We are here in Sin City, Las Vegas, Nevada. There are some changes to the city, some of the construction projects that were supposed to be completed by now have stopped due to lack of funds. You can see the effects of the economy even here, in Las Vegas. The casinos are not as full (which is really good for those of us who don't like crowded casinos...more chance to use the machines) and there appear to be several businesses that are no longer in business.
On the bright side, we were able to spend the last day catching up with our friends who live here. It was almost like a homecoming week, going from home to home, visiting all of our friends and catching up on news that is not usually discussed at length over the telephone.
The weather here was hot (upper 90's to low 100's) up until today. It got really windy last night and I don't believe the temperatures got much over 75 today. The main downside to the weather today is that I was unprepared for the cooler temperatures. I forgot to put sunscreen on my neck and have subsequently burned the back of my neck today (in the heat I don't forget to put on sunscreen). There were really big gusts of wind throughout the day, which made setting up tents in anticipation of the start of Las Vegas Bikefest quite a challenge. Despite the winds, the vendors were upbeat in anticipation of the start of the rally. Everyone pitched in to help each other, and the general consensus is that this was going to turn into a really good show. We even had some time to visit other vendor friends of ours today and catch up on what is happening with them and their business.
Steve got to show me around some of his old stomping grounds, and we were able to sneak in some time to wander around Las Vegas. It is nice wandering around, but I had forgotten how bad the drivers here could be. I ended up watching the road more than I have had to for a very long time. To think about it, we have not been in a large metropolitan city for several months. I forgot what it felt like to navigate through rush hour traffic. Even with the traffic, it was still wonderful to ride the bikes around and see some of the sights.
We did stop this evening at Mr. D's on Rainbow and got to watch again the "Globe of Death" show. I understand that this is the last evening that they are riding at this location so it was a lot of fun to watch the guys ride two motorcycles in this tiny globe. From the outside, the globe looks pretty darn big, but if you stuck your head inside the globe, you have to wonder why these two guys don't bonk their heads each time they pass in opposite directions in the globe. You get a whole new respect for the challenge and skill that is required to ride around inside basically a giant hamster ball... It was a fun show, and if you get an opportunity to watch these guys, do, they are very entertaining.
We also got to meet the World's Fastest Woman, Valerie Thompson. She is out of Scottsdale, AZ (small world when we are all in Las Vegas). She will be racing her drag bike the end of October and plans on going back to the Bonneville Salt flats next year to try to break her own record and get over 200 mph. Her current record is 187.42 mph (she is the 2x world land-speed record holder), so she is very close to breaking that 200 mph mark. We had the opportunity to chat with her a bit tonight, and she was very charming. We will be rooting for her to break that number next year at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
That is all for tonight. Tomorrow I will talk a bit about trying to decide what you want out of life... deep thoughts....Take care
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Weight Loss with the Core4 System
I wanted to provide a brief note on what the Core4 system will and won't do for you. (this is from personal experiences).
If you are serious about losing weight on the Core4 system, you really need to pay attention to what you are doing. You don't have to change what you eat in order to lose weight, but you will lose weight much faster if you do pay attention to what you consume. The healthier you eat, the faster the weight will come off. The advantage of the Core4 system is that you don't have to go out and purchase special foods to eat in order to lose that weight, you should just think about what it is you are eating and whether it is what you want in your body. It is important to keep focused on what you want to look like. Then those donuts (the second and third ones...) don't look as enticing.
It is also critical that you continue to drink water throughout the day. You cannot flush out your system without water, so water is a must. I have read that almost 70% of your body is water, so if you do not drink enough water, you are actually starving your body of a very important item.
I learned the hard way this week what happens to your body if you do not drink enough water. As you probably know, I was working at Street Vibrations in Reno,NV this week. It was pretty warm (low 90's) and very dry. I was so busy talking to people that I forgot to drink any water. By the end of each day I was not feeling very well. I also noticed (after several days) that my body did not flush itself of any toxins and I ended up feeling quite bloated and tired. I had been diligent about taking all of the Core4 products throughout the show, but noticed I was more tired and my clothes did not fit as lose. I had only consumed enough water to swallow the Accelerate in the mornings and the Flush at night. It did not occur to me that I was not drinking enough water throughout the day to keep my body working efficiently.
I realized that today because as we were driving down to Las Vegas Bike Week, I was drinking water like it was going out of style. My energy levels have been up today and the bloated feeling has gone. My belly and abdomen do not ache like they had been (I had attributed the ache to stress and heat and not eating much food, not lack of water) and my belt is now back to it's last notch. I also noticed that my face is not as splotchy as it was for the last few days. I had originally attributed the blotchy look to too much sun, but that cleared up once I drank at least my weight in water (1/2 ounce for every pound of body weight).
Going forward, I will make sure to have plenty of water to drink at shows (even if it means I have to run to the bathroom every hour or so) and I bet I will feel much better at the end of each day. I suspect that my sleeplessness in the evenings is also due to lack of water in my system. The upshot is, if you must skip on something while working, don't let it be the water for your body.
Take care and I will chat more later.
If you are serious about losing weight on the Core4 system, you really need to pay attention to what you are doing. You don't have to change what you eat in order to lose weight, but you will lose weight much faster if you do pay attention to what you consume. The healthier you eat, the faster the weight will come off. The advantage of the Core4 system is that you don't have to go out and purchase special foods to eat in order to lose that weight, you should just think about what it is you are eating and whether it is what you want in your body. It is important to keep focused on what you want to look like. Then those donuts (the second and third ones...) don't look as enticing.
It is also critical that you continue to drink water throughout the day. You cannot flush out your system without water, so water is a must. I have read that almost 70% of your body is water, so if you do not drink enough water, you are actually starving your body of a very important item.
I learned the hard way this week what happens to your body if you do not drink enough water. As you probably know, I was working at Street Vibrations in Reno,NV this week. It was pretty warm (low 90's) and very dry. I was so busy talking to people that I forgot to drink any water. By the end of each day I was not feeling very well. I also noticed (after several days) that my body did not flush itself of any toxins and I ended up feeling quite bloated and tired. I had been diligent about taking all of the Core4 products throughout the show, but noticed I was more tired and my clothes did not fit as lose. I had only consumed enough water to swallow the Accelerate in the mornings and the Flush at night. It did not occur to me that I was not drinking enough water throughout the day to keep my body working efficiently.
I realized that today because as we were driving down to Las Vegas Bike Week, I was drinking water like it was going out of style. My energy levels have been up today and the bloated feeling has gone. My belly and abdomen do not ache like they had been (I had attributed the ache to stress and heat and not eating much food, not lack of water) and my belt is now back to it's last notch. I also noticed that my face is not as splotchy as it was for the last few days. I had originally attributed the blotchy look to too much sun, but that cleared up once I drank at least my weight in water (1/2 ounce for every pound of body weight).
