Ryan Galiotto

Archive for September, 2008

There are a large number of competitors to our store that operate in and around our area. This has made our work a little bit harder in terms of customer retention and customer satisfaction. You will quite often find our businesses swapping customers as one of us will put on sale in an attempt to make more money.

At the rate that these events were happening, our projections showed that our company would last no more than a couple years. We knew that we needed to do something before closing down the business would be our only option.

What we decided to do was to do a little more research on the best coffee makers and we made sure to sell the best coffee pot to each customer that purchased the best coffee maker on our shelves.

Thankfully our focus on customer service has increased our business and it looks like we won’t have to shut down all.

One of my strengths (or weaknesses) is my desire to create lists.  You see, I like to always stay as organized as possible, and I pretty much rely on lists for just about anything.

But when I switched over to using a computer, I started out using a simple spreadsheet to keep track of everything.  This was okay at first, but as time went on, I was dealing with larger and larger amounts of information and I had trouble organizing it.

So, I decided that I would start to use some database software to help make things easier.  But the problem for me was that I needed to convert my existing information into a format that I could import into the database.

I was able to use some TAB to CSV software to convert the spreadsheet into a format that would work with the database software I was using.  I was even able to print out my old database using the CSV to HTML conversion software so I had a hard copy of my information.

I would definitely have to say that by using the software made my life a whole lot easier.

I would like to think of myself as a fairly cautious person especially when it comes to money.  You see, a couple of years ago we were just about ruined financially and actually had to move back in with my parents (which was kind of embarrassing).

So when it comes to money, I like to make sure that I have all my bases covered before I do anything drastic.  Though I have missed out on a couple of good deals and opportunities, I feel a lot better knowing that my finances are safe.

A good example would be what I did before we moved to Australia.  You see, I had a good paying health care job in North America and I was hoping to find something similar over there before we moved.  My wife already had her government job in Australia all lined up so least we were guaranteed a little bit of income as soon as we moved there.

I was able to find a couple of Australian job listing websites that had a vast array of jobs that I could apply for before we moved.  I applied for many of them and I was pleasantly surprised to have a number of interviews lined up for the day after we would arrive in Australia.

Was a smart move?  You bet.  We didn’t even have to tap into our savings as I was able to start work with in the first week that we were living there.

I am very happy that I had the opportunity to go to school.  My parents didn’t have a lot of money, but they wanted the best for me.  But we were at a loss for how I was going to be able to go to school after high school - the beauty academy that I wanted to attend was going to cost a lot of money.

The one positive that I had was that my grades were good - in fact I was in the top five in my graduating class.  I had applied for a number of scholarships that were geared towards students that were interested in attending beauty school and I prayed that I would get them.

As it turns out, I was ended up being the recipient of three scholarships and I was able to attend the hair school of my choice.  There is just something magical that happens when your dreams come true…

Every summer, for the past ten years, my parents have dragged my brother and I on a camping trip to Michigan. We are not an especially close family, so it drives me crazy to have to pretend that we are all so close for one week every summer. I was going to put my foot down and refuse to go this year.

Things changed when my best friend informed me that there was going to be a huge Michigan larp gathering during the same week that my family was going to be there. I convinced my parents that Buddy had to come along and it was amazing.

It was so much better than the Ohio larp functions that we are used to attending. We both had the greatest time and I am actually looking forward to the family camping trip next year. I guess it is true that if you look hard enough, you can find the good in every situation.

I was only seven years old when I received my very first camera for Christmas. That was the day that I fell in love with taking pictures. It was a no-brainer as to what I was going to be when I grew up. As soon as I was old enough, I started submitting some of my best photos to stock photos royalty free websites and I was surprised at how many I managed to sell in a very short time.

I did go to college where I majored in (what else?) photography. When I was finished with that, I decided that it was time to start my own stock photography company. For the first year, I spent most of my time acquiring photographers and building up as much stock as I could.

The second year, I spent most of my business time submitting samples of a stock photo to different calendar companies and text book companies. It was amazing how quickly my business grew and I am thrilled at what it is today.

The best thing is that I get to go out and do what I love best and have loved best since I was seven, and I get paid for it!

For the past few months, we have been contemplating renovating our sports bar.  It isn’t that it really needed it, but since sales have been so good, we thought that it would be the time to do it.  It was going to be a way for us to get new customers as well as increase the seating area.

One of the big things that we decided to do was to get rid of the old projection televisions and replace them with new LCD TVs.  Not only would that free up a lot of space, but it was also going to give us some options as to where they could be placed throughout the establishment.

It was suggested that we buy TV screen protectors for each of our televisions to protect our investment.  Since people do drink in our establishment, by having TV screen protectors on each TV, we know that they would be less likely to get damaged.

But, we still have about a week before we can open again - it will be interesting to see the reaction of our patrons - I hope that they love our new look.

Unfortunately, if you go on the Internet, you run the risk that you computer could be infected with something.  This reminds me of real life as each time you leave your home, you are at risk of getting an infection and can easily get sick.

Sadly, most of the time you don’t even realize it before it is too late.  For example, tonight I was looking at a forum, and after I left, I found that there was a toolbar installed in my browser - it wasn’t there before.

But thanks to the SpyHunter review that I had read a few months earlier, I knew that my copy of SpyHunter would be able to take care of it.  With just a couple clicks, the computer was already working on fixing itself, and I am just so thankful that I have the right tool to get rid of malware - nobody wants a sick computer.