Site Promotion – 3 Ways to Connect With Customers Online

How to Connect with Your Customers through the Internet

If you want to reach out to potential customers and nurture your business relationship with existing clients, the resources available online can be an excellent way to realize your plans. Listed below are the 3 effective ways that you can promote your business without the need for any cash expenses.

Social Networking

Building an online presence is made easy with the advent of social networking sites. This is a positive way to bond with your customers, both your existing and potential clients. You would reap benefits by establishing a Facebook account, becoming an active Twitter member, creating a page on MySpace and making your LinkedIn’s professional profile.

If social networking is a whole new world for you, you can start with a particular site that you will find most relevant and create your online network from there. Your active involvement is a must if you want to build a strong relationship with your clients online. Bear in mind that this is a networking activity and not a scheme for direct sales. Active participation is a way to develop your contacts’ trust. You will surely see the benefits as your business starts to grow.

Start Posting in Your Own Blog

Your own blog posts could bring about numerous benefits for your business. This is particularly true if your website is filled with quality content that appeals to the interest of your target market. You have to be committed to at least 3 updates every week if you choose to initiate a business blog. If they find the content of your website useful and informative, you will soon have loyal clients that would come back to your website time and again. These loyal customers will be checking your website every now and then to be able to find out the new stuff that you have to offer.

With the existing design of your website, you may be able to add a blog to it. Another way to do it is by creating a free blog where your primary site can be linked to. This is the best way to become an expert in your clients’ perspective.

Article Marketing

If you truly want to be seen as a specialist in your field, promoting your business online through article marketing is also a good scheme. There are free reprint article directories where you can submit informational articles that would attract prospective clients. Publishers of newsletters and website owners visit these directories frequently. If your articles get published, a link back to your website and your bio statement could possibly result to a whole new group of clients checking out your products and services.

Avoid Pitfalls in Internet Marketing – A Beginner’s Guide

Marketing through the internet is a powerful and faster way to promote any product. Despite being the most effective marketing medium, the internet is quite tough to understand and handle. For beginners, it is even hard to avoid pitfalls in internet marketing. The spider’s web is laid around you and with little knowledge; you can never get out of it without being affected. Marketing over the internet demands sound knowledge, experience and a big heart. Having said this, smart thinking and imbibing few work ethics can still make a newbie avoid pitfalls in the internet marketing. Here are a few common errors many beginners make. Avoiding these mistakes can make your time on internet marketing profitable.

  • Never start your marketing job without doing prior research regarding the product, the way you market it and other technical issues. Generally, beginners just jump into the work straight away without doing enough research. This makes many of them to fail.
  • You should have a certain strategy regarding the product and how to market it. Strategic management is the key for success. Not just formulating strategies but getting the right one is important.
  • The juiciest thing for beginners is special offers which include money and other valuable merchandise. Avoiding pitfalls in internet marketing includes staying away from all kinds of special offers as most of them turn out to be scams.
  • You’ve got to maintain a good professional approach to the marketing work. There are many people who start the work but couldn’t excel because they are not that professional at work.
  • Your website is the only way to start communicating with the clients and buyers. So, your site should be dynamic and have something new all the time for users that browse through it. You cannot continue with the same old content for ages together. This simply bores the users as you have no novelty in presentation. Updating your site to the modern trends is extremely important. This is where a lot of people loose the battle. Avoiding this pitfall in internet marketing means you are one step ahead of those losers.
  • Practice the techniques involved in marketing and technical maintenance of your website. Development is a continuous process and you should keep going on with your good work. Sufficient practice and focus can help you perform even better.
  • Very few marketers use their resources potentially well. Utilizing the resources includes human as well as technical resources. Practically, it is hard for you to do all the marketing work. You should find few go to men who can share your work and lessen your burden.
  • Marketing over the internet needs some creative work as well. This can make a huge difference between an ordinary marketer and an iconic marketer. All the creative workers communicate with their potential clients not just through their site, but other means like phones, newsletters, blogs and forums. This keeps all their clients interested all the time. Sticking to your computer gets your business stuck at the computer itself. Avoiding this pitfall in the internet marketing can help you make your business bigger and better.

These are a few common pitfalls to be avoided in the internet marketing. Apart from these there may be many more practical issues, which can be resolved by experience. Do well to search the internet for more.

Why This is the Best Time in History to Start a Home Based Business?

