Starting a Grant Writing Consulting Business

Grant writing is attracting a lot of attention these days. More and more people are investigating how to supplement their income, or replace their day job altogether, by writing grants. I am often asked the question, how can I start my own grant writing consulting business? I would urge you to consider the matter very carefully. Making the transition is not as easy as it seems.

There are two major prerequisites one should have before marketing his or herself as an accomplished grant writer. These are having:

1) a track record of successful grant proposals; and
2) nonprofit knowledge and experience.

There are numerous people out there touting themselves as professional grant writers. Meanwhile, they have little to no field or nonprofit grant writing experience. They think because they are confident in their writing ability, or have a background in technical writing, that they would easily make the transition. Grant writing and technical writing are very different.

Grant writing is similar to technical writing in that you’re gathering information about various subject matters. As a grant writing consultant, you may have one client or multiple clients with varying missions and programs. Having a technical writing background will allow you to write about numerous subject matters with ease.

Grant writing is dissimilar to technical writing in that it is an emotional appeal. One has to be able to merge the technical side of the argument with the emotional side. People who give away money do so because they have an emotional or personal connection to a cause. It is the grant writer’s job to convince the grant or donor that their charity deserves the grant more than the dozens, hundreds, or thousands of other asking charities.

Anyone can print a business card and say they are capable of delivering such a product. However, I would dare to say, as a CEO or Executive Director of a nonprofit looking to outsource my grant writing the chances of me hiring someone with no track record, knowledge, or field experience would be close to zero. I have heard far too many horror stories about the unethical practices of people claiming to be professional grant writers. This behavior makes nonprofit leaders distrustful and resistant to the idea of outsourcing their grant writing.

If you are an experienced grant writer and you have the documentation to prove it, you can start your own home-based grant writing consulting business with very little start up costs. When I started 2 1/2 years ago, I developed a presentation folder that included:

1) a portfolio of foundations that had approved my proposals;
2) my bio with professional related experience;
3) a brochure listing the types of projects I had worked on; and
4) a postcard that highlighted the benefits of working with my company ($ secured to date, affordability, and free grants research).

I made a short presentation to a few people I knew who managed nonprofits. Then I used local grantee lists to start a database in order to send out advertisements. Each month I would mail a postcard to the nonprofits on my list and follow up with a phone call. I got my first few clients using this marketing strategy. Soon after, those clients began to refer their colleagues and the rest is history.

What Can a Consultant Do For Your Business? – Part I

Introduction

This series of articles provides some perspective on business consultants and their value to your business by focusing on the abilities of a good consultant and what he can bring to your business.

The following is a list of the abilities that are required by a good consultant:

Can provide an objective perspective to the client’s business
Can accurately analyze the client’s situation
Can help the client focus
Can provide the client with techniques to solve business issues
Can assist the client in the decision making process
Can help the client reach greater levels of efficiency
Can help the client improve products and services
Providing an Objective Perspective

Studies have repeatedly shown that people have an overly-optimistic view of their current circumstances. In addition, ‘wishing will make it so’ appears to be a philosophy shared, if unconsciously, by many. This approach to a business is often expressed in unrealistic forecasts for sales, expenses, costs, time to market, and, of course, profit and loss.

A good consultant can look beyond the client’s eagerness and assurances, and provide the client with a set of conservative (or pessimistic) forecasts. This may dismay the client at first, but it allows the client to adjust his business strategy. In the ‘worst’ case, i.e. where the optimistic forecasts were correct, the client will be delighted at the ‘better than expected’ business results.

The consultant has this ability, because he has very little vested interest in his client’s success to date. And although being hired by successful clients boosts the image and reputation of a consultant, this is of minor import when compared to the client’s interest in his own success.

In many ways, I consider this objectivity to be one of the greatest assets that a consultant offers his clients.

The Five Things You Need to Do For Your Wedding Photography Consultation

When it comes time to book consultations with wedding photographers, it can be a bit daunting if you’re not certain what to expect or what to do. But the process is actually quite simple if you follow these five basic steps…

1: Schedule your consultations wisely.

Assuming that you’re arranging consultations with more than one photographer, it’s best to schedule all of your photographer meetings within the same day or two. Wedding photographers will offer you the courtesy of holding your date while you make your decision, but they can only hold that date for you for a few days or a week at most.

