Attending Business Marketplaces

As some of you may know, today we participated in a small (relatively) business marketplace in our community. The local grocery store has started offering this opportunity for the small, independent businesses in the area. One of the best things about this type of situation is that you get to meet many other small home-based business people that are in your area. In case you are unsure of what I am talking about, this marketplace is a collection of local people (vendors) who put up tables and sometimes tents displaying items or opportunities for sale. You will also find that some of the regular store-front businesses will put out a tent and table in order to draw more attention to their "brick and mortar" place of business.

This type of marketplace is almost like a mini-business meeting. People who may have a home-based business put out tables and display their wares or opportunities. You see an amazing array of what people are doing, and you see some really neat ideas that you would not normally see in one location. Our event included Pre-Paid Legal associates presenting the Pre-Paid Legal Opportunities, there were people who offered a card sending service (if you hate sending thank you or greeting cards, you give that information to this company and they do the work for you...), there were jewelery artists, sculptors, painters, home decor and various food services. It was wonderful to see, even in this very tight economy, so many people working on their own small business, striving to be successful.

One of the best reasons for participating in this event is the impromptu networking that takes place. During periods when the crowds thin, several business owners wander around to other areas to see what is being offered. They may get ideas on how to improve or modify their businesses, or better yet, they may find someone who is offering something complimentary to their business. You may end up finding a group of people who are like-minded and start working to get something going as a new, small group. You may also find other groups who are looking to start a similar marketplace inviting you to attend their upcoming event. The opportunitites for expansion become almost endless.

I find that I learn a lot from the people around me. I make a point of talking to the other vendors surrounding my booth. It is really nice to see so many people working to be independent. You don't feel like you are so alone when you attend one of these events. You now get to meet others who may be going through the same business challenges that you are. You may even find that you can help each other through those common challenges.

If you are a small business, I highly recommend attending a local business marketplace. Even if you never have the time to attend one of the local business meetings (like a local Chamber of Commerce) participating in a local marketplace is a really great way to see how other small business people conduct business. The best part is the friendships you forge at these events. You find you are not alone, and you may have some strengths that another business owner may need at one point in time.

Until tomorrow...

Staying Focused on Business

Tonight's blog will cover staying focused on your business. The times are tough everywhere, challenges are everywhere and now is the time that it is most important to keep your eye on your business. This is the time that will either make or break you. If you have planned to the best of your ability and built contingency plans, then no matter what life throws you, as long as you stay focused on your business goals, you will succeed.

As we all know, even these rough times will pass. We have all heard so many different reports about: a) we are past the worst of this and are on the road to recovery; or b) the worst is yet to come and it is going to take YEARS for us as a Nation to fully recover. Of course, we would all like to believe in a), but realistically, can anyone foresee the future? I bet the fortune tellers are making a killing this time of year...hey, maybe that should be a new sideline....you never know...or do you....?

Anyway, despite the possible dire warnings, you as a business owner have to keep your eye on YOUR business ball. The economy will do what it is going to do, despite your thrashings and worries. You can only control what your business is going to do, nothing more. The key is to have a good business plan in place, and most importantly, follow the plan. If you find, due to external factors that your plan is not working and does not look like it will succeed, review your plan and revise accordingly. Remember, you are revising your short-term plans, not your long-term plans and goals. This may sound corny, but where there is a will, there is a way.

Here is a great example of what I mean when I state that where there is a will, there is a way. If you found a complimentary business opportunity that costs $1,500, you may immediately think that you cannot afford to spend that money. But, if you found the car of your dreams for $1,500 I bet that you would find a way to pay the $1,500. The difference is how much you want that particular item. If you really want your business to succeed, you will do whatever it takes (legally and ethically) to make your business succeed. If you are truly driven by a passion for your business, you will persevere, despite all obstacle's that may crop up.

The main key here is to be sure that your vision of your business is very clear and very, very desirable for you. It is much easier to be pulled along by your desires, than to push your desires along....kind of like the difference between pulling a rope and pushing a rope. If you have a clear picture of where you want your business to be, and the drive (not willpower, which does wear thin over extended difficult times) you will find the means to get your business where it needs to go. The path you take to keep your business successful, may not be the path you would originally have planned, but again, if you have a clear goal of where you want to be, you will find the means to get there.

Keep a record of where you ultimately want your business to be, place that statement where you see it daily. Track smaller milestones, and even the smaller daily tasks to drive your business towards your ultimate goal. Each day, review the tasks you have been taking, and compare the results with your intermediate and long-term goals. Be sure to not get side-tracked, always keep the larger goal in mind. You may be surprised that one of the smaller tasks, may actually take you in a different direction, but ultimately towards your large goal. Do not lose faith in what you envision for your business. Surviving this tough time will only make you and your business better and stronger in the long run.

If you would like to chat about how we can help you grow your business, please feel free to contact us at hawgwash1@yahoo.com. We will do all that we can to assist you.

If anyone is in the Gold Canyon area tomorrow, Saturday, January 30th, we will have a booth at Basha's Grocery Store off of the 60 in Gold Canyon (Gold Canyon Marketplace). Come on by and check out our UltraLuster display for waterless vehicle cleaning products. We would be glad to provide a demo for you with our waterless wash products either on our vehicle or yours. Or, just come on by to say 'hi'.

Until tomorrow...

Home Based Business Advantages

Today we are not going to focus on business specifically but one of the advantages of having your own home based business. As we have discussed many times, having your own business allows you the freedom to work when you choose to, not when you are told to. The advantage is that you get to choose your best work times, the disadvantage is that you will probably end up working more than if you had a regular 40 hour a week job. The biggest difference is that you may work more, but you really enjoy what you do, so it really isn't "work".

Working at the computer in the study, I have a great view of the outside. Because I am not as stressed as I was when working for a Corporation full-time, I have the ability to enjoy the views outside my window. When I worked for a Corporation, I did have a window, but was so busy and so stressed that I never had the time nor inclination to look out the window. Looking out a window can provide a great amount of stress-relief because you have the ability to keep your work in perspective. Just because you may be slaving away at a desk, the world outside still keeps on moving. Honestly, nothing you do in your job will stop the sun from shining, or the clouds from floating around, or stop the birds from flying (barring any nuclear attack...).

By taking the time to look outside the window and keep your work in perspective with the rest of the world, you should be able to keep your stress levels down. Life is much bigger than just the job at your desk. Success is not really measured by how much work you get done in a particular day. If you stop working tomorrow, the world will continue to spin on it's axis, the sun will continue to rise and there will always be air to breathe. Working for yourself can be just as stressful, if not more so especially in this economy, so you need to remember to stop and look out your window to re-focus your priorities.

Looking out my window the other day, I saw the most beautiful cardinal. The picture does not do him justice, but it was great to be able to stop what I was doing and watch him for a while. It was neat that I could also stop long enough to grab my camera and take his picture. This morning, as I was preparing my first cup of coffee for the day, the dogs started going nuts. As I mad the turn around from the kitchen, I glimpsed some Javalina (wild pigs) wandering up to the front doorstep. They were heading off to where the bird feeder was to eat the seeds that had fallen to the ground. The pictures don't relay it, but all three of these Javalina were pretty large.

If I had been working a regular job, I would not have had the opportunity to enjoy these sights as much. I probably wouldn't have been looking out the window, and if I had, I would probably have been so stressed to not really care about what I was looking at. The pictures look washed out because I couldn't figure out in time how to make the flash on the camera stop. It was still pretty neat to see all this wildlife just outside the study window.

Remember, take time to look outside your window, even if you don't have your own home based business. Remember that life will continue on, despite what you may do today at your job. Keep your job and your life in balance, you will be much happier.

