Like all other developing countries, Swaziland consumers are attracted to items imported from across the globe. The trends observed elsewhere can also be observed in Swaziland.In a research study conducted by Knotell, a marketing company based in the kingdom of Swaziland the results showed that overall 21.1% of the +18 years survey respondents said they bought at least one electronic equipment within a thirty day period. A majority of these buyers bought a home theatre (or just a DVD player), followed by those who bought a hot plate, a microwave, a hairdryer and a computer respectively.In terms of marital status, singles seemed to have mainly bought a microwave, a hot plate and home theatre more than married consumers. This trend is in line with expected consumer patterns as most singles are just starting out in life and are buying the basic necessities while at the same time are regarded as fast adopters of latest product offerings.The trends show a sustained increase on home theatre and PC buying across all consumers. Consequently there has been a slight decrease on sales for video players (VHS) across the country as people are shifting their interests to the latest electronics.Shopping areas for these itemsIn the survey conducted by Knotell, six shops stood out as having the highest market share. These are Best Electric, Lewis, Bradlows, Clicks, Cash Crusaders, and Diskom. These shops can be found in the two cities of Swaziland, Manzini and Mbabane. At the time of writing Cash Crusaders is available only in Manzini.Men seemed to have bought their electric equipment mainly from Diskom while a majority of the women reported to have bought them from Lewis stores.About the survey processThe information in this article is based on the Knotell Omnibus Survey conducted within the Manzini-Mbabane Corridor in the kingdom of Swaziland. The Knotell Omnibus Survey has three Swaziland designated survey areas that form the basis for developing the sampling design.1. The Corridor Survey Area (CSA), which covers the Ngwenya – Manzini Corridor and areas within 20km from the main highway. (This is known to be the economically active part of Swaziland).2. The Key Towns and Cities Survey Area (KTC), which covers the two cities (Mbabane and Manzini) and major towns in Swaziland. The standard areas include Mbabane, Piggs-peak, Manzini, Mankayane, Siteki, Big-bend, Nhlangano and Hlathikhulu.3. The National Survey Area (NSA), which divides the four administrative districts of Swaziland (Hhohho, Manzini, Shiselweni and Lubombo) into urban, semi-urban and rural areas.
Best Way to Start a Photography Business
So you have a digital camera and you are thinking of turning your photography hobby into a successful business. But where do you start? From a logo, to a website, blogsite, domain name, email account, business card, camera equipment, lighting equipment, accounting software — you are feeling a little overwhelmed. The question is, what should you do first?Identify the one action that will make the biggest impactWhen starting any new business, you will have many things to do. The hardest part is knowing what to do first. Although, several things may be important, think to yourself, “what is the one thing that will make the biggest impact in launching my business?” For example, hiring a great accountant is important, but without any clients or income, this step will have very little impact in launching your business.Biggest impact for photography businessesGet a website! Getting a website will have the single greatest impact on starting a photography business. Certainly, word-of-mouth and referrals will bring you business as well. But, for example, if someone refers a business to you, what is the first thing you do? You go online and check out their website! Times have changed, getting a professional looking website is not difficult or expensive. There are many beautiful template photography website companies out there. You simply upload your own photos and content. You can even change the look of the website without any graphic design skills. Best of all, many of these companies help you set up your domain name and email accounts. These companies charge anywhere from $6 – $50/month on average. (Once your business is more established you may wish to hire a professional to design your website/blogsite – see branding below).What content should be on the website?Make sure to include your business name and location. So often I see photographers have forgotten to give their location! Don’t have a studio or a physical address? That’s okay. It is just important that you include the city and state/province that you work in. This is important for Google. You want your website to show up when someone searches for photography services in your city! For example, a potential client may type “Windsor Wedding Photographer” into a Google search. You want to make sure that you have mentioned on your website that you are a Wedding Photographer in Windsor!Also, be sure to give your contact information – email and telephone number. It is ideal to have this on your “contact” page, and at the bottom of every page on your website. You want to make it as easy as possible for people to contact you!Finally, write a little bit about yourself and what type of photography you do. People can’t hire you if they don’t know what you do!What images should I put on my website?Many new photographers worry that they don’t have enough photos for a portfolio page. Don’t worry! Less is often more. If you are starting a wedding photography business, put up some wedding related photos. Don’t have very many wedding photos? Try this: go to your local florist and buy a beautiful bouquet. Then take some beautiful detail photos of it. Ask a friend if you can take some detail photos of her engagement ring and wedding band. Slowly, as you get more clients your portfolio will grow and you can add more photos. If you are starting a kids portrait photography business and you don’t have a lot of photos of children – ask a friend if you can photograph her toddler for the website.I am by no means suggesting that you lie to clients about your level of experience. These are just some ideas on how to get supporting images for your website. Also, getting out there and taking more photographs is a great exercise in photography!Unsure of your company’s identity? What about branding?You always hear about people who haven’t started their photography businesses yet because everything behind the scenes, (branding, logo, studio, etc), isn’t perfect yet. They are afraid to start until everything is perfect. Chances are they will never be perfect – and they will never start. Your style and your company’s identity will become clearer to you the more you photograph. For example, you may decide that would like to photograph newborns only to discover, from experience, that you don’t have the patience. And you later realize that you really excel in the fast pace world of wedding photography.Things to think aboutThere are many simple/plain website templates out there that you can choose from, if you are still discovering your style and brand. You can refine the your website’s style later. Look at established companies – they are always updating their website’s style! Don’t wait until everything is perfect behind the scenes to start your photography company. You might just be waiting forever! Get your website up, because it is the one action you can take that will have the biggest impact on propelling your photography business forward. Good luck!