The economy stinks. You know it and I know it. Heck, the whole country knows it. There are very few positive things that are coming out of this crappy economy. People are losing their jobs, their benefits, even their homes its’ just a bad situation all together. However, one great thing about all of this is that there has never been a better time in history to start a home based business. Don’t believe me? Let me tell you why.People are looking for something better, something new, something that will give them hope. Owning your own business can give people the ultimate hope. Hope that they won’t have to file for bankruptcy, hope that if they lost their job it would be ok, hope that they can still put food on the table for their families. Simply put people are looking for exactly what a home based business provides.With all these people looking for something it makes it much easier to talk to people about a home based business. People who ordinarily would have turned up their noses at the idea are now much more open to it. Also, if your business provides a product or service that can help people save money or make their lives easier you’re in luck as well.I firmly believe that out of all of this negativity people will be growing their checks like never before. Will you be one of them? If you haven’t already made the choice to start working from home you could not be reading this article at a better time. Lives will be changed by home based businesses in the next year to two years. If you don’t jump in now you might end up kicking yourself later on.Not to mention with internet marketing working from home has never been more affordable. There are a million and one ways to make money online every month without spending a dime on marketing.Yes, these are truly great times for the home based business owner. Will you be cashing in like the thousands of others will? Find out more about starting a home based business today!

3 Powerful Keys You Must Have to Make Your Internet Home Based Business Idea Successful

What are those powerful keys you really need to make your internet home based business idea successful?Are they secret knowledge’s you may need, are they special promotional tactics and strategies you may need to advertise your business, are they killer traffic techniques to flood your website in traffic?Hello Yevgeniy is here today and thanks for landing on one of my articles.I am sure all I have mentioned above will make your internet home based business idea successful.But are they those main keys you really need?Powerful key number one to make your internet home based business idea successful is organization. You must have a complete step by step blueprint formula for every single day. You must have a clear plan of actions of what you will be doing step by step to make your business be closer to success every single day. If you haven’t started your home bases business yet, that’s what you should start with. Find a complete step by step program that will show you what to do step by step, every single day, that even will tell you how much time you will need to spend on doing this or that thing. But plan by itself worth nothing if you will not implement it.So the powerful key number two you must have in your arsenal to make your internet home based business idea successful is action. Even most guaranteed making money formula will not make any money for you if you will not implement it. You will need to follow your business plan and you should not turn anywhere else. Once you will start your work make sure you will get rid of anything that may distract you. Close your email, your Facebook home page, etc. I mean anything and concentrate on your business.The last powerful key you must accept into your arsenal to make your internet home based business idea successful is you must accept full responsibility for all results you will be getting from your business. That’s when you will start implementing the information you will be given in a right way. That’s when you will start learning from your mistakes and from your own experience. And once you will learn you will never make it again, this same mistake. Conclusion: by doing mistakes you will be one step closer to success.Many people think that to become successful with their internet home based business idea they need some kind of magic button, by pushing on each he or she will get fast results by doing nothing. But unfortunately that is not how it is. Many people who are successful in their lives follow these simple and the same time powerful principles I have described above. So now you know what you really need to become successful in business and in life in general, wish you only success.

Key Elements in Setting Up a Home Based Business

Loads of people venture into home based businesses on the internet, however not all of them are successful enough. If you wish to build a firm foundation for your business, then you need to figure out a business strategy which would set you apart from the rest. We have discussed about a few key elements which are essential to build a firm foundation for your home based business.One of the essential building blocks of your business is to write down the reasons for starting your own business. You must be clear of the driving force behind your business ideas. Write down your long term goals since they would help you focus during times when you would feel like giving up. You would come across a lot of instances where things wouldn’t go as planned and this is where your action plan would prove to be important. Write down the action plan or the steps you would take in order to achieve your goals. Keep in mind that building an online presence would take some time and the results are never generated immediately.The second element in developing a firm foundation for your business is to eliminate all kinds of doubts. Face your fears and try to find a solution for your doubts. If you are unable to deal with your fears or inhibitions, then you must understand that home-based business venture is not for you. Find out how much time you can allot to your home based business opportunity. Set up a space where you can work exclusively on your own, without any disturbances around. Allocate a fixed schedule for your newly acquired home based business opportunity.The best part about online home based business opportunities is that there is scope for everyone here. With a combination of knowledge and hard work, you would be in a position to compete with the already successful home based business owners.