Until tomorrow...

Motivation versus Action

Tonight we are going to discuss the differences between motivation and action. Motivation is defined as "the activation or energization of goal-oriented behavior." Motivation may mean you "want" to do something very much, but if you don't put that "want" into action, nothing will occur.

Just going to motivational seminars may make you feel better about yourself, but once you leave the seminar, what are the chances that you will take action on the items you learned in the seminar? I used to love motivational seminars until I realized that all the motivation in the world is not going to change the world I live in unless I DO something. You may be motivated to make changes in your current work conditions, but if you don't actively do something about it, all the motivational speaking in the world will not change your situation. You need to generate action from that motivation.

Motivational seminars are great. They may get you thinking in ways you didn't before. They may help you to crystallize what you really want out of life. They may give you more ideas about how to improve your life. What I have found that they don't usually give you is a road map to follow to actually apply actions to those motivations. You need to identify what you want out of life, that is important, but what is more important is to take steps to get to your desired place. This is why I really like the little "GPS" tracker we are using for growing our UltraLuster business.

This tracker is great because it gives you points for doing small steps towards your larger goal. We all realize that the best plans in the world are not going to go as planned. It is no different than your "To Do" list. Things will get done, and others won't. The key is to re-adjust your actions to catch up on those small steps that you may have missed one day. Having the large goals is very important, writing them down is even more important, but, you really need to have tiny, little steps written down so that you can ultimately achieve your big goals. Motivation is not going to get you where you want to go, you will be motivated to do the steps, but you actually have to take action and do the steps so that you can attain your goals.

By identifying the little steps needed to obtain your larger goal, and then breaking those little tasks into daily tasks. By keeping track of the action on the daily tasks, you will ultimately get to your large goal. Again, we have been motivated many times over the years, but the motivation soon wears off and all you are left are empty ideas and no actual results. Once you have identified your important goal, write it down. Then be very, very specific in what actions you need to take in order to ultimately achieve your big goal. Once you have identified the small / repetitive actions needed to achieve that goal, track those actions daily. With daily tracking of your activity, you will find that your big goals are quickly achieved.

If you would like more information on the "GPS Tracker" I mentioned, please feel free to e-mail me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com.

Until tomorrow...

Stem Cell Nutritionals - StemFLO

Boy, I posted the StemEnhance blog last night (titled Stem Cell Nutrition), but by reading the actual blog posting, it looks like it posted on Sunday, which is very incorrect. I have now learned something about Blogger, if you set an article as a draft, and then post it days later, it ends up looking like you posted it the day you started the draft. If you are like me and like to see your articles in chronological order, you cannot work preliminary blogs in Blogger as drafts, because once you post, those postings go back to the original date you started the draft. The best way I guess, to get your blog posted for future dates, is to schedule them ahead. The downside to this is that if you forget and then your scheduled date comes and goes, your rough draft is posted for all to see.

Anyway, despite what date Blogger said I posted the StemEnhance article, I really posted it last night and at that time promised to talk about the companion product to StemEnhance, StemFLO. StemFLO supports the body's circulatory system. It is the key to natural circulation enhancement. Taken in conjunction with StemEnhance, StemFLO increases the ability of the body to utilize the additional stem cells that have been released into your blood stream. StemFLO is all about improving your body's circulation. It digests Fibrin mesh that could block some of the capillaries and slow down the transfer of stem cells to areas in need.

Please remember, I am not a doctor, so I am describing this in layman's terms. Fibrin is a protein that is essentially "sticky" and is basically there to create a "mesh" to aid in blood clotting. Fibrin is not always "sticky" but becomes so when certain other factors occur. When the body is stressed, it causes the fibrin to become "sticky" and they will tend to turn into a mesh, where ever they are. A stressed body could be from physical stress (injury), emotional stress or environmental stress (toxins consumed or in the air). As our world gets more polluted, and our jobs get more stressful, we have more fibrin creating a mesh in our blood stream. This is not good for optimal blood flow and this is where StemFLO comes in. StemFLO dissolves the fibrin mesh, which opens up capillaries for better blood flow. The ingredient inside StemFLO that causes this to occur is Fibrinerase - a proprietary blend of plant-based enzymes that help digest fibrin and debris in the blood. Once you have removed this 'mesh' you should experience better circulation, and if you are also using StemEnhance, you have now allowed your body faster access to the additional adult stem cells that have been released in your blood stream.

StemFLO also contains strong antioxidant nutrition, promotes overall greater health, optimized circulation and as I mentioned above, optimized adult stem cell recruitment. It is made up of a proprietary blend of all natural herbs and special nutrients. We just started taking StemFLO the other day, and are already starting to feel a little bit better. This "better" feeling is an overall feeling of wellness, and as time progresses, we will let you know the actual physical improvements we note.

We are taking the StemEnhance and StemFLO daily, to help our bodies rebuild the cells that are dying daily (a natural process). We are also taking MonaVie Active (for me) MonaVie Pulse (for Steve) and in the evening MonaVie (M)mum for both of us. My logic is that the StemTech products support healthier cell regeneration and development, and MonaVie helps the existing cells to remain healthy. In combination, we are taking care of our bodies from the cell building phase to the mature cell phase. Heck, by the time you may see us again, we should look a whole lot healthier (even though we have always tried to lead healthy lives..).

Until tomorrow...

Weight Loss Update and the SAINTS!!!

Well, since it is again Sunday, time for me to fess up about my weight management for the week. The good news is that since I got back on the Core4 System (don't know if they will continue calling it that...will discuss that later) my weight went back to what it was 2 weeks ago. I haven't lost any additional pounds, but at least I didn't keep the extra pounds on that were added from the prior week.

I have a really good reason why I didn't lose extra weight this week, and again this is a testament to the Core4 system. As I am sure most of you know, California and Arizona were hit pretty hard with bad weather for several days this week. For Arizona, that meant rain for us 4 days long. Luckily for where we are in particular, all we got was a whole lot of rain and a whole lot of wind. A few trees in the neighborhood blew over, but it does not appear any homeowner suffered significant damage to their homes. The upshot of this discourse is that I did not have the ability to do any cardiovascular (walking) activity this week. I did use the exercise ball a few times this week, but did not really get my heart rate up for an extended period of time. So, the weight loss was decent, but I have yet to break past my plateau (which has now lasted 2 months...). The weather is expected to be good for the next few days, I will get my walking in then and work on the exercise ball (and rubber bandy things) when it starts raining again.

Again, at least the good news is that even through the holidays and bad weather, I may have put on a few pounds in one week when not using the Core4 system, but those same pounds always came off the next week when I got back on the system. I will strive to be more consistent with the Core4 system and get past that darned plateau.... I really want to lose that extra weight...

Now, on to really fun stuff....THE SAINTS WON THE NFC Championship!!!! Yippie. Half of my family is from Louisiana (yeah, I don't admit that much...) and I still have relatives that live just outside of New Orleans. After reconnecting with the "Southern" side of my family last year, I took a renewed interest in how the Saints performed. Truthfully, I started rooting for the Saints after hurricane Katrina. I just became a more ardent fan after spending time in New Orleans suburbs last year. This game between the Saints and the Vikings was a real nail-biter for me. I usually don't get too involved in rooting for particular teams, usually the teams I like are weeded out very early in the process. I also get waaaay too involved in rooting for a particular team (a throwback from watching my father root for his favorite football team) and by the end of a game, I am all worn out.

I must say that I believe the Vikings and Saints played a very good game tonight. It was such a good game that they had to go into overtime. If the Vikings were that bad, overtime would not have occurred. Yeah, the Vikings made some mistakes, but at this level of competition, it is more about controlling the number of mistakes rather than playing the better game. Both teams were phenomenal and the Vikings should be proud of how they performed (barring those few mistakes that allowed the Saints to win,...Yippie...). The match-up for the Superbowl will be great, but even though I like the Colts, my cheering will be for the Saints...

