The Janitorial Agency is the latest addition to the service franchise business opportunity industry. Touted as a master franchise business in a recession proof industry can you truly find success with this type of opportunity today? Here is a simple experienced review.The Janitorial Agency is the latest opportunity and business venture for the entrepreneur looking for a recession proof business in the service industry. Service based businesses have usually held up good against most economies as those of us who have or were in the industry for some time. The cost of starting your franchise opportunity with JA is a liquid investment of $50,000 dollars in which some financing is available. Financing however can cost more over time and is only usually available to those with a truly high credit score for the most part.The company does offer a solid base of support to it’s franchisee entrepreneurs such as a comprehensive 2-4 week training program, sales and marketing support, customer relations program and an Internet based home page. Having a home page online is good, but without solid marketing skills this could be quiet hard to find for the local prospective client, so taking additional training courses on Internet marketing will, and should, be a must.Janitorial services have always been in demand no matter the economy, we all like to keep our homes and offices clean, but doing the work ourselves can be somewhat overwhelming at times. This is where these types of business opportunities are so popular with the savvy entrepreneur. Remember however, this is not an office job and will require some elbow grease at least at first while training your staff.The Janitorial Agency is a legitimate service franchise opportunity that some entrepreneurs should find success with. However, it is a fact that nearly 80% of all franchise business owners fail and in a short period of time. It is best to complete your due diligence before the investment of time and effort taking into consideration overhead, time invested and of course marketing and advertising in your local area.

People who possess valuable contacts tend to progress much more quickly in an industry that is people orientated such as the music industry. It is therefore not only imperative to acquire contacts but also to keep them over the course of one’s career.Below are seven sources of quality music business contacts:Tip 1: Record Shops: Independent Record Stores are one of the richest sources of information because they are a hub where everyone meets. DJ’s, Promoters and Labels Owners are just some of the music business professionals that hover around records stores.Visiting your local store regularly and making friends with the people who work there can be one of the best uses of your time. Recently I put this to the test again and found that the person behind the counter is a good friend of a major label executive!My advice is: “Visit record stores regularly”Tip 2: Music Business Courses: Apart from the knowledge that you will gain from attending a music business course; you will also be in the room with others who are in similar or better positions which allows for tremendous networking opportunities.A good goal for attending an event is to make at least one contact whom you can help and one contact that can help you! Break times and workshop times are great for this and other networking purposes.Always attend courses regularly; they are an excellent source of contacts.Tip 3: Music Studios: Record producers and engineers tend to meet good cross sections of industry professionals like Managers, Label Owners and Artists. With these types of individuals constantly passing in and out of their offices, they have developed a very large number of contacts.Such contacts could be open to you if you use their services, if they consider you a friend or if you meet them at an event!Tip 4: Industry Seminars: I am referring to events like Midem, SXSX, Great Escape, etc. These are a great source for international contacts that are very much needed in today’s global landscape.Although visits to such places can be quite expensive the benefits can (if properly nurtured) far outweigh the costs. Developing international contacts is essential to the success of any artist and just one good synchronization deal can more than cover the cost!Tip 5: Referrals – Asking Active People: The Bible says: “Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.” You would be surprised at the number of people have who a need but neglect to ask for assistance!Referrals are one of the best contacts anyone could have. As a matter of fact, someone said just the other day that referrals are the most valuable contacts. The greater the number of referrals you have, the more contacts you will develop!Tip 6: Using Directories: As mundane and tedious as this may sound, generating contacts straight from an industry directory can still be most effective method. It is a more time-consuming process, but is a rich resource that should not be ignored.Tip 7: Industry Service Providers – Lawyers, Business Advisors, and Accountants, etc.: Finally, industry professionals are a key to unlocking tremendous numbers of contacts. A music business accountant is so familiar with how his clients are doing and what their needs are that if you can help him then he is willing to make the connection! The same can be said of Solicitors/Lawyers. Professional service providers are becoming involved in brokering deals now more than ever.The next time you visit an accountant or business advisor make sure that you leave their presence with a valuable contact.You should never ignore people whose good graces you may one day need.

