It Looked Pretty Good to Me: Junk In! Junk Out! It May not be as Sweet and Full of Flavor as You Thi

Don't fiddle with the characteristics of a best-selling existing product. Remember that a few years a go the owner of the "most valuble" trade name in the World changed the taste of their "battleship" cola. They did it after much testing and trials by consumer groups. But when they put it on the market, their customers didn't give one hoot about all of their thinking and testing. They took one sip and said, "What in all hell is this?" The company had to rename their classic cola to get their customers back. The new cola never took hold. After a company has been in business for many years, the idea to change an existing brand often comes from new employees. They use their testing results to overcome the objections of the old hands that know better. Watch out! Read on from my experience.

As bad as things were during the depression, some businesses struggled along and stayed in business. Of those that survived, not a few made a bundle during WWII. One company in my home town made stoves for army barracks. The owner became a millionaire in just a couple of years.

In my neighborhood, on the wrong side of the tracks, near the state fairgrounds, there was a small popcorn company. The main product was called something like Krispat. I don't remember how the name of the product was spelled, even though I must have eaten a zillion of the things.

This small company blossomed when the army decided to turn the fairgrounds into an army training camp. We kids loved the obstacle course and we could zip over it about twice as fast as the recruits being trained. After and during all this training, the family that owned the popcorn factory made sure the product was near the noses of the G.I.s and they sold thousands of "Krispats."

At the end of the war, the company was well-positioned and had a large clientele of retail outlets for their products. However, the owners moved to Hawaii and decided to sell the business. A gentleman bought the business and things went well. My mother, my sisters, and half the women in our neighborhood worked there at one time or another. I worked there too. I was dressed as a clown and dumped at the junction of three roads up a canyon east of the city. On weekends it was very busy. I would wave my popcorn at the cars and many of them stopped. At the end of the day when I was picked up, I would be out of product.

Well, the "Krispat" was a yummy thing. I used to watch them make them in the factory. The popcorn was mixed with a wonderful caramel syrup, then pressed into hockey-puck-sized discs which came down a conveyor belt. The girls and women on both sides of the belt grabbed about four of those disk and pressed them together into a role. Each roll was placed in an easily recognizable paper wrapper that said, "YUMMY!" These were placed in cartons ready for shipment.

Then the business went Kaput over night!

The new owner had bought some crummy-tasting syrup at a low cost. As soon as I tasted the product, I knew he was in trouble.

And I was an "expert" on what happened and I knew what to do about it.

After the war, a company which an older friend of mine invested in (and worked in too) went Kaput! It was a soft drink company with an excellent product. One of the major stockholders got a bargain on some syrup. It ruined the flavor. He wouldn't get rid of the junk. The company went bankrupt.

That is exactly what happened to the popcorn company. I was only a teenager, but I warned the owner. I begged him to get rid of the crummy-tasting caramel syrup he had bought at a bargain. But the poor man ran out of money before he decided that he would have to change the syrup to survive. It made me so sad to see a company go under that I thought was a model for my future in business. The owner couldn't keep from going under: BLUB! BLUB! BLUB!

Home Business Tips: Don't let others tell you how to run your business.

A Tippy from Flippy: What may seem to be a bargain may be a one-way ticket to oblivion.

Keeping Up with the Jones': The need for speed is fed by greed. Common since does not equal, It looks pretty good to me!

Fiddle Dee & Fiddle Dum: When you see little fingers poking their noses into your operations, cut them off!

Can't Ya' Get Goin'?: Maybe if you had someone look at what you are doing, it would help. But don't just let anybody look. Find somebody with some brains and experience.

All Things Come: Quality spells success. They will come!

Life Success Quotation: Life can be a dream. Life can be a nightmare. Well, wake up and saddle that critter!

Business Success Quotation: Get out of bed before the competition goes to bed.

From the Eye of the Potato

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The Basics of the Comcast Cable Company

Comcast Cable has grown to become the largest cable service provider in the United States. It was founded back in the 1960s as a local single system cable television provider and is now available almost anywhere that cable TV is offered. With an ever growing array of competition it is interesting to note how Comcast Cable is able to lead nearly all its markets.

Available in over thirty states, its a safe bet that if one of those states residence subscribes to cable that they are using Comcast. Born as a television company, home entertainment is still its primary concern. Overall they service over twenty million homes with cable television. Furthermore they provide digital cable service to almost another ten million homes.

