The corporate instant messaging platform was so we could turn off the rest, and be able to focus on work, but the reality is that all instant messaging needs to be turned off to really get a good amount of work done. Any interruption to your focus, or what I call my “groove”, will distract you from your goals, stop you from getting things done, and cost you time and energy that could have been put into work tasks.

Writing conversations, even just in short form instant messaging takes much more concentration than talking on the phone to someone, as it uses both your sense of sight and touch, where talking via an audio medium, through Skype or the phone, only uses your hearing.

The biggest productivity tip I can give you is to turn off your instant messaging programs during your blogging time. Schedule when you will be available to be accessed through such means, and let people know they can e-mail you, or if it is an emergency or very high priority, they can take the time to call you. I know calling can be a distraction as well, so make sure they realize that it is only in extreme situations that calling would be acceptable.

Instant messaging tools are productivity killers, and in this highly competitive world, the last thing you want is to be unproductive. If you have any tips like this, contact us and let me know.

To begin the process your first step is to take a look at what your web hosting needs actually are. Do you need to help customers find your business? Are you wanting to establish a community with interactive features for your members or site visitors? Or do you need a great way to showcase your portfolio that lets you sell your talents to potential clients or buyers? Finding a web host that offers a ton of great features is not going to be very helpful to you if you do not know what you actually need or how you can incorporate those features in your web hosting needs. To get you started thinking about what you need and how you can incorporate some of the more popular web hosting features into your online identity, here is a quick over view of the more common features offered by a number of web hosting providers.

Site Builder:  This is one of the important areas that you need to deal with at the very beginning; how will you design your web site? If you already have web design software that you want to use to create your new masterpiece or will be hiring a designer to take care of that aspect of your web site for you then using a host that offers easy FTP access or an easy editor to give your design team room to create will be very important.  You can also find a professionally designed template that you can purchase then customize and upload to your web host.

But what if you are not a web design guru and you do not have a budget large enough to afford the luxury of hiring a design pro? This is where selecting a hosting provider that offers an easy site builder will be very important. Most site builders are WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) drag and drop editors which mean that all you have to do is choose from a selection of predesigned templates and plug in the information and options that you want to add to your page.

Who Is It For: This is perfect for those who do not have a lot of time to put into designing the look and feel of their web site or for those who do not have the design software or know how to create their own web sites.

Blog: Blogs are being used today for everything from personal journaling to full blown magazines but are they an essential component for your web site needs? Blogs can help you to easily update information on your site and communicate with your web site visitors or customers. There are many blog hosts available and most hosting packages include easy to install blogging platforms such as WordPress that allows you to easily customize your blog’s look by choosing for a variety of themes or uploading your own. 
Who Is It For?: A blog is great for web site owners who want to offer regularly updated information or online newsletters for their customers or members on a daily or weekly basis and for those who will be offering more detailed information that they want to use to draw more visitors to their websites. A blog can easily be used to supplement your current needs; for example, a bridal shop could use a blog to display how to articles and feature on selecting the right dress, etc.

Community Features: If you want to engage your site visitors and have them returning to your web site frequently, adding community features can be a great way to go. Community features can range from a simple discussions forum to a full scale content management system that allows users to post articles and comment on content. Adding polls or a guest book is also another simple way to get your customers or visitors engaged with your site.

Who Is It For?: If you want to keep your customers on your site, get a lot of feedback from them, or encourage users to help grow your content then community features will be important to you. You will need to decide what level of visitor interaction will suit your needs in order to determine which community features you need. Those who only want to get basic feedback on a particular issue or two may make due with a simple poll where as web masters who are looking to create a full, robust community will need to find hosting that offers a forum and content management features that allow you to assign users the ability to add content to your site.

Email: If you want to communicate under your own brand, such as Your Name@YourDomain.com then finding a host that provides email services will be important. This is an area where you may want to think long term as well. If you want to offer email services to your site members with your domain then you will need to locate a host that provides larger email services that can be accessed by others. If ; however, you only want email for yourself or other key members of your company or organization then basic email services should work fine for you.

