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	<title> &#187; direct sales</title>
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		<title>Buyer leads create more Buyers Find out how with Gil Ortega</title>
		<link>http://jeffmills.com/2009/08/30/buyer-leads-create-more-buyers-find-out-how-with-gil-ortega.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=buyer-leads-create-more-buyers-find-out-how-with-gil-ortega</link>
		<comments>http://jeffmills.com/2009/08/30/buyer-leads-create-more-buyers-find-out-how-with-gil-ortega.htm#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 30 Aug 2009 09:37:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Affiliate marketing]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jeffmills.com/?p=883</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; Gil Ortega&#8217;s company has been responsible for creating several multi-millionaires out of people doing home based network marketing companies. His most successful campaign to date was a diet lead which helped several distributors for one wellness company make several hundreds of thousands online by having them always flushed with BUYER leads. Have you ever [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><img width="145" vspace="10" hspace="10" height="142" border="1" align="left" alt="gil ortega Buyer leads create more Buyers Find out how with Gil Ortega" id="postimgpad" title="tomwheelwright" src="http://midwestsuperconference.com/4/gil_ortega.jpg" />Gil Ortega&#8217;s company has been responsible for creating several multi-millionaires out of people doing home based network marketing companies. His most successful campaign to date was a diet lead which helped several distributors for one wellness company make several hundreds of thousands online by having them always flushed with BUYER leads.</p>
<p>Have you ever seen the &quot;<a href="http://jeffmills.com/2009/08/30/buyer-leads-create-more-buyers-find-out-how-with-gil-ortega.htm" target="_blank"><strong>Crazy Like A&nbsp;Fox commercial</strong></a>&quot; where the fox tells people to start a home based business online? It&#8217;s on the TV almost every day. Gil helped develop that campaign.</p>
<p>But you don&#8217;t have to be in MLM&nbsp;or network marketing to appreciate the value of leads. ANY&nbsp;online business thrives on leads and if you don&#8217;t know how to create them, then you need to listen to this great audio interview with Gil.</p>
<p>In this interview Gil outlines the future of MLM&nbsp;lead generation and a <strong>brand new method </strong>he is pioneering for MLM&nbsp;leads. If you listen closely, he is holding NOTHING back and he reveals the exact model, which you can steal and duplicate if you are savvy enough to do it before the competition or Gil, dominates the market!</p>
<p>Gil Ortega will be speaking at the Midwest Super Conference this year, September 11-13, 2009 and you don&#8217;t want to miss his presentation!</p>
<p>[audio:http://media.midwestsuperconference.com.s3.amazonaws.com/09/msc2009podcast6.mp3]</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://media.midwestsuperconference.com.s3.amazonaws.com/09/msc2009podcast6.mp3"><strong>Download Audio mp3</strong></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://midwestsuperconference.com/"><img alt="register Buyer leads create more Buyers Find out how with Gil Ortega" src="http://canadamarketingsummit.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/register.jpg" title="Buyer leads create more Buyers Find out how with Gil Ortega" /></a></p>
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		<title>Jeff Mills says, &#8220;Don&#8217;t build your MLM using Internet Marketing!&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://jeffmills.com/2009/04/23/jeff-mills-says-dont-build-your-mlm-using-internet-marketing.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=jeff-mills-says-dont-build-your-mlm-using-internet-marketing</link>
		<comments>http://jeffmills.com/2009/04/23/jeff-mills-says-dont-build-your-mlm-using-internet-marketing.htm#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:27:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles by Jeff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[coastal travel]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jeffmills.com/?p=686</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#160; Wow, this little video is gonna create quite the controversy in the MLM, Network Marketing industry. This is video #3 in my retirement announcement series leading up to my big announcement next week on what I&#160;am doing and where I&#160;am heading after shutting down two separate business models I&#160;had been running for the past [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Wow, this little video is gonna create quite the controversy in the MLM, Network Marketing industry. This is video #3 in my retirement announcement series leading up to my big announcement next week on what I&nbsp;am doing and where I&nbsp;am heading after shutting down two separate business models I&nbsp;had been running for the past 5 years.</p>
<p>I&nbsp;am no longer promoting Coastal&nbsp;Vacations Club or Global Resorts Network.</p>