By booking your consultations within the same day or two, you guarantee that your wedding date is held by all of your potential photographers for a similar amount of time.

2: Prepare for your meeting.

During your consultation, a lot of information gets covered in a short amount of time. You want to be sure to ask all of the questions that are really important to you, so it’s a good idea to write a list out beforehand and bring it with you.

3: Know your budget.

It wastes your time and the photographer’s time if you meet with them and you’re not sure about exactly how much you’re prepared to spend on your wedding photography. Before scheduling a wedding photography consultation, decide on a budget and be certain that you and your fiance are both in agreement about the amount.

4: Know your wedding schedule.

Before you even start contacting photographers, make a list of the wedding photographs that are important to you and your fiancee. Do you want pre-ceremony photos? Ceremony only? Do you want posed shots with your wedding party, friends and family? Photos at the reception? A comprehensive list of the photos you want, will help you figure out how long to book your photographer.

When you meet with wedding photographers, they’ll need to know how much time you’ll want to book them for on your wedding day. Try to be sure about this before you meet with them. If you’re not sure, bring the list of your ‘must have’ photos to your consultation.

5: Trust your instincts, not your wallet.

If you’ve done your research, you’ll have only booked meetings with photographers who have good portfolios, who offer services, rates and photography styles that suit your needs. So the deciding factor will come down to who you’d most like to have as an integral part of your wedding day.

Sometimes you’ll know right away. But if you’re uncertain, ask yourself which photographer had a personality that seems well-suited to you and your fiance? Which photographer seemed the most competent, knowledgeable and trustworthy? Who seemed to be the most kind, considerate, polite and friendly?

Don’t make the mistake of simply choosing the person with the lowest rates. Choose the photographer who you feel will be the best fit for you, your fiance and for your wedding in general.

Energy Efficient Consulting and Reduced Energy Cost

With commercial cost cutting measures becoming more necessary during the current recession, companies are often faced with the difficult decision of whether or not to lay off employees. If your company has recently experienced layoffs and may possibly experience more, then you are probably wishing that there were a better way to save money instead of sending your valued workers to the unemployment line. There is, and it rests within the green building industry in the form of energy efficiency.

More than just a buzz term among environmental activists, energy efficiency is the objective practice of dramatically reducing companies’ energy costs on a long-term basis, with some companies realizing energy savings that reach seven figures on an annual basis. HVAC systems and lighting systems are two operating systems that energy efficiency consulting commonly focuses on.

With most HVAC systems and lighting systems accounting for 40-60 percent and roughly 30 percent of a commercial building’s electrical costs, respectively, it is easy to see how retrofitting a building’s operating systems to achieve energy efficiency could end up reducing energy cost by a sizeable margin. The first step in reducing energy cost is energy efficient consulting, which begins with an initial meeting to discuss the client’s goals and set project timeframes.

The second step in the consulting process commences with a detailed assessment of a building’s interior spaces and characteristics, including hours of operation, square footage and current electrical costs. Throughout the assessment process an energy efficient consultant will perform a variety of technical measurements, including T12, metal halide and HPS measurements.

The third step in the consulting process is a detailed project analysis. Using the information recorded by the energy consultant, a program manager will meet with the client to discuss project goals and then determine the appropriate installation measures that will lead to energy efficiency. If State or Utility rebates are available for the project the project manner will determine the rebate amount and factor it into the project’s final cost analysis.

The fourth step in the consulting process is the presentation of the project proposal. Upon reviewing the project manager’s financial, environmental and work analysis of the project, the client decides whether or not to proceed. With the decision to move forward, the project manager begins implementing the project by conducting a pre-construction review. Then, when the project is complete, a post-installation review is conducted, after which the project’s paperwork is finalized.

If your company needs to cut costs during the current recession, energy efficient construction provides a way to cut costs right now and in the future. In many cases, the cost savings that result from energy efficient construction pay for the construction costs within two years, and after that the cost savings increase a company’s bottom line year after year.

5 Reasons Why a Specialist SEO Consultant Can Be Hired by Any Online Business

Marketing your online business is not an easy thing to do. There are a lot of business owners marketing products in the same niche over the internet. The competition is tough and getting your product’s name at the foremost thought of every potential customer’s mind is a difficult. Even just by getting them to look twice in your advertisement is already a challenge.

