Givers Gain

by Kevin O’Brien, Weller O’Brien Insurance Services

Today’s Business 101 subject is profit.  How’s that for basic?  If you’re not making a profit, why be in business, right?

Here’s a simple equation:  R - E = P

Revenues minus Expenses = Profits

It’s a simple formula, but not so fast!

True or false:  An increase in revenue always means and increase in profit?

False!  This is only true if expenses don’t go up as much as revenues.

True or false:  A reduction in expenses always means an increase in profit?

False!  Sometimes a reduction in expenses is accompanied by a reduction in revenues.

True or false:  It is possible to increase profits by increasing expenses?

True!  For example, marketing expense should always result in an increase in revenues and an increase in profits…otherwise, why do it?

Often it is easier to increase profits by increasing revenues than it is to reduce expenses.  This is called “selling your way out of excessive expenses.”   Some expenses are easier to control than others. Payroll vs. utilities vs. rent vs. office supplies vs. auto.

So, if we all want to increase profits, and I assume we do…

We need to plan strategies to increase revenues more than we increase expenses.

Sounds simple, but is it really?  Yes, it is!

Let’s say we want to increase revenues by 20%…

Just saying we want it isn’t going to make it happen.  We need to have doable, measurable, effective strategies, then do them, measure them and adjust them, and before we know it, we’ve achieved our goal!

Here’s an example.  Our business now has 500 customers.  We want to increase by 20%, so we need to add 100, plus as many as we lose.  Let’s say we usually lose about 10%, so that means we need to add 150 new customers. 

Where do we get our customers?

Let’s say on average we get 50 new customers each year, one a week, from advertising.

Let’s say on average we get 24 new customers each year, two a month, from BNI.

And, we know we’re going to get about 20 new customers from referrals from our existing customers.  So, that leaves 56 new customers that we have to get from other methods.

How do you get new customers?  Cold calling?  Direct mail?  Trade shows? 

How many contacts do you need to make to get a new customer, on the average?

Let’s say that number is 10.  That means our hypothetical business needs to make 560 contacts to add 56 new customers.  That means 56 a month, because if we use ten months rather than 12 in our calculations, we can have a bad month and still make our goal.

Assuming we work 25 days a month, we need to make 2.24 contacts per day, or about 11 per week.  That means every week.  If you stop doing the activity for a couple of weeks, you have to catch up.  And, you have to keep doing the activity even if you get busy or you get more referrals or fewer referrals.  You have to remain committed.

Then, after three months you check your progress.  You should have added 17 new customers after three months.  If you have, congratulations!  If not, you need to adjust your strategy to make more contacts or better ones. 

In summary, setting a goal, devising strategies and then chunking them down into manageable, doable, measurable tasks will make your business successful, every time!

by Bob Regan, HB Building & Design

One of the many things Hammer Building knows a lot about is building decks, it is one of our specialties. So today I wanted to talk about building decks and decking materials. The most important thing to know is that each deck is different, and a General Contractor is the best contractor to hire for your deck. You very often need plans to get a permit to build the deck, and each community and town has certain rules about set-backs, heights, footings and safety that need to be followed. Also, if you want to include things like lighting, waterproofing an upper deck so the area below stays dry, or include a hot tub, it’s important that the General Contractor has the right subcontractors to assist with the job.
 
15 years ago, 90 percent of decks were 2×6 nailed-on redwood deck framing. Most of the time the decks were Doug Fir, and sometimes they were Pressure Treated. TREX, the first of many man-made composite decking materials, was introduced about ten years ago. It was not the best product,, it faded quickly and had other problems. But the manufacturer has responded to the market and today it is the leading product with six or seven different types of decking, including a fire resistant decking, and at least 10 different colors and textures.

Since then, composites of many different types and competitors offering things like matching pickets, curved designs, pergolas, fencing, and privacy lattice have come on the market.
 
The latest products to be used are recycled plastics, they’ve been around a while from companies like AZEK, who have been in the deck product business for years. Their products are gaining popularity, with features in their new plastic product that is completely stain and scratch resistant. Because moisture cycling is a main reason for coating failure on wood, painting the plastic AZEK products do not absorb moisture, so paints last longer on AZEK products than on wood.
 