Also, you should consider how you want to access your email. Do you prefer web based email that can be accessed from anywhere or do you want the flexibility of using POP email services that allow you to use an email reading program such as IncrediMail or Microsoft’s Outlook? Knowing which options you prefer will help you to choose the best web hosting solution.

Top Recommendations:
To help you in your search, here is a quick review of some of my favorite options for web hosting.

Site 5 Hosting: This is one of my top picks for hosting with tons of options, great features, and an easy to use control panel that allows you to host single or multiple sites from one easy account. Site 5 has unlimited space and unlimited bandwidth plus they offer tons of preinstalled scripts including blogging platforms such as WordPress, forums, and CMS (Content Management Systems) including phpNuke, Joomla, and others. They have an easy to use site builder for chooser from a series of predesigned templates or you can easily use the ftp option to upload your site designed with software elsewhere. With free unlimited email and easy to manage domain tools, Site 5 is top rate choice that you can also feel good about because Site 5 is a green host and they plant a tree for every new account. With a 30 day free trial and money back guarantee you can not go wrong with this hosting option which is great for all levels of expertise, even those new to web hosting. They also offer Moodle for those needing to add educational elements to their sites or communities.
Who is it Best for? New users and professonals alike, Site 5 is great for anyone looking for a great all in one solution that is easy to use, especially those looking for professional WordPress hosting or need the great educational tools offered by Moodle.
Costs: Rages from $4.95 per month to $13.95 per month depending on package and term with no set up fee.
Cons: You do not get as much control over the design elements offered online; however, you are free to use any design software that you want and upload using ftp.

Homestead: If you do not have a lot of technical ability and you just want easy to use web hosting without a large learning curve, then Homestead is a great choice. You can choose from hundreds of predesigned templates or have complete control with true drag and drop features that allow you to put any element anywhere on your page without predesigned restrictions. You can also easily add a customized web form or predefined guest book to your site with just a click.
Cons: No community features available such as blogs or forums, and no member management to allow visitors or customers to log into your site.
Who is It Best for? Individuals or Businesses who want basic hosting features without a complicated user panel or want complete real time control over the look and feel of their site.
Costs: Packages range from $4.99 a month for a simple 5 page site to $49.99 a month for an unlimited number of sites and pages.

Pro-Stores: If you just need an e-commerce solution instead of a full blown web site then Pro-stores may be a good option for you. You can choose from professional templates, edit customizeable options including html, and even run coupon offers or generate logos for your online store. If you want to establish a full featured, professional online store front, then this is the perfect solution.
Who is it Best for? Retail businesses looking to put their entire product line online in an easy to use, professional store format.
Costs: They offer two packages, $29.95 for up to 5,000 products or $59.95 per month for up to 100,000 products; both with a 0.5% transaction fee.
Cons: Designed for large retail businesses, if you only have one or two items to sell this may not be the best option and a standard web site with PayPal integration may work better for your needs.

In addition to my top picks, you may also want to check out a couple of these other great options:  

• 1&1 Hosting
• Lunar Pages
• Host Gator
• Fat Cow Hosting
• Start Logic

Ed Note: All links above are affiliate links. Clicking on them for your purchase helps support Niki and her great writing.

We all know someone who is very melodramatic, when you think of that person having one of their melodramatic moments do they have their hands in their pocket or are their arms waving about all over the place? More than likely they will be showing their excitement with their facial expressions, their voice and their hand and arm movements.

Our arm movements can tell a lot about how we are feeling. For example if we are bored and feeling down we try and make ourselves smaller and keep our hands hidden and our arms tight into our body, this is the minds way of trying to make our bodies small and unseen. Conversely people who are very confident, particularly men, have their arms sprawled out while sitting down and try to make themselves look as big as possible, this is the minds way of telling the body to look large and intimidating, it’s an animal thing.

