Secondary Income

More and more of my customers are discovering the advantage of having a secondary income.  I have had business associates in the past bring this subject up, but I have never explored the concept before.

Near the end of last year I had a customer come in and we got around to talking about the shape of the construction industry.  Toward the end of the discussion, he mentioned that he was involved in a MLM company and his income from that business was now greater than the income from what he considered his primary business.  He has been involved with a company, Mona Vie, for just over 5 years.  2 years ago, his wife quit working.  His side business was netting them more than she made.  Now, 2 years later, the secondary income is enough to sustain their household easily.  And it will continue to be residual income.  He still runs the contracting business because he loves the work and doesn’t want to retire.  So, intrigued,  I have been looking at a few of the MLM companies around.

I had been exposed to nutritional drinks by my relatives a few years ago, due to an injury I sustained in 1986.  Along with a strict nutritional regimen, Physical Therapy, Chiropractic, Acupuncture, hydro therapy, Magnetic therapy and a host of other therapies (hot tubs work the best for me), None had made a discernable difference.  Then I was introduced to eXfuze Seven+   This drink made a measurable difference.  So I have now made the plunge into MLM.  We’ll see how it goes……..

eXfuze meeting

The first eXfuze meeting in the Sacramento Valley area is coming up.  We will meet in Vacaville in the Comfort Suites.  The room is open at 6:30p, but will start at 7pm.

If you want more info on what the commotion is all about, go to http://www.exfuze.com/keithhartsuiker and look around.  You can catch my eXfuze blog at http://exfuze7plus.spaces.live.com 

Getting in on the very first floor of a company is really fun and really frustrating.  They are still working some of the kinks out, mainly due to the speed in which eXfuze is taking off.  If you are interested in joining a company that’s still on the ground floor and working to build a skyscraper, contact me about eXfuze.

2009 at a fast walk

2008 was truly a year of ups and downs.  As I spoke to my fellow business owners, we all talked about how the business started to show an upswing just to down turn and level off just about where it started.  As a whole, this meant that the top and the bottom numbers kept changing, but the average stayed about the same.  Commercial construction stayed fairly even through all of this.  The residential market is what hit bottom and brought the average to it's lowest point.
2009 seems to be the year that we had hoped 2008 would be.  We still are having our ups and downs, but the yearly profits are showing an increase over 2008.  We admit to having sharper pencils though.  This cutting of all wasted advertising and overhead is what is making this a better year.  It was too easy in the years up to 2007 to spend money on advertising and promotions and not have the time to really check on their effectiveness.  This has definitely changed how we think about ad campaigns.

How NOT to run your business

As part of the daycare changes at Mom’s on a Mission, the exit door locksets needed to be changed.  I needed to change them from a lever entry set with a separate deadbolt, to a combined lever and deadbolt that will allow the lever to open the deadbolt at the same time.

So I went on the net to see my options.  Most of these are commercial sets and look like what you see in most motels.  Boxy and functional looking.  Not quite Eloise acceptable.  However, there were a couple of manufacturers that make attractive sets.  So I surfed the net to find out where I could find them local.  Oh yeah.  good luck with that.  No stores listed or showed them online.

So.  Like most slow thinking consumers, I stopped by Home Depot the next day.  I looked in their lockset section.  6 entry sets that all looked alike and were on every entry door in Sacramento.  So I walked up to “Customer Service” and asked for the commercial locksets.  I was told to go to the Door section and try to find someone to help me.  I actually found someone fairly quickly.  They told me to go up to the “Contractor Service” counter.  I went back to the other side of the store and waited in line there.  They sent me to the “Customer Service” counter and told me to ask for the special order lockset catalog.  I went to the other side of the store and waited in line there.  (If this lockset wasn’t required, I would have left before this)  “Customer Service” told me that the Contractor Counter would have to order any commercial locksets.  I went back to the Contractor counter and grabbed the guy that I had talked to by his orange apron.  He assured me that “Customer Service” had the Schlage catalog.  He walked with me over to the “Customer Service” counter, went behind to the shelves and pulled out their catalog.  After 20 minutes looking through the catalog, I found 2 “single action” locksets.  $410.00 each and fairly ugly to boot.  I was in there over 2 hours doing this!

Back home, I went on the net, determined to find these locksets for under $400 and anywhere but Home Depot.  Building supply stores have been chased out of the area and the few left have very little information online.  I called a few and they said that they could order them.  I called a few hardware stores (Ace) and they didn’t know what I needed.  I called Lowes and they said that they had a few.  right, them and home depot.  Orchard Supply didn’t know.  Well, I did find a place online that I could order them from.  Less than $400, but not returnable…?

Eloise wanted to go the Capital Nursery, so I thought that I would stop in a few places on the way.  As expected, OSH didn’t have any.  I walked into Lowes and there was a guy walking through the lockset dept.  “Sure”, he said.  He led us over to where they had 5 different “single action” entry sets.  Wow!  They had them AND he knew where they were.  And in less than 2 minutes.  These are Baldwin locksets too.  Good looking and great quality too.  AND WELL UNDER $300 APIECE.  Since we needed more than 1, he offered to key everything we needed to match.  We picked out 2 entry sets and then we picked out 2 more deadbolts, 2 privacy lever sets, 1 door knob and 5 lever sets.  This way all of the downstairs doors match the brushed nickel lever sets. Much better quality and looks and for less than what it  would have cast to order 2 entry sets from Home Depot and had them keyed alike.

