TOP ENTERPRENEUR IN THE WORLD

Top 10 Full-Service Restaurant Franchises

2008-06-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

#1 Denny's Inc.
2008 Franchise 500 ranking: #47
Full-service family restaurant
Casual dining and moderately priced meals are available 24 hours a day at Denny's locations. Starting as a donut chain in 1953, Denny's now has more than 1,500 locations in the U.S. and around the world and is designated as one of the best companies for diversity.

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#2 CiCi's Pizza
2008 Franchise 500 ranking: #92
All-you-can-eat pizza buffet
America can't seem to get enough of the buffet style pizza and pasta, quality service, and low prices CiCi's Pizza promises. And we can't either as they have more than 600 franchises nationwide and counting since first opening in 1985 in Plano, Texas. Between 2007 and 2008, it saw a 2.3 percent increase in sales with a 16 percent increase in sales the year before that.

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#3 Golden Corral Franchising Systems Inc.
2008 Franchise 500 ranking: #135
Family steakhouse, buffet & bakery
Golden Corral is home to the "Great Steak Buffet" as well as pasta, pizza, and grilled meats. Committing to their motto of "Everyone Deserves a Good Meal," they keep prices low while offering tasty food. As of 2007, the company started in 1973 has grown to $1.5 billion in sales.

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#4 Huddle House
2008 Franchise 500 ranking: #137
Family-style diner
Since starting in Georgia in 1964, Huddle House has sought to provide a warm and inviting environment as well as Southern-style comfort food for the communities around them. This past year alone, customers downed 125 million cups of coffee and about 30 million orders of hash browns from one of the 400 and counting franchise locations.

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#5 Beef 'O' Brady's
2008 Franchise 500 ranking: #182
Family sports pub
Jim Mellody started Beef 'O' Brady's in 1985 after acquiring a small sandwich shop. Mellody eventually introduced chicken wings into the menu, along with signature sandwiches, burgers, and salads. The chain offers a family, sports pub environment and for franchisors a large network of partners to help in any and all ways possible.

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#6 Famous Dave's
2008 Franchise 500 ranking: #192
Barbecue-themed restaurant
After a long journey to perfectly smoked BBQ ribs, Dave Anderson opened his first restaurant in Hayward, Wisconsin in 1994. With an intensive 10-week training program for managers and specific qualifications for pit masters, Famous Dave's commits to providing the best service and best tasting BBQ in the country.

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#7 The Melting Pot Restaurants Inc.
2008 Franchise 500 ranking: #201
Fondue-specialty restaurant
The first Melting Pot Restaurant opened in 1975 in Maitland, Florida, and since has expanded to more than 129 locations, with at least 42 more in development. The fondue franchise promises a unique experience, private tables, and attentive service at every restaurant.

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#8 DoubleDave's Pizzaworks Systems Inc.
2008 Franchise 500 ranking: #283
Pizza
Davyyd Miller founded DoubleDave's in 1984, serving up pizza, stromboli and the signature pepperoni rolls. The Texas-based company prides itself in training its employees and franchisees to make its signature, hand-tossed pizza dough.

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#9 Boston Pizza
2008 Franchise 500 ranking: #316
Casual dining restaurant & sports bar
It started in 1964, with a concept: provide two different dining experiences under the same roof. Offering both casual, family dining, and a sports bar experiences, the Canada-based company plans to bring those experiences to the public with 100 new restaurants in the next few years. In an effort to give back to their communities, it started the Boston Pizza Foundation and commits to supporting three national charities through various events during the year.

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#10 BD's Mongolian Barbeque
2008 Franchise 500 ranking: #377
Create-your-own stir fry restaurant
By allowing its customers to create their own stir fry, BD's Mongolian Barbeque promises a unique experience, every visit. Since 1992, guests choose their own ingredients from a variety of meats, seafood, vegetables, salads, sauces, and spices and it's prepared on a large grill.

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Farm Equipment Broker

2008-06-16T21:20:00.000-07:00


About Startup Costs The startup costs provided in this database include an approximate financial investment that will be needed to start the business. This is generalized information and should only be used as a yardstick to determine business startup costs. Your investment will vary based on factors such as equipment, transportation, licensing and permits, operating location, working capital and initial marketing and advertising budgets. Remember a successful entrepreneur is one who carefully researches and plans every aspect of a new business venture, including the financial investment needed to start a business and the working capital required to achieve positive cash flow. Close Window » Do you know the ins and outs of tractors? If so, a farm equipment broker job may be right for you. Business Overview International connections can really pay off, especially if you're planning to start a farm equipment brokerage business. Your international connection will not only assist in the marketing of the equipment overseas but also in locating discounted farm equipment for North American purchasers. The market for good, quality used farm equipment such as tractors and hay combines is huge worldwide. Selling just one piece of equipment per week can generate business revenues of $200,000 per year and more. The key to success in this business is to build and maintain vital contacts and alliances with farm equipment dealers and other brokers of farm equipment, as well as to seek international opportunities with booming economies. The investment needed to start a business as a farm equipment broker will vary based on factors such as initial advertising budget, business location, and overall operating expenses. However, an initial investment of $25,000 to $40,000 is suitable to get the business venture set in motion. As a way to minimize startup costs, the business can initially be operated from a homebased office and market only local farm equipment to local potential purchasers. As a rule of thumb, farm equipment brokers charge a 10 percent commission of the total value of the farm equipment that was successfully sold. There are however, exceptions to the rule. The commission rate will often be higher on lower valued farm equipment, and lower on very expensive farm equipment. Keep in mind that even if a piece of equipment isn't sold, the broker is still responsible for the costs associated with attempting to market the equipment, unless a prior agreement has been established with the equipment owner, which is rarely done. The Market Farmers who need to lease farming equipment www.entrepreneur.com

Top 25 Undergraduate Colleges

2008-06-15T22:49:00.000-07:00

Babson College
The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship
Wellesley, MA
http://www.babson.edu/eship