Business owners spend lots of money coming up with creative and eye catching advertisements to spread their product’s name. While advertisements have proven to be effective throughout the years, today they are slowly becoming a thing of the past. Marketing and promotion have transcended conventional advertising methods. Search engine optimization is emerging to be the future of online businesses. SEO is not a new concept, yet a lot of business owners are still now fully aware of how a powerful marketing tool this can be. If you do not know where to begin with SEO, an SEO consultant may guide you in utilizing SEO techniques to bring traffic into your site. Here are 5 reasons why as a business owner it is imperative that you hire the services of an SEO consultant in order to maintain a competitive edge in marketing your online business.

• A lot of online businesses are managed by business owner who know so little of today’s method of promoting online businesses through SEO. This is where SEO consultants are good at, and they are more than happy to assist business owners in succeeding in their online business.

• There are many different SEO methods to bring customers into your online business domain. For someone who is not all too familiar in doing internet marketing, doing everything on your own can be overwhelming. It takes more than just one person to get the job done. It is difficult if you do not even know where to begin in the whole SEO business. The good thing SEO consultants practically have a bible of the things to do in getting started in SEO.

• An online business may have a site. Yet, it remains dead to the world if nobody knows about it. Internet users are potential customers. These potential customers need to be directed toward your online business’ site so that they will see your product. That is tough because you are not the only one selling that product over the internet. SEO consultants will help you in directing all these potential costumers into your online business.

• The SEO consultants may recommend appropriate SEO methods depending on the nature of your business. They may recommend that you try submitting relevant articles with back links to your domain at article submission sites. They can also recommend that you post adverts with back links at social networking sites. These methods can create traffic to your online business site and search engines are able to keep tabs of the traffic you are creating. As a result your site will rank high when searched for at search engines.

• Lastly, SEO consultants know the most cost effective means of promoting your online business. SEO really saves your business a lot of money, and it has the power to bring more money as well.

If you are still a fledgling online business, trust SEO consultants to help you get over that stage fast.

Benefits of using Honeycomb Blinds in your home

Window coverings are an important part of any home. They provide privacy and insulation, and can add style to any room. There are many different types of window coverings available on the market, but honeycomb blinds in Sydney offer a number of unique benefits that other types of blinds cannot match.

Honeycomb Blinds are Highly Insulated

One of the primary benefits of using honeycomb blinds in Sydney is that they are highly insulated. This means they can help keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Honeycomb blinds also block out drafts,Guest Posting which can save energy and reduce your monthly utility bills. If you are looking for an affordable way to improve your home’s energy efficiency, honeycomb blinds are a great option.

Honeycomb Blinds Are Easy to Clean

Another benefit of using honeycomb blinds in your home is that they are easy to clean. Unlike other types of blinds in Sydney, honeycomb blinds can be easily dusted and wiped down with a damp cloth. This makes them ideal for homes with children or pets. They are also stain-resistant, so you don’t have to worry about spills and stains ruining your window treatments.

Honeycomb Blinds Come in a Variety of Colours and Styles

Honeycomb blinds are available in a wide variety of colours and styles to suit any décor. If you want something that enhances the decor of your home, these blinds are a great option. You can even get them in custom colours to match your furniture or walls.

Honeycomb Blinds Are Energy Efficient

One of the best benefits of using honeycomb blinds in your home is that they are extremely energy efficient. During the summer, the honeycomb cells trap cool air, making your home more comfortable. In the winter, they work to keep heat inside your home, saving you money on your energy bills.

Honeycomb Blinds Are Affordable

Another great benefit of using honeycomb blinds in your home is that they are very affordable in the long term. Honeycomb blinds are a great way to save money on window treatments without sacrificing style or quality. Although the initial cost may be a little high, in the long run you will be able to save a lot of money on your energy bills.

If you are looking for a way to improve the look of your home, while also saving money, then honeycomb blinds are the perfect choice for you. With their energy efficiency and easy maintenance, these blinds are sure to make your life easier. So, what are you waiting for? Give them a try today. You won’t be disappointed!

Different fabrics used for curtaining

When looking for blinds and shutters in Sydney, curtains ae still a popular classic choice. There are many different types of fabric that can be used for curtains in Sydney, which make them highly versatile window treatments. Some fabrics are better at blocking out light than others, and some fabrics are more durable than others.