Arms Crossed

Learning to read people’s arm movements in conjunction with other body language signals will boost your social skills and confidence. It has to be emphasized that body language skills have to be read in conjunction with other signals. For example take a look at the two photos:

Normally, folding ones arms is a sign of being defensive but as you can see from photo number 2 that he doesn’t seem to be displaying any other defensive body language signs e.g. the smile, his eyes also smile, and his open raised eyes. So be careful when interpreting body language and look for other corroborating signals to back up your first clue.

It has to be said that crossing your arms on any occasion is not a good idea due to the deep rooted association we have with folded arms across the chest.

Arms Crossed Fists Clenched

This is a very defensive position and one that has two or more signals together to reinforce the fact that this person is on the defensive and are angry. More than likely they will also be scowling and staring intently.

We often see young children doing this when they have just got into trouble for something, or when they don’t get what they want.

This childlike behaviour is often displayed by adults who are used to getting their own way and revert to this form of sulking when things don’t go their own way.  This is more than likely a trait they carried throughout their childhood and have not managed to shake it off into their adult life.

Hugging Yourself

When we were younger and received comfort from our mothers or father in the form of a hug, it made us feel secure and less vulnerable to the world. when we are adults or in situations when we are uncomfortable we sometimes try and recreate these feelings of comfort by hugging ourselves. This is particularly true of women and is less often seen in men.

As you can see in the photo this is a form of hugging and the young woman looks vulnerable and possibly scared. she may be out of her comfort zone or just uncomfortable.

When in large groups of people we don’t know we will sometimes just hug our self using one arm. One arm will be at our side and the other arm is crossed over our body and holding the other arm. This is a sign of feeling uncomfortable and uneasy within the group and can often happen in a group of people we don’t know. Again, it’s generally women who display this partial hug, but not always.

Hugging your legs is also a sign of feeling vulnerable and insecure. We may have seen images of young children, on television, hugging their legs and looking scared, and this can be quite distressing to watch. This is may be why some charities use images like these to convey the plight of young children and emotionally charge us to give money to their charity.

Feeling Free

What do you do when you feel joyous and your life is going great. You don’t have work for a few weeks, you have no financial troubles and life is great. You might throw your arms up in the air in delight. Obviously you wouldn’t keep doing it, that would just make you look silly. When we feel free and released of tension of some kind we want to open ourselves and throw our arms out as if we were a plant soaking up the suns energy.

We might also do it when we have triumphed at something in our lives. The very act of throwing our arms in the air and taking a deep breath can be enough to momentarily re-create the feeling of being joyful. Try it now, and observe how you feel the moment you do it.

Feeling Confident

Men often make themselves look bigger with their arms in order to show how confident they are. They also do it to intimidate other people and show them that ‘This is my territory.’ Sitting on a seat they may stretch out their arms to go out along the back of the seats and open their legs wide.

They might also put their hands behind their hand, lean back and make themselves look bigger this way. This is a sign of confidence and feeling at ease in the company of others. It might be misconstrued as being ‘cocky’ however it depends on the situation. If someone were to do this in front of a new group of people they had just met it could be argued that this is being ‘cocky’ or ‘arrogant’. If the person is totally comfortable and is with friends it’s a sign of confidence and feeling at ease.

Arm Signals When Flirting

When we are talking to someone, either in a group or alone, we unconsciously give off signals telling others how we feel about them.

Here are some subtle flirting arm signals which will tell you if someone is flirting with you.

Touching your arm

If someone touches your arm whilst talking to you it is a sign that they want your full attention. Men and women don’t touch someone’s arm, or anywhere else, if they do not like them, they keep a distance. So if someone touches your arm it is a sure sign that they are attracted to you or want your full attention.

Stroking Their Arm

This is usually done by the female to show that she is interested in a guy. It is a subtle way of touching herself in a non sexual way but shows they guy that she is interested in him touching her.