Job Hunting – 4 Reasons For a Home Based Business

Sometimes the unexpected comes and it hits you right between the eyes. One day your enjoying producing for the company that you have worked for nearly 20 years, the next day your out on the street without any job prospects. In May of 2009, I found myself without a job, in the middle of a declining economy, having to find a new job. No problem right? After a few month of searching, it was not just looking for a particular job in my career niche, it was looking for any job. I had to feed a family of four, and each day without a job, heightened the tension at home. Can you relate to some of this pain?If you are that person that has worked in the traditional workplace with your own brick and mortar business, or you were working for someone who owned one, you need to consider what some of the economist are saying about the hesitance of traditional business owners in hiring new employees. You might have to reconsider where you are going to find your next job. Many of the unemployed are considering the Home Based Business industry. There are many good reasons for working out of your home. Four key reasons are:4 REASONS FOR A HOME BASED BUSINESS1. CAUTIOUS BUSINESS OWNERSWhether you believe the economy is stabilizing or not, employers will continue to have cold feet about the economy. They will be concerned about overall costs and they will be very conservative in hiring additional employees. It was hard enough to let go of those hard working employees when the economy started to decline. It will not be as easy to find a traditional job as it once was because of cautious employers. A second good reason for considering home based business is the freedom you and your family will experience.2. A NEW FOUND FREEDOMWhat was that word Mel Gibson screamed out as he was fighting for a most important cause, ‘FREEDOM’, that is what you will have plenty of. Freedom to spend quality time with your family. Freedom to work when you want to work and how long you want to work. Vacation time is not restricted. You are freed up to be involved in events that are of very high priority to you and your family such as, your involvement in the church, community, politics, school, sports, and it goes on and on. A third reason is the cost factor. Without a job and the necessity of keeping a tight budget, a home based business can be very affordable.3. IT IS COST EFFECTIVE Lower start-up costs. You are already at home, so you will not have to find a rental office or lease. If you are the sole employee, there will not be the cost of paying employees. Your clothing allowance will be minimal. Transportation costs will be cut down because you will not have the daily commute costs. You can also eat your wife’s leftovers for lunch, I am assuming that is a positive thing! And if you get the right online home business, inventory costs can be minimal. A fourth reason for a home based business is some of the tax advantages one can have.4. TAXES ADVANTAGES There are many tax breaks you can take advantage of as an owner of a home business. There will be many business deductions that would not be available to you in a traditional business. You need to check the tax laws for the proper deductions or have your tax accountant do that for you.You might be the type of person that says, the traditional workplace is the only place for me. I wish you the best, but after months of searching and still with no job, you might need to consider moving in another direction job wise. Would you consider the possibility of looking into a home based business? There are many advantages!

Prison Break: 6 Key Constraints That Stop Small Businesses From Becoming Big Businesses

Recently I met a group of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) business owners who were sharing who were sharing their experiences and exchange ideas on how to grow their businesses. They were entrepreneurs at various stages of running businesses from one year to over ten years.

One lady who has been running a seemingly successful SME for over a decade brought up an interesting question that occupied most of the discussions. She asked why most SMEs struggle to grow into large enterprises. She explained that despite hard work, capital injection, strategic planning majority of SMEs are unable to break some confining walls that ensure the business remains at certain level of turnover and profitability. This happens after some years of exciting growth that plateaus at certain level. I jokingly called what he was describing the being held in the prison of smallness.

Why would theses enterprising, hardworking, passionate and ambitious entrepreneurs be held in this prison? I kept on thinking.

After evaluating my working experience with many SMEs I picked the following factors as the key constraints that combine to create this prison.

1. Unscalable Business Models.

The biggest limitation to SME growth, from my observation, has been unscalable business models.

No business can outperform its business model. A business model describes the integrated means and processes through which you are trying to achieve your business objectives- creating and delivering value to the market for profit. When the perfect combination of such means is put to the highest test they could only give a certain result at best. However hard you work your model will not get any higher results after some point. At this point we say your business model can’t be scaled any further.

Let me explain this with an example. If you were a dairy products processor you could have the following factors as some of the elements that form your business model. You keep dairy cattle, which provide all the raw milk you require. You then process and package the end products in your family run factory. You own two trucks with some delivery people who take the milk to various shops in your neighboring city. As the business keeps on growing you increase your cows, you expand your factory, buy more trucks and hire more delivery boys. But you will only be able to do this to a certain level.

At that point you won’t be able to keep more cows and therefore your raw materials will become a constraint. The factory could only expand to a certain level and the market will only be able to absorb a certain amount of your products. However, much capital is injected into this business for expansion the business will become a prisoner of its own business model. Unless the model is changed to a scalable one, the revenues and profits of this firm will plateau.