<p>I&nbsp;am moving into a NEW&nbsp;program, putting my focus on building a giant team and teaching that team 1 thing and 1 thing only. It has NOTHING&nbsp;to do with internet marketing, my story maketing, PPC, blogging, social media, postcards, voicebroadcasting.</p>
<p>All you&#8217;ll need to master is ONE&nbsp;THING! &#8211; no more learning 50 things that confuse you and keep your paralyzed with analysis paralysis.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>What is that one thing? <strong>Watch the video.</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Now the video voice sync did not show up exactly correct&#8230; not sure why&#8230; but I&nbsp;was not about to re-record a 20 minute video where I&nbsp;&#8217;one timed it&#8217; and just talked stream of consciousness. So.. put up with it, it&#8217;s the words I&nbsp;want you to know and listen more than how I&nbsp;look and sync.</p>
<p>I&nbsp;say some really remarkable things about MLM and internet marketing and why so many people fail at MLM&nbsp;trying to use the web. I am sure I&#8217;ll get a ton of neative people here, as well as a very large vocal majority who will back me up and who will defend where I&nbsp;am coming from and why I what I&nbsp;am saying is true.</p>
<p><strong>See for yourself.</strong></p>
<p><strong>GET&nbsp;ON&nbsp;THE&nbsp;ANNOUNCEMENT&nbsp;LIST&nbsp;BELOW!</strong><br />
<center> <a href="http://coastalvacationclubblog.com" target="_blank"><strong>Click here to get on the Announcement list</strong></a></center></p>
<p>Please make comments below with what you think, I&#8217;d love to hear from you.</p>
<p>What do you think about that 1 Thing? Do you think people should learn to master 10-50 things to be successful with MLM and direct sales using the web for lead generation?</p>
<p>Make sure you also listen to the part where I&nbsp;talk about my leader&#8217;s launch and please contact me, via phone or email if you are interested, I&#8217;ll get back with you when I get back from London.</p>
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		<title>Copywriting and Craigslist: Could this go down as one of the best ads ever?</title>
		<link>http://jeffmills.com/2009/01/25/copywriting-and-craigslist-could-this-go-down-as-one-of-the-best-ads-ever.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=copywriting-and-craigslist-could-this-go-down-as-one-of-the-best-ads-ever</link>
		<comments>http://jeffmills.com/2009/01/25/copywriting-and-craigslist-could-this-go-down-as-one-of-the-best-ads-ever.htm#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:04:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[article marketing]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[best craigslist ad ever]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[craigslist marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jeffmills.com/?p=586</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A friend of mine, sent me this funny posting off of Craigslist.org. If you are a serious marketer, you&#8217;ll know the power of posting up ads for craigslist and how popular and profitable Craigslist can be for generating real leads. Also, if you are a serious marketer, you&#8217;ll understand how important it is to write [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A friend of mine, sent me this funny posting off of Craigslist.org.</p>
<p>If you are a serious marketer, you&#8217;ll know the power of posting up ads for craigslist and how popular and profitable Craigslist can be for generating real leads.</p>
<p>Also, if you are a serious marketer, you&#8217;ll understand how important it is to write pursuasive copy in your ads that compells people to take action.</p>
<p>Here is one, that I&nbsp;think goes down in the &quot;Best Ads of All Time&quot; catagory. It&#8217;s passionate, it&#8217;s funny and it definitely has garnered a lot of attention, as many people have blogged about it, and now I&nbsp;have too, but, learn from this.</p>
<p>How can you craft an ad about your product or service with this much passion and hype to get people to notice you? Should you even go that far? Is this type of marketing pushing the envelope of what is acceptable or is it just the right kind of ad that matches the product he is offering&#8230;</p>
<p>Hey, let me know your opinion post a comment on what you think of the ad and your opinion on this type of marketing</p>
<hr />
<center><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>NINJA HAULER: 2005 Nissan Xterra &#8211; $12900 (Ronan / Lake County)</b></span></center></p>
<p>
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_orkXxp0bhEA/SU2WOaZH4DI/AAAAAAAAOgM/RbZrwiPE_wM/s1600-h/081220-x-3.jpg"><img border="1" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 203px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_orkXxp0bhEA/SU2WOaZH4DI/AAAAAAAAOgM/RbZrwiPE_wM/s400/081220-x-3.jpg" alt="081220 x 3 Copywriting and Craigslist: Could this go down as one of the best ads ever?" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282043112322490418" title="Copywriting and Craigslist: Could this go down as one of the best ads ever?" /></a></p>
