Why should I look at a home-based business?

Why should I look at a home-based business? I just heard on the news today that businesses (specifically in the Phoenix, AZ area) are not quick to hire anyone and for those positions that are open, instead of looking for someone who can be either molded or can create the job, they are looking for someone who will fit into a pre-determined box they call a specific job task. If the candidates resume does not fit within the box, the employer will not even call the job-seeker in for an interview. Because there are so many people looking for work and there are much fewer jobs available, employers have the luxury of picking and choosing candidates. Not only can they choose the specific qualifications of each candidate, but employers are also able to define what they want to pay for that particular skill-set.

Please don't get me wrong. Working for someone else is not a bad thing, it is just not something that most people will do if they want to become financially independent. I have yet to meet one person who worked for a company or organization and became wealthy just from working for that organization. Your wealthy workers were those who found other uses for the money they earned. These people took the money that they worked hard for and then started making that money work for them. By the end of their working time with an employer, their money was making money and they had no more need for trading their time for someone else's money. That is why many people, when coming upon retirement age, find that they cannot retire when they wanted and live the life they had dreamed.

The key here is to find something to do with that little extra money you keep putting aside. Putting your money in a bank savings account is good, but the interest earned on that money is minuscule compared to what you could earn with other investments. I am not about to give any of you investment advice on where to put your money, but am here to suggest that you start looking for additional ways to earn an income. Going back to the job situation again, even if you are gainfully employed, there is no guarantee that tomorrow your current company will let you go, either due to down-sizing or other issues. In today's work environment, companies are looking very hard at their bottom line and may decide to let go of their higher salaried people because they can obtain the same skill-set for less money because there are so many unemployed people out there.

By starting to get your money to work for you, you will free yourself up from the "rat-race" of trying to make a buck - trading your valuable time for their money. Once you start having your money work for you instead of you working for your money, you are starting on the road towards financial freedom. Eventually, it is entirely possible that your money will be earning enough that you won't have to worry about working for anybody else. That is the true form of financial freedom.

So, as you continue to save a little bit here and a little bit there from your regular 'job', think about how you are going to get your money to work for you. You may decide to try your hand in stocks and bonds, or you may try real estate, or there are some very profitable home based business out there that can also become self-perpetuating. Be sure that the money you do start to invest is something that you can afford to lose if the investment does not pan out. As we have discussed in prior Millionaire Focus articles, many of those millionaires have put money into investments and lost the investment. But, they kept looking for other investments to get into. They continued to find ways to make the money work for them, not the other way around.

If you are interested in some home-based business opportunities, please check out our website. We also have some ideas for starting your own waterless car cleaning business if that is what interests you. If you would like to discuss other investment ideas, we are here to talk to if you want to bounce some ideas around. No matter what you decide, find something you love that will also help your money to grow at a faster rate than you would find in basic bank savings and CD accounts. These are some reasons why you should look at a home-based business.

Until tomorrow...

Weekly Fun Facts

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Weekly Fun Facts. We are now between our last two holidays of the year, Christmas has ended and we are all looking forward (eagerly) to the beginning of the New Year. This week's fun facts will include some New Years facts along with just plain strange fun facts. Hopefully you can use some of these odd tidbits in your upcoming holiday party...

This Friday we will be saying goodbye to 2010 and at midnight welcoming in the new year 2011. For many of us, we will be very glad to see 2010 go, but then again, we said the same thing for 2009... Did you know where the tradition of welcoming the new year came from?

In Agrarian times, the new year was celebrated during the first New Moon after the Vernal Equinox (the first day of spring). This was the most logical time for celebrating the "New Year" because with Spring comes rebirth and new life. Over time, as the Romans tried to manage the calendar, the dates and schedules got more and more confused. Julius Caesar in 46BC established the "Julian Calendar" which established January 1 as the new year. As you know, not even this calendar was entirely accurate, every 4 years we have to add a day to our calendar to synchronize it with the sun.

The tradition of creating New Year's Resolutions did begin during the time of the Babylonians. Usually they just resolved to return borrowed farm equipment. Now we make resolutions that can range from losing weight or being a better person.

Speaking of resolutions, did you know that 63% of the people still keep their resolutions after the first 2 months?
67% of people actually make 3 or more resolutions each year?
The top resolutions usually involve promises to exercise more (37%), increase the time devoted to study or work (23%), losing weight, stop smoking or drinking and to eat healthier.
People make more resolutions to start a new habit (84%) rather than to break an old one (16%).
65% of the people made their resolutions between December 28th and New Year's Day
Of those who actually achieved their top resolution, 40% of them did so on the first attempt. The remainder made multiple tries with 17% finally succeeding after more than 6 attempts.


Do you know when the use of a baby began to symbolize the new year? This tradition began in Greece around 600 BC. They carried around a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of Dionysus (the god of wine...go figure...) . Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth and fertility.

Traditionally it was thought that you could affect your luck for the upcoming new year by what you ate or what you did on the first day of the year. Japanese will sit up to watch the first sunrise of the new year. Others celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Certain foods are also believed to bring luck if eaten on New Year's Day (Donuts (YEAH!!!), black-eyed peas, cabbage, hog's meat and rice to name a few).

1907 is the first year that New York drops the famous ball from Times Square. At that time it was a five foot ball made out of weed and iron and weighed 700 pounds.

As of 2011 the ball is now 12 feet in diameter made out of Waterford Crystals and weighs 11,875 pounds. It is illuminated by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LED's (light emitting diodes). By mixing the four colors (the ball now has 12 red, 12 blue, 12 green and 12 white LED's or a total of 8,064 LEDs of each color) the ball can now create a palette of more than 16 million colors and billions of patterns. For 2011, Waterford Crystal has designed 288 new "Let There Be Love" crystal triangles featuring a romantic pattern. 288 triangles are emblazoned with last year's "Let there be Courage" design defining triumph of courage over adversity and 1,152 triangles sparkle with "Let there be Joy" design. The remaining 960 triangles are the original "Let There be Light" design of a stylized radiating sunburst.

This ball has dropped every year except in 1942 and 1943 due to wartime lighting restrictions.

For those of you planning on drinking champagne this weekend - a raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top...