Back to business briefly, as I mentioned in an earlier post, Cal Nutrisciences, the creator of Core4 has merged with a new company Xyngular January 18 of this year. I am still not entirely sure how I feel about this, but really have no choice. I really like the Core4 product line, it is the first weight management system that actually works for my body (I am allergic to so much...) and I don't want to lose that chance to get my weight back to my ideal...(notice I said MY IDEAL, not anyone else's - that is very important) so I am sticking with Core4...for now... If the StemTech products do what I think they may (I believe there are things in my body that need repair which is why I may not be able to take weight off - and yeah, old age has something to do with that) I am hoping to take the weight off with Core4 System and maybe keep the weight off with StemTech, but I need to do a whole lot more research before making any specific claims. This is just my personal hope. I am becoming more enamored with the StemTech products the more I research it. So, I will provide you with more information on StemTech in the next few blogs and also why I am hoping for so much out of the StemTech products.

Until tomorrow...

Stem Cell Nutritionals

Tonight we are going to talk about a new type of nutritional product- stem cell nutritionals. We have been using the StemEnhance by StemTech for the last two months now and have had very positive results. I have personally noticed a much quicker recovery time after pulling my muscles (my back in particular).

What StemEnhance does it increase your body's ability to release it's own adult stem cells into your blood stream. StemEnhance has been shown to increase the circulating adult stem cells by 25%. This 25% increase in circulating stem cells is very significant, it allows your body to heal itself much faster, using your own adult stem cells. Adult stem cells can be found in our bone marrow and can be found there from the time we are born. Adult stem cells are in you body throughout your whole life whereas embryonic stem cells have to be harvested from embryos. It has been found that adult stem cells can differentiate into just about cell type that your body needs repaired or replaced.

The more research I find, the more it looks like the adult stem cells can do almost the same things as embryonic stem cells and you don't need any medical procedures to get your adult stem cells to work. StemEnhance promotes the rebuilding of cells so that you have more rebuilding than decline of your cells. Regular cells in your body die daily (that is a normal process), the key is to have a way to rebuild or replace those dying cells with healthy new ones. That is where your adult stem cells come in.

Your body sends out a message that it needs some stem cells to repair a part of your body. The bone marrow releases those adult stem cells into the blood and then those cells go to the site that needs repair. Since StemEnhance promotes more stem cells to be released into your blood stream on a regular basis, you have more stem cells wandering around your body looking for things to fix. The result is that the repairs are done faster and you have the opportunity for optimal health.

Tomorrow I will briefly review what StemFLO does and what occurs when used in conjunction with StemEnhance. I realize that this is a very brief overview of what your adult stem cells do for you and how stem cells work, so if you have any questions regarding stem cell nutrition or stem cells in particular, please feel free to e-mail me with your question (hawgwash1@yahoo.com). I am not a doctor, but have been doing a lot of research for the last several months on stem cells and stem cell nutrition, so I will do what I can to answer your questions.

Until tomorrow...

Challenging Common Sense

You know that you are having a tough day when you can't even find an appropriate book mark for the book that you have been reading for the last week. Until today, I was using the paper cover as a bookmark, but now that I am almost a third of the way through the book, the paper cover flap doesn't work well. Here I am, sitting at my desk and seem to be incapable of locating an appropriate bookmark. What is wrong with this picture? On to better ideas...

Tonight we are going to briefly look at how to challenge common sense. Going into business for yourself is always risky, but going into business for yourself during these unstable economic times really looks like you do not have your head screwed on straight. Actually, if you think about it, going into business for yourself now could be the best possible time.

People are looking for alternative means of income. Your "regular" jobs are at risk. Many employers are cutting back, either in hours or in staff, or both. People who had been with one company for 20+ years are either being laid off, getting their salaries reduced, or their work hours reduced. Now is the time to start looking to additional forms of earning income. I am not talking about quitting your current job cold turkey and starting in a new direction, but to start a new direction while you are still employed. Do not start your new business when you are working your current job, but really take a good look at how much time you have after your regular job where you can redirect that energy into beginning a new business opportunity.

By re-allocating your hours (perhaps watch TV two hours less each evening), and applying that time to your new business opportunity, you will find that in relatively short order, you may just be earning an additional paycheck without hurting your regular job. Once you start earning an additional income, you will find that you can allocate more time towards your new endeavor. Depending on the business opportunity you get involved with, by the end of a year, you may be able to earn more part-time than you currently do at your "regular" job.

Tomorrow we will continue this conversation about challenging common sense and how to grow a new home based business without sacrificing your current employment.

Until tomorrow...

More Dog Humor

Tonight I thought you might appreciate a break from work and wanted to talk a little bit about the idiosyncrasies of dogs. We have two dogs, one is a Yorkshire Terrier (about 6 pounds with a 600 pound mentality) and the other is more like a Silkie Terrier (about 12 pounds with matching personality). You have also probably heard on the news about the terrible rains that have been hitting California and Arizona this week.

What I learned this week is how much our dogs do not like rain. Living in the desert, you don't see much rain, and when you do, it stops after a few hours. It is relatively rare to have days and days of rain out here. Even when we are traveling around the country, we tend to not bump into more than a partial day of rain so I was very surprised with the reaction of the dogs to rain. Apparently these critters don't like to get wet. Well, not with rain. The Silkie loves to play with water coming out of a hose. She will get sopping wet and keep going until you turn the water off in the hose. The Yorkie has a bizarre love of the pool and will, during the summer, jump into the pool for no apparent reason.

So, imagine my frustration when I had to take them outside to go to the bathroom. Their bathroom is our backyard. The dogs would eagerly run out of the house, in anticipation of relieving themselves, but stop dead in their tracks before the end of the covered patio. With the rain outside, they would not step on the wet tile, nor would they wander off into the actual raindrops. Now we are not talking about a torrential downpour. I would not take them out in that for fear they would be washed away (I am used to dogs in the 50-100 pound range). All the dogs I had prior to now didn't seem to mind the weather, but then those dogs were outside dogs and only came inside in really bad weather.

Well, after trying to coerce the dogs into the rain (which included me standing in the rain trying to tell the dogs it was OK...), I got frustrated and let them back into the house. When it sounded like the rain let off a little bit more, I took them out again, only to encounter the same problems. Since I really HATE cleaning up after dogs in the house, there was no way I was going to allow them to mess the house up just because it was a little wet outside. So the next time we went outside and the dogs refused to go in the rain, I picked them both up under my arms and hiked about half way into the yard and deposited the dogs in the rain. They got back to the covered patio before I did.

So, I again grabbed both dogs, and once again and this time hiked to the farthest corner of the yard, and again deposited the dogs on the ground in the rain. This time the Yorkie got the idea and took care of business. The Silkie just stood there, staring at me, shivering. I refused to give in and stood there waiting for her to get the idea. Eventually (as I start getting soaked standing in the rain without an umbrella), she got the idea that she would be walked out in the rain and dropped in the yard until she took care of her business. So finally, I was able to get both dogs to take care of what should not have been an issue.

The next time they went out, we had the same exercise, they would not go unless I grabbed both of them and walked far into the yard. The Yorkie started learning and took care of business quickly, then realized it was kind of fun standing in the rain and started fooling around in the rain. Now, I got the Silkie to get her stuff done and she ran back to the covered patio, but now I had to chase the Yorkie around the yard, trying to convince him it was time to come in. Now the Yorkie will go out and get sopping wet in the rain, but the Silkie doesn't even like to get her feet wet. If we are going to get more extended rain, I think I am going to invest in rain boots for the Yorkie and hopefully fix her fear of wet feet.