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 39
Enrolled students: 1776 of which 40% started a business
Percentage still in business: 50%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 95%
Recent grads who started a business: 7%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Scholarships: $84,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 12
Mentorship programs: 10
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $8,500

^# 2

University of Houston
C.T. Bauer College of Business
The Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Houston, TX
http://www.bauer.uh.edu/cei

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 37
Enrolled students: 1688 of which 69% started a business
Percentage still in business: 61%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 100%
Recent grads who started a business: 62%
Percentage still in business: 94%
Scholarships: $41,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 4
Mentorship programs: 6
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $40,000

^# 3

Drexel University
LeBow College of Business
Philadelphia , PA
http://www.lebow.drexel.edu

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 28
Enrolled students: 102 of which 75% started a business
Percentage still in business: 65%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 100%
Recent grads who started a business: 40%
Percentage still in business: 75%
Scholarships: $375,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 1
Mentorship programs: 4
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $65,000

^# 4

The University of Arizona
McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship, McGuire Entrepreneurship Program
Tucson, AZ
http://www.entrepreneurship.eller.arizona.edu

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 28
Enrolled students: 55 of which 21% started a business
Percentage still in business: 91%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 74%
Recent grads who started a business: 27%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 2
Mentorship programs: 10
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $10,000

^# 5

University of Dayton
L. William Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership
Dayton, OH
http://www.sba.udayton.edu/entrepreneur

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 23
Enrolled students: 350 of which 100% started a business
Percentage still in business: 33%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 62%
Recent grads who started a business: 10%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Scholarships: $8,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 4
Mentorship programs: 5
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $22,000

^# 6

Chapman University
Argyros School of Business and Economics
Orange, CA
http://www.chapman.edu/argyros/asbecenters/leatherby

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 8
Enrolled students: 86 of which 57% started a business
Percentage still in business: 71%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 100%
Recent grads who started a business: 77%
Percentage still in business: 95%
Scholarships: $300,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 3
Mentorship programs: 6
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $20,000

^# 7

DePaul University
Entrepreneurship Program
Chicago, IL
http://ent.depaul.edu

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 7
Enrolled students: 4999 of which 20% started a business
Percentage still in business: 100%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 100%
Recent grads who started a business: 25%
Percentage still in business: 95%
Scholarships: $290,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 3
Mentorship programs: 2
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $25,000

^# 8

Temple University
Fox School of Business
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute
Philadelphia , PA
http://www.fox.temple.edu/iei

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 14
Enrolled students: 195 of which 15% started a business
Percentage still in business: 100%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 90%
Recent grads who started a business: 5%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Scholarships: $6,550
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 1
Mentorship programs: 3
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $29,625

^# 9

University of North Dakota
Entrepreneurship Program
Grand Forks, ND
http://business.und.edu/entr

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 10
Enrolled students: 160 of which 23% started a business
Percentage still in business: 66%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 100%
Recent grads who started a business: 50%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Scholarships: $10,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 3
Mentorship programs: 3
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $25,000

^# 10

Loyola Marymount University
Hilton Center for Entrepreneurship
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.lmu.edu/Page20647.aspx

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 13
Enrolled students: 120 of which 33% started a business
Percentage still in business: 100%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 75%
Recent grads who started a business: 33%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Scholarships: $20,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 4
Mentorship programs: 4
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $16,000

^# 11

Wichita State University
W. Frank Barton School of Business
Wichita, KS
http://www.wichita.edu

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 12
Enrolled students: 180 of which 10% started a business
Percentage still in business: 80%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 95%
Recent grads who started a business: 15%
Percentage still in business: 90%
Scholarships: $80,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 2
Mentorship programs: 1
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $18,000

^# 12

Syracuse University
Entrepreneurship & Emerging Enterprises
Syracuse, NY
http://whitman.syr.edu/eee/

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 26
Enrolled students: 1100 of which 10% started a business
Percentage still in business: 9%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 90%
Recent grads who started a business: 12%
Percentage still in business: 10%
Scholarships: $500,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 2
Mentorship programs: 3
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $41,000

^# 13

University of Notre Dame
Mendoza College of Business
Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
Notre Dame, IN
http://www.nd.edu/~entrep/

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 16
Enrolled students: 54 of which 28% started a business
Percentage still in business: 20%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 80%
Recent grads who started a business: 7%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Scholarships: $1,750
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 3
Mentorship programs: 5
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $35,000

14 University of Maryland
Smith Entrepreneurship Fellows, Hinman CEOs, and Hillman Entrepreneurs Programs
College Park, MD
http://www.mtechventures.umd.edu/education/hinman/

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 17
Enrolled students: 159 of which 48% started a business
Percentage still in business: 100%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 90%
Recent grads who started a business: 14%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Scholarships: $750,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 4
Mentorship programs: 7
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $122,500

^# 15

University of Oklahoma
Price College of Business
Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
Norman, OK
http://www.ou.edu/entrepreneurship

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 14
Enrolled students: 189 of which 10% started a business
Percentage still in business: 100%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 70%
Recent grads who started a business: 5%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Scholarships: $30,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 2
Mentorship programs: 50
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $100,000

^# 16

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
The Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership
The Technology Entrepreneur Center
Champaign, IL
http://www.uiuc.edu/entrepreneur/

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 47
Enrolled students: 2746
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 37%
Scholarships: $41,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 11
Mentorship programs: 12
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $35,000

^# 17

Xavier University
Williams College of Business
Xavier Entrepreneurial Center
Cincinnati, OH
http://www.xavier.edu/entrepreneurial_center

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 7
Enrolled students: 57 of which 65% started a business
Percentage still in business: 100%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 84%
Recent grads who started a business: 25%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Scholarships: $27,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 1
Mentorship programs: 3
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $4,000

^# 18

The University of Alabama
Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration
Entrepreneurship Program
Tuscaloosa, AL
http://www.ua.edu/