Polyester fabrics: Polyester is a synthetic fabric that is wrinkle-resistant and does not shrink. Polyester is a good choice for curtains that need to be washed often.
Cotton: Cotton is a natural fabric that is soft and breathable. Cotton curtains are best for rooms that do not get a lot of sunlight,Guest Posting as they will fade over time if exposed to too much sun.
Linen: Linen is a natural fabric that is strong and durable. Linen curtains are best for rooms that get a lot of sunlight, as they will not fade as easily as cottons.
Silk: Silk is a luxurious fabric that has a smooth, shiny surface. Silk curtains are for formal rooms or bedroom windows. They are not as durable as other fabrics and can be easily damaged by sunlight.
Velvet: Velvet is another luxury fabric that has a soft, smooth surface. Velvet is quite heavy and ideal for formal drapes.
Wool: Wool is a natural fabric that is strong and durable. Wool curtains are best for rooms that get a lot of sunlight, as they will not fade or damage easily.

Now that you know the different types of fabric used for curtaining, you can choose the right type of fabric for your room! If are still unsure about what to select, speak to a professional in curtains in Sydney, and they will be able to help you make the right decision for your home depending on the specific needs of each room.

Don’t forget that with curtaining there are many options in terms of colours, textures, prints etc, so you can really personalise your window treatments to make a statement in your home. Curtains can also help to insulate your home and keep out the cold in winter, so be sure to consider this when making your purchase.

5 Reasons to Make SAP Business ByDesign Your ERP Solution

It is granted that the disruptions of the past several months while hitting all businesses like has been especially brutal for the mid market player.

The present is a curious and opportune moment to be an SME. It is granted that the disruptions of the past several months while hitting all businesses alike has been particularly brutal for the mid-market players. But it has also mainstreamed the Digital like never before,Guest Posting leveling the playing field and nudging the SMEs to reclaim their rightful position as the cornerstone of the economies worldwide.

Nevertheless, the New Economy is characterized by an imperative to drive non-linear growth, stringent compliance, demand for optimized time-to-market with quality, and a customer base that is increasingly aspirational and visibly impatient. Arguably, these are factors that small and medium businesses operating on conservative enterprise management practices or legacy ERP stacks may find quite overwhelming to deal with.

A future-ready ERP

Throwback to 2007, the product planners at SAP predicted a growing appetite for cloud-borne services across industries. They also perceived a wide capability gap between low-end systems like SAP BusinessOne, targeted at small firms, and high-end systems like SAP ECC, designed for large enterprises. In response, SAP Business ByDesign ERP was launched to address the unique requirements of the mid-market segment in a cloud-first world and help them operate profitably in closely contested landscapes.

SAP Business ByDesign ERP is a cloud suite-in-a-Box engineered around SAP’s HANA in-memory database technology, facilitating fast, transparent, efficient, and organized governance. For SMEs, SAP Business ByDesign ERP integrates all core enterprise processes including Finance, HR, CRM, project management, and supply chain functions around an intelligent, cloud-native platform using pre-built processes, enabling them to compete without the cost and complexities of managing on-premise infrastructure.

Why should you embrace SAP Business ByDesign ERP?

Whether your organization have actually outgrown its current ERP installation or considering a proactive vertical migration, here are five compelling reasons why your enterprise transformation investments should not look beyond SAP Business ByDesign ERP:

The cloud advantage: Perhaps the most prominent feature of SAP Business ByDesign ERP is that while SAP BusinessOne and it’s enterprise peers like SAP S/4HANA are available in both on-premise and cloud versions, it is an exclusively cloud-native product. It offers you the option to run your enterprise services on SAP’s world-class shared cloud infrastructure or avail the advantages of the public cloud in a dedicated and highly secured environment, eliminating the need for on-premise installations and optimizing TCO in the process by scraping out significant capital outlays. Further, in contrast to recurring expenses often associated with other ERP products, SAP Business ByDesign ERP comes at a fixed installation price. It collapses Annual Maintenance and Version Upgrade costs into a per-user subscription, simplifying the operating cost predictions for running your ERP stack.

