"An Englishman is a person who does things because they have been done before. An American is a person who does things because they haven't been done before." Mark Twain

I love being an American! I really do. I also love being a Californian! Why? Because this is the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world!!!

Only in California can we complain about how bad things are when we are the sixth largest economy in the world!!! The Bay Area alone produces more in bad times than most countries do in the best of times!

I was struck by this when I was driving my daughter down to Lancaster to play in a softball tournament. As I drove down I-5 I looked at miles, and tens of miles and several hundred miles of crops in what is a desert! in a place that most people would avoid, ON PURPOSE, some one planted a bunch of stuff we want to eat! What a state! What a country!

Then my sister-in-law after 22 years comes up from Panama, it's a great story, and is amazed at what we have and how little we pay for what we eat. What a state! What a country!

I think a lot of that has to do with the cowboy mentality we have. Especially as Californians! Where else would an Austrian born body builder that made a ton of money in real estate and the movies (I'll be back!) gets elected to governorship not once but twice! You may not agree with him but hey, he does have style!

What a state! What a country!

So as we work our way through the tough times, keep in mind we are not JUST Americans, but we are, are you ready, we are CALIFORNIANS!

What a state! What a country!

Be proud!

I was not real surprised when we recently had the tomato scare, death by tomato could be a good way to go, but it reminded me of all the risk and issues that get blown WAY out of proportion. And really, wasn't "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" already been done?

So restaurants and grocery stores were pulling tomato's from the shelves and off the menu because of the significant risk of salmonella poisoning. When I heard this I thought perhaps thousands had become ill or dies as a result. But the cynic in me received confirmation when the actual numbers came out.1 person died and 200 were reported sick. We have a nation of 300 million people and 1 death is worth a panic? And, it turns out that person was very ill with cancer. So even if stay with the 200 sick, and that was attributed to tomatoes because that is what those folks think made them sick, you get odds that are about the same as being killed by lightning. Or winning the lottery. Or being eaten by a shark. Or me dating Heather Locklear... or Shania Twain... or.... you fill in the blank.

I would probably just scoff and ridicule the reports at this point but the short panic cost the tomato industry several million dollars and that has a direct impact on the economy. Unlike the empty heads on cable that means real dollars are being taken from real farmers and real working people. Not a good thing to say the least.

In some ways it is reminiscent of the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 1974. No, this is not a joke but it started as one. Back in '74 when rationing and shortages were the standard of the day, thank you Jimmy Carter, Johnny Carson was making comment of this in his monologue on the Tonight Show. For those of you that are too young to remember, Johnny Carson was the king of late night back before David Letterman and Mr Big Chin, Jay Leno. At any rate, he was commenting on the shortages and then joked that a tp shortage was next. I guess we can tolerate food and gas shortages but not toilet paper.... and I'll leave that comment alone. What commenced was a six week panic over, yes that's right, toilet paper! Even when it was explained it was a joke and was demonstrated by several manufacturers that there was no shortage, people bought faster than could be supplied creating a shortage! Eventually the panic subsided and every one went back to normal levels of toilet paper consumption.

I guess my point is don't panic. Too often we are quick to want to jump on the boat of fear not realizing we may be jumping on to the Titanic or Lusitania. So keep your head. And if you feel the need to panic call me... I'd love to hear the story.

Wow! I can't believe that it's been several weeks since I last blogged! When I get caught up in an event I can loose track of the calendar.

Over the last several weeks lots has happened and I will try to get caught up: I was sent a rather interesting link to a web site that seems to be a small business community/chat forum for a variety of topics. I have looked at it a little and think it could be good for the right people. Click here to check it out.

We have a new ad hoc position at the Chamber. Dan Stone is now the Economic Development Liaison to the City of Pleasant Hill for the Chamber. This gives us the opportunity to attract new business to PH with out some of the restrictions that can be placed on City folk. With more businesses closing around town it will help with the economic outlook if we can work to getting folks to fill those empty stores.

Come check out Art on Oak Park on June 7th and 8th. This first year event will be held at the Oak Park Shopping Center located at 1910 Oak Park Blvd from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday and 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday.

I may add more later but wanted to at least get something up and posted.

"Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you don't"
Pete Seeger, Singer and Composer

"I have never seen a monument erected to a pessimist."
Paul Harvey, Journalist and Commentator

I keep carping on the need for a business plan because I feel it is critical to know where you are going and that a plan is important to help guide the way. The problem I think is that people often feel that a business plan is an expansive tome that rivals War and Peace in size and scope. Well unless you can spell all those Russian names without any help I would pass on that!

I did read a great article about that today that I think explains the simplicity of what you need. The main point is keep it simple and realistic and achievable. There are also some great people in the Chamber that can help you with the process. Diane Fleck does a great job as does John Kamp. Yes, you will spend money for their help but it is worth that as then you have an investment and are more likely to pay attention.

I had a friend once say that all the things in his life that he learned REALLY well were either very painful or very expensive. Doing a business plan can help to cut the pain and expense of the experience. Unless you are into that sort of thing, not that there's anything wrong with that!

I was trying to find a number for something and thought to myself, "Self, look on their web site. The info must be there!" So I went on and began to cruise their web site.... and cruise their web site.... AND CRUISE THEIR WEB SITE....AND CRUISE THEIR WEB SITE....AND I COULD NOT FIND IT! Just a phone number. Please, let me know how to get in touch with you.

