Electricity Rates WILL Increase

The electricity rates
in my area
are extremely low
but
I know that will soon change.

Why?

Because AI uses
a sh*tload of electricity
and companies
are building AI into everything.

Demand for electricity
will soon go through the roof
and supply will struggle
to keep up.

Which means
the cost of electricity
will increase.

If the business you’re building
uses very little electricity,
your costs shouldn’t increase
significantly.

If your business
DOES use a lot of electricity,
try to figure out a way
to either decrease that usage
or provide your own source
of electricity.

Electricity rates
will increase.
Plan for that.

The Sticker Bonus

A friend runs
a dog toy company.

She had to craft
some artwork
for signs
and various marketing materials.

She then chose some favorite images
of dogs playing with
her company’s dog toys
from that commissioned artwork.

And she had those images
made into stickers.

That didn’t cost much extra
to produce.

It also doesn’t cost her
much extra
to mail/ship a sticker
with her products.

And, her customers,
when they receive one,
freak the f*ck out.

They LOVE these stickers.
Stickers that are advertising
my friend’s small company.

Consider crafting some stickers
and giving them
as a bonus item
with orders.

Starting Fresh

I can’t eat
wheat products anymore.

So I am baking
with almond flour.

Almond flour,
according to
the suppliers’ claims,
can be swapped
1:1
with regular flour.

I did that
in my existing recipes.

That change was a disaster.

I could tweak those recipes
to make the almond flour work.
But that’s a lot of work.

It is much easier
to discard the old wheat flour recipes
and use recipes
already altered for the almond flour.

We all make this similar mistake.
We try to make
a new reality
fit into our old lifestyles.

We work from
9 to 5 on our businesses
even though
our customers
prefer we work
from 5 to 10.

We ‘pay’ ourselves
on Fridays
even though
that’s one of the busiest days
at the bank
and we could pay ourselves
at any time.

We eat a sandwich
for lunch
even though
we work at home
and could eat ANYTHING
we wanted.

Let go
of habits
that once worked for you
but now make your life harder.

Start fresh.
Use a new set of
‘recipes’
designed for your new situation.

People Who Shop Local Love Their Neighborhoods

I try to shop
at the small businesses
in the neighborhood
whenever I’m able
to do so.

Because I love our neighborhood
and I want it to thrive.

I stopped at a pet store
to pick up
a present
for a loved one’s dog.

The sole person working there,
as she was ringing up
my purchase,
told me how crime
is terrible in the neighborhood
(it isn’t).

She went on and on
about it.
She wouldn’t shut up.

By the time I left,
I felt terrible
about shopping there
and
I felt terrible
about the neighborhood.

My next stop
was a big box store
outside of the neighborhood.

And I vowed never
to shop in
that small pet store again.

Don’t bad mouth
the neighborhood
you’re doing business in.

The locals
love their neighborhood
and
they don’t want to hear
grievances about it.

How Not To Have Your Words Or Actions Used Against You In Court

Don’t put d@mning things
in writing.

Don’t email that sh*t.
Don’t text it.
Don’t send it
by pony express.

It WILL go public
and
it WILL be used
against you
at some point.

With everyone having
a recording device
(i.e. their phones),
he77,
it is best
not to say
d@mning sh*t
also.

F*ck.
Just don’t think it.

If you are worried
something you do or say
might be used against you
in court,
don’t do or say it.

That’s the simplest solution.

Figure out another way
to achieve your goals.
A legal ethic way.

If You Can Help Someone…

I usually have
a YouTube video
playing in the background
on mute
as I work.

I’ve created a playlist
of videos
by creators
who are seeking
sponsors.

And I play that playlist.

These creators
attract sponsors
and earn funds
from their sponsors
based on how many subscribers
they have.

They gain more subscribers
if YouTube shows
their videos to more people.

YouTube shows
their videos to more people
if more people watch them
(it is circular, I know).

So I ‘watch’ their videos.
That costs me
very little
and it helps these creators out.

Is that ‘cheating’
the system?

Yes.
But all helping
is cheating the system.

My friends buy my books
to help my Amazon rankings
so Amazon shows my books
to more people.
That’s technically cheating also.

If you can help someone
and it costs you
very little,
help them.

Make their world
a better place.

Order Your Supplies Now

Order any supplies
and other business essential goods
you’ll need
for the next four or five months
(at the minimum)
now.

Multiple wars are intensifying.
Climate change disasters are happening.
COVID and other pandemics
continue to impact…well…everything.
There’s political turmoil.
And other global issues.

Supply chains
will be strained
yet again
this year.

Shipments will be delayed
or won’t happen at all.
Production will be hampered.
Labor will be limited.

Order your supplies
now.

In Case Of Emergency

If there’s an emergency
in your area
and
your business
doesn’t have patrons
it must continue to serve
(i.e. it isn’t housing people
or treating people),
close your business
for the day,
pay your employees
for that day
and
allow them to go home
and be with their loved ones.

If you can’t afford
to do that,
your business isn’t viable.

You are responsible
for your employees
during emergencies.

If they die
or get hurt
on the job,
you could and SHOULD
get sued into the ground.

And the odds they’ll be hurt
increases.

Because your employees
aren’t focusing on their jobs
or your business.

They’re worrying about loved ones
and getting home.

And they are resenting
your business
for causing them
additional stress.

That will come back
to bite you in the a$$
later
in ways you’ll likely
never fully realize.

Don’t be an a$$hat.

Send employees home
during emergencies.

If They Aren’t Listening, Stop Talking

A loved one
calls every day
to ask me
to ask someone else
to do things
for her.

I’ve told her
numerous times
to leave that someone else
a message.

She doesn’t listen.

And I’ve realized
she will NEVER listen.

So I’ve stopped saying anything.

I’ve also stopped
relaying messages for her.

I listen
and then I ignore her requests.

That has made life
much easier for me.

And surprisingly
she still manages
to get the loved one
to complete her many tasks.

When people aren’t listening
to you,
stop talking.

Leave that energy
for some other task.

The Price Of Success

I recently changed my lifestyle
and, as a result of that change,
I’ve lost a lot of weight.

A loved one joked
that another loved one
shouldn’t mess with me
because if I can lose weight,
I can do anything.

Success in…anything
is difficult.

Once you’ve accomplished success
and that success
is known,
you’ll scare the sh*t
out of many people.

Be prepared
for relationships
to change
and for people
to act differently
around you.

All that is part
of any success,
small or great.