I am so proud of Ford right now. They are doing all the right things to come back to profitability without having to take any government bail out money. Henry Ford started the automobile revolution by using the assembly line with a conveyor belt system that made more economical to make cars and thus expanding the market. A great innovative idea that has helped countless other car makers and industries produce products that are more affordable for masses. That is why the Ford spirit is an example of doing something right. Their second quarter profit is 2.3 billion, by restructuring some debt and selling some cars.  This is the type of example that we need to see.

They are taking responsibility for their own actions, selling off brands that no longer suit their business model, selling a car like the Fusion that is beating Toyota and to my heart, they are exploring an alternative energy car. This is who we need to be buying from when making a car purchase. I was a Chevy guy all my life, but now that brand belongs to Government Motors. I cannot believe that I am ready to switch brands but then again Henry Ford never envisioned something like this. Sorry Gm, but this family is moving to the American Brand. I love many other countries out there, we are all suffering but we need to applaud and stand by those firms that are true to the capitalist model and true to keeping good American jobs afloat. Good for you ford. PS, I still wish you would have kept the suicide doors on the Flex.

I am helping out a good friend in building a renewable energy business that is quickly moving forward. We have done a good job tracking the the tax credits for our customers along with putting together a solid renewable energy program for their homes. However, we have already ran into issues though in our computer network system, cost and not having an IT department. One very clever idea out there is renting software and using software as a service or SaaS. There is also a core foundation of being able to do an employee survey to help gain ideas around synergies within the company and what new ideas can we look for when taking this product to market.

I found that they have a great service with their visual studio team foundation server at fraction of the cost where project control programming for your project can be exposed on the web. With all the software that I can rent, I can get set up in minutes and get my money back if I think it has not worked out in 30 days.  What we need is the project server hosting software which will help us track our timekeeping, Gannt charts etc which will give us better control over our projects and their costs. We have huge commercial projects where we will need to keep tract of financial’s and keep everyone on the team on track. You can watch a great clip on how all this software helps you and your business. Another hot item  is a team foundation server workgroup, where again I can rent for a fraction of the price with no need to hire an IT employee nor worry about depreciation costs. We are just the right fit for this type of company and you may to.

Summer is in full swing and like so many couples, summer is the time for wedding anniversaries. I don’t care what the economy may say to you but we must never forget our loved one on the anniversary of your wedding day. Of course, the dog house is always available. One of the main topics on my page is the use of alternate power so when I think of a great gift for my wife, I think of a solar watch. I found a great one at www.bluedial.com This one amazing site that has a flurry of watches to choose from. I for one am looking very closely at the Casio Ladies LWQ120DA-AV that has a great look and fashion and runs on solar power. Then comes my best man from the wedding who quickly reminds me that is great, but your wife is not looking for practicality. She is looking or a beautiful watch that says just how much you love her. That is when the Citizen watches come into the conversation. Wow, just look at the number of choices I will have. There are 313 Ladies Citizen watches to choose from. But then I look at the closeout specials and behold, I found a lovely, Gucci Watch, specifically the YA116502 with its dazzling band and unique face. She has worked so hard for the family and is a great bride; she deserves the very best. You must remember your anniversary and never go stingy on her.

Even with the new economy, some things just do not change. Our home is still our castle and if you are married, you know just how much a wife wants to beautify her home. Friends and family still come by, there are still summer parties and in fact with people going out less, wives want to have their house ready to display. One idea that we wives should continue to strive for is having a very warm scent about our home. When you first walk into a home and the front door opens, you will immediately get a smell and invariably will make a judgment call. Do you smell the cat, the dog, the evening dinner? Why not make that first impression a warm scent from a candle such as candle within an apothecary jars? At www.jarstore.com, you find a multitude of candles to choose from, all in a decorative jar with pleasant colors a warm scents to make you house a home. With apothecary jars, you can choose the size of the a jar such as clear and frosted as well as the style of the lid. I for one love their honeysuckle and the fresh cut grass for the hot summer months. You can sell all the seasonal scents at their website, especially to get ready for the fall where they have several chosen just for that season. The website is very well designed and easy to get around. As you know, my biggest issue is always the customer service, where jarstore.com excels. You can click if you have a broken jar, need an update or Order info. Make your home a welcoming home by using scented candles this year.

One of the best ways that we can get our image across to our customers is in the uniforms that we wear.  If you think of a restaurant, each person has the brand on their uniform, while at the same time the uniform allows the customer to know what our role is within the business. We take this for granted, but our customers expect it. At the restaurant, what the host is wearing immediately tells the customer what they do and what type of restaurant this will be. This goes for the chef as well whose chef shirt is critical. We all look back at the kitchen and asses the professionalism of the chef. I found a solid company that can produce these uniforms for us at www.iDbyLandau.com. Look at the chef jackets and you will see that the iD0104 projects a different statement than the equally nice iD0131. Take a look at these chef coats again, you see the difference in image and branding. You need to take the time to put yourself in your customer’s shoes. iD by Landau has put together a great site with nice images to make a sound buying decision. I appreciate the way they use models so I can get a real life idea of what my restaurant will look like. iD by Landau also has many other uniform styles to shop for. They create uniforms for small businesses, Spa’s, hotels plus they can help you withe your Logo and monogram needs! I love a site that is so laser focused. This is where business needs to be!