There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos. Now how do the people in the casino's celebrate New Years?

And lastly, for those of you who live in the warmer desert regions - a tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion will make it instantly go mad and sting itself to death. Now you know what to do with that liquor you didn't drink on New Year's eve...

Have a wonderful New Year's and be safe. Enjoy your weekly fun facts and enjoy amazing your friends with your new-found knowledge... If you are looking for some way to earn extra money in the new year, you may want to see what opportunities we have to offer on our website. We may have something that you would love to do. Or, if you are making a resolution to keep your vehicle cleaner, we have a variety of waterless cleaning products to help you to achieve that resolution.

Until tomorrow...

Epicurean Marketplace

Well, Saturday we participated in an Epicurean Marketplace at the AJ's Fine Foods at 31311 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale. If you have never been to this AJ's, you are missing an awesome experience. The people there were great, the customers were wonderful and to top it all off, the weather was perfect.

For those of you who may have seen the AJ's Fine Foods, but never entered, it is a boutique gourmet market serving Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. The AJ's concept was created in 1985 with a mission to bring an upscale gourmet market experience to the Vally. Since then, they have grown to include 13 markets in the metro Phoenix area. They have specialty items, prime cuts, floral item, gifts and so much more. If you are looking for that hard-to find wine, or micro-brew beer, this is the place to go. I was drooling over the huge selection of micro-brews and would have spent every penny earned on what they had in the cooler if I had not been working the Epicurean Marketplace outside. AJ's is like no grocery store I have been in before.

The Epicurean Marketplace on Saturday was a sight to behold. They had about 50 vendors outside, many of them were fine art vendors. There were also food vendors offering many delectable items to sample. There were enough different vendors offering samples that you could easily make a meal from the samples alone. Many of the items sampled were also offered by AJ's for sale on a regular basis. It was wonderful to be able to taste these items before purchasing something I have never sampled.

The artwork showcased outside was wonderful. There were many paintings, oils, sculptures and jewelry. There was also a gentleman who hand painted bird houses. These bird houses were so beautiful that I would not leave them outside. On a few of his bird houses he had even individually shingled them with copper. These bird houses were works of art. If you have the opportunity to visit an Epicurean Marketplace, I would highly recommend that you at least wander by. There was so much to offer, and such a wide variety of art and food, that most people would have found something to delight in. We were able to offer our Waterless Cleaning technology products and StemTech, our stem cell nutritional products. We had a great opportunity to talk to many people at this event.

Next week we will be attending another Marketplace at the Basha's in Queen Creek. Again there should be a wide variety of vendors for your viewing and eating pleasure. It will be from 10-4 this Saturday, October 16th. Hopefully we will see you there. If you have questions about location, or questions about our products, please feel free to e-mail us, we would love to hear from you.

Until tomorrow...

What is My Greatest Achievement

While searching for an interesting topic for tonight's blog, I came across a great question from Plinky.com. Tonight I am going to answer the question, what's your greatest achievement? How many of us can actually answer that question? There are so many small achievements to be proud of, but to find one that you would classify your 'greatest", well that takes some serious thought.My greatest achievement to date is having started Hawgwash, LLC and kept it running successfully for over 4 years. We have beaten the odds for new start-up companies so far. This January Hawgwash, LLC will be 5 years old. This is a huge achievement, especially since we have had a declining economy for most of those 5 years. (no the decline in the economy is not because we started Hawgwash, LLC)

I had been a corporate person for the majority of my adult life, working my way up from general sales, into accounting and finance. It had been tough, slowly climbing from rung to rung, long hours, minimal pay increases, but with time I succeeded in the corporate world. The difference was that I was still working for someone else, helping them to get rich. Four and a half years ago, with help from Steve, I left the corporate world to start Hawgwash, LLC.


We now travel around the country, from various shows (Motorcycle Rallies, Car rallies, RV Rallies) meeting the neatest people and promoting our products ad services. When we first started Hawgwash, LLC, we had a pretty basic business plan and a limited product offering. We were the Waterless Cleaning people. We would detail cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats and RV. Basically any vehicle you had, if it had decent paint on it, we would clean it for you.


As the economy started changing, we started adjusting our marketing strategy and expanding our product line. Our initial products went from the waterless cleaning items, to towels and additional cleaning supplies. At the suggestion of a good vendor friend of ours, we began carrying other items not specifically related to waterless cleaning techonolgy. This way, if we were in an area where they could care less about keeping the paint of their vehicle clean, we had other product offerings to entice customers.


We continued experimenting with other product offerings and removed products that did not produce solid results. As time goes on, we will continue to expand our products and services, always on the lookout to provide the best of the best for our customers. This philosophy has served us well over the years and we will continue to review products and services to be sure we are providing the best value for our customers


Because of our constant search, we have changed our goal of Hawgwash, LLC. We are not just the waterless people anymore, but are now Second Income Specialists. We offer several small business opportunities for people looking for a second or additional income stream. We have business offerings in the legal, nutritional and waterless technology fields. We are always open for questions and are more than willing to help guide people to find an opportunity that best suits their needs, even if it is an opportunity that we do not work with.

If you are interested in what we have to offer, or have questions, please check out our website at www.hawgwash.net or feel free to e-mail us. We welcome your comments and suggestions. As you can see, after almost 5 years, I am still very proud of this business of ours, Hawgwash, LLC. I consider it my greatest achievement to date.


Until tomorrow...

Need for Small Business Motivation

How do you stay motivated in your small business when it feels like you are continually struggling? You start struggling with the tough questions: is now the right time for my business; do I have the right product and service mix for the current customer base and lastly, should I call it quits? These same questions have most likely plagued all small business owners at some point (or at many points) of their business career. There is a very strong need for small business motivation. It is very tough right now to remain successful and when times get tough, it is hard to remain motivated to keep your small business going.

We have discussed in other articles the need to keep an eye on your competition to see what they are doing correctly or incorrectly. Then you strive to fill the gaps that your competition cannot fill. We have also discussed keeping your products and services appropriate for your customer base, changing or adjusting products and services as your client tastes change. What we didn't review lately is how to remain motivated while you are working to keep your small business profitable and hopefully growing.

