Business Improvement

Archive for September, 2009

Upcs Barcodes And Rn Oh My!

Alot of people coming into the tshirt industry have tons of questions on what is refered to as the ‘businessy’ side of tshirt selling and struggle with things like UPCs barcodes and RN numbers. To make life a little easier we’re gonna guide you through some research with the help of some UPC barcode and RN resource websites.

To understand these tricky little terms know what they actually are first:

UPC
Universal Product Codes appear as lines of varying widths representing the series of numbers commonly shown below the bars. Barcode scanners as you will know them from your favorite retailers read the bars and convert them back to the 12digit UPC number that they represent. This number is then looked up within the retailer’s inventory system to find the corresponding product name and price that you provided them with when you signed your agreement for them to carry your product . In short the UPC is a 12digit unique code for your product represented by scannable bars.

RN NUMBER Number assigned to clothing manufacturers for labeling garments. The RN number allows the manufacturer of a certain brand to be determined. It is issued by the FTC to U.S. businesses that manufacture import distribute or sell products covered by the Textile Wool and Fur Acts. Businesses can use this number on product labels in lieu of the company name.Information on obtaining RN numbers is available from the Federal Trade Commission.

BAR CODE A printed series of parallel bars or lines of varying width that is used for entering data into a computer system. The bars are typically black on a white background and their width and quantity vary according to application. The bars are used to represent the binary digits 0 and 1 sequences of which in turn can represent numbers from 0 to 9 and be processed by a digital computer. The presence or absence of a bar of a particular width in a particular position in a sequence is read by the computer as either a 0 or 1. Most such codes use bars of only two different widths thick and thin though some codes employ four widths. The numbers represented by a bar code are also printed out at its base. A UPC is an example of a bar code.

Now that you’ve got them defined and even narrowed down to only two terms that you actually need to know UPC and RN Number let’s take a look at their uses in the clothing industry.

You are required to label covered products to show the name or identifying number of a U.S. business responsible for manufacturing or marketing the product or the name of a foreign manufacturer. Therefore you may use your company business name on the label instead of an RN. The business name is the full name that appears on business documents such as purchase orders and invoices. It is not a trademark brand or designer name unless that is also the name under which the company conducts business. Alternatively the goods may be labeled with the RN or business name of the company that is buying the goods from you such as a distributor or retailer. If you are acquiring the finished products from a U.S. manufacturer importer or distributor they can remain labeled with the RN or business name of that company. RN numbers are available only to businesses residing in the U.S. However imported goods can be labeled with the name of their foreign manufacturer. Your RN number or your company name belongs on the tags and labels of your tshirts.

The UPC code is assigned to each of your product styles. Not every individual tshirt you have in stock but each different kind of tshirt. For example a black tshirt with the word KING on it would have a different UPC from a blue tshirt with the word QUEEN on it but the same UPC as all the otehr black tshirts with the word KING on them.

FOR MORE ON UPCs CHECK OUT UPCCODES.NET FOR MORE ON RN NUMBERS CHECK OUT FTC.GOV
TShirtMagazine.com = TShirt Madness

About the writer:  TShirt Magazine is the premier source for everything surrounding the tshirt culture. Published weekly as a free online magazine T Shirt Magazine is also a web community of tshirt fans and collectors as well as designers and entrepreneurs.

Turn Income Streams Into A Flooded River

One of the key catch phrases of internet income is income stream. The term describes the origination of income for an online company or an individual working different online jobs none of which will probably pay all of their bills. Unlike traditional jobs where the employee works in one place for several years and has only one income stream their paycheck a person working multiple parttime positions on line may have as many as 100 different income streams flowing into their bank account.

Consider than many online companies use affiliate marketing as an income with perhaps a dozen or more online companies having advertisements on their website. When one of these companies makes a sale to a customer referred by the site the site owner receives a sales commission. Each affiliated company on the website is capable of generating an income stream for that website. If the site owner has a highly popular site that is attractive to advertisers they may add another income stream in the form of advertising revenue.

The problem with affiliate marketing income is that it is seldom consistent. Different companies offer different types of merchandise and services for sale and if the offerings do not meet the needs or wants of the site’s visitors there is little chance of sales being made. The site owners will need to monitor the production of every affiliated ad on their site and only include the most revenueproducing companies in the mix.

