Does your service-based business serve a specific local geographic area? If so, your success largely depends on attracting local traffic.

Local SEO can be a great way to reach customers. While virtually any business can benefit from SEO, read on to discover five areas where this strategy can really pay off for big business benefits.

Looking for more local SEO strategies for your business? Read our article: 13 strategies to optimize your website for local SEO

1. Medical and dental clinics love local SEO

You can see a huge jump in search engine rankings by targeting local keywords related to health or wellness.

Think about what you look for when you need a new doctor or emergency dentist: You’ll probably look in your city for more “family doctor” or “emergency dentist.”

However, you should also target long-tail keywords on your website like “doctor’s office open on Saturdays Vancouver” to reach more potential customers.

2. The hyper-directed hospitality business

Do you have a restaurant, bar or hotel? Local SEO is a must. People often use Google’s suggested “near me” message that appears in the search bar, so make sure your site’s content targets your location whenever possible.

Also, more people will check reviews on sites like Yelp before clicking through to your website than any other type of business. Keep your business information on these sites up to date and respond quickly to complaints.

3. Home services (I need help NOW)

A local SEO campaign works well for problem solvers.

It’s common for those looking for a plumber or locksmith to call the first listing that appears on Google, but it’s not as simple as creating a website with your contact information.

To get in front of customers, you need to focus on adding original content, optimizing your site, and targeting long-tail keywords. Going with a paid SEM campaign is also a must for this type of business.

4. Neighborhood-Specific SEO for Realtors

Real estate is a highly competitive category, especially with so many big companies and platforms like Zillow.

You’re likely to get a lot of your search traffic from long-tail keywords, so in addition to “home for sale in Toronto,” include “waterfront downtown Toronto condo for sale.”

Do your keyword research and write about what families with young children should look for when buying a home or dog-friendly neighborhoods—whatever resonates with your audience.

5. Lawyers

Another highly competitive category! The good news is that potential customers are generally looking for very specific information.

Therefore, your local SEO strategy can be built around long tail keywords. For example, instead of “Calgary attorney,” choose “Southeast Calgary Will and Trust attorney” to convert searches to leads.

Get local keywords, get long tail keywords

This is not an exhaustive list of businesses that can benefit from local SEO, but it does give you a good idea of ​​where you can really make a difference.

Focus on developing your local SEO strategy and use long tail keywords and the traffic will follow!

Top-tier Android smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One (M8) are powerful, but unfortunately, they don’t have infinite battery life. In fact, many Android phone users would be happy to go for a single day, hoping that an overnight recharge will suffice.

Unfortunately, sometimes it isn’t. Several factors have conspired to reduce the resistance of devices in recent years. Thinner designs with less headroom for batteries, bigger and brighter screens, faster quad-core processors, more software running in the background, and power-hungry GPS radios all share the responsibility. The switch from 3G to 4G networks a few years ago, particularly of the LTE variety, has also taken its toll.

But there’s a lot more to poor battery life results than that. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to stop the flow of juice from your Android device. I used a Google Nexus 5 to write this article, as it runs the latest version of Android 4.4 KitKat with no further interface improvements, but these tips should apply to almost any Android phone. Try these tips to extend your phone’s battery life:

1. See what is sucking up the most juice. Go to Settings > Battery to see an organized breakdown of what’s consuming your phone’s battery. Apps and features will be displayed in a descending list of battery hogs. If you see an app that you rarely use or a feature that you never use, you may want to uninstall the app or disable the feature.

2. Reduce surveys by email, Twitter and Facebook. Set your various messaging apps to “manual” for polling or update frequency, just as a test, and you’ll instantly extend your device’s battery life by a significant amount. Once you see the difference it makes, try re-enabling only the most important ones, possibly reducing your polling frequency in the process.

3. Turn off unnecessary hardware radios. It’s great that phones today have LTE, NFC, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but do you really need all five on 24/7? Android keeps location-based apps residing in the background, and constant battery drain will quickly become noticeable. If your phone has a power control widget, you can use it to quickly turn on/off GPS (biggest power consumption), NFC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and LTE. On standard Android, swipe down to bring up the notification bar, and then tap the icon in the top right corner.