The upshot of this whole mess is that I constantly got really wet trying to get the dogs to go to the bathroom. I really got the short end of the stick. If I wasn't so bull-headed about not being willing to clean up messes in the house, I would have managed to stay warm and dry. As it was, by the time I had warmed up and dried off, it was time to take those mutts back outside... Do they make dog umbrellas that you attach to the dogs? Perhaps the attachment for said umbrella is the tail? Hmmm, something to think about...

Until tomorrow...

Why Stem Cell Nutritionals?

Last night we discussed the need to be sure you align yourself with other companies that maintain similar core values and identity as your business. We discussed MonaVie and their business ethics and their product line. As you know we have recently begun working with another company, StemTech which I believe is a great addition to the companies we are currently associated with.

StemTech HealthSciences was founded in 2005 even though the science that has created StemEnhance goes back to the late 1970's. What StemTech HealthSciences has to offer is a nutritional supplement for adult stem cells. We all have adult stem cells in our bone marrow, what StemEnhace appears to do is to aid in the release of our own adult stem cells into our blood stream. By releasing more adult stem cells into our blood stream, we stand a better chance of healing faster. The adult stem cells can replicate other cells and by having more in the blood stream, if there is a need for a repair, there are already adult stem cells ready to make that repair. The products in StemEnhance are all natural and the main active ingredient (AFA) is grown naturally in a pristine lake in Southern Oregon.

What attracted us to StemTech were two things. First, and foremost, this company abides by the Direct Selling Association (DSA) Code of Ethics. This code of ethics requires companies to practice the highest ethics in business. The company has to complete a one-year probationary period before they are allowed to become members of the DSA. There are strict rules and regulations that participating companies have to follow, and in return, we are assured of working with a company that is serious about treating it's associates with honesty and integrity. Another item we really like about the management of StemTech is that they are actively involved in a global charitable foundation. This foundation covers a broad scope of charitable organizations, but remains true to their desire to help those less fortunate. Their vision statement is "to enhance personal dignity ad quality of life in all whom we reach globally, and give them an opportunity to know that people care through our acts of charity." Each purchase of StemTech products helps fund the StemTech Global Charity which is dedicated to the support of children's causes around the world.

The other aspect we really like about StemTech is the products that they offer. The StemTech products provide nutrition to the building blocks of our bodies. Where MonaVie is designed to help our bodies in their current cellular state, StemTech products are designed to provide nutritional benefits for stem cells before they become a particular part of your body. This way, you are providing nutrition to aid in the better building of cells through StemTech products and with MonaVie, you are providing nutritional benefits to the existing cells of your body. We look at this as almost a complete A-Z approach to nutritionals for your body.

This information may seem really technical, and for that I apologize. I am still learning about the products, and since there is so much research and science that has gone into these products, I do tend to wander off into the technical aspect of the products. Take a look at the StemTech website and you will understand why I end up getting so technical so fast. Their website provides an amazing amount of information for you to review, there are documented scientific studies available for review and there are quite a number of short videos that can be watched. It is a fun website, though can be scary with all the information they provide up front.

If you are interested in finding out more about the StemTech products, please feel free to e-mail us (hawgwash1@yahoo.com) with your questions and we will do our best to find your answers.

Until tomorrow...

More about MonaVie - the Company

Last night I talked about some of the MonaVie products and my personal experiences with those products. Tonight I would like to talk briefly about Corporate philosophy and direction and the type of corporate philosophy that MonaVie actively maintains.

Matching Corporate philosophy with your own is very important, especially if you are going to be a distributor for a company. Not only do you need to believe in the products that you carry, but it really helps if you also agree and believe in the particular corporate philosophy. If you believe in a product, but not the corporate philosophy, in the long run, there will be problems. You need to be able to not only embrace the quality of products, but the corporate thinking too. MonaVie corporate philosophy is very simple, they believe (from the founder downwards) that you cannot be successful unless you give back to the community and to the world. Their philosophy is God, Family, MonaVie. Their Mission Statement is: "...to chage ad improve lives around the world by introducing unique nutritional products, offering a rewarding business opportunity, ad by giving back through our charitable initiatives." I have stated in prior blogs that it is critical to keep in touch with your personal values and company identity. You cannot do that if you end up working with a company that does not maintain the same set of values and identity that you do.

One of the ways in which you reinforce your company identity is by aligning yourself with like-minded companies. If you want to be viewed as having strong integrity, then you do not want to associate with a company that is know to have no integrity at all. We at Hawgwash, LLC believe that we are here to help others succeed. By helping others to succeed, we will by default succeed. If we cannot help people to better their situation, then we are in the wrong business. We believe in a strong set of moral and ethical values, our word is our contract, and it would take a major catastrophe to occur for us to be forced to break our word. We strive to only promise what we can deliver on and once that promise is made, we will move heaven and earth to make good on that promise.

MonaVie also embodies the same type of corporate philosophy. Their goal is to provide product and commissions to you on time, every time. They strongly believe in giving back to the communities they live in and to the world. They believe their product not only help to promote wellness in customers, but they are active supporters in bringing wellness to the world through their M.O.R.E. Project. For them the M.O.R.E. Project provides what MonaVie believes is the right of every human being - food, clothing, shelter and education to disadvantaged children. It appears that a large portion of MonaVie's top distributors are active participants in the M.O.R.E. Project, which further enforces and validates the MonaVie corporate culture. From my perspective, MonaVie puts their money where their mouth is.

We are proud to be part of the MonaVie family and hope that you may also find a company that you can be proud to be aligned with also. MonaVie may not be for everybody, but for us at Hawgwash, LLC, it is a perfect match with our beliefs, which is also why we are also happily aligned with UltraLuster. UltraLuster also maintains the same set of high ethical and moral standards that we are looking to emulate.

Tomorrow we will go back a bit and talk about the corporate structure of StemTech (the new company we got into in December) and more information about the StemTech product line.

Until tomorrow...

MonaVie New Product Launch (M)mun

As promised, tonight we are going to review the new product that MonaVie came out with midnight on January 4th. I finally got my hands on a case of this new product, spelled (M)mun, but sounds like Immune...



We have been using the other MonaVie products, MonaVie Active, Pulse and Energy and love all that they have put out to date. The energy drink, EMV, is great beause it doesn't use additional sugar and is made with 80% juice. MonaVie Energy contains Acai, apple, grape, pear, acerola, cupuacu and camu camu. This energy drink tastes great, and gives me energy without the jitters I usually get from the other popular store-purchased energy drinks. If you compare the MonaVie Emv with the ones you can find in the store, you may be surprised how much sugar is added to those other drinks. Emv was introduced in June 2009.



If you couldn't tell, I really like the Emv, but MonaVie started with the juice nutritional drinks first. I personally use the MonaVie Active for joint health. I have arthritis and the Active does wonders to relieve my joint pain and swelling. I have become more mobile and don't favor my joints like I used to. The downside to the Active is that I no longer have a "weather knee". I used to be able to provide very accurate information (24 hours advance notice and accurate to within 2 hours) when it was going to rain and when it was going to stop raining. Now, the only time I know it is going to rain is if I see raindrops outside. Problem is that I am no longer prepared for the wet weather.

I do not personally drink the MonaVie Pulse because it contains pineapple which I am highly allergic to. The Pulse is great for lowering high blood pressure, Steve can attest that his blood pressure has stabilized since adding Pulse to his daily routine. Hopefully, over time, he will be able to reduce his dependence on high blood pressure medication as the Pulse helps heart health.