Going forward, I will make sure to have plenty of water to drink at shows (even if it means I have to run to the bathroom every hour or so) and I bet I will feel much better at the end of each day. I suspect that my sleeplessness in the evenings is also due to lack of water in my system. The upshot is, if you must skip on something while working, don't let it be the water for your body.
Take care and I will chat more later.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Another advantage of a Home Based Business
There is another advantage of having a "home based business". That is the ability to where you want, when you want. As you are probably aware, we are traveling around the country promoting our home based business, Hawgwash, LLC. At these shows we promote our various business opportunities and we also sell products directly to customers.
The neat thing about being able to travel is that you get to meet old friends when you least expect it. This week, we got to meet several of our Run for the Wall family members. Some of these people we have not seen for over a year (they did not attend this year's Run for the Wall). It was great to be able to take some time to catch up with friends that you didn't expect to meet. The flexibility of "home based business" is awesome.
Do not expect to always meet your friends at all of your events, but you do get to meet new people and make a lot of new friends. What then ends up happening is that as you go around doing your business, your friends will end up finding you. It is great to be in a different town and find people you know to talk with. We had a lot of fun talking with our RFTW friends and look forward to seeing them again sometime down the road.
In future blogs I will talk about some of the other people we have met along our travels. Some of them you may have seen on YouTube videos. Keep posted.
Take care...
The neat thing about being able to travel is that you get to meet old friends when you least expect it. This week, we got to meet several of our Run for the Wall family members. Some of these people we have not seen for over a year (they did not attend this year's Run for the Wall). It was great to be able to take some time to catch up with friends that you didn't expect to meet. The flexibility of "home based business" is awesome.
Do not expect to always meet your friends at all of your events, but you do get to meet new people and make a lot of new friends. What then ends up happening is that as you go around doing your business, your friends will end up finding you. It is great to be in a different town and find people you know to talk with. We had a lot of fun talking with our RFTW friends and look forward to seeing them again sometime down the road.
In future blogs I will talk about some of the other people we have met along our travels. Some of them you may have seen on YouTube videos. Keep posted.
Take care...
Saturday, September 26, 2009
My Weight Loss
I just wanted to update everyone that I am consistently using the last hole in my belt. It is really fun to be able to easily latch the belt there. I can't wait to punch another hole in my belt another half-inch away.
I don't feel like I am losing weight, but I can feel my clothing getting baggier and baggier. I found a picture of me taken earlier this year and I can really see the difference that the Core4 system has done for me. I showed the picture to some people here at the show and their comment was that they can really see my weight loss in my face.
That is really good news for me because I felt like I was getting a double-chin and was getting very self conscious about it. I can't wait to see what dress size I am when I get home. I also am looking forward to getting on the digital scale to see if I lost any additional weight.
I am not as concerned about my physical tonnage, but am much more pleased about how much jiggle is disappearing. I can run further with the dogs and not feel like all of me is bouncing all over the place. I run and don't feel that extra tire around my middle and hips bouncing up and down. It is nice to even trot quickly with the dogs and not feel that everyone is watching more of my blubber bounce. Pretty soon I am hoping to get back into my "thin" clothes, but I do know that will take more time. I seem to have a very "sticky" body, it doesn't want to get rid of the excess fat. The great news is that the Core4 is helping so much with getting that fat burned off, I am feeling so much better and not as self-conscious about my girth.
If you want to know more about what I am doing to lose the weight without really changing my diet (I had pizza for dinner again tonight and don't feel guilty at all) please check out www.irepcni.net/shooter. If you have any specific questions for me, please feel free to e-mail me.
Take care, and I will chat with you later.
I don't feel like I am losing weight, but I can feel my clothing getting baggier and baggier. I found a picture of me taken earlier this year and I can really see the difference that the Core4 system has done for me. I showed the picture to some people here at the show and their comment was that they can really see my weight loss in my face.
That is really good news for me because I felt like I was getting a double-chin and was getting very self conscious about it. I can't wait to see what dress size I am when I get home. I also am looking forward to getting on the digital scale to see if I lost any additional weight.
I am not as concerned about my physical tonnage, but am much more pleased about how much jiggle is disappearing. I can run further with the dogs and not feel like all of me is bouncing all over the place. I run and don't feel that extra tire around my middle and hips bouncing up and down. It is nice to even trot quickly with the dogs and not feel that everyone is watching more of my blubber bounce. Pretty soon I am hoping to get back into my "thin" clothes, but I do know that will take more time. I seem to have a very "sticky" body, it doesn't want to get rid of the excess fat. The great news is that the Core4 is helping so much with getting that fat burned off, I am feeling so much better and not as self-conscious about my girth.
If you want to know more about what I am doing to lose the weight without really changing my diet (I had pizza for dinner again tonight and don't feel guilty at all) please check out www.irepcni.net/shooter. If you have any specific questions for me, please feel free to e-mail me.
Take care, and I will chat with you later.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Writing Blogs and more on Waterless Technology
The hardest thing about writing a blog is having something to say that would be interesting and informative to your audience. I committed to writing in this blog daily, like a diary, but unlike a diary, I do not just want to write about my feelings for that day. I want the information I put down to be helpful or useful to somebody. My other blog I am SUPPOSED to be updating twice a week, but I have been woefully bad at that.
I am not a writer at heart, but I do have things that bounce around in my head that could be interesting for others to read. The most difficult part for me is putting those thoughts and ideas into some form of coherent format so everyone else understands what is going on. I also would prefer to have some type of flow from one blog to another.
I suspect that I am putting too much emphasis in getting the blog "right", but that is part of who I am. If I can't do a very good job at what I am doing, I wonder why I am doing it. Tough dilemma when you are learning to do something. By definition, as you learn, you will make mistakes. My problem is that I don't have a teacher looking over my work and critiquing. Hopefully if there is something you wish for me to pursue, you will let me know.
I did have a brief comment to work on following my brief article on waterless technology. I believe the products that we offer are top-of the line, but there are other products out there that are waterless. We have seen several different types of waterless products while here in Reno. When you are shopping for a waterless cleaning product, you need to watch for how much silicone may be in the product. Silicone will make your paint look great for a short period of time and make the paint feel slick, but then it becomes sticky and tacky and will cause dust to really stick to the vehicle. I have seen some products that once you start using it, you will have to continue to add more of the product on just to get the stuck dust off. The end result is a sticky or tacky mess on your bike or car. If you are looking for a truly waterless product, keep in mind that you don't want to have to keep putting product on your vehicle in order to get the stuck stuff off. UltraLuster Waterless wash will not leave a silicone residue on your vehicle, it will not leave a sticky finish and the dust will not stick. Once you have a coating of UltraLuster Waterless Wash on your vehicle, you do not need to re-apply the product for at least a month and up to 6 months (depending on driving conditions). In between cleanings you merely need to either dust off the vehicle, or do some spot-cleaning to remove any baked on bugs. The nice thing about our products is that you do not get any type of build-up, when you re-apply the product, it removes the old layer and puts down a new coating.
