Friday, September 30, 2011

Top 11 Trends for Women’s Fall Fashion

With autumn approaching, we took it upon ourselves to create this list of tips for staying up-to-date on ten of the biggest fall fashion trends! Follow this style report to enhance your look and bring even more warmth to your fall wardrobe. Here, we’ve made it easy for you by breaking it down to our top11 must-haves for women’s fall fashion:


1. Bag Charms


Add a little sass to your style by adding a bag charm to your favorite boho bag. These sweet bag charms boast a funky collection of feathers, beads, brass accents seashells and leather. Each charm clips to your bag with a metal leash clasp.


2. Tunics


Craving that bohemian flow look? Turn to tunics. Tunic tops range from babydoll cuts and romantic knits to versatile long tunics that can be worn as a top or a dress. Pair with vintage jewelry and rugged boots for a look that stops them in their tracks.


3. Boho Bags


Boho bags are one of this season’s hottest trends. Carry your belongings in style with these fabulous southwest inspired boho bags. Pull off unique embroidered patterns and rugged leather while basking in the functionality of it all. Go big or small, whatever your style, just make sure you go boho.


4. Crochet Dresses


A crochet dress is a perfect way to add tons of bohemian chic texture to your wardrobe. These crochet variety dresses can be layered over and under various pieces creating versatile comfortable style options with a ton of movement. Crochet dresses pair well with chunky vintage necklaces and an oversized boho bag, and they are a must-have for fall.


5. Midi Skirts


The always-fashionable midi skirt comes down to about mid-calf at the hem, and can come high in the waste, depending on the design. These versatile skirts are designed to hug closely at the hip and are a perfect addition to your summer and fall collection. Various midi skirts pair nicely with both cami tops and sweaters, chunky belts, and thick platform shoes. With the right midi skirt, the possibilities are endless.


6. Sheer Tops


Add a little mystery to your look. Sheer tops are perfect way to show a little, without showing it all, and they are perfect for layering with bandeau tops and patterned bralettes. Sheer tops give any outfit a fresh, airy feel with subtle sex appeal.


7. Wide Leg Jeans


The wider the better… when it comes to jeans, that is. Rock these wide leg jeans with vintage accessories and boho tops in soft fabrics. These rugged washed jeans hug low and close on the hip and drop down to the top of the foot lengthening the leg. These wide leg jeans are perfect for an organic effortless look that still feels chic and sweet.


8. Loafers for Women


Slide on loafers add sophisticated bohemian flavor to sweet skirts and skinny jeans. These loafers for women are designed to be casually chic with fun designs like zebra mohair, vintage tapestry print, metallic shimmer, and docksiders. These slide on loafers for women are a simply way to stay chic and on flat feet.


9. Crochet Dresses


A crochet dress is a perfect way to add tons of bohemian chic texture to your wardrobe. These crochet variety dresses can be layered over and under various pieces creating versatile comfortable style options with a ton of movement. Crochet dresses pair well with chunky vintage necklaces and an oversized boho bag, and they are a must-have for fall.



10. Ankle Strap Heels


There’s nothing better than an ankle strap heel. These are not your mother’s Mary-Jane’s. Funky ankle straps come in both thick and thin styles, perfectly paired with platform heels and vintage materials like suede and leather. These ankle strap heels look chic with both dresses and slacks alike, tunics and leggings too. Try wearing them with sugary sweet ankle socks or textured tights.


11. Vintage Belts


We are in love with these vintage belts that add flare to any assortment of fabrics, textures, tunics, skirts, jeans, and more. Ranging from boho chic leather waste bags to unique chainmail snakes and vintage macramé, these belts add texture and focus to your outfit.


Sunday, September 18, 2011

Top Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Halloween

We all know that Halloween is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in the United States, but just how obsessed are Americans with this holiday? Greeting Card Universe, the world’s largest paper greeting card store, put together this list of facts about Halloween that may surprise you!

10) The traditional Halloween colors are black and orange—black symbolizing darkness,
and orange symbolizing the harvest.

9) Move over Christmas, more than 35 million Halloween Greeting Cards and Photo Halloween Cards are exchanged every year.

8) More than 60% of all Halloween costumes sold in the U.S. are to adults.

7) Halloween is the third largest party day after New Year’s Eve and Superbowl Sunday.

6) Twenty-five percent of all candy sold in the United States is Halloween candy.

5) Halloween is second only to Christmas when it comes to consumer spending.

4) Over 85% of American homes will be decorated for Halloween.

3) Apart from trick-or-treating, haunted house attractions are the most popular Halloween activity.

2) Jack o’lanterns, a tradition from Ireland and Scotland, were originally carved from potatoes, beets or turnips, not pumpkins.

1) Fear of Halloween is called Samhainophobia.

Friday, September 9, 2011

10 Tips For Building Traffic To Your Restaurant

So you opened a restaurant...congrats, but now what? In 2003, Tellem Worldwide created the Food Issues Group (FIG) to offer consumer education, crisis preparedness and management, food safety training for restaurants, food, beverages and bioterrorism education, and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan development. The FIG team put together ten tips for restaurant owners to increase exposure and foot traffic. Have something to add to the list? Leave it in the comment section!