<p>OK, let me start off by saying this Xterra is only available for purchase by the manliest of men (or women). My friend, if it was possible for a vehicle to sprout chest hair and a five o&#8217;clock shadow, this Nissan would look like Tom Selleck. It is just that manly.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>It was never intended to drive to the mall so you can pick up that adorable shirt at Abercrombie &amp; Fitch that you had your eye on. It wasn&#8217;t meant to transport you to yoga class or Linens &amp; Things. No, that&#8217;s what your Prius is for. If that&#8217;s the kind of car you&#8217;re looking for, then just do us all a favor and stop reading right now. I mean it. Just stop.</p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_orkXxp0bhEA/SU2WcbMcMPI/AAAAAAAAOgU/t_GgSZRoaeg/s1600-h/081220-x-2.jpg"><img border="1" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 161px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_orkXxp0bhEA/SU2WcbMcMPI/AAAAAAAAOgU/t_GgSZRoaeg/s400/081220-x-2.jpg" alt="081220 x 2 Copywriting and Craigslist: Could this go down as one of the best ads ever?" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282043353055899890" title="Copywriting and Craigslist: Could this go down as one of the best ads ever?" /></a></p>
<p>This car was engineered by 3rd degree ninja super-warriors in the highest mountains of Japan to serve the needs of the man that cheats death on a daily basis. They didn&#8217;t even consider superfluous nancy boy amenities like navigation systems (real men don&#8217;t get lost), heated leather seats (a real man doesn&#8217;t let anything warm his butt), or On Star (real men don&#8217;t even know what the hell On Star is).</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>No, this brute comes with the things us testosterone-fueled super action junkies need. It has a 265 HP engine to outrun the cops. It&#8217;s got special blood/gore resistant upholstery. It even has a first-aid kit in the back. You know what the first aid kit has in it? A pint of whiskey, a stitch-your-own-wound kit and a hunk of leather to bite down on when you&#8217;re operating on yourself. The Xterra also has an automatic transmission so if you&#8217;re being chased by Libyan terrorists, you&#8217;ll still be able to shoot your machine gun out the window and drive at the same time. It&#8217;s saved my bacon more than once.</p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_orkXxp0bhEA/SU2WOM_EtfI/AAAAAAAAOgE/ZG1KHjUNwcs/s1600-h/081220-x-1.jpg"><img border="1" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 189px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_orkXxp0bhEA/SU2WOM_EtfI/AAAAAAAAOgE/ZG1KHjUNwcs/s400/081220-x-1.jpg" alt="081220 x 1 Copywriting and Craigslist: Could this go down as one of the best ads ever?" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282043108723570162" title="Copywriting and Craigslist: Could this go down as one of the best ads ever?" /></a></p>
<p>It has room for you and the four hotties you picked up on the way to the gym to blast your pecs and hammer your glutes. There&#8217;s a tow hitch to pull your 50 caliber anti-Taliban, self cooling machine gun. I also just put in a new windshield to replace the one that got shot out by The Man.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>My price on this bad boy is an incredibly low $12,900, but I&#8217;ll entertain reasonable offers. And by reasonable, I mean don&#8217;t walk up and tell me you&#8217;ll give me $5,000 for it. That&#8217;s liable to earn you a Burmese-roundhouse-sphincter-kick with a follow up three fingered eye-jab. Would it hurt? Hell yeah. Let&#8217;s just say you won&#8217;t be the prettiest guy at the Coldplay concert anymore.</p>
<p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_orkXxp0bhEA/SU2WdcWxeCI/AAAAAAAAOgc/3Dn2FxxIvVg/s1600-h/081220-x-4.jpg"><img border="1" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_orkXxp0bhEA/SU2WdcWxeCI/AAAAAAAAOgc/3Dn2FxxIvVg/s400/081220-x-4.jpg" alt="081220 x 4 Copywriting and Craigslist: Could this go down as one of the best ads ever?" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282043370547542050" title="Copywriting and Craigslist: Could this go down as one of the best ads ever?" /></a></p>
<p>There&#8217;s only 69,000 miles on this four-wheeled hellcat from Planet Kickass. Trust me, it will outlive you and the offspring that will carry your name. It will live on as a monument to your machismo.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Now, go look in the mirror and tell me what you see. If it&#8217;s a rugged, no holds barred, super brute he-man macho Chuck Norris stunt double, then contact me. I might be out hang-gliding or BASE jumping or just chilling with my ladies, but I&#8217;ll get back to you. And when I do, we&#8217;ll talk about a price over a nice glass of Schmidt while we listen to Johnny Cash.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>To sweeten the deal a little, I&#8217;m throwing in this pair of MC Hammer pants for the man with rippling quads that can&#8217;t fit into regular pants.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Yeah, you heard me.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>FREE MC Hammer pants.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Rock on.</p>