Anyway, I said this was going to be a short comment, but I wanted to let you start being aware of what may be in other waterless products. If you use a silicone based product, you will end up having to clean your vehicle more often with that product, but you are still helping the environment by not using up our valuable drinking water. Whatever products you choose to use, at least we are all working toward the same goals, saving the earth's most precious resource, water. If you want more information on what we have to offer in waterless technology, please check out our website, www.hawgwash.net.
Take care and I will chat with you all later.
I am not a writer at heart, but I do have things that bounce around in my head that could be interesting for others to read. The most difficult part for me is putting those thoughts and ideas into some form of coherent format so everyone else understands what is going on. I also would prefer to have some type of flow from one blog to another.
I suspect that I am putting too much emphasis in getting the blog "right", but that is part of who I am. If I can't do a very good job at what I am doing, I wonder why I am doing it. Tough dilemma when you are learning to do something. By definition, as you learn, you will make mistakes. My problem is that I don't have a teacher looking over my work and critiquing. Hopefully if there is something you wish for me to pursue, you will let me know.
I did have a brief comment to work on following my brief article on waterless technology. I believe the products that we offer are top-of the line, but there are other products out there that are waterless. We have seen several different types of waterless products while here in Reno. When you are shopping for a waterless cleaning product, you need to watch for how much silicone may be in the product. Silicone will make your paint look great for a short period of time and make the paint feel slick, but then it becomes sticky and tacky and will cause dust to really stick to the vehicle. I have seen some products that once you start using it, you will have to continue to add more of the product on just to get the stuck dust off. The end result is a sticky or tacky mess on your bike or car. If you are looking for a truly waterless product, keep in mind that you don't want to have to keep putting product on your vehicle in order to get the stuck stuff off. UltraLuster Waterless wash will not leave a silicone residue on your vehicle, it will not leave a sticky finish and the dust will not stick. Once you have a coating of UltraLuster Waterless Wash on your vehicle, you do not need to re-apply the product for at least a month and up to 6 months (depending on driving conditions). In between cleanings you merely need to either dust off the vehicle, or do some spot-cleaning to remove any baked on bugs. The nice thing about our products is that you do not get any type of build-up, when you re-apply the product, it removes the old layer and puts down a new coating.
Anyway, I said this was going to be a short comment, but I wanted to let you start being aware of what may be in other waterless products. If you use a silicone based product, you will end up having to clean your vehicle more often with that product, but you are still helping the environment by not using up our valuable drinking water. Whatever products you choose to use, at least we are all working toward the same goals, saving the earth's most precious resource, water. If you want more information on what we have to offer in waterless technology, please check out our website, www.hawgwash.net.
Take care and I will chat with you all later.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Continuing Water Shortages
For those of you on the East Coast right now, you are probably thinking that I am crazy to be discussing anything about water shortages. Actually, with the kinds of rains you are getting, they are not going to help the water shortage, the rain is coming down too thick and too fast and not falling in the right places to raise the water tables effectively.
As we were driving to Reno, NV we did go over Hoover Dam and boy was I shocked. The water level in Lake Mead is now set to drop below the May 1965 mark, which is very close to the trigger point for installing water restrictions in both Nevada and Arizona. Last Friday, the water level at Lake Mead was 1.096 above sea level. If the water level drops to 1,075 feet above sea level, restrictions will be put in place. The last time Lake Mead was at 1,075 feet was in 1937, when the reservoir was being filled for the first time. Lake Mead is a major reservoir for both Nevada and Arizona. There are other water sources, but those too are not fairing much better.
It is our responsibility to do what we can to conserve water. We are doing our part by promoting cleaning of vehicles (cars, boats, RV's, Motorcycles, airplanes, etc) by using waterless technology. Our waterless cleaning products allow you to clean your vehicle without using a drop of our precious drinking water. You spray the product onto the dirty vehicle, work it into the dirt and then buff off. The resulting shine is better than you could possibly expect, and the best part is that you don't have to go back over the vehicle and wax it to protect the paint. Our product, UltraLuster Waterless Wash puts down a UV protectant and Acrylic glaze. It is a better protectant than wax, Carnuba wax or otherwise could possibly be.
In as much time as it would take you to wash, rinse and dry your vehicle, you have washed, cleaned and protected your paint. By using UltraLuster you have now removed one extra step to protecting your car, you don't have to go back and wax the whole vehicle. What I like best about the UltraLuster is the fact that if you get tired cleaning, you can stop where you are at and not have any ill effects. Since you are not getting your whole vehicle wet, you can stop and pick up cleaning at a later time. The only downside would be that as you drive your vehicle around, some may notice the clean areas and the remaining dirty areas.
To date, the people using UltraLuster Waterless Wash have saved 30,577,500 gallons of water. That is pretty impressive. And, they are probably spending less time cleaning and protecting their car than all those other people using soap, water and then waxing their car.
If you have any questions about our UltraLuster products or any general questions, please feel free to e-mail me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com or check out our website, www.hawgwash.net.
As we were driving to Reno, NV we did go over Hoover Dam and boy was I shocked. The water level in Lake Mead is now set to drop below the May 1965 mark, which is very close to the trigger point for installing water restrictions in both Nevada and Arizona. Last Friday, the water level at Lake Mead was 1.096 above sea level. If the water level drops to 1,075 feet above sea level, restrictions will be put in place. The last time Lake Mead was at 1,075 feet was in 1937, when the reservoir was being filled for the first time. Lake Mead is a major reservoir for both Nevada and Arizona. There are other water sources, but those too are not fairing much better.
It is our responsibility to do what we can to conserve water. We are doing our part by promoting cleaning of vehicles (cars, boats, RV's, Motorcycles, airplanes, etc) by using waterless technology. Our waterless cleaning products allow you to clean your vehicle without using a drop of our precious drinking water. You spray the product onto the dirty vehicle, work it into the dirt and then buff off. The resulting shine is better than you could possibly expect, and the best part is that you don't have to go back over the vehicle and wax it to protect the paint. Our product, UltraLuster Waterless Wash puts down a UV protectant and Acrylic glaze. It is a better protectant than wax, Carnuba wax or otherwise could possibly be.