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 10
Enrolled students: 250 of which 65% started a business
Percentage still in business: 30%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 90%
Recent grads who started a business: 25%
Percentage still in business: 50%
Scholarships: $6,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 4
Mentorship programs: 1
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $2,500

^# 19

University of Southern California
Marshall School of Business
Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.marshall.usc.edu/entrepreneur

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 15
Enrolled students: 754 of which 25% started a business
Percentage still in business: 100%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 100%
Recent grads who started a business: 17%
Percentage still in business: 15%
Scholarships: $5,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 1
Mentorship programs: 1
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $25,000

^# 20

Ball State University
Ball State University's Entrepreneurship Center
Muncie, IN
http://www.bsu.edu/entrepreneurship

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 10
Enrolled students: 61 of which 10% started a business
Percentage still in business: 100%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 100%
Recent grads who started a business: 16%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Scholarships: $32,200
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 1
Mentorship programs: 1
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $29,500

^# 21

The University of Iowa
John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center
Iowa City, IA
http://www.iowajpec.org

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 16
Enrolled students: 1005 of which 16% started a business
Percentage still in business: 84%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 85%
Recent grads who started a business: 7%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Scholarships: $19,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 1
Mentorship programs: 5
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $15,000

^# 22

Brigham Young University
Center for Entrepreneurship
Provo, UT
http://www.learnearnreturn.com

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 13
Enrolled students: 124 of which 30% started a business
Percentage still in business: 87%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 93%
Recent grads who started a business: 5%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Scholarships: $55,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 1
Mentorship programs: 5
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $106,000

^# 23

Baylor University
Baylor Entrepreneurial Studies
Waco, TX
http://www.baylor.edu/business/management/

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 18
Enrolled students: 108 of which 100% started a business
Percentage still in business: 30%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 100%
Recent grads who started a business: 12%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Scholarships: $142,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 2
Mentorship programs: 2
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $15,000

^# 24

Northeastern University
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group
Boston, MA
http://www.cba.neu.edu

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 7
Enrolled students: 795 of which 1% started a business
Percentage still in business: 1%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 80%
Recent grads who started a business: 1%
Percentage still in business: 1%
Scholarships: $500,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 3
Mentorship programs: 1
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $10,000

^# 25

The Ohio State University
The Fisher College of Business
Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship Education Program
Columbus, OH
http://www.entrepreneurship.osu.edu

Number of entrepreneurship courses: 20
Enrolled students: 750 of which 15% started a business
Percentage still in business: 100%
Faculty who are entrepreneurs: 75%
Recent grads who started a business: 2%
Percentage still in business: 100%
Scholarships: $20,000
Number of entrepreneurship clubs: 1
Mentorship programs: 3
Business plan competition: Yes; Prize: $40,000

4 steps began efforts in the House

2008-06-13T18:44:00.000-07:00

News-Anda was bored becoming the employee and wanting to open efforts personally?
Definitely could!
Began efforts personally not sesulit that was imagined by you, from you knew his steps.
Along with four steps in the foundation that must be known by you.
1.
Chose the business field.
When you asked what could be done by you for the business in the house, there was two choices of the foundation: Create personally or gathered in the organisation/the company direct selling for example the multi-level marketing (MLM).
If you chose created personally, you must carry out the survey of the small-scale market.
Minimally Anda must be able to answer the question: What that was needed by the prospective customer you?
After you knew he replied, tried to compare the price, the quality, and the ease of the use of your product to the available product in the market.
If you were sure your product was competitive enough, during him to act.
2.
Made planning.
Made business planning might not very complicated, except if you wanted to make him the proposal to get capital from the bank or the other financial institution.
It is best to sebisa possibly you danai personally early of your business so that you need not bear the additional pressure in menggembalikan the debt.
Basically efforts planning consisted of the concept about the thing/the service that would you the production, the marketing method, funding and the management.
3.
Created the office in the house.
Created the office hour (adapted with the requirement for the family) and informed to all of the family's member, the neighbour and friends.
Therefore you could work with calm, effective and efficient.
There is good him you had line telephoned personally for the need of your efforts.
It would be better if again if being equipped with fax.
Whereas the house address, if you felt not more comfortable made him 'five public', you could lease the letter post (PO Box).
4.
Attracted the customer.
The thing or the service that you the production needed the marketing power to arrive at the buyer.
But needed you remembered, marketed the doll house product did not need the complicated marketing system.
Avoid the promotion to everyone, focussed to the person's potential group was the buyer.
Offer the free sample to them.

Career In Chevron

2008-06-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

To sustain profitable growth and build the organizational capability, Chevron in Indonesia is now searching for 4+ years related experienced Indonesian nationals who possess relevant educational background and behavior.
Qualification :

Petrophysicist (ES - PET)
• S1/S2 from Geology/Geophysics/Physics/Petrophysics.
• GPA minimum 3 in scale 4.
• Have minimum 5 years of experience.
• Fluent English in both speaking and writing.
• Willing to be assigned in the field (temporary).
• Extensive education and training in knowledge of petrophysics including logging, geology and seismic response, with at least five years of relevant industry experience.
• Well-developed computing skills in petrophysical analysis and interpretation, especially GEOLOG.
• Have knowledge in computer hardware.
• Familiar with LINUX and UNIX operating systems.
• Good team working skills.
• Thorough understanding of FEWD, MWD and wireline well logging operations.

