When I was working in the customer service industry, the worst job I ever had was answering phones at a large company’s complaint center. I was the one who had to deal with the angry people who called the toll free numbers when they had dissatisfaction with a product that they had purchased.

It was not all bad, as I did have some customers who were more than courteous and civil, but the majority of people who call these 800 numbers are already angry and they treated me as if I was somehow personally responsible that they were not happy with their purchase.

It was often very hard to stay pleasant and professional and more than once I actually broke down into tears when I finished up with a caller. I knew, soon into the job, that it was not for me. This prompted me to go and find something that would make me a happier person.

I would like to do something fabulous for my ten year old daughter’s birthday next year and it occurred to me to have a scavenger hunt for her and her friends in a limousine. I though I would make it as secretive as possible by inviting friends but not even letting the friends in on the details, only their parents would know what was going on.

Maybe start by taking them to pizza and leaving a clue with the restaurant staff for what’s next? Then if they can figure it out, they’d go to an ice cream shop where there would more clues.

I think they might enjoy going roller skating or something so that could be next for say a half hour or so and then there would more clues and they would end up somewhere to do kids karaoke or the zoo. They might be too tired for the zoo though by the end of the day so I’m not sure about that part.

I am sure her friends would be impressed by the limo though and she would love to feel like a queen for the day.

Whether you are after MLM lead generation for MLM success or blogging for profit, creating, maintaining and growing a blog is just plain good business sense. With so much emphasis on web 2.0 out there, it would be easy to assume that blogs are just “last year.” To hear some online marketers, that is, in fact, the case. But while it is true that social media are becoming increasingly important venues of connecting with customers, contacts, friends and family, the truth is, in my humble opinion, that there are just too many social sites right now.

I was invited today to yet another peculiarly-named business networking platform. I declined to sign up. At the moment I can’t keep up with the ones I have already joined. In reality, I’d venture to say that I’ve signed up for sites I’ve forgotten about. Since they have not contacted me since, it would appear that they either do not need my custom, or they have folded.

Now I, in no way, wish anyone’s business ill. Free enterprise is what has made our country and the Internet stronger. But we need some sifting done here. Instead, more platforms spring up almost daily. Let’s make the good ones better by merging them with others to make them versatile and let us move on. We don’t need a two-point-oh crash like the dot-com bust. Stop the insanity, people!

When I was younger, I didn’t make a lot of smart choices when it came to money.  Sadly, I spent pretty much every dime that came in on something and had little regard for savings.  It was these habits that would get me in trouble later in life.

I moved out of my parents house at 20 into my own apartment.  I was going to make enough to have about five hundred dollars left over each month after paying bills and buying groceries.  At this point though, I made the mistake of getting a couple of credit cards and a line of credit.

I went hog wild with my spending and before I knew it, I was in a position where I couldn’t keep up with my payments.  In fact, it wasn’t uncommon for a collection agency to call each day - I needed help.

I enrolled in a bill consolidation program, and reduced my payments to a more manageable level.  Though I am still making payments to this day, at least I am on the road to getting caught up.  I have definitely learned my lesson.

A few years ago, I thought that I knew it all. I was going to use the Internet to make myself rich. This was not necessarily bad thinking, but I was going about it all the wrong way. I was arrogant and would not admit that I needed help from anyone. Back then, I knew it all and no one could tell me any different.

Obviously, I did not become rich and when, after two years, I was still living paycheck to paycheck at my job, I decided that I needed to go about this in a whole new way. Maybe, I thought, I could look for advice on what to do to make it better.

One of the best investments I have made so far is in some Internet marketing software. It has helped me tremendously and I know that I never would have thought about it two years ago. I am still at my job, but I am starting to make some money, so hopefully I can quit real soon.

It sure seems like there is someone looking out for our family. My husband lost his job several months ago and he decided that he was going to start his own computer repair business. It was really scary at first, as we knew that it would take a little bit of time to build up enough clientele so that we could support the family.

I will admit that it has been a long road, but we have always had enough to pay the mortgage and we always have plenty of food to eat. The only time that it seemed like it was not going to work was when my husband’s laptop quit. He knew he could not run the business without it and there was no money to go and buy a new one.

The day that he decided to look for a job, he called in to a radio contest and he won a free Macbook Air. We knew that there were angels watching over our family and that everything was going to be alright.