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                    In a Nutshell
   Information and Tips for your Image Consulting Business

 1/04/04                                          Issue #21
 Linda Gerloff, Editor, linda@blueflute.com 
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     By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of
                   "In a NutShell".
 You are receiving this newsletter because you have
 subscribed to either the monthly Automated Inventory
 Updates or this newsletter.
 Unsubscribe instructions are at the end of this newsletter.
 
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   IN THIS ISSUE
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    =>  Inventory Updates for January
    =>  Blue Flute News 
    =>  Feature Article
         Beware This Smarmy Telemarketing Trick
    =>  In my business, how do I -       
         Reach my goals?
    =>  NutShell Tip –
          - Linda’s Sad Story
          - Starting over with Inventory
    =>  Game –
         Wheel of Fortune Spin
    =>  Consultant Success Story      
    =>  Recognition Corner
    
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 Inventory Updates for January
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Your inventory updates for January are ready. If you have
 subscribed to this service, you can get your updates here:
  http://www.blueflute.com/btyupdt1.htm

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 Blue Flute News
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 Software Upgrade – Do you know the difference between the
 Inventory Updates and a Software Upgrade? The Inventory
 Updates change your inventory list so that it matches the
 current order form. A Software Upgrade changes the software
 itself. You will notice a difference in the things NutShell
 can do when you upgrade the software.

 A new NutShell software upgrade has just been released!
 If you haven’t upgraded your software in the last few days,
 please do so. You will be glad you did! There are about 16
 new features. With that many possibilities, you are sure to
 absolutely love several of them!

 Please note, to download the upgrade, you need to be
 using Internet Explorer, rather than Netscape. If you
 can’t use Internet Explorer, I’ll have an ‘alternate
 method’ available later this month. Check the download
 page periodically to see if it is ready.

 Download the upgrade here:
 www.blueflute.com/upgrade260.html.

 

 Be sure to do a backup before you download the upgrade.

 Find out more - If you are not familiar with NutShell, you
 can find out more here:   
  http://www.blueflute.com/btynut.htmm
 Download NutShell here:
  http://www.blueflute.com/ordrform2.htm

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 Current ‘In a NutShell’ Newsletter and Archives
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 To read this month’s newsletter in it’s entirety, go to
 this page: http://www.blueflute.com/Newsletters.htm
 
 Did you miss a prior ‘In a NutShell’ newsletter, or would
 you like to review one of the articles? You can view it
 here: http://www.blueflute.com/Newsletters.htm 

 Top Articles:
 Do you have a question that has stumped you? Some common
 questions are discussed in the following issues of the
 ‘In a NutShell’ newsletter:

 Backing up/Questions about CD’s: May 2003
 Handling Gift Certificates:      October 2003
 Selling items out of a set:      June 2003
 Ending the tax year:             December 2003
 Gift Baskets:                    February 2003

 Information Request – Does anybody use a small, portable
 printer that you take to parties and use to print your
 client invoices? If you have a printer that works well
 for you, please let us know: mailto:Printer@BlueFlute.com


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 Feature Article –
  Beware This Smarmy Telemarketing Trick
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 (This article came from one of the Netscape news pages.)

 

 Don't think that by listing your phone number with the
 national Do Not Call Registry, you'll stop every single one
 of those annoying telemarketing calls. Telemarketers have
 some tricks--all legal--that will allow them to keep the
 phones ringing.

 

 Here's the big one that lots of folks are falling for: By
 signing up for certain types of sweepstakes, rebates, or
 product giveaways you automatically waive your do-not-call
 rights.

 

 One ploy exposed by The Wall Street Journal: Promotion
 companies are setting up booths at malls and festivals.
 Unsuspecting people are asked to fill out a survey for
 their chance to win a prize or get a lucrative rebate.
 By completing the form, you give that company the right to
 call you--for 18 months. Put your glasses on and check the
 fine print. It's all there. The reason this works is that
 by participating in the sweepstakes or other gambit offered,
 you have established a relationship with the company. And
 once you have an existing business relationship, that
 company can legally call you for up to a year and a half.

