08 Mar 10 How To Put A Proper RFP Together for Trade Show Displays
As an exhibit booth design and manufacturing firm we are approached many times with potential client who require trade show displays. Some are well educated as to what is required to have a successful trade show booth, while others have no clue at all. I n simple term this may help those who wish to put together a proper RFP for their next trade show display.
Candy Adams is an exhibit management consultant wrote the following and I do agree with all of her thoughts. She writes “There are multiple schools of thought on providing exhibit houses with your budget parameters. Some believe this gives them free reign to go hog wild up to this budget number. Other believe that the exhibit house, who will become one of your critical show team members, needs all the information they can get to do a good job for you. There is no ‘right’ answer, but I lean more toward full disclosure of budget information (or at least giving a 90% figure so I still have a few pennies left for last minute requests and upgrades) and then requesting a line-item budget based on the areas below to make comparison between the proposals easier. Include information to the exhibit house regarding the flexibility of the budget. Is it all- inclusive and there’s not a penny more to be had in your corporate piggy bank, or is there a budget range ($40,000-$50,000)? Also let them know if your analysis and decision to choose a proposal is more design- or cost-oriented. You’ll also want to know their payment
terms and when deposits and progress payments will be due.Budget line items to request the exhibit house include in their proposal: Exhibit design, production of drawings, construction (including all labor, materials, fees,and taxes), drawings and set-up instructions, exhibit preview, project management fees
- Graphics
- Lighting
- Audio-visual equipment
- Computer equipment
- Furnishings including tables, chairs, stools
- Flooring
- Crates or cases
- Gang box and supplies
- Ongoing cost of ownership, including general maintenance, sometimes called
- refurbishment, storage, graphics upgrade, flexibility to different configurations.
You’ll also need to determine the ownership option that’s most advantageous. Options include renting at approximately 1/3 of the cost of owning for one-time use (plus the cost of graphics), negotiating for multiple uses with an ownership option after a pre-determined number of uses, to lease it, or to purchase it outright. TIP: Your accounting department will be able to guide you through this part of your RFP, depending on whether they want to capitalize the exhibit properties or expense them. If capitalized, you’ll need to work with accounting to determine the “life” of your exhibit for depreciation purposes, which is usually either 3 or 5 years.”
Gathering these ideas together before you contact an exhibit house is a wise idea, it only helps in getting the best and most cost efficient trade show display as possible. For more information on trade show displays please contact ELDS, Inc at (626) 969-3399
08 Mar 10 Now you can Work at Home with an Internet Marketing Business
Times have change, and with the internet growing at astonishing rates of 1000’s of people joining every week you too can work at home with an internet marketing business. I know it may seem so unlikely that you would be able to have a business at home that could provide all you monetary needs. But in today’s world of instant communication, people are turning to the internet for buying information as well as getting good deals with all sorts of products.
So the demand for products and information are out weighing the supply that all ready exist on the internet. What does that mean for you? Well… It means this is a great time to start a home based business on the internet!
OK… What is an internet marketing business and what are the advantages? There are many kinds of businesses on the internet as there are in the cities and malls that you have around you. But the difference on the internet is the fact that you have to find them through some kind of directory like a Google search or a Yahoo search. This is where you need to know what you are looking for in a name or brand or some word phrase that opens up a page with the products or information you need. A work at home internet marketing business will provide keywords to the search directories that you may find their business. An internet marketer may own the product or make a commission off the sale of the product. The advantages are there is no overhead cost like a brick and mortar business has. You can start a business with little to no cost at all except for your computer and internet access; you don’t even have to have a web site.
So where does one start on finding a business that will bring in an income for you? There are many so called businesses out there on the internet that offer a new startup business plan but beware! You must go through a learning curve and this is what will make or break new starters in businesses, the failure rate is high! There are many so called plans that will leave your pockets empty and your head will be spinning. What is needed is a step by step plan that any average Joe can follow.
The time is now! Who knows how long before having a chance to make a living on the internet will last. Big business companies are well aware of the growing businesses that the internet is offering and soon they will dominate the internet like they do the brick and mortar companies. Of course there will always be enough room for all of us to have a business on the internet but will the cost be so low to start as they are today? My hope is that you are able to have a work at home internet marketing business.
08 Mar 10 Mapquest Driving Directions Review
Mapquest.com has mobile features that deliver Mapquest driving directions on the move snappier and more carefree than ever before. Get Map Quest driving directions for free or at a small fee, for its advanced features, sent directly to your mobile device! With Map Quest Navigator you can get driving directions spoken and comprehensive right from your phone. Map Quest Send to Cell also lets you send driving directions from your PC to your phone so you don’t have to print them out. Mapquest driving directions for Mobile Web grants you the power to get driving instructions and utilize all of Mapquest’s great features right form your cell or mobile device.
Changing your cell phone into a GPS mechanization is easy with Map Quest Navigator. You can accept spoken driving information to any destination in the United States. You don’t need any extra gadgets; you don’t need anything more than mobile device with web capabilities. Allowing calls will not mess with your navigation depending on which model of phone you want. You know that your instructions will be as concise as possible because Map Quest employs the latest global positioning systems technology to ensure you make it to your desired target using the shortest route possible. Map Quest Navigator allows you verbally guided driving instructions just like an expensive Tom Tom mechanizations but for a lot less.
Have you ever felt like you wanted to take the driving instructions you got online and transmit them to your mobile phone for easy access for future reference? Mapquest Send to Cell offers you the advantage of arranging a vacation at home on your computer and later you can deliver the data and driving instructions to your phone. This facet makes it easier to allocate your driving plan. Save time and the environment by sending them directly to your phone for easy access. Just tap the “send to cell” icon when you’re done.
Map Quest for Mobile Web makes finding direction quick and simple. Map Quest for Mobile Web is the scaled down version of a well established site. You can browse for driving directions, road atlases, gas stations; if you can get it on mapquest.com, you can get it on your cell. Want to add another stop to your trip, take a detour, find an alternate route, or skip traffic? Do it on the go from your phone or mobile device. Map Quest Mobile for Web gives you all the power and convenience of mapquest.com anywhere you are and for a lot less than the expensive GPS.
Mapquest’s integrated mobile features makes finding the shortest, quickest, or easiest routes simple and easy. Get directions and help anywhere you are or decide to go with your mobile phone. You can rely on Map Quest to get you to your desired location, quickly and effectively and you don’t have to skip a landmark because you didn’t map it out first. Map Quest Navigator, Send to Cell and Mobile Web allows you the availability to all the convenient facets of Map Quest anytime and anywhere.