Geophysicists - Seismic Processing (ES – GSDP)
• S1/S2 from Geophysics/Geology/Physics/Mathematics
• Have minimum 5 years of experience
• GPA minimum 3 in scale 4
• Fluent English in both of speaking and writing
• Willing to be assigned in the field (temporary)
• Sufficient experiences in seismic data processing
• Familiar with seismic data processing software especially Promax software
• Have knowledge in computer hardware
• Familiar with LINUX and UNIX operating systems
• Good team working

Maintenance Engineers – Mechanical (FE – MTC)
• Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering from reputable university in Indonesia or overseas, Master degree are welcome to apply
• Minimum 5 years experience in Maintenance activities for Oil & Gas Facilities, have a good understanding of maintenance philosophy including preventive and predictive maintenance concepts.
• Fully understanding of CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) utilization, and familiar with RCA (Root Cause Analysis), FMEA (Failure Mode Effect Analysis) technique and implementation.
• Experience in assessing rotating and fixed equipment health conditions by using one or more of Predictive Maintenance tools (Vibration • Monitoring, Motor Diagnostic, Thermograph, Ultrasonic, Lubricant analysis) then develop recommendation for correction. Hold International PdM certificate is beneficial.
• Have engineering analytical skills in dealing with day to day equipment problem solving.
• Good English communication skill and teamwork

Construction Engineers – Mechanical (FE – CON)
• Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering from reputable university in Indonesia or overseas, Master degree are welcome to apply
• Minimum 5 years experience in construction of surface facilities for Oil & Gas Facilities with strong capability in reviewing and executing engineering drawing including PFD, P&ID and other construction drawing.
• Exposure and have good understanding of Construction Management ( Project Scoping, Planning Scheduling, Project Progress & Budget Tracking)
• Understanding of industrial standards such as API, ASME, ANSI and other related standards
• Good skill and knowledge of Health Safety and Environmental to ensure all activities comply with corporate standard and government regulation to achieve safely incident free operation.
• Good leadership skill and have a capability in managing contractor to execute jobs Safely, on schedule and within approved budget; Experience in project progress, contractor and construction equipment productivity measures and techniques for advancing project progresses.
• Have engineering analytical skills in dealing with day to day construction activity problem solving.
• Good English communication skill and teamwork

Design Engineers – Instrumentation & Control (FE – DES)
• Bachelor Degree in Instrumentation & Control from reputable university in Indonesia or overseas, Master degree are welcome to apply
• Minimum 5 years experience in design of surface facilities for Oil & Gas Facilities
• Understanding of industrial/ international electrical codes & standards for instrumentation
• Have a good understanding of safe design & operating principles
• Experience in Develop design basis documents, specifications, cost estimates, and scopes of work, Prepare, complete and/or lead, as required, data sheets, calculations, evaluations, control drawings, wiring diagrams, loop diagrams, P&ID's, etc.
• Have engineering analytical skills in dealing with day to day activity problem solving.
• Good English communication skill and teamwork

Sr. Drilling Technician (TECH – D&C)
• D3 graduate from mechanical/chemical/petroleum with strong experiences in oil and gas company (minimum 3 years of experiences)
• Willing to be assigned in the field (temporary)
• Fluent English in both speaking and writing.
• Displays and reinforces behaviors in support of HES, reliability and efficiency.
• Fundamental understanding of Drilling and Completions activities/operations.
• Capability to guide completion of multiple tasks/operations.
• Capability to meet project timelines and objectives.
• Good team working skills.
• Proficiency in Database Applications including Access, Excel and Wellview. Proficiency in MS Project.
• Capability to apply skills, knowledge and experience to task at hand. Shares knowledge with others. Seek out and incorporate the learning and experience of others.

Electrical technicians (TECH – ET):
• D3 Degree in Electrical Engineering or Technical High School with relevant equivalent years of experience (8 – 10 years)
• Have minimum 4 years of related experience
• Working Knowledge and skills related to Electrical equipment:
• Trafos, electric motors/generators, electrical relays, etc
• Electrical drawings, logic diagrams
• Advanced information about Electrical Devices
• Electrical troubleshooting & maintenance fundamentals
• Basic Process Engineering knowledge
• Ability to use measurement equipment
• Strong analytical skill
• Good command of oral and written English

Well Testing Technician (TECH – WT)
• D3 / Polytechnic in Mechanical Engineering or High School
• Have minimum 2 years of related experience for D3 and equivalent years of experience (8 – 10 years) for High School
• Working Knowledge and skills related to Well Testing equipment:
• Wireline Unit, Sub-survey Logging, Flow Metering, Gauges.
• Well schematic, P&ID, Well Testing Pipe arrangement.
• Advanced information about Flow Measurement Devices
• Metering operation troubleshooting & maintenance fundamentals
• Basic Process Engineering knowledge
• Ability to use measurement equipment
• Strong analytical skill
• Good command of oral and written English
• Basic computer skill in word processing and spreadsheet application are required

Sr. Medical Officer – Internist (HR-MOI)
• Education Background: General Practitioners with Medical Doctor in related Internal Specialist
• Minimum 3 years experienced, and 2 – 3 years in related Internal Specialist (after WKS) Technical Competencies: USG Abdomen, Functional Medical Management, Clinical Management, Occupational Health, Safety & Industrial Hygiene: Human Management, Microsoft Office
• Fully meet the administration requirement
• Having doctor registration from the Indonesian Doctor Association (KKI)
• No government assignment obligation
• Having fully meet one time assignment from the government as General Practitioner/Internal Medicine Specialist or delay (after specialist -- WKS tertunda setelah specialist)
• Having certified Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS)

Medical Analyst (ALS – MED)
• D3 graduate from Nursing Academy, Health/Hospital Administrations
• Known and familiar with medical term, medicines, hospital system, medical administration and case management.
• Capable with computer: MS-Office and Outlook
• Proficient in English, Spoken and written TOEIC score > 500
• Capability to work with number and tracking system
• Capability to supervise subordinate personnel and or actually participate to create and maintain all of Medical administration function.
• Capability to communicate with Health Medical Services vendors, clinics and hospital related to referral patient, medical issue & policy, medical monthly or yearly program, and other medical related.
• Good Customer orientation

Geophysicists - Interpretation (ES – GPINT)
• S1/S2 in Geophysics/Geology/Physics/Mathematics
• GPA minimum of 3 in scale 4
• Have minimum 5 years of 2D/3D seismic interpretation experience
• Experience to include mapping, synthetics, depth conversion, modeling
• Familiar with current interpretation software (but no specific requirement)
• GPA minimum 3 in scale 4
• Excellent communication skills
• Fluent spoken and written English
• Good team player, able to integrate with other disciplines (geology, RE, drilling)
• Willing to locate to Balikpapan

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How to keep your business growing during a slowdown? Make the leap overseas. Here are 10 countries for expansion — and why they’re the places to be.