Now I see that even car dealerships can get involved. The FordStory site explains how Sunrise Ford in Florida has put on over 100 solar cells on their roof to trap the suns energy and power the huge dealership. They have an ongoing monitor display to show just how much power they are producing. Even the cells themselves are from 75% recycled goods! Sometimes its hard to think a car dealer would ever have anything but sales on their mind. However, these guys have taken the initiative to show what they can do for the environment. The video clip goes on to show how the recycle the huge amounts of paper and the plastic cups everyday. Its stories like these that we need to here. We all need a break from the news and see that the world is still moving no matter how the Dow closed today or which bank failed. It is still up to each one of us to take the initiative to create work and to create a better more Green workplace. Wow, good for Ford. Not only are they not taking the stimulus money, they are also moving forward with technology that will truly separate them from all the other car makers that will soon mire in the mud!

Probably one of the better investments these days are Cd’s. There is a lot of competition, so I went out to the Internet to find the best CD rates and found selectcdrates.com I found the best cd rates out there from across the nation. For example, the I learned the federal funds rate today is 2.87% and that six month cd rates are around 4.44%. This site allows you to look up by state and by how many years you are looking to invest, say a 3 or 5 year Cd. Plus, they have a great FAQ page for the banking and cd industry. They also have a wealth of tips on such things as cd ladders and check clearing times. You will get a good education here and begin to make good strategies on which cd to buy.

No matter the economy, paper will always be in high demand. I appreciate the idea of a paperless company, but in reality there will be paper needs regardless. A leading suppliers of used Pulp and Paper Equipment is www.surpluspaperequipment.com. This company is a world wide leader in the marketing and selling of surplus Paper Machines, Vacuum Pumps and hundreds of other pieces of equipment with a experienced staff to meet our current economic changes. They are more than company that sells they equipment, they also service the the paper industry in the dismantling and transportation of used or surplus Pulp Mill Equipment. Surpluspaperequipment.com provides an “Asset Recovery Program” along with another unit called Surplus Paper Inc who specializes in Plant and Equipment liquidations. Plus, they offer the opportunity not only to shop their inventory but you can also post your surplus equipment for sale. I love niche companies like this, that target a select industry and do their very best to service them. This company is well known in the industry and a firm you can trust when these type of matters arise. I was also impressed with the format of the website as well. It is easy to navigate and when looking at the items for sale, the pictures and images do a good job showing the current condition of the used equipment. I also like the idea of registration of new users to keep the integrity of the site solid.

As you know this site is dedicated to utilization of Renewable Energy for a variety of reasons. I was pleased to find that there are companies out there who not only put together great home plans for thie purpose but have now embraced going Green. I found www.houseplansandmore.com and discovered that they are serious about making luxury and yet energy efficient homes. I appreciated their page dedicated to Green Homes and a page for their “Featured Green Home Plan.” They are serious about using the Sun and great materials to reach their goals of Green Homes. Plus, they include a very unique way of shopping for home plans by selecting your first, second and third most important feature you are looking for. Then you look at great photographs and images of the home itself. Its just amazing. When looking for a log home plan www.houseplansandmore.com offer a variety of styles that meet your time of setting be it a outdoor getaway or a large family home. If you are looking for a luxury home plan I think you will be very pleased to see the detail they put into a dream home for contemporary or traditional homes. I felt I was back in college in Washington DC with a few of their plans! Just stunning. Again, with www.houseplansandmore.com I impressed because they understand the future of going Green and take it seriously. The site is very easy to use, nothing hangs and have a multitude of links to all kinds of styles that you may be looing for!

Step right up with palm out and hat in hand. Now Daimler has had to seek foreign aide to shore up its bottom line. Abu Dhabi and now has a 9.1% stake in the renowned German Auto Maker. I guess even that segment of society has decided that luxury can wait and hence sales have fallen. I love the quote in today’s WSJ, “The best time to invest is when people panic” said the chairman of Aabar Investments. Wow, how would like to be sitting in Stuttgart and reading your largest stake holder basically you are in a panic. Oh, that must just ruffle the feathers a little! I should not be so harsh I guess. I am jealous of Mercedes, their innovation, their safety, their commitment to Formula 1. I’m hard pressed for words on the new economy because looking at the Daimler model, they are now 15 percent owned by the Middle East. Kuwait Firm IPIC has 6.9% too. How will that board meeting look like now because I would have to think that they would want some board seats. Interesting. What will American have to do now. Aabar said they do not want any American Auto makers but will they look at GE or other blue chips instead? I think back to my America For Sale post. Could I be right?