Today large amount of finance is tied down as capital expenditure in business enterprises. The percentage of capital expenditure is huge in utility industries like oil and gas for valid reasons. Elsewhere in service industry and small business enterprises there is a rising trend in capital expenditure without justification. Let me give you do and don’t on how to control capital expenditure in business:

What is Capital Expenditure?

Before charting a road map of do and don’t in capital expenditure, let us first find out what exactly fits the term capital expenditure which is often shortened as Capex. Any purchase & improvement of land, purchase & construction of buildings, purchase and installation of plant & machinery, tools & equipments, furniture & fittings come under the definition of Capex. These assets are classified as fixed assets in finance. After the initial phase of acquisition, fixed assets are to be maintained; this results in revenue expenditure. When it is necessary fixed assets are to be overhauled; this results in Capex once again. There are similar words used in business meaning overhaul: improvements, upgrades, refurbishing, extension, and face-lift are some of the most common.

Do List

1. Undertake Capex where the useful and economic life of the underlying fixed assets can be extended. Assume you have a plant and it is almost worn-out; if you can extend its usefulness might as well spend money to do so rather than buying a new one

2. When you experience rise in your scale of business operations you should sanction relevant Capex

3. If there is an industry wide use of a particular fixed asset that you do not possess then it is better you approve Capex. A good example is the acquisition of state-of-art technology in media and communication

4. When your competitor acquires a specific asset that can tip the scale in his favour in terms of sales and operations then it is advisable you do Capex urgently

5. If you have a drawn-out Capex plan to be rolled over a number of years, you must undertake relevant expenditure even though such Capex is not urgent. A good example is re-furbishing done in tourist hotels and cabanas. Often this type of expenditure is known as planned capital expenditure

6. Replacement of fixed assets could also be necessitated by events where the business has no control. An example is loss of fixed assets caused by fire, theft or natural disaster

7. Go for Capex where the assets you intend to acquire would generate cosmic energy which in turn can be translated into enhancement of business image, improvement of staff morale and finally growth in business prospects. This we call cosmics. As you are aware cosmics are present in everything you do including your business

Don’t List

1. Never approve Capex where you are adding fixed assets that cannot be used in near future; this superfluous acquisition can be seen in many businesses that fail within a short period of their opening

2. Any wasteful Capex must be avoided absolutely. Most small business enterprises get into this situation because they do not evaluate the purchase decision carefully. More than that they do not plan out the purchase of fixed assets in advance

3. Never acquire un-productive assets; once again this is one of the main causes in failure of small business. An ostensible example is the construction of parapet wall and other security paraphernalia that are not meant to aid in production and operations

4. Do not be overly carried away by value of aesthetics in business; it is acceptable that you should beautify your environ in the business place. But always look at the trade-off between utility and aesthetics

5. No Capex if that only serves only your ego. Grandstanding is good in politics but never in business. If you are egoistic, you will squander your finance, let go of your business opportunities and finally compromise your future.

Muthu Ashraff

Cosmic Adviser

Mobile : +94 777 265677

E-mail : cosmicgems@gmail.com

Web : http://www.cosmicgemslanka.com

Blog : http://cosmicgemslanka.com/blog/

Most small business enterprises are run without a fitting business logo. When you ask a small business entrepreneur why he does not have a logo he would have a stock reply: I have no time to bother about petty affairs. More than a big business, it is the small business that requires a logo badly. Let me enumerate chief reasons why small business needs a logo.

1. Representation: A logo is similar to an owner or an employee. It represents small business to the people in the outside world. A business logo is ascribed living qualities. In commercial activities a business logo is just a party as the owner and his staff

2. Recognition: For a small business, logo functions as a brand. Commercial enterprises immediately recognise a brand; so do the customers, creditors, lenders, bankers and other business actors. A successful small business needs an appropriate business logo; vice versa, to succeed, a small business needs recognition and a business logo

3. Identity: A logo for a small businessperson is basically an identity card or a passport. He can just show the logo and gain entry into many places. Besides, a logo is unbreakably connected with the name of the business and the staff employed therein

4. Image Projection: Undoubtedly, a business logo projects the image of a small business to the outside world much more effectively than promotions and advertisements. It is true that you need both for initially getting into the attention of customers and clients. But once you achieve your goal in getting attention sustaining it requires a well-designed logo

5. Communication: Logo is not just a symbol, form, or lines and letters; it is more than that. A business logo essentially is part of business policy. It communicates the mission and vision of the business; its policies and practices; its commitment to uphold ethical principles of trade. Moreover, business logo conveys company strategy and directions to parties dealing with that business

