Ever been frustrated with Microsoft Excel when you have been working with a cell but you want to show the units of the cell such as 5 Kgs, 5 Bags or 4 Punnets but Microsoft Excel keeps turning the cell into text. Well, there is in fact a way of creating a custom format in Microsoft Excel that lets you show the units of the value whilst still keeping the value being treated as a number.

So, how do we do it…

Well, first off we need to get into the Format Cells dialog box in Microsoft Excel as this is the dialog box that allows you to create a custom format but before you do that make sure that you have selected the cell that you want to apply the format to.

Lets do this as an example …

First click on cell D4, in a new worksheet and the use the shortcut keystroke [Ctrl] + [1] to bring up the Format Cells dialog box and then choose the Number tab. In the categories list box, choose the last option which says Custom. Okay so what we want to do is to create a custom entry. Now when we are creating a custom format the format must be entered as follows –

Positive Format; Negative Format; Zero Format

What you will notice in the example above is that each format is separated by a semi-colon. Okay so lets say in our cell we want to show the unit of kilograms with each value you enter. In the Type text box you would write the following –

#,##0.00 “kg”; -#,##0.00 “kg”; 0.00 “kg”

In the example you will notice that our units are in double quotes. The double quotes are there to identify that they are in fact text elements. The # symbol simply says if there is a number it will be shown or if there is not a number nothing be shown. The 0 symbol says that if there is a number, show the number but if there is no number in that position place a zero in its place. The minus symbol in the negative format means that even if you type the number in with brackets around the value, the application will convert the brackets to a negative symbol at the start of the cell.

So, let us try this custom format by typing in the sample shown above. Once you have done this simply press the OK button at the bottom of the Format Cells dialog box. Now the Custom format has been applied enter a value of 5 into the cell and press the [Enter] key. You will see at this point that the value is shown as –

5.00 kg

If you now type the value of minus 10 into the cell and press enter, you should see the value shown as –

-10.00 kg

Why not try this same process for creating other different unit types. You could use this technique for any unit value that you require. One thing to note though, if you are going to be using this technique in a template for other users, make sure that you train your users not to type the Unit Values in, they in fact need to let Microsoft Excel put the units into the cells for them.

Creating Custom Formats in Microsoft Excel gives you a greater amount of power to customise your templates and spreadsheets to suit your own business environment and it also gives a much greater air of professionalism when you can see the custom format like kilograms next to the value instead of in a corresponding cell.

Saying “my husband doesn’t show affection anymore” is doing something that many women simply can’t – you’re acknowledging that there is a problem in your marriage, you are not ignoring it, any you are ready to do whatever it takes to make your husband fall in love with you again and save your marriage. Merely this fact indicates that you are going to succeed – now read on to find out what to do!

It is the case in so many marriages that the dynamics of the relationship starts to change after the marriage. Before the marriage, you two were living your lives – and the basics of the relationship was built upon that. However, after the marriage things start to change. Now, there is a lot of financial pressure, household issues, children, etc. It’s normal for the dynamics of the relationship to change, but if it has come to a point in which you’re saying “my husband doesn’t show affection anymore”, then this is the time to act – because if you don’t do anything, it’s bound to get worse and the very bonds that hold you together will be shaken.

The best way to repair your marriage and repair this situation is to use every opportunity to do something with your husband. It doesn’t have to be very special things – rather, you have to understand how to work any moment into a special moment with your husband. It could be the case that both of you work – or only one of you works. In both cases it can seem hard to find some time to be together, but that’s not the case. Simply bringing him his dinner at his work, for example, might be a very small opportunity to see him, but you can’t imagine how much it means for the relationship, and how nourishing it is.

Then of course, you CAN find good amounts of time to do something together. It doesn’t have to be “dinner at a fancy place” thing. Everything can be planned before. Yes, if there are children this means you two have to be parents, but in no way does it mean that you should forget your roles as wife and husband. The wife and husband side of the relationship must be nurtured for love and mutual respect to continue.

Like I said before, a night out can be easily planned from one week before. These nights out will do a wonderful job of reconnecting you two and making both of you level with each other. Done every other week, they will go a long way of repairing your marriage.