Now, the (M)mun is the latest addition to the MonaVie family and is designed for supporting Immune health. It has a different fruit blend from either the Active or the Pulse, but tastes awesome, kind of like a cross between Passion Fruit, Papaya and fruit punch (please note: that there is no papaya or passion fruit in this juice, but that is what the taste reminds me of). I drink this each evening, prior to bedtime, my logic is that it gives my body adequate time to digest the nutrients and work on restoring itself (my own un-scientific thoughts...). So far, it seems to be working. After my marathon driving last week, I didn't take any MonaVie and by the time I got home, was definitely starting to feel sick. Since I got back to drinking an ounce of Active in the morning and an ounce of (M)mun at night, I don't feel like I am coming down with anything. Time will tell, and I promise to keep you posted.



I have noticed that when taking MonaVie Active regularly, I tend not to get as sick as often. I used to get sick almost every month, catching everything that was going around. Now, it seems that my system is more resistant to the nasty bugs that are wandering around. Hopefully this new (M)mun will help support my immune system even more.

If you have any questions regarding the MonaVie product line, please feel free to e-mail me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com.

Until tomorrow...

CNI, Core4 and now Xyngular What to Do?

Well, by now those of you who have been following these blogs found out this morning that CNI has merged with another company. Up until yesterday, CNI was the company where we could get the Core4 System of weight loss products. Over the weekend, CNI announced that they have merged with a new company, Xyngular and they are going to go global.

The Core4 products can still be found on the Xyngular site, you just have to look a little harder for them. The neat thing about what Xyngular has done is include the cost of shipping as part of the product price. There is a $3.95 handling charge for orders under $199.00, but basically, you can add the cost of the products together, add $3.95 and you know how much your order is going to be. You don't have to go through the whole shopping cart experience to find out how much it will cost including shipping. This makes life much easier for distributors.

Hawgwash, LLC will continue to sell and promote the Core4 product line, now under the Xyngular site. We know nothing specific regarding the Xyngular product drinks, and may research that down the road. Our current favorite health juice is MonaVie, and we are not willing to switch at this point in time. MonaVie has done wonders for us and our friends and we are not currently willing to switch from what we know works well. That is not to say we won't experiment with the Xyngular drink, it is just that at this point in time, we see no need to invest in yet another drink.

Once we have tried the Xyngular drink, we will report back on this blog, but for those of you who are interested in a nutritional juice/drink, Hawgwash, LLC highly recommends the MonaVie product line.

So, if you are used to our CNI website through www.weightrenegade.com, don't worry, you can still find the great Core4 products on the new website, just click on the "Products" button across the top of the home page and you can access the Core4 product line. Otherwise, please feel free to go to our personal website (tomorrow, I have not finished updating for the changes from over the weekend) and you will be able to order the Core4 product there. We will do all that we can to accommodate your questions and concerns. Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions.

Tomorrow I will report on the newest product recently released by MonaVie.

Until tomorrow...

Weight Loss / Weight Maintenance Update

Well, I didn't get this blog posted last night, but the news on my weight is that I gained a few pounds, water pounds again this week because I did not take my Core4 products for most of the week. I have found that if I do not take the Flush more times than not, my body goes back to it's old habits and retains a ton of water. It didn't help that I consumed a lot of salty foods, and ate out almost every night last week.

The good news is that weight should be coming off in the next few days as I get back on a regular eating, exercising and Core4 plan again. If I can take the water pounds off in the next few days, I will be sure to let you all know.

Some other interesting news that happened over the weekend is that CNI merged with another company called Xyngular. I have a bunch more research to do before giving you any more information on this new company, but the good news is that we can still get the Core4 products that I so love.

I promise to give you more information on the CNI/Xyngular merger this evening, after I have had time to research and digest the information. This merger is as much of a shock to me as it probably is to you. If worse comes to worse, Hawgwash, LLC will carry the Core4 products on our website (which we don't do right now...) so you won't have to rummage around the new site.

I will provide more information regarding this merger later today, for tonight's blog.

Until tonight...

Busy Week

Well, as you probably guessed, I had been off-line for three whole days. I managed to not go totally crazy, but it was difficult to not get on a computer. It was somewhat nice to know that someone was watching our business on-line, while I took care of personal issues, but I do miss getting on-line and keeping in touch with everyone.

The really great thing about owning your own business (especially with a partner) is that when the need arises, you don't have to ask your employer for time off, you just make sure the schedule can support your disappearance, and you go. With your own business, you don't have to worry about taking too much time off, if you end up taking too much time off, you just don't make money. At least you don't have to worry about being fired. The advantage with our type of business is that even on the road, I have the ability to earn an income.

I did not work on income building this time, these three days I focused on family issues. I had to drive to California to visit family members, and it was nice being able to do that without fear of what my boss it going to think. The unusual aspect this time is that I didn't even try to earn any income while driving across two states. My full attention was on attending to my family members. I did conduct some business over the phone, but the work was minimal and did not interfere with any family time. With luck, I will not be needing to make another run for family time any time soon, but again, at least I can go if the need arises.

In the grand scheme of things, it is much more important to take care of you family, everything else will follow. If you follow the money first, you will lose touch with your family, and then the money (in my humble opinion) does not do you much good. As we have discussed in prior blogs, you need to maintain a balance between work, income and family. If that balance is not achieved, you will feel unfulfilled. Money with no family is no fun, so is family with no money... (no comments from the peanut gallery...). Always remember to keep your priorities straight. If you can manage that you will be very successful. Remember, success does not necessarily mean lots of money...I believe success can be measured by how well balanced your life is.

Tomorrow we will get back to covering business issues and ... my continued weight loss progress...it may not be great this week, but stay tuned tomorrow...

Until then...

Understanding how Socialism Functions

OK, this is the last article from "The Eyes Newsletter" in January 2010. I have been on the road, and away from my computer for 3 days now and am going to be certifiably crazy. So, while I go nuts without a computer for yet another evening, here is something to keep you entertained:

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class.

That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich...it was a great equalizer. The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class to see how socialism actually functions."

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an 'A'.

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a 'B'. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a 'D'. No one was happy. When the third test rolled around, the average was an 'F'.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when the government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that.

Until tomorrow...

'Bureaucracy At Its Very Best' Explained

Since I do not have Internet access this Thursday, I have reprinted another article from our local paper, "The Eyes Newsletter" so that you can continue to be entertained while I am wandering around on the road. There was no author associated with this article either, but it can be found in the January 2010 edition of "The Eyes".

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said, 'someone may steal from it at night.' So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job.

Then Congress said, 'How does the watchman do his job without instruction?' So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions and one person to do time studies.

Then Congress said, 'How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?' So they created Quality Control department and hired two people. One to do the studies and one to write the reports.

Then Congress said, 'How are these people going to get paid?' So they created the following positions, a time keeper and a payroll officer, then hired two people.

Then Congress said, 'Who will be accountable for all these people?' So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Asst. Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary, (as opposed to an illegal one I suppose?).

Then Congress said, 'We have had this command in operation for one year and we are $18,000 over budget, we must cut back overall costs.' So they laid off the night watchman.

Now, slowly; let that sink in. Quietly, we go like sheep to slaughter. Does anybody remember the reason given for the establishment of the Department of Energy? The one during the Carter Administration? Anybody? Anything? No? I didn't think so! Bottom line, we've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of that agency, the reason for which very few who reads this remember.

Okay, let me help; ready? It was very simple, and at the time, everybody thought it was very appropriate. The Department of Energy was instituted on August 4, 1977, to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Hey, pretty spiffy, huh? (We haven't resolved that yet either...)