6. Uniqueness: Every logo is unique, true enough. Yet there is something else in uniqueness for a small business. One with a well-crafted logo stands out among large numbers of small business enterprises; besides it automatically gets up-graded into the class of big business

7. Generates Responses: What kind of a response a logo elicits from those who look at it. Every day you see thousands of business logos. So what is the fuss about a logo doing something for a small business? The answer is very simple. For a small business a logo gets feelings of attachment, sense of appreciation, positive emotions, and rational calculations and finally “let’s try out this company” attitude in the onlookers

8. Transcends Time: Most business logos can outlive its creators and / or users. In the case of a small business it is doubly important because in small businesses there are more chances of changing hands or rapidly being wound up. Whatever happens, a logo transcends time and is passed into new owners and successors like a baton in a relay race

9. Fountain of Cosmics: Logos have inherent cosmic power; you can feel this cosmic power when you look at famous business logos; Apple, Coca-Cola, Google, IBM, Lego, Microsoft; all these are fountains of cosmic energy. These logos not only generate cosmic energy but translate it into cosmic power in the form of sales, profit, goodwill and a groundswell of positive feelings and emotional attachment to the underlying products. Conversely a business logo that is designed without taking into considerations of inherent cosmics could turn out to be very destructive to its owners and users. A good example is the Nazi Swastika that finally destroyed everyone connected with it.

Muthu Ashraff

Cosmic Adviser

Mobile : +94 777 265677

E-mail : cosmicgems@gmail.com

Web : http://www.cosmicgemslanka.com

Blog : http://cosmicgemslanka.com/blog/

As a business person your main concentration is focused on improving your business and improving your cash-flow. There are so many blogs on the subject of cash-flow. Let me be different and give you a functional model on how to improve your cash-flow.

In a business there are three major functions: Sales, Operations and Purchases. Let us do reverse engineering and start with the sales function, meander our way through operations and arrive at the purchases.

Sales

1. Look at your sales model; you have cash sales which is now becoming something rare due to recession. In cash-sales you raise invoice, receive cash and deliver goods and that is all over. As a matter of prudence, you should give incentives to your customers who pay by cash. Customers would give currency, bank cheque or credit card. If the sales are on credit card it is the same process but the merchant who services your credit card takes out a portion of your sales income. You should negotiate with your merchant better terms for you. Whatever the form cash-sales help improving your cash-flow tremendously

2. A credit sale is a different ball game; you part with the goods but the payment is received after a lag of time. Here you have to control the following areas to improve your cash-flow:

2.1 Never overtrade with a single customer; broaden your customer base

2.2 Do not stick to uniform credit terms; be flexible in extending period of credit depending on the customers and situations

2.3 As you deliver goods see the bill/invoice is also delivered; for large amount insist on acknowledgement

2.4 Segment your customers into: fast payers, prompt payers, slow payers and non-payers. Always offer rewards to those who pay well before the due date or promptly on due date. As regards to the slow payers send them reminders at-least couple of weeks before due-date and keep on chasing after the due date. You should not deal with the non-payers except in getting your money back

Operations

Operational expenses can take two forms: internal and external; internal relates to payment of salaries, wages etc. while external covers areas such as utility and other bought-in services. Follow the guidelines to ensure healthy relationship with staff and expense creditors:

1. Pay employee salary and wages on the dot

2. Pay external bills only on the due date; never pay before it falls due

3. Get whatever discount you can have on prompt payment of the external expense bills

Purchases

Like in sales purchase is a critical area where your money is tied down. Ensure the following in improving your cash-flow:

1. Plan your purchase function very well; time of purchase and level of purchase should correspond to smooth functioning of your production/process department. Over-stocking is as bad as non-availability of input goods as and when required. Institute good inventory management system and ensure that no waste, theft or leakages take place

2. Negotiate best terms of your purchases in price, delivery and related matters

3. Monitor payables so that you are never behind payment

4. And you must make payment only on the date due or just prior to the due date in case of holidays etc..

Cosmics

In addition to the above three major functions, cosmics should also be taken into considerations. The above three are mechanical and business like functions. Cosmics, on the other hand, work internally and outside the realm of mechanics. You must make your office bathing in cosmic energy. There are several measures that you can take to harness cosmic power; one easy way is that you can keep gems & crystals to get that extra zing. Some of the gems & crystal recommended include: Garnets in several hues: chiefly red, orange, yellow, pink and violet; green coloured Aventurine, Calcite and Tourmaline.