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		<title>Big Time Signs That We are in A Big Time Recession</title>
		<link>http://jeffmills.com/2008/12/02/big-time-signs-that-we-are-in-a-big-time-recession.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=big-time-signs-that-we-are-in-a-big-time-recession</link>
		<comments>http://jeffmills.com/2008/12/02/big-time-signs-that-we-are-in-a-big-time-recession.htm#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:28:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[coastal travel]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[store closings]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://jeffmills.com/?p=436</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So, now the news media is finally coming clean with info saying&#8230; we are in a recession. Duh! It does not take a rocket scientist to see the trends which started back in early 2007 and are now spiraling out before us left and right. Lessons from these notes: 1. Don&#8217;t put your job salvation [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So, now the news media is finally coming clean with info saying&#8230; we are in a recession. Duh!</p>
<p>It does not take a rocket scientist to see the trends which started back in early 2007 and are now spiraling out before us left and right.</p>
<p>Lessons from these notes:</p>
<p>1. Don&#8217;t put your job salvation in the hands of another company, it might not make it.</p>
<p>2. Good businesses do go outa business often. Remeber 92-98% of all businesses, whether home based or brick and mortar fail, go belly up.</p>
<p>3. Running a business in good and bad times is hard, takes work, and don&#8217;t expect to get rich over night.</p>
<p>4. Owning a Home Based Business is a better shot of financial independence. With some training, hard work and smart marketing, one can make a living, work from home and get the freetime and financial leverage everyone always dreams of.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/photo-hub/news_gallery/5/8/589132/1228164278115.JPEG" alt=" Big Time Signs That We are in A Big Time Recession" width="456" height="303" title="Big Time Signs That We are in A Big Time Recession" /></p>
<p>One program doing this for me is <a title="Coastal Vacations" href="http://homebusinesstravel.com">Coastal Vacations</a>. It&#8217;s been making me money in good times and bad times, people love to travel and will travel, no matter what the economy is like. And People want to make big commissions, not little piddly ones. With Coastal, you earn $1000 selling a travel membership, up to $9705.</p>
<p>See what <a title="Coastal Travel Club" href="http://homebusinesstravel.com">Coastal Travel</a> has to offer for you and your family. And cautiously read through the bad news and proof that people need a new way of making a living by reading all the store closings below.</p>
<p>Origins:   During prolonged economic downturns (or when signs indicate such a phenomenon is looming on the horizon), retail chains often retrench by scaling back expansion plans, delaying the openings of planned new stores, and closing underperforming or redundant outlets. The long list of chain stores referenced below includes businesses currently in a variety of different financial states; the listed stores are not (as some versions of this item claim) all closing down for good: Some have gone bankrupt and closed for good, some have sought bankruptcy protection but remained open, some have already been through bankruptcy proceedings and have emerged in a reorganized state, some have closed a significant portion of their outlets, and some have closed a relatively small percentage of under performing stores while continuing to open new locations.</p>
<p>A couple of important points to consider are:</p>
<p>* Filing for bankruptcy protection does not necessarily mean a company is going out of business: Chapter 11 provisions allow businesses to propose reorganization plans that will enable them to continue functioning as they pay their creditors over time. Companies who file for Chapter 11 may still go bankrupt anyway (Chapter 7), or their reorganization plans may not be approved by bankruptcy courts, or they may emerge from Chapter 11 protection too weak to remain viable for long, or they may be bought up by liquidation firms, but none of those outcomes is inevitable — many businesses have thrived (or least regained a stable level of performance) after emerging from Chapter 11 protection.</p>
<p>* Although federal law allows companies to stop honoring gift cards when they file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, not all businesses do so. Some companies may continue to redeem store gift cards while they reorganize, while others may temporarily suspend redemption of gift cards for some period of time and resume it later. That any particular retail business has recently filed for Chapter 11 protection does not automatically mean that any gift cards or gift certificates it has previously issued will &#8220;not be valid for much longer.&#8221;</p>
