So I decided to setup my new company as a Limited Liability Company. I used the internet to research the subject of setting up a company and found what seemed to be many very good recommendations. One very important recommendation about having your own business is to make sure you completely separate the business from your personal affairs. A Limited Liability Company is only protective if you do not mingle the business with your own personal finances and assets. This means the business should be a clearly separate entity with a clear paper trail of its own. Without this clear separation, the LLC may not provide the personal liability and asset protection which is one of the main reasons for me to have this type of business structure in the first place.Getting a business addressThe first thing I set out to do was to get a business address which was separate from my own personal home address. (Remember that I do not have a retail business or service location at this time so I do not have a physical business address such as a store or building) If I had an office or other physical business address then this would be a no-brainer, but I don’t. Often a U.S. Post Office box will not suffice for many transactions and doesn’t appear to be as professional as a physical street address. I had read about setting up an account at my local UPS Store which allows me to have a physical street address and not just a PO Box.My approach to my business addressUsing the UPS store approach for my business address also had other advantages. I can have someone receive packages which may require a signature without having a hit or miss approach regarding delivery times. I can then pick up any packages at a time that is more convenient for me. This service is not something I could have received from the U.S. Post Office. They have many other business services which I may utilize in the future also. Many of you may have other options or businesses with similar services to choose from. I would recommend just comparing and contrasting each of them to see which one would be better for you. In my area, the UPS Store was the best option for me.What it cost meI chose to rent just the smallest mailbox for the time being because at this point I do not have a need for a larger one. I also wanted to keep the expenses lower. I paid $154.00 for 12 months of rent for my mailbox. Simple math breaks this down to around $13 dollars a month.This mission accomplishedSo to recap, the goal I had set out to accomplish was available for $13 a month (not bad in my opinion). Number one, I was to get a physical address for my company separate from my personal address (this was by far the most important). Number two, I was able to now receive packages and mail requiring a signature without me being present. And number three, I have convenient access to many other small business services when the need arises.In my next post I will go over the steps I took in getting my LLC paperwork completed.
Setting Up My LLC – Getting a Business Address
Fall Gardening Tips That Make Home More Enjoyable
Take time to enjoy the Fall sunshine and warmth to implement Fall gardening tips that make home more enjoyable. Many individual only see fall gardening as a time to tuck away the garden and wait until spring time to enjoy the garden’s harvest and activities again. Home gardeners can follow savvy Fall garden tips and enjoy Fall at home in the process of tackling Fall gardening tasks.
1) Store Garden Hoses With Care
Coil garden hoses neatly, tie to prevent uncoiling and hang on a garage storage hooks. At growing season’s end, drain all garden hoses, connect the ends to protect them for bumps, and store away from harsher weather. Store garden hoses with enough space around them to offer protection from getting caught or tangled. Proper Fall care of your garden hoses will mean they are in working order next Spring and may save you the time of running to the store for replacements. Another option for storing garden hoses is to use a galvanized bucket for holding the hose in off-season gardening months.
2) Fall Mulching Protects Flower Beds
Wait until the ground has frozen and then mulch around the crowns of perennial plants to reduce the chance of frost heaving them upward. The best Fall gardening practices are always to take care of existing plants that thrive. There are many varieties of mulch; however, the best source may be fresh garden compost. Test the soil for its Ph balance to help determine the best mulch for each flower bed. For example, soils that tend to be too alkaline will benefit from a cocoa bean mulch which has multiple purposes: protecting the perennials during winter, contributing toward more acidic conditions, reducing weeds, and adding nutrients to the soil as it breaks down.
3) Organized Garaged Store Garden Tools Safely
By next Spring it may be hard to recall just where garden tools were stored in the Fall. Save hunting time by organized the garage storage area. Convert garage wall space into store for large gardening tools. The choices for DIY garage peg boards and hook assortments is nearly endless. Consider first what specific garden tools need to be hung and kept out-of-the-way, and then purchase the perfect hook for the job. Gardening tools stored vertically on secure hooks attached to the wall are easy to sort and see just what is needed next.
4) Keep Gardening Through Fall With A Garden Cold Frame
Don’t allow hardier herbs and vegetable gardens fade too early as frost starts nipping around. With a little planning, they keep growing and harvesting beautifully under a little extra protection from a garden cold frame. Even using a old sheet to cover them at night can add weeks of eating pleasure and the ability to cut and bring the last blooms indoors.
5) Use Fall Planter For Fall Color
Add Fall colors to your porch for bright curb appeal with Fall planters. Tuck in colorful perennials, the last of your climbing vines for a few training branches, orange and yellow gourds that echo Fall’s features. Place them on a pedestal for eye-catching displays for the neighborhood to enjoy.