I know that the “my husband doesn’t show affection anymore” situation is emotionally draining, because I have experienced it myself. But it can also be the key – a wake up call to do something and build a marriage that will truly stand the test of time.

It has long been the consensus that the hard sell is the only option when it comes to engaging attendees who visit a trade show booth. Companies have been utilizing extensive product pitches and demonstrations for years, with the idea that this is the best way to make a lasting impression on potential customers. However, current marketing trends are beginning to suggest otherwise. Many companies are now focusing on creating a memorable experience through their trade show exhibits rather than inundating attendees with lengthy sales pitches and an overabundance of information. This concept of experiential exhibiting is taking the industry by storm and is definitely worth considering when the time comes to prepare for your next marketing event.

What Is An Experiential Trade Show Exhibit?

Consider a day in the life of an average trade show attendee. After an entire day spent on their feet, walking from booth to booth and listening to an endless stream of sales pitches, there is bound to be an innate longing to be entertained – or at least to experience something out of the ordinary! The idea behind experiential trade show displays is to create an engaging space that conveys a desired feeling or mood. The result is an experience so memorable that the attendee actually associates that feeling with your product, thus eliminating the need for the hard sell.

Identify The Main Feeling You Want To Convey

The first step to developing an experiential booth is to pinpoint the primary feeling you wish to convey to potential customers and carry it through your entire display. The feelings you hope to invoke should be in line with your company’s brand message. Examples might include comfort, security, innovation and excitement. No matter what you choose, it is important to incorporate that particular quality into all aspects of your exhibit, from the colors you choose to the actions of your booth staff. If you want attendees to leave with a rush of excitement, you better make sure your employees can deliver in this department! Spend some time prepping your booth staff before the event to ensure they are prepared to become part of the experience.

Create An Interactive Experience Attendees Won’t Forget

Even though you’re focusing on creating an experience, you still want to ensure that attendees receive at least a minimal amount of solid information about your company. Experiential trade show exhibits often include an interactive element through which you can sneak in tidbits about your company. This might be done through any sort of technology with an edutainment feature; for example, a computer game that incorporates facts about your company. Of course, your employees must be well-informed and able to sell your product in a manner consistent with the overall feeling or experience you wish to communicate. The key is for the experience to resonate with the attendee to the point that when they think of the type of product or service you sell, your brand is the first thing that comes to their mind!

Name recognition, contact development, and sales are the primary reasons for attending industry expos. To make the most of these opportunities, your trade show exhibit rental must send a clear, powerful message, telling attendees and other exhibitors who you are and what you have to offer. It is not enough to set up a table and hang a couple of signs. These are highly competitive events and the design of your space must draw in qualified contacts and present the company in the most memorable and positive light. To get these results, companies must identify marketing goals and beneficial contacts long before the event date. The impact of a display is the result of careful planning, unique designs, and knowledgeable support, all geared toward attracting the people that will improve your bottom line.

Who Do You Want To Know?

Trade shows provide unique opportunities to reach new potential customers, looking for product information and special deals, and beneficial business relationships. Displays designed for impact can attract suppliers, help you learn about new technologies, and let the competition know that your company is one to be reckoned with and not to be taken lightly. Use a commanding trade show exhibit rental to claim a dominant position as an industry leader or innovator.

Make A Trade Show Exhibit Rental Work For Your Company

When researching options, there are specific details that should be taken into consideration. Initially, look for easy set up, materials quality, and portability. Next, compare reputations for product quality and personalized service. Verify the total cost before agreeing to a contract. For the greatest impact, it is better to work with an experienced team of professionals who understand the importance of attracting the right people while dissuading others. With the right design, a trade show exhibit rental can do much more than make a company look good. It can steer opportunity your way.

Stand Out From The Crowd

Companies that set themselves up as major players, with plenty of interactive space and a commanding display, are the ones that get the most out of their presence. Maximize event marketing ROI with a trade show exhibit rental that can provide compelling exhibit design and an informative support team that understands the unique needs, message, and goals of your company. Sophisticated structural designs, prominent graphics, and an inviting atmosphere provide the impact that gets results.