<p>* It is normal, even in the best of economic times, for large chains to periodically prune their operations by closing older and underperforming outlets. That a chain has closed some of its locations is not necessarily an indicator that the business is experiencing financial difficulty — important factors to consider are what percentage of the chain&#8217;s total locations those closings represent, and whether the chain is continuing to open new outlets while it closes others.</p>
<p>Business information of this nature tends to be volatile, especially in times of economic upheaval. As best we could determine according to various news accounts published so far in 2008, the chains named above are planning, or have made, the following cutbacks:</p>
<p>* The Ann Taylor chain of women&#8217;s clothing stores (which includes Ann Taylor, LOFT, Ann Taylor Factory and LOFT Outlet stores) said in Novermber 2008 they would expand the scope of a restructuring announced in January 2008 that included the closing of 117 stores (out of approximately 966 locations).</p>
<p>* The Bombay Company chain of imported home furnishings stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2007. All 384 of its U.S.-based stores were closed and liquidated in January 2008 (but new ownership still operates approximately 48 Bombay &amp; Co. stores in Canada).</p>
<p>* The Caché chain of women&#8217;s specialty apparel stores closed 14 underperforming outlets (out of 295 stores) but is still opening new locations.</p>
<p>* The Charming Shoppes chain of plus-size women&#8217;s apparel<br />
stores has closed 150 of its approximately 2,360 outlets.</p>
<p>* The Circuit City chain of retail electronics stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2008 and is closing 155 stores across the U.S. (More information about Circuit City&#8217;s business operations under Chapter 11 protection can be found here.)</p>
<p>* The CompUSA chain of consumer electronics stores was sold to the Gordon Brothers Group restructuring firm in December 2007, and most of its 103 outlets were subsequently closed. In January 2008 many of the remaining assets and the CompUSA brand were sold to Systemax, Inc. which currently operates 23 CompUSA stores in Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and Puerto Rico, as well as an online store, CompUSA.com. (CompUSA continues to accept gift cards.)</p>
<p>* The Dillard&#8217;s department store chain announced the closure of 21 outlets in 2008 and said it expects more store closures in 2009.</p>
<p>* The Disney Store chain was reacquired by the Walt Disney Co. from Children&#8217;s Place Retail Stores in March 2008, and about 98 (out of approximately 335) of the chain&#8217;s North American locations were closed as part of the transition to new ownership.</p>
<p>* The Eddie Bauer chain of casual apparel stores closed 29 outlets (out of about 376 locations) and opened 10 new outlets during the first nine months of 2008.</p>
<p>* The Ethan Allen chain of home furnishings stores closed 12 retail design centers and two service centers in 2008.</p>
<p>* The Foot Locker chain of shoe stores chain closed 274 outlets (out of more than 3,700) in 2007 and another 60 in the first quarter of 2008, with more such closures likely.</p>
<p>* Whitehall Jewelers acquired the remnants of the Friedman&#8217;s and Crescent chains in early 2008 after that combined company entered bankruptcy, then Whitehall itself filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2008 and began liquidating and closing all 373 of its remaining stores.</p>
<p>* The Gap chain of clothiers (whose brands include Old Navy and Banana Republic) closed 17 stores while opening 37 more during the third quarter of 2008, ending with a total of 3,190 outlets. The company expects to close 115 stores while opening 100 more locations during the 2008 fiscal year.</p>
<p>* The Movie Gallery/Hollywood Video video rental chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2007, just after announcing plans to close 520 stores. In February 2008 the chain announced closings of 400 more outlets, and in April 2008 Movie Gallery said they were shutting down another 160 underperforming stores. The chain emerged from bankruptcy reorganization in May 2008 and currently operates about 3,500 outlets.</p>
<p>* The Home Depot chain of home improvements stores announced in May 2008 that it would be closing 15 underperforming outlets.</p>
<p>* The KB Toys chain of retail toy stores entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2004 and at that time announced plans to close 375 of its outlets. It emerged from Chapter 11 reorganization in August 2005.</p>
<p>* The Kirkland&#8217;s chain of home decor stores is expecting to close 130 (of its approximately 335) outlets by the middle of 2009.</p>
<p>* The Levitz Furniture chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (for the third time in ten years) in November 2007 and shortly afterwards began the process of closing its stores and liquidating its remaining inventory.</p>
<p>* The Lowe&#8217;s chain of home improvement stores might open fewer new outlets in 2008 and 2009 than originally planned, but the company still expects to complete the opening of between 115 to 120 new stores in 2008, with more new stores (and no closures) to follow in 2009.</p>
<p>* The Macy&#8217;s chain of department stores (which also includes Bloomingdale&#8217;s) closed 11 (of its approximately 850) outlets in 2008.</p>