 

 One such company that is doing just this is ETL Promotions.
 It's staking out shopping malls and offering people a
 chance to win $25,000. All entrants have to do is fill out
 a product survey. The smart ones will read all the way to
 the bottom of that form where it says in a single line of
 very small type: "By completing this form, you agree that
 sponsors and co-sponsors of this Sweepstakes may telephone
 you, even if your number is found on a do-not-call registry
 or list." ETL insists it isn't tricking anyone. Harry
 Singer, a consultant for ETL, told the Journal it's
 "blatantly obvious" that filling out the survey could
 result in telemarketing calls. It had better be, according
 to the Federal Trade Commission. "It better be clear and
 conspicuous. You do not take away a right in fine print,"
 Lois Greisman, associate director of the FTC's Bureau of
 Consumer Protection, told the Journal.

 

 Here are two other popular tactics that allow telemarketers
 to legally call you even if you're listed on the Do Not
 Call Registry:

 

    * If you call a company and make an inquiry, that
 company has the right to call you for up to three months.
 Here's where it gets murky: Exactly what constitutes an
 inquiry is not clear.

    * Political organizations, charities, and telephone
 pollsters who are not selling a product are exempt from the
 Do Not Call Registry and can call all they want. To stop
 these calls, ask to be placed on the organization's
 internal do-not-call list. Your request must be honored.

 

 If you continue to get calls you don't want, do this: File
 a complaint with the FTC on its Web site at
 http://donotcall.gov or call toll-free at 1-888-382-1222.
 Give the name of the company that is calling you or the
 telephone number from which the telemarketer called.
 (Telemarketers are required to give you this information if
 you ask.) Your complaint will trigger an investigation.
 Companies that ignore the Do Not Call Registry can be fined
 up to $11,000 for each number they dial.

 Note from Linda: I am offering this article to you for your
 interest as a consumer. I am not a lawyer, of course, but I
 don’t believe that consultants are liable as ‘telemarketers’
 when we call ladies that we meet at booths, because we have
 already established a business relationship with them.

         *-----------Quote of the Month-------------*
         "The best way to have a good idea is to
          have lots of ideas."

               --  Linus Pauling
         *------------------------------------------*
 

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 In my business, how do I – Reach my goals?
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 We all have goals that are important to us. They range from
 quitting smoking, to creating our own businesses, to raising
 great kids. Unfortunately, most of us also have the
 experience of being unable to reach our goals, of having
 them always seem just out of reach. We can see them. We want
 to complete them, but we never quite cross that finish line.
 Here are 10 steps that are almost like magic! They will
 help you reach your goals, every time!

 
 1. Precisely define the objective. Exactly what do you
 want? Measure it, put a number on it.  How many pounds do
 you want to lose?  How many dollars do you want to earn?
  No one can achieve a fuzzy goal.  Be precise.

 2. Align the objective with your values. You won’t work
 toward a goal that conflicts with your values or sense of
 purpose.  Make sure your goals are consistent with your
 religious and moral beliefs, and with other goals that you
 have.  Internal conflict will undermine your performance,
 every time!

 3. Develop appropriate affirmations.  A series of positive,
 powerful, present-tense statements that describe the
 benefits of having your goal and how you’ll feel when
 you’ve reached it are essential. They should be short,
 active, exciting, and you will need to write them down and
 repeat them many times, every day!

 4. Develop powerful reasons to achieve your goals. "If you
 have enough why’s, you’ll find a way."  We reach goals that
 excite us, that stimulate our imaginations.  We reach goals
 that are vital to our health, our family and our future.
 Find lots of reasons!  When it’s important enough, you’ll
 make it happen.

 5. Write your goals and your reasons down! Write them on
 file cards every day!  There is power, magic and mystery
 in writing your goals down. Put the cards where you’ll see
 them through the day. Put them on your mirror, or on your
 desk. Carry them with you and read them, over and over,
 through the day.

 6. Set a deadline. Again, have the courage to be exact. 
 Quit smoking by your birthday, double your income by the
 end of this year, get out of debt by September 1st.  A goal
 without a deadline is just a pipe dream!  Give yourself the
 discipline of a date.

 7. Define intermediate targets. To lose 40 pounds in 4
 months, determine to lose 10 pounds EACH month. Having
 smaller goals makes each one easier to achieve, and you can
 track your progress to your larger goal. A journey of a
 thousand miles is just a series of steps, one after another.

 8. Make your goals public.  Tell friends and family what
 you plan to do, and your target date.  Ask them to hold you
 accountable and to help you along the way. Knowing your
 friends are rooting for you is a powerful motivator. Set
 yourself up for success by making a public commitment to
 reach your goals on time.