During the last decade the technology thats been made available to homes has grown at such a staggering rate that it has allowed companies like Comcast to expand into providing other services. Personal computers, for instance, never would have offered a market to Comcast cable when they first began entering homes. Then came the advent of the internet. Faster computers and larger amounts of data called for speedier internet connections that dial up providers couldnt possibly provide. Taking advantage of this new market, cable companies were able to offer their own brand of internet service which can currently offer speeds a hundred times faster then its dial up predecessor.

Comcast cable internet came to exist and it now provides high speed cyberspace access to almost eight million customers. That number represents over one third of their television subscribers which is quite staggering given how fresh the technology really is. Just think how slowly cable grew when introduced as a television service; no one wanted to pay for something that they were already getting for free. Initially cable internet had the same reaction with people not wanting to pay double the price for faster data transfer. But those numbers clearly show that the idea has definitely caught on.

Another boost for their consumer base came with the advent of the cable telephone alternative. While that idea has yet to catch on with most people being satisfied with their existing services, Comcast has still managed to attract over a million clients to this service.

Other business ventures from Comcast Cable includes several of their own channels. These include the Golf Channel, PBS Kids Sprout and TV One. Comcast even has four Comcast Sportsnets. Outside the communications ring, they also have a majority ownership in a company that has a lot of holdings. Some of these are sports teams in hockey, football and basketball; also they own two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia where Comcast is based.

Comcast cable has become a staple of the American communication world. Their employees are numbered at over seventy thousand people. As a company they continue to look to the future for new opportunities and ventures to offer their customers.

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Old House? New House? Weighing Your Options

Maybe it has something to do with a childhood home we fondly remember. Many of us long for old homes built with solid construction, quality craftsmanship and beautiful details. We wax poetic and wistfully recall the hand carvings, plaster walls and eyebrow dormers of homes weve known. On the other hand, how do the old homes we admire compare with newly minted modelsand what should we consider before deciding which to buy?

Location. Typically, old homes sit on generous plots of land in or near town. The neighborhoods are established and usually more central to schools and shopping. Mature trees and plantings provide shade and beautify the property and neighborhood streets. New homes are generally found in new developments outside of town and homeowners who buy into an early can expect to contend with dust and construction sights and sounds as the remaining phases are being built. Landscaping may be skimpy or nonexistent, but a buyer has the opportunity to design the dcor from scratch.

Layout. New homes tend to have a more spacious functional layout with higher ceilings, bigger windows, family kitchens, walk-in closets, and family rooms. Some even have media rooms and come pre-wired for cable and computers. On the other hand, older homes were designed for a more formal lifestyle, which is reflected in the formal dining and living areas and many cozy rooms, including small bedrooms, closets and bathrooms.

Energy efficiency. Those eight-over-eight single pane wood windows add character to an old home, but even with storm windows, theyre not nearly as energy efficient as modern dual-glazed or thermal windows. While most old homes lacked insulation in outside walls and attics, homes built today insulate against high heating and cooling costs. Although the bigger windows, higher ceilings and larger rooms, common in new homes, can also cause high utility bills.

Maintenance. With older homes, upkeep could be more expensive because of older appliances, plumbing and electrical systemsnot to mention the roofmay need to be replaced. A turn of the century home may have outdated knob-and-tube wiring, and even a recently built home may have an inadequate fuse box-style panel that falls short of the energy demands of 21st century families. But new homes generally come with warranties that will cover the cost for most major problems.

Price. Older homes are usually less expensive per square foot. In addition the tax structure is more predictable because the neighborhood is already established with amenities that newer neighborhoods are still in the process of gaining, such as schools, police and fire services, and infrastructures (roads, sidewalks, etc.). However, with restoration costs a possibility for older homes, your dollars may very well be spent on the back-end rather than upfront.

If the charm and beauty of an old home wins your heart, hire an inspector to evaluate the home for lead paint, insect and water damage, lead and/or galvanized pipes, outdated wiring, foundation problems and energy efficiency, including windows as well as heating/cooling systems and insulation. After you get the all-clear, you have one last consideration: Does the home fit your lifestyle or would the conveniences of a newer model suit you better? Only you and your family have the answer.

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