<p>* Pacific Sunwear closed 74 underperforming stores in its d.e.m.o. line in 2007 and closed all 154 of its remaining d.e.m.o. stores in 2008. (The company has not so far announced plans to close any of its core Pacific Sunware outlets.)</p>
<p>* The Pep Boys chain of auto supply and repair stores closed 31 low-return outlets (out of approximately 600 stores) at the end of 2007.</p>
<p>* The Sharper Image chain of electronics and specialty gifts stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2008, then began closing and liquidating all 184 of its outlets in June 2008.</p>
<p>* Sprint, a global provider of voice, data and Internet services, announced in January 2008 that it would be closing about 125 of its 1,400 retail outlets.</p>
<p>* Talbots Inc. announced in November 2008 that it was seeking to sell off its chain of J. Jill casual clothier stores. (Talbots has already shed its Talbots Kids, Talbots Mens and U.K. businesses and has closed an additional 28 Talbots stores out of about 1,400 total outlets.) However, we have found no announcement that Talbots is planning to close any J. Jill outlets in the near future: The chain still operates 283 locations, is still opening new stores, and is still selling and redeeming gift cards.</p>
<p>* The Wickes Furniture chain began liquidating merchandise and fixtures at locations nationwide in February 2008 as part of bankruptcy proceedings.</p>
<p>* Wilsons Leather (the Leather Experts) shut down its mall-based locations in Fall 2008, but the Wilsons Leather Outlet stores and e-commerce business was acquired by AM Retail (a subsidiary of G-III Apparel Group), which currently operates 119 Wilsons outlets in the U.S. (Gift cards purchased from now-closed Wilsons Leather mall stores can still be redeemed at Wilsons Leather Outlet locations as well as through the Wilsons Leather web site.)</p>
<p>* Zales Corp,, which operates Zales Jewelers, Zales Outlet, Gordon&#8217;s Jewelers, Peoples Jewellers, Mappins Jewellers, and Piercing Pagoda, closed approximately 105 retail outlets (out of 2,130) in 2008, half of them kiosks and half of them stores. However, the company also opened approximately 100 new outlets in 2008, so the net change in the number of Zales-operated stores was relatively small.</p>
<p>Last updated:   24 November 2008</p>
<p>The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/storeclosings.asp</p>
<p>Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2008 by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson.<br />
This material may not be reproduced without permission.<br />
snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com.</p>
<p>Sources: <a href="http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/storeclosings.asp">Snopes.com<br />
</a><br />
Abelson, Jenn.   &#8220;Talbots Is Seeking a Buyer for J. Jill.&#8221;<br />
The Boston Globe.   7 November 2008.</p>
<p>Ackerman, Ruthie.   &#8220;Sharper Image Files for Bankruptcy.&#8221;<br />
Forbes.   20 February 2008.</p>
<p>Barbaro, Michael.   &#8220;Retailing Chains Caught in a Wave of Bankruptcies.&#8221;<br />
The New York Times.   15 April 2008.</p>
<p>Barbaro, Michael.   &#8220;Big Retailers Scaling Back Expansion Plans and Shutting Stores.&#8221;<br />
The New York Times.   2 May 2008.</p>
<p>D&#8217;innocenzio, Anne.   &#8220;Toy Stocks Enjoy Strong Gains As Official Start of Holiday Season Nears.&#8221;<br />
Associated Press.   3 November 2006.</p>
<p>Finney, Michael.   &#8220;Levitz Furniture Files for Bankruptcy.&#8221;<br />
KGO-TV [San Francisco].   27 November 2007.</p>
<p>Hirsh, Lou.   &#8220;Wickes Furniture Begins Going-out-of-Business Sale.&#8221;<br />
The Press-Enterprise.   29 February 2008.</p>
<p>Kingsbury, Kevin.   &#8220;Restructuring Charges, Economic Environment Hurt AnnTaylor&#8217;s Net.&#8221;<br />
The Wall Street Journal.   22 May 2008.</p>
<p>Kirk, Bill.   &#8220;Bogus E-Mail Claims Store Closings.&#8221;<br />
The [North Andover] Eagle-Tribune.   19 November 2008.</p>
<p>Kosdrosky, Terry.   &#8220;Pep Boys Posts Wider Loss, Outlines Strategic Changes.&#8221;<br />
The Wall Street Journal.   28 November 2007.</p>
<p>Lloyd, Mary Ellen.   &#8220;Lowe&#8217;s Net Falls 24% as Consumers Retreat.&#8221;<br />
The Wall Street Journal.   18 November 2008   (p. B3).</p>
<p>McCarty, Dawn and Michael Bathon.   &#8220;Whitehall Jewelers Files for Bankruptcy Protection.&#8221;<br />
Bloomberg News.   23 June 2008.</p>
<p>Niedt, Bob.   &#8220;Erroneous Closings Now an Urban Legend.&#8221;<br />
The [Syracuse] Post-Standard.   21 November 2008.</p>
<p>O&#8217;Donnell, Jayne.   &#8220;Disney to Shutter 98 Stores; Home Depot Closing 15.&#8221;<br />
USA Today.   1 May 2008.</p>
<p>Rovella, David E. and Dawn McCarty.   &#8220;Movie Gallery Files Plan to Exit Bankruptcy in 2008.&#8221;<br />
Bloomberg News.   23 December 2007.</p>
<p>Saranow, Jennifer.   &#8220;AnnTaylor, Talbots Plan Further Cuts.&#8221;<br />
The Wall Street Journal.   7 November 2008.</p>
<p>Soenarie, Angelique.   &#8220;Whitehall Jewelers Going Out of Business.&#8221;<br />
The Arizona Republic.   29 October 2008.</p>
<p>Associated Press.   &#8220;KB Toys Hopes to Exit Chapter 11 Before Holidays.&#8221;<br />