A change in model may mean a change in how the firm gets its raw materials – from self production to buy from other dairy farmers; it may also mean selling semi-processed products to other dairy products, it may mean sourcing out its excess capacity to competitors, add other products into its fold rather than focusing on dairy products only, develop a different channel of distribution among many other factors that affect its business model.

As you evaluate your business model you need to fully appreciate all the factors that drive your business and how they relate to each other. If you are a prisoner of smallness then you need to have a thorough look into your business model.

2. Over dependence on new customers

All start up entrepreneurs have great stories of their first customers. The excitement of getting someone to believe in your product or firm is essential to keep you going in the early days of the start up. Unfortunately for most SME entrepreneurs this excitement becomes an obsession and it becomes the only purpose of all its business efforts.

It has been widely believed that the most successful business is the one that has the highest number of first time customers. This is a partial truth. I evaluate business success by the number of repeat customers, how frequent the orders are and whether they are increasing with time. As a growth strategist, marketing consultant and business owner, I know how costly and difficult it is to get a customer make the first purchase. This is incomparable to the easiness of keeping a customer and getting him to make a repeat purchase.

Many SMEs owners will agree with this logic in conversations but in practice the opposite happens. You hear and see the inscription, ‘Lose them once they make the first purchase!’ In their customer dealings. You see it in the customer service, the quality of its products and weak after sale follow-up. After a customer buys don’t ask, “How do I get the next one.” But shout to yourself, “How will I get him to come back!”

3. Flawed Marketing Mindset

For big companies marketing seem to be at the heart of everything they do. They do as much marketing as money can buy. A friend who owns a SME once told me that the market budget of a competitor was more than his company’s annual turnover (not profit). SMEs are limited in financial resources. But that is never an excuse for not marketing.

Marketing is not a nice to have thing when you have money it is an essential for growing your business. Today’s business battles are worn or lost in the marketing arena. Many people seem to conclude that you have to invest all your capital into marketing. That is a fallacy. One guy who has been able to start SMEs and convert them into large organizations is Richard Branson. In his book, “Screw It”, he says that since he discovered early that he didn’t have a lot of money for advertising he had to become a publicist of own companies by becoming a news character. By appearing in the media he gets free advertising. I have just given him free advertisement in this article. You get the point.

Unless you want to remain small forever, you have to think of ways of getting marketing leverage for your business at low cost and ensure you get the highest returns possible from your marketing investments. You don’t have to be a marketing guru to do it. In our marketing course for entrepreneurs we cover various aspects of marketing your business with minimal budget- and there are limitless ways of doing so.

4. Lack of Quality Human Capital

You wish I said financial capital. This may be a challenge to some businesses. But, for those that remain small this is more of a consequence than the cause. I have consulted and trained for large organizations and SMEs and the most visible difference between the two is the number of quality of people they have in their team.

While large organizations have a large number of talented, skilled and passionate people, SMEs particularly the ones whose growth has stagnated have only one such person – the owner. That is why minus the physical and mental health of the owner many SMES end up closing doors.

When you hear of a guy who single handedly started and grew a small business into a large multinational just know that is a lie. Businesses are grown by having a wealth of skilled, talented, loyal and passionate employees. Many entrepreneurs running SMEs complain that getting and retaining great people expensive and almost an impossibility. It is difficult but not impossible.

Early last year I advised a client to go for the right attitude and develop skills with time. And for sure they are starting to experience great results from this. You need to craft a strategy and develop a culture that will attract, develop and retain the best people you require for your business. Your business will be as great as the quality of people working in it.

5. Lack of Innovation

Closely related to lack of human capital is lack of innovation. The two are directly proportional. One true measure of business growth is its innovativeness. Majority of the businesses highly admired for their growth from small start ups to success companies are not doing what they started out doing and if at all they are, they are not doing it the same way they did it in the beginning.

The yester-year giants that have stagnated are doing exactly what they started out doing. I don’t want to mention names. The world we live in is continuously changing. That which was a genius idea yesterday will not be appealing tomorrow. That which your customers fought to have last year will be highly inferior compared to what your competitors will introduce next year. How do you grow in this environment?

INNOVATE! Innovation is what fuels of business growth. You have to develop new products, create more selling channels, give your customers more flavors, more service options, different ways of communicating to your customers. Innovation will be possible only if you become more outward looking. Then align everything in your business to the external happenings and prepare for the future. Innovation thrives in a business culture that allows, even encourages, mistakes. Unfortunately this culture is a major deficiency among many SMEs.

