any previous projects and performance, clientele, overall goals and objectives, unique aspects of the firm and the ownership and legal structure. * Background information is next, with details about the company budget, as well as the project budget, the market and the competition, and your firms standing among the competition. Details on the current clientele as well as an evaluation plan for determining the companys overall financial and competitive health and for that of the project itself should be included as well. * All key personnel should be profiled, including their education, the accomplishment both as a firm member and prior, as well as their qualifications. Along with background information and a budget for the project, you should provide all information and documents about the last three years of the companys operations. If not in business that long, provide the financial statements including balance sheets and income statements that you have. Collateral should be pledged for the funding. * Written communication is a crucial part of your funding proposal and someone should guide you through the process by proofreading the materials, to check for spelling, grammar, factual accuracy and overall quality of presentation. Any time you apply for a loan, whether the details of the needed resources, the project overview, the statement of the problem, and the budget are already in the application or the cover letter, you should still submit a funding proposal as an overall guide to the loan officer and other funding decision makers. Fast Track Funding for Quality Projects Worldwide. Over 100 Million in Size. http:www.wefinanceprojects.com Article Directory: http:www.articledashboard.comArticle Dashboard

Understanding The Types Of Coffee Grinders

Understanding The Types Of Coffee Grinders Understanding The Types Of Coffee Grinders by http:www.articledashboard.comprofileRebecca-Prescott1797Rebecca PrescottThe first step in creating incomparable coffee in your home of office is to grind the coffee beans yourself. Freshly ground coffee has had less of a chance to oxidize, and thus the flavor is preserved. If youve walked past a busy coffee shop, youll notice the strong aroma of freshly ground and prepared coffee. Nothing beats it, and this freshness contributes to the flavor of the final cup. Finding a coffee grinder that will prepare the quality beverage youre after is another matter though. It helps to understand the different types of grinders available, as they produce quite varying qualities of brewed coffee. There are three ways to grind coffee. Blade grinders, which chop up the coffee beans, are the most common in home coffee grinders. They have advantages in that they are longer lasting, and quite cheap to buy compared with other grinder methods. But this trade-off is apparent in the type of ground coffee they produce. One of the key principles in producing quality coffee grinds is that the size of the grind is even. Unfortunately, blade grinders dont perform well here. They produce both large and small particles of coffee, as well as a type of coffee dust that can clog up sieves in French presses and espresso machines. The coffee they produce is generally poorer in quality because the lack of uniform particle size means that the brewing method selected is unable to work optimally. Some of the coffee beans will be perfect for it, and thus the full flavor will be extracted, but a lot of it wont, as the beans are too large or small. Whilst the effect of coffee grind particles that are too large may seem obvious, in that flavor is left in the ground, a grind that is too fine will also contribute to poor coffee. Bitter coffee results when the surface area has been exposed to hot water for too long. By far the best method for most types of coffee is the burr grinder. These grinders are used in coffee shops, and they produce a very even grind. There is a range of settings that can be used, so that espresso, French press, drip coffee, and percolators can be used to make the final cup. Burr grinders have another advantage in that there is less heat to change the taste of the coffee bean. Blade grinders tend to produce more heat. The third way of grinding coffee is particular to making Turkish coffee. A very finely ground coffee is needed, and only very good quality burr grinders are able to do this. The alternative is the old fashioned mortar and pestle! The best type of coffee grinder is the conical burr grinder, but these are also the most expensive. What is best for an individuals needs will depend on how much they love their coffee, and their budget. For an unusual addition to your kitchen, try an http:www.coffeecaper.comAntique_Coffee_Grinders_-_History_In_A_Bean.htmlantique coffee grinder. For more http:www.coffeecaper.comcoffee help, click here. Article Directory: http:www.articledashboard.comArticle Dashboard