The other problem I had was the front page had EVERYTHING on it! It made it so crowded that I did not want to have anything to do with that agency. Just the thought of looking at it makes my head hurt.

So look at your web site and think about how easy is it to navigate. Does it have the correct info easy to find in a format that makes sense? Be honest though. You may start to get more customers.

I know that one area that some businesses get themselves in trouble is by misclassifying employee's as independent contractors or worse as exempt employee's. There are a number of good resources that you use like the article I was reading this morning.

You can also check with Contra Costa Means Business as well as other places that can help. There is a HR hotline that's free to call at (800) 399-5331 that can help. The main thing is just make sure your ducks are lined up so you don't get nailed down the road.

Seems like a strange question but I ask you to reflect on that. One of the reasons is that I am continually entertained by people that seem to lead what I call Suspicious Lives.

What I mean by Suspicious Lives is they see the worst in all, suspect a conspiracy a every turn, and usually jump to the worst that could be with out ever investigating what really happened. "Don't confuse me with facts, my minds made up and I know that there WAS another shooter and the government was behind 9/11," often is their song. Suspicious Lives. " I do not not understand what is going on so there MUST be something bad happening." Suspicious Lives. Not enough data? I'll just do the mental gymnastics that are required to get me to the conspiracy. Suspicious Lives.

Maybe I am too cynical, too trusting or too tired to go to those lengths.

Too Cynical: In order for something like 9/11 or the second gunman on the grassy knoll or fill in the blank to occur as a government conspiracy it would in my opinion require a level of competence that I believe CANNOT BE POSSIBLE by the government! Keep in mind that these are the same people that run Medicare! I think I've made my case.

Too Trusting: I guess I'd rather think that most people are doing their darned best to do the right thing. Yes, there are criminals and yes they are around in Pleasant Hill, but I'd like to think the best of people and have them prove me wrong. This does not mean you should not be prudent. One should always take steps to protect yourself but then move on.

Too Tired: I don't want to spend that much energy worrying about stuff I can't change. I'd rather be worrying about my golf swing! And any body that knows me can tell you how much I worry about that. Blackwater may be developing a secret army, and the oil giants are making boat loads of money. Not much I can do. So I can work myself into a lather about the grand conspiracy OR I can make myself aware of the FACTS, not conjecture, and then get on with my life. Penguins may be dying in Antarctica but I am pretty sure I can't stop that. May sound harsh but other than doing some recycling and changing out to CFL's not sure I can have a great impact on that.

I am thinking that a lot of the cultural panic is created by the media. NO, I do not believe it to be a conspiracy, just an attempt to attract attention and get the ratings. That would be why you have all the tickers running across the screen with the extra thing in the lower and upper corners to impart some other piece of data. Well, the over saturation of data does not make knowledge, just confusion. Knowledge is power, data is just data. Don't confuse the two.

I guess what I am saying is that because I am unwilling to buy into the Suspicious Life mantra, I feel that I have a better chance of a happier life. No ignorance is NOT bliss but knowledge and information is only that. How we choose to react or act with it helps to determine what we get out of our lives.

I was reading an article today that was in the online addition of the Sacramento Bee and it was talking about the possibility of the state increasing the number of things taxed, like services and movie tickets, and it made me think that we should pay closer attention to what our elected officials are doing for us and to us in Sacramento. One of the ways to do this is to attend the Government Affairs meetings that the chamber has on the last Monday of each month at Left Bank. It would be one way to stay informed. The other is to read the papers.

I am a bigger fan of the printed word, or in this case the digital word, than I am of video. One of the main reasons is that with print media you can sort through what you want. Print also has the space, though they don't always use it wisely, to give you all the facts they uncover. The tv news folk often condense a story so much as to remove any useful content. Then comes the teaser, "Pitbulls with AIDS on fire and how they effect your home value, film at 11!" When you tune in you find the story has nothing to do with the headline.

But I digress. I guess my point is to stay informed. It is important to know how seemingly small changes can have a big impact and rather than waiting for it to occur and THEN dealing with it, try looking down the road and planning for what will come along. It could mean thriving or starving.

But that's just my opinion. And I'm sticking to it! Film at 11!

I really enjoy it when someone puts things into the perspective it deserves. John Stossel wrote a great opinion piece regard the current mortgage crisis that helps to illuminate how the political empty suits and the media empty suits treat most issues. By using words like crisis, disaster and meltdown I do believe they create an atmosphere that makes common sense folks start to behave like lemmings. And by continually reinforcing this, whether it be true or not, they then get by in from the public and low and behold the economy starts to slow down. It's like magic!!!!

Yes, things are tough for some folks but fact is our economy is one of the strongest in the world. Heck, California ranks in the top 10... IN THE WORLD!!!!!! That means we create and produce more stuff than 135 COUNTRIES! And that is just our state!

So what am I saying? Don't buy in to the horror of what comes out of the media. Times are tough for some but the fact is we are not sinking like a rock thrown into the Mariana Trench. We just need to be smarter with what we have. But we should already be doing that should we not? If sales go up look at ways to support the call for more service. If sales go down look to improve marketing while cutting costs.

But NEVER cut the marketing budget! It is one of the keys to survival!