These Fall gardening tips mean spending less time hunting for gardening tools next spring, enjoy a garden that flourishes with healthy soil, and make mulch that will yield better blooms next year and fewer weeds. All the while, savvy home gardeners can enjoy Fall gardening and it’s harvests longer.
French Vs American Labor Law and Policy
U.S. Public Sector Labor Policy
The public sector comprises the largest section of organized labor in America and continues to grow. Educators, nurses, police officers, and government employees have become heavily unionized or involved in other professional organizations. Although most of the major pieces of labor legislation exclude public employees, they will be increasingly important to understand them as governments continue to outsource administrative, strategic, and other professional work.[1]
Employees who engage in collective bargaining use a variety tactics causing slowdown, shutdown, or sick-ins. While the private sector can absorb these tactics, the public sector cannot. Often, key employees such as police or firefighters will strike at critical times, putting the public at a severe detriment for their own greed. Millions of dollars and lives are in the hands of Americas civil servants, thus effective public policy affecting collective bargaining is important to the success of the nation. The largest public sector union is organization is the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) which covers employees of local and state governments, has a membership of 1.3 million and dates back to 1936.[2] Unionization is strong at this level with some 60 percent of eligible public employees belonging to a union or other professional organization. [3].
Putting U.S. Public Sector Labor Policy on the Agenda
The issue has been put on the national agenda because of the ability for public sector unions to mobilize a bloc vote and the threat of a strike should they become unhappy with using political conditions. Public employees have bolstered their organization for both reasons involving pay and working conditions. Safety has always been a key bargaining point for many unions, especially those in hazardous occupations. Strikes are very dangerous to the public sector because they often involve first responders or employees in key positions.
For example, in 1981 13,000 professional air craft controllers belonging to PATCO went on strike attempting to leave planes to their own devices and guidance causing what could have been a national emergency, simply because they wanted better wages. President Ronald Reagan quickly fired over 70 percent of them sending a clear warning that a strike of this magnitude would not and could not be tolerated by the American Public.[4]
Key Actors Shaping U.S. Public Sector Labor Policy
Since the early 1960′s federal employees have been able to organize and engage in collective bargaining through an executive order issued by President Kennedy which granted federal employees the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining. [5] This is a statement that while congress is not a key actor in shaping labor policy for the public sector, the executive branch is. However, the Presidents role in shaping labor policy changes whenever the turnover in the office occurs. Different Presidents simply have different policy prescriptions to unionization problems.
Individual states are largely responsible for state, county and municipal employee union policy and here, the state legislature does have considerable power in shaping public policy regarding unions. Many states have rejected the rights unions under what is called the privilege doctrine, it states that: employment in government is not a right but rather a privilege.[6] This is legally defensible and rooted in common law.[7]
Under the Minnesota Labor Relations Act, employers cannot intimidate or discourage union activity employees have a limited right to strike, an employer cannot institute a lockout which involves locking employees out from work, or take action against an employee for being involved in a union or other collective bargaining agency.[8]
The Future of Public Sector Labor Policy in the U.S.
Certain government employees are very difficult to replace while others can be outsourced. For example, should all the firefighters strike during a crop burning that leads to massive damage, perhaps they should be held liable for damages. In the private sector, unions and management act in an adversarial system, but in the public sector this is not so. This could mean that a manager is less likely to fire an employee simply because he is a member of the union. This leads to retention of incompetent employees and government ineffectiveness.
This is a crisis that many future administrators will face and learn to deal with. As the public sector unionization rate continues to increase even while its private counterpart decreases, key actors in public policy must began to look at how to best shape U.S. public policy to deal with public sector unionization.
Current labor policy is likely to continue at the federal level, at least until a President with an active interest in changing it emerges. However at the state level, change happens all the time. States are laboratories of democracy and can shape policies affecting those in their employ. One thing to bear in mind is that there is not a substantial labor party in the United States and this will always hinder union activity as it has less of a voice at the table.
French Public Sector Labor Policy
The French public sector is alive and very strong, with a threat of a strike looming from many areas of the public sector at all times. It is the largest sector of labor in France and unlike America; government is considered an honorable and coveted profession. In the face of recent threats of public sector work stoppages and possible violence, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has tried to keep the nation calm. “I say to everyone-be very responsible, be very calm and show a great deal of composure…This country does not need violence, manipulation on top of all the other problems it has.
However, his speeches will not make transportation systems run when they are thrown into “nationwide chaos” by disgruntled unions this fall.[9] Unionization is 5.2 million strong in France but is comprised of trade unions that are aligned under loosely under a variety of different political terms.[10] The public sector has a sense of elitism that separates it from its would be comrades in the other trade unions, however, certain events or disturbances will cause the unions to form temporary alliances and fight a common cause.
