Q. Does opening a new branch office, plant or facility create havoc?

A. Expanding your operations to new locations will test limits of your policies and procedures. Did you know that franchises are four times more likely to survive than a start-up primarily because they have a well defined operations manual? Are you running your business like franchises run theirs?

Q. Is your family happy with your work life?

A. If your business demands too many hours, too much stress, and too little quality time with your family and friends, then you should do something about it. A well defined system of standard operating procedures can allow you take a vacation without worry, increase sales with ease, add people to fill demand, and open new offices without trouble. Then your family will be happiest on block.

Mail your greetings in time to arrive for designated holiday. If you find yourself addressing envelopes on Super Bowl Sunday, keep cards until next year and send out a high-quality note thanking people for their business during previous year instead. The best way to avoid last minute greeting rush is to have all your envelopes addressed before Thanksgiving. Then during December you can leisurely write a short message - one or two lines are all that is necessary on each card, sign your name and have them in mail with a minimum of hassle.

You now have all time in world for shopping, baking, decorating and celebrating that accompany holiday season.

************************************************* Additional Tips for Addressing Envelopes

If you are about to address your holiday greeting cards or invitations to company party and you are confused about correct way to do it, you are not alone. There are situations that we have not had to consider before. There are more women with professional titles, increased numbers of women who retain their maiden name after marriage, and couples choosing alternative living arrangements. The simple act of addressing an envelope has become quite complicated. Here are a few tips to cover majority of those demanding dilemmas.

Always write titles on envelope. The card or invitation goes to "Mr. John Smith," not "John Smith." It is addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith," instead of "John and Mary Smith."

When you address a couple, use titles, rather than professional initials. It's "Dr. and Mrs. John Smith," not "John Smith, M.D. and Mrs. Smith."

If both husband and wife are doctors, you write, "The Doctors Smith." However, if they use different last names, you address envelope to "Dr. John Smith and Dr. Mary Brown." The husband's name is placed first.

If wife is a doctor and husband is not, you send your invitation to "Mr. John Smith and Dr. Mary Smith."

Try to get it all on one line. When husband has an unusually long name, wife's title and name are indented and written on second line:

The Honorable Jonathon Richardson Staniskowsky and Mrs. Staniskowsky

When a couple is not married and share a mutual address, their names are written on separate lines alphabetically and not connected by word "and."

Ms. Mary Brown Mr. John Smith

When woman outranks her husband, her name is written first. It's "Major Mary Smith and Lieutenant John Smith."

Note: The man's name is always written first unless wife outranks him or if couple is unmarried and her last name precedes his alphabetically. So much for "Ladies first."

(c) 2004, Lydia Ramsey. All rights in all media reserved.