One way to know you are going in the right direction with your business is to regularly measure your progress against your established milestones. These metrics should have been included in your business plan, but if you did not include any measurements for growth, now would be a good time to get those benchmarks developed. By measuring your existing business metrics against what you believe should be, you are able to verify either improvement or problems. Either way, you will be motivated, if you are doing better than expected, you will be motivated to continue the momentum. If you are not doing as well as expected, then you are more motivated to get your small business back on the path to financial success. Either way, instead of worrying about where your business might be, you have measured your current business standings and know for certain where you should be taking your business going forward.

Another way to stay motivated with your small business is to talk to others about what you are doing and what you plan on doing in the near future with your business. Because you have taken your ideas out into the light (talking to people) you are now making yourself more accountable for your plans, others will begin asking how you are progressing. Knowing that you have others watching with interest your success will help keep you motivated and continue on with the plans you had discussed. Sometimes we come up with so many plans, we get overwhelmed and end up not implementing any plans. By discussing these new ideas with close friends or other business associates, you can manage and prioritize the ideas (some for implementation now, others for implementation down the road) and then remain motivated to keep your new ideas moving into your business.

Lastly, remember that difficulty is part of being in business. If you look at almost anyone who has started and run a small business, most of the time the business did not grow without difficulties. You need to understand and appreciate that you will be working under pressure (a lot with a new business start-up). Some tasks will be much more difficult than other tasks, and all tasks will most likely be more difficult than you first thought they would be. The difficulty of the task should not stop you from performing the task, just keep in mind it will most likely be challenging. If it was easy to start and continue to run a small business, everyone and their brother would be in a small business. The motivation here is knowing that everyone who has started a small business has experienced difficulties. The bigger motivation is knowing that once you have passed that difficult stage, you can look back and appreciate where you came from and enjoy where you currently are. Remember, odds are that if the task is difficult, the rewards will be higher, and the personal satisfaction will be greater once you have completed the task.

Hopefully these points will help you to remain motivated while you are building your small business. The current economic times are very tough, many businesses are shutting their doors, now is the time to really focus on keeping your business successful because once the economy starts on it's upswing (and yes, it will come up again) you will be riding the front of that wave and wonder why you questioned your business.

If you are looking for a second (or third, or fourth...) income along the lines of a home based business, we may have something that would interest you (www.hawgwash.net). We offer business opportunities in StemTech (adult stem cell nutritionals), Pre-Paid Legal, Waterless cleaning technology and in Mona Vie nutritional drinks. These business opportunities all have a great pay plan and are very reliable business opportunities. Please feel free to contact us with any questions regarding these or any other business opportunity you are considering.

Until tomorrow...

Grasshopper, who's a grasshopper?

It was just recently I heard a friend refer to someone else as a grasshopper. I had never heard that description before, it made sense, but I had never heard it phrased this way before. We had been talking about other marketers and we had a mutual friend who seemed to always be moving from one opportunity to another, and not sticking with any one opportunity for any significant length of time. Calling them a grasshopper was very descriptive and very accurate.

Then I got to thinking, grasshopper, who's a grasshopper? Do people think I am a grasshopper too? Perception is everything in the marketing world, so after our evening chatter, by the time I got home, I really started thinking, am I a grasshopper too? All of a sudden that reference didn't seem as harmless. It made me take a step back and really reassess what I am doing and where I want our business to go.

All businesses have to change. Change is required, if you don't change, you most likely will not be in business for very long. The difference is that the changes you make in business have to be relevant to where you are and where you need to go. Change for changes sake is not going to help anyone. So, if change is necessary in order to grow your business, the tough part is to figure out how to implement those changes and not be labeled a grasshopper... Interesting problem. It is an angle I hadn't considered before.

I then took a look at how Hawgwash, LLC has changed over the last two years wondering if we looked like grasshoppers too to the outside world. Gratefully, I don't believe we fit that bill. The other aspect of a grasshopper is someone who would work on one opportunity, drop it and move onto the next, better-looking opportunity. They do this on a regular basis. They look more like opportunists rather than business people. Hawgwash, LLC has not dropped one opportunity for another, but rather, we have expanded our business opportunities to meet a wider range of interests. We have not lost sight of our original business opportunity, waterless wash technology. We also recognize the fact that not everyone is interested in waterless technology, heck there are many people who don't want to bother cleaning their car, with or without water.

So that we didn't turn into a "scotch tape store" we began to expand into other income opportunities that suited us personally, but would also suit our customer base. The other income opportunities we offer are not just opportunities that looked good on paper. The are opportunities that we personally use and believe in. So, unlike some who may change their business model based on the profitability of the month, we are in it for the long haul with our selection of income opportunities. We work all of the opportunities, and don't plan on abandoning them for a newer fad.

Tomorrow we will review the various income opportunities that Hawgwash, LLC has to offer and discuss why we added them to our master business plan.

Until tomorrow...

The "NO HASSLE" MLM Test Ride

Test the waters with an MLM Company without having to join the MLM Company!

Have you ever wondered, really, if you should try selling products from an MLM Company? Most likely you have heard so many bad things that happen to people who join an MLM Company and now, as much as you would like to earn an extra income, you are not comfortable joining any MLM because of all the bad press about so many of them.

Well, we have a solution to your dilemma.

We would like to offer you the opportunity to purchase a full Waterless Detail Kit at $75.00 (Retail Value of $100.00) plus shipping and handling, to try the products and show 5 of your friends.

The full Waterless Detail Kit includes:
16 oz Bottle of Ultra-Ion Waterless Wash with 8 oz Applicator
Premium Metal Polish
Fabric & Upholstery Cleaner
Tire & Trim Treatment
Oxygone

If any of your friends end up purchasing a Waterless Detail Kit at full Retail (plus shipping & handling), then we will pay you $25.00 for each kit sold at full Retail, up to 5 kits sold.

For an initial investment of $75.00, you can earn up to $125.00.

If after that, you believe that you can market this opportunity, you are more than welcome to join our team, but you are not obligated to do so.

No strings attached!

You are getting $100.00 worth of products for $75.00 and no further obligation is necessary. The advantage is if you do show 5 of your friends, and they purchase a Detail Kit, you can earn up to an additional $125.00, still no strings attached.