Leaning back resting on hands

Again this is usually a female trait and it can be done when one leg is tucked under the other leg so her knee is pointing toward you. The woman is comfortable and is not afraid to show you she is interested.

The old arm around the chair routine

Done by both men and women when sitting next to each other, he will put his arm across the back of the chair she is sitting on or vice versa. It’s like the old fake stretch and yawn routine at the cinema, that nobody ever used but has been depicted on TV so many times that we all think a lot of people must have tried it. It’s a way of marking territory as well if the arm is kept there after the conversation has ended.

Leaning forward elbows on knees

This is another sign that someone is flirting with you and is keen on what you have to say. Be careful with this one as it might be that they cannot hear you in a noisy room so look for other signals as well.

I bet you didn’t think that the arms could give so much information away about you. let us know what you think about this or share your own stories.

References are made to our eyes in everyday conversation such as ‘she has bedroom eyes’, ‘don’t give me those puppy dog eyes’, ‘giving me the evil eye’ and many more such phrases.

If you can learn the skill of reading eye signals and mastering the art of using eye contact it can make a huge difference in your personal and business life.

The Pupils

Your pupils and the size of them will give away a lot of secrets, and it’s something we can’t do much about. The pupils will either constrict or dilate depending on our state of mind. If we are aroused by something, or someone, our pupils will dilate and if we are turned off by something or someone our pupils will constrict.

Skilled street traders across the world look for the size of the pupils when bartering with their customers. If a customer sees an object and their pupils are fully dilated, then the trader knows they can keep the price of the item at the higher end.

When we are excited by someone we like, our pupils will dilate, and when we are in the company of someone we don’t like, our pupils will constrict.

Take a look at these two photos. Which one do you prefer?

The first photo shows the pupils constricted and the second photo shows the pupils dilated. The one with the pupils dilated would normally be the one that people picked, as it is more seductive and deemed more attractive when the pupils are dilated.

Next time you are talking to someone pay attention to the size of their pupils, don’t go right up to their face and make a nuisance of yourself, but just casually watch the size of their pupils. This will tell you what excites them when they are talking, it might also tell you if they like you or not as we can rarely hide our emotions with our eyes.

Different Types of Eyes

Wandering Eyes

Have you ever noticed when you are talking to someone that their eyes are looking everywhere and not at you. This in itself is an obvious sign of distraction or boredom however, it also means that the person is looking for a way to get out of your space. Looking out a window when someone is talking to you could mean they would rather be outside.

If you do this, be careful of the signals you are giving to the other person, unless you specifically want them to know you don’t want to be with them.

The Angry Eyes

When we are angry our eyes become narrower, brows are furrowed and our pupils constrict. It’s quite easy to tell if someone is angry when they have all of the above. what if they don’t show the above body language signals? Well, we have to look for other body language clues such as constriction of the lips, flared nostrils, staring, clenching of the jaw etc.

When you are speaking to someone who is displaying signs of anger you can either back down or stand up for yourself, depending on what the situation warrants.

If you stand up for yourself you should be holding eye gaze and not break it. This shows the other person that you are not intimidated by them. If you are the one to break eye contact in a heated argument you have all but lost the argument.

The Seductive Eyes

It’s quite easy to tell if someone likes us by the size of their pupils. In a well lit room, if you are speaking to someone face to face you can see the size of the other person pupils. If the eyes start to dilate they are interested in what you have to say or they find you attractive.

However, this is not so true in a darkened room like a nightclub as the size of our pupils will dilate to let more light in, in order to see better in the darkened room. So be careful to read the signals correctly before making a fool of yourself.

There are other ways to seduce someone with your eyes. The classic Lady Diana look with her head down and eyes looking up was one of the reasons so many people warmed to her. This type of look makes the observer feel more maternal or paternal and also brings out the protector in men which made Lady Di more attractive.