The rapid advancement of technology affects practically every industry, and the hotel and service industry is not exempt from this. With global and local hotel brands turning to the World Wide Web in order to boost sales and facilitate customer relations, it is easy to see how the industry is evolving along with the Internet.Social networking sites, led by the Facebook phenomenon, are proving to be more and more important for not only hotels but for other businesses as well. With the prevalence and influence of user-generated content such as reviews and other forms of feedback, hotels get the benefit of plugging by way of word of mouth. Maintaining relationships with previous clients also becomes easier to handle with a variety of online tools at the hotels’ disposal.There are also web sites dedicated to bringing travel services and accommodations straight to the consumers’ monitors-whether it is through standard personal computer access or through the exponentially growing number of mobile phone internet users. There are also other utility web sites that aid consumers by providing aggregate information, reviews and feedback from numerous sources.Just how big is the impact of online booking for the hotel industry? Take Europe, for example. Industry experts are predicting that a third of the travel in the continent in 2010 will be purchased through online means-with booking sites like Trip Advisor, online travel agencies like Travelocity, and other hotel affiliates being the foremost facilitators of this movement.That scenario will likely be the case in the other regions of the world as well, as even Asian markets are looking to catch up to the technology and the development of such services for their own travel and hotel industry growth. Companies investing on online travel are starting to focus on other markets where online travel has not had the kind of penetration as in mature markets like the United Kingdom.Hotel operations managers acknowledge that the Internet provides an alternative way for people to book at their establishments. While some doubt the capability of online travel purchases to increase hotel bookings, it is widely accepted that online promotions is an effective way to drive people interest and thus increase the number of bookings.Of course, with all the advanced software and dedicated web sites, it is easy to lose sight of one of the most important functions served by the Internet: information dissemination. Through the web, consumers can instantly get access to a wide variety of information, from what time to check in to which brand of red wine the hotel’s restaurant serves. Value propositions, missions, events, functions, special rates, room furnishings-all of these are available for the perusal of potential patrons.The online travel market for the hotel industry is an ever-evolving landscape, with the growth of online travel patronage as well as the development of new technologies that help support this growth. The evolution of internet-based hotel industry services will continue for many years to come, as travelers turn to quick online solutions for many of their pressing accommodation needs.

How many of you out there are unhappy with your current phone company? Do you feel like you are being ripped off and taken advantage of. Well I’m going to share with you how to get better customer service and better products as well as guard against telecommunication industry tricks I will also share with you some of the common problems with telecommunication industry services today.Some companies in the telecommunication industry will do anything to get your business as the telecommunication industry is so competitive they even use really dirty tricks to do this, Below are just a couple of the tricks telecommunication industry companies use which you should be aware of.1. Picking. This is a very sneaky way of getting your business and laws have done a great job of putting an end to it, but it still happens from time to time. ‘Picking’ is when a telecommunications carrier gets your business by your ‘somewhat’ unaware authorization. You fill out some form to win a prize or answer a survey and the next thing you know, you’ve been switched without knowing it and suddenly your outrageous bill is your only indication that something is horribly wrong.2. Slamming – This is just what it sounds like, you go to bed using one service and wake up using another and you’ll never know it until you’ve gotten that outrageous bill.A lot of telecommunication companies out there in the telecommunication industry use all kinds of creative ways to get your business, none of which is really based around earning your business.The best advice I can give you to avoid these problems is to have a personal telecommunication industry specialist who is assigned to make sure all of your telecommunications needs are being met. The assigned telecommunications specialist will make sure all your services are being provided at not only the best rate, but also with the best in customer service. I’m not talking about hiring someone for this, but finding a company that allows its reps to provide that ‘direct link’ to the company.