4. Use extra power saving mode if you have it. The aforementioned Galaxy S5 and HTC One (M8) have Ultra Power Saving and Extreme Power Saving modes, respectively, which limit the phone to texting, phone calls, web browsing, and Facebook. This can squeeze additional hours or even a day of standby time with only a few percentage points of battery remaining.

5. Cut out apps running in the background. From Settings > Apps, swipe left; you will see a list of applications that are currently running. Touch each one to see what they are for; You can stop any app that you don’t need to run in the background all the time.

6. Get rid of unnecessary home screen widgets and live wallpapers. Just because they’re sitting on the home screen, seemingly idle, doesn’t mean they’re not drawing power. This goes for widgets that poll for status updates in the background, as well as ones that just sit there but look nice and animated, not to mention the animated live wallpaper. (But don’t throw it all away, since part of what makes Android great is the home screen customizations—just remove the ones you don’t use.)

7. Turn down the brightness and turn off auto brightness. It’s probably obvious at this point, but you’ll be surprised how much this alone helps improve battery life.

8. Update your apps. Apps are often updated to use less battery power, so make sure your apps are up to date. Even if you have set your phone for automatic updates, some apps still require you to manually install updates. Check for app updates on Google Play by pressing the menu key and going to My Apps.

9. Pay attention to signal strength. If you are in an area with poor cellular coverage, your phone will work harder to pick up a strong enough signal. This has an adverse effect on battery life. There’s not much you can do about it, but be aware that this could be the culprit for a seemingly weak battery; it’s worth putting your phone in airplane mode if you don’t need data or voice calls.

10. Check the reviews. We run battery life tests on every Android phone we review. As expected, the results vary greatly between phones, even on the same network. When choosing a phone, make sure the real world talk time is sufficient. You cannot go by what the manufacturer says; we see variations on the order of several hours of use in both directions on a regular basis.

11. Buy a larger battery box or extended battery. Battery cases combine a hardware shell, which protects your phone, with an extended battery that can double the life of your phone. You can find models that are compatible with popular Android phones from a variety of manufacturers.

In the last article, we concluded by saying that keeping your business and personal relationships separate is very important to the survival of both your business and your marriage. In this article we will talk about how to achieve this goal.

One of the most important ways to accomplish this is to set up separate business hours, and when you’re done, don’t talk about business, focus on your relationship. It’s hard, but make a concentrated effort at it. Limit your business conversations to business hours or set aside a specific time to talk about business.

For example, take the last half hour of the day and discuss the business day; any suggestions you have, what was accomplished, what needs to be done tomorrow, during the week, how the monthly goals you set at the beginning of the month are progressing. Remember to express any criticism or suggestion in a positive vein. Think about how you felt in the work situation and how supervisors treated you when they made suggestions. Negatives only cause resentment. They do it in the business field, and even more so, when it comes to a spouse with whom you have to live 24 hours a day. Be sure to set aside time for each other: go for a walk, go out to dinner, or just take a drive with your spouse. Don’t talk about business.

You must have outside activities that are not related to the business. If not, join a group that interests you. It will allow you to meet with other people who are not connected to your business. Running a home-based business can be very lonely; getting away from home and having outside interests is imperative.

In addition to the problems inherent to couples running a business, starting a home-based business presents its own set of problems and questions. Before you begin, be sure to ask yourself the following:

1. Are you self-motivated? Organized? Are you able to prioritize your work? You will no longer have a supervisor or a boss telling you what to do. You will be the decision maker. You will have to motivate yourself. One way to accomplish this is to use a to-do list and stick to it. Also, set definite business hours and stick to them.

2. Will you be able to deal with the isolation? No longer will you bump into people in the hallways, congregate around the coffee pot, or take a break to talk to your coworkers. To combat loneliness and isolation, be sure to join groups that meet outside the home or schedule lunches with friends and associates.