Your Gaze

When we are talking to our friends and in social situations, and are looking and talking with another person for some time we unconsciously gaze at the persons face in a controlled manner. However, if we have lost confidence or we are not yet socially adept we can lose this ability.  Here is a quick guide on where to focus your gaze when talking to someone.

Social Gazing

When you are speaking in a social setting you don’t want to stare into someone’s eyes as this is a bit strange for someone to do, and a bit off-putting for the talker. To get over this, use a triangle approach. First look at one eye of the talker, then look at their mouth, briefly, and then move onto their other eye. This shows you are still interested in what they have to say as you have not looked away from their face.

The Flirty Gaze

When we flirt with each other the eyes still move in a triangular way but with more range, downwards. I know the women reading this will have experienced men who think you are talking from your breasts, which is quite disconcerting, and I’ll explain a possible reason for this, apart from the obvious. However, we all do it, men and women, only women are better at it.

It has been shown that when we are walking toward each other from a distance, men and women, automatically check each other from head to foot. First time to check the sex of the person and second time to check the sexiness of the person.

Men are more likely to get caught checking out a females body, rather than looking them in the eye, because they have less peripheral vision than women. Women can look you in the face but still look at your body  because their peripheral vision is much better.

Our eyes contain two types of photo-receptors; rods and cones. Rods are responsible for scotopic vision, dark adapted vision. They also predominate the peripheral vision and women have more rods in their eyes than men do; hence why they have better peripheral vision and are better at seeing in the dark.

The Controlling Gaze

If you are looking to intimidate someone when you are talking to them, or are trying to control the conversation look at the area known as ‘the third eye’ which is the spot just between the eyebrows.

Many men do this to try and intimidate the people they are talking to and to try and control a conversation.

Can you tell if someone is lying with their eye movements?

Short answer to that is no. However, by looking at other body language signals and looking at their eyes you can get a good idea if someone is lying or not.

With the work of Bandler and Grinder and their excellent work on NLP we have an idea of how our eye movements relate to how we access information from the brain, which can help to tell is someone is lying or not.

Visual Accessing Cues

(VC) Visual Construction : Looking up and to the left.  The person is accessing information from their imagination and might possibly be making it up.  For example, if you asked someone what their dream home would look like they would, more than likely, look up and to their left.

If someone is lying about something and making stories up they might be using this eye movement.

(VR) Visual Remembering : Looking up and to the right.  This is when we are actually accessing a memory and picturing it in our heads.  It is more than likely that this is a memory that actually happened.  Ask your friend what they had for dinner yesterday and they will most likely look up and to the right.

(AC) Auditory Construction : Looking middle and to the left. This is where our eyes might go if we were constructing a sound in our mind.  For example if you asked a friend to think of what their voice will sound like when they are 80 years old, they would more than likely look in this direction.

(AR) Auditory Remembering : Looking middle and to the right.  This is where our eyes might go if you were remembering a sound that you have heard before.  For example ask your friend what the sound of their partner sounds like and they will more than likely look in this direction.

(K) Kinesthetic :Looking down and to the left.  This is the direction your eyes might go if you were accessing your actual feelings about something.  For example, if you ask a friend about their feelings on the issues of capital punishment their eyes might go in this direction.

(AD) Auditory Digital : Looking down and to the right.  This is the direction our eyes might go when we are talking to ourselves.  We do this all the time and it is called self talk.  Believe it or not we talk to ourselves a lot and we can learn a lot about ourselves by paying attention to our self talk, but that is for another article.

The information above represents the majority of people, but it may be different for some.  However, it is still possible to work out a persons representational system by observing them when you ask them questions.

Using the information above should get you started on the road to being able to read people using their eyes as signals.  Remember, as with all body language signals, that they should be read together and not separately.