In as much time as it would take you to wash, rinse and dry your vehicle, you have washed, cleaned and protected your paint. By using UltraLuster you have now removed one extra step to protecting your car, you don't have to go back and wax the whole vehicle. What I like best about the UltraLuster is the fact that if you get tired cleaning, you can stop where you are at and not have any ill effects. Since you are not getting your whole vehicle wet, you can stop and pick up cleaning at a later time. The only downside would be that as you drive your vehicle around, some may notice the clean areas and the remaining dirty areas.
To date, the people using UltraLuster Waterless Wash have saved 30,577,500 gallons of water. That is pretty impressive. And, they are probably spending less time cleaning and protecting their car than all those other people using soap, water and then waxing their car.
If you have any questions about our UltraLuster products or any general questions, please feel free to e-mail me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com or check out our website, www.hawgwash.net.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The joys of Pet Ownership
Here I was planning on talking about the water shortage, and I encountered something funny (in my view) that I would rather chat about.
Some of you may not find this too funny, you have to have pets to really chuckle over this. If you are easily grossed out, I might suggest you do not read further. For those of you who could use a laugh, understand the joy of pet ownership, or are just curious, please read on. (I will discuss the water shortage in tomorrow's blog, and yes it will post tomorrow since I am writing it today...HA!!)
If you didn't know, we have two small dogs, one is a Yorkie, the other is supposed to be a Yorkie but is not...by a long stretch. Well, traveling in a motor home, you tend to have everything close and easily accessible, including trash and eating utensils. Since we drove over 1,100 miles from Ruidoso, NM to Reno, NV, we didn't stop to cook, but stopped at McDonald's for our meals.
I didn't realize how enticing McDonald's food was to our dogs, but as we were eating, these guys (in the generic sense) were staring at us with their button brown eyes, looking generally pathetic. We did not give them any of our food, that is not good for the dogs, but they were sure staring at us hard, wishing us to drop something, anything, on the ground for them to vacuum up. After we finished eating our meal, we did give the dogs their dog treats, so they were not left out of the eating.
What I didn't know (or think of) at the time was that the dogs had eyes for anything that may have some McDonald's scent/flavor on it. We threw our trash in the waste can, and the dogs were smart enough not to tear open the boxes the hamburgers and fries come in. What I didn't know is that the little Yorkie snagged a hand towel that we wiped our mouths and hands on.
I didn't know he grabbed the towel because he ate the whole thing. I know he ate the whole thing because the whole thing came out his other end yesterday afternoon. The poor little guy (I should NOT be feeling sorry for him, but I did) was struggling to go to the bathroom so with much dread, I bent over to provide assistance. My goodness, I kept pulling and pulling and pulling this white towel material out of his rear. I can only think he was trying to pre-package his poo. It was gross, but I couldn't stop laughing because he just kept waiting for me to help him out of his predicament. Finally the paper broke off and he was a happy puppy.
When I told Steve what happened, he almost bust a gut laughing. If I had timed it correctly, I probably could have gotten him to blow juice out of his nose he was laughing so hard. Our little Yorkie is none the worse for the wear, but you can bet that I am now very careful about the trash. I think we are going to invest in a trash can that has a lid the dogs can't open. We were lucky this time, who knows what else they can get into that wouldn't have such a simple solution.
So, a word to the wise, if you have pets, be very careful about where your trash is stored. Even if there is no evidence that they go sniffing around the trash, there is a very high likelihood that they will get into the trash. If they are very smart dogs, they will hide the evidence that they were trash digging, and then it may be too late. I am grateful that our Yorkie has a very good digestive tract.
Tomorrow you will get to read a little more about my thoughts on our current water shortage and what we are doing to help. Until then...
Some of you may not find this too funny, you have to have pets to really chuckle over this. If you are easily grossed out, I might suggest you do not read further. For those of you who could use a laugh, understand the joy of pet ownership, or are just curious, please read on. (I will discuss the water shortage in tomorrow's blog, and yes it will post tomorrow since I am writing it today...HA!!)
If you didn't know, we have two small dogs, one is a Yorkie, the other is supposed to be a Yorkie but is not...by a long stretch. Well, traveling in a motor home, you tend to have everything close and easily accessible, including trash and eating utensils. Since we drove over 1,100 miles from Ruidoso, NM to Reno, NV, we didn't stop to cook, but stopped at McDonald's for our meals.
I didn't realize how enticing McDonald's food was to our dogs, but as we were eating, these guys (in the generic sense) were staring at us with their button brown eyes, looking generally pathetic. We did not give them any of our food, that is not good for the dogs, but they were sure staring at us hard, wishing us to drop something, anything, on the ground for them to vacuum up. After we finished eating our meal, we did give the dogs their dog treats, so they were not left out of the eating.
What I didn't know (or think of) at the time was that the dogs had eyes for anything that may have some McDonald's scent/flavor on it. We threw our trash in the waste can, and the dogs were smart enough not to tear open the boxes the hamburgers and fries come in. What I didn't know is that the little Yorkie snagged a hand towel that we wiped our mouths and hands on.
I didn't know he grabbed the towel because he ate the whole thing. I know he ate the whole thing because the whole thing came out his other end yesterday afternoon. The poor little guy (I should NOT be feeling sorry for him, but I did) was struggling to go to the bathroom so with much dread, I bent over to provide assistance. My goodness, I kept pulling and pulling and pulling this white towel material out of his rear. I can only think he was trying to pre-package his poo. It was gross, but I couldn't stop laughing because he just kept waiting for me to help him out of his predicament. Finally the paper broke off and he was a happy puppy.
When I told Steve what happened, he almost bust a gut laughing. If I had timed it correctly, I probably could have gotten him to blow juice out of his nose he was laughing so hard. Our little Yorkie is none the worse for the wear, but you can bet that I am now very careful about the trash. I think we are going to invest in a trash can that has a lid the dogs can't open. We were lucky this time, who knows what else they can get into that wouldn't have such a simple solution.
So, a word to the wise, if you have pets, be very careful about where your trash is stored. Even if there is no evidence that they go sniffing around the trash, there is a very high likelihood that they will get into the trash. If they are very smart dogs, they will hide the evidence that they were trash digging, and then it may be too late. I am grateful that our Yorkie has a very good digestive tract.
Tomorrow you will get to read a little more about my thoughts on our current water shortage and what we are doing to help. Until then...
Monday, September 21, 2009
On the way to Reno Street Vibrations
Hi everyone,
We are happily bouncing down the road, on our way to Street Vibrations in Reno, NV. The weather for traveling has been good to us so far. Last night, on our way from Ruidoso, NM we saw some pretty intense storms, but were lucky enough to pass between them.