Many multi-national corporations are turning to business process outsourcing (BPO) service providers to manage various aspects of their operations and responsibilities. Believe it or not, this offshoring-onshoring activity has been affecting a number of companies and employees.Outsourcing services basically involve transferring business processes to a third party service provider such as BPO firms. Its function is to handle systematic data organization and perform various back office jobs. It provides professionals with the freedom they need to focus more on core businesses.Proponents say it plays a crucial role in manufacturing. For one, certain stages of the production process are contracted to other companies to ensure the efficiency of the work and quality of the final products. Nonetheless, the major driving factor for the industry is that the operational and labor costs are much lower.GoalsThe main goal of the industry is to achieve productivity and profitability. With increasing level of customer care and positive public response, BPO firms are expected to generate huge market value for the products and services outsourced to them.Around the world, various industries have considered outsourcing services as one of their major trends. In order to become more competitive, these service providers come up with more quality products and services. This has also generated prospects for starting new businesses.Global demandThe increasing demand for the industry services has paved the way for the further development of communication facilities and infrastructure in various destinations around the globe. Its impact has inevitably made the world closer together.Companies need more efficient tools to communicate with business partners and clients. The creation of communication devices such as cellphones and computer networks with stable Internet connection has solved this issue. Moreover, these devices enable companies to correspond with service providers based in a different country to give specific instructions or ensure timely product-service delivery.To meet the demand, BPO companies need to hone their expertise in building and maintaining the necessary infrastructure. They also need to make sure that they only employ highly qualified people to execute the tasks. This will enable them to deliver the highest output and the best quality business solutions, while strategically reducing the work load of professionals in managerial positions.What is to be done?If you are an entrepreneur, what should you consider before outsourcing your existing business processes? First of all, it should only be done when there is an urgent need to expand business operations or develop new products or services. While doing it, the core business should be maintained, if not improved.Of course, unless you are taking advantage of professional and expert advice of BPO firms, there is really no need to change the essential business processes of your company. Remember that consistent and effective industry changes how people do business, whether it is bookkeeping, accounting, medical billing, data encoding, search engine optimization, or web designing.The firms offer an array of services to fulfill the demands of various business organizations that engage in banking, legal services, health care, hospitality, mortgage, insurance, real estate, information technology, and publishing, among others.In the final analysis, outsourcing services should have a strong grasp of the latest marketing demands and trends, technological changes and innovations, economic fluctuations, and government policies to become very competitive.

The hospitality industry has traditionally been a workplace with high staff turnover. Being seasonal and involving shift work, hospitality jobs are popular with students and travellers. As far as hospitality industry training is concerned, the key, often, is to have system in place that requires minimum training of transient staff. But that only puts more weight and responsibility on your permanent staff, and the need to train and retain them is even more important.The hospitality industry in Australia is one of the leading employers in the country. There is a wide array of training facilities and opportunities, and training and qualifications are regulated by government, and must adhere to guidelines at national and state level.Why should you invest time and money in hospitality industry training for your staff?Encouraging your staff to upgrade their skills means you will have better-qualified and better-informed staff. The direct result – better service to your customers. The indirect result – staff who know that you value their skills and care about promoting their career, meaning you will have more chances of retaining them for the long run.Training your staff involves time and money, and making the right choice can have significant outcomes on the success of your business. Insisting on hiring staff that are properly trained may mean that you will be looking harder and longer for the right person. But remember, your staff are your ambassadors, and you need to have the best trained people, so they will give your guests and customers the best service you can provide.The hospitality industry, more than most workplaces, offers a range of diversification and career development choices for employees. Encourage your staff to take advantage of that – to stay up-to-date with their training, and upgrade their qualifications by taking courses during the off-peak season.Many sectors in the industry, and the food & beverage in particular, offer short courses