Sunday, January 27, 2008

The Supermarkets Are Over Run With Idiots

This week my wife and I made our usual trip to the local store
to find something had been removed form the shelves. So,
angry as a mad hornet, I came home and decided to do some-
thing about it. The following is the letter I sent to Publix Super-
markets. Then I sent one to Kroger Supermarkets.

For years we have been drinking “Postum”. It is a hot beverage,
natural coffee flavor. Bar code #43000 10230, produced by
Kraftfoods. We like the red and white label, my mom likes the
green. Now you have removed it from the shelves, most likely
by the urging of a person who didn’t know what they were
talking about. It all sounds like politics, give the public what WE
want them to have, NOT what they want. There is a remedy
for it called “Switch Stores”.

One thing is for sure, whoever had it removed doesn’t have
a clue as to how to conduct a product survey with folks like
me. It was totally senseless to remove such a product as
Postum and they probably added one chocked full of caffeine.
My blog is not a place to make money, it’s a place to speak
my mind and that will be my next entry.

Please reconsider and ad Postum back to the shelves.

Lee

Ever Drink Postum?

This week my wife and I made our usual trip to the local
store to find something had been removed form the shelves.
So, angry as a mad hornet, I came home and decided to do
something about it. The following is the letter I sent to
Publix Supermarkets.

The letter begins here:

I have been a Publix customer ever since you came to
Newnan. In the past, my wife and I have been very please.
However, something has happened that doesn’t at all please
us. A product we have been using for years has been
removed from the shelves as if to say, “Publix doesn’t care
about what you want”. For years we have been drinking
“Postum”. It is a hot beverage, natural coffee flavor. Bar c
ode #43000 10230, produced by Kraftfoods. We like the
red and white label, my mom likes the green. Now you have
removed it from the shelves, most likely by the urging of a
person who didn’t know what they were talking about. It all
sounds like politics, give the public what WE want them to
have, NOT what they want. There is a remedy for it called
“Switch Stores”. At least the last time I checked, Kroger and
Food Depot still carried it. By the way, I wonder if it would
help my traffic to post this in a blog.

Please reconsider and ad Postum back to the shelves.

Lee

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Home Business Systems Can Work

The Surprising Reasons Home Business Systems Can
Work- And The Secret Why 95% Of Them Fail

The author has identified two main commonalities shared
by successful home business entrepreneurs.

By Andrew Lockwood


If you’ve spent any time surfing the web under categories
like work from home,” “business opportunities,” “make
$4,000 per week,” or even, “make $4,000 per day, at your
kitchen table, sitting home in your underwear” (maybe my
favorite headline of all time!) you might be a little confused.
Or depressed. Frustrated, maybe.

All of these claims can’t be true, can they? You know the
ones - the single mom who, in the old days, with 17 kids,
battling an addition to crack, living out of a box managed
to raise herself out of the gutter and now lives in a
$2,000,0000 home on the water, owns 11 Rolls Royces,
etc. etc. etc.?

Wanna hear the dirty little secret that the people behind
these systems don’t want you to know? At least 95% of
the people who buy their offering FAIL.

Does that mean that the hapless users, who plunked down
their hard-earned money (or financed it on credit cards),
got ripped off?

Surprisingly, the answer is “not necessarily.” Here’s what
I mean.

The biggest determinant as to whether someone will be
successful has less to do with the actual system than with
the person himself. Sure, there are legions of flawed methods
or business opportunities out there. But understand two
things:

1. No system is perfect.

2. It’s better to implement a flawed system than nothing at all.

So now, let’s consider each point. First, I hope I’m not
disappointing you, but there is no such thing as a perfect,
100% automated, risk-free business opportunity. Some
systems require less human intervention than others, but
if you believe the claims that something works all by itself,
you’re being extremely unrealistic.

(This just in: Santa Claus is really a fat guy with a fake
beard in a department store, and the Tooth Fairy isn’t real,
either. Sorry to let you down.)

So you get the point - you will need to be involved at least
somewhat, because the myth of a business that works
completely on autopilot is just that, a myth. Now, just
because the goal of complete automation is illusory does
not mean that you should strive for exactly that.

Why?

Because, just like in any business, most of the tasks involved
can be handled by low level, or 7 dollar an hour employees
or assistants. If you want to make real money, like $4,000
plus per week working only two hours per day, you’ve
unconsciously made a decision about what your time is
worth. Check out what I mean.

Assuming you work six days a week (you should take off at
least ONE day, for the love of Pete!), two hours a day, or 12
hours per week; and your income goal is $4,000. $4,000
divided by 12 hours is $333. You’ve decided that your time
is worth $333 per hour. So if you’re involved with a business
that requires manual labor, like licking stamps, data entry
and other administrative activities that can be handled by a
$7.00 per hour high school part-timer, you’re actually losing
$326 per hour.

The answer is to delegate as many of these low-level
activities as you can, either to technology or to other humans
who are paid less than what your time is worth.

You, on the other hand, should be spending as much of your
time as possible on high-yielding activities; i.e. those that
bring in the big bucks! Marketing, sales, strategic alliances
with other potential joint venture partners, whatever.
Anything designed to bring in bucks!

By the way, one important book that I’d whole-heartedly
recommend to you is the “E-Myth” by Michael Gerber.
The first book; I’ve never read any of his follow-up E-Myth
books. It’s still in print and available at Amazon and
everywhere else.

Let’s move on to the second point - you’re better off
implementing a flawed system than doing nothing.

I believe that procrastination is the biggest obstacle to
success. I suffer from it, you suffer from it; We all fight this
demon to some extent or another. But I understand the
main reason why people delay taking action - usually it’s
out of fear of the unknown. They’re uncertain that the path
they are considering will work out the way they hope; thus,
they’re not committed.

This is not a new problem - it’s embedded in our genetic
code. A famous Greek myth describes a battle waged by a
small, outnumbered army against a larger, more powerful
force. The general of the small army led his fleet across the
sea, landed on enemy shores and, before going into battle,
set fire to all of his soldiers’ ships. They understood that
there was no turning back - that’s commitment!

Shakespeare’s Hamlet also is a famous example of waffling,
indecisive figure. The reason Hamlet, like all of Shakespeare’s
works, endures is because of his accurate portrayal of the
human condition. So hesitation is nothing new!

Understand this, however: there is no perfect time to launch
a new venture; no magical moment when the starts align and
all of your over-analyzed details are neatly categorized and
pointing to clear action. There is always risk. In any
entrepreneur’s life, there is always a moment when he or she
must take a leap of faith. Sometimes there are several such
moments.

Ironically, the bigger, more common risk is the risk of doing
nothing. If you don’t act, even with a flawed plan, you are
almost certain to continue down a path that you’re trying to
avoid, such as piling up bills, being unhappy at work, whatever.
If you don’t commit to trying something new, giving it your
all, I can almost guarantee you that you’ll fail.

I guess that’s not so much of a risk as it is a near-certainty!

I hope you found this article provocative and consider it
next time you’re faced with a business decision.

Learn more about Lockwood's latest business venture (it
doesn't involve MLM or cold-calling, don't worry!) at:
http://www.TravelBusinessRiches.com

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