I support Small Business

With the first week of December behind us, the frantic, rush of gift buying is well underway. Mobs of cars crowd the roads, all seemingly in a big hurry to get somewhere. Shoppers are in every store, pushing, shoving, and overall acting rude. They are all concerned about saving a few pennies on Uncle Joe an ugly tie, or Aunt Martha a new set of pot holders. Really… is this what the holidays and Christmas has come to-ugh.      

I am proud to say that many of the gifts my family is giving this year are handmade. This isn’t something we set out as a group to do; it just sort of started happening on its own. When someone takes the time to make a gift, it seems to mean so much more than running down to wally-world and buying up the latest crap from China. Personally, I don’t have anything against China. But, when my neighbor down the street builds things of excellent quality, why should I go and buy the same thing made in another country. 

America is full of talented craftsmen, we should support them. As I watch my wife crochet and knit I am amazed at the quality of work she turns out. What happened to our country? We used to be self-supportive; we now depend on others for products we can easily make ourselves. Somewhere along the line greed took over which has led us to buying lessor quality things from other countries. 

It is up to us, the buyers, to reverse this trend. Support mom n pop shops… even if they cost a little more. It will be worth it in the end if we can bring back the small business industry. Not only will we get wonderful quality items, but pride of ownership as well. We used to be such a strong, proud, and powerful nation, now look at us; fighting among ourselves, and on the verge of another Civil War. United we stand, divided we fall. That statement is just as true today as when it was first written. Buying at home to me is like paying it forward, good things will come from it.

                                                                                                                   Lowell Henderson

Damn Thieves

Not having blogged in a while, I thought I’d take a break from working on my book, and share some thoughts with you. Today I had to run to town to do a little shopping. While making my way around the store, I noticed a sketchy looking fellow, also seemingly shopping. The second time I crossed paths with this guy while looking for my items, I noticed he was drinking a drink. Not that unusual, many people often drink a drink while shopping, and then pay for them as they leave. Something told me this guy had no intention of paying. So, what did I do? I followed him. What did he do? He left his empty drink in the automotive section.

With my shopping and investigating now done, I headed to the front to pay for my stuff. I really wanted to tell the manager, but, now the only proof was sitting on a shelf with no one connected to it, my word against his. To make matters worse, the sketchy guy and his wife stood behind me in line while waiting to buy a pack of smokes. The smug looks on their faces really pissed me off but, I decided not to make a scene and just let it go.

As I made my way across the parking lot, the manager just happened to be putting a buggy in the rack next to my truck. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to let him know what had been going on. He immediately headed back inside to put an eyeball on his drink thief. He will recognize him next time.

I guess I will never understand why some people think they need to steal from others. And many like this guy today, do it so casually. Have any of you ever witnessed this behavior? If you do what will you do. I’m curious as how my readers will respond to this.

Bikers Attack SUV

Before the hysteria is over, millions of people will have watched the video of the biker group attacking the SUV. I have watched the clip several times myself. As a long time biker, I guess I was hoping to somehow find fault with the SUV driver. Unfortunately, the video evidence seems to show that one of the bikers caused the initial accident. What can’t be seen is what happened the few seconds after the vehicle struck the motorcycle. Did mob mentality take over? It is understandable that all the bikers would rush to check on their friend that had been hit; it is also understandable that at this point in time, fingers would be pointing and insults thrown at the vehicle driver. I can see where the driver would have been terrified for himself and family.

It is speculated on a different video that the biker group were slowing down to block traffic, in order to do tricks. So many laws were broken in this short video that it’s just astounding. As a member of a club that doesn’t condone this type of riding, I have to say that I am deeply ashamed that this incident has occurred. Unless new video is brought forth showing that the driver of the SUV was somehow at fault, I simply can’t blame him for speeding away and protecting his family. Here in Alabama, or in most of the rest of our country, the two thugs smashing in the windows of the SUV would have been shot.

