Here's a little bit of homework for today

Take some time to think about this past year. And some time to think about the upcoming year. Here are three questions to help you:

What did I do well this past year?

What did I not do well this past year?

What can I do to make next year better?

You can use these three questions to evaluate any area of your life – your business, your family, yourself.

Now take out a blank sheet of paper, go to a quiet room, turn off the cell phone and the computer and start writing. Your answers to the third question are your goals for next year.

The Cocooning Effect

According to one survey, our neighbors to the north are planning to spend more money on their homes in 2009. HGTV conducted a survey of 1004 Canadians and found that “nearly two-thirds of the population will embark on a home renovation project in the next 12 months. And despite reports of what is happening in the United States real estate market, nine out of 10 Canadians still believe that their home is a more secure investment than the stock markets.”

I really think that 2009 will bring what I call “the cocooning effect.” Homeowners will spend more time in their homes to shield themselves from the doom and gloom that awaits them in the outside world. Once there, they will begin to think about how they can make their homes even more safe and secure against the realities outside. Couple that with almost round-the-clock television programming about home improvements and travel and you have a situation reminiscent of the early 90’s when homeowners who couldn’t move decided to stay put and remodel instead.

So keep yourself and your company positioned for the potential growth in 2009. Keep your name out there in front of your customers and in front of new potential customers. Lets stay positive and focused.

My "New Normal"

Since my dad passed away in September of this year, each holiday has been a bittersweet memory of happy times along with the sadness of knowing we won’t have any more with him. I call this my “new normal.” It’s tough getting used to a “new normal.” I liken it to the housing crisis where we are all adjusting to a “new normal.” But adjust, we do. Time, the perpetual healer, is on our side. We just have to hang in there long enough.

Wishing you peace,
Annette

Happy Holidays!

Whatever holiday you and your family celebrate, we would like to wish you a happy one!

Christmas Cheer

Our economy is even affecting the North Pole!

Source: http://thisisindexed.com/

Don't Participate

Don’t let this current recession determine your fate! Choose not to participate in the current economic crisis.

Now I’m a sales guy but I know that my company has to keep marketing in order for me to get in front of someone to make a sale. The more people I’m in front of, the more sales I make. It’s a pretty simple formula.

December is turning out to be a pretty good sales month for me in my remodeling company. That’s because I’m not letting the recession or the government or the media tell me what I’m going to do. I’ve got some pretty good leads because my company has been marketing all along. I’m selling and that’s that!

Plan B

I just read a plan by a group called Architecture 2030 that claims to reduce the cost of mortgages, reduce energy consumption and energy bills, create millions of jobs, stimulate the economic recovery and return stimulus money back to the government. Basically, a government mortgage buy-down program would be linked to improving energy efficiency in homes and commercial spaces. You can read a pdf of the plan outline which was presented to the Obama transition team here.

Now I don’t know if this plan will work. I don’t know if it’s a good plan. But I do know that it is a plan. There are a lot of really smart people out there who have some really good ideas about how to solve the mess that our country is in right now.

Maybe we should start listening.