Muthu Ashraff

Cosmic Adviser

Mobile : +94 777 265677

E-mail : cosmicgems@gmail.com

Web : http://www.cosmicgemslanka.com

Blog : http://cosmicgemslanka.com/blog/

Of late, partnership form of business has become vogue in several countries. Partnerships are being formed straddling into several economic sectors including trade, industry and agriculture. Let us find out why you need a business partner now whereas you have been going solo for all these years.

Firstly, let me define what partnership is: A partnership is basically an arrangement between two or more persons who will act together in furthering their mutual interest in any trade or venture or business with a view to share profit or loss. A cardinal principle in partnership is that every partner is bound by the mutual interest which is sacrosanct. We call this as common interest. Therefore, it behoves partners to show interest in a partnership and avoid any conflict of interest. However, there is no reason to expect that every partner will have the same level of interest. Some partners take active part while there are instances where you see a non-active sleeping partner.

You need a partner for your business due to the following reasons:

1. Capital: In majority cases partnership is formed because one person alone cannot contribute the entire capital requirements of a business. Lack of capital is a perennial problem impacting initiation and growth of businesses. Even though we see sole proprietors abound in many sectors their scale of operations is fairly limited. Their growth opportunities are stunted. Therefore, it is better to bring in partners who can contribute additional capital requirements

2. Fixed Assets: There are instances where you require a property in the form of land or building for the conduct of a business. Instead of blocking your money you can co-opt the owner of such land or building as a partner in the business. Sometimes you may require a particular plant & machinery. Here again without resorting to bank loan or leasing you can persuade the owner to be partner in your business

3. Knowledge: Another reason for formation of business partnership is specific knowledge required by a business that is lacking there. In this regard let me submit to you two issues: One is that we are today in what we call as knowledge based economy. The other is that entrepreneurship is not necessarily knowledge based. You are an entrepreneur. If a particular knowledge base is vital necessity in your business then either you can resort to hire it or bring in the guy who has such knowledge as your partner. In highly competitive areas such as technology it is better to form partnership rather than opt for hiring

4. Skills: Yet another reason for bringing a business partner is skillset. You are running a business on government tenders and you are often confronted with your inability to liaise with government officials. You are too pre-occupied with the nitty – gritty of the operations and have not developed the liaison angle. Sincerely, you do not like to hang around with scheming officials. In this case you are well advised to get a guy or gal, the latter the better, to liaise with those who work behind the panelled tables in government departments

5. Connections: This is one of the smart reasons to take in that new partner who has wide contacts in the sector where you do your business. Contacts not only give you real business they can also give you what we call as business leads, that is, hints of potential business elsewhere in the sector

6. Companionship: A behavioural reason forming partnership is the need for companionship with another person for the sake of having someone else in a business. In some cases companionship turns out to be too vital that, business collapses without one. Companionship canopies contribution in areas such as business advisory, lightening business load, helping out in legal and administrative matters or simply just to be around. Some businessmen prefer an elderly person while some like to have a fair lady around

7. Cosmics: As you know cosmics are aspects residing within you shaping and influencing your business though these are un-seen and un-noticed by you. If your business demands cosmics that you do not possess it is better for you to get someone else who has this cosmic energy. For example in service and entertainment industry, you need a partner who has the charisma and can captivate hearts and minds of your customers by his mere presence.

Muthu Ashraff

Cosmic Adviser

Mobile : +94 777 265677

E-mail : cosmicgems@gmail.com

Web : http://www.cosmicgemslanka.com

Blog : http://cosmicgemslanka.com/blog/

Many of you are engaged in some form of business and employ quite some assets in generating revenue. Basically, you use solid assets and soft assets. There is another category of assets which you use but do not understand how these are functioning. These assets are known as “Cosmic Assets”. Let me explain solid assets, soft assets and cosmic assets:

Solid Assets

These are hard assets employed in a business and have several features such as tangibility, physical dimension, durability and reality. Land & buildings, plant & machinery, tools & equipment, inventory, vehicles, furniture & fittings are key assets under this category. Most of these have re-sale value. However, these assets are fairly illiquid in the sense that there is no ready or over the counter market.