The only person who can get away with a mistake is the owner. As a consequence no new ideas come up in the business for fear of failure and the result is being a prisoner of smallness. You will not grow the business if there is a monopoly of idea generation in the business.

6. Lack of systems that support growth

Systems are the skeleton upon which growth is built upon. Too much growth with without strong systems will result into chaos and ultimately the business will tend to shrink to the level that the system can support. Talk of Business Body Mass Index. To move from biology to architecture systems are the pillars upon which the business is built on. They can only hold as much weight as they can support.

I have been involved in assisting SMEs put in place business systems and in most cases the only system that exists in some form is the accounting system all else is dependent on whims, know-how and temperament of the people. People move, people forget, people get sick, people get bored, and all this become your business.

While systems may not completely eliminate the effects of these occurrences they drastically minimize them. You then have a predictable business that can always deliver what it is supposed to deliver regardless of the mood of the moment.

In SMEs mistakes happen all the time. Some are never discovered and corrected, some become habits. While dressing downs, reprimands and firings are the methods used to deal with these problems they are hardly the most effective ways on their own to ensure mistakes are not repeated. Systems go along way to help. If you want to break away from the prison of smallness you need to work on removing all these constraints.

Sam is business strategist, consultant and trainer focusing on helping Small and Medium Sized Entreprises(SMEs) realize their full potential. He helps them develop and implement growth strategies, refine their business models, create systems and train their sales people on effective ways of selling. He operates from Nairobi Kenya.

Natural Supplements to Grow Taller Review – Herbal Facts and Marketer’s Claims Review

Why do many consumers take dietary supplements to grow taller? The reasons are varied-many times medically valid, sometimes not. In low or appropriate dosages, some supplements offer health benefits under some circumstances. Some people use supplements with good intention: perhaps in search of protection from or a remedy for health problems such as depression, aging skin, cancer, or arthritis. Still others seek added benefits: perhaps better athletic performance or sexual prowess. Too often, supplement use is based on scientifically unfounded marketing promises. But, some people still claim to undeniable scientific proofs.

It would be great, but boosting your nutrient intake won’t cause your cells to produce extra energy or more brain power. Only three nutrients carbohydrates, fats, and proteins supply energy or calories to grow taller. Vitamins don’t. Although B vitamins do help body cells produce energy from the three energy nutrients, they don’t produce energy themselves. Many powerful drugs and toxic chemicals are plant-based. Varieties of mushrooms can be classified as “culinary delicious” or “deadly dangerous.” In the same vein, herbal supplements should be used with caution! Any healthy natural supplements to grow taller, without proper doctor acknowledgement and governement authority approbation sounds really fishy to me.

Athletes and other physically active people need about the same amount of nutrients as others do to grow taller just more energy, or calories, for the increased demands of exercise. The extra amount of food that active people eat supplies the very small amount of extra vitamins needed to grow taller and have more energy production, too.

Although protein needs are somewhat higher for some athletes, especially for those in strength-training sports, food can easily provide the extra. On another note, physical activity, not extra amino acids (protein), builds muscle. For more on nutrition for athletes and ergogenic aids.

Dietary supplements to grow taller won’t protect you from the harmful effects of smoking or alcohol abuse. Here’s the real scoop: Smoking does increase the body’s need for vitamin C; drinking excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages can interfere with the body’s use of most nutrients. If soil can grow crops, the food produced is nutritious. When soil lacks minerals, plants don’t grow properly and may not produce their potential yield. Growing area does affect a food’s iodine and selenium contents.

Supplements won’t give you instant grow taller results, it would take at least a 2-3 months training for instance. For vitamins and minerals to do their work, they need several hours or several days to interact and do their work in your body. For any benefits from other dietary supplements to grow taller, you likely need to take them even longer. Supplements to grow taller are easy to spot. By law, they must be labeled “dietary supplements.” About eighty thousand dietary supplements are marketed in the United States with multivitamin/mineral supplements being the biggest product category-and with an average of 500 new products launched each year. They’re sold in many forms-for example, tablets, capsules, softgels, gelcaps, liquids, powders, and bars.

Do you consume a varied, balanced diet to grow taller? With some exceptions, supplements usually aren’t necessary. If you’re healthy and if you’re able and willing to eat a balanced, varied diet. You probably can get the vitamins and minerals you need from smart food choices. According to national studies, most Americans have enough healthful foods available to do that, yet they may not. Under some circumstances, vitamin/mineral supplements offer benefits and are advised; like those for growing taller.