2008-06-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

While the U.S. economy has slowed, demand for foreign business investment is still on the rise in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Extending your reach outside U.S. borders is a risk, but it can also provide new revenue and profit streams that help companies ride out the recession. It works for the big dogs: General Electric, IBM, and General Motors now make more than half of their revenue offshore.

So how can you make it work for your company? We’ve staked out 10 countries that are ripe for investment — including the best small, mid-size, and large markets. Read on to find out which foreign markets are strongest for your product or industry — and where new policies and reforms are creating the best incentives to move your operations overseas.

www.bnet.com

Less is More

2008-06-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

When harsh economic winds blow, there's a natural impulse to hunker down. Entrepreneurs often react to recessionary times by freezing spending and dramatically cutting expenses in an effort to boost their business's bottom line. But that strategy can backfire when the cuts go so deep that they end up stifling growth. So in addition to paring down unnecessary expenses and getting your organization lean and mean, focus on increasing top-line growth by finding new sources of revenue. The trick is to do this without increasing your cost infrastructure--in other words, it's time to squeeze the most value you can out of the operations you already have in place.

First, take a look at the products and services you provide and see whether you're giving away any freebies that you should be charging for. "Very often you'll see businesses trying to out-service their competitors, but meanwhile the other companies are charging a little more a la carte and being much more successful at that," says Jason P. Zickerman, president and COO of The Alternative Board, which provides peer advisory boards and consulting for privately held businesses.

Next, take a moment to re-evaluate your pricing structure, says Zickerman. "You may find many things in your product line that may have been priced correctly at one point," he says. "But [maybe] you never raised your prices when you should have." Your clients may balk at first, but when they look at the market and see similar prices all over, they'll likely accept the increase.

Consider how to sell more to existing customers without staffing up. "We all know it's more difficult to get new clients than to sell additional things to the clients you have now," says Barry Moltz, an entrepreneur and the author of Bounce! Failure, Resiliency and the Confidence to Achieve Your Next Great Success. Look for potential strategic alliances that would allow you to sell products from other manufacturers that complement your product line. You can strengthen relationships with existing customers while earning a referral fee. For example, says Moltz, "If you bring me a customer, I'll be willing to pay you 10 percent or 20 percent because that's my sales cost normally." These relationships can often be reciprocal, adds Moltz, meaning you can sell your product into your partner's market without having to hire additional salespeople. But before entering any partnerships, do plenty of research to ensure that you won't be compromising quality and that you can trust your new partners.

Finally, decide whether you might be able to make the most of your core competency by selling into a new market altogether. Chip Self, the 39-year-old founder of Logic Systems Sound & Lighting Inc., saw just such an opportunity during a troubled economic period in 2002. As a provider of sound and lighting systems for concerts and big stadium events, St. Louis-based Logic Systems often did permanent sound and lighting installations for churches, schools and theaters as side work when things were slow. Self realized he already had the in-house talent and experience to begin offering permanent installations on a regular basis, and his second company, Cignal, was born. "We took what we were doing as a side business and turned it into a stand-alone business that is now actually bigger than the first business," says Self. He brought in several partners to help shoulder the financial risk of the new venture and says they were careful to staff up slowly, sharing office space, staff, equipment and vehicles with Logic Systems in the beginning.

Entrepreneurs shouldn't let Wall Street predictions of doom and gloom kill good business ideas, says Self. "I'm not an economist, but it seems like a cop-out to think that enterprise stops just because a number went down on a piece of paper somewhere," he says. "Good businesses can be profitable in bad times." Self has certainly proven that--both Logic Systems and Cignal are expecting sales of more than $3 million this year.

C.J. Prince is a writer specializing in business and finance. Reach her at cj@cjprincemedia.com.

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Staying Cool On The Job

2007-12-16T18:12:00.000-08:00

On a recent Thursday at 6 a.m., Daniel Gonzalez, head of Hogan and Hartson's international arbitration and litigation practice, landed at Reagan International Airport in Washington, D.C., capping off a three-day business trip to Argentina. Up next: an early afternoon meeting with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Between his major commitments, he juggled bits of 15 other cases. Talk about pressure.

How do Gonzalez and other stressed-out high-performers like him keep from cracking?

For many, relieving stress is about maintaining control--or at least some semblance of it. When Gonzalez travels--between 30 and 40 weeks a year, bouncing between Latin America, Europe, Asia and United States--he uses both a laptop and Blackberry to impose a little order. "I know I can be responsive no matter where in the world I am at any given time," he says.
In Pictures: Ten Star Athletes On Staying Cool Under Pressure

Indeed, most scientific research shows job-related stress is most severe when people have high demands and little control, or perceived control, over the forces at play. A production-line worker may have a very defined, repetitive, 9-hour job but still be swamped with stress because the fate of his job is far beyond his control. The greater your feeling of control, the lower your overall work-related stress level will be, says Peter Schnall, director of the Center for Social Epidemiology at the University of California, Irvine.

Eventually, though, the long hours will get to you. Based on data from a 2001 California Health Interview Survey, Schall's research indicated people who worked 51 or more hours per week were 29% more likely to develop hypertension, versus 14% of workers that put in 40 hours a week. Such stress can also lead to heart disease and depression.

The cost of all work-related stress is squishy, but no doubt high. The American Institute of Stress estimates stress costs U.S. corporations $300 billion annually in health care costs, turnover and absenteeism. A survey by the same institute also reports more than one in four workers say they take a "mental-health day" at least once a year, specifically because of work-related stress.