Soft Assets

Softs assets are divided into four groups:

1. Financial Assets: In contrast to solid assets, financial assets do not convey any sense of durability or reality. Though there is tangibility of sort, soft assets can vary in terms of physical appearance. Currency or stock/bond certificate has physical appearance whereas balance in a bank has a notional appearance. As regards to liquidity, money and bank balances are very liquid while share/bond certificates could range between liquid to illiquid due to market conditions. Financial assets have realisable value

2. Intangible Assets: As soft assets intangibles do not have a ready price tag. Other than that these assets do have physical characteristics in the form of drawings, models etc. Intangibles of a business include: Technology, Patents, Brands, Logos, Names, Designs, and Copyrights. All these are now protected as Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). In order to make Intangibles soft assets you have to ascribe monetary value. This is done in two ways:

I. When a business is a going concern intangibles could be valued and shown in the financial statements of a business as an off-balance sheet item

II. When a business is sold it is gone concern and intangibles are valued and collectively called as goodwill

3. Human Pool: People employed in a business is an important soft asset. There is no doubt that they generate the cash-flow for the business

4. Customer Relationship: A business exists in an environment where people inside the business interacts with customers outside a business to generate sales and realise revenue. Hence, customer relationship is an important soft asset

Cosmic Assets

Cosmic assets are interwoven in a business. You neither recognise these cosmic assets nor understand how to harness their cosmic energy. The lucky business gets it right when the cosmic assets start functioning on their own. That is why 90% of businesses are not successful. If you understand and evaluate cosmics you can employ the cosmic assets to your own advantages.

Let me list below few forms in which cosmic assets are seen:

1. Steven bought a furniture business; first thing he did was to get rid of the wooden table the previous owner was using. Within few months the business crashed. Steven still does not know that the table brought the business

2. Business name of a jeweller has the letter “m” in a prominent manner; his business is thriving even during recession

3. The name and emblem of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has cosmic power that last for several decades

4. Old and tested Cuticura soap and talcum powder are sold since 1865 relatively unchanged.

Muthu Ashraff

Cosmic Adviser

Mobile : +94 777 265677

E-mail : cosmicgems@gmail.com

Web : http://www.cosmicgemslanka.com

Blog : http://cosmicgemslanka.com/blog/

Megan Fox is the toast of media for quite some time. On June 8, she became the heart throb of the world when she appeared in the Premiere of the Film “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” in Tokyo wearing a fantastic purple coloured gown revealing her right thigh downward. I looked at this picture and the subsequent ones taken in Seoul and Berlin premiers of this Film. These pictures reveal high cosmic power of Megan Fox, the fascinatingly beautiful American actress. I share my thoughts with my readers. Let me pay courtesy to http://www.huffingtonpost.com from whose pages I have culled the pictures of Megan Fox.

Megan Fox, Bio Snippets

Megan Denise Fox was born on May 16, 1986 in Rockwood, Tennessee. A mix of genetics from Irish, French, Italian and Cherokee make this Celebrity slim and beautiful. Though she grew up in a poor family she was able to finish her high school and at the same time learning the brass tacks of acting and dancing. Standing tall at five and half feet, she is already billed as the sexiest women by magazines such as Maxim and FHM. Her lifestyle of having tattoos in her body has raised eyebrows in the normally permissive Hollywood. According to one count there are nine of these tattoos; one in the inner right forearm depicting the face of late Marilyn Monroe is worthy of note. “Tattoos are not limited to sailors” she has said” “It’s a fine art; I find it beautiful; I like it”. She has been too frank about sex as well, admitting that “I have the libido of a 15 year old boy” (Emphasis added). In another instance she has said “I really enjoy having sex, and that’s offensive to some people. Women are quickest to call other women sluts, which is sad”. http://www.meganfox.net

Her first film “Holiday in the sun” was released in 2001 launching her into one of the successful career as a star. Her break came through with “Transformers” released in 2007. She has acted in few other films as well. Her latest hits are “Jennifer’s Body and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”. She is a talented artist with a matching beauty to go with it.

Cosmics of Knee

According to physiology the knee is of an unstable structure. It supports the body weight of a person when he stands, walk about, run or kick a football. The knee connects the thigh bone and shin bone popularly known as shank. But cosmically, the knee downward to the foot is a source of basic cosmic energy that keeps a person alive. The earth energy is generated from the right leg and the water energy is made from the left leg. These energy flows are transported via the knees to the entire body. The knee reveals a lot of secrets of a person. Let us analyse the cosmic power of the knee of Megan Fox looking at the following pictures:

Megan Fox: Picture one

1. The Knee is shaped like the face of a horse; you can see the glow of the knee-cap which has slight caving in both right and left side at the top; the aura of reddish – crimson flows out and in association with the colour of purple dress amplifies a majestic look. A horse trader would immediately look at this sign in the knee of any horse

2. She is undoubtedly connected to a horse in terms of cosmics. Fast and action films are her forte. She would drive happiness in using her footwork in dancing and in action scenes of films. She is an excellent rider of horse, if she mounts one. Besides, her interest in tattoos is also partly driven from this simile

3. She is remotely connected to royalty via her father; my guess is it must be either Cherokee or to the French aristocracy