 9. Get a partner. High achievers rarely do anything
 significant by themselves. Get a running partner, make a
 friendly bet with your spouse to quit smoking, make it a
 family project to get out of debt. Always have at least one
 person who totally supports you, and make sure they are
 part of your campaign.  Hire a coach, if appropriate.

 10. Celebrate every intermediate victory! Give yourself a
 reward for each day without a cigarette, have a family
 celebration for each bill that gets paid off. High
 achievers find reasons to celebrate every day! Like that
 journey of a thousand miles, you must celebrate – really
 celebrate! – each step along the way.
 
 Remember, "if you can imagine it, you can achieve it."  Any
 goal that truly fires your imagination and fills your heart
 with joy, is reachable! Set targets, develop an adequate
 support system, break large goals into smaller steps, and
 go for it!  You can do this!

 Here’s to your success!

 -Written by Dr. Philip E. Humbert, writer, speaker and
 success coach. Dr. Humbert has over 300 free articles,
 tools and resources for your success, including a great
 newsletter! It's all on his website at:  
 http://www.philiphumbert.com

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 NutShell Tip - Linda’s Sad Story
              – Starting over with your Inventory
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 Linda’s Sad Story – My father used the expression ‘What a
 sad story’ whenever one of us kids found ourselves in a
 predicament of our own making. He is a good listener, and
 not a rescuer, so when we had a sad story to tell, we were
 left to face the consequences of our poor choices.

 I have a ‘sad story’ for you, and it is my hope that my
 pain will be your gain, in that you won’t make the same
 mistake as I did.

 It was the third day that I had spent working on this
 month’s inventory updates and I was getting close to being
 finished. I had been hearing a little voice in my mind
 reminding me that it has been ‘a while’ since I had backed
 up. I told myself I would backup – real soon. Then, I
 accidentally deleted an important file! I had been putting
 information into that file for at least a year. It was there
 every day and seemed so stable and reliable, like it would
 always be there. Then, in one second, it was gone! GONE!
 I was not a happy girl, I can tell you.

 The consequence of my poor choice (waiting too long to back
 up), is that I am having to rebuild all that information.
 It won’t be done in a day.

 So, please learn from my sad story:

 Do your backups! Do your backups! Do your backups!

 _______________________________________________
 Starting over with your Inventory

 It is the beginning of the year and of course, a great time
 to get your records under control. If you have had NutShell
 for a while, but have not kept it as up-to-date as you
 would have liked, now is the time to start over:

 1.  Pick a start date, preferably January 1 2004. 
 2.  If you want to have records for 2003, enter all the
 sales and purchases that you have made, up to
 January 1 2004. This part is optional. If you don’t care
 about the past and just want a fresh start now, skip this
 step. 
 3.  Close all of your open PO’s and invoices. If you have
 items on invoices that are showing unshipped, even though
 you have filled the order, ‘Force’ the item to ship by
 double clicking in the ‘F’ column. 
 You will know that all invoices/PO’s are closed by looking
 at the ‘< > + -‘ buttons in the upper left corner of the
 Open Invoice/Open PO screen. They will all be greyed out
 except for the ‘+’ button.
 4.  Once you have closed all your invoices and PO’s, print
 an inventory list. Count your inventory and compare it
 to the list. 
 5.  Update your counts. You have a choice for this part:
     - Either update your QOH counts on the inventory
       screen so that they match your actual counts, or
     - Use invoices to adjust your counts. Do this if you
       want a paper trail of your adjustments. Enter a new
       client called Invoice Adjustments. Enter an invoice
       for all the items on which you need to adjust the
       count. If you need to decrease the count, the Ord Qty
       on the invoice should be positive. To increase the
       count, make the Ord Qty negative. The invoice should
       total zero since there is not cash changing hands.
       The easiest way to do this is to put a discount of
       100%. After you have entered the invoice,
       double-check your counts on the Inventory screen.
       If they are correct, close the invoice.

 Now you are ready to start the new year right! As you make
 your sales, enter your invoices. When you buy product, let
 NutShell help you decide what you need to order. Pick one
 day per week to catch up on your bookwork. You will be glad
 you did!

 
    *------------------A Good Laugh--------------------*
    From Phil Humbert's newsletter:

    A group of 4 to 8 year-olds were recently asked:
    "What does love mean?"   The answers they got were
    broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined...

 

    When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend
    over and paint her toenails anymore. So my
    grandfather does it for her all the time, even when
    his hands got arthritis too. That's love.