High scalability: SAP Business ByDesign ERP is a cloud ERP built for growth, supporting you from inception and throughout your journey along the maturity curve. It aims to bring postmodern enterprise management features for entities with a market cap of $500k to $1 billion through a SaaS model and cater to a user base of 7 – 9,000 employees per system. SAP Business ByDesign ERP is a modular product that supports a broad spectrum of enterprise functions, including Financials, CRM, Human Resources, Supply Chain Management, Project Management, Supplier Relationship Management, Compliance Management, and Executive Management. It can be scaled up or down as per your business requirements. Further, there are a series of solution extensions and industry-specific packages available to enhance your ERP stack’s capability. In fact, currently, the product is backed by an ecosystem of 125+ software ISV partners with 2,600 add-on solutions. SAP Business ByDesign ERP is localized for 20 SAP delivered countries and is available in more than 12 languages.

In-built analytics: SAP Business ByDesign ERP has been conceived to facilitate insights-driven governance through embedded analytics and performance metrics, delivering real-time intelligence for your decision-makers. SAP Business ByDesign ERP serves a panoramic view of your operations, helping you understand the root cause of issues, key business trends, success drivers, and critical situation estimates by assimilating data streams from various enterprise processes. Your managers and process owners can consume such insights on demand through a series of role-based dashboards, ad-hoc reporting tools, and analytics embedded into the transactional environments.

Improved customer relations: The account and activity management functionalities in SAP Business ByDesign ERP ensure optimum visibility into your Order To Cash cycles. It allows your sales teams to closely manage the opportunity pipelines, orchestrate leads along the funnel, pinpoint revenue augmentation potentials, provide quotes, and process fulfillment without lag. As a single source of truth, the out-of-the-box CRM functionalities in SAP Business ByDesign ERP allow your customer-facing staff to access critical information and better navigate customer transitions. With unrestricted access to data from multiple sources like sales, logistics, finance, and marketing, SAP Business ByDesign ERP allows your customer success teams to inspire buyer delight and improve the CSAT score.

Mobility: SAP Business ByDesign ERP features complete mobile compatibility and can be accessed on a hand-held device of your choice. It helps achieve better shop floor to top floor cohesion and allows your on-field employees with active internet connectivity to be productive by remotely accessing the ERP stack for various roles.

Final notes

That SAP Business ByDesign is currently trusted and used by mid-market organizations in over 144 countries worldwide speaks at length about its capabilities and relevance in the New Economy. However, rather than joining the bandwagon, the decision to make SAP Business ByDesign your ERP solution should be an informed and deliberate one with clear visibility of the advantages that can be derived. For this, SAP Business ByDesign Partners like Percipere are available with a rich trove of skills and deep solution implementation experience. Instead of leaving success to chances, it is prudent to approach such experts and let an SAP Business ByDesign Consultant guide you through the transition.

Tribal Jewelry – Why Individuals Wear It

This article will tell you why people like to wear tribal jewelry.

Several Tribes dress in Wooden Jewelry and also Gemstone Pieces of jewelry and it is not just about looking good,Guest Posting it really is about the actual symbolism and is often connected with health and success plus reputation. Our health plus wellness are really much about the physical along with the emotional, a lot of cultures have noted this link between psychological wellbeing and also physical wellbeing for a long time.

In Indian treatment, Ayurveda, a doctor treats the patient dependent on what type of person they are related to one of the five components of Land, Water Fire Air as well as Ether. As a result, body, mind, and spirit/consciousness need to be attended to both individually and also in unison for health to ensue. While associated mainly with Indian medication lots of other civilizations now have identical values as well as practices. Most tribes wear their Tribal Jewellery in order to identify themselves, to show position plus to preserve divine well-being.

Would this hokum work, well I watched a recent tv show which took three topics and also put them on a course on Ayurveda treatment/medicine, I am certainly not entering into fine detail here, but Yes it worked and almost all experienced the pros, particularly the subject who had been stressed out as well as depressed.

To ensure our wellbeing we must feel and look good about ourselves and just about everyone has actually been informed of this for such a long time now indeed many of us will agree to the premise that when we feel great and also look good we have a confident shine of pleasure plus wellness.

Currently, at moment, you will find a massive spike in firms offering to buy your jewelry in order to melt it down plus provide you with some cash. I am not getting into the argument about the value of the cash offered in return for your jewelry however unless individual circumstance really calls for this I would suggest you can get far more benefit from putting the jewelry on and giving your spirits an enhancement by looking and feeling fantastic.

