Upon getting information about an upcoming school science fair and the need to consider a topic of interest, many students will typically have no idea where to get started. While the science fair is typically a common occurrence in any school at any grade level, there are different types of topics that should be taken a look at depending on the age of the student. After first taking a look at the many different categories of science projects, you will be able to locate a suitable choice of topic to take to the next level.There is a wide variety of categories that fall under the types of science projects that can be chosen for a school science fair. These include biology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, biochemistry, medicine, environmental, mathematics, engineering, and earth science. While you may not have yet learned very much in any of these categories, don’t be afraid to see what each one entails. Taking a good look at your interests will allow you to focus on the right direction to take.Many resources are also available for those who are unsure as to the topic they are wanting to use to create their science projects. If you take a look at the topics that fall under the biology category, you will likely notice that there are topics that deal with plants, animals, and humans. For those who are in 2nd grade or 3rd grade, an interesting topic may be to determine if ants are picky over what type of food they eat. While this topic might not be of interest to an 8th grader, it is certainly something in the biology category that an elementary school student would enjoy.Along with the biology category, a high school student may want to take a look at diffusion and osmosis in animal cells as this would be a more appropriate topic for the grade level. A student in 6th grade would be more advanced than an elementary school student, but not as advanced as a high school student. At this middle school grade level, a topic of how pH levels effect the lifespan of a tadpole may be of interest.Whichever resource is used to locate a topic for science projects, it is always a good idea to consider the grade level of the student prior to making a selection. It is always assumed to be best to have a project at an appropriate level in order to keep the attention of the student and provide a fun and enjoyable learning experience.
Building A Timeline For Your E-Commerce Venture
In previous posts, patience in e-commerce was covered as necessary. However one also must recognize whether or not their e-commerce venture is headed in the right direction. It is important to set up certain goals along the path of your e-commerce journey, so you can analyze whether or not this is a venture worth continuing. Building an e-commerce business needs to follow a timeline.To build this timeline you need to state what the ultimate goal for your business venture is. This can certainly change over time. Perhaps you started out creating and selling a product, because you enjoyed the process of creating it, a hobby that can give you some pocket money. If that is your goal, you should be able to achieve it fairly quickly using eBay, and perhaps creating a promotional website for free. Or maybe your goal is to make a thousand dollars a month working just a few hours a week. Or perhaps you want your e-commerce venture to replace your full time job. The specific goal is entirely up to you, and it can evolve.Once your ultimate goal is set you should set a timeline for achieving it. On your timeline will be smaller goals along the way. These might include goals of number of unique visitors to your website, or when you will break even on your business. Goals of gross sales or number of orders you receive. Theses sub-goals could be anything, but they must be quantifiable, and realistic. It does no good to make outlandish unreasonable goals that are unlikely to be achieved.As you progress down your timeline you get a sense of how things are going. Somewhere along the way you might even decide to ditch this e-commerce venture and try something else. But that decision should not come for at least one year. I firmly believe the difference between success and failure, is in the entrepreneur’s mind. Success stories are often borne out of not quitting, more than anything else. To succeed at not quitting begins with a good business plan, and a realistic timeline that can track incremental improvements in your business even if the bottom line isn’t showing it right away. You must be able to show some reward for effort, even if it is just getting fifty unique visitors more than last month.Being on now my fourth e-commerce venture I can say I have followed basically the same timeline on all them. The first business I stopped after three years, and began a new one just two months later. That business now supports me, and it is a direct result of what I learned in the first business. The third business, I began shortly after quitting my corporate job, and that lasted just three months, as I lost interest, and was spending my time still building my second and most profitable business. I did not give it the year I stated above. Now I am on my fourth which is just two months old, too early to draw any conclusions. But again the fourth business is a direct result of stopping the third business. For all four businesses the timelines are basically the same.E-Commerce Timeline ExampleZero months to six months, build and learn business. There should already be significant time put in learning about the new business that should happen before the business is launched. Learning never stops however, and from zero to six months it should continue in depth. In this stage attracting traffic to your website is ultimate; see previous posts for the eBay way to do this, and also building trust and a name for your business.Six to twelve months, should