A woman with heavy menstrual bleeding? You may need an iron supplement to replace iron from blood loss. To enhance absorption, take iron supplements with water or juice on an empty stomach. If nausea or constipation are problems, take iron supplements with food. Absorption may be decreased by as much as 50 percent when taken with a meal or a snack. A woman who’s pregnant or breast-feeding? You need more of some nutrients, especially folate and iron-and perhaps calcium if you don’t consume enough calcium-rich foods. Check the label’s Supplement Facts to make sure you get enough for a healthy pregnancy. Ask about a prenatal vitamin/mineral supplement.

Someone unable or unwilling to regularly consume a healthful diet to grow taller? You likely need a dietary supplement to fill in the nutrient gaps. However, eating smarter would be better if you don’t have food-related health problems! Take a supplement with the advice of a doctor or a registered dietitian. For example, pre-menopausal women who don’t consume enough calcium to grow taller and stronger bones from food likely need a calcium supplement-unless they’re willing to improve their diet. Some babies after age six months, children, and teens may need a fluoride supplement to grow taller and perhaps iron or vitamin D.

If you are not able to meet your calcium and vitamin D recommendations with foods to grow taller, you may need calcium or vitamin D supplements to grow taller. Ask a dietitian or your doctor about the right dosage and type. And enhance their absorption by taking them with food. Only food can provide the mixture of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and other substances for a health quality that can’t be duplicated with dietary supplements to grow taller alone. Fortunately for most Americans growing taller, there’s plenty of quality, quantity, and variety in the food marketplace.

Enjoy plenty of calcium and vitamin D-rich foods. They provide more for bone health calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D and overall health than supplements do. And a varied, well-balanced eating plan offers other nutrients that appear to promote bone density, including magnesium, potassium, and vitamin K

Supplements to grow taller carry labeling, showing the amounts of vitamins and minerals in a single dosage. If you already eat a healthful diet, you probably don’t need any more than a low-dose supplement. Taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement, with no more than 100 percent of the Daily Values (DVs) as a safety net, is generally considered safe. Most nutrient supplements are produced in low dosages.

Supplements with water-soluble vitamins or minerals can be risky if taken in excess, over time. For example, taking extra vitamin B6 has been suggested to help relieve premenstrual tension. Yet there’s limited evidence to support large vitamin B6 doses for relief of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Many women have viewed large vitamin B6 doses as harmless, since they are water-soluble. Instead, they may cause irreversible nerve damage when taken in very large doses above the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL): 500 to 5,000 mg vitamin B6 per day.

That said, can you overdose on vitamins or minerals naturally as you grow taller with food? That’s highly unlikely. As we mentioned, taking very high doses of dietary supplements or taking too many, too often can be dangerous. The vitamin and mineral content of food is much more balanced fortunately. In amounts normally consumed, even if you enjoy extra helpings, you won’t consume toxic levels of nutrients. So eat a variety of foods-and enjoy! Note: Nutrient amounts to grow taller can add up if you consume a lot of highly fortified foods.

You may take dietary supplements to grow taller for potential health benefits. It’s not uncommon for people diagnosed with cancer, AIDS, or other life-threatening health problems, who are desperate for a cure, to put their hopes and healthcare dollars in alternative treatments, including dietary supplements. However, supplements may offer a false sense of security-and a serious problem if you neglect well-proven approaches to health or delay medical attention.

Drink plenty of fluids with calcium supplements to avoid constipation. The lactose and vitamin D in the milk help to enhance calcium absorption. If you don’t drink milk and want an alternative to calcium pills, consider calcium-fortified juice or soy beverage. One cup of calcium-fortified juice or soy beverage can contain about 300 milligrams of calcium, the same amount as in a cup of milk, and provides vitamin C, folate, and other nutrients. Still, you need a vitamin D source to aid absorption; some calcium-fortified juices and soy beverages are also fortified with vitamin D.

Calcium supplements help to protect against osteoporosis (brittle-bone disease) It can’t make up for your lifestyle choices or poor health habits. Regular weight-bearing physical activity is important to grow taller and obtain healthy bones. For healthy bones, avoid smoking, too.

