MeiersEnterprises

As many of you know, the Supreme Court ruled it to be ok for the govt to take away private homes and land to develop commercial properties in order to specifically increase the tax revenue in a particular city. This has bothered me so much! This is a huge problem for all of us because once you go down this road, it will never stop. Huge corporations will take over! It's one thing to build a stadium and take a few homes with compensation, or widen a road and take some land, but this new ruling has dire effects on all of us. Basically, if WalMart looked on the map and saw the perfect spot for a store, they can petition to take that land from anyone who lives or works there just because WalMart could bring in more taxes if it existed in that spot. As I'm reading this morning, I came across this artice: http://www.freestarmedia.com/hotellostliberty2.html This is awesome! Someone in New Hampshire is going after Justice Souter's land. Souter was a supporter and voted for the land steeling act and I hope to God (for every American's sake) that they take his land and build a hotel called "The Lost Freedom Hotel". The hotel will include a museum, open to the public, featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America. They should setup a pre-guest registration form on the net to prove how popular it would be for their city. The Best Part: There are only 5 people on the board who can decide the fate of Souter's home. It only takes 3 to be convinced and The Lost Freedom Hotel will be in business!

What's next Jon? Cellphones in cars (we can use earpieces - its safer), then smoking in cars (you need to concentrate on driving and I'm tired of seeing butts everywhere) then radios in cars (people should be concentrating on driving and Im sick of hearing radios at intersections when im enjoying the beautiful day with my window open), then talking in cars with govt monitoring microphones (people should be concentrating on driving anyway and I have nothing to hide from the govt so why would i mind having a microphone in my car) then guns (None of us should have guns either because there's no need to defend against criminals since 97% of criminals guns are illegal anyways - police officers shouldnt even have guns like they do in Canada - guns are for museums) then steak knives (butter knives will work just fine and people are getting too fat anyway so they should have to work harder to eat their food) then butter knives (spoons will do everything that a butter knife will do - prove me wrong) then spoons (Some Indians and many Arabs eat with their fingers - we can too and think of all the accidents that will be prevented - we can use chopsticks made from recycled dirt fired in solar ovens) then child proof all lighters (we cant depend on parents nowadays to raise their own children with respect and responsibility so we will just make every lighter child/adult proof by federal law) then lighters (matches will work just fine in any situation and look at all the forest fires started by the improper use of lighters - we're losing our forests) then matches (govt will appropriate pre-lit candles whats wrong with that - it's fire isnt it). then gum (im tired of seeing gum everywhere - people just arent responsible enough to dispose of it and I dont chew it anyways). then fast food (our healthcare has skyrocketed because of fatty foods, im a vegetarian and everyone is much better off without McDonalds anyways). then freedom of the press (knowone should be allowed to take my picture or write a story about me unless I have approved it - its my person freedom). then freedom of religion (these terrorists are all muslims so that must be a bad religion overall - there cant be any good muslims and if there are, theyll just take on a new religion - like scientology where there is NO God). then freedom of speech (the guy next door calls me a vagitarian because im a vegitarian lesbian - that should be illegal because my blood pressure goes up and will certainly lead to higher healthcare costs). then the internet (people are molesting children they find online - they use the internet as a tool and there is no reason we shouldnt have govt issued software to keep us from looking at bad stuff and talking to certain people - its only a little piece of software anyways, you wont know its there and I dont look at bad stuff anyways and we'll catch all the terrorists and unibombers) then [CENSORED] (knowone really needs [CENSORED] anyways, i dont use [CENSORED] so why would you want to). Sincerely, [CENSORED] ----------------------------------------- CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE HAVE BEEN CENSORED BY MANDATE 655448 OF US GOVERNMENT CODE 61858-9544363-9567963-694 OF FEDERAL ISSUE 5664-56 AND A FULL REPORT HAS BEEN ENTERED INTO THIS AMERICANS PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION DATABASE. HE/SHE/HESHE/IT (INEXPLICABLE TITLE MANDATED BY DOCUMENT NUMBER 651-6874-BN OF THE US SUPREME COURT IN US VS. SHEMALE BOB 03/06/2005) HAS 003 CREDITS REMAINING BEFORE A FULL INVESTIGATION INTO THE WRITINGS AND POSTINGS WILL BE ISSUED. IF YOU SEE THIS BLOGGER / WRITER / LAW BREAKER / PERPETRATOR / TRADER / PENETRATOR POSTING UNDER A DIFFERENT IDENTITY, PLEASE NOTIFY THE FASHION POLICE AT (800) I-NEED-TO-STOP-THIS-LAW-BREAKER-LIKE-HITLER-DID-BY-ENCOURAGING-TATTLE-TALES. TATTLE TALES WILL RECEIVE $100 (MINUS TAX, TAG, TITLE BUT NOT TO BE LESS THAN $1 OR TO EXCEED $3.03 AS MANDATED BY INTERNATIONAL TREATY UNDER FORM 31547-55GG4-54 ISSUED HEREIN) FOR SERVICES RENDERED. CONGRESS HAS DEEMED THIS CENSORSHIP WORTHY AND NECESSARY AS PER SECTION 64218-01-02 OF CONGRESSIONAL RECORD ITEM NUMBER 484GSS-SS2. NO WRITE TO REMAIN SILENT. CAUTION HOT WHEN TOUCHED. NO SEATBELT DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING CLICK (AS MANDATED BY SAFE DRIVING LAWS PERSUANT TO ISSUE 66543-44). OBJECTS ON SCREEN MAY BE LARGER THAN THEY APPEAR. WATCH YOUR STEP. FROG CROSSING. STAY BACK. YIELD. WATCH YOUR HEAD. THOU SHALT NOT USE COMPUTER WITH LIGHTS OFF. WARNING IMPROPER USE MAY CAUSE SHOCK. COLORS DEPICTED IN PHOTOS MAY DIFFER FROM ACTUAL PRODUCT. THE HOUR SPENT WRITING THIS WILL HAVE NO DIRECT AFFECT ON THE INSANE. PICTURE HAS BEEN MODIFIED TO FIT YOUR SCREEN. RATINGS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. I COULD BE THE ONE THATS INSANE. PAYMENT DUE UPON RECEIPT. PAYMENTS SUBJECT TO COLLECTION FEES. DO NOT TOUCH. THIS SIDE UP. $200 PER MONTH FOR 36 MONTHS ($87,564 DUE AT SIGNING). PLEASE LIFT SEAT. DOOR LOCKS UPON EXIT. LIGHTS ON DURING RAIN, ITS THE LAW. COFFEE NOT TO EXCEED LUKE WARM BY GOVERNMENT MANDATE, ITS THE LAW. NO SMOKING OUTSIDE, ITS THE LAW. NO SMOKING IN OUTSIDE PATIO AREA. NO SMOKING INSIDE. OBJECTS ARE SHARP. HANDLE WITH CARE. CHOKING HAZARD. PAPER MAY CUT. LOST OR STOLEN OBJECTS ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OWNER. POOP LAW IN EFFECT. PICK UP AFTER YOUR PET. PATENTS PENDING. COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT. KEEP BACK. STAY BACK. CARE MUST BE TAKEN. TAKE EXTREME CAUTION. INJURIES MAY OCCUR. -----------------------------------------