Okay, so now fast-forward; it's 2009 - 32 years later - and the budget for this departmental monstrosity is at $24.2 billion a year. It has 16,000 federal employees and roughly 100,000 contract employees; and wow, look at the job they've done. This is where you slap your forehead and say, 'what was I thinking?'

What's worse? Well, now we're wanting to turn the banking system, health care coverage and auto manufacturing over to the same folks over there around the Pennsylvania Ave area who so helped us out with the fuel deal? Why does the whole thing scare me to death?

Until tomorrow...

The Mayonnaise Jar & Two Beers

This article is a reprint from one of our local newspapers, "The Eyes Newsletter". There is no author associated with this article, but it can be found in the January 2010 edition of "The Eyes Newsletter".

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. The agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes'.

The professor then produced two beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions - and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full."

"The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first," he cautioned, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls."

"The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal."

"Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled and said, "I'm glad you asked. The beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers with a friend."

Until tomorrow...

Risks and Small Business Development

Tonight we are going to talk about risk taking as another way to develop your business. Risk taking is a very important aspect of growing your business. If you are afraid to take risks, you really will be afraid to be in business. Many people are trapped in their current jobs because they are afraid to take risks. If you don't take risks, you will never know what you can and cannot do, either personally or in business.

Risk taking doesn't mean that you are taking wild guesses at business. Risk taking means that you are going to research an item, and if you find that it basically meets what you think would be complimentary with your existing business, then you take the risk of adding that product or service to your current business. The research you do will help to allay the fears you have about this new item. Successful business people are not afraid to take risks. Even after you do all the research possible, you will fail at some items you take a risk on. The key is to continue to look for new and innovative ways or products to enhance your business and to research as much as possible before actually implementing the change. The actual research will help lessen your fears, knowledge will overcome fear. You don't want to throw good money after bad, but you do need to take some risks if you want to succeed.

The best way to quantify the risks you are thinking about taking is to ask yourself what the best and worst thing that can happen and then what do you believe the most likely thing will happen. If the worst thing that can happen won't kill you, or put you where you don't want to be, and the best thing that can happen is putting you where you want to be, then the risk should be reasonable to take By quantifying the best, worst and most likely cases, you are also educating yourself and are going into the new project better informed.

We at Hawgwash continue to take risks in products we bring to our customers. We are constantly on the lookout for the best waterless technology products on the market and are continually testing the products that are on the market to be sure that we carry the best. We also look for products that will enhance and / or help our customer base. Our newest product line - StemTech is a risk for us because it is a deviation from the Waterless Technology we have become experts in.

StemTech is a stem cell nutritional product that is designed to enhance the release of adult stem cells into your blood stream. By releasing more of your adult stem cells into your blood stream, you enhance your body's ability to heal itself, possibly reduce illness, and help repair damage to organs. This is very new technology and we are taking a risk in carrying this product line. From all the research we have done on StemTech and the products they supply, we feel very justified in taking this risk. This product could help adults heal better, using your own body to heal itself. This could be a breakthrough for adult and pet nutrition (they have stem cell nutritionals for pets too).

Even though nutritional lines don't look like they would fit with our expertise, Hawgwash is dedicated to helping not only the world environment in water conservation, but helping the people living in our world too. StemTech looks like it may be up our alley. We will keep you posted on our success with this new product line.


In future blogs we will review the products that Hawgwash has to offer and explain how we feel they do all provide a complete package to help people.

Until tomorrow...

One way to make your home business successful

This idea probably sounds obvious, but it needs to be discussed. Your business success depends on what thoughts you have and keep in your head. Whatever thoughts you have running through your brain day in and day out is what will make or break your home based business. You need to always be energized about your business and truly beleive it is going to do for you what you want it to do.

If you are constantly thinking about how your business will not succeed, even though you tell people you are doing fine, your business will not succeed. The subconscious thoughts that continually run in your head will ultimately play out into actuality. You need to learn to re-program those negative thoughts into positive ones. I know that sounds trite, but you can't constantly hold negative ideas but portray a positive image. Part of how you are perceived by others is how you unconsciously hold yourself and behave. You may think you are acting positive, but you are doing just that, acting. People are extremely perceptive and can see past the act. If you truly want your business to succeed, the first place you will succeed is by reprogramming your mind and playing positive scenarios there first.

That positive thought process will then play out into how you act and how you deal with your external situations. To begin the process of re-programming your negative thoughts, strive to spend about 10 minutes a day and sit down and review your goals, both for where you want the business to go and financially. What do you want to earn in a day, where do you want your business to be by the end of the year? Set big goals. If you set your goals too low, you will achieve them, but then have nothing more to work for. The key (as discussed before) is to plan big goals, and then plan smaller ones (like stepping stones) that will get your to your big goal.

Whenever you feel resistance building up inside you, write it down. By writing down your fears, you start facing them. Once you have identified that resistance, you can then build smaller goals to overcome the resistance which will then allow you to continue on to your main goals. Always re-analyze your goals and adjust your smaller goals as necessary. You should not change your large goals often (if at all), but you should always be on the lookout for adjusting your smaller goals to be sure you continue heading towards your large goal.

Always remember, Life Happens. There is not a day that goes by where all your plans will work out perfectly. One day, everything may go your way, but the next day, it may seem like the sky is falling. Every day, review your short term goals, at the end of each day review what you were able to accomplish (if anything for that day) and then readjust the next day's goals accordingly. It is basically like a "To Do" list, if you don't get something done one day, put it on the next day's list to complete. If you keep at it consistently, you will find that those small goals do get achieved and before you know it, you are well on your way to achieving your big goal of growing your home based business.

If you are looking for a home based business to get involved in, or are looking for something different that will generate a second, or third income, check out our website. We may have something that will get you excited.

Until tomorrow...

Weight Management Update

I am happy to report that the extra pounds that managed to stick to me last week have all gone away. I am back at the weight from two weeks ago (notice I am not SAYING what that weight was....) and now plan on moving the scale downward on it's way to my target weight (and NO, I will NOT tell you my target weight either...). I did make a few adjustments to my schedule this week which I believe accounts for the loss of weight.

For starters, I was much better about taking the Core4 products (all of them) daily. Two weeks ago, more times than not, the closest I was to taking the Core4 products was looking at the bottles on the counter and thinking, "I should take those". This week, there was no thinking involved, I took the Accelerate in the morning, like I should, I drank one Lean either as a replacement for breakfast or lunch, for regular meals I remembered to sprinkle Cheat on my food and I took the Flush at night. It is amazing how much better you feel when you take better care of your body and weight.

I am now more energetic because I am utilizing the Core4 System again. My pants are not as tight, my belt buckle does not cut into my belly like it was last week, and I don't feel the urge to get into stretchy clothes because they are more comfortable. I also noticed my desire to get up and walk has increased too. I know the Accelerate has some caffeine in it, but I am not as droopy in the middle of the day as I had been. Overall, I am feeling much better (I know in part because I kicked the flu-like symptoms too) and am glad to be back in the saddle again.

I expect that next week, I will not have just maintained my weight, but will be able to report an ongoing weight loss.

Until tomorrow...

Excercise and working together

Today was an interesting day. Our meeting was postponed, we did half of it last night and the other half will now occur tomorrow. Not bad, but not what we had planned for the weekend. The good news is that we kept the weekend open for just such a change in plans. We have learned that it is easier to build in flexibility when planning, instead of planning and when changes occur, everything falls apart because no flexibility was built in. Steve still has problems with rolling with some punches, but he is much better about accepting plan modifications.