A Bad Career is Like a Bad Relationship: Is It Ti

A Bad Career is Like a Bad Relationship: Is It Time to Get Out? A Bad Career is Like a Bad Relationship: Is It Time to Get Out? by http:www.articledashboard.comprofileCarol-McClelland13625Carol McClellandHave you ever been in a bad relationship? You arent happy. Your partner doesnt respect you. You cant do what you want for fear youll be criticized. You feel stifled and stuck. You dream of moving on, but you really dont want to leave because theres some comfort in the fact that you are familiar with your situation. Even if its neither ideal nor pleasant, at least its something! Its likely you are having an ongoing conversation with yourself about whether you should stay or go. Some days you are 100 stay....other days you are100 go. But more often than not you find yourself vacillating from one answer to the other several times during the course of your day. Because leaving a relationship takes so much effort and determination, you may spend a lot of time convincing yourself to stay. Perhaps you are saying: Its not that bad. I think things will change. So and so looks like they are changing...Ill hold on a bit longer to see what happens. I just need to try harder and everything will improve. I wont be able to find anything better. I should be happy with what I have. Who do I think I am? There are many people in the world who are in a situation thats not ideal. I need to just deal with it. All of these statements are signs that you are settling for something thats really not working for you. You have resigned yourself to the fact that you cant be happy. You have lost touch with the fact that you have the ability to create a life that really works for you. How Does This Relate to Careers, You Ask With just a few word changes, everything in the previous paragraphs applies to people who are in jobs or careers that dont work for them. Generally people who are frustrated with their work feel that they cant be themselves at work. They may not feel respected by individuals in the company or the company itself. They worry about what they can do and what they shouldnt do. Its often difficult for people in bad relationships and bad jobs to come to terms with the fact that they are in a situation thats not working for them. They do whatever they can to convince themselves that the difficulties are temporary and will turn around in the near future. In fact, they often search their surroundings for any small sign to prove this is true. Unfortunately, one sign that a partner or a work situation is improving isnt enough to turn the entire situation around. Just because your boss acknowledges you or provides you with the resources you need to do your job, doesnt mean the job is suddenly a good fit for you. Just because your company adds a new benefit that gives you a bit more flexibility or provides you with better health insurance, doesnt mean the job is working for you. For a job or career to work for you, it needs to meet four key characteristics. 1 You need to be able to be fully yourself at work. 2 The job needs to support you in living the life you want. 3 The work environment needs to support you in being both productive and satisfied. 4 The work you do must tap your passions and interests. If your workplace forces you to be someone you arent, if your personal life is squeezed out by your work life, if your work environment limits you, or if the work itself is boring or unbearably stressful, your job is NOT working for you. Now What Do You Do? As soon as you can acknowledge that your job isnt a good fit for you, its time to explore your options. This is a tricky time because its so easy to be swept back into believing you should stick it out, work harder, or settle for whats going on at work. Dont let your guard down! You deserve to have a job that works for you personally and professionally. Even if you cant make a change immediately, begin focusing your time and attention on whats DOES work for you. This is the first, critical step in creating a career that works for you. You must gather as many clues as you can about who you are, how you want to live, and what you love to do. To do this, ask yourself these questions: What are you drawn to? What topics interest you? What skills do you like to use in your work? What lifestyle do you want to have? What work environment supports you and your life? What is your innate personal style? As you begin answering these questions, dont worry about how you are going to tie all this information together. Just gather as many clues as you can. Start by recording the information you collect. Then when you have at least forty items listed, begin looking for themes and patterns in list. What have you learned about yourself and how can you leverage that information into a great career. Although this process may take some time, dont get discouraged. The time you spend discovering and understanding yourself and your needs will allow you to make good, solid decisions as you step into your future. Youll not only be able to evaluate new job possibilities and even new relationships with more confidence and clarity, youll be able to use this new sense of yourself to keep yourself out of unworkable jobs and relationships in the future. Copyright c 2007 Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc. Carol McClelland, PhD, is the author of Your Dream Career For Dummies and the creator of the Career Clarity Program, an online program that helps you find your dream career and make it real. She

Selfish or SELF Preservation?

Selfish or SELF Preservation? Selfish or SELF Preservation? by http:www.articledashboard.comprofileCari-Vollmer7362Cari VollmerI once saw a sitcom where a woman was being scolded by her spouse for taking a little time for herself. Instead of letting her spouse guilt her, she pounced back with, Its not selfish, its self preservation! I loved it! And, it is! If youre going to lead a life you feel great about, its time to reframe the notion that going after your dream is selfish. Its not! Rather, its what needs to happen if youre going to honor your heart, soul and purpose in life. A quick note: When I talk about being selfish, Im not talking about the kind of selfish behavior kids are often punished for. You know, the its all about me and what I want kind of selfish. Rather, Im talking about a grown up, take care of yourself, so you can take care of others kind of selfish. Honoring your needs and wants is NOT selfish, if you do so from a place of caring for yourself and others. I see so many people who deprive themselves of what they really want, or feel guilty for getting what they want, and I dont want that to happen to you! You deserve to have what you want. Let me say it again, YOU deserve to have whatever it is you want. A gorgeous house, a lot of money, a happy life, a boat, success - whatever! You deserve it! Why is it so hard to give yourself what you really want? There are two traps most of us fall in to: 1. We wait for approval and permission from others. 2. We think were being selfish or greedy for wanting what we want. Do you ever hesitate giving yourself what you want because youre not sure what other people will say? Or do you stop yourself from taking action on your hearts desire because youd like your parents spouses, friends blessing first? For a long time I stayed in a job that had grown old and stale because I was afraid of what people might think if I quit a good job and did what I really wanted to do: start my own business. Finally, and with a lot of encouragement from some good friends, I found the courage to do it, without anyone elses permission or approval. And you know what? It was the best thing I ever did! And you know what else? When I stood confidently in my decision, others applauded me. Patted me on the back. Wished me good luck! Some even called me an inspiration! Give yourself what you want! If something makes you happy, excites you or interests you, dont wait for someone else to give you the go ahead - give yourself permission to go for it. Same goes for trap #2: You are not selfish or greedy for wanting what you want. We live in an abundant universe. By making a lot of money you are not taking money from someone else. By giving yourself rich life experiences you are not looking down on those that dont or cant. In fact, the more you have the more you can GIVE AWAY. And thats hardly selfish or greedy. So, If you want to get a massage every two weeks, get one! If you want to start your own business, start your own business! If you want to be rich - do what you need to do to become a wealth magnet! So, what is YOU really want? Copyright c 2006 Cari Vollmer Cari Vollmer, founder of