3. Write a business plan. Make sure the business is something that interests you. You may want to start part-time and grow from there. Research the business carefully, make sure there is a market and that the competition is not overwhelming.

4. Make sure you have at least six months of living expenses set aside. This will give you time to work on the marketing strategy outlined in your business plan and avoid bad marketing practices. Plus, if changes need to be made, you can, without money concerns becoming an issue.

5. Make sure your office space is located in a separate room or area of ​​your home that offers the fewest distractions. A separate office is best, especially if you are meeting with clients. Always remember to present a professional appearance.

6. When will you do your regular housework? Make up a schedule of when you will deal with them. Some people find that it is best to do homework before the start of the work day. At the end of the day, close your office door, and then deal with the remaining household items that need to be handled. Time management will be a very important factor in running a home-based business.

7. For husband and wife teams, it becomes imperative to have some form of disability insurance for each other. Remember, even though your partner may be your husband or wife, he or she is still your business partner. An accident or illness of one of you can seriously affect the operation of the business.

A business is only as good as you and your partner make it. It takes a lot of dedication, time, and energy to run a business, whether it’s home-based or not. It can be a very rewarding experience. Think carefully and ask yourself lots of self-assessment questions before you start.

Copyright 2000, DeFiore Enterprises

In this article we are going to discuss the various types of postcards that are available to the collector and even the occasional “sender”.

The general consensus is that a postcard is a postcard. Actually, that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are a variety of postcard styles, each with their own characteristics. For the purposes of this article, we will go over the most popular ones.

First we have what is called “see cards”. Since the early days of postcards, business cards have been the most popular item among collectors. People have been exchanging cards featuring photos of their hometowns and places they’ve visited since the beginning of the postcard era. Display cards are known for showing historical references to buildings, streets, and even towns that no longer exist or have changed greatly over the years. Even the views of these towns that occurred in the photochromic era are no longer the same. Early cards offer us much in the form of history with depictions of early telegraphs, telephones, and power lines. Even the messages written on the cards by the people who send them give us an idea of ​​the sentiment of the time. It’s almost like having a firsthand account of what it was like to live back then. It certainly is like having a piece of history in your hands.

The next type of postcard is what is known as a “greeting card.” The greeting card is almost as basic as the business card was in the early days. However, the popularity of the greeting card has declined over the years. The most common greeting cards were Christmas, Easter and birthdays. Cards, such as Labor Day cards, which were once very popular and common, are quite rare today. Today, most collectors specialize in one or two card themes to collect. For example, some people will only collect Christmas cards that feature photos of Santa Claus if and only if he is wearing a green robe. In any case, the first greeting cards were some of the most beautiful cards ever printed. Publishers would proudly compete for sales and use the best available techniques to print their cards.

The next type of cards are what are known as “historical cards”. These cards were printed to celebrate some historical event such as a war battle, parade, or political event. These cards today are very rare and bring a fair amount of money to the serious collector. With so much history to choose from and so many historical cards in print, there is a wide open field and much to offer anyone interested in 20th century history. Often the cards were printed with actual photographs with very little printed making them very rare and a true collector’s item. One of the most famous cards was one with a photo of the raising of the American flag on Iwa Jima during World War II.

Next, we have the so-called “art cards”. Art cards are probably the biggest in the antique category. These are cards that were made from actual paintings by famous artists. The skill of the artist of the time along with the rarity of these cards make them very popular with collectors today.

Finally, we have the so-called “photo art cards”. They are cards that have real photographs of very beautiful women. These cards are often hand-dyed in great detail and in the most beautiful colors imaginable. The matting techniques available made these cards capable of being turned into original art creations, making them truly one of a kind.

Look, a postcard is not just a postcard.

When working with a Virtual Assistant (VA), it’s essential to treat it like very important business and not casually. I wouldn’t work with most people without the most important document you can have in the business world: a contract.

Many people make the mistake of not getting a contract first because they feel like it’s a lot of work. But it will be a lot more work if you don’t get a contract.