So.  Don’t run your business like Home Depot, Natomas.  Run your business like Lowes, Citrus Heights.  Saving the money was wonderful, but I would have paid the Home Depot price and not looked any further, if they would have had the service I received at Lowes.

Winter is here

Winter is surely here.  The daytime temperature is averaging below recommended painting temperatures.  Make sure that the surface temperature is above 50 degrees too.  If you are working inside on an unoccupied structure, use heaters to insure proper drying.  Do not leave your pumps outside in cold weather, even for a long lunch.

Do NOT leave any material in an airless that is left outside for any length of time.  Even in the back of your truck covered with a tarp.  If the material reaches freezing in a closed system, it WILL crack the cylinder and/or sleeve.  I see it happen every year.  Remember that the pump saver, conditioner, etc are NOT freeze resistant.  Pump saver PLUS is.  It will be labeled as an anti-freeze if it is freeze resistant.  Otherwise it will freeze at 32 degrees!!  If you think that you must leave anything in you pump, go to the auto parts store and buy some auto anti-freeze, mix it with water and use that.

My advise is to clean out your machine after every use and store it clean and dry or with an anti-freeze/pump conditioner in it.  But always leave the prime valve open.  Every day.  All year.  It's safer and smarter (and cheaper in the long run).

I'm hoping that you are having a very MERRY CHRISTMAS.  And we are all praying for a bright and prosperous New Year.

VOIP revisited

After using magicJack for over 2 months now, I highly recommend it.  My original mJ ended up connected at our house.  We have started using it for our house phone.  We will phase out all regular landlines soon.  I found out that I can connect the base phone to mJ back to the wall and have mJ phone service in all of the phone jacks in the house.  So, I got another magicJack for the business.I have now cut my AT&T service to the minimum.  Commercial phones are expensive time wise, so this will save me around $30.00 per month in local and short distance alone.  The sound quality is really good.  I have rarely gotten a short echo for 1 second or less (on my side only) when the internet is really busy at our house.  As in all 5 computers are on the net.  It doesn't keep me from understanding anyone and I have been told that the other party doesn't hear anything.

Check them out.  www.magicjack.com

Have some time on your hands this weekend?

OK. OK. I know that I said that I would never join a fantasy football league. I lied. I have a friend that I have never seen (he reads this blog) that has bugged me for a month to join their league. You see, He knew by my last name that I'm Dutch and theirs is a league of the same. Due to the sarcastic nature of their wit (?), they don't want mere mortals (thin skins) to participate. They needed 12 teams to get granted their own league. (because no other league will have them?) As of opening day of the NFL, they had 10 teams. After enduring a few emails of blistering invitations, I agreed that I would sign on (it's free of course, I mean, they are Dutch) if they got an 11the team and couldn't dredge up a 12th. So last week, I got the email that I was hoping to not get. They had 11. So I agreed, only if I don't have to read up on players, do anything on a timely basis, cheer for the Cowboys or Raiders OR participate in the drafting of the players. I gave him permission to run my draft and I would accept any players I got. I was informed that my conditions were granted and that the draft was automatic. I just had to sign up, pick a team name, look at draft options and check any players that I knew that I would like to have. Or not.

I signed on (up) and created the "Pumas". Our league is "Dutch Treat". I clicked on everything automatic. Then I went to the automatic draft and looked at how they had the names listed (ranked). I selected JT O'Sullivan because he is inexperienced in the league and is GROSSLY underrated. I like Kurt Warner 'cause he is old and reliable. I like Roethlisberger 'cause his name is harder to spell than mine. They became my 1st, 2nd and 3rd picks for quarterbacks. I don't like either of the Manning brothers and Tony Roma is a Cowboy. So let them fight over them. I like Favre, but in and out of retirement is goofy. I picked Frank Gore for running back and Larry Fitzgerald for Wide Receiver and the Steelers defense. The rest, I don't know or care much about. As long as Dallas and Oakland lose, I'm good. Hopefully the 49ers and Redskins win.

So. All set up for week 3, I turned on the telly and fired up the laptop. I was hoping to figure out how one wins or loses at this. Scoring at this is interesting to say the least. How do you cheer when the running back you have is plowing up the defense team that you have?? Hope that he runs for 110 yards but then drops the ball so that your defense can recover the fumble?? How schizophrenic can one be?? So... you have to gather points from all of the players from all of the teams that you have listed as "active". I had 9 players on 9 different teams. So you don't watch all of your players. (well, I guess that some nuts do) I watched the Niners, 'cause I like them and kept the laptop on my "game" against the other team. cool. You can "chat" with the other team "owners" during the games over the website. Which means "verbal abuse" in this league. No wonder that they don't let "sensitive" races into this league. My game was give and take through the first quarter. I was losing. Then in the 2nd quarter, he lost his best runner/receiver/scorer to injury. I was leading at the half. Then in the second half, the Pumas really got down to business. At the close of Sundays games, I was done for the week with a score of 109 !!!!! The Footballiers (English as a second language?) were at 55 points and only had his kicker for Monday Night Football. No way can a kicker get close to 54 points. So now they want to find a new owner for my team. Typical Dutchmen.