    --  Rebecca - age 8

 

    When someone loves you, the way they say your name
    is different. You know that your name is safe in
    their mouth.

    --  Billy, age 4

 

    Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on

    shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.

    --  Karl, age 5

 

    Love is when my Mommy makes coffee for my Daddy and
    she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure
    the taste is OK.

    --  Danny, age 7

 

    Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if
    you stop opening presents and listen.

    --  Bobby, age 7    
    *-------------------------------------------------*

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   Consultant Success Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 “I am so proud of my newest Director, Sheronna Bishop. She
 made the best use of her time by taking the 2+2+2 formula
 and running with it! Just 18 months ago, she was working
 three jobs and dreaming of staying home to have a family.
 Now she works only her BeautiControl business, stays at
 home with her five month-old daughter and is earning three
 times what she did before! I believe Sheronna’s greatest
 gift is her willingness and desire to help others.
 A true leader!”

 -- Stacy Wallert (excerpt from January 2004 Acheiver)



 _________________________________
 I want you to know I NEED you to help me with this part of
 the newsletter. It can be motivating to those of us who are
 working hard, but sometimes get discouraged.

  Who are you proud of? (It can be yourself!) Sing their
 praises and inspire others:
 mailto:SuccessStory@blueflute.com

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   Game – Wheel of Fortune Spin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Increase your bookings with this game! 

 You’ll need:
 Poster Board
 Brass Fasteners
 Markers

 Cut a 8.5 x 11 square out of the poster board. This is
 about the size of a regular sheet of copy paper.
 
 Cut out an arrow and divide the poster board into 8
 sections. Fill in the sections with enticing prizes such as:

 - 50% off a product of your (the guest’s) choice
 - Free Sales Tax
 - 10% off a product of your choice
 - Bonus Surprise Gift
 - Free Product (your choice)
 - 10% off a product of your choice
 - 20% off a product of your choice
 - Free Mini (or lip color or other product you want to move)

 Place the arrow in the center of the board and fasten it
 with the Brass Fastener. Make sure the arrow will spin.
 The idea is to make a spinner like the one used in the
 game Twister.

 To play the game, say something like this:

 Ladies, Thank you all for coming tonight!  We have one last
 game to play before we close.  It's Wheel of Fortune!  To
 play the game, all you need to do is book a Spa Escape with
 me! We will have a lot of fun, and you will be pampered
 and renewed! Here is the game board. As you can see, you
 have the chance to win 50% off, or even a free product!
 (romance this)
 To be pampered, renewed and receive one of these gifts,
 just spin!

 -------------------
 Do you play a game that is a big hit? We would love to
 hear about it: mailto: Games@BlueFlute.com    

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   Recognition Corner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Congratulations to the following NutShell users who have
 worked hard and achieved success in advancing their careers!
 
 ~ $30,000 Acheiver ~
  Karen Watson
 
 ~ $25,000 Acheiver ~
  Margo McBee

 ~ $10,000 Acheiver ~
  Beth Pickel

 ~ $5,000 Acheiver ~
  Saralyn Ostwinkle
  Dawn Petzak

 ~ New Executive Director ~
  Stacy Wallert

 ~ Mustang Director ~
  Wendy Zukowski
 
 ~ New Director ~
  Barbara Matich
  Chimene Ross

 ~ New DIQ ~
  Sue Crochet
  Deborah Harrell
  Tracie Jones
  Holly Smelcer
  Mary Ann Smith
  Casey St. Pierre 
 
 ~ New Unit Manager ~
  Lou Cauthron
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Copyright Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
 Please pass this e-zine along to your friends. Just click
 the Forward button on your email screen to send this
 newsletter to other consultants who would enjoy reading
 it! However, please keep it intact and forward it in its
 entirety.
 
 Copyright 2004 Blue Flute Software Creations, Inc.

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 notification when the updates are ready.
            
 A note about referrals and your email address – Being an
 avid hater of email spam as much as you are, I have
 never (and will never) give, sell or rent your email
 address to anybody who could possibly spam you! However,
 I will give your email address to consultants who list
 your name as their referral. I will give her address to
 you, as well. This is so that you and she can be ‘NutShell
 partners’! If you would rather not have your email address
 given to your referrals, please let me know:
  mailto:privacy@blueflute.com             
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Linda Gerloff
 Blue Flute Software Creations
 Linda@BlueFlute.com 
 P.O. Box 77882
 Fort Worth, TX 76177
 817-439-1081