The first step to wrestling with job stress is to nail down what specifically is stressing you out. "People tend to experience stress in a generalized way," says Russ Newman, executive director of the American Psychological Association. "There are going to be particular causes and triggers, but unless you take the time to look at them, you're not aware of what you're dealing with."

Sometimes those triggers are hard to pinpoint. One trick: When stress hits, put down the circumstances on paper, says Dr. Paul Rosch, president of the American Institute of Stress. That way, you can go back to your notes in a calmer moment and nail down on the source of your stress.

Once you figure out what's eating you, take some quick, smart steps to unwind, says Newman. And by that he means exercising or taking incremental breaks, not chain-smoking or binge drinking.

Next, divide the stress triggers into two categories: those you can control and those you generally can't. Obviously, knock out the ones you can control first.

As for the ones you can't, try to mollify their effects. Some things that seem out of your control may not be. It's helpful to work through these issues with an outsider, like your spouse or a friend, to gain perspective, says Rosch. If the source of your stress is truly immutable, think about changing how you experience it.

Take commuting: If driving to work for hours each day causes stress, and it's impossible to move or work from home, Rosch suggests buying a set of books on tape. Changing the experience--and thereby giving yourself more control over the situation--can lower your stress.

Another way to beat stress: Root out inefficiencies. Matt Grawitch, a professor at St. Louis University who studies work stress, saw this first-hand on a recent consulting assignment at a local hospital. In one wing, the nurses printed patient charts from one of two stations at opposite ends of the hallway. For some reason, when nurses printed charts, it was impossible to specify which printer to use, and thus where the charts would emerge. "The nurses were wasting hours a day walking to the wrong printer and walking back to the right one," he says. Result: A boatload of unnecessary stress.

Planning can also nip stress in the bud. Gonzalez says he carefully prioritizes his tasks, deciding what is possible to get done in a given week and what isn't. In any system operating near capacity, hiccups create greater problems than those with at least a modicum of slack. "Planning allows me the variable of the unknown, and to accomplish things under the highest-stress situations when emergencies come up," says Gonzalez.

And when in doubt, try a little humor, says Lloyd Greif, the founder of the Los Angeles-based mergers and acquisition firm Greif & Co. (His firm's motto: T.I.G, or "Trust in Greif.") "As an investment banker, you surround yourself with 'type As'," he says. "When things get the most stressful in the boardroom, I'm always going to say something off-the-wall to break the tension. Otherwise, the mood is going to be such that it's tough to get things done." 'Off-the-wall' comments include addressing one of his clients as 'Mutley,' because, Greif says, the guy laughed like the old Hannah-Barbera cartoon dog.

Dr. Rosch says different people experience stress very differently. He compares stress levels to people's experiences on a rollercoaster. Some people panic, while others love the thrill. And still others are adept at using one to diffuse the other.
Top athletes do this well. Jermaine O'Neal, forward for the Indiana Pacers basketball team and six-time NBA All-Star, puts it this way: "Pressure in sports is nothing. That's the job. When the stage is bigger--the playoffs, for example--that just makes it more exciting. It's like being a kid the night before Christmas. Okay, maybe you do get a little tighter shooting a free throw at the end of a game on the road, with fans going crazy behind the backboard. But you know you've practiced that shot to win. So when you get that opportunity, that's just fun."

One last word on stress: If you're going to vent, do it with caution. Venting should be cathartic--not a way to keep reliving the same stress. "If you go down the hall to vent to an associate, that's okay," says St. Louis University's Grawitch. "But if the next step is to go upstairs and vent to someone else, then you're holding onto the incident, and it can become very disruptive."

How Athletes Score (Or Don't) As Restaurateurs

2007-12-14T03:01:00.000-08:00

During his seven years in the NFL, runningback Amos Zereoue wowed his teammates by whipping up Kedjenou, a spicy chicken stew which is a staple of his homeland, Africa's Ivory Coast.

Now retired at 31, "Famous Amos" is trying to tempt the masses with Zereoue, a new French/African restaurant near midtown Manhattan--and he's taken a beating along the way. "[Cooking for your friends] is pleasure, the other is business," says Zereoue. "It's a lot of work, headaches and stress."

After years of being cheered on, jeered at and banged up, plenty of professional athletes with brand power to spare try their hand at the restaurant business. Yet it takes more than a marquee name and reverent fans to run a winning eatery. Roughly six out of 10 restaurants close within three years, according to a survey of 2,439 restaurants by professors at Ohio State University.
In Pictures: How Athletes Score In The Restaurant Biz

And while athletes may have more money to throw at a new concept than most restaurateurs, the battlefield is littered with losers. Basketball stars Larry Bird and Shane Battier jumped in and out of their own ventures, as did pro footballers Jim McMahon, Johnny Unitas and Lawrence Taylor.

"It's the dumbest thing anybody could do to think they could operate a restaurant as an athlete," says Joe Theismann, former Pro Bowl quarterback with the Washington Redskins, who has invested in five restaurants in the Washington, D.C., area since 1975. "Even if you understand the food business and have worked in a restaurant, it's an ever-changing business that presents new challenges every day."

Zereoue tried tackling the restaurant business much like he played football--by plowing right into it: "Once I found the place [formerly a French bistro] and started paying rent, I closed down for about two to three days, put on new paint and then I was up and running."

Not for long. Sixteen months after opening in July 2006, Zereoue is quick to cite his missteps--from poor marketing and uninspired renovation to lack of training and lax oversight. He even had to close down twice for retooling. "I basically just went all out at the beginning," he says. "I thought that just by buying the best of everything--ingredients, drinks--the place would be successful."

Zereoue's problems started just a few weeks after the doors opened. It was a hot summer, and the air conditioning kept crashing. The phones were on the fritz, too, making it hard to take reservations. He shut down for a week.