FOXNews.com.   16 May 2005.</p>
<p>Associated Press.   &#8220;Consumer Electronics Store CompUSA Is Sold; Will Close All Stores.&#8221;<br />
International Herald Tribune.   8 December 2007.</p>
<p>Associated Press.   &#8220;Wilsons Leather Closing Stores.&#8221;<br />
Green Bay Press-Gazette.   16 February 2008.</p>
<p>Associated Press.   &#8220;Children&#8217;s Place to Exit Disney Stores.&#8221;<br />
Forbes.   20 March 2008.</p>
<p>Associated Press.   &#8220;Home Depot to Close 15 Underperforming US Stores.&#8221;<br />
International Herald Tribune.   1 May 2008.</p>
<p>Birmingham News.   &#8220;Movie Gallery to Shutter Another 160 Stores.&#8221;<br />
3 April 2008.</p>
<p>CBS News.   &#8220;Macy&#8217;s to Slash 2,300 Jobs.&#8221;<br />
6 February 2008.</p>
<p>Computerworld.   &#8220;Systemax to Buy CompUSA Brand, 16 Retail Outlets.&#8221;<br />
9 January 2008.</p>
<p>Dow Jones Newswires.   &#8220;Foot Locker 1Q Net Falls 82%; Backs Year Forecast.&#8221;<br />
CNNMoney.com.   22 May 2008.</p>
<p>Inside Tucson Business.   &#8220;Retail Down-Sizing.&#8221;<br />
12 November 2008.</p>
<p>Reuters.   &#8220;Dillard&#8217;s Cuts Spending, to Open Fewer Stores.&#8221;<br />
31 October 2008.</p>
<p>Reuters.   &#8220;AnnTaylor Sees Weak Holiday Season.&#8221;<br />
21 November 2008.</p>
<p>The Wall Street Journal.   &#8220;Gap Net Rises; Chain Affirms Its Guidance.&#8221;<br />
21 November 2008   (p. B2).</p>
<p>WHAS-TV [Louisville].   &#8220;Many Stores Closing Due to Retail Slump.&#8221;<br />
22 May 2008.</p>
<p>WISC-TV [Madison].   &#8220;E-Mail Warning About Gift Cards Threatens to Be Holiday Grinch.&#8221;<br />
24 November 2008.</p>
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		<title>Free Lead Evolution Webinar &#8211; VIP&#8217;s Only!</title>
		<link>http://jeffmills.com/2008/10/29/free-lead-evolution-webinar-vips-only.htm?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=free-lead-evolution-webinar-vips-only</link>
		<comments>http://jeffmills.com/2008/10/29/free-lead-evolution-webinar-vips-only.htm#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:35:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[You are invited to a special VIP webinar with Dr. Mike Woo Ming and Brian Koz on Outsourcing your own lead generation with a powerful money making and lead generation software called, &#34;LEAD EVOLUTION&#34;. Leads are essential for any kind of business. Especially for Affiliates, Bloggers, Local Businesses, brick and mortar storefronts, Infopreneurs, Ecommerce Stores, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You are invited to a special VIP webinar with Dr. Mike Woo Ming and Brian Koz  on Outsourcing your own lead generation with a powerful money making and lead  generation software called, &quot;<a href="http://whoisjeffmills.com/webinar" title="Lead Evolution Review"><strong>LEAD  EVOLUTION</strong></a>&quot;.
<p>Leads are essential for any kind of business. Especially for Affiliates,  Bloggers, Local Businesses, brick and mortar storefronts, Infopreneurs,  Ecommerce Stores, Real Estate Agents and Brokers, Chiropractors, Network  Marketers, Solopreneurs, Churches, Non Profit Organizations, Direct Sales  Leaders, Insurance Agents, Health and Fitness Gurus&hellip; and the list goes on and  on.</p>
<p>I want to show you a<strong> *LIVE REAL TIME DEMO*</strong> of their <a href="http://whoisjeffmills.com/webinar" title="Lead Evolution Software"> Lead Evolution Software</a> to show you the power of <strong>never having to  ever buy a lead again</strong>. I know people who have spent $10,000s a year on  buying crappy leads and they did not get sales from those leads.</p>
<p>The problem was, those leads were not <em>BUYER leads</em>. How would you  like BUYER leads looking to purchase your stuff NOW&#8230; not later?How would you  like to become an affiliate of a program that pays BIG COMMISSIONS and sell  leads to those program owners or product owners and get big finder&#39;s fees?</p>
<p>All you need to do is sign up for the webinar, and watch our live demo to see  if this is the lead generation software that you have been looking for!Even is  you cannot be here live, you&#39;ll get access to the replay within 24 hours!</p>
<p align="center"><strong>LEAD EVOLUTION DEMO WEBINAR &#8211; THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30,  2008 at 9:00 pm EDT </strong></p>
<p>Here is what of the people have said about <a href="http://whoisjeffmills.com/webinar" target="_blank" title="Lead Evolution Review"> Lead Evolution review</a>:</p>
<p>&quot;Looks like a great piece of software and I reckon it could probably save  hours and hours of time for the entrepreneur&#8230;&quot;</p>
<p>- Glen Kirkham</p>
<p>&quot;It seems really good. I could see all kinds of ways I could make money with  it&quot;</p>
<p>- Adam</p>
<p>&quot;Dr. Mike Woo-Ming and Brian Koz have developed a slick new traffic generator  called LeadEvolution. It combines various resources to find people who are  interested in or asking questions about almost any topic that would come up in  one of these lists. More and more sources will be added in the future.&quot;</p>
<p>- Liz Nichols</p>
<p>Here is what Lead Evolution will do:</p>