It’s All In A Name

Sales and industry standings are tied directly to branding. Big name companies, recognized brands, and industry leaders are more likely to reach the qualified contacts and valuable business associates who will add the most benefit to their companies. Using low quality, poorly designed exhibits can compromise a company’s impact and reputation. Professional designs focus on specific targets, geared toward reaching the company’s goals, all while promoting the company name with sharp, colorful graphics, informational displays, and promotional materials.

Visit an exhibit design vendor to view the latest rental options in modular exhibits, island exhibits, and portable displays to learn how to boost the impact of your next trade show.

Book Review: The Greatest Show on Earth, The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins most recent book “The Greatest Show on Earth” is a must read if you have to deal with people who do not believe in evolution!

This new volume supports the theory of evolution by natural selection. Once you have read this book you’ll have a lot of data and facts to utilize in your next heated conversation on this sometimes controversial topic.

Dawkins texts on science were kept under wraps by the fame resulting from “The God Delusion”. The people who do not believe in ‘evolution’ generally tend to be extremely spiritual and religious people which are sometimes at odds with his work, possibly also down to his previous work “the god delusion”.

The author makes some bold statements, according to him if fossils had not been discovered, man would not have even considered evolution. Man would have not known the mysterious ways in which living things around us have evolved, the extinct living plants and animals and about how life existed thousands of years ago. Dawkins also takes into consideration molecular and radioactive dating, geological strata and plate tectonics, DNA sequencing, Darwin’s voyages and the remarkable Lenski experiments with bacterial evolution demonstrating evolution.

Understandable, convincing, believable and easy are the words which can be used to describe Richard Dawkins writing style. Most people will be able to understand this book, although sometimes you have to read the passage twice before clearly understanding the topic. Even subjects like genetic science can be easily understood without prior knowledge.

Dawkins is the type of author who doesn’t “dumb down” his material, he puts trust in his readers ability to understand him. At times his style of writing can also be humorous which is always good.

The Greatest Show on Earth is one of Dawkins masterpieces, perhaps the definitive book on evolution as well.

With television turning more and more toward reality shows, it has opened up the world of entertainment to you and me, common viewers. Suddenly, anyone can participate in show biz, but you are going to have a lot of competition. So, how do you manage to get selected to participate in a reality show? There are a few tricks that will help put you in the running.

Read the Instructions

The most important part of trying out for a reality show is to make sure that you read all the instructions first. These will go over the rules and what is required of you, a potential participant. Since a lot of people will mess this simple step up and not follow all the rules, leaving some things out, you`ll find that you have a far better chance of beating out the competition if you ensure that your application conforms to everything they`ve asked for.

Practice, Practice, Practice

If you are aiming for a reality show that requires some talent, like American Idol or America`s Next Top Model, then you need to start practicing now. Learn that song by heart and work out all the kinks before the audition. Strut your stuff up and down your living room until you have the diva walk down. Previous episodes of the reality show will give you pointers on how you can improve.

Prepare

This might sound suspiciously like the previous tip, but there is a difference. While practice might make perfect, you will find that some reality shows like Project Runway, will require you to have things prepared. For example, you`ll need to have some very well made garments ready to show the judges if you`re going to be trying out for Project Runway!

Getting some credentials might help, as well. For example, many cooking shows look for chefs who have already studied and possibly even worked in a restaurant or two. You`ll notice the token non-chefs in each show, but the majority of them have some credentials. This is all part of preparing for the audition process.

Make a Killer Application Video

Most reality shows require you to send in an application video before you will even be considered for an audition. There are a few things to keep in mind for the video.

Don`t be boring. If you just stand there and talk or sing, chances are you`ll be eliminated before you even get a face to face.

Be creative. The best videos are ones that show you from a unique angle and that capture the judges` interest right from the beginning. This isn’t always easy, but if you are serious about getting on the reality show, then you can put in the time required to brainstorm a great video idea.

Keep it clean. A risqué video might catch their attention, but in general, shows aren`t going to be looking for the person with the best dirty joke or who bares all. Stay a little on the conservative side while having fun and you`ll be more likely to get in.