If you look at a map, you would have figured that we would head up I-25 to I-40 on to Reno. We didn't do that, but took some secondary roads across New Mexico and Arizona to get to I-40. The driving was nice, we missed the storms that were probably hitting Albuquerque and Gallup. We are currently on I-40 just outside of Kingman, AZ. We expect to be in Reno late this evening in anticipation of setting up the booth tomorrow morning.
I did promise to provide you information on riding around the Ruidoso, NM area. As we were driving around, I was struck by how many museums and galleries were in the area. There is also a lot of information (including a museum) on Billy the Kid. On our way out, we passed through a wonderful little town called Lincoln. It is the historical home of Billy the Kid. He had been held at the Lincoln Courthouse but escaped from there. This town holds an annual event that features the "last escape of Billy the Kid". As I drove through the town, I was amazed by all the historical markers along the way. It looked like almost every building had an historical marker placed in front of it. Next year, I want to spend time wandering around this well preserved town and read all they have to say about Billy the Kid.
The riding around Ruidoso was beautiful (what we saw of it) and I would highly recommend spending time in the area. Be sure to bring a lot of warm weather since Ruidoso is around 7,000 feet and definitely bring rain gear. Even last year we got at least one rain shower during the rally.
We will be stopping for a little bit now, I will post more when we get back on the road. Talk to you later...
We are happily bouncing down the road, on our way to Street Vibrations in Reno, NV. The weather for traveling has been good to us so far. Last night, on our way from Ruidoso, NM we saw some pretty intense storms, but were lucky enough to pass between them.
If you look at a map, you would have figured that we would head up I-25 to I-40 on to Reno. We didn't do that, but took some secondary roads across New Mexico and Arizona to get to I-40. The driving was nice, we missed the storms that were probably hitting Albuquerque and Gallup. We are currently on I-40 just outside of Kingman, AZ. We expect to be in Reno late this evening in anticipation of setting up the booth tomorrow morning.
I did promise to provide you information on riding around the Ruidoso, NM area. As we were driving around, I was struck by how many museums and galleries were in the area. There is also a lot of information (including a museum) on Billy the Kid. On our way out, we passed through a wonderful little town called Lincoln. It is the historical home of Billy the Kid. He had been held at the Lincoln Courthouse but escaped from there. This town holds an annual event that features the "last escape of Billy the Kid". As I drove through the town, I was amazed by all the historical markers along the way. It looked like almost every building had an historical marker placed in front of it. Next year, I want to spend time wandering around this well preserved town and read all they have to say about Billy the Kid.
The riding around Ruidoso was beautiful (what we saw of it) and I would highly recommend spending time in the area. Be sure to bring a lot of warm weather since Ruidoso is around 7,000 feet and definitely bring rain gear. Even last year we got at least one rain shower during the rally.
We will be stopping for a little bit now, I will post more when we get back on the road. Talk to you later...
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Last day for the Golden Aspen Rally
Tomorrow will be the last day for the Golden Aspen Rally in Ruidoso, NM. Today was considerably dryer than the last few days. We only had a few rain showers prior to noon. The day warmed up past 60 (very nice for us desert rats...) and the sun was out more than 10 minutes at a time.
I did not have time to get any riding in today, mainly because we were open by 10 am (it rained prior to opening) and we didn't close until 8 pm. Tomorrow will also not be a riding day, we open at 9 and the rally officially ends by 2 pm. I have mixed feelings about the rally's end. The people here are wonderful, but it is nice to move onto a new location. Even with the rain most of the event, it is very nice not roasting in over 100 degree weather.
As we work this show, I am also thinking about our friends in Kerrville, TX. They are having the Run for the Wall "unofficial" reunion the same weekend as the Golden Aspen Rally. One of these years, we may be lucky enough to attend the "unofficial" reunion. Otherwise the only time we get to see our Run for the Wall friends is during the RFTW event in May. Hopefully they all had a good reunion and will begin the trek safely home tomorrow.
This will be a relatively short blog, it is already getting late and I have been running the generator past our 9 pm curfew. Tomorrow after 2 pm we hit the road for Reno Street Vibrations. I will be able to blog in more detail about other topics as we go bouncing down the road towards Reno, NV. If any of you are in the Reno area next week, please come by to see us. We will be located at the Reno Harley-Davidson Dealership in Reno. If you need more information on the specific location, please feel free to contact me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com or check out www.hawgwash.net for details.
Until tomorrow...
I did not have time to get any riding in today, mainly because we were open by 10 am (it rained prior to opening) and we didn't close until 8 pm. Tomorrow will also not be a riding day, we open at 9 and the rally officially ends by 2 pm. I have mixed feelings about the rally's end. The people here are wonderful, but it is nice to move onto a new location. Even with the rain most of the event, it is very nice not roasting in over 100 degree weather.
As we work this show, I am also thinking about our friends in Kerrville, TX. They are having the Run for the Wall "unofficial" reunion the same weekend as the Golden Aspen Rally. One of these years, we may be lucky enough to attend the "unofficial" reunion. Otherwise the only time we get to see our Run for the Wall friends is during the RFTW event in May. Hopefully they all had a good reunion and will begin the trek safely home tomorrow.
This will be a relatively short blog, it is already getting late and I have been running the generator past our 9 pm curfew. Tomorrow after 2 pm we hit the road for Reno Street Vibrations. I will be able to blog in more detail about other topics as we go bouncing down the road towards Reno, NV. If any of you are in the Reno area next week, please come by to see us. We will be located at the Reno Harley-Davidson Dealership in Reno. If you need more information on the specific location, please feel free to contact me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com or check out www.hawgwash.net for details.
Until tomorrow...
Friday, September 18, 2009
Golden Aspen Rally
Hi everyone. I know I have not been posting again, but I really do have a good reason. We are currently at the Golden Aspen Rally in Ruidoso, NM. We are dry camping (camping without electric, water or sewer) and have a very small window in which to run our generator. Running a generator can be a noisy experience, so we make sure our generator is turned off by 9 pm each evening. The problem with blogging is that I need the generator to keep the laptop running, the show ends at 8, so I have less than an hour to eat, take care of the dogs and then get the laptop running. Last night, we didn't get out of the booth until after 8, so my time got really squished.
Right now, I am in our booth, just before the show opens and trying madly to let everyone know what is going on. I guess I will have to beg to get inside the event early (we are provided electric to our booth, but we can't get into the facility until 8 am) and talk to you all before they open the doors for the general public. I feel badly about not blogging more regularly, but will continue to work on getting more consistent. Please bear with me a little longer so I can get a pattern going even when I am working at shows.
