#madeiran

Vila Baleira Beach at Porto Santo (Madeira archipelago, Portugal). Photo probably from the early decades of the 20th century;

Where are you from? London, England

How would you describe your race/ethnicity? Mixed/Eurasian/Madeiran/Pakistani

Do you identify with one particular aspect of your ethnicity more than another? Have you ever felt pressure to choose between parts of your identity?  I identify as mixed, or a Eurasian mix. Most definitely have felt pressured to choose one side over the other.

Did your parents encounter any difficulties from being in an interracial relationship?  Yes, they struggled with acceptance from each other's parents, especially die to the difference in religions.

How has your mixed background impacted your sense of identity and belonging? Made it difficult to understand and find a place of belonging when I was younger however as I move into the open world and find my place more, it starts to become easier to understand.

Have you been asked questions like "What are you?" or "Where are you from?" by strangers? If so, how do you typically respond? Often, my response depends on the person asking, if I feel like there may be hostility to a specific background I state that I am "British" and hope they stop asking

Have you experienced people making comments about you based on your appearance? Yes, people often assume that my Pakistani side is stricter whereas the Portuguese side "must" be more laid-back -which they couldn't be more wrong about.

Have you ever been mistaken for another ethnicity? yes Arab or Mediterranean

Have you ever felt the need to change your behavior due to how you believe others will perceive you? In what way? Constantly, more so when I was younger, however I still find myself trying to be more Asian around Asians who see me as European (and vice versa) but also Asian enough around White people so that they remember that I am in fact mixed (and vice versa)

What positive benefits have you experienced by being mixed? Much more open minded, the ease to assimilate and get along with people of other cultures and other mixed people

Have you changed the way you identify yourself over the years? I have always seen myself as mixed but I have definitely grown into my heritage and been more accepting of myself.