This way, we can show you that you do not have to twist arms, harass your friends and neighbors and still earn additional income.

How much better can it get than that?

E-mail us at hawgwash1@yahoo.com to order your "NO HASSLE" MLM Test Ride today.

Until tomorrow...

Kentucky Ride In 2010

Today was the last day of the Kentucky Ride In 2010 put on by the local GWRRA (Gold Wing Road Riders Association). This was not a typical motorcycle rally for us, more like a weekend for Gold Wing Riders to literally ride in and just hang out together. It was a nice change of pace for us, we were able to present our Waterless Cleaning Products to the riders and not feel like we had to work hard. One reason for that is our table was set up inside an air conditioned pavilion. So even though it got over 90 degrees outside with a high humidity, we were very comfortable.

Since the majority of riders at this event were Honda riders, we focused on presenting our Waterless Cleaning Technology products for them to see. Since we were essentially at an indoor event, we did not have much opportunity to demonstrate our Waterless products. The good news is that many of the riders were familiar with Waterless Cleaning Technology, so demonstrations were not super critical. What was really nice about an indoor show is that all the attendees were happy to be indoors and had a good attitude when looking at the products we had to offer.

This event was a great way to connect with many people. Since it was not a crowded event, it gave us a lot of time to wander around and spend time talking with people instead of constantly demonstrating our products. For many vendors, this may not have been a good thing because it was a very casual event, designed more for socializing than selling. But in these casual events, you get to learn more about what people are interested in and you actually have the time to spend time with people instead of looking for that next customer. We had great opportunities to talk with the District Staff and find out more about what Gold Wing Riders like to do. This is great information for when we attend other Gold Wing Rallies in the future.

Since I spent a LOT of time socializing, it is VERY late right now (after midnight) so I am going to call it a night. We are looking forward to attending next year's Kentucky Ride In assuming that it will be held after Memorial Day (for us personally...) otherwise we will be sure to have one of our associates attend the Ride In so that our Waterless Products continue to be represented here.

Until tomorrow...

GWRRA Georgia Wing Fling

Last night was the closing of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) Georgia Wing Fling rally. Personally, I had never participated in a Gold Wing rally and am very, VERY impressed about how they organize it out here in Georgia. I also was not entirely sure how we would be received at a Gold Wing rally, I had no idea what Gold Wing riders were interested in. Generally the rallies we attend are basically Harley-Davidson focused, even though other bikes are more than welcome. What I have learned is that rallies for different types of motorcycle brands have different ideas of what happens at a rally.

For instance, at the BMW rallies we attend, the riders are more focused on light-weight camping gear and clothing for riding rather than cleaning their bikes. Actually, they seem to find it a mark of pride to have a dirty bike. The more bug-caked their bikes are, the higher their standings are. Their focus is on riding, not cleaning their bikes. Therefore, our Waterless Wash products do not really go over too well with BMW riders. The only thing they really liked our products for was cleaning their windshields and face shields on their helmets.

Harley riders tend to like lots of leather. Leather jackets, chaps, vests, purses, belts, basically any type of wearable leather. Harley riders do like cleaning products for their motorcycles, especially our Waterless Technology cleaning products. That is mostly because there can be a whole lot of chrome on Harley-Davidson motorcycles and with a waterless cleaning product, they can quickly and easily clean their chrome without making a mess.

Gold Wings are large bikes and do not have their engine showing like the Harley's or even BMW's usually do. There is a lot of fiberglass or plastic on a Wing, and usually not a whole lot of chrome. The Gold Wing riders take a lot of pride in their bikes and like to keep them clean, so we figured that our Waterless Wash Technology products would be a good fit for the Wing riders. I just wasn't sure about the reception of the other products we had to offer (like our Doo Rags and our wheel cleaning stands). I should not have been concerned. What we had to offer for the Wing riders is what many of them were looking for.

Back to why I really liked the planning of this particular GWRRA Georgia Wing Fling. what I really liked about this type of rally is the fact that they not only had poker runs for the riders, but there were seminars and educational lectures for the riders and their passengers (also called co-riders). The BMW rallies we have attended also had seminars for the riders, and it is nice to know that other groups also find seminars worthwhile. Some of the seminars covered a wide variety of topics from "How to have fun at a Rally", "Remembering Names" (boy do I need that one...), to "Motorcycle Awareness" to name a few of the choices available.

The theme of this year's GWRRA's 25th Annual Georgia Wing Fling was the American Bandstand, so they had 50's style dance contests, bingo, a "Twist it up Talent show" and all kinds of activities. There was even a scavenger hunt and a trivia quiz that included many vendors. I thought that the wide variety of activities really kept the participants very busy and having a whole lot of fun. Everyone we met was in a good mood, and that could have been a major challenge because it did get quite warm during the days here.

Not only did the rally organizers have all these activities going, but they were going on in a timely fashion. There seemed to be no delays, and when they say something was to occur at a particular time, golly, it did. The vendor organizers also had their ducks in a row. They had already had areas set up for the vendors and worked very well with the vendors to make sure everyone was satisfied with location. What I thought was awesome was that the Assistant Georgia District Directors continued to wander around the vendor area making sure the vendors had cold water to drink and checking to see if the vendors needed any assistance with anything. It is extremely rare that organizers take that much care of the vendors. It is wonderful to find people that care about others. We have found a whole lot of people here in Georgia really care about other people....

We are looking forward to attending next years GWRRA's Georgia Wing Fling.

Until tomorrow...

Back to Business

Well, it is now after Memorial Day and time to get back to business. As you may be aware, we take about 2 weeks off each year and participate in Run for the Wall to honor our heroes. I have posted some of what we did on the last series of blogs, so you may have a sense of what this event means to me personally. Now it is time to get back in the saddle and back to work.

This weekend you can find Hawgwash, LLC in LaGrange, GA. We will have a display up a the Bikers On Main festival in LaGrange, GA. Not only will we have our Waterless Wash products, but we will be detailing motorcycles there. Again, this is a great opportunity to advertise your business. If you are struggling trying to get your business recognized, try attending some rallies. They don't have to be motorcycle rallies, but perhaps farmer's markets, art shows, whatever type of outdoor event that would be a good match for the services and products you offer.