Now, if you are wondering about the Golden Aspen Rally, it is a really great rally. As I mentioned earlier, it is sort-of indoors (there is a huge covered rodeo arena and they put sides on it so we are basically indoors without any heating or cooling) and a lot of fun. The people here are awesome, the weather has not been so nice.
It has rained most of the day for the last two days. Hopefully the weather will clear up later today. On Wednesday (the first day of the rally) we got a massive rain and hail storm and luckily no damage to any vehicles or people. I want the rain to stop because it is dangerous to the riders coming to the rally. I have no doubt that the motorcycle rides can handle the rain, my bigger concern is the 4-wheelers who have problems driving in the rain bumping into the motorcycle riders. As far as I know, there have been no problems with bikes in these wet conditions, but I really want the rain to stop because the riding around here is beautiful.
The rally is held in Ruidoso, NM, up in the mountains. Even if it is over 90 in El Paso, it is much cooler up here. This is a great rally to attend, they have a large selection of vendors, the promoters are careful not to have more than 2-3 duplicate type products so there is a wonderful selection and not all the same stuff. The prices of the products, food included, are very reasonable. I would like to discuss the riding around here, but as I said, it is raining, and I have to work the booth. I will look up some of the riding around here and let you know what is available in my next blog (hopefully tomorrow morning).
My next blog should not be as disjointed as this one is. I am madly trying to get information out to you before I have to work at the booth.
Right now, the gates are open, people are streaming into our area, so I need to get to work. I look forward to talking to everyone later. Take care.
Right now, I am in our booth, just before the show opens and trying madly to let everyone know what is going on. I guess I will have to beg to get inside the event early (we are provided electric to our booth, but we can't get into the facility until 8 am) and talk to you all before they open the doors for the general public. I feel badly about not blogging more regularly, but will continue to work on getting more consistent. Please bear with me a little longer so I can get a pattern going even when I am working at shows.
Now, if you are wondering about the Golden Aspen Rally, it is a really great rally. As I mentioned earlier, it is sort-of indoors (there is a huge covered rodeo arena and they put sides on it so we are basically indoors without any heating or cooling) and a lot of fun. The people here are awesome, the weather has not been so nice.
It has rained most of the day for the last two days. Hopefully the weather will clear up later today. On Wednesday (the first day of the rally) we got a massive rain and hail storm and luckily no damage to any vehicles or people. I want the rain to stop because it is dangerous to the riders coming to the rally. I have no doubt that the motorcycle rides can handle the rain, my bigger concern is the 4-wheelers who have problems driving in the rain bumping into the motorcycle riders. As far as I know, there have been no problems with bikes in these wet conditions, but I really want the rain to stop because the riding around here is beautiful.
The rally is held in Ruidoso, NM, up in the mountains. Even if it is over 90 in El Paso, it is much cooler up here. This is a great rally to attend, they have a large selection of vendors, the promoters are careful not to have more than 2-3 duplicate type products so there is a wonderful selection and not all the same stuff. The prices of the products, food included, are very reasonable. I would like to discuss the riding around here, but as I said, it is raining, and I have to work the booth. I will look up some of the riding around here and let you know what is available in my next blog (hopefully tomorrow morning).
My next blog should not be as disjointed as this one is. I am madly trying to get information out to you before I have to work at the booth.
Right now, the gates are open, people are streaming into our area, so I need to get to work. I look forward to talking to everyone later. Take care.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
My Ongoing Weight Loss Saga
I know I haven't been talking much about my weight loss. That is not because I haven't been losing weight, I have just had so much else to do and talk about, I plain forgot to keep you all updated.
I am now really down to my last belt notch. I had been able to access the last hole off and on for some time now, but finally, when I buckle my belt, I consistently go into that last hole. My actual weight has been holding, but I am re-discovering my waistline.
My hips are not quite as big also. I notice that in particular when I am chasing the dogs around the house or running with them outside. I don't notice the bouncing of the lard (blubber, or whatever else you want to call that extra fat stuff) along my hips and butt anymore. Please don't get me wrong, I don't run like runners, I just run with the dogs occasionally. I am not and never will be a runner, so don't think I am taking up a new past time.
Anyway, even though I have not been the most diligent at using the Cheat (I keep forgetting it at home if we eat out), I have been taking at least one Flush nightly and taking at least one Accelerate daily. I started drinking the Lean again as a breakfast replacement and am pleased with how I feel in the morning. I don't feel as sluggish as I used to. I have found that taking one Accelerate in the morning and one around 1 and 2 pm keep me going better than drinking 3-4 cups of coffee. I still have my mug of coffee in the morning, but that is now more for the taste than for the caffeine. My energy levels overall have been much better than they have in the last 6 months. And..that is on the heels of our 5 month travel schedule.
Usually, after a month on the road, I need to rest for several days before I can get motivated and start working again. This time, I never really stopped working. I was a little slower, but I was not sleeping for a solid day. Losing weight and being on the Core4 has definitely helped me.
If anyone has questions about the Core4 system and what it may be able to do for you, please feel free to e-mail me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com, or check out our website at www.hawgwash.net and click on the Core4 button. I am currently working on a new website, dedicated purely to the Core4 products, www.weightrenegade.com. It is currently pointing to our Core4 site, but hopefully in the next few days, I can get the revised site up and running.
Take care and I will continue to keep you posted on my continued weight loss.
I am now really down to my last belt notch. I had been able to access the last hole off and on for some time now, but finally, when I buckle my belt, I consistently go into that last hole. My actual weight has been holding, but I am re-discovering my waistline.
My hips are not quite as big also. I notice that in particular when I am chasing the dogs around the house or running with them outside. I don't notice the bouncing of the lard (blubber, or whatever else you want to call that extra fat stuff) along my hips and butt anymore. Please don't get me wrong, I don't run like runners, I just run with the dogs occasionally. I am not and never will be a runner, so don't think I am taking up a new past time.
Anyway, even though I have not been the most diligent at using the Cheat (I keep forgetting it at home if we eat out), I have been taking at least one Flush nightly and taking at least one Accelerate daily. I started drinking the Lean again as a breakfast replacement and am pleased with how I feel in the morning. I don't feel as sluggish as I used to. I have found that taking one Accelerate in the morning and one around 1 and 2 pm keep me going better than drinking 3-4 cups of coffee. I still have my mug of coffee in the morning, but that is now more for the taste than for the caffeine. My energy levels overall have been much better than they have in the last 6 months. And..that is on the heels of our 5 month travel schedule.
Usually, after a month on the road, I need to rest for several days before I can get motivated and start working again. This time, I never really stopped working. I was a little slower, but I was not sleeping for a solid day. Losing weight and being on the Core4 has definitely helped me.