Megan Fox: Picture Two

4. In order to test this finding I looked at her left knee shown in Picture two. You can notice the same features being replicated in her left knee as well with a remarkable difference. The left knee gives out more reddish rays than her right knee. Moreover the shank of her left leg is straighter. It means she has high sexual power with a combination of earth, water and fire bestowing raw power of a 15 year old boy. She also has more male power which translates into her infatuation with actress such as late Marilyn Monroe and styling with actress like Angelina Jolie

Megan Fox: Picture Three

5. A side view of both her knees with right leg forward in full grace show a well rounded shape accompanied with a slight dip in the lower part of right knee and more than compensating flourish in the upper knee demonstrating that she has a life of rag to riches

Megan Fox: Picture Four

6. Finally, the same picture seen from the front in an upside down V formation of the knees sets alarm bells ringing. You can notice that physiologists may be damned right. Knees are of unstable structure. She must guard against any injury to one of her knees, specially the left one. Let me once again bring the horse simile. Most horses end their life with broken knees.

You can contact me via E-mail:cosmicgems@gmail.com or Webpage http://www.cosmicgemslanka.com

Muthu Ashraff

Cosmic Adviser

Taking a shower or bath is one of the best ways to relax yourself after a hard days work. Most of you get into the shower turn the tap and start wetting yourself head on. Some do wear scalp cups but let the water fall on your body straight away. Some of you do a quick shower before plunging into the swimming pool. Similarly when you go for a bath you get into tub pronto with your full body. Immersing the entire body immediately under a shower or inside the bath is very much counter-productive to your original idea of relaxing and harmonizing your cosmic energy. Of course you clean yourself from the dirt and sweat. But, in that process you have lost vast quantum of cosmic energy. In this blog post I am sketching the steps you should follow in taking a shower or bath. Stick to this and your cosmics work best for you.

A)  Steps in taking shower or bath

1. Turn on the shower and wet you right leg knee downward; if you are getting into the bath tub place your right foot inside the tub and pour water from the right knee downward

2. Now let the shower head spray water on to your left leg knee downward; if you are getting into the bath tub place your left foot inside the tub and pour water from the left knee downward

3. Turn the shower head to spray the water to your right thigh from the hip downward; if you are in the bath tub pour water over the right thigh from hip downward

4. Now let the shower head spray water on to your left thigh from the hip downward; if you are in the bath tub pour water over the left thigh from hip downward

5. Turn the shower head to spray the water to your right shoulder from the neck downward; if you are in the bath tub pour water over the right shoulder from the neck downward

6. Now let the shower head spray water on to your left shoulder from the neck downward; if you are in the bath tub pour water over the left shoulder from the neck downward

7. Turn the shower head to spray water to your face; if you are in the bath tub pour daub water over your face. At this point your chest, back and stomach all would receive springing of water

8. The last step is to wet you head if you so wish.

B)  Steps in applying soap or shampoo

Applying soap, liquid wash or shampoo is on the reverse order of the steps outlined for taking shower or bath.

1. If you are wetting your head start with shampooing your scalp gently and mildly with fingers massaging your head working backward from your forehead.

2. If you are not wetting the head, start applying soap to your face, ears and neck but without harming your eyes

3. Thereafter apply soap to your left shoulder neck downward

4. Now apply soap to your right shoulder neck downward

5. You should then apply soap to chest, back and stomach area

6. Thereafter apply soap to your left thigh hip downward

7. Now apply soap to your right thigh hip downward

8. Thereafter apply soap to your left leg knee downward

9. Now apply soap to your right leg knee downward

Once you have finished applying soap and shampoo follow the steps outlined under (A) “Steps in taking shower or bath” to rinse your body off the shampoo and soap buds.

C)  Steps in wiping your body dry

1. If you have wetted your head, start with the head gently wiping head without hurting your hair

2. If you have not wetted the head, then start dabbing the towel gently on your face, ears and neck. Care should be taken regarding your eyes.

3. Go on to wipe the right shoulder dry neck downward

4. Now turn to your left shoulder and wipe it dry from neck downward

5. Run the towel to your chest, back and stomach and dry these areas

6. Go on to wipe the right thigh dry hip downward

7. Now turn to your left thigh and wipe it dry from hip downward

8. Go on to wipe the right leg dry from knee downward; work up to your toes

9. Now turn to your left leg and wipe it dry from knee downward; work up to your toes

Once this is over you will feel that you are very much relaxed with abundant cosmic energy within you.

You can contact me via E-mail:cosmicgems@gmail.com or Webpage http://www.cosmicgemslanka.com

Muthu Ashraff

Cosmic Adviser