A few months later, Zereoue closed its doors again--this time for a thorough overhaul. Among other things, Zereoue redid the walls and overhead lighting; bought new kitchen equipment and tables; and reupholstered the bar stools. He also rearranged the space so the bar felt separate from the dining area, creating a more intimate setting. The month and a half of work ran up "tens of thousands of dollars" in costs beyond Zereoue's initial (undisclosed) investment.

But he still wasn't done. Advertisements on OpenTable.com, a restaurant reservation site, weren't gaining traction; nor were the ads in the New York Knicks' game booklets and local newspapers. Finally, two months ago, Zereoue brought on Casimir Andoh as general manager, a restaurant veteran who has worked for the likes of Jean Georges, to get things on track and generate some buzz.

Andoh has a three-pronged marketing approach. Earlier this month he sent out some 10,000 postcards to neighborhood residents and businesses, inviting them to an open bar from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. each night that week. ("We're not spending a penny, because we have connections with the liquor companies," he says.) Next up: a party for all the concierges at Manhattan's major hotels, and after that, a night for all the U.N. ambassadors.

While Zereoue has clearly made progress, it's too early to tell if his restaurant will be a hit--or if it is, whether it will have staying power. Here are a few more tips from ex-athletes and their advisers who have scored in the restaurant biz:
Learn The Business From The Inside

Rusty Staub, first-baseman and right fielder for multiple Major League Baseball teams from 1963 to 1985, and former owner of two Manhattan restaurants: When I got injured in 1972, I had to stay in New York and train. I decided to have fun on the side by working under different chefs in the city. By the time I had opened up my restaurant, I had spent over 1,500 hours in the kitchen. It was an incredible basis for my ideas of what I wanted to accomplish.
Serve The Right Niche

John Whitehead, managing director, Brett Favre's Steakhouse, owned by current Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre: We started with two concepts. We were trying to be a Cajun sports bar [to incorporate Favre's southern background] and a high-end steakhouse. We shot somewhere in between. Eventually we learned that the Midwestern palate is not a Cajun palate. Five years ago, we upgraded our whole profile--everything from the quality of meat to the wine list to the table presentation--to become a high-end steakhouse. Since then, our sales have grown between 10% and 15% each year.
Have Patience

Tom Moxley, managing director of Elway's, owned by former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway: We knew that, at the beginning, the business would be bumpy. It takes a while to get all the costs and controls in line--it took us millions of dollars to get started--and you have to be patient. If your investors don't know the business, and expectations are out of line, they'll put inordinate pressure to make money from the get-go, which is not what a new business needs. Most restaurants fail because they're undercapitalized.

Despite the risks of owning of restaurant, some athletes say there's something addictive about it. "Being in the restaurant business is like having malaria," says Staub of the urge to own a restaurant. "You never know when it's going to rear its ugly head again."
http://topenterpreneur.blogspot.com/2007/12/mismatch-you-cant-afford.html

How To Find The Best Deal On Health Insurance

2007-12-14T02:50:00.000-08:00

The numbers are enough to scare you sick. Some 60% of companies now offer health benefits, down from 69% in 2000, according to the 2007 annual health benefits survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Small businesses are even less generous: Just 45% of companies with three to nine workers offer health benefits. Total number of uninsured Americans: roughly 47 million, or 16% of the U.S. population.

Buying insurance as an "individual" is nothing less than a nightmare. For starters, employees of firms that offer health insurance can use pretax dollars to purchase it; individuals can't (at least not yet). Worse, individual buyers are entitled to fewer protections than employees of large firms. In most states, insurance carriers can deny coverage to individuals with a preexisting condition like cancer or diabetes. And for the fortunate few who can afford to buy insurance on their own, there's a labyrinth of options and loopholes to navigate when choosing a policy.

But make no mistake: Traversing this territory is worth the effort. The consequences of choosing the wrong policy at the wrong price are just too large.

In Pictures: Affordable Health Insurance In Six Steps

Good data on the individual health-care market are fragmented at best. A 2004 survey by America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade group of health-benefit providers, pegged the average premium cost at $2,268 for a single person, and $4,424 for a family of three.

To put those figures in context: The median income in the U.S. that year was $44,389--or around $38,000 after taxes. Assuming that the median income of individual health-insurance buyers was roughly the same as the median income of those covered by employer-based plans, health-insurance premiums for individual-insurance buyers gobbled between 6% and 12% of after-tax household income. Big money.

And that's just the premiums. Health-care costs also include payments to cover deductibles (the amount you pay for treatment before the insurance kicks in) and co-payments to doctors and hospitals--meaning that the overall health bill takes an even bigger bite out of household income. For people buying insurance in the individual market, these additional out-of-pocket costs tend to run higher than for those covered under employer plans, says Kevin Lucia, assistant professor at Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute.

A big reason for the discrepancy between the individual market and the employer-based market: Insurers figure there's adverse selection in the individual market. People are more likely to buy health insurance when they're sick, or think they will get sick, and that makes them a higher risk.

In many cases, individual insurance buyers don't have any options--expensive or otherwise. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, employer-sponsored health plans can't discriminate against employees with pre-existing conditions; by contrast, the individual health-insurance market follows state laws, which generally offer fewer protections.

In 45 states, individuals can be denied coverage by insurers due to previous health problems. (New York, Maine, Vermont, New Jersey and Massachusetts are the exceptions; a few other states are forced to provide insurance for "unhealthy individuals" but the rates, not surprisingly, are steep.) If insurers do offer a policy, many can choose to "rider out" any medical costs related to the existing disease.

One morsel of good news: More carriers are targeting individual insurance buyers. "The big insurers--Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna and Humana--have come into this market very aggressively over the last few years," says Bob Hurley, vice president of health-carrier relationships at Mountain View, Calif.-based eHealth (nasdaq: EHTH - news - people ), a search engine that compares health plans offered throughout the U.S.

