By Stephen Bucaro

People who dress frumpy at work may be more comfortable, but they end up working for those who dress with style. People like to dress with style because it makes them feel good. When people feel good, they do better work and interact more powerfully with other people.

Unfortunately, style is difficult to find in today's look- alike manufactured world. Have you ever shopped for clothing or accessories and found something that you might have purchased if only design was just a little different? If you have an eye for style, you can profit from demand for stylish clothing and accessories.

Jill Edwards started out as a lab technician at a clam farm. One day she decided to use her mother's sewing machine to make handbags to give as gifts. Today she sells her limited edition handbags on Web for between $80.00 and $130.00. visit http://www.lauraslids.com and click on "Collections" menu to see Jill's designs. When you order, Jill handcrafts a bag specifically for you.

Copyright (c) 2002 by Angela Booth

Into each life a little rain must fall, and into each business life waltzes occasional difficult client.

Luckily, most clients are a pleasure to work with. The pains in derriere are also, when you have enough experience to recognize type.

I've listed several "difficult" types below, so that you can arm yourself against them.

The major weapon in your armory is THE CONTRACT. Always have a contract, no exceptions. Be especially wary of prospective client who says: "A contract? This will take you what, an hour? Surely you don't expect a contract for an hour's work?" (See "The Spider" below.)

=> The Convivial

You can recognize her by her cry: "Let's have a meeting before I sign off on this!" The Convivial client:

* always has an office which is half a day's drive from you;

* rarely shows up for any meetings she's scheduled, and if she does, is always at least an hour late; and

* never has an agenda for any meeting, and therefore never remembers why she wanted to see you, indeed she'll convince herself that YOU asked for meeting.

Your weapon: a signed contract with a paragraph which states that all meetings except first are chargeable at your usual daily rate, which is $X.

Note: if you don't have a schedule of fees, develop one. By close of business today. It's vital. Contact your professional association or ring local practitioners to discover what standard rates are, and use these as a basis to calculate your own fee schedule.

=> The Extremely Cautious

Her cry is: "I need to get input from Sales and Marketing, and then Legal wants to look it over". The Extremely Cautious client:

* has trouble with decisions, so rarely sees a project through to completion; and

* micro-manages, so expect five phone calls a week while you work on project.

Your weapon: a signed contract which specifies your billing cycle. This depends on project, but always get at least a third up front, and invoice monthly. Make sure that your contract specifies that all revisions after final draft are chargeable. When you hear "Legal" think: "revision, revision, revision".

=> The Bargain Bazaar

Her cry: "It came up that we really need X and Y and Z to make package complete. You won't mind including them, will you?"