Confidence Counts

Judges are far more likely to approve someone who is confident and friendly and who doesn’t flip out over a little criticism, so take it easy.

There are many things that will help you get accepted for a reality show, but the best way to get on one is to simply make sure you meet the requirements that reality tv casting agencies look for. You might enjoy watching Top Chef, but if you’ve never cooked a meal in your life, it`s probably not the best one to apply for. Instead, do your research and fill out your application carefully, following all the rules.

Back in the days of TV sit-coms (situational comedies) with a lesson there was Lavern and Shirley, Gilligan’s Island, Brady Bunch, Happy Days and I Love Lucy. These were much different than today’s sit-coms or our hard to figure out reality TV shows (pointless). Some event in the beginning was played out and by the end of the sit-com there was a lesson of what happened to the individuals in the end – usually they made a mistake, a moral error, or stupid move and they paid for it. Okay so, let’s talk.

Gilligan’s Island, which might even be the predecessor to the current reality TV series where people are kicked off the island had some class warfare in it, and lessons of arrogance, hard-headedness, vainness, and other human behavioral attributes considered to be on the negative side of the psychological or social balance sheet.

Another show was I Love Lucy, and in it Lucy Ricardo was a bit of a shallow bubble head and tricky Ricky was demeaning towards women, but in a way being able to laugh at that old show did probably show sexist male behavior as a mean-spirited way to play it, so, I guess in the end it did do some good, sure beats some of the nonsense on TV today – sit-coms, reality TV, etc. – but in the present period we’ve slipped into a bit of a Facebook nation, hopefully we can get beyond the dehumanizing relationships and people in the digital search for self-validation on social networking sites?

Oh, back to the point I’d like to make. By showing both sides of the equation at the extreme, Ricky’s disdain for Lucy’s shenanigans and his male macho belief that men are better than women – along with Lucy’s sneaky maneuvers and gossipy games we saw that these negative personality flaws made their lives tougher, and in the end we saw that they both meant well, but had misunderstood each other, always making up in the end.

Today, these shows would be called sexist, racist, class warfare, age discriminatory – and politically correct groups would scream out, perhaps like they do today with the show Family Guy, even though the show’s producers hammer on each and all stereotypes equally. Things have changed a lot in television over the years – I am not so sure they are for the better. I mention this because it is often evident when we look at people in public mimic some of the garbage we all too often see on TV. Please consider all this and think on it.

Over the last 10 years home sellers had it made. No need for inspections. If a buyer’s inspector found a problem, another buyer would come along. But that has changed. It is VERY difficult to get buyers into escrow now, and very easy to lose them if they find problems during their inspection. Here are true stories about issues that caused disasters ranging from large monetary losses for sellers to outright escrow cancellations. It is time for sellers to realize the value of the “Certified Pre Owned Home” services now available. A $300-$500 home inspection coupled with a home warranty can save the seller $1000s of dollars, make the buyer happier and help sell the home faster.

1. Listing says “Air Conditioned” but the home is not.

During the inspection, the buyer asked the inspector about the air conditioning. The inspector found that there is no air conditioning installed. The listing agent, when asked why the listing stated there is air conditioning, replied that the seller said there was. The air conditioning was important to the buyer, who works from home. The buyer attempted to negotiate a fair settlement from the seller to add air but the negotiation broke down and the sale was lost.

2. Home has serious construction defect.

Many homes are now built by builders as two on a lot or more. The home inspector saw that a balcony over the entry was tilted. When measured, it showed a slope to the east of over 2 inches in 4 feet. But there was no sign of distress in the stucco around the balcony. Inspection of the identical rear home showed that the same balcony was absolutely straight. The conclusion was that the builder had allowed the balcony to be finished even though it was at a tilt. The buyer dropped out stating “I was concerned that there might be other construction defects that were not as obvious.”