Of course, with more choice comes more complexity: "Individual insurance is very market-specific," says Hurley. "Where you live ultimately determines how many policies are available to you."

While we can't spit out a one-size-fits-all list of the cheapest health-insurance plans, we can offer a step-by-step process for finding the best deal in your market.

Fist step: Understand your state's rules governing individual insurance. The regulations cover a myriad of issues--from "guaranteed" coverage for all applicants (regardless of health condition) to pooling micro-businesses with individuals in order to reduce costs. (One caveat on "guaranteed" coverage: It comes at a price, and with few plan options.) Understanding these rules will help you navigate your policy options later on. One useful resource is healthinsuranceinfo.net, run by Georgetown's University Health Policy Institute; another is your state's Department of Health Insurance.

Next, lay out your options. Here is where the work comes in, but again, it's worth your time. Three key sources of information include Web engines like eHealthinsurance.com; insurance brokers who work with multiple carriers; and the carriers themselves. You can find carrier names on your state's Department of Health Insurance site.

To winnow the options, decide what you can afford and what level of coverage you are willing to pay for. Low monthly premiums tend to come with higher deductibles or co-payments to doctors and hospitals.

Compare two policies--one with a $200 monthly premium and a $5,000 deductible, the other with a $400 premium and a $1,000 deductible. While the first policy will save you $2,400 a year in premiums, you could end up spending an additional $4,000 to cover your deductible. Net loss: $1,600.

But premiums and deductibles are only a small part of the story--and cheaper is not always better. Beware policies with ultra-cheap rates, such as "discount cards" that offer 25% off doctors' visits and prescriptions. Very cheap but limited Association Health Plans (that cover, say, a group of scuba instructors) have their own catches. Then there are the "policies" that cover a specific health issue (say, accidents or specific cancers), but not much else.

You should also consider variables like prescription drug benefits and the number of allowable doctor visits or hospital stays per year. eHealthinsurance.com allows users to compare up to four plans at a time, across some 25 categories and exceptions. Another bear trap: switching costs. If you enter a plan in good health, but are later diagnosed with an illness, it will most likely be impossible to switch to more comprehensive coverage down the road.

"It's very hard to make calculations on what type of plan to purchase," says Linda Blumberg, a health-policy analyst at the Urban Institute. "The nature of this market is that if you go with more trimmed-down coverage now, you run the risks of limiting your options down the road." In some states, it's possible to purchase cheap, temporary coverage--a so-called "stop gap" plan--for a year, but it can't be renewed.

Finally, be honest and careful with all paperwork. The minute you apply for insurance, carriers have the right to dig through your medical records. Remember: The less insurance carriers pay out, the more money they make--so they're looking for those mistakes.

Says Blumberg: "Even if you make an honest mistake or put down something that's a little off, you can get denied coverage."

http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/2007/12/06/unitedhealthcare-aetna-signa-ent-hr-cx_mf_1206healthinsurance.html

A Mismatch You Can't Afford

2007-12-14T02:49:00.001-08:00

My real education began the day I got out of school. I bought my first vehicle, a used 1978 Volvo sedan. The only thing uglier than its yellow color was the way I financed it.

I took out a car loan, amortized over five years. As fate would have it, the vehicle lasted about three years, so I ended up having to make two years of additional payments on a worthless asset.

This embarrassing example (yes, I majored in finance) reaches to the heart of an oft-broken rule when financing a business: Always match the timing of the cash inflows generated by your assets and the cash outflows needed to service your liabilities.

If that sounds painfully obvious, consider the pickle huge financial institutions like Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ), Bank of America (nyse: BAC - news - people ), SunTrust and others have gotten into over this very issue.

As you may have read, these companies set up off-balance-sheet entities called "structured investment vehicles" (SIVs) to keep billions of loans off their books, making their return on equity and debt-to-capital ratios look better to investors and rating agencies, among other benefits. Lately, though, the securities in those SIVs--specifically, pools of risky mortgages--have started to blow up. Big time.

A major reason for the meltdown has to do with the timing of the cash flows within these SIVs. In basic terms, an SIV "borrows short" and "lends long." It borrows by issuing commercial paper--short-term obligations that have to be paid off in three to nine months. It invests (lends) by buying mortgage-backed securities and other instruments, which pay off over a longer period and carry more risk.

The mismatch: You expect cash flows tomorrow, but you owe money today. (This is the opposite of my car-purchase example, in which I borrowed long and invested short).

SIVs work as long as they can keep issuing short-term debt to fund purchases of those longer-term assets (mortgage-backed securities). And they can only do that if the market expects homeowners to keep making their monthly mortgage payments. If it doesn't--and short-term lenders get spooked--credit dries up and the gears grind to a halt.

Unfortunately, that's what has happened. If the banks had followed the asset-liability matching rule and borrowed over a longer term, they would not have gotten nearly as squeezed by those short-term obligations.

Here's how the matching rule should work. Take inventory. If you intend to make a living, you have to convert inventory into cash--as many times a year as possible.

Inventory is a short-term asset, which means you should use a short-term strategy to finance it--say, a line of credit or a short-term loan.

On the flipside, if you want to finance long-term fixed assets like property and equipment, then borrow over the long term. Using cash is the equivalent of borrowing very short and investing long--a mismatch.

Why do so many people flout the asset-liability matching rule? Instant gratification is a big reason.

Go back to the Volvo example. I borrowed long and invested short because I wanted to reduce my cash payments in the short term. Same thing goes for home mortgages. Some buyers put so little down they don't even cover their interest payments, let alone chip away at the principal. Result: Loan balances actually go up over time, not down.

Bottom line: When it comes to managing a balance sheet, timing is everything.

Brian Hamilton is the chief executive and co-founder of Sageworks, the developer of ProfitCents, a software application that enhances financial analysis and communication for financial professionals.

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How To Find The Best Deal On Health Insurance

A Mismatch You Can't Afford