The types of ads used on the website can also affect the customer response. While some customers may respond well to bright colorful flashy advertisements others may prefer simple text based ads. Depending on the product being promoted the visitor demographic to the site the ads need to focus on their interests in order to be effective at producing an income stream.

A business that has several income streams is often a new budgeting nightmare for the new home business owner. They may have spent years knowing which day of the week their paycheck was going to arrive and how much it was going to be worth. With several different streams of money arriving at different times of the week or month many of these owners have a tough time budgeting their income.

Their income level may be the same as their prior job or even higher through their online business but instead of having a lump sum arriving on Friday it may be split into four unequal payments arriving on four different days of the week.

If they do properly plan for this shift in income they will have trouble budgeting their income streams to last until the next stream flows by.

It is also important not to count on only one or two income streams to meet the financial needs of the online business. If there are only two streams feeding to business account and one of those streams begins to run slower or dries up the owner will be scrambling to find replacement cash. However but having as many income streams as can be accurately managed flowing in the owner can easily survive one or more streams being dammed on their way to their income river.

About the writer:  Cherie Ang is the owner of http://www.SGProfitSite.com. To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit: http://www.SGProfitSite.com

Thrive In All Times: The Big Money Secret

Thrive In All Times: The BIG MONEY Secret!

By Dr. Judy Ellison

If you listen to and believe the news media at all during a recession you will be tempted to pull a blanket over your head and hibernate at home behind closed doors until the economic crisis is over.

According to the media we can’t afford to go anywhere anyway with the outrageous price of gas!

Doom and gloom pervades the news media: Gas prices are soaring groceries are costing more than ever and home foreclosures are escalating. Woe is me we are heading for recession if we aren’t already in it.

WAIT FOLKS!! I hate to burst the “poor me” bubble however

“THE WORLD IS AWASH WITH MONEY.

This staggering statement was made by Ted Turner when he donated a billion dollars to the United Nations. Sure you say that is easy for Ted Turner to say he had the billion dollars!

But did he have an extra billion dollars to donate because he truly believed the “world is awash with money?” I believe that is the case. It all depends on your state of mind.

The wealthy dwell in an abundance consciousness. Every thought we have falls into one of two streams of energy enough or not enough. If you think there is enough then you will THRIVE AT ALL TIMES. If you think there is a limited supply than you will have to participate in the gloom and doom that the media is peddling. The choice is yours.

You see the same amount of money is in the world today as it was yesterday or the day before or the year before. It just changed hands.

The world shifts and the businesses that did good a year ago may not be able to do things the same way this year. We have to intuitively tune in to the guidance mechanism within our heart. We have to stay CONNECTED to the Source of infinite knowledge. When the world shifts we have to shift with it.

One way to stay connected and develop a THRIVE mindset is to do AlphaKardia an alphacoherent meditation. Go within! Amazing things happen. My life can vouch for that.

This intuitive voice from within began to show me last fall as I prepared to go back to work after a sabbatical that I would have to do things differently in the coming years. If I wanted to MAKE BIG MONEY and become a millionaire I would need to adjust my thinking. Not do things in the old way.

The BIG MONEY was still available and could be made by everyone with very little investment. Not one person is excluded! That means YOU can make the big money too!

The BIG MONEY to be made and again I am repeating here it can be made by everyone and requires very little up front money is drum roll

“OWNING VIRTUAL REAL ESTATE!

You heard me right. To make money in the real estate market the best bet is to develop or purchase your own online store. Yes there are even Virtual Real Estate agents and online escrow companies to take care of the transaction.

Look for ecommerce to experience over 130 billion dollars of growth in the next four years says Forrester Research.

This projection came from their February 2008 The Outlook for U.S. eCommerce in 2008 and Beyond report. It states eCommerce sales will jump from 204 billion this year to nearly 335 billion in 2012.

My International readers will be relieved to know they are not being left out because online business can be done anywhere in the world.

Here is why eCommerce is flourishing. Convenience!

Shoppers can research products and purchase anything at any time. The stores are open 24/7. And sales aren’t slowing down. This is great news for you. An online business may be your very best bet to shift with the economic winds of fortune and make BIG MONEY in the next few years.

I wish you greater success!

Dr. Judy Ellison All rights reserved.

About the writer:  Dr. Judy Ellison is a millionaire success coach published author motivational speaker psychologist and research scientist. She publishes the eNewsletter Achieving Greater Success. To get a FREE copy of her Get Unstuck Get Up And Get Moving ebook subscribe now at www.YourSuccessExpert.com.