The Shopping Nazi

The true test of any product or service is the amount of repeat business it gets. New customers will come and go, but the ones that keep coming back is the true test of the business’s merit.

Repeat business is dependent upon that first impression. Rarely does a business get a second chance to WOW a customer to the point when they will return. Most of the time a customer does not return to that business because there was no overwhelming WOW factor.

Years ago we went with Tmobile as our cell phone carrier, because they offered a great deal on a nice flip phone for my wife and myself. Over the years they have always given us good service at a reasonable price. So we keep using them for our cell phone carrier. Read the rest of this entry »

It is a universal principle that if you are a good steward to what you have you will gain more. Those who are bad stewards will lose what they have. You see these people who never seem to have anything nice. They don’t take care of what they have, or they are replace what was stolen from them.

I hang my head low in shame over the amount of stuff I have had stolen or lost over the years. I must admit it was through carelessness on my part. I either did not lock locks or I left valuables in open tempting people to come by and steal from me. Read the rest of this entry »

As much as everyone of us does not like to think about death, it will happen. We are going to leave behind family members, friends, and stuff. What we want our family to do with that stuff after we are gone is a very important issue.

I am not big on stuff. I realize that I am only going to be on this planet for a very short time. So I am not into collecting a lot of stuff. What concerns me when I am gone is my family and how they will live when I am gone. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, I shared, with you, some of the great benefits I have experienced since I moved to Idaho 15 years ago. Today, I want to share with you the top 7 businesses that impress me the most when I went to the state capitol building as part of annual Buy Idaho event.

Idaho Candy Company has been around since 1901. They are not a world player that competes with Nestle or Mars candies, but they do offer some tasty treats. The Cherry Cocktail and Idaho Spud are two of my favorites.

Dream Chocolate is another candy company. Well not just another candy company. They specialize in great chocolate bar with a custom label. Can you think of a better way to impress a future employer than by attaching a candy bar with your picture on it to your resume. Read the rest of this entry »

My dad always said, “Charity begins at home”. I believe this also holds true when it comes to any form of economic recovery. It is not the large corporations that will create jobs and make the United States a world economic leader again. It will be the small individuals and the business that is started in spare bedrooms and garages which will have the biggest affect on our economy.

When I was originally offered work in Idaho, all I knew about Idaho was that it was where potatoes were grown. Since then I learned that Idaho was much much more.

The first thing I noticed about Idaho was the drivers on the road were so polite. In the general people talked slower. Not as slow as people south of the Mason Dixon Line, but definitely slower than California. In addition to many other great factors, living in Idaho lowered my stress level and cost of living. Read the rest of this entry »

Some time back a friend was attending the parent/teachers conference. He and his wife were told their child had a problem reading comprehension. The next day, he called me. He could not wrap his mind around why reading comprehension was so important.  His child read out loud quite well. The child even put emotion in what he was reading.

I proceeded to explain that it was not the reading, but the translation of what those words. In fact deep reading comprehension is understanding what the author is trying to say. Without good comprehension the world could take advantage of his child at he grew up. Read the rest of this entry »

During the first three month of the new year I visit at least one trade show per week. In each one, I have meet over a dozen different people who were pitching their networking products. Some people refer to it as multi level marketing.

I first came across a networking marketing scheme when I was in high school. A friend of the family talked me into selling Amway products. Today, it is hard not to find at least network marketing scheme for any product category.  There are even a few out there for services, like cleaning and computer repair.

If you ever set through one of their sales presentations, it sounds so easy to make a lot of money. The products are suppose to sell themselves. If you want to make the big money, all you need to do is get other people selling those products under you.

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Anyone can waste money by eating out. But there are time you just need to get out of  the kitchen and out of the house. A mini vacation you might say.

My wife and I try to get out at least once a week, to sit down together some place and share a meal. No agenda, just sitting there talking small stuff. As a general rule we try to find a restaurant  that we have not visited, or one that it has been a long time, since we were there.

Moon’s Kitchen is on that I saw on through a friend on Facebook. Since my wife and I were going to be in downtown Boise, it seemed like a good place to good for breakfast.

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Yesterday, when I was at the gym. It was there while I was warming up on the treadmill. At the same time I was flipping through the channels on the little television, in front of me. Just about every channel had some commercial, infomercial, or discussion about living a better life through better physical or mental health.

Last Sunday, at church, our pastor proudly announced, during his sermon that he had lost 25 pounds last year. His goal for 2010 was to get in even better physical health.

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While at a local coffee shop, I walked by a table where there a portion of the local newspaper lying on the table. The lead article on that page was, “More Local Programs to help you get healthy in 2010″.

As I walked away it got me thinking that about all the advertisements I have seeing around getting healthy. I know that every January millions of people flock to gyms, Weight Watchers and countless other get healthy resources. Then by March it is something that is being paid for, but not used.

About a week ago, a friend came up to me, with a big smile on her face. She proceeded to tell me that she had just came from the gym. She was feeling great. This was her first visit to the gym since she got the membership several months ago. Did I mention that she live four block from the gym!

That particular gym’s membership starts at $24.95 per month. So if she had not gone to the gym for say, three months. She had thrown away $74.85.

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