  • Announce all news and updates via a press release to food reporters i.e.: new chef; new dish; new hours; new web site; anything new gets your name out there.
  • Educate yourself about social media and utilize it. Listen to feedback from customers and fans. Create a Facebook fan page or Twitter account for example and promote exclusive offers to fans and followers. Ask for recipe suggestions and favorite flavors or dishes. Encourage customers to review on Yelp, Opentable.com, and Google reviews etc.
  • Get your restaurant on every food web site listing such as: opentable.com, zagat.com, restaurants.com, urbanspoon.com, dine.com, citysearch.com or AOL’s City Guide etc.
  • Identify your USP – Unique Selling Proposition – what makes your restaurant different from any other in the city – then use it!
  • Check with museums, art centers and theaters to see where their support groups meet – invite them to meet at your place.
  • Advertise on themed web sites – like Italian ones, German ones, etc. Utilize micro-targeting advertisements on social networks like Facebook.
  • Seek placements in City Guidebooks – not just mentions, but actual reviews.
  • If a reviewer could mention anything negative about your restaurant, what would it be? Now take steps to change it!
  • Work with convention centers – most publish a guide to local restaurants for those coming from out of town.
  • Tie in with specific country tour groups. If you are Italian, for example, tie in with Italian tour groups – they are sure to miss home cooking.
  • Get a booth at your local farmer’s market and give away bite size tastes of food for free – these booths are so cheap and fun!

If it’s in the budget, hire a PR agency and let them get to work promoting your business to target audiences and potential customers and watch your sales flourish!
For more information, contact Susan Tellem, Tellem Worldwide, Inc., 310-313-3444, stellem@tellem.com.

Monday, September 5, 2011

How to Build a Strong Credit Record and Rating for Your Business

Having a healthy credit record for your business is vital in these difficult economic times where the amount of money available to borrow is in short supply. Being able to prove that your business is able to pay its financial commitments is imperative when banks are making lending decisions. It is also important to remember that it is not just banks who lend money – every time you (or a supplier) extend credit they are effectively lending money and you need to be sure that if you extend credit to anyone that you will get paid.

The importance of having a strong credit record and rating

Companies understand that company credit reports are available on every registered company and these are readily available from credit rating agencies. Company credit reports are based on a variety of factors which are used to build a credit profile of a business.

Company credit reports will typically include a rating (for example Creditsafe’s rating is based on the likelihood of a company entering insolvency in the next 12 months). A credit rating will typically take into account accounting factors such as whether there are any County Court Judgements (CCJs) recorded against the company, the length of time the company has been in operation and the background of its directors.

Also typically included in company credit reports will be information that can be used to build up a picture of their financial stability. Some agencies have started working with telecoms and utilities companies to build up payment data to show if the company can a) afford to pay and b) how quickly they will pay.

So let’s now have a look at some methods you can employ to help build a good credit rating:

1. Complete your report and accounts and ensure they are delivered to Companies House on time

Research completed by Creditsafe shows that companies who submit their accounts to Companies House in the last possible month are 8 times more likely to go into liquidation than those who file their accounts early. Filing your accounts on time and in full, shows credit rating agencies that you have nothing to hide – transparency is king! It isn’t to say that a business that doesn’t file until the last minute will enter insolvency, it’s just statistically proven that this more likely to happen. Also by being completely transparent you may even see an increase in your company credit rating on your company credit report.

  1. Pay your bills on time

Ensuring your company has enough cashflow is a major issue. However by holding back and not paying bills on time sends out warning messages that your business is in financial trouble and at risk of going out of business. Credit rating agencies are constantly building up payment data from third party sources and using this information in their reports. If you haven’t done so already, consider restructuring your payment policy so that all payments are made by direct debit.

  1. Pay suppliers within agreed timescales

This doesn’t mean you have to pay your suppliers in advance or even within 14 days, but it does mean that you should set up realistic payment terms with your suppliers and stick to them! A credit rating agency may not use this information within their rating algorithm however they may show this information on their reports.

  1. Check your own group’s credit records carefully

Remember it’s not just your report that companies can see when they view your report. Many credit rating agencies will now show the records of other organisations within your organisation’s group or your parent company. Whilst these records may not directly affect your company credit rating it could have an impact on the person reviewing your company group as a whole.

  1. Check out your existing and potential customers

In order to ensure a healthy credit record for your own company it is important that you are dealing with companies that are able to pay for any products / services they order. Many business owners do not feel the need to credit check their existing clients due to long standing relationships or the thought that the company is too big to fail – however the recession has shown how quickly this can change.

  1. Take account of security threats

Shaking off a poor credit rating can take a long time even if it was caused by fraudsters and not your own business practices. As such it is important that you keep an eye on your company details (that are registered at Companies House) to ensure that no-one has attempted to change your details (a common practice amongst fraudsters).

  1. Co-operate with your auditors

Being completely open and honest with your auditors is always a good idea as it shows full transparency of your financial records. Having positive comments from independent auditors can have a positive effect on your credit rating. Trying to hide information or not being completely honest will usually lead to a negative comment which in turn can lead to a negative effect on your rating.

  1. Check your own record on a regular basis

It is vital to keep an eye on your company credit report and check this on a regular basis. By checking it regularly you can ensure that any old information is updated thus updating your credit rating. If you would like to know your company credit rating, click for a free company credit report.

Conclusion

Company credit reports are playing an increasingly important part in business today. Available online, they are both low-cost and high quality. Since more and more businesses decisions are based on information within credit reports, it makes sense to actively build a healthy record.

Creditsafe Group

Privately owned and independently minded Creditsafe is looking to change the way business information is used by providing high quality data in an easy to use format that everyone in an organisation can benefit from. If you would like information on any UK company, click free company credit report.

Guest Posts

To make sure that we're keeping the blog active, I will be releasing some guest posts between now and the next few days. Happy reading :)