As our site grows every day we want to share some information with you on the way we are operating the project. We call this section «Business Blog» as it is similar to doing a log book where data is recorded in a chronological order. «Blogging» is gaining popularity with more and more people picking up the habit of publishing their experiences and thoughts on the Internet. Our Blog covers various topics — from TOEFL, TOEIC, MBA, GMAT, ESL/EFL test preperation to cultural traditions and current political events.
There will also be some Internet marketing terminology and if you have any questions regarding the information simply let us know.

The Business Blog is written by Torsten Daerr and edited by Alan Townend.

2005 — December 31
The last day of 2005 is the ideal moment to start a new project called «Freedom_2007» and in a minute you'll know why I've chosen this title. But first let's examine a very important question: What is your purpose in life? Have you ever asked yourself what you really want? We can do this exercise together if you like because chances are many of your goals are similar to mine. So I'll tell you what I want to achieve and you can check this list against yours. Yes, it'll be a number of goals rather than just one single item but you might be surprised by how short this list is. What I really want is the freedom to create my own projects and decide whom I work with, when I work and where I work. Now you might understand where the name «Freedom_2007» stems from: In 2007 we at english-test.net will have achieved a level of success that allows us to make a living online. This means we will have gained a high level of control over our lives and following from that a high living standard. In other words we will be able to travel to any country and run our online business from there. I want to see and explore other parts of Europe and of course I want to spend time in Northern America too. That's why we are concentrating our efforts on adding more contents and features to english-test.net and creating more value for more people. Having your own Internet business is a wonderful thing because you can surround yourself with professionals who are sharing their knowledge and expertise with you so you can learn from them and grow intellectually. Another important advantage of an online venture is that you are no longer getting paid according to the amount of your input. If you run a website you get paid according to the amount of value your website creates. Perhaps you're not absolutely sure what this means? Well, it's simple. Let's say you work as a free lance English teacher as many of my friends do. What does your income depend on? Mainly on two factors: Your hourly rate (the amount of money you can earn per lesson) and the number of hours you work. How much influence do you have on your hourly pay rate? In most cases you don't have any influence because there is a market price for the service you are offering and this leaves you very little room for negotiation if any at all. So if you want to earn more money you have to work more hours. Not so with a website. Once you have built it up to a certain level you can maintain and grow it further by putting in a limited number of hours. And the beauty of an Internet business is that you can decide when you work and how much. Now that english-test.net has been up and running for almost 3 years we know what to do to achieve the goals I have outlined above. Why am I telling you all this? Very simple. You are part of the plan. We can be successful only if we create enough materials and tools you can use to achieve your goals. That's why we will share more of our ideas and projects here in our business blog. But for the time being let's celebrate New Year.

2005 — December 30
A chatroom is an Internet application that allows you to communicate with other users by exchanging instant text messages. This might sound like a bit of a mouthful but Internet chatting is much easier than this defintion suggests. Have you ever chatted with somebody online? If so you will know that through this form of conversation you can practise and improve a variety of skills. First of all you have to be able to type fast. There are software programs available that help you learn how to use a keyboard properly. If you chat on a regular basis good typing skills come in very handy. Secondly an online chat session requires a certain amount of concentration because you have to read what other users are writing while at the same time you have to be thinking of your responses. Because online chatting is becoming more and more popular you now also have the chance to interact with us directly in our new chat room. Of course it will take a while until this new feature becomes available so you should watch this space.

2005 — December 29
Yesterday checked an ad we posted on a university message board some time ago and I was really shocked. The ad was created early September 2004 and it contained some facts about english-test.net. For example it read that our site was generating about 1000 visits per day and our newsletter had about 2500 subscribers. Now mind you, I had written that ad myself so the information was true. You want to know why I was shocked when I read the ad again yesterday? Well, the fact is now our website is used by more than 12.000 people every day and our newsletter has close to 7000 subscribers.

This means that in a little over 15 months we have been able to increase our site's popularity by more than 10 times (that's when you compare the access statistics.) So we are clearly on the right track. What's even more important than just the numbers is the fact that more and more English learners and language lovers are benefiting from our efforts. Quite recently a new forum user from Spain has started an interesting discussion about how the value of a website influences its popularity. You might want to join this conversation Hello and merry Christmas from Spain. We look forward to hearing your ideas.

2005 — December 28
One of our goals for 2006 is to create worksheets for business communication training. Those materials will contain role play activities to use in practicing and improving negotiating skills along with vocabulary explanations and glossaries. If you like you can take a look at this section Negotiating of our forum where you will also have the opportunity to take part in the developing process. The negotiating and role play worksheets could become the hub of our entire system as they can be used in a great variety of situations. Think about it — you have to negotiate on a daily basis, be it at your job, in business or at home. To communicate your ideas effectively you need to be aware of how to use language in such a way that allows you to influence the decisions of other people. How do you achieve that? That's an interesting question, isn't it? Let's try to find the answer together by exchanging experiences and practising our negotiating skills. Here is an example manager reprimands employee for being late of a dialogue between an employee and a company executive. What do you think of this conversation? Can you suggest another direction the conversation could take?