be about building income. You are getting the traffic, now build the income. Learn why people visit your site, why they buy, what else you could do for them etc. New products are introduced, perhaps a company blog, your logo should start being recognized.It is at the one year mark, where you can first really know if this business has a chance at meeting your ultimate goals. Overnight successes do not happen online very often and they are becoming rarer all the time. But you should now have an idea if there is indeed success to be had. Things should be heading in one direction, sales should be measurably going up, and website traffic should be also. You might choose to alter your ultimate goal, perhaps this venture isn’t likely to reach it, but nevertheless is worth continuing. Or perhaps you have achieved your ultimate goal, and need to reset it.Twelve to eighteen months, should make some profit. Things you need to spend money on to get going can take up to a year to work their way through the business. Inventory takes time to build up as do supplies, advertising is often most expensive per sale in the early going, equipment often needs to be purchased, logos designed, etc. All these things can eat up first year revenues and beyond. But going into the second year profits should be up. In fact the second year will probably show the highest percentage gain of profits over any other year the company will have. If they aren’t why not? Are sales still increasing? Orders increasing? If they are then your overhead is likely too high, or your prices are too low. Find ways to lower the first and/or increase the latter.From the eighteen month point you really have committed yourself to your e-commerce business that in itself is cause for celebration. 85% of all start-ups end before the eighteen month point. It is from here where you plan the next eighteen months. Re-define your goals, and continue onward. If your ultimate plan is to have the e-commerce site support you and you are not there yet, plan how you will get there. Time could be the only factor left, these things just take time. Continue on the course and your goal will arrive. Perhaps you are already there and now want employees to run your business, plot that on your next timeline. Or perhaps you want to double your income, or shrink your work but maintain your profit. All of these are doable, it just takes realistic planning, and here is that word again, patience.
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Protect Yourself When You Buy Art
If you plan to buy art you need to be prepared prior to entering a bricks and mortar gallery or visiting a website online. How can you be a savvy buyer even if it is your first time buying art from anyone? You can take steps to protect yourself from unsavory characters and misrepresented art by always getting all of the details you can about the piece of art, the artist, and the seller if the person selling the art did not create it. Why should you take steps to protect yourself when you buy art? Simply put buying art is a kind of investment, and you would be careful making any other important purchase so it makes sense to do the same things when you buy art.Art is often beautiful and inspirational, and when you see the perfect piece of art you might get caught up in the excitement and joy you feel and forget that not everything about art sales is as beautiful as the art that is for sale. The truth is for every ten honest artists and sellers trying to share art with the world there is one person out there who is not interested in promoting the art for its own sake but is only out to get you to buy art for as much money as possible. You can make sure that you are protecting yourself from any unscrupulous sellers and improve your art buying experience in general by knowing your stuff before you visit any gallery whether physical or virtual. Go in with your eyes open and know what sort of art you are looking for; ask to see all of the work by a particular artist if the gallery has more than one piece by the same person, or go online and search for their name and see if you can find out more about them before you buy. This will let you know what their works are selling for right now and help you get a good price. If you are worried about misrepresented art, consider getting a certificate of authenticity from a reputable source and/or having the art appraised by an independent party of your choice.Once you have made sure that the piece of art you want to buy is the real deal and that you can get it at a price that is satisfying for all parties involved, it is time to get down to business! Of course right now you are likely in love with the art and cannot imagine any reason why you might want to return it, but it is always a good idea to ask about a return policy. Ask if the seller as any kind of customer satisfaction guarantee or any other policy that allows you to return the art for a refund if you are not satisfied with it within a certain period of time. Also remember to document everything from the artist’s information to the information of the seller if they are not the artist who created the piece to the details of the payment transaction for your records. This will help you to verify that you are the owner of the art and give you valuable information that you can use to evaluate and appraise the art if you do decide to sell it later on.When you buy art you are investing in several different things; not only could the art have monetary value in the future, but the art can have numerous health benefits for you! It is always a good idea to be smart when you buy art, and you can think of your purchase as a reward for a talented and honest artist so that they can continue to create works of art to make the world a more beautiful place.
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