You install composite decking differently now, you use screws, clips or hidden fasteners. In fact, we even use screws now on all our redwood decks. Redwood is still a viable option — it costs less – and now is screwed down because people mainly complained when nails popped up from the weathering of the wood shrinkage and expansion.
 
Deck Framing material is all pressure treated now that the arsenic has been removed from process, but all deck hardware must be stainless steel or z-prime. Galvanized and copper from the Pressure Treated wood reacted in that they decomposed when they came in contact with PT wood, so a different type of hardware had to be used.

Railings are still commonly built with standard redwood pickets, or a combination of redwood and cable rail or metal pipes; or you can add aluminum and glass for a windbreak or see-through railing. Price-wise, there isn’t much difference, but there is a slight difference in labor costs. I once did a curved railing with metal pipes, and that was a real challenge!
 
Let me know if you ever want to talk about your deck, or if you are interested in seeing any sample materials or photos of completed decks. It’s been great talking with you!   Bob Regan, Hammer Building Inc.  650-728-5878

by Judy Pruzinsky, L.Ac.

“Through = no pain (disease), not through = pain (disease)”

This is a basic principle of Chinese medicine.

Just like we have a circulatory system, nervous system, and lymphatic system, we have a meridian system. The meridian system is a continuous circuit of energy channels that penetrates deep into the organs and rises superficially to the skin. These channels are what the chi/energy travels “through” or “not through”.

There are twelve major meridians or channels. Each meridian corresponds to an organ: heart, small intestine, bladder, kidney, (heart protector/pericardium, triple burner,) gall bladder, liver, lung, large intestine, stomach, spleen. At the end of the last meridian, it joins back to the beginning of the first meridian. So, at the last point of the spleen meridian we circle back to the first point on the heart meridian. We often refer to them as “organ systems” vs. “organs” since the influence a meridian has pertains to not only the functions of it’s related organ but also all the area covered by its pathway.

Let’s look at a couple of examples:

Liver channel: The superficial pathway begins at the lateral nail point of the big toe, the travels up the top of the foot, between the first and second metatarsals, passing in front of the ankle bone. It then travels up the inside of the shin and thigh, loops around the genitals and continues through the belly to the lower ribs. Here it goes deep into the liver, continues to the gallbladder, penetrates the diaphragm and on up through the ribs. One deep branch reaches the lungs. Another branch continues up behind the trachea, larynx, and pharynx to the nasal cavities and the tear ducts. It connects with the eye. Then it rises up the forehead, over to the parietal bone at the top of the head and terminates at the crown. There’s a branch that leaves the deep pathway traveling through the jawbone to circle the mouth and inside of the lips.

Some of the disorders that it addresses are:

Toe, foot, or leg pain, cramping or atrophy
Genital disorders
Menstrual difficulties
Infertility
Liver weakness
Digestive difficulty
Hiccups, or belching
Abdominal or thorax/flank pain
Breast problems
Throat problems
Nasal sensitivities
Eye problems
TMJ
Headaches
Vertigo or dizziness
Lung congestion

Stomach channel: The stomach meridian begins at the side of the nostril, travels along the side of the nose to the bridge of the nose. It then travels through the inside corner of the eye to the middle of the eye socket where it begins its superficial path. The meridian goes down the cheek, past the mouth to and around the jaw, up past the front of the ear to the temple. A deeper pathway breaks off, to the lips. Another branch travels deep along the side of the trachea, past the collar bone. The superficial pathway descends the chest in line with the nipple, through the abdomen to the groin. A deep pathway penetrates the diaphragm, enters the stomach then the spleen. At the groin the deep and superficial pathways meet and travel down the front of the leg, through the ankle and between the second and third toes, ending at the lateral nail point of the second toe. A second branch heads to the third toe, and yet another branch joins up with the spleen meridian on the inside nail point of the big toe.