If you are just starting a company and looking for funding, or looking for additional funding for growth, it will be necessary to develop a traditional business plan. Creating a business plan is a business hurdle that entrepreneurs seem to fear. You do it yourself? Want to hire someone to do it? How do you get it done quickly, but without spending too much money on it? It will be what you do is enough to get the funding? In this article I will discuss the pros and cons of business planning do-it-yourself against a business planning consultant do it for you or with you. The Do It Yourself Business Plans In particular, if you are seeking capital of less than $ 200,000, you should create the plan yourself after taking a class or reading some books or getting some coaching for someone who has written business plans for success. To take a three-hour business planning class through SCORE or the local Small Business Development Center. Even if you then decide not to write your plan, you will have a much better idea of what you want out of the process and what to expect. There are some good reasons for an entrepreneur to do the business plan: First of all, because you can. If you've read sample business plans and find their accounting jargon intimidating, you're not alone. But until you can clear your message and others like you accountant look at the plan before it goes to lenders or others, you can do this work yourself. E 'in learning the business planning process to develop analytical thinking skills necessary to run your business with an intimate knowledge of your business model. Going through the planning process is an invaluable business experience. You must know the plan inside and out and truly understand the variables involved. You're the one who will be asked the tough questions from potential investors or lenders, such as "What will you do if only half your expected revenue comes?" Or "What if it turns out that direct does not work for you as a primary marketing tool? " Outsourcing Process Business Plan Entrepreneurs are fire fighters. One of the most important jobs of an entrepreneur is to manage time, and doing things that are best suited to do. Many entrepreneurs decide to hire someone to do their business plan, often because they have an urgent need for funding and can not afford the learning curve to be able to develop a plan for high quality products that meet the needs of lenders or investors. Also, if your financial needs are more than $ 500,000 my recommendation is to have professional help with this project, even if you do some 'of yourself. Some reasons to consider hiring a consultant: You will get it! Business planning is done much faster with someone who knows the process. Every entrepreneur has good intentions about getting plans complete, but months later still have not done all the work. Planning should be the priority work, but it's hard to get to when customer calls and problems of workers require immediate attention. The sooner the plan is completed before funding can be achieved. And the rental price, the consultant will be small compared to the increases in growth and profitability of the business. It will get done so that financial professionals respect. Business planning is best done by someone who knows how people look at financing plans and what will and will not be concerned. Once you've been through the process time of many business plans, you know what it takes to get funding - what to emphasize and what to play down. objectivity of the consultant will allow non-emotionally-based projections and expectations for the business. A consultant will be much more objective in the application process and your assumptions, making it less likely that the activity will have problems after the funding comes in. No matter what, do not let a business planning consultant to speak in putting all the information in the plan who are not comfortable with. If it does not seem right for you, it probably is. And 'your business, and will be stuck with the plan long after I paid the bill by the consultant. Make sure that the plan you want, one that matches your goals and objectives, and captures the way of looking at business and the spirit of your company. If you decide to hire a consultant to business planning, here are some important questions to ask to make sure you get the most value from your investment: How many business plan you wrote for my type of activity? How many of them were funded? How long do you need of mine during the planning process? When will the plan be completed, and how many projects you have to wait and see and have the opportunity to comment on? We will be writing the plan yourself or have partners who do the work with you? There will be an opportunity for you to present the plan or for me to present the plan to my other advisors before the final draft is done? How do you work in collaboration with my partners and advisors so their input is taken into consideration in drawing up the plan? Would you like to do market research and financial spreadsheets, or are those things done separately (and charged separately)? Your price include revisions or customization for certain types of funding (to include other information needed by investors than banks)? Your price include coaching to prepare me to talk with creditors, or make presentations for funding? I will have an electronic version as well as a hard copy of the final plan (so you can make changes later if I have to)? The solution: a combined approach at best, the planning process should not be at both ends of the spectrum, but squarely in the middle. In my experience, the plans that win funding comes from a true collaboration between a consultant / facilitator and the entrepreneur team of employees and consultants. A business planning consultant can act as a coach, first assessing the work to be done, and then recommending that it is better to do it. The business plan should be a collection of work between the vision and objectives of the entrepreneur, the technical understanding and knowledge of its accountant and other professionals, a consensus of employees or others, and research and writing skills of the consultant business planning. The consultant must meet with all parties involved, talk about what is required for the plan, and use all available resources to get the job done as quickly and conveniently as possible. E 'responsibility of the consultant in the process to take all the pieces and make the final plan in a readable, accessible document that will be up to investor / lender control. My final caveat: Do not pay more than a few thousand dollars for a plan unless you are looking for capital of over $ 1 million. I've heard more than a few horror stories from people who have taken university professors admitted that experts (is not) and pay tens of thousands of dollars for a poorly written or incomplete plan. Ask your banker tips for business planning consultant, or better yet, talk to someone who had a good experience to have a business plan written for them. E 'reasonable for a consultant to expect you to pay half the fee at the front and half upon completion of the plan. And you can not keep the consultant in charge if you do not get funding on the basis of the plan - is based too much on credit and on their management skills. Do not expect to get a finished surface that is a roadmap of everything you need to do to have a successful business. This is not the purpose of the business planning process. A traditional business plan is intended only to document their business strategies very briefly - but well enough to get funding. If you are hoping for something that tells you how to market or how many people you need to book, you will begin with a thorough process of strategic planning, and probably buy lots of consulting time to get you going. Do not expect a great business plan from a poor business model. If the costs are too high to make your business profitable, the business planning process will help you find out. Then it's up to you to make the tough decisions on how to change the cost structure to operate the business. The business planning consultant is an experienced professional, not a miracle worker. A good business plan can help to highlight the strengths and minimize your weaknesses, but can not make it unusable for a business model into a thriving business. And a final thought: Do not go on to start a business or to make changes in your current business if everything in the business planning process tells you it will not work. Things do not improve in the real world if you do not work on paper. Addressing the weaknesses - and get more training, consider upgrading the product, or have a home-based business to reduce costs until you can take your office rental. Finally, businesses fail because they run out of money. If your plan tells you that you can not make enough money to run the business for the long term, pay attention to that reality.