Putting French Public Sector Labor Policy on the Agenda
Part of the reason that unions are reacting so severely to is the recent public policy announcement from President Sarkozy to cut 22,000 jobs in the public sector.[11]
The French economy simply cannot afford to support needless jobs and over-inflated unionization of public sector. President Sarkozy stated that he does not want to eliminate the bureaucracy; rather he wants to make it better and sharper. “I want a public service that is smaller, better paid and with better career prospects”, he said.[12]
The political movement in France has been a conservative one for some time. It has taken over what was a socialist regime and has made strides against a resistant public sector that is use to bloated salaries and comfortable benefits.[13]
Key Actors Shaping French Public Sector Labor Policy
The key actors shaping French labor policy in the public sector are clearly the public sector, the Executive branch and to some extent the news media. Depending on how closely the unions choose to unite, they can be quite a formidable force, they have been in the past and will probably continue to be in the future. However, the Executive also sets the policy of for the nation and under former liberal and socialist regimes, policies were much more union friendly then they are now.[14]
The media chooses which side to take on the issue and while it seems that the mainstream media sources, such as the BBC, have become turned off by unionism and complaining of public servants, there seems to be a strong underground current of socialist literature that floods the web tends to defend unions and civil servants. This could also mean that the socialist party is a key actor in shaping French labor policy in the public sector as it was for some time.
The Future of Public Sector Labor Policy in the France
France is headed for a number of years that will be riddled with strikes and economic uncertainties. There exists a strong socialist culture in the public sector of France, yet there is currently a conservative administration, these two actors are clearly at odds with each other.
The outcome of the policies of the Executive will depend on whether or not the unions can build coalitions, remain strong through considerable economic strife, and regain the news media on their side. If they fail, then the executive will be successful in breaking them and the strategy of not caving in to demands will work, if they are successful, then the Executive strategy of non-cooperation will fail.
One of the two sides must break and whoever has the news media on theirs will be better suited to win this battle. Thus the policy could either remain very conservative or gradually move back towards socialist ideas. In a state on its fourth constitution, anything could happen!
Similarities Between U.S. & French Public Policy
Both France and the United States had strong Executive control over labor policy in the public sector. It seems strange the Legislative branch has very little say in the arena of the public sector in either nation. While Congress has had a large impact on unions in the private sector, it has had almost none in the public sector and is rarely even cited, the same applies for France as their private sector unions are fairly weak.
Historically, both countries have had strong public sector unions however; the massive backlash that the unions in France are facing now, already hit the American public sector in the 1980s. This has allowed for the French public sector to continue union militancy through strike and shut down, but forced U.S. civil servants to learn political tactics of achieving their goals and surviving.
U.S. Presidents and French Presidents have handled the situation much the same way, but as said, the U.S. went through it in the 1980s and France did not really start going through it until the mid 1990s. The tactics are basically the same, both countries have taken a zero tolerance policy to striking and stuck with it, and it seems to be working. Eventually, Unions in both counties will have to find new ways to survive in increasingly conservative administrations and less public support for their causes.
Categorize Your Clothing and Accessories
When a new fashion season begins do you find it hard to decide what items of clothing and accessories to buy? Sorting through the clothes in your wardrobe will make it easier to see what new items of clothing you actually need to create a fashionable look.If you are one of those people who have a closet full of clothes but never have anything to wear, then you definitely need to organize your clothes, shoes and accessories. This is well worth doing and will save you time, money and stress.Organize your clothes, shoes and accessories into categories, this will allow you to see what you actually have. The best way to do this is as follows,
Go through your wardrobe, anything you wear on a regular basis pull out and put in a pile.
Of the items left in your wardrobe sort through them and anything you no longer like, maybe because it doesn’t flatter your figure, or it’s just not you anymore, bin them.
Any items that are left over that you don’t regularly wear but you can’t bring yourself to throw away, put into a bin liner and store them away.
All clothing, shoes and accessories that you wear on a regular basis can then be split into categories of casual wear, work wear and evening/smart wear. Hang these items in your wardrobe in sections, or if you have more than one wardrobe, categorize each wardrobe accordingly.When you look at your work wear, casual wear or evening wear, you will be able to see exactly what you have. This method makes it so much easier to see what new fashion items you need to complete an overall look.With regards to the clothes you have stored away in a bin liner, give it six months and if you haven’t needed any of these items, chances are you never will in the future. If the items are in good condition take them to your favorite charity shop, if not bin them.A great way to save wardrobe space is by splitting your clothing up into summer and winter items. When summer arrives store you winter clothes in a damp proof box in the attic and vice versa when winter arrives.Have fun shopping for those clothing and accessories that will add value and fashion to your wardrobe.