Vitamin nasal sprays or patches are effective to grow taller? No research evidence says so, even though they’re promoted for faster, more efficient absorption. In fact, they may not be absorbed at all. Here’s the reality check: Fat-soluble vitamins need fat from food to aid absorption. Vitamin C in your intestine aids iron absorption-a problem if vitamin C comes from a spray. Vitamin B12 binds with intrinsic factor made in the stomach during digestion. That cannot happen with a spray or a patch! So that means all the place that try to claim that you could grow taller with that are just scam.

Indeed, herbals and other botanicals have known medicinal qualities helping us grow taller; 30 percent of today’s drugs come from plants. Yet, herbals and other botanical supplements also are sold as dietary supplements rather than regulated as drugs. Like many plant-derived pharmaceuticals, these supplements can offer both positive health benefits and harmful side effects.

On the up side, enough scientific evidence has been collected on a handful of botanical supplements to support their limited use. For example, under a doctor’s guidance, gingko biloba may be used to help treat the symptoms of age-related memory loss and dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease); green tea extract may help reduce cancer risk. A growing body of research evidence is being gathered about their safety and effectiveness, as well as their limitations and dangers.

On the down side, like other supplements to grow taller, herbal and other botanical supplements are regulated differently from pharmaceuticals, which are meant to cure or prevent disease. You aren’t as protected from misleading claims as you might think. When you think about the quality and effectiveness of these grow taller methods; you can see that the marketer’s are absolutely in control of the quality…

According to current law and regulations, herbal and botanical remedies to grow taller and other dietary supplements to grow taller can enter the marketplace without FDA approval. The burden is on the FDA to remove a dangerous dietary supplements to grow taller from the marketplace. Currently dosages of herbal remedies aren’t standardized, so dosages vary among products. Some are even copies of the actual real-product that is made by legitimate herbal company; they put the same product name change what is inside and put the same label. Be very careful, you can look up grow taller 4 smarts free scam alerts to be ahead of scammers.

Although packaging claims can’t say that a supplement to grow taller cures or prevents disease, it may carry claims for its purported health role. Many claims have only limited scientific evidence. Are herbal supplements or botanicals are safe during pregnancy and nursing? There’s not enough scientific evidence yet to recommend safe levels for herbal supplements for pregnant or nursing moms. However, some are known to be harmful to a baby.

How to Detect Drug Abusing Teenagers

The effects of substance abuse in teens are not only individual; they can also be seen on the society. They may face problems at school or college and may involve in criminal activities. It is therefore very important to detect drug abusing teenagers. Drug testing should be conducted on a regular basis at schools and homes to identify and save them from harmful drugs of abuse.

Signs of drug abuse
Identifying certain signs helps you to detect if the kid is addicted to the drugs. Some of the common physical and emotional signs are:

• Change in sleep patterns
• Poor motor coordination
• Poor hygiene and illness including nausea and excessive sweating
• Irregular heartbeat
• Impaired thinking
• Mood swings
• Hyperactivity or overtired
• Depression

Drug abusing teens lose their interest in family activities, often abuse verbally and physically at home or school, and disrespect the family or school. In addition, abrupt decrease in grades, memory and attention loss, and lack of interest and concentration on studies are some of the signs at school. The moment you observe any of the above mentioned signs, you need to immediately check if the kid is abusing drugs. Drug testing is one of the safest and easiest ways to detect the drug abuse among teens.

Types of drug tests
There are different types of methods to detect the teens who are using drugs. Some of the common ones are urine, saliva, hair, and blood tests.

Urine drug test
Of all the types, urine testing is used most commonly as it is inexpensive method used to detect a drug user. You can use urine test kits at home or school to check if the child is addicted to illegal drugs. Quick and accurate results are obtained by these test kits.

Saliva drug test
It is more advantageous as it is relatively non-intrusive. Saliva from the mouth is taken through a swab and is checked for the presence of drugs. Most recent drug abuse can be detected by saliva tests. Conducting saliva test is very easy and also provides accurate and immediate results.

Hair drug test
This method is also non-intrusive. A hair sample of 1.5 inches in length is enough for conducting the test. Drug or its metabolites deposited at the hair shaft are detected by hair tests. You can get very reliable and accurate results by this method.

Blood drug test
You can also use a blood sample of the teen to detect illegal drug usage. It is however expensive and you need to approach laboratory as you cannot conduct it at your home.

Detection periods
The detection period depends on the method of test conducted. These detection periods vary from the type, dosage, and frequency of drug used.

Urine drug test can detect drug or its metabolites for 30 days in frequent users and for 2-3 days in occasional users. The test detects Cocaine for 4-5 days, Heroin for 2-4 days, Methamphetamine for 3-5 days, PCP for 3-7 days, and Codeine for 2-4 days.