List of Best Internet Service Providers
We all like indulging in online video games or PC games from time to time. To support online games you need great internet service providers. Even though, many service providers claim to provide the best experience but at times they fail to deliver the same. The experience of internet speed and connectivity varies on geographical locations. You need to look for the best internet service provider to suit your needs.The settings provided by the ISPs for online gaming differ with each provider. What you get with one provider for online games might not be available with another. It is all about the functionality and the utility that can fulfill your desired requirement for speed. When you settle for a given ISP for online gaming, it is only beneficial when it can match the requirements for an online match. It requires a quick response, high speed, and great connectivity.Why do you need a great ISP?Now let us look at a gaming scenario where you are playing Call of Duty. You are playing the most interesting part of the game and battling alongside with your friends. The time is crucial to match the desired output and result to take the lead. You are about to make a strike on the potential enemy, and you pull out the sniper rifle, taking aim you are about to pull the trigger, but the internet gives away. You get cut off in the middle of the most essential and interesting part.When you regain internet connectivity, the game is almost over and to your horror you discover that you lost two lives in the process. You are just rendered helpless due to the poor internet connectivity and late response time. This situation is not only annoying but frustrating that leads to a lot of resentment.The thing to understand here is that not only you got kicked off the game, but your team lost because of a poor connection. Online games are all about high-speed internet connectivity, continuous connection, a great response time without having to deal with crappy connectivity even once. For this very reason, you need to look for an ISP that gives you all.How Do Online Games Use the Internet?• Online games that include MMO, First Person Shooters, RPGs, fighting games, battles and driving are all about ease of online gaming.• The systems that are used include PS2/3, Xbox (360), Wii and of course a dedicated PC.• Communicating through chat and headsets with other players while gaming.• Purchasing and downloading games.The factors that influence the connectivity and the speed include the games that one chooses to play online. You should know that when you are choosing a game, the internet connectivity too gets affected with it. The speed and the ping rate are the things that might be compromised due to heavy graphics and the amount of downloading it requires.When you are playing games like Fallout or Call of Duty, it requires fast processing and good ping rates. For these very reasons, it is essential to choose ISPs that compliment your games.VerizonVerizon is a leading brand when it comes to ISPs globally. It is all about delivering high connectivity, great surf speed that includes nothing less than 1.23 Mbps. The service provider delivers high speed Internet connectivity by using the fiber-optic network or the FiOS. However, with this in mind it is not always possible for everyone to opt for the technology of FiOS. There is a great possibility that due to a different geographic location you might not be able to gain access to a better network or even feel compromised with the lack of FiOS.ComcastComcast is a great brand that is known to deliver XFinity service that is a collaboration of high-speed connectivity through fiber optic. It is with the recent upgrade to the technology of XFinity that can provide 1 Mbps surf speed. You get 15 Mbps download without any hassle or technical glitch. However, chances are that some geographic locations are out of reach. It is possible that due to a different geographical location you cannot benefit from it just yet. However, the standard version will still provide you with 992 Kbps surf speed.CoxCox ISP can provide wide network coverage and connectivity through cable service. You will be able to get the XFinity and the FiOS technology at your home. You will get a great speed of 1.14 Mbps surf speed. This service is ideal and works well for those who have to reach zones like rural areas or countryside. If you are located at the far side of the country, where it is difficult to get fiber optic connection then this is the one for you. Opt for this ISP and you are good to go for PC games.Optimum OnlineOptimum Online might not be as popular as other ISPs, but it is capable of providing good cable connectivity. The connectivity option is designed for online games or PC games. The connectivity and the surf-speed provided by this ISP is 1.12 Mbps that is amazing. This ISP is certainly a great choice when it comes to speed similar to the fiber optic connection.Choosing any of the ISPs mentioned here will benefit you in PC games and help you achieve optimum internet usage.