There are ways you can celebrate special occasions with spending a fortune. Birthdays, holidays and other special occasions can be great fun preparing. These events do not have to eliminate from its budget. There are ways you can celebrate special occasions with a budget. First try to go to places that sell goods on offer, such as discount stores. These stores are almost always the lowest prices and sometimes run sales on selected items. If you pick up an item for sale and is something that would be useful for special occasions, then you should take the advantage to supply these products while in sale.Go your local dollar store for small items, such as candles, streamers, balloons and other festive items. The dollar stores are great to find items that cost between one and five dollars that are very useful for the preparation of feasts and other special occasions. Such stores are a good way to buy what you need and stay within your budget. You can recycle items from year to year to save money. Why buy new holiday each year that you can use the same decorations. If you buy decorations and only used once, then you probably still in great shape. Use the following year and still look like new. holiday themes for decorations never change so this is a good way to celebrate special occasions in a budget.Birthdays are always special, no matter the age. Preparation for them can be great fun every year. Ways to celebrate a birthday on a budget can take someone to dinner for her birthday. This is a personal and thoughtful gift they'll love. And you can celebrate this special day with them. Go on a picnic somewhere like in a lake or the park. This is also a thoughtful way to spend a birthday of a budget. Get your grill out and have a cookout and outside the party for someone. Invite your friends and people who love and surprise in this special occasion. Choose a card for that special occasion and give it to them, which will show the amount of your attention. Buy a gift card or store your favorite restaurant to surprise them with. Gift cards range in price from five dollars and up for a gift like this is always within your budget. These are just some ways you can celebrate special occasions with a budget.

When I think of a perfect moment, I think about curling on my couch in front of a fireplace (if cold) a good book in my hands and crouched beside me my kitty cat purrs sweet, Bright Eyes. I know I'm one of the lucky ones. I have allergies. But touch wood, one of them is not an allergy to my furry friends, namely cats. Yet, I realize many people face this problem. Some are lucky and swallow a pill or two and allergies have disappeared. Others simply can not be around cats or dogs at all. Many of these people with allergies would long to own a cat. Now, thanks to science as they can. Yes, science now has a new kind of breed of cats that are free.First allergy, I must stress that these cats are expensive. You will not be able to go down to your local pet store and buy one. To buy one, you must be registered on a waiting list and you better have a total of 3950 parts ready to spend. The company that cats breed is allergic Inc. They are located in California. The company says these hypoallergenic cats will not cause allergic reactions such as sneezing, itchy red eyes or asthma like symptoms, unlike your asthma is really severe cases. Cat allergies are caused by a protein in cats. This protein is called Fel D1 Glycoprotein. This protein is present in most cats. It is located in the cat's saliva, serum, urine, mucous, salivary glands and hair roots. Allergic Inc. The company does not alter the cats. Their hypoallergenic cats have not been manufactured in the laboratory. What they did was simple, but it was not an easy task. From about every 50,000 cats, you will find all these cats, but perhaps the one with the Fel D1 protein. What they did was to go in search of a few, without the protein. Then they raised cats. Kittens that was produced was not the Fel D1 protein and they do not cause allergic reactions in humans. Yet, society and scientists remain firm that these cats are like any other cats, less Fel D1 protein. They are fun. They are affectionate. They are colorful. They have kittens in all colors and color patterns. Kittens also have a long maintenance medium that offers little shedding and small. An estimated one third of all humans are allergic to cats. This is a huge market for allergic Inc. They estimate that by 2007 they will be able to sell about 200,000 cats a year. Once the new burst, many people have shown real interest in owning one of these cats. The company has had orders from around the world and people are willing to pay the price. Currently, people who are interested in setting up a $ 500 deposit per cat and then they are put on a waiting list. When they receive their cat, the cat will be spayed or neutered, to keep the cat from mating with a normal cat who always has the Fel D1 gene. Some animal lovers say that allergic Inc. and other companies that emulate their work will soon operate cats. But scientists argue that no harm comes to cats by removing the Fed d1 protein. The deletion of the gene simply makes it easier for more people the chance to love a cat without all the itching and sneezing. Of course, it would not hurt if a government agency keeps an eye on companies like these. Currently, they do not have guidelines they must follow. If you are a cat lover with allergies and you have the money, I'm sure you'd like to have one of these furry creatures news. I know I would. In the future, the company hopes to breed dogs hypoallergenic, too.