that give employees the opportunity to gain qualifications that will give them more flexibility in their job. Either higher qualification in their existing expertise, or diversifying into other related fields. It also means more flexibility to you, the employer, in rostering staff and filling in for absent workers. Many training schools offer night or online courses that can be combined with the work schedule. Even if it means a few hours of training at the expense of work, it will pay on the long run to have staff that are well-qualified and know that you value their skills.When dealing with training institutions, always choose a recognised training organization (RTO). This way you know that their qualifications are recognized, and they are regularly audited and are accountable to government authorities.If you regularly have to hire newly-trained staff, find an RTO that you know turns out quality graduates; a training facility that is in touch with their customers – the employers in the hospitality industry – and listens to their needs. Find a tertiary institution that spends time not only teaching students the technical skills and knowledge base to do their job correctly, but also places key emphasis on teaching them the ‘people skills’ that are just as essential in the industry. ‘Service with a smile’ is nowhere more important than in the hospitality industry. Look for RTOs that produce graduates that know how vital that saying is in their job.You can indirectly monitor the quality of staff training by getting to know the organizations that train workers in your sector. You will soon discover, through their hospitality industry training programs, which organizations teach the skills that you would like to find in your workers. Not only practical skills and general industry knowledge, but also human interaction and problem-solving skills, besides training on the importance of accountability and trust. Once you find an RTO that you can rely on to provide you with skilled and reliable workers, it pays to build a good two-way relationship. They provide you with well-trained staff, and you provide them with work opportunities for their graduates.Another aspect of hospitality industry training that many employers find beneficial is an apprenticeship program. Even though you are dealing initially with untrained people, by working with an agency that provides recruitment, training and apprenticeship services, you can reap the benefits of the apprenticeship program, which follows national guidelines for both employers and trainees. The agency will carefully select the apprentice, help manage the training and paperwork and oversee the qualifications process. There are financial incentives, partial funding and flexible plans, including part time and temporary placements. Trainees that are serious and keen to progress in the industry tend to stay loyal to employers who gave them their first opportunity to start their career. You will stand a better chance of retaining good, well trained staff.And lastly, an increasingly popular and cost-effective way of training and encouraging your staff to strive for higher performance is team building training. Team-building workshops and seminars are not only fun, they aim to develop leadership and social skills, teamwork, and positive interaction between staff. They improve communications in the workplace, and the overall motivation and performance of your staff. Your crew will emerge from these hospitality industry training seminars a more coherent and focused team, bringing fresh ideas back to the workplace and a positive outlook.

Craft beer as a modern phenomenon has a long, intriguing history. Mankind has been fermenting vegetable matter to produce alcohol since prehistoric times. The fact that the brewing of beer predates written language is widely accepted.It is no stretch of the imagination, to assume that wild grains were gathered and put to various uses, one of which would most certainly be brewing. One can visualise quite easily how the process of fermentation was revealed; since that time we have embraced alcohol wholeheartedly, the good and the bad.The business of brewing in more recent times is a very serious and large industry, for many years the market was dominated by brand leaders, with the consumer tastes reflecting this.The rise of the ‘real ale’ movement in the U.K from the 1970’s heralded a new focus on quality, distinctiveness and character, the emphasis being placed on ‘cask conditioned’ ales from regional located micro-breweries. In America, and California in particular a parallel development of the ‘Craft Brewing’ had a different emphasis on ‘keg production’ which was very different.Craft Beers – a catch-all term defined by the American Brewers Association as the product of “small, independent and traditional” producers, has been adopted by hipsters and ‘alternative’ cultural groups seeking authentic experiences and unique qualities.The picture looks very different in the brewing world today, although the dominant brands in Europe, USA, U.K, China, Japan and Australia still hold sway, there is a significant market presence from thousands of micro-breweries that have flourished in the USA, U.K & Australia in particular.The beer market in Australia, although very much smaller, has nonetheless been experiencing an equally strong upswing of micro brewing entrepreneurship. Tasmania is a perfect environment for brewing beer, making cider, wine and spirits. The ready availability of high quality natural water, local production of premium ingredients creates a craft beverage haven. The