If anyone has questions about the Core4 system and what it may be able to do for you, please feel free to e-mail me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com, or check out our website at www.hawgwash.net and click on the Core4 button. I am currently working on a new website, dedicated purely to the Core4 products, www.weightrenegade.com. It is currently pointing to our Core4 site, but hopefully in the next few days, I can get the revised site up and running.
Take care and I will continue to keep you posted on my continued weight loss.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Review of 4-Corners Rally and beyond
Wow, I can't believe it has been 10 days since I last posted here. We have been busy, busy, busy. As I am sure you all know, last time I blogged, we were set up for Ignacio Bike Week (formerly the 4-Corners Rally).
This year we were blessed with wonderful weather. It rained Friday late afternoon/evening and that was it. Last year we had rain almost every day, lasting almost all day long. This year we even had relatively cool weather too. It got into the upper 80's or low 90's, but at night it cooled off to at least mid- to low 60's. Great riding weather, great rally weather.
Attendance was pretty good at this show. the town of Ignacio did everything they could to make it a biker friendly event. The town people were very welcoming and many came out to visit the vendors.
The bike parade on Sunday was great, many people came out to watch the (Steve included) bikes first ride up the main street, and then return back on the main street. If you have time next year during Labor Day, I highly recommend spending some time in Ignacio, Colorado for the annual Ignacio Bike Week.
We managed to find our way home early Tuesday, the day after Labor Day. We got to spend a whole 5 days at home (wooo whooo) madly catching up on mail, weeding, cleaning, washing, grocery shopping, etc. It is amazing how much work needs to be done when you get home, even though we are in our home away from home. I did get a reasonable amount of weeding done, but there is still quite a bit more to accomplish.
We also managed to find time to attend the weekly Bike Night at Arizona Joe's on Thursday night. If you are in Apache Junction (AJ), come on by for the Thursday night bike night. We will not be there for the next 3 weeks, but they are still holding the bike night in our absence.
We are on the road again. We left late Sunday and are already bouncing through New Mexico on our way to the Golden Aspen Rally in Ruidoso, NM. I am already looking forward to the cooler weather that the higher elevations offer. It has been in the mid-100's at home. As much as I don't mind the heat, when you are working outside, anything over 90 is just plain hot...and don't try to convince me about the "dry heat". Arizona is still in monsoon season, so we actually have 2-digit humidity which for us desert rats, is quite muggy...
I will chat at you guys more later. It is good to be back in the saddle again.
Until next time....
This year we were blessed with wonderful weather. It rained Friday late afternoon/evening and that was it. Last year we had rain almost every day, lasting almost all day long. This year we even had relatively cool weather too. It got into the upper 80's or low 90's, but at night it cooled off to at least mid- to low 60's. Great riding weather, great rally weather.
Attendance was pretty good at this show. the town of Ignacio did everything they could to make it a biker friendly event. The town people were very welcoming and many came out to visit the vendors.
The bike parade on Sunday was great, many people came out to watch the (Steve included) bikes first ride up the main street, and then return back on the main street. If you have time next year during Labor Day, I highly recommend spending some time in Ignacio, Colorado for the annual Ignacio Bike Week.
We managed to find our way home early Tuesday, the day after Labor Day. We got to spend a whole 5 days at home (wooo whooo) madly catching up on mail, weeding, cleaning, washing, grocery shopping, etc. It is amazing how much work needs to be done when you get home, even though we are in our home away from home. I did get a reasonable amount of weeding done, but there is still quite a bit more to accomplish.
We also managed to find time to attend the weekly Bike Night at Arizona Joe's on Thursday night. If you are in Apache Junction (AJ), come on by for the Thursday night bike night. We will not be there for the next 3 weeks, but they are still holding the bike night in our absence.
We are on the road again. We left late Sunday and are already bouncing through New Mexico on our way to the Golden Aspen Rally in Ruidoso, NM. I am already looking forward to the cooler weather that the higher elevations offer. It has been in the mid-100's at home. As much as I don't mind the heat, when you are working outside, anything over 90 is just plain hot...and don't try to convince me about the "dry heat". Arizona is still in monsoon season, so we actually have 2-digit humidity which for us desert rats, is quite muggy...
I will chat at you guys more later. It is good to be back in the saddle again.
Until next time....
Friday, September 4, 2009
Another great reason for having your own Home Based Business
For the record, just because you may be interested or have a "home based business", it doesn't mean that you have to physically stay at home to work your business. We are all over the country promoting our home-based business for a good portion of the year (by choice).
As I have discussed before, there are quite a few good reasons for why you want to be in business for yourself. Obviously, the income you make can be as much or as little as you wish. The income is determined by how hard you work for it. The only limitation is you.
Some of the not-so-obvious benefits of being self employed is getting to meet the neatest people. Yesterday we met a gentleman who is a Silver Star recipient and earned two Bronze Stars. His name is Al, and he served two tours in Vietnam. We had a wonderful discussion with him and got to hear some great stories about some of his time in Vietnam. This man served our country when serving in Vietnam was not appreciated, and he is not resentful in any way, shape or form. He is a true warrior, not taking anything for granted, but grateful to have been given the opportunity to serve his country and help his fellow soldiers.
Al told us the story of how he earned the Silver Star and how he felt that he was just doing what he was trained to do. He believes that he had done nothing different than anyone else would have done. What I find interesting is that when talking with most of the soldiers who have earned these type of commendations, they feel that at the time they did nothing spectacular. These soldiers are very humble about the service they performed. I guess that is what makes them true heroes, they only see what needs to be done for their fellow man, not what might happen to them.
After having the opportunity to talk with Al for some time, he very kindly asked if Steve could accompany him (Al) in the motorcycle parade in Ignacio on Sunday. Al has lead this ride for several years, and felt strongly that Steve should also ride with him. This is an awesome honor for Steve and again proof about how big Al's heart truly is. For those of you who may be in the 4-Corners area for the rally this Sunday, please come out to see Al and Steve leading the annual 4-Corners Rally Motorcycle Parade through the town of Ignacio, CO. We hope to see some of you there.
As I have discussed before, there are quite a few good reasons for why you want to be in business for yourself. Obviously, the income you make can be as much or as little as you wish. The income is determined by how hard you work for it. The only limitation is you.
Some of the not-so-obvious benefits of being self employed is getting to meet the neatest people. Yesterday we met a gentleman who is a Silver Star recipient and earned two Bronze Stars. His name is Al, and he served two tours in Vietnam. We had a wonderful discussion with him and got to hear some great stories about some of his time in Vietnam. This man served our country when serving in Vietnam was not appreciated, and he is not resentful in any way, shape or form. He is a true warrior, not taking anything for granted, but grateful to have been given the opportunity to serve his country and help his fellow soldiers.