A saliva test is mostly used to detect recent drug usage. However, it can also detect drugs consumed 3 days back. Of all the methods, hair drug test has a longer detection period. It detects illegal drug consumption for about 90 days.

What if results are positive?
Once the kid is tested positive by drug test kit, talk to him/her about the result. You can get a confirmatory result through laboratory tests. Communicate with him regularly regarding the effects of drug abuse. Ask him to leave companions or friends who are habituated to drugs. If necessary, send him/her to substance abuse treatment program.

Importance of intervention
Detection and intervention of drug abuse at primitive stages can prevent further damage. Drug intervention is an attempt made by family members or school authorities to help the teen get out of drug abuse or addiction. The main objective of intervention is to make the teen understand the physical and mental destruction caused by drug abuse. If you are not able to speak to the kid on this, you can take help of your friends or relatives. You can also consult specialists who counsel drug abusers and help them get back to their normal life.

Parents and school authorities should always keep an eye on the behavior and activities of the teens. Necessary measures have to be taken in order to prevent them from taking drugs.

Prevent Teen Drug Abuse Using Drug Testing Kits at Home

Teen drug abuse became a serious health problem in United States. It is hurting the healthcare system, burdening the economy, and causing millions of deaths every year. Of the many causes that promote drug abuse among teens, lack of parental supervision is a major one. Teens should be guarded properly by their parents as they are still immature.

Since, early intervention leads to effective prevention of this unhealthy habit, parents should identify drug abusing habits in teens and take preventive measures. Parents can take help of home drug testing kits which are effective and easy to use.

In this article, we will discuss about teens and their vulnerability to drug abuse; how to identify teen drug abuse and how important are drug testing programs at home to prevent teen drug abuse.

Teens – vulnerable to drugs abuse: Many scientific studies have already proved that teenagers are more prone to risk taking and are vulnerable to drug abuse when compared to adults. This typical behavior of teens during adolescence is because of the major changes in parts of the brain that are responsible for functions such as self-control, judgment, planning, organization, and emotions. Since teen brains are not yet fully developed, they cannot take proper decisions and fall victims to unhealthy habits like drug and alcohol abuse.

Signs and symptoms of drug abuse: The primary step towards prevention of drug abuse in teens is to identify their unhealthy habits. Prominent changes, both in their behavior and in physical appearance can be noticed even at the early stages of abuse. Following are the warning signs:

Physical and emotional changes:
• Red eyes
• Finding difficulty to speak
• Sudden fall or rise in weight
• Lack of hygiene and showing less interest in personal grooming
• Aggression and arrogance
• Depression and irritation

Social and behavioral changes:
• Dissociation from old friends and acquiring new social group
• Sudden anger or depression
• Poor attendance and academics at school
• Spending time lonely
• Abnormal odor in breath or clothing
• Pipes, needles and other suspicious substances in their room

Importance of home drug test kits: The moment you see the signs that indicate drug abuse in your teen, it is the time to confirm drug abusing habits using reliable methods. They are useful devices for the parents to confirm these unhealthy habits in teens. They are simple, easy to use, provide instant and accurate results, cost-effective and above all ensure privacy. Some multi-panel drug testing kits can detect multiple drugs of abuse at a shot.

Best drug test methods to implement: When it comes to home drug testing, urine and saliva tests are considered to be the best methods. There are two other methods – blood and hair tests also, but they need special devices and expert supervision, hence are not recommended for home testing.

Urine test can detect the drugs in your teen’s system up to three days after use. If you believe that your teen has taken drugs during the last few days, then this method is effective in offering accurate results. However, it is necessary to check that your teen is not providing fake urine sample which can lead to false results.

Saliva drug testing is an ideal drug test if you suspect that your teen abused drugs on that particular day. These kits can detect drug use up to 48 hours.

Need for random drug testing: If you are conducting drug tests on your teens at regular intervals, following a regular pattern, your teen may notice the pattern and either try to manipulate the sample before the test or stop abusing drugs few days before the test. Hence, practicing random drug tests is always an ideal way to identify the drug use which effectively helps in detecting the drug abuse among your teens. Random testing makes teens say ‘NO’ to drugs as they know that you can conduct drug testing any time at home.

Home drug testing kits can be considered as effective solutions in controlling and preventing drug abuse in your teens. So, make sure that you have some of them at home to test your teen to help him stay away from drugs.