One of my favorite small pubs here closed because of the indoor smoking ban in restaurants. It was either shut down the bar at night or shut down the restaurant in the day. They tried the food ave and lost (15+ people out of work and the owner went broke). Another favorite had the best black & blue burger ive ever eaten (blackened with bluecheese). Now they serve hotdogs on one of those rottiserie thingys that I think are the same ones from when the ban was enacted over a year ago because knowone in their right mind would even consider eating one. It's nice because when you get drunk at a bar, you shouldn't have food available to sober up. Instead, just send people out on the roads drunk and ruin any fun they may have had in the process. Maybe they'll kill some legislatures along the drive home. *sarcasm Quote from Philip: My business, I select the clientel... Your money, you select the businesses you patronize. If I were gay, Id ask Philip to marry me. (not that there's anything wrong with that - seinfeld) haha

I think land taxes are insane. At worst, they should be grandfathered in based on the original purchase date so someone could grow old there without going broke. My family had a beautiful estate on the FL intercoastal waterway where I grew up (almost an acre). My parents were forced to sell it because the taxes increased so significantly. It went up so high, they actually had to take out a mortgage to pay the taxes until the land sold. It killed my stepfather of a heart attack (literally). That was about 15 years ago - the property just sold again last year for 4.2M. Our taxes 15 yrs ago were $9,000 per year on a $400K property. They are about $90,000+ per year now. How could my parents EVER have stayed there on their savings??? I would have inherited that home and land for MY children... Instead, my mom is a widow and she's scraping by (while working). Just another example of the govt sucking the life out of individuals rights...

AND THE FUN BEGINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~21481~2998326,00.html http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45612 http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/072005/new_20050720017.shtml I love New Hampshire! http://nsnlb.us.publicus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050730/NEWS02/107300026/-1/sports

That's my problem. I played baseball for 8 yrs as a kid and now I try to hit the ball like a baseball. That doesn't work...

hiccup.... (still drunk)....