Since our plans changed a bit, we opted to hike a local mountain (which we were going to do tomorrow..) this morning. This local mountain is easily accessed, and has several trails ranging in length and difficulty. The mountain's name is "Silly Mountain" and it really is a funny looking mountain. So, since we had time this morning, we opted to begin our exploration of Silly Mountain. To backtrack a bit, since my first knee surgery (I have had 2 to date), my knee was always a bit tricky. I picked up the habit of carrying a walking stick every time I knew I was going out on a hike. Over the years I have picked up several walking sticks and have them stashed all over the house and in my car (you never know when a good hike may appear while driving...). As we were getting ready to hike this morning, I grabbed one of my more visible walking sticks (can't find all of them right now, too many moves...) and asked Steve if he had any duct tape. He had no idea what I had in mind (hmmmm.....)

The duct tape was for the bottom of the walking stick I had chosen, the rubber "bumper" had broken off a while ago, and since I have not done any real hiking, didn't bother replacing the rubber "bumper". As I was putting the finishing touches on closing up the house, Steve was lovingly taping the bottom of my walking stick. We get to Silly Mountain and at the trail head find the various paths that can be taken. We also grabbed a paper map of the mountain and trails and sights so that we sort of know where we are going and what we may be looking at. So, here I am with one of my trusty walking sticks and paper map, and we start walking in the direction of one of the easiest routes on the map.

We didn't want to try a more strenuous path until we had both gotten used to hiking again, but by allowing Steve to lead, we ended up not following the easiest path out there...(those of you who know Steve, know exactly what I am talking about...). We zigged instead of zagged and ended up hiking an intermediate trail. Not really so bad when you are walking up hill, the trail was relatively well maintained and we could see people walking up ahead of us. What got Steve a tad uncomfortable was when we were about half way up the trail, and starting to do some serious panting, there were a few younger people actually running up the trail. I pointed out to Steve that he would have been one of those younger people running up the trail when he was in the Marines, but that didn't seem to make him feel any better.

Anyway, we get to the top of this intermediate trail and really enjoy the views it afforded. At the top of the trail was when we discovered that we were on the wrong trail (really???). After some resting and attempts at finding where we went wrong, we decided it was time to head back down and back to the house. That was when Steve finally realized how nice it would have been if he too had a walking stick. He then started wishing he had taken one of our broom handles and used as a walking stick. That wasn't bad enough, but when I said "Oh I didn't know you wanted one, I have several at the house" all heck broke loose...

Steve whimpered and whined the whole way down, "You don't Love me anymore", "you are trying to kill me, you with a walking stick and me with NOTHING...", "I want a walking stick", "after I change my insurance policy, NOW you want to HIKE without giving ME a walking stick...you are trying to kill me", "Whose bright idea was it to take THIS trail, remember I don't have a walking stick?", "why didn't you just bring a walking stick for me..."(with the appropriate whimper and quivering voice). You get the drift... I couldn't stop laughing, and almost tipped over several times down the trail because I was laughing so hard.

I can't imagine what the other hikers were thinking about as they heard our banter. Honestly, it didn't occur to me that he would want a walking stick, he made no comment as he was taping the bottom of my stick, he didn't say anything as I took it out and carried it up the hill... but wait, the minute he saw how useful it could be to us old farts going down hill....oh boy...

You can bet that next time we hike Silly Mountain, or any other local hike, I will be sure to always have TWO walking sticks available for use... Since I forgot the camera today (we will discuss that oversight another time... ;-P), I will post pictures of Silly Mountain at another time, but did find one picture from the web to post tonight...

Until tomorrow...

Basic Discussions

Today is going to be a very short discussion. Basically I am looking at writers' block and have not the slightest idea what to write. I stare at the computer screen looking for inspiration, and the screen just looks back at me. No help there. I search my desk for inspiration, there is ALWAYS something there to trigger a discussion point. There is tons of stuff on my desk (which is another topic entirely) and yet still no interesting thought pops into my head.

My brain is mush, that is the only explanation I have. It has been an extremely busy week, today was no different. Early in the morning (after going to bed way too late last night), I received a phone call that could not be ignored. Since I was up, decided it was a good time to start some housework since we are expecting guests tonight and again tomorrow. So, clean around the house for a few hours. Began to sit down in front of the computer to get some work done, and bam, decided it was a good idea to do some yard work. That completed in about an hour, had to go to the grocery store for food stuffs for the two home meetings we are holding.

The grocery this time of day and year (snowbirds are in attendance in the middle of the day...) is an experience onto itself... Anyway, after long lines, managed to find my way back home with groceries (and some good deals on beef...) put the food away, got more house cleaning done, then finished preparing for tonight's meeting. Wahoo... meeting went well, went late, but went well, then prepared dinner. Now it is almost midnight and am wondering why I can't think of something interesting and enlightening to talk about. Well, duh... did too much, my brain ran out of batteries.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Tomorrow's meeting starts at 10 and ends by 4, that will give me enough time to rest a bit before writing, I will also make sure the batteries in my brain are charged.

Until tomorrow...

Second Income Sources

I bet you are wondering why I titled this "Second Income Sources". In today's economy, we all need to diversify. When you are talking to stock brokers, they talk about diversification, remember the old adage, "don't put all your eggs in one basket?". That is more true today than it has been in years. Many people have one job, and if they don't like it, find another job to go to. Today, many companies are reducing their employment workforce, and jobs are becoming more scarce. With a second income stream you are supplementing the income from your main job.

I personally know several people who have worked at one company for well over 10 years. This particular company has gone through many iterations, and in an effort to not lay people off, has forced them to take a reduction in pay and a reduction in hours. A double whammy. Many small companies are also trying not to lay off their workforce, but are reducing employee hours to the point of non-work. Several companies are not laying people off because they can't afford the unemployment costs, they hope that if they reduce the hours so much, the employee will quit and move onto another job. The problem with that logic is that there aren't that many jobs to find in many metropolitan areas, so the employees won't quit. Many people are already living from paycheck to paycheck, may also have families and can't just uproot and move to another state for a job that may or may not work out.

Second income streams will help reduce the stresses of this type of working environment. How much more comfortable would you feel if your hours were reduced on your main job, but you had a second income stream. By having another income source, and reduced hours in your first income source, you can now dedicate more time to building your second income source. You may see a brief lowering of income, but that should resolve itself quickly, since you did essentially have more than one "pole in the water". Second income streams can also lessen the strain of paying for unexpected bills, like a car broken down, or some repairs needed for your home. With a second income stream, you can still have that vacation you dreamed of, even if your current job is not paying too well.

There are a lot of things you can do with a second (or third, fourth, etc.) income stream. By having an alternative method of making money, once your main income stream starts drying up, you can easily shift to your second stream. The learning curve can be less (because you have been working a little on this second stream), and you may even enjoy making money through this second stream of income more than your first. Usually if someone has a second income stream, it is doing something they like to do. It may have started as a hobby, but, when push comes to shove, you may be able to easily turn it into your main source of income.

If you do not currently have a second income stream (or backup plan if your current income stream stops suddenly) you may want to consider starting to build another income source. You never know where the tides will go, and it is always a good idea to stay diversified. Hawgwash, LLC has several different income opportunities, in different fields. Take a look at what we have to offer, perhaps it will be something that tickles your fancy. If you don't see what you like, shoot us an e-mail and let us know what you might be interested in. Perhaps together we can help you find the perfect second income stream to suit your need and lifestyle.

Until tomorrow...

Lighthearted Reading - Some Humor

As promised, tonight we are going to get away from talking about business opportunities, business in general, and basically how to develop a second income that may work into a full-time income. I know this is all very interesting and important to discuss, but everyone needs to take a break once and a while. Tonight, I decided was going to be a little fun...