Online learning is also very effective because it makes use of text, photographs, audio and video to permit you to both hear and see how the language is actually used. This is very different from reading a book on a certain language in which you are usually limited to the words that you may not know how to correctly pronounce. Language courses offered over the Internet are also interactive in nature so that you can practice your vocabulary and check your grammar. Many of the lessons can also be downloaded into your laptop or MP3 player so that you bring them anywhere you go. This will permit you to listen to the lessons and practice saying the words and sentences while you are doing something else, such as exercising or driving.

How Do You Choose the Language to Learn?

If you want to learn a language because you will need it when you travel to foreign lands, it is easy to make a choice. You simply select the language of the country that you often go to. However, if your purpose is to add to your knowledge and skills, you may want to choose one of the languages that is used in various countries, such as Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, or Japanese. You may also want to learn similar languages at the same time, such as Italian and Spanish.

Online Sites for Learning a Language

There are thousands of websites that can permit you to learn the language that you have chosen. There are even sites that act as portals for the various language learning sites. One of these is the website is the Center for Learning and Performance Technologies. At this particular site there are more than 100 sites that are alphabetically arranged. These include the 200 word-a-day site that helps you increase your vocabulary by learning 200 words a day in German, French, Spanish or Welsh.

Another portal is Word2Word. A table of languages is presented that you can click on to visit the site for that particular language. Another portal for language learning is the Open Culture Free Foreign Language Lessons. This particular site offers a collection of podcasts that can be downloaded using iTunes. Aside from podcasts, some of the sites may also offer suggestions on books and software that will help in the learning process.

Another useful portal that you may want to look into is the BBC Languages site. This portal is focused on Italian, Spanish, German, and French, but is also provides training and activities for other languages such as Portuguese, Greek, Chinese, Japanese, Polish, and Urdu. You can also learn the UK languages, such as Gaelic, Welsh and Irish. You can also visit the World Nomads Travelers Language Guides. It contains basic phrases that you can download into your MP3 player or notebook computer so that you can bring them along while you are traveling.

Book Sites for Language Learning

Reading a book that is written using the language that you are trying to learn may also help. One important site for getting access to books in various languages is Project Gutenberg.

You can also visit the Foreign Language Book Sources site that focuses on several languages, including Bosnian, Dutch, Hungarian, Japanese, French, Danish, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Portuguese, and Turkish.

Sites to Help You Practice

There are also a number of sites that can help you practice speaking, reading and writing the language that you have chosen to learn. One of these sites is the Internet Polyglot site that offers free online activities and games for those who already have a basic knowledge about a particular language. Another important practice site is Before You Know It that uses interactive flashcards. It also permits you to download a free language learning computer program.

Practicing with a Partner

It also makes sense to have a partner when you are trying to learn a language. This is because it is difficult to practice your conversational skills with software or a computer. A partner will help you hone your listening and speaking skills for that particular language.

For those who cannot find a partner who is willing to learn a language with them, there are websites that have forums and communities where you can interact with other people who are interested in other languages. One such site is Fluent Yet?. Meanwhile, the Language Learning Advisor site offers some guidelines and advice for language learners. It also contains various resources for certain learning techniques and languages.

How to Get Used to the Language

Another tool for facilitating the learning of a new language is to actually see people using the language and this could be done by reading their newspapers, watching their television programs, or listening to their radio programs. The Web-Radio site offers a way to listen to the radio programs of various countries. Thus, you can select the country that speaks the language you have chosen and try to understand what they are saying.

For television programs all over the world, you can visit the World Wide Internet TV site. It contains links to various television stations and it also has a library of recorded videos. You can pick the country and the kind of program, such as music, news, sports, or education.

Free University Courses

There are also free university courses available in the Internet. One is the Open Courseware of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Another site is the Open University Learning Space of the United Kingdom. These courses have the advantage of teaching about current issues and culture.

Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your cell phone’s battery life – without breaking the bank or your brain.