I tend to say "4" alot. haha Best score was 84 but my usual is about 95. The 84 was a fluke that probably won't happen again. I need lessons...

burp - YEAH! - hiccup......hiccup......(falls off chair)....:lgbounces

Not sure at this point. Im hurting for money from a previous (different) business problem but i'll bounce back for sure. It's HOT here in FL. Painted a house a couple weeks ago and it about killed me lol. Not sure if im up for this long term but If i get enough accounts, i'll keep at it. I do find it very interesting to be a part of the PW industry though. I love this board - it's the only one with real people on it that i feel like i can relate to. Probably because just about everyone is a business owner and works his/her butt off which creates a different mentallity. hummmm

So did you grow to that size in only 20 months?? Yes, but I got lucky somewhat because immediately when I started, I hired an installation foreman (30K/Yr) who had a degree in horticulture so that I could bid on a $200K job in the first month I had the company (apartment complex). I landed it (unbelievable day)... Final billing for the job with all the extras was about $280K. Took us 4 months and I didn't make much but I had to have that job initially so I could use that as testiment to our work. No joke - I bid it so close, even with all the extras I only made about $20K. I would work for 2 weeks straight without a day off. In the summer! Really sucked but It got me at least 5 other installations which were real profitable. I also landed a lot of maintenance for the same company and surrounding businesses. We offered a yr warranty on the plants as long as they signed a yr maintenance contract (went for all new installations). I had to take out a $40k line of credit with my dad cosigning just to do the job. Then landed installations for a restaurant chain - each install was about $26-$30K (one was $90K). Rather not say the name(s) but I did a LOT of them. We did such a good job on the first one, they insisted on us doing ALL of them. We did one that was 100 miles away (PITA). They took about 2 weeks to complete and I had 2 crews going full steam (between 3-6 people per crew depending on the needs of the particular job). When we only had one install for the week, we could knock it out in like 4-5 days (grade, irrigate, trees, sod, plants, mulch, clean, everything). I'd land installs and maintenance within a mile or so of a job site we were working on all the time. At one point, I had one designated crew maintaining every business within a half mile of a busy intersection in ALL directions. Took them all week. It was cool because I'd drive through there and think to myself "I own ALLLLLL this" lol Some landscape architects wont allow you to even bid unless you have a horticulturist on staff. I made a good show though on that first complex - bought a used IsuzuNPR boxtruck and got it freshly painted with $1000 worth of graphics. Got my brother to weld up an awesome drop down ramp. Everyone had 4 color printed tshirts (only could afford to print 20 lol). I made sure the mexicans showed up on site (shirts tucked with pruners on belts) while I was walking it with the owners and architect. I also had someone else drop by at the same time pulling a bobcat - so it would seem like i had my $hit together. The funny thing was that I didn't even have enough work at that time to keep the mexicans busy for the week. Previously, I was an operations manager for another landscape company and the owner gave me a $1000 bonus at the end of the year and as per our 'oral' agreement, he was supposed to give me $12K. I basically ran the company and he got the checks and when he screwed me, I worked for him for 2 months while i was really working on my own company (finding a truck, painting it, graphics, equipment, etc.) and collecting $60K/yr from him. Got maintenance accounts immediately (some from the a$$hole - the profitable ones). I left and took the two best mexicans with me. Had work for about 3 days a week with me and the 2 working for me. At the same time I was bidding on commercial installation jobs like crazy. The mexicans were cool about it though - they worked full time at a restaurant at night so I could call them whenever (and even put off their pay if i had to for a week or so which i hated). How legit were you?? (illegals, taxes, WC, etc.) They had social security cards and ID - did I need to ask for more? lol - I did everything legal since I was dealing with mostly commercial accounts. I had to... I had to get a $2M insurance policy and workers comp just to bid on that first apartment complex. That hurt the wallet. I was tapping into my dad at that point... I'm curious, what did you pay a guy that was a leader of a crew?? have bennies,etc?? The maintenance foremen got paid between $10-$12 per hour (later one made $15) which was really good at the time. The 2 mexicans I took with me started at the same rate they were making at the other place $8.50 and I brought them up to $10.50 (they were laborers not foremen). Sometimes to get away from overtime (expecially in the beginning) I would pay them cash for weekend work, etc. Laborers started out at $7.50 while most companies paid only $6.50. No other benefits except a bonus at christmas (about $200 cash) and a turkey. A lot of these guys were making more than me for a long time. Sometimes i would have to go pick up some mexicans at a gas station to help with a job for a day if there was too much work. I'm just SURE they were legal [insert joke here]. I did buy lunch for the crew I was with quite often but not everyday. They loved that of course - not fast food either - a proper lunch in a restaurant. Was he empowered to make any decision related to the job?? [foremen] No - maintenance foremen were only to do a great job and guide the laborers and keep them busy. He had to work himself of course. If the customer wanted something special, it was his decision as to whether or not he should call me and ask, or just do it. Foremen usually chose to edge and spray roundup while laborers mowed and weedeated. They all would blow afterwards. We were VERY meticulous. I contracted out all the spraying/fertilizer to an awesome company for a really good price. They helped me from the beginning. I didn't like messing with all those chems and It's kindof an art. If you don't do it all the time, you'll screw it up for sure. Our properties looked like golf courses and our annuals were as good as the best/largest company out there. Hope you can gather some helpful info somewhere from that book i just wrote.

