Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Focus on high-end customers. Look for the commissions. Be upfront about fees. Make every interaction professional. Train yourself to be an expert in your field. Specialize in a specific area. Provide complimentary extras to surprise your clients.

Answer: Most people use the internet to book travel these days.The exception to this rule is people who have more expendable cash. These people tend to have less time to make their own arrangements, and they are willing to spend the cash to have you do it. Focusing on this crowd will help you use your time and resources wisely. Many companies, including some airlines, have stopped paying commissions to travel agents. You must look for the hotels, cruises, and resorts that do still pay commissions. Generally, the more expensive resorts and cruises are the ones that are more likely to pay commissions. Because commissions have become less commonplace, many agents now charge a fee to clients on certain packages or destinations, particularly if they don't want to go someplace where you'll be able to bank a commission. Tell the client upfront what you charge, so they won't be surprised later. Typically, you'll charge a fee for custom packages that require more extensive planning. From your emails to your phone calls, staying professional will help you stand out as a top-notch agent. You should, of course, still try to connect with your client, but make sure you keep your emails polished and poised and your conversations clean and engaging. Dirty jokes and cussing are off limits! To help meet the customers' needs, you need to be able to discuss your destinations and packages with confidence. Traveling to the locations you book can help, but so can gathering stories and photos from other customers. Find industry shows, such as travel expos and product trainings you can attend. Read about the locations using travel books and informational websites. The more you know, the better prepared you'll be to serve your clients. Narrowing down what you specialize in gives you a chance to become an expert in a certain area. Plus, it makes it easier for you to draw people in, as you have a niche they can connect to. You could specialize in certain kinds of trips or in specific areas or types of destinations. For instance, maybe your main focus could be European spa retreats, family vacations across the U.S., or East Asia excursions. Everyone loves getting something for free, so when you add little things to a trip for your clients, they'll remember it. For this to work, you must get to know your clients well and learn about what they need and want. For instance, you could set up a free small tour of the city or offer a complimentary glass of wine when they arrive at their hotel.

Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Review your mission statement. Examine your customer base. Beware of similarity to existing businesses. Evaluate your location needs.

Answer: A successful business should base itself on a clearly worded mission statement. A mission statement is generally brief, no more than one or two sentences, that clearly states the purpose of the business. If you have a strong business idea, then your mission statement should reflect the following: Who your company is. You should explain what you stand for and why you do what you do. Who your targeted customers are and what you have to offer them. The problems or needs that your company serves. The kind of work environment that you support for your employees. After you come up with an idea for a business, you then need to consider and who will make use of the services or products you intend to provide. It is not enough just to have an idea for a business. You need to know that your business will have customers, and you need to be able to identify them. One way to clarify your customer base is to conduct needs surveys. You might hire a professional market analyst to conduct a widespread survey, either online or by mail. Or you can choose a much less costly route and conduct some oral surveys yourself, just by approaching people at a mall, grocery store or train depot. Wherever people tend to congregate, you might ask some pointed questions like, "If there were a new store offering customized video games, is that something you would buy?" After conducting a market survey, review the results and reconsider the strength of your business idea. If your survey results do not show that a market exists to support your business, you may need to revise your idea. For the best results, your business idea should be something new, creative or original. If it's a familiar product, maybe you have defined a new way to provide customer support. Or maybe you have a new product that is an improvement over anything that is currently available. Identify what makes your business unique, and then plan to focus on that in your marketing. For some business types, the location may not be important. If you provide a professional service to other companies, for instance, you might be able to do that from anywhere. On the other hand, most restaurants or retail sales stores will rely heavily on customer access and visibility. You may not need to develop something completely new, if you find a location where the need is strong. For example, franchises work by repeating proven business in new locations. If a certain neighborhood does not yet have a Starbucks, for example, you might move in with that proven franchise. Or move in with your own style of a coffee house, if you think the location needs it.

Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Check for a copyright date on the film negatives. Get your family's oral history to help date family photos. Look for clues on the original print packaging.

Answer: Film negatives often have a copyright from the film processor printed on them. This is usually in fine print on the very top or bottom of the negative. This won't provide you with an exact date, but it can give you a year that the film was processed. This can be an easy step to overlook, but it's often helpful in placing old personal photos. Talk to your family and see what they remember. Don't just ask, "Do you remember going to the beach when I was 10?" Ask them specific questions like, "Do you remember that one beach vacation where I was wearing that silly green swimsuit?" These can help spark specific memories. If you're looking into images that predate you, try talking to relatives that directly knew the people in the images. First-hand stories are always better than second-hand stories. Envelopes and photo sleeves may have printing dates on them. Check the labels, as well as any inserts or receipts that may be in the packaging. You can even check the back of the photos to see if the developer included the print dates on the images, themselves.

Problem: Write an article based on this summary: Use an envelope that's no bigger than 12 by 15 inches (30 by 38cm). Check that your envelope isn't thicker than 34 inch (1.9cm). Weigh your item to see how much postage you need to pay. Pay a lower price if your envelope is letter-sized.

Answer:
These are the maximum length and height measurements for large envelopes. Anything larger than this qualifies as a parcel, and it'll cost more to send. Place the item you're sending into your envelope. Once it's in there, use a ruler to see how thick the envelope is. If it's too thick, the post office will define it as a parcel. Try to make sure the item is the same amount of thickness all over the envelope. A lumpy envelope with some thicker parts and some thinner parts will also be characterized as a parcel. Go to page 37 of the United States Postal Service's (USPS) price guide: https://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/Notice123.pdf. This will tell you the amount you'll need to pay per ounce. You can use multiple stamps to reach the total amount or visit the post office to pay by cash, check, or card. It costs $0.98 USD to send a large envelope that weighs 1 ounce (28g). So long as your large envelope weighs less than 13 ounces (370g), you can send it by dropping it in a blue USPS mailbox or by leaving it in your home mailbox with the red flag raised. If your envelope is less than 618 by 1112 inches (16 by 29cm), it counts as a letter rather than a large envelope. This means you don't have to pay as much! Your letter can't, however, be thicker than 14 inch (0.64cm).