3. Bathroom sink has small water leak in tile counter top causing serious water damage.

Some defects are nearly undetectable. In this case, the dark tile on the counter and the rather stuffed cabinet concealed significant water damage. There was enough water to have caused the cabinet’s pressed wood base to expand, the shelf paper to discolor and some mold to start to grow on the paper. But there was no leak in the plumbing. Upon further inspection, it was found by the inspector that when water was splashed on the tile behind the faucet, it ran through small cracks in the tile grout and dripped to the back of the cabinet base. There was reason to expect that there was more moisture and mold under the cabinet base that could not be inspected. This finding, coupled with other troubling issues, caused the buyer to cancel.

4. Home has concealed earthquake damage.

A condo looked excellent from the street. The interior was in beautiful condition. Inspection of the plumbing under the sink, however, revealed a disturbing fact. The galvanized pipe drain that ran up from the bottom of the subterranean garage 3 stories below appeared to have raised up and smashed the drywall above it. Suspecting that this was impossible, the inspector recalled that this building had suffered damage from a powerful nearby earthquake. A closer look revealed that the floor had dropped 1-2 inches during that quake and not recovered and the ceiling had dropped along with the interior walls. Only the perimeter load bearing walls remained as built. The result was that the torn drywall was wall that had FALLEN onto the solid pipe. The damage was so extensive that the buyer dropped out.

5. Another listing without air conditioning.

This was a condo conversion and a very nice property. But again the listing said A/C but there was none. The buyer was, in this case, not as eager for the deal and used this as an excuse to drop out.

6. Hillside 1930’s home seller loses $200,000.

This home is on a hill and there were multiple retaining walls and tiered foundations that needed repair. There is no doubt that had the seller done a pre inspection, problems with the foundation could have been addressed for far lower cost by taking more time. But work was rushed because the home was in escrow and cost far more than necessary.

7. Lots of minor issues turn off first time buyer.

The buyer, a young lady looking for her first home, was put off by issues that were not individually that expensive, but they added up to a long list of problems she just could not cope with. Had the seller done a pre inspection and just done a little work this escrow would have closed.

Note: This article is copyrighted by the author but sellers, buyers, agents and other home inspectors are encouraged to copy and use this article as long as the author’s name and web site are kept with it.

1. Start by planning your booth design and remember that it is important to have some open space as it creates a welcoming environment. This attracts visitors who feel comfortable stepping into your stand to have a look around.

2. Don’t assume people know your company or brand and what you offer in terms of products and services. Your graphics have to present a picture of your brand and offerings through visuals that clearly reflect your organisation.

3. Since less is usually more, resist the temptation to cram too many things into your stand. Don’t overload your space with unnecessary graphics and furniture.

4. Pay special attention to your stand design because an older one will make you seem less innovative to existing and potential customers.

5. Your brand’s image and awareness should be taken into account while designing your booth. Choose elements that complement your image, your products, perhaps the official colours of your company.

6. Consider getting expert assistance from a trade show display designer company. You will get information about the latest graphic techniques and display tools.

7. Prepare for your trade show well before the actual event. While sending invitations to potential customers, don’t forget to invite existing clients. Trade shows provide an excellent opportunity for building new relationships and expanding current ones.

8. Although it is good to diversify your exhibition events, it is a fact that the more often you participate in the same event, you are more likely to be remembered and you will also get more repeat customers.

9. Your biggest asset at your booth is your smile. You will be surprised at the number of stand staff who seem to have lost the desire to live, making visitors feel like they have done them a huge favour by simply speaking to them. Visitors at a business event are not interested in how much entertainment you had last night or if you still have a hangover. The idea is very simple; if you don’t seem happy to see a visitor, then you will not be.

10. Lastly but perhaps most significantly I will speak from personal experience, ladies, gorgeous shoes usually means uncomfortable ones. Also important is to wear a clothing item with a pocket to keep your mobile safe and at hand rather than having to hold it.

Exhibits at trade shows are hard work, but if done correctly it can be quite enjoyable and incredibly rewarding too. If I wanted to add #11, it would perhaps be setting personal targets for exhibition displays, such as 50 leads per day. If you are not able to achieve this, you can re-evaluate all you did and do things differently next time. It is also very important to follow up on your leads as early as possible, maybe even the next day.