This is what a contract entails:

Write the offer

Write down on a list until the last thing that is offered by both sides of the agreement.

spell terms

Express how much money will change hands and how it will happen, such as the monthly fee and how it will be paid, for example, through PayPal.

Contact Information List

Be sure to include primary and alternate contact information, such as company name and address, work phone, and company phone number, as well as relevant email addresses.

State expectations

Be sure to list all expectations and responsibilities for each business involved. For example, the VA must do the work before the xyz date, after the business owner gave the work before the xyz date.

Statement Consequences

It’s always a good idea to mention the consequences of breaking the contract, such as whether or not you both agree to arbitration and what country, state, city, and county laws will apply.

sign the contract

Use something like HelloSign.com to sign the documents and make them legally binding. It is very important that contracts are signed in a legally binding manner.

These things are important because:

Without a contract you have no legal capacity

It’s true that sometimes a judge will enforce a handshake and emails if you have enough compelling evidence to support your claims, but a signed contract is foolproof.

Solidify business relationships

It’s good to keep your professional and business life as separate as possible, and the best way to do that is through a contract. You’ll likely get closer to your VA over time, but the contract will help you both stay on track.

Contracts don’t have to be complicated, but they do need to be very specific and include all eventualities that you might consider within the contract. Includes prices, extras and more. The more you put, the better.

Online auctions (or electronic auctions) are big business and can catapult a regional auction house onto an international stage with access to new and dynamic global markets.

Companies like eBay have added all kinds of auction capabilities to their websites to engage users and add excitement. But running an online auction, an auction that takes place over the Internet, poses many legal issues for both the seller and the buyer.

This article discusses ways to mitigate organizational risks that arise from adding an auction to a business website. The information does not constitute legal advice and organizations considering an online auction should always seek expert opinion.

1. What type of auction?

You might think of an auction as a sale where buyers offer the highest price for an item and the fall of the auctioneer’s hammer confirms the deal. This english auction is the most common type, but there are others, and each carries its own risks and legal liabilities, including:

• vickrey auctions – the highest bidder gets the item at the price offered by the second highest bidder;

• Dutch and Yankee auctions – auctions formatted to handle a situation where a seller wants to sell multiple identical items;

• First Price Sealed Bid Auction – All parties make a single offer and the highest bidder wins and pays what he offers. The main difference between this and English auctions is that bids cannot be openly viewed or advertised unlike the competitive nature that public offerings generate;

• Reverse Auction – where the roles of buyer and seller are reversed. Multiple sellers compete for the buyer’s business, and prices typically decrease over time as new offers are made. They do not follow the typical auction format where the buyer can see all the offers and can choose which one they prefer. Reverse auctions are used efficiently in a business context for contracting.

• Bid Fee Auctiono Penny auction requires customers to pay for bids, which can increase an auction price one unit of currency at a time

2. Terms and conditions of the bidder

Sophisticated auction websites like eBay post several policies that cover the variety of items up for auction. Less sophisticated sites will still need to have bidder terms and conditions that include:

• the method by which bids will be processed;
• how winning bids will be handled;
• how winning bidders will be notified;
• the use of “reserve” prices (a secret price below which no offer is accepted); how disputes between bidders will be handled;
• how merchandise and payments will be shipped;
• refund and return policies;
• information on fees, membership eligibility requirements and feedback mechanisms;
• the jurisdictions and laws of which country will apply.

The rules may also include a list of items that are prohibited due to their potentially dangerous or illegal nature (for example, firearms, chemicals, or fireworks). Some countries may also ban certain products, such as France’s ban on the sale of Nazi memorabilia.

The European Distance Selling Directive does not apply to online auctions, so bidders acting in a private (rather than commercial) capacity are not entitled to a cooling-off period, as consumers often do when purchasing products.” from distance”.

3. ‘Sale of goods – as seen’

Offline, items are auctioned ‘as seen’. Businesses that auction their own products (rather than simply creating a forum for third-party transactions) should be particularly aware of the legal issues that auctioning off specific items can raise, such as rare wine that may be subject to price regulations. or shipping. Similarly, while companies may be tempted to describe their auction items with glowing words to encourage bidding, they should keep in mind that all rules, regulations, and laws governing the conventional sale of items still apply.