1. Turn your phone off. I know, I know — it seems like a silly thing to mention, but hey, I’m guilty of not following this one myself. Are you at a movie theatre? Turn off your phone instead of putting it on silent. Sure, having the ringer off helps to keep the peace (and quiet), but you’d make all kinds of enemies flashing that bright phone light around in the dark theatre trying to check your text messages anyway. Turning it off will spare the battery that two hours of being stuffed in your pocket. Just make sure to turn it back on when you leave the theatre to check for those missed calls.

2. Turn down/off the backlight. Most phones have brightness settings for the phone display to help make the phone easier to read in different lighting. Personally, I get by just fine with the brightness dimmed to the lowest setting. The default setting is usually sell to the highest brightness so play around with different light levels to see what works for you. The lower the brightness setting, the more life you’ll get out of the battery.

3. Be picky about reception. If you’re spending some time in a place where the recepetion is very poor (only a couple bars or worse, no signal at all) you might want to consider turning your phone right off until you can get to somewhere where the signal is better. Having a low signal/poor reception causes your phone to constantly search and struggle to keep your phone connection operating. This drains the battery amazingly fast. If the signal is low enough, it’s entirely likely that you wouldn’t be able to receive a phone call where you are anyway, so why waste the battery?

4. Disable vibrate mode. There are certainly times when having your phone on vibrate mode is appropriate, but keep in mind that this mode uses up a lot of battery power. When you find yourself in a situation where a ringtone won’t disrupt anything be sure to switch modes. The worst possible mode, of course, is having your phone vibrate and ring at the same time. If you can get by with one or the other, consider that option. If you find yourself in a situation where a ringtone will be disruptive and you won’t be answering your phone anyway, make use of your phone’s silent mode or even better — turn it off!

5. Limit Bluetooth, WIFI, and GPS use. All of these services are huge battery hogs. Enable them only when you need them and be sure to disable them when your through.

Batteries on phones are getting better, but with these simple tips, you’ll be more likely to have power for your cell phone when you need it the most. What are your cell phone battery tips? Leave them in the comments below.

What are the Benefits of a Family Business Meeting?
Making the time for regular family business meetings can have several benefits for you and your family by helping you to:

• Control finances and stay on budget
• Reduce waste and save money
• Plan for major events such as vacations, college, or a new home purchase
• Catch potential problems before they become a major crisis
• Stimulates communication between family members
• Avoid scheduling conflicts
• Keep an eye on potential credit problems
• Insures that legal details are taken care off
• Keep you on track for personal and family goals
• Gives you a chance to discuss issues that might not otherwise arise
• Helps your organize your home life
• Keeps your priorities in line
• Can teach kids about being a part of a team

What Sort of Topics Do You Need to Include in a Family Business Meeting?
The various topics that you will need to cover at your family meeting will vary to some degree based on the size of your family and your current goals but there will be some basic areas that you need to touch upon at every meeting that are very similar to traditional business meetings such as finances, goal development, and long term planning.
Budget and Finances:

This is the area that you should cover in every single meeting that you have. Setting a budget is very important; however, if you do not make a point of going back and reviewing your finances throughout the month how can you be sure if you are actually keeping to that budget? This is particularly important for couples who may be spending out of the same account and it is also useful if you have multiple accounts that you are trying to juggle.

By having a regular review of your budget and other financial matters you can be sure that you are sticking to your budget. This is also extremely important for managing your credit as well because it helps you to keep track of due dates and spot any problems early on. Imagine if you had a fraudulent charge on your account but you did not bother to balance your accounts until several weeks later. That one charge could wreck havoc with your financial situation, cause massive overdraft fees, returned checks, and negatively impact your credit. However, caught early you have a chance to deal with it immediately before it affects other funds and to alert your bank or credit card companies early enough to stop any future transactions.

How often have you failed to pay a bill because you thought that your spouse had already taken care of it? Simple over sights like this happen more often than you might think and can end up making your payments late. But by simply coming together for a regular business meeting you can see what has been paid and what is due next to insure that your bills are always paid on time.