<p>Lead Evolution<a href="http://www.leadevolutionsystem.com/affiliates/jrox.php?id=4396_1" target="_blank"></a>  is simple to use, but is a very revolutionary piece of software that sits on  your desktop. It downloads and is ready to go in minutes to bring you targeted  leads over and over again.<br /> How?</p>
<p> It goes out and combs the internet to bring you targeted leads that are asking  for your product or service. You choose the niche and Lead Evolution will bring  you a list of fresh leads in a matter of seconds. How many leads? There can be  100&#39;s to even 1000&#39;s of leads in your niche <strong><u>daily</u></strong>. You  can even search geographically to target anywhere you choose. It can even find  leads Internationally.</p>
<p>Don&#39;t miss this excellent webinar! If you cannot make it, sign up anyways for  a free replaying of the entire webinar.</p>
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		<title>Top Business Opportunities for Stay at Home Moms</title>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 30 Sep 2008 05:26:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>jeffmills</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Top Business Opportunities for Stay at Home Moms Research Your Direct Sales Opportunities Before Making Your Choice As a lucrative home business, direct sales scores very highly. Because of the low initial investment and relatively low risk in starting a direct sales business, many stay at home moms opt for it. But how do you [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a title="Top Business Opportunities for Stay at home Moms" href="http://isearchportal.com/asb/earn592" target="_blank"><strong>Top Business Opportunities for Stay at Home Moms</strong></a><br />
Research Your Direct Sales Opportunities Before Making Your Choice</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://isearchportal.com/asb/earn592"><img class="size-medium wp-image-337 aligncenter" title="click the play button" src="http://jeffmills.com/wp-content/uploads/earn592-300x223.jpg" alt="earn592 300x223 Top Business Opportunities for Stay at Home Moms" width="413" height="306" /></a></p>
<p>As a lucrative home business, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>direct sales</strong></span> scores very highly. Because of the low initial investment and relatively low risk in starting a direct sales business, many <a title="Stay at Home Moms" href="http://isearchportal.com/asb/earn592">stay at home moms</a> opt for it. But how do you find the right direct sales opportunities? Here are some pointers to help you zero in on the one that suits you best:</p>
<p>You want to be passionate about the products before you decide to promote them. So either try the product yourself or ask for the product catalog and samples, so that you are totally convinced that you can offer them to your customers enthusiastically.</p>
<p>The direct sales company must be in the line of business you really enjoy. If cooking is your passion, then go in for direct sales products that are in a related area.</p>
<p>If you enjoy interior design, then choose products that relate to it. When you become associated with a business that excites you, this genuineness comes through when you promote it. It doesn&#8217;t seem like selling at all. Rather, it becomes an enjoyable activity.</p>
<p>How much do you need to invest at the beginning? You want to find out about start up costs, cost of a starter kit if any and also how much money you&#8217;ll need to spend to maintain the business in terms of operating and advertising costs.</p>
<p>You must find out if there is a minimum sales volume that you must achieve each month, and if there is, decide whether you can handle it by putting in the necessary time and effort.</p>
<p>What kind of income can you expect? Different direct sales businesses have different income plans in terms of commissions. Some will also pay you for recruiting others. You will also need to know how frequently the company makes payments.</p>
<p>Does the company offer you adequate support through a network? You will need to find out the kind of response time you can expect when you need assistance.</p>
<p>Most direct sales companies offer promotional material to help you in sales.</p>
<p>You want to know what kind of competition exists for the products you choose so that you know whether the demand is high and also whether too many companies offer the same product.</p>
<p>Find out whether the company you plan to associate with offers a website for online marketing.</p>
<p>You will probably think of some more questions as you find out which direct sales opportunities are right for you. It is important to be happy about your choice, as it is this enthusiasm that will help you enjoy what you do.</p>
<p>Stay at home moms are flocking to the direct selling industry. Over 80% of salespeople are women. It&#8217;s simple and easy to put in a few hours of work in per day, to make a couple hundred dollars a day.</p>
<p>The <a title="Top Business Opportunities for Stay at home Moms" href="http://isearchportal.com/asb/earn592" target="_blank"><strong>Top Business Opportunities for Stay at Home Moms</strong></a> are in the direct sales industry.</p>
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