4. Privacy

Most auction sites require users, both bidders and sellers, to register before participating. The registration process usually involves collecting certain information from the user, including name, address, phone number, etc. The auction site owner must post and adhere to a “privacy policy” regarding how it collects and uses user information online. This includes compliance with the EU cookie rules in EU member states as well as data protection.

Auction rules vary significantly in other countries, so companies may wish to limit participation to their own country. However, if you allow people in other countries to participate in online auctions, you must be aware of international privacy laws and regulations.

5. User feedback

Following eBay’s lead, many auction sites now offer a feedback mechanism through which registrants can provide post-transaction feedback about other users. This user “feedback” is intended to keep the bidding process open and honest, and to allow customers to communicate their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the vendor and its products. However, user comments have already become the basis of at least one defamation lawsuit, in which one car retailer sued another, alleging that the defendant had posted false and defamatory comments.

Companies must incorporate rules regarding the content of user communications into their website terms and conditions (which are not the same as the bidders’ terms and conditions), as well as expressly disclaim all responsibility for the content. provided by the user.

6. Website Terms and Conditions

The website terms and conditions govern the use that visitors make of your website. It covers topics such as legal notices, ownership of intellectual property, use of hyperlinks, and disclaimers.

A “clickwrap” agreement requires users to view the agreement and click “I agree” or something similar before gaining access to the site or a feature. The terms and conditions are generally accessible via a link at the bottom of the site’s home page and do not require viewing or consent. Although many companies choose to have terms and conditions over clickwraps due to their easier-to-use nature, between the two, clickwraps are more likely to be enforceable in court.

7. Money laundering

In a cash-heavy business, you must adopt a zero-tolerance attitude toward money laundering. Regulators will not only be tough on an organization that does not have enough controls in place to prevent money laundering, but also does not look good from a business and professional standpoint.

And finally…

Auction companies tend to outsource the online part of their operations to hosting companies like i-bidder. This not only ensures that the experience and service is consistent, but the auction company will also gain access to a broader marketplace as well as internet-savvy customers. In general, professional auction houses will always ensure that customers have a safe and enjoyable browsing experience when bidding online.

Error 740 This is a common error on Windows 7 and Vista and usually appears when an application cannot load properly. It happens due to access restrictions, where a specific app is scheduled to run as administrator, which means you have no or only limited access to it. To correct this error, you must ensure that the program you are trying to load does not have the exclusive administrator access status. Another way is to change your profile status on your PC so that you can use certain apps that have access restrictions.

What is Windows Error 740?

The error would normally be displayed on your computer screen in the following format:

• “Error (740): The requested operation requires elevation.”

This error occurs when an application only allows access to it to Administrators. When your PC does not register you as Administrator, you will not be able to use it. You can trace this problem back to your system’s User Account Control, which dictates how you’ll log into your PC (which can be as an administrator or as a user). If your system is defaulted to log you in as a user, then you will only be able to access programs that do not have administrator access states. To fix this, you need to change your PC login status or make sure users can run the programs.

How to fix error 740 on your PC

Error 740 is a very disturbing error, but it is very easy to fix. It’s basically based on how your system is programmed to register you when you start your PC. All you need to do is set your PC to log you in as an administrator. The effectiveness of this approach in fixing Error 740 on your system is close to 90%. The first thing you want to do when changing your PC’s access settings to administrator is to first find the program you plan to load. You can go to the desktop or start menu for this. After locating the program, place your mouse pointer over the application icon and right-click. Choose “Run as administrator”. In this configuration, you should now be able to access the program after it loads on your system. If this doesn’t work, you may want to check your registry for any issues or errors.