local consumer trends in Australia has undergone a transformation over the past 15 years; no longer is ‘Foster’s’ the associated beer icon, Australian culture has progressed well beyond the colonial naivety of the 1950’s. You are just as likely to see a Sunday session where the punters are all asking for pints of obscure regional craft ales in addition to the old drinkers with their schooners of ‘Vic Bitter’.Cool climate wine varieties have been being produced in Tasmania for many years now. The recent climate changes in the northern hemisphere has seen many cool climate varieties such as the white sparkling, and even reds suffering a decline of quality due to the shorter ripening times, in response to warmer mean temperatures.Tasmanian wines have been able to take advantage of this and demand for these varieties is through the roof.The single malt whisky market has seen an equally strong contribution from Tasmanian micro distillers, single malts from Tasmania are growing in reputation, and the prices commanded reflect this.It is in the craft brewing & cider space, however, that the Tasmania liquor industry is experiencing a large measure of growth and global interest. Opportunities for breaking into the world market are looking very healthy, in addition to the steady rise in the domestic Australian consumer market.With this growth in production, and range of producers there is an increasing demand for industry services, marketing, logistics, sales and distribution. New players find it difficult to gain traction, and the established services do not always service the needs of these innovative, and sometimes ‘quirky’ new producers.The outlook for the craft beverage industry is extremely good. Tasmania is attracting large numbers of people who are seeking an authentic, and unique experience. Craft beverages link very strongly with the tourism industry, people want to be able to taste the flavors of a location, what the French call “Terroir”; the minerals and soil type influences the outcome.While the Craft Beer and Real Ale movements in the USA & UK respectively have signaled a new era of appreciation among consumers, the craft beverage industry in Tasmania is in a class of its own; the truly unique qualities of Tasmania can be directly taken inwardly, and exported to the masses who are jaded, and in need of genuine connection.

Customer service professionals are essential to many industries in today’s society. Customer service positions provide job stability, challenge, people interaction, flexibility, and opportunity for growth.Job Stability
Customer service is a broad field that can be found in many industries across Canada and around the world. No matter what geographic area an individual lives in, there are likely to be available CSR positions. While economists speculate that many popular career fields may no longer exist in a decade, this is one of the few fields that is likely to remain in need, even with changing technology and globalization.People Interaction
Customer service is a great career field for people who love being around others. CSR’s have the opportunity to regularly interact with a diverse group of people. Strong people skills, communication skills, and listening skills all combine to make a great candidate. While not exclusive to this personality type, outgoing, social types are often drawn to this booming field. For the opportunity to constantly interact with people – both those you work with and your customers – this is a good fit.Flexibility
These jobs are often very flexible. Representatives are needed to work at any time of the day or night, so first-, second-, and third-shifts are often available. Depending on the field or industry, service may be provided online, in-person, or over-the-phone. Within customer service, a professional may be always on the run or in a sit-down office environment. Plus, the customer service field is one of the top fields for working from home; many employees help customers online or via phone right from their living room or home office. Customer service work is also likely to be flexible in terms of the number of hours worked; some workers in the field work full-time, while others work part-time or as-needed.Challenge
People who enjoy a challenge may be drawn to customer service work. Professionals in customer service jobs are challenged every day with providing solutions to customer issues and educating customers. Each new customer presents an opportunity to tackle a new situation, use a different set of skills, and adapt communication styles to the individual. Some customer service positions involve an aspect of sales, and employees may be challenged to encourage customers to use new products or services. Oftentimes, a customer service environment includes sales competitions, performance bonuses, and regular goals that keep employees motivated and challenged. Workers who excel at the job can be rewarded with additional pay, gifts, or perks.Opportunity for Growth
Finally, CSR positions provide excellent opportunities for growth and development. Many people find that excelling at an entry-level service position gives them the opportunity to gain increasing responsibility and pay as a manager, trainer, or specialist. In addition, CSR jobs allow professionals to develop a plethora of qualities that employers in other industries seek, including problem-solving, communication skills, technical skills, decision-making, and goal-orientation. Many individuals who work in this field will eventually use the skills and experience gained in the industry to branch into a new career field.