Tonight's blog is going to be relatively short, it has been a long two weeks, and my brain is still more angled towards Run for the Wall rather than on business. Today was the first day that we really focused on business since the beginning of RFTW. Granted we detailed many bikes prior to the beginning of the Run, but once on the run, the mission took over and the business took a back seat.

As you work your business, it is critical to be able to take time out for your personal time. Running a home based business can become all-consuming and you may lost focus on the important things in your life. Our re-focusing time is the motorcycle trip across country for Run for the Wall. It is a great way for us to get back in touch with life's priorities. Then, when the event / mission is completed, you are better able to reset your priorities and get back to your home based business with better focus and vigor. I do not recommend Run for the Wall for everyone, but you should find some event or task that will take your mind off of your business for a short while. Everyone needs to take a break from work, otherwise you will find your life will feel out-of-balance.

So much for my ramblings tonight. Tomorrow will be another day.

Until tomorrow...

More Info on Hemp Hearts and Why

Well, today I finally tasted the sample products we received yesterday, Hemp Hearts. No, they didn't taste like chicken. They tasted like a cross between sunflower seeds and pine nuts. Not a bad flavor, and tasted great when mixed with yogurt. The jury is still out about whether this product can do what all the posted reports indicate, but it is only day one of my personal guinea pig trial...

You may all be wondering why I am allowing myself to test other nutritional products when I currently have one that I love dearly, STEMTech. There are several reasons why I keep an open mind towards other nutritional products. First off, the STEMTech products help promote healthy cell production and growth. StemEnhance and StemFLO do not necessarily provide nutrition to keep those new, healthy cells healthy. So, I am on the hunt for products to help keep the healthy developed cells healthy. We currently offer MonaVie nutritional drinks for maintaining healthy cells, but sometimes nutritional drinks alone do not inspire others. Some people may not like the taste of some of the MonaVie nutritional drinks, others may not want to spend the money on a nutritional drink.

So, I continue to search for alternative methods to maintain those healthy cells. For those of you that know me, I am always looking for the best of the best. That even includes waterless vehicle cleaning technology. If you have looked at my website, you will notice that I carry two different brands of waterless cleaning technology products (UltraLuster and Dri Wash 'n Guard). That is because I feel they both are currently the best in the field. I am always looking for the best in a particular field. I want to be able to offer my customers the best in the market, without them having to do all the research. The research is properly my job. Therefore, I am also searching the nutritional field for some of the best nutritional products out there.

What I have discovered is that there is a much bigger field in nutritional products than I had ever imagined. I knew on some level that there were a multitude of options, but wow, it is hard to figure out where to start. In order for me to narrow the field down a bit, (and really, that is still hard to do) I am trying to decide on what type of nutritional product I would like to focus on. The STEMTech products are revolutionary because they promote your own body's ability to restore and heal itself. The next question is which direction do I wish to take in order to keep those newly created healthy cells healthy.

I am not a medical doctor, nor have I had any medical training. What I have been doing is asking various health professionals what they would recommend for maintaining optimal health and why. Golly, the answers I get are as varied as the nutritional products that are on a health food store. So, back to my dilemma, what to do....

What I have decided to do is to look for new ideas in nutrition, some that have legitimate science behind them instead of empty theories and old wives tales. That does narrow the filed a lot, but still, it is difficult to sift through the statements to validate which has scientific basis and which are unsubstantiated claims. The Hemp Hearts concept has some scientific basis and has been recommended by many doctors, but it has not gone main stream. Not sure why, and will continue to dig until I understand the concepts more fully.

In the mean time, I will continue to use the samples that were graciously supplied to me by the distribution company and will keep you all posted on my personal results. I did have more energy today than yesterday, which is one of the claims of the distributor. But, the real key is in discovering if this new-found energy is continuous, day after day, or just because I had a good day today. I would really like to discover that Hemp Hearts will be an awesome nutritional, I love the concept that they promote, and technically the proteins, vitamins and enzymes that are listed are all the great things our human body needs. I will continue to monitor my personal physical results, and keep you appraised every few days.

In a nutshell, the product, Hemp Hearts, claim that they are the most concentrated source of essential nutrients known. Theoretically those that consume a set amount of Hemp Hearts each morning will notice that they have more energy, will expel wastes after every meal, and are not hungry until mid-afternoon. This product is also promoted as being able to allow a person to lose weight because by consuming Hemp Hearts will reduce your appetite and allow you to eat smaller portions of non-processed foods. If you follow their diet regimen, you could lose up to a pound a day. The Hemp Harts product claim to have sufficient nutrients for tissue health, sufficient long fiber roughage for colon health and sufficient energy for success and good mental health.

I promise to keep you posted.

Until tomorrow...

Quick Blog Tonight

Today was a wonderful day for a detail of a beautiful Jaguar. The day dawned bright and sunny, and even better, not too hot. By 11 am we were heading out to accomplish our detail of the Jag. This is the Jaguar that we have been detailing for the last several months, and this car (I should say, FINE MACHINE) definitely loves to be detailed.

Since it is maintained even when we are not cleaning it, the paint feels like it is brand new. How many times have you run your hand across the paint on your car, even after you washed it, only to have the paint still feel a little bumpy? The paint on this car is still as slick as it was (if not slicker) than when it came off the factory floor over ten years ago. As you can tell, it is a dream car to clean and it glitters like a diamond when it is freshly cleaned.

Our waterless product, UltraLuster protects the dark paint from the harmful UV rays of the sun, so there has been minimal fading of this paint. Granted the car is kept garaged and covered when possible, but combining that care with a UV protectant allows the paint to continue looking new and fresh far longer, especially in this hot Arizona sun.

After our fun detail, we were able to spend the rest of the day taking care of chores around the house that were in dire need of doing. Needless to say, I am quite pooped after all of that and will be heading off to bed shortly.

If you are interested in purchasing some of our waterless products, please feel free to visit our website at http://www.hawgwash.net/ and press on the "Order UltraLuster Items" button for detailed product information. Please feel free to contact us if you are interested in starting your own detailing operation. You are also more than welcome to e-mail us at hawgwash1@yahoo.com with your questions.

Until tomorrow...