Registry flaws are known to cause numerous errors, including Error 740. The registry is designed to store all the settings and files that Windows requires to run the software on your computer. Unfortunately, it is very vulnerable to being damaged and corrupted, because it is in use almost constantly. This vital area of ​​your PC can cause it to slow down if any settings are corrupted and eventually some programs may stop working. Instead of your programs running properly, you’ll see errors like error 740. To fix problems in your registry, you can re-enable it with registry cleaner, a special application that is specifically designed to remove registry-related errors from your computer.

In fact, it doesn’t matter if you’ve been in business for quite some time or if you’re new to the real estate industry, the risks you face on a daily basis, from errors in closing costs and payment amounts to not meeting the expectations of the client, make him a prime target of lawsuits. Even if you are cleared of all claims, the fees spent on defense, the time you spend away from your business, and the added stress of dealing with the situation can be costly. Without the proper coverages, real estate agents can put their professional and financial future at risk.

In addition, it is the role of the title industry to safeguard the client’s escrow and other funds by providing a means for the safe transfer of their real estate in the industry. If an error or default occurs during this transaction, the agent is responsible for any damages incurred as a result of the error or default.

Title agent errors and omissions insurance protects title agencies, including escrow agent, closing cost agent, title finder and more, against the impact of a lawsuit incurred as a result of omissions and title agent errors and fraudulent transfer activities.

This insurance covers all costs incurred as a result of an emerging lawsuit claiming alleged errors in the title documentation process, including title searches and escrow. Under this coverage, the insured is indemnified in the event of final settlement up to the limit of the policy, as well as compensation for defense expenses.

Title Agent Errors and Omissions Insurance under the Fidelity-Pak Program

Title Agents Errors and Omissions Insurance Coverage under the Fidelity-Pak Program provides a wide range of comprehensive errors and omissions coverage for real estate title agents, including:

Claims Related to Defect or Deficiency Coverage

Sometimes the real estate process can go awry due to a faulty or non-marketable title, also known as a title defect, which means there is an omission, mistake, or other complication related to ownership of the property that makes it unsuitable for sale to a valid buyer.

Typically, as part of the settlement process under a title contract, the buyer will pay the title company or attorney to search for title to the property and ensure that the seller has valid, marketable title to transfer without defects of title to protect the right of the buyer. to the property However, sometimes important details related to the property are not recorded in state and county records, preventing certain information from being known, putting the agent at risk.

Defect or deficiency claims insurance covers claims related to defect or deficiency claims resulting from a deficiency or deficiency not publicly recorded.

Coverage of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFB) Matters

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau protects consumers from abrasive, unfair or deceptive practices and takes action against companies that break the law, such as predatory lending.

If a consumer files a complaint against your business with the CFPB, and after an investigation, the CFPB decides that your business has in fact violated federal consumer financial laws, legal proceedings could result.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issues Coverage helps with costs incurred as a result of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issues. Under this coverage, Insureds receive sub-limit coverage of up to $150,000 for relevant attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, including civil investigation, hearing, subpoena or civil action made or received by the CFPB.

Claims Caused by Independent Contractors

Loss caused by independent contractors insurance covers the Insured against a loss caused by independent contractors.

Occasionally you may need to hire an independent contractor to assist you in your real estate business. During these times, it is important to verify that the contractor is covered by insurance, which will cover damages if the contractor’s mistakes or accidents cause damage.

Coverage of previous acts

Title agent errors and omissions insurance covers prior acts. Coverage is a feature of liability policies that extends coverage of insurable events to dates prior to the purchase of the policy. In other words, it covers the time between the provision of services and the filing of claims as a result of those services. Under this coverage, all claims caused by wrongful acts after the retroactive date and before the end of the policy period are covered.

Fraudulent Email Wire Transfer Coverage (Third Party)

Under Fraudulent Email Wire Transfer Coverage, compensation is paid on behalf of the Insured, those sums insured are legally required to pay up to $1 million for a covered loss resulting from an employee transferring escrow funds from a Reliant Insured’s account with fraudulent email instructions released from a criminal claiming to be a legal party to the transaction.