Do not get caught unaware or endanger your credit because you were not bothering to have a regular meeting with your partner on this important issue.

Scheduling:
Keeping an eye on your schedule when you are single is a lot easier than juggling the schedules of other people. Taking a brief moment to compare schedules and make a note of what is going on with the kids, events that you need to attend, or simply scheduling that all important quality time together can keep you from getting to that point where you want to pull your hair out when things get too crazy. This is also a great way to make sure that you never miss an anniversary or birthday.

Meal Planning:
Families that plan out their meals before they go shopping can often save money while eating healthier as well because it cuts down on impulse buys or random shopping that may not end up making healthy meals. Plan your week and make a list of what you will need, then vow to buy only what is on the list. This can also help you save time during the week if you already know what is for dinner and have those ingredients lined up.

Goal Planning:
It is also important for you to look at your goals and to periodically evaluate the progress that you are making on those goals to insure that you are making progress towards fulfilling them. This is true for both long range and short term goals. Some of the goals you may have as a family involve saving for a vacation, building a home, or even fun projects such as building a nursery or creating a family tree that requires a lot of research. Whatever your goal, visit it periodically and discuss your progress as a family.

Open Discussions:
During your family business meeting it is very important to allow time for open discussions for everyone in your family. Whether it is a camp that your child is interested in going to or taking suggestions for next year’s family vacation destination you need to make this a time for any questions or issues to arise. This not only helps you handle things in an orderly manner and make life much less hectic but it makes everyone in the family feel like they have a role and that what they have to say really matters to you. Remember after all, that the heart of the family business meeting is the family. Use this meeting as a time to connect with one another and to communicate as a family instead of just a few chaotic people living at the same address.

Quarterly or Yearly Reviews:
In addition to the regular issues that you will consider during a family business meeting there are also a few things that you should put on the agenda for quarterly or yearly review.

Taxes:
If you own a business or perform any contract work through the year and have to pay income tax you will want to review this information to see where you stand and consider paying those taxes quarterly to make it easier on you and your budget.

Insurance:
Your insurance rates and policy benefits should be reviewed on occasion to make sure that you have the best policies that work for you and that you have updated any essential information. Changes such as address, number of cars being insured, installing a security system, etc. can all affect your policy needs. You may need to decrease or increase your coverage or may qualify for additional discounts. For example, some auto insurance companies offer discounts if you have a security device on your car of if it is housed in a secure facility instead of being parked on the street. So it is a good idea to glance over your insurance policy from time to time and evaluate whether your current policies are meeting your needs or not.

Long Range and Emergency Planning:
Certain topics may not come up at the dinner table but still need to be dealt with such as end of life decisions, wills, funeral arrangements, etc. While they may not be the most pleasant topics, dealing with them now when they are not an issue will be a lot easier for everyone than waiting until tragedy hits.

You also need to review emergency planning information as a family so that everyone knows the plan and will know what to do in an emergency. Where will you meet if there is a natural disaster? What are your feelings about being kept on life support? Would you prefer to be cremated or buried? Do you have a burial plot already? What about a will? Do you have a stocked first aid kit? Where are your emergency numbers? These are all important issues you need to discuss and review on a periodic basis. Having a family fire drill to kick off these meetings is also a good idea.

Repairs and Maintenance:
Take a quick moment to discuss any house hold repairs or up keep that you may need to take care of such as painting or calling an exterminator so that you do not wait until the last minute and end up paying for more costly repairs.

Whether you hold weekly or biweekly family business meetings, this will give you a great opportunity to work together as a family unit and to take charge of your life instead of letting the chaos take over until you are stressed out and your family gets trapped in a rat race of confusion. Just remember that every family is different and what you need in your family meeting may not work for someone else and that is ok; tailor it for a custom fit to your family and remember that above all, connecting and communicating with one another is essential and the most rewarding part of having a family business meeting.