Waterless Cleaning of your Motorcycle Wheels

First off, I would like to let everyone know that I did remember to weigh myself today and I didn't gain nearly as much weight as I thought. I gained a whopping 2 pounds, which really is water weight. So, even after being off the Core4 products for two weeks, I have been able to basically maintain my current weight.

Tonight I would like to review briefly our waterless vehicle cleaning product, UltraLuster. UltraLuster allows you to clean your vehicle without pouring water on it first. You can have a dirty vehicle and as long as you can see the color of the paint through the dirt, you are able to spray UltraLuster on the dirt and clean it off without harming the finish. I would like to state that if you REALLY wanted to, you could use UltraLuster on an extremely dirty vehicle, but you would have to use so much product, you would really be wasting it. If you have caked on dirt, your best bet is to lightly rinse off the dirt (do not use a pressure washer, you will only be pushing the dirt into the clear-coat and paint) and allow your vehicle to dry. Then you can spray UltraLuster Waterless Wash on the paint, chrome, plastic and any other non-porous parts of your vehicle.

When you are cleaning motorcycles, there are a few more difficult areas than on cars, trucks or vans. One of the most inconvenient areas to clean on a motorcycle is the wheels. On a car, the wheels are all exposed, so all you have to do is to clean the outside of the wheel. You don't have to work around a fender or any forks and shocks like you have to on a motorcycle. When cleaning the motorcycle wheels normally you have to clean a portion, then stop ad roll the motorcycle forward or backward enough to access more dirty parts of the wheel. Keep in mind, that since a motorcycle has only two wheels, you have to clean both sides of the wheel also. This can be very inconvenient with the front wheel of a motorcycle, but can be very uncomfortable when cleaning the rear motorcycle wheel.

For cleaning the rear wheel on motorcycles that have bags, you have a very little area to access the wheel. You end up having to stop often and roll the motorcycle a little bit very often. That can be a real pain in the neck. We have discovered a new product that can make cleaning motorcycle wheels much simpler. We have a Wheel Cleaning stand. Using the Wheel Cleaning Stand, you do not have to roll the motorcycle forward and backwards to access the difficult areas of a wheel. All you need to do is to roll the motorcycle up onto the stand, add a small block of wood under the kickstand, and begin cleaning the wheel. The wheel cleaning stand places the wheel (either front or rear) between two rollers and allows you to easily rotate the wheel without having to move the whole motorcycle.

This Wheel Cleaning Stand can be used to clean either the rear or front wheel on motorcycles and trikes. It is easy to use and does not take a lot of effort to push the motorcycle up onto the stand. The other benefit of this stand is that it is small enough to place in a saddle bag of a motorcycle. Several stands we have used in the past take up an enormous amount of space. You need a trailer to carry the stands. This is the first stand that we have found to be very easy to use, easy to transport and very affordable.

If you are tired of pushing your motorcycle back and forth to clean the wheels, you should consider investing in a Wheel Cleaning Stand. We offer them at a very reasonable price and they do not take up much garage space at all. The overall dimensions of this stand is 12' x 9 1/16" x 1 1/2"H and is approximately 4.5 pounds. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions on the Wheel Cleaning Stand. Our offered stand also comes with a brake strap so when you place the rear wheel of your motorcycle on the stand, you can apply the brake strap to prevent the bike from moving around too much.

If you want to know which waterless cleaning products to use on your wheels, please feel free to ask us. I can say using the UltraLuster Tire Treatment on the rubber is good, but be sure to not spray too much on your motorcycle tires, you do not want any of the Tire Treatment on your tread, it will make your wheels very slippery. For loosening up the caked on brake dust on your rims (excluding chromed rims) you can use the Tire Treatment there also and follow up with UltraLuster to provide a nice clean finish.

For more information on either the UltraLuster Waterless Cleaning products or the Wheel Cleaning Stand, please see our website, www.hawgwash.net, or feel free to e-mail us at hawgwash1@yahoo.com.

Until tomorrow...

Hawgwash and Waterless Technology

We have been asked on several occasions the origin of our company's name, Hawgwash. For those of you that have known Steve, that was originally his road name for many years because he was primarily a motorcycle detailer and he loved detailing Harley-Davidson Motorcycles. When we decided to start an official Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), the logical name to choose was Hawgwash since we specialized in Waterless detailing of motorcycles. Granted we also sold waterless cleaning products, but since our speciality was in detailing motorcycles, the name was logical.

The original waterless technology products we carried were made by a company called Dri Wash 'n Guard, Inc. (abbreviated DWG). DWG had a great line of waterless technology products for many years and at the time it looked like they would continue on that innovative path many years down the road. We traveled the country, attending many motorcycle rallies, selling our waterless technology products and detailing motorcycles. In the event there were no motorcycle rallies close to us, we would then attend Good Sam Rallies (events where people in Motor homes got together for a weekend) and car shows.

This was a great way for us to get our name out to the general public without spending thousands of dollars on advertising. If you think about it, advertising a waterless technology product is pretty difficult to do. Nobody believes that the product will not scratch your paint. It is always most effective if you can physically show a customer that the product will not harm your paint or vehicle finish. Actually, if you look at it one way, we did spent thousands on advertising our business at shows. Generally you have to pay for a space at a show or event. The difference to this type of advertising and that of mailers or newsprint, is that you get to spend quality one-on-one time with the customers. You can show them either on your vehicle or on theirs that this waterless technology really does work. Also, since you get to sell product at shows, you can easily recover the cost of the booth space with product sales. So, even though we may have spent thousands that first year on advertising by going to rallies and shows, we recovered those costs plus.

Even though we really liked the DWG waterless technology products, we always kept our eyes open for newer and better technology. When we present our offerings to customers, we are always open to learning about new items in the market. Eventually we were introduced to a new waterless technology product, UltraLuster. What UltraLuster did was take the Dri Wash technology and improve upon it.

We really liked the UltraLuster products, but in certian situations, DWG products still worked better. Because of that, we started carrying both products at our shows. We have had people who have used DWG products for years and were not about to change what they already liked. We also encountered people who were always looking for the newest waterless technology products. So, we now offer Waterless Technology Products by the two leading companies, DWG and UltraLuster. Both of these products have advantages and disadvantages, but they both remain my favorite for waterless cleaning of vehicles.