The vast majority of counterfeit Morgan dollars are altered specimens of less expensive issues to mimic the low-supply, high-demand counterparts. The most frequently altered Morgan dates are: 1884-S, 1886-O, 1889-CC, 1892-S, 1893-S, 1894-P, Proof of 1895, 1895-S, 1896-O, 1896-S, 1897-O, 1901-P, 1903-S and 1904-S.

There isn’t enough space in an article like this to go into detail about all the minute distinctions between Morgan dollar issues. What I want to point out is that determining if the coin you are looking at is real or fake is pretty easy when you know what to look for.

The most common giveaway for altered silver dollars is that the mintmark is not part of the field, but attached to it. In the case of mint mark removal, the flow lines rotate or become a mint mark that no longer exists. Drawing flow lines requires high magnification.

A complete knowledge of how each coin issue was produced is essential to detect its alterations. Study where the cracks appeared on the genuine coin, which will not appear on the altered piece.

There are often minute gouges or polished areas that are present on each coin of a particular mint or die variety, which will not appear on the alteration. Gouges are easy to spot when you know what to look for.

Mint marks can be telltale signs of tampering. For example, a small rounded “S” was used from 1879 to 1900 and a differently styled “S” from 1901 to 1904.

Watching for subtle differences in Morgan dollars is a primary way to spot a counterfeit or tampering. A genuine 1893-S will have the “1” of the date placed directly in line with a denticle on the edge. The 1893 “3” is slightly higher than the other numbers and is also lined with a denticle.

An 1894-O is often passed off as an 1894-P due to the removal of the mint mark. For starters, look for features like the venerable New Orleans weak attack. A genuine 1894-P has a heavy strike and 2 gouges on the “R” of LIBERTY.

Tire sizes and features are different between some of the mints. That is, the San Francisco Morgans have a flattened, rounded edge, while the Philadelphia specimens had a sharp, almost wire edge.

It helps to have detailed, close-up photos of the coins you want to authenticate. There is a lot of detailed information about the unique characteristics that the genuine coin possesses that an altered coin does not possess. A good reference is the PCGS book: “Official Guide to Coin Classification and Counterfeit Detection”.

When you have reliable information about the genuine article, comparing the coin you are validating is pretty straightforward. There is a certain personal satisfaction in validating or condemning a coin. Check out my other articles on counterfeit detection for other ways to check the authenticity of coins.

While most people prefer other businesses, some people get into the laminate flooring business. Like any other business in the world, if done right, it is quite a profitable business. Laminate flooring has been successful since it was introduced to the market, first in Europe and then in the United States in 1996.

Here are some basic steps to take before starting your laminate flooring business:

1. You must make specific short- and long-term plans with clear objectives and ways to evaluate them. Determine the resources needed, such as where you will be working from, people, money, etc.

2. You should have a pretty good idea of ​​what products and services you will be selling and the benefits people who buy them will reap.

3. Find important information about your competitors, such as their strengths and weaknesses, because it helps you establish a competitive offer. Always try to be unique.

4. Focus your promotions effectively knowing who will buy your products/services. Think about the different promotion strategies and find the one that best suits your business. Focus your promotions on reaching the largest number of customers.

5. Set up your laminate flooring business. Find out start-up costs (equipment, furniture, licenses, etc.). Also find out how much you will have to pay to stay in business. These costs typically include rent, taxes, utilities, promotional expenses, etc.

6. Insurance is a must. There are several types of insurance that you should have such as health and property insurance, for example. You may need to speak with an insurance agent to determine what fits your particular situation.

7. Take care of all legal matters. You need to contact your state’s department of trade and industry and find out everything you need to do to start your own laminate flooring business. In most cases, you must obtain a business license from your local municipality.

8. Start a business checking account and use it to do anything related to money, like depositing your income or paying business-related expenses. Set up a fairly simple bookkeeping system to record all your income and expenses in a way that makes it easy to prepare taxes and keep track of your situation. Ask your tax advisor or accountant to make sure you do it correctly.

This list is far from complete, so use it only to learn the basic steps to take when starting your own laminate flooring business. You should consult a business professional and do additional research to ensure that your business is successful.