Al told us the story of how he earned the Silver Star and how he felt that he was just doing what he was trained to do. He believes that he had done nothing different than anyone else would have done. What I find interesting is that when talking with most of the soldiers who have earned these type of commendations, they feel that at the time they did nothing spectacular. These soldiers are very humble about the service they performed. I guess that is what makes them true heroes, they only see what needs to be done for their fellow man, not what might happen to them.
After having the opportunity to talk with Al for some time, he very kindly asked if Steve could accompany him (Al) in the motorcycle parade in Ignacio on Sunday. Al has lead this ride for several years, and felt strongly that Steve should also ride with him. This is an awesome honor for Steve and again proof about how big Al's heart truly is. For those of you who may be in the 4-Corners area for the rally this Sunday, please come out to see Al and Steve leading the annual 4-Corners Rally Motorcycle Parade through the town of Ignacio, CO. We hope to see some of you there.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
How to let people know you are in business - Part 3
This is an ongoing thread about how to be noticed once you get into a business opportunity (second income) for yourself. A few days ago, I continued the conversation about talking with people about your business. In this post, I would like to explore other avenues of getting noticed without spending a lot of money.
Everyone knows that advertising will get you noticed...mostly, but if you just start up in business for yourself, there is a high probability that you do not have a lot of cash to throw into an advertising budget. If you do, then great, otherwise, I would like to provide some other ideas on how to get your business noticed without a huge expenditure.
If you have started a home-based business, you want people to know you are actively in business. Another way to get noticed is to print up your own business cards. That way, when you start a conversation with someone, and then need to leave, you can provide them with your business card and some basic information for them to get in contact with you. You do not need to go to a formal Printer to have your first set of cards made up. You can purchase business card blanks (in 8 1/2 x 11) that can be printed at home. You can even use a basic word processing program like Microsoft Word to create those first cards.
On your cards, be sure to have your name and phone number that you can be reached at. You may want to include some type of picture or logo (if you have one) on your card, but don't go overboard. This card is a first impression for the person you are handing it to, you want it to be neat, not cluttered, and easy to read (even for us old folks). Only hand out the cards if the person you are talking to is genuinely interested in your opportunity. I have found that if you just hand out cards willy nilly, those same cards tend to get thrown out, which then became a waste of your time and materials. You may also have on the card a website to get more information on the business you are in, and an e-mail address. Keep in mind, there are still a lot of people out there that are not necessarily computer savvy. They may prefer a phone conversation to an e-mail conversation. On the flip side, I have met some that would much rather communicate through e-mail than talk on the phone. Again, be sensitive to the people you are talking with.
I do not recommend that you put your home address on the card unless you are willing to host anyone and everyone winding up to your home. If you have a shop at the house, then that would be different, but personally, I would rather give my home information out only to very specific people. You really don't know where your business card will end up, you don't want just anyone picking up a card that may have been discarded and then have that person appear at your home. (Just a word of caution)
Another way to advertise is to print up (again from home) some basic flyers about your business and what it can do for prospective clients. You can go into your local grocery stores and get the blessing from management to place your flyer (or flyers) on the community bulletin board. You would be amazed with how many people read those flyers. If you do that, be sure to go back on at least a weekly basis to be sure your flyer is still there. You cannot assume that the flyer will always be in the same spot. Be sure to provide a means for people to take the information, they will probably not want to write everything down, so you may want to create some type of tear-off at the bottom of the flyer so people can tear-off your name and number to contact you at a later time.
Depending on your business, try to submit flyers to the stores that may benefit from your services. If you are involved somehow with motorcycles, then go to the local motorcycle shops and ask to post your flyers. Usually, the management has a community board or kiosk for information and flyers. Again, be sure to check periodically if you need to add more flyers. You may also talk to those same local businesses about what you have to offer, perhaps they can also send you in the right direction, or offer someone who would be interested in your services. You never know what can happen if you don't talk to people.
In the next few days I will cover some other ideas on inexpensive advertising... until then...
Everyone knows that advertising will get you noticed...mostly, but if you just start up in business for yourself, there is a high probability that you do not have a lot of cash to throw into an advertising budget. If you do, then great, otherwise, I would like to provide some other ideas on how to get your business noticed without a huge expenditure.
If you have started a home-based business, you want people to know you are actively in business. Another way to get noticed is to print up your own business cards. That way, when you start a conversation with someone, and then need to leave, you can provide them with your business card and some basic information for them to get in contact with you. You do not need to go to a formal Printer to have your first set of cards made up. You can purchase business card blanks (in 8 1/2 x 11) that can be printed at home. You can even use a basic word processing program like Microsoft Word to create those first cards.
On your cards, be sure to have your name and phone number that you can be reached at. You may want to include some type of picture or logo (if you have one) on your card, but don't go overboard. This card is a first impression for the person you are handing it to, you want it to be neat, not cluttered, and easy to read (even for us old folks). Only hand out the cards if the person you are talking to is genuinely interested in your opportunity. I have found that if you just hand out cards willy nilly, those same cards tend to get thrown out, which then became a waste of your time and materials. You may also have on the card a website to get more information on the business you are in, and an e-mail address. Keep in mind, there are still a lot of people out there that are not necessarily computer savvy. They may prefer a phone conversation to an e-mail conversation. On the flip side, I have met some that would much rather communicate through e-mail than talk on the phone. Again, be sensitive to the people you are talking with.
I do not recommend that you put your home address on the card unless you are willing to host anyone and everyone winding up to your home. If you have a shop at the house, then that would be different, but personally, I would rather give my home information out only to very specific people. You really don't know where your business card will end up, you don't want just anyone picking up a card that may have been discarded and then have that person appear at your home. (Just a word of caution)
Another way to advertise is to print up (again from home) some basic flyers about your business and what it can do for prospective clients. You can go into your local grocery stores and get the blessing from management to place your flyer (or flyers) on the community bulletin board. You would be amazed with how many people read those flyers. If you do that, be sure to go back on at least a weekly basis to be sure your flyer is still there. You cannot assume that the flyer will always be in the same spot. Be sure to provide a means for people to take the information, they will probably not want to write everything down, so you may want to create some type of tear-off at the bottom of the flyer so people can tear-off your name and number to contact you at a later time.
Depending on your business, try to submit flyers to the stores that may benefit from your services. If you are involved somehow with motorcycles, then go to the local motorcycle shops and ask to post your flyers. Usually, the management has a community board or kiosk for information and flyers. Again, be sure to check periodically if you need to add more flyers. You may also talk to those same local businesses about what you have to offer, perhaps they can also send you in the right direction, or offer someone who would be interested in your services. You never know what can happen if you don't talk to people.
In the next few days I will cover some other ideas on inexpensive advertising... until then...
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