Some of the disorders that it addresses are:

Sinus congestion
Eye problems
Teeth and/or jaw problems
Ear disorders
Headaches
Throat problems
Chest pain
Breast problems
Digestion problems
Genital problems
Leg pain, muscle atrophy
Ankle, foot, or toe problems

It’s important to understand that Chinese medicine diagnoses through differentiation. From these two examples we would ask, “what kind of headache am I seeing? Where and how does the leg hurt?

Each organ system has a particular personality. For example, the stomach is in charge of ripening and rotting. Together with its paired yin organ, the spleen, it would make sure the food – physical, mental and emotional (food for thought) is processed instead of left to rot and turn to garbage bogging down the works. Therefore, nasal disorders associated with the stomach could come with excess mucus. The genital presentation could be discharge. The headache could be a foggy, heavy frontal headache. The liver is in charge of planning, and is paired to the gallbladder in charge of decision making. When they are doing their jobs well there is a smooth flow of chi and blood. When these two officials get out of balance there is an erratic sense, winds can stir and pain can arise. The headache may be stabbing; with the pain presenting at the top of the head or behind the eyes. The genitals may itch. The menstrual cycle might be erratic, with cramping and blood clotting. There might be sneezing, dizziness, even twitching.

All of this is merely scratching the surface of understanding how Chinese medicine looks at imbalance: which organ system is primarily responsible, which pathways are involved, and how to help. We haven’t even touched on the emotional or spiritual imbalances that lead us to understanding why a person has so much anger and another person can’t get motivated. You can read more about the stomach/spleen influence in my July 2008 article in CoastViews (available on-line).

Judy Pruzinsky, L.Ac., practices Classical Five Element Acupuncture, Herbology, and Chi Gung. She teaches at Five Branches Institute and has offices in both Half Moon Bay and Aptos. She can be reached at 650 576-9749 and 831 426-5717.

It doesn’t take much to be a little greener!

by Kevin O’Brien, Weller/O’Brien Insurance Services

Sometimes people ask me how much I charge for my services.

How much more is it costing me to have the services of a professional agent, rather than just buying my insurance on the internet or by mail?

So, I thought I would do a little test of my own auto insurance, just to see how much I could save by going with the gecko. I tried four different online insurance systems: esurance, Geico, Costco (Ameriprise) and Progressive.com, which gave me quotes for Progressive, Farmers, Liberty Mutual and State Farm.
Here is what I found out!

First, it is fairly easy to get online quotes. Since I didn’t actually buy a policy, I can’t tell you if that process is difficult or not. I did have to give them my name and email address, so we’ll see how many emails I get!
Here is how the prices compared with what I’m currently paying. I have two cars, two drivers (my wife and myself) and neither of us have any tickets or accidents during the past five years. One car is rated business and the other is rated pleasure use. I chose coverages that were as close to my current coverages as they offered. One problem with the online companies is that they don’t all offer high enough limits for me … and typically they eliminate medical payments coverage to reduce premiums.

Geico: +$66
esurance: +$64 (lower liability limits)
Costco: +$40 (this was the lowest of all)
Progressive: +$560
Farmers: +$1100
Liberty Mutual: +$800
State Farm: +$750

The moral of the story: I’m paying less WITH the services of a professional agent. The reason for this is that the insurance company pays me to place your business with them. You don’t pay my commission, the company does.

by Kellie Morlock, Adamarch Financial

What in the world is going on in the mortgage industry? Business as usual - post credit-crunch.

• There are many signs that the nation’s housing slump has hit bottom and has begun to recovery, where busloads of investors have recently toured bank-owned properties in the Sacramento valley for good investment opportunities.

• The biggest challenge to lower interest rates is long-term inflation, with the Producer Price Index increasing this morning (Tues. May 20) by .4% - double analysts projections of .2%. This means that costs are increasing for manufactures and will likely be passed on to consumers in the near future.

So with long-term rates near 6% and higher loan limits available through the end of the year, this is a great time to look at your home financing and make plans for the future. I’m happy to answer any questions about home loans: Kellie Morlock 650-289-2365; kellie@adamarc.com