I am a compassionate man; anyone that knows me can verify that. I am sorry for all injured parties. This entire charade should have never have taken place. The most severely injured man will never walk again. I have to wonder what is going through his head as he lays there in the hospital. Was all the fun and games worth it? Was taking over the city streets, causing confusion, mayhem, and panic, worth the hurt and pain he and his family now face? Many will argue that this guy simply went back to check on his friend. That’s commendable, be the fact that he was riding with this group on this day was not. It is a miracle that no one was killed.

As a biker I offer an apology to the rest of the nation. The actions of those in the video do not represent the majority of bikers.

If you have not seen the video you can watch it here.  http://news.yahoo.com/wife-biker-husband-victim-nyc-altercation-063414964.html

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?id=9270138 

The Search for a Home Based Business

If you are one of the millions of people that search the internet each day, looking for a way to make money, you already know there are thousands of ways not to do it. A legit home based business is often hard to find amid all the scams and con-artist. However, a work from home business can be found with patience and research. The home based business choice for today is writing. Writing is probably the best home business opportunity available today.

Freelance writers all over the world work every day from the comfort of their own home. They do not commute twenty miles or carpool with annoying co-workers. Those with families work around family schedules, and the single writers write whenever they choose. Writing is not some get rich quick scheme; very few writers ever see a tremendous amount of wealth. The upside to freelance writing is that it is not a scam and you can make real money.

Whether you are a great writer or not, it is a skill that can be studied and learned. I do not consider myself a great writer, just one in progress. When we cease to learn as humans that is the point in time in which we begin to fail. When an opportunity to learn presents itself, always take it.

There are many sites new writers can start on, as they start their new home based business. I suggest an easy content site such as Triond to get your feet wet. It is not hard to publish on Triond and you will begin to learn how to write articles for internet purposes. One word of advice, even though Triond is a relatively easy site to publish on, take it very seriously. Proofread every article two or three times, run them through spellcheckers and always try to make each article better than the last one. From the moment you publish your first article you are then in the public eye and building a fan base. 

The Triond site is not a site where you will make much money, but like I said it is a good starting point. Once you are comfortable with publishing on Triond you can search for other freelance writing opportunities. Yahoo Contributor is a good site to write for that does have the potential for making better money. As your skills and confidence grow and improve, sites such as Guru.com and Freelancer.com can boost your earnings even higher. This is when the home based opportunity starts to become a legit home based business.

Workplace Morale

Good morale in a company is a valuable thing. Happy people are safer, and, more productive, people. Employees that feel good about their job, more often than not, put in a little extra effort each day. Employees not feeling good about their job begin to develop the “don’t care” attitude. When the “don’t care” attitude sweeps through a workplace, productivity is sure to drop.

Since morale is a mindset, companies can’t just issue a new rule and make everything better. Morale isn’t raised just because management doesn’t like everyone’s sour attitude. Morale is raised when positive things in the workplace begin to happen. Morale is raised when the majority of the workforce feels that management have their backs. Morale is lowered when the “us against them” mentality creeps in.

When favoritism is shown in the workplace, morale will drop. If an employee feels that he or she doesn’t have the same opportunity as “the bosses pet” their morale is lowered. These types of things are wrong but unfortunately they happen all across the country every day. When rules are put in place that penalizes everyone, for abuses by a few, morale is lowered.

What should happen when a company realizes they have a morale problem? Can it be fixed before more and bigger problems arise? In most cases the answer is yes. Problems need to be addressed from the upper echelon of the company and work their way down to the lower tiers. Do new rules constantly need to be put in place, or perhaps the old rules just need to be enforced properly. Have rules already in place simply been ignored for so long that things got out of hand. That seems to be the fault of management.

At some point in a low morale crisis, management needs to find a way back in the good graces of the floor workers. The workers need to once again know that what they do is appreciated. They are not numbers in a log book; they are people and should be treated as such. That doesn’t mean all the bosses go around handing out cookies and cool-aide. They do need to show their employees respect. Without their employees they are like a coach without a team…useless.