We have a male Yorkshire Terrier who is not neutered. This has been an ongoing issue, whether to neuter him or not. He is AKC certified, is from a champion line, so theoretically, he would make a good stud. The problem is that we are not sure how to get him out to stud, and whether he would be a good stud dog. His coloring is black and tan, not the typical silver and tan, and I am not sure if that is a good thing or not. The biggest drawback about considering neutering for this Yorkie is that Steve is dead set against it.

The vet highly recommends neutering male dogs, supposedly it prolongs their life, reduces the risk of testicular cancer, improves their temper (how can that be if they lost the family jewels?)and keeps them from too much wanderlust. But, you can't neuter if you are going to stud the dog. All that being said, the issue of neutering our Yorkie came up again today, just in general discussion. What I discovered regarding neutering dogs is pretty funny.

Did you know that there is a product on the market for the pet owner that feels they need to neuter their dog, but want their dog to still have something to play with? There is on the market an item called Neuticles, it is a prosthetic testicular implant for neutered dogs, cats, equines and bulls. What I found to be pretty odd is that you can basically pick the size and hardness of the neuticle to be put in your pet. I don't know about you, but I do NOT go about checking the size and hardness of my dogs nuts. How do I know what he wants? They actually charge for the each or the pair.... why would you want to purchase one neuticle?

All right, so some pet owners may believe that their pet will become depressed if, after surgery, he awakes to find his favorite play-toy missing. Don't you think they would eventually get used to the fact that the testicles are gone and find something else to lick? When I told others about this implant you can give your pet, they thought I was crazy. You want to know what is really crazy?

Lets talk about Neuticles Merchandise. You can purchase t-shirts and hats with the Neuticles name on it. Even better, you can purchase earrings (a pair - go figure) to wear. So, I guess if your dog lost his, you can hang them on your ears.... ewwww... You can purchase a necklace with either one or two of the neuticles hanging from it too. Is this going a little too far? I think so...., but it is real. You too can look it up on the Internet. I have thoughtfully provided pictures of two types of earrings for sale, the single post earring for guys (now what guy is going to advertise they are hanging prosthetic testicles from their ear?) or the pair of wire earrings for women. Now isn't that just the fashion statement, wearing synthetic dog nuts on your ears or around your neck. They also have key rings and bathrobes. That is just too weird for me.

Anyway, the concept of Neuticles is kind of good for the pet owner that doesn't want to disfigure their male pet, but does need or want to neuter them. I am just a little grossed out by the merchandise that can be purchased, advertising that your pet now has a set of synthetic nuts... the beginning of the six-million dog???? Perhaps this will open into a new TV series... Stranger things have happened...

By the way, we still haven't come to any agreement on whether or not to neuter our Yorkie. If he had a say in it, he would side with Steve. We shall see...

Until tomorrow...

More Marketing of your Business Opportunity

Yesterday we touched on two techniques that you could use to better market your business opportunity, answering customer complaints about your competitors and listening to your customer's problems. Today we are going to review two more techniques that can be very successful in helping you to market your business opportunity.

When you are talking to others about your business opportunity, you want to know as much as possible about the subject you are discussing. By becoming an expert in your field, that gives you more credibility with your customers. They will be more prone to come to you with questions, and they will be more willing to use what you have to offer, again because they perceive you as an expert. People trust experts, the downside is that you really do need to know what you are talking about. You cannot guess or make up answers, even if they sound credible, your customers will eventually find out that you really didn't know what you were talking about.

The best way to become well versed in your field is to sit down and talk with other experts in the field that your business opportunity is in. If you want to become well educated in Multi-Level Marketing, find out who is successful in that field and then pick their brains. You will be surprised at how many people will be willing to talk with you and offer their knowledge. The key is to research what you are doing and decide to become the best in that area.

Once you become an expert, don't be afraid to spread that knowledge. People are always hungry for knowledge, so don't be stingy. Remember that you learned from others, so keep the learning process going for you and others.

The last technique I would like to cover is how to get a "Positive" 'No' versus a "Negative" 'No" when asking customers questions. How many times have you flat-out asked people if they were interested in your business opportunity? How many people (even friends) told you NO? That flat 'No' can be very demoralizing. You will always get 'no' when you are in business. Part of the key to success is in looking at those "No's" as getting you closer to a "Yes", but there may be another way to change that NO to a much more positive "NO".

We are going to use our product line, UltraLuster, as an example. This is a waterless vehicle wash and is best marketed by demonstrating what it can do for your vehicle's finish. If a person walked up to our booth while I asked if they would like to see a demo of our products, I would most likely receive a "NO" and the person would turn their back on me and walk away. A better way to present the question would be, "Have you ever seen a vehicle washed without water?". The "NO" I would then receive is a positive "no" because I have piqued their interest. No, they haven't seen a vehicle cleaned without water, so I can then go on and do the demonstration.

The point behind this is that it is much better to ask open-ended questions rather than Yes/No questions. If you ask a Yes/No question, there is no room to explore. The question is answered and the customer loses interest. By asking and open-ended question, "have you ever washed your car without water?", you are engaging the customer, causing them to think about your question and wonder what you may have that would make their life better. By asking open-ended questions, you could end up getting the customer so excited about the product or service you are offering that they sell it to themselves. The best part about open-ended questions is that you now are starting to build a rapport with the customer and are not expecting to hear that "NO". You feel better and they feel better because they ended up possibly learning something from you.

Tomorrow I will switch gears and get off the marketing platform for a bit...perhaps another funny story, if something funny happens tomorrow..

Until then...

More Tips on how to Market your Business Opportunity

We had been talking late last month about several simple techniques for marketing your business opportunity. In prior blogs we discussed how to present your business values to your customers, how your opportunity will help your customers and don't give the customer too much information up front. Tonight we are going to briefly discuss how to answer customer complaints regarding your competition and how to show empathy towards your customers when they have problems or complaints.

When you are in business for yourself, you will most likely have competitors out there offering similar, if not the same products and services that you do. The key is to differentiate yourself from your competition so that customers will be more willing to come to you rather than to your competition. The problem you will most likely encounter (and this will be encountered some time down the road as you remain in business) is dealing with customers complaining to you about your competitor. The temptation will be great to jump on that bandwagon and help "bash" your competition, but that is not really what the customer wants, or needs to hear. Keep in mind, if you goad the customer into complaining about your competition, you really don't know if it is a temporary complaint with the customer, or something that will keep the customer away for the remainder of their business.

We will all annoy customers at some time or another. No matter how good you are in your business dealings, you will some day do something to irritate customers. It is not in your best interest to help the customer complain. Let the complaining customer talk out their irritation, take notes if appropriate and then focus on not doing what your competition did that aggravated your customer. Do the opposite of what you competition did and you will earn the respect of the customer base, more so than joining in on the complaint game.

As the customer is complaining about whatever annoyed them, be sure to understand what the problem your customer is describing. The key is to not just know the problem, but to understand what might be an underlying problem or concern. As a responsible business owner, you need to listen with compassion to your customer and then possibly restate to the customer what you believe the problem to be. Do not be judgmental, your customer is looking to you to solve the problem, not judge what they did or did not do. Your customer will appreciate the time you took to understand the problem and if you were able to read further into what is going on to see if you can assist in resolving the particular issue. Customers will be more willing to come to you for solutions to their problems if they know you are not going to judge them, and if they know that you are really listening to their concerns. This building of trust will be talked about by the customer to their friends and associates and will garner you more qualified business than any advertising campaign ever would.

Tomorrow we will discuss credibility and how to ask open ended questions that do not end in negative "No's".

If you are looking for business opportunities, we have several different opportunities on our website. If you are not sure what you are looking for in a business opportunity, please e-mail us with your questions and we will do what we can to help steer you in the direction you wish to go.

Until tomorrow...