So, when you go to our website, http://www.hawgwash.net/, you will see two different pages, one for DWG products and another for UltraLuster products. This allows us to provide the best waterless technology products available. If you are unsure which waterless technology product may be better for your application, please feel free to contact us at hawgwash1@yahoo.com. We will be more than willing to help you choose a product that would best suit your specific needs.

Until tomorrow...

Waterless Car Wash and Detailing during the holidays

Hi all, today was a busy day. We spent the majority of the day detailing this awesome Chrysler 300 Touring Limo. This limo was in good condition when we got to it, but it looked awesome once we completed the Detail. During this holiday season, keep in mind, people may be worried about money, but when they attend events, they want their vehicles to look great. This is a great time to be a detailer using UltraLuster Waterless Technology.

We were contacted by the owner of the Limo to detail the vehicle with our waterless vehicle wash, UltraLuster. The owner has seen our work on other occasions, we even have their personal vehicle on a monthly detailing program. It was awesome to be asked to detail this limo, it was an absolutely beautiful vehicle.

We started the detail by cleaning and treating the interior of the Limo first. When doing a complete detail, it is always easier to detail the interior first and save the exterior paint for last. Steve worked on detailing the engine (special request by the owner) compartment while I started detailing the back part of the Limo. We vacuumed all the interior spaces and trunk before starting using any other waterless products. Since the interior was leather and mirrors (really classy) I used LeatherLuster for the seats and hand rails which made the interior smell like new leather. It also did a wonderful job of cleaning the white seats. UltraLuster Waterless Wash was used on the mirrors in the top and sides of the Limo and on the long interior glass. Since there was no staining in the carpets, we did not need to use the Fabric Cleaner this time.

Once we cleaned the interior of the Limo, we then focused on cleaning the white leather top of the vehicle. This was somewhat dirty, so we used LeatherLuster to clean and UV protect the top of the Limo. It was pretty amazing to see that white vinyl top of the limo turn from an off-white to a bright white. We then finished up the job by applying UltraLuster Waterless Wash to the paint, glass and chrome areas of the exterior of the Limo. As you can see by the pictures, this was a beautiful car.

All told, it took us about 3-4 hours to fully detail this Limo. We probably could have completed the job a bit faster, but as we were detailing, other people from neighboring businesses wandered by to see what we were doing and wanting to see a demo of our Waterless Cleaning products. The best part about using UltraLuster Waterless Cleaning products on vehicles is that you can detail a vehicle in the convenience of the owner's garage, without taking the vehicle outside in the elements at all. This Limo was garaged, and the owner was pleased to not have to move the vehicle outside so that we could detail it. The neighboring businesses were also pleased that we detailed the Limo in the garage, we didn't take up any additional parking spaces, and we did not have to worry about water over spray on other people's cars.

If you are interested in becoming a detailer, or would like more information on becoming an UltraLuster Distributor, please either e-mail us at hawgwash1@yahoo.com or look at our website, www.ultraluster.com/hawg1.

Tomorrow I will discuss how we also incorporated our AdZoneSavings business with our UltraLuster Detailing business.

Waterless Technology Products - BugBuster and ClaBar

Tonight I am going to briefly review two more items in our Waterless Technology Arsenal. We are going to review our Bug Buster cleaning pad and our Perfect Clear Coat Bar. We use both of these products with our UltraLuster Waterless Wash when cleaning vehicles, either cars, trucks, planes, RV's or motorcycles.

Our Bug Buster is a non-abrasive pad that is used in conjunction with UltraLuster Waterless Wash. Use the Bug Buster on places that have really bad "baked on bugs" or tree sap. You don't need to use the Bug Buster on these things, but it does make the cleaning of your vehicle go much faster. To get caked on bugs off the front of your car, first spray UltraLuster Waterless Wash on a small area of the caked bugs, then take the Bug Buster pad and gently rub the area. You will be amazed at how fast the bugs come off the vehicle. Now you don't need to use your fingernail (you know you have done that for anything stuck to your car's finish...) to scrape off that last little sticky bit that was left on your painted or chromed surface. The Bug Busters are non-scratch, so you won't hurt your vehicle's finish. Using the UltraLuster as an additional lubricant is added protection to your paint or chrome.

After you have gently rubbed the bugs off, just follow up with another light spray of UltraLuster and then buff your vehicle to a beautiful shine. What I really like about the Bug Busters, and this is not a common fact, is that you can actually wash these pads and use them again. Each washing makes them a little softer, so eventually, they will not be great at removing baked on bugs, but you will get longer use of the Bug Buster. Just wash with jeans, do not use hot water and let air dry. We use our Bug Busters until they look and behave like a piece of cloth, then we toss them out. Bug Busters have been used in the boating and aviation industry for years.

Our Perfect Clear Coat Bar (formerly ClaBar) is also used in conjunction with the UltraLuster Waterless Wash. We don't recommend using the ClaBar every time you clean your vehicle with UltraLuster, but if you have something embedded in the clear coat of the paint, that is the time to use the Perfect Clear Coat Bar. Otherwise, you only need to use the bar about once or twice a
year. I am sure that after you have cleaned your vehicle, you still find little bumps in the paint.

These little bumps in the paint are microscopic bits of dirt, dust and pollutants that have become partially embedded in your clear coat. If you do not remove these items, they will over time continue to be driven into the clear coat and ultimately ruin your paint. The ClaBar is non-abrasive and will not scrape a layer of your clear coat off, but the bar is harder than the items embedded in your clear coat are. The Perfect Clear Coat Bar actually shaves the imperfections out of the clear coat without harming the surface of the clear coat.

To use the Perfect Clear Coat Bar, you must first soften up the bar by massaging it in your hand for a minute or two. You will notice that it becomes more pliable as you work it in your hands. Once it is sufficiently softened, flatten it into a shape like a small pancake, then lubricate a small area with UltraLuster Waterless wash, rub the ClaBar in small circles in the area. Wipe off the excess UltraLuster with a clean microfiber towel and then buff to a shine. Once you touch the paint that you just worked on with the ClaBar, you will feel an incredible difference. There are no longer any bumps and the paint feel ultra smooth to the touch. We recommend that after you have worked the area with the Perfect Clear Coat Bar, to go over the whole vehicle one more time with the UltraLuster, just to be sure you have a perfect finish to a newly smooth paint.