Traditionally trendsetting…from jhumkas and chandbalis to intricately handcrafted one-of-a-kind designs, we have you covered for accessorizing all your traditional wear for weddings, festivals and special occasions. You’ll find gold-plated or plain silver earrings studded with pearls, Swarovski crystals, stones or glass in elaborate traditional motifs here. From peacock and flowers to crescent, fish and god motifs, each of these earrings has something traditionally special that will speak to you. Tribal Jewellery.

In an advertisement on TV, we see superstar celebrity and Model Charlize Theron stripping off as she walks away, now they are not promoting stripping or jewelry, however they are attempting to show Ms. Theron as being comfortable happy, and also sparkling, and they, for the most part, do, however, to help make this happen Ms. Theron still wears her Jewellery, why because it is obvious it will help her to feel happy and look great, despite the trouble of being nude in front of the cameras and numerous people required to create the advertisement.

For a bold and dramatic statement, go for Tribe earrings that are inspired by the rich tribal heritage of our country. In fact, tribal-inspired earrings is one accessory that is evergreen and versatile in its appeal. One can match it with Indian or western wear and even style it casually or even with festive attire. The distinct quality of tribal earrings from Tribe is that every single piece is intricately handcrafted and has unmatched detailing in its motifs. Indeed a jewellery box must have! Traditional Rings.

Most of us have noticed the expensive garments superstars put on on the red carpet as they try to impress and self promote to help land the next big role but have you noticed how they all have on their jewelry even in some cases where it is fairly simple and also sophisticated beaded jewelry or wooden jewelry rather than huge and overpowering diamonds.

All the top screen goddesses have been noticed in highly provocative poses on as well as off-screen yet few if any are seen without their gemstones. Who can neglect Marilyn Munroe informing us all in the most provocative style that Diamonds undoubtedly are a Girl’s best friend, probably it should have been Jewellery, beaded jewelry, wooden jewelry, gemstone jewelry just about all certainly are a Girl’s companion?

My contention is that celebrity or not, being provocative or not, we all need our jewelry to feel clothed to look our best as well as to radiate that ambiance that tells the world all of us are delighted and also feeling great, thus potentially in these modern days, our own symbolism is the fact that our Tribal Jewellery affirms I really feel and look very good at this point.

What are the future opportunities for a SAP consultant?

These article explains What are the future opportunities for a SAP consultant?

SAP Consultants are the people that are in charge of developing and maintaining the SAP system for a company. They work closely with the technical experts related to SAP,Guest Posting and collaborate to build a functional and dependable system. The future is bright for those who have a degree in IT or have previous experience working with SAP.

If you want to get into this field, you should take into consideration that there are many opportunities when it comes to careers in SAP consulting. This is because of how widespread SAP systems are across industries. In addition, employers want people who know how to design and maintain these systems, which means more job openings on the horizon!

The Evolving IT World and the Changing Role of a SAP Consultants

SAP consultants are the name of the game in today’s IT world. They are highly in demand and a market leader in the industry.

An SAP consultant is not what it used to be. SAP has seen a great deal of change, as well as its users, and as such, so have its needs when it comes to consultants. As more companies are looking to simplify their IT needs, they want to find one point of contact for all of their IT needs. An SAP consultant is that go-to person for many organizations who need help with any aspect of the ever-changing realm of IT.

SAP has always been an innovator and leader in technology consulting services, but recent changes have made this company one that is relied upon even more heavily by its customers. Rather than needing a different

How to Succeed as a SAP Consultant in Today’s New Paradigm

SAP consultants are in high demand. The way SAP consultants do consulting has changed, and there are new skills needed to be a successful SAP consultant.

To succeed as a SAP consultant today, it’s crucial that you capitalize on what the best jobs for sap consultants call for. In this article, we will help you understand the different ways you can utilize your strengths and develop new skills to be a better SAP consultant overall!

The skills of an SAP consultant have changed over time with the introduction of new technologies and additional modes of operation. It is important to know what these changes mean to ensure that one can adapt accordingly. In this article, we will examine how being good at being a sap consultant has not only become more difficult but more nuanced as well.