If you have any specific questions on either of these products, please feel free to contact us at hawgwash1@yahoo.com.

Waterless Technology Products - Fabric & LeatherLuster

Tonight I will review two more products in the UltraLuster Worldwide product line. These both rely on Waterless Technology. The first product, UltraLuster Fabric and Upholstery Cleaner was newly introduced last month.

This product can be used on any type of fabric. You can use it on clothing for spot cleaning, or pre-treating, it can be used to spot clean carpets, and upholstery. It has a very nice, light citrus scent which is also good for freshening the air inside your vehicle. The scent is not overbearing and dissipates relatively quickly.

If you have a stain on your car's carpet, I recommend that you spray the Fabric and Upholstery Cleaner on the spot, then take an old toothbrush and gently work the Fabric and Upholstery into the carpet. Once dry, you should not see the spot anymore. If the spot can still be detected, repeat the process. So far, I have not found any spots this product cannot remove, but then I haven't tried it on crayons or other types of caustic dyes. When using on delicate upholstery (like couches, chairs, etc.) even though I trust this product implicitly, test the product out first on a hidden spot of your upholstery before using to spot-clean. You want to be very sure that a bigger spot won't be left on your upholstery (it shouldn't happen, but it is always better to be safe than sorry).

The second product we are covering tonight is the LeatherLuster. This is an awesome product that actually smells like new leather and is creamy in texture. This is a great cleaner and protectant for your leather and vinyl covered items. As with the Fabric and Upholstery Cleaner, before using LeatherLuster for the first time on your leather seats or furniture, try it on a hidden area first to be sure you appreciate the results. LeatherLuster will clean many types of stains on leather and will help protect the leather from the harmful rays of the sun.

Just take a small amount of LeatherLuster on a clean terry towel and gently work into the leather. You will discover the dirt transferred onto the terry towel, and the surface you just cleaned has a newer luster to it. LeatherLuster can be used on leather furniture (not buckskin), leather jackets (again smooth leather, not buckskin), leather boots, and any other smooth leather surface. The really great thing about this product is the new leather scent that stays with the cleaned material for days afterward. What is a lot of fun, is using LeatherLuster on your vinyl covered items and having them smell like new leather. You will have your friends guessing if you have vinyl or leather covered seats. LeatherLuster does a great job deep cleaning vinyl too.

Please feel free to contact me if you have specific questions on cleaning with any of the UltraLuster Waterless Cleaning products. I know I cannot answer all possible questions in this general blog. My e-mail is hawgwash1@yahoo.com.

Why Waterless Technology

As most of you may know, our original business plan was focused around Waterless Technology, specifically waterless vehicle wash products. Our core business was founded on this technology, and though we have expanded to include other products, we still strongly believe in saving water. The million dollar question is why would we have been interested in waterless technology years ago and why is it still pertinent now?

I personally first became aware of a water shortage in the early 80's while living in Southern California where significant population growth was occurring. Southern California used to be a desert, people loved the weather and the beaches so much that they opted to have water brought in via aqueducts from Northern California in order to support the people and agriculture. With unchecked population growth, the water use would also go unchecked until the water that was supplied to Southern California could not support the number of people and businesses using it.

Top that off with years of drought and you begin to see why a serious water crisis began. Cities started putting restrictions on when you can water your lawns and wash your cars. This crisis is no longer in small portions of the United States, it is now becoming a global water shortage. There are reports coming in from all over the globe of water shortages in China, India, Pakistan, and Australia to name a few.

We chose a waterless technology to wash your car because a normal "water" wash would use and/or contaminate 100-200 gallons of drinking water. If we could save anywhere from 100-200 gallons of drinking water from being contaminated, we could help slow down the wasting of our drinking water. Also by cleaning your car without water, you will have better, longer-lasting results in less time. To give you some idea of how many cars are out on the road that will need to be cleaned at some time or another, there are over 70 million registered passenger cars in the US today. And that number keeps growing. We are not even including airplanes, trucks, and other vehicles that need periodic cleaning. If we can reduce the number of vehicles being washed with water, then we can make significant inroads to saving some of earth's most precious resource, water.

Over time, I will continue to write about the water crisis, water usage and our waterless vehicle wash technology. If you would like more information now on how to help save water by not washing your car, please visit www.hawgwash.net and press on the UltraLuster Opportunity button. Or you can visit www.ultraluster.com/hawg1 .

Until next time....

Day 3 of Sturgis Bike Week

Today was another great day in Custer, SD. The weather was good...well...except for that brief rain that only served to get everything damp...but good anyway... We had more people visiting our booth and we were able to talk to a large number of people.

We also had the opportunity to detail a 1968 Camero SS. I have attached pictures. Now you are going to laugh at my limited car knowledge, but this car has matching serial numbers, paperwork to go along with it, rally tires and factory installed air. It caused quite a stir around the booth. The only problem was that as the car was being detailed, the people watching were not as interested in the products being used, but more interested in the car itself.

We used UltraLuster Clabar on the paint to remove the impurities embedded in the paint, UltraLuster Metal polish to polish the aluminum trim, UltraLuster Tire Treatment to condition the tires and the vinyl top and of course, our main product, UltraLuster Waterless Wash for all the paint and to seal the aluminum after cleaning with the Metal Polish.

The paint on this car is now probably smoother than when it came out of the factory. The car sparkles like a diamond in the sun now. It is a wonderful sight to behold. Unfortunately a big wind came through the hills this evening and then it rained quite a bit so we will have to touch-up the car again tomorrow. The owner of the car is very pleased with the current results. We are looking forward to putting the finishing touches on the car tomorrow so that it will be ready for it's next car show (in a few weeks, I believe).

If you are interested in obtaining more information on what we did to the car, please leave a comment. If you want more information on our UltraLuster product line, you have two places that you can visit: www.ultraluster.com/hawg1 or our website (http://www.hawgwash.biz/) and then choose the order UltraLuster Items button on the left.

We are looking forward to more fun as the week progresses.