I still fight that myself sometimes... One thing in landscaping (now a PW) that I found hard was getting past the second crew. My crew and having another crew is not too bad but when you put that third one on it really changes things (for me anyway). It's a whole new ballgame and you have to delegate to the foremen because otherwise you won't have any time to grow the business, you'll be running around cleaning up messes instead of getting new business and selling. I micromanaged the hell out of the first additonal crew I hired which couldnt be done when I put on that third crew... In 2 years (20 months) I had 6 maintenance crews (3 people each) and 2 large installation crews of about 5 or 6 people each. We had 8 trucks fully equiped, 1 $80K hydroseeder (not paid for), 2 Bobcats (1 paid off one not) and a dump truck (not paid for) plus my truck (not paid for). Our sales for that second year were 879K (lot of big installations). I spent NO money on advertising and basically used word of mouth and stopped into EVERY new construction trailer I could find. We hired a manager after the 5th maintenance crew was filled up and the plan was to have a manager for every 5 crews since that seemed to be the magic number when I needed help - and two BIG landscape companies operated that same way. Im telling you this because it worked well for me and maybe you can kindof implement that sort of growth goal. I also had one foreman who was the designated trainer of new employees. When we hired someone, they went with his crew to learn first. That took a LOT of stress off me. The money will be different of course - PW is MUCH more profitable than landscaping. The daily goal (for maintenance) was about $1000-$1200 in billing per 3 man crew per day. Which could be similar to PW if youre not doing it all yourself and you had a 2 man crew. The equipment costs of a pressure washing crew vs. a landscape crew is surprisingly similar. I spent about 10-15K just in equipment per three man crew. I sold the company for personal reasons about 5 yrs ago... I'm still figuring out this pressure washing thing myself. Now it's just me and 1 partner. Hope this helps you in some way, shape or form! :)

Isn't that the truth! lol If you're interested. I live 59 miles west/NW of the furthest west end point of the bahamas (grand bahama). I'm 5 minutes from the beach in North Palm Beach. You can see it on the weather channel. There's already a tropical storm coming this way which may turn into another cane. I had no work and no cell phone twice last year for 3 weeks each. My power was out 9days and then 11days. It was about 100 degrees. Knowone had fuel except me and my friends since we filled up all the boats we could find before the storm. Put up plywood on 4 homes for free (not fun). I cooked spaghetti and coffee on the grill last year and had plenty of beer. It was kindof fun except for the heat and we couldn't find any meat. I also have a friend who bought a monster generator and icemaker. He'll have full power! ;)

Read the first one, it's much better than the movie although I was quite impressed how accurate the movie version actually was.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. Reminds me of a customer last week. We have such a good repoure (repore?) lol - she had to go out of town halfway through the job and I trusted her to pay me the $1300 when she returned and the job was completed. I called her, knowing she was back and the job was done, told her on voicemail that i was just checking to see if she was home and if she had a great time in Vegas. That was my message... I care about her and her life - not just about the money... She trusts me and I trust her. She asked that I do a couple extra things and I'm going to get the check tomorrow evening but I don't have to do those things first because of MY schedule. Last time I saw her, I fixed her garage door opener for free (just a blown fuse). I try to see the good side in people because everyone has that side - even if it's hard to see. If you do what you say you're going to do and justify your difficulties which may not be apparent to the homeowner with honest answers, you can earn trust with anyone. My closing line is that I don't want to be paid unless YOU are happy. I've never been taken advantage of by this statement... Customers always pay me!

I almost agree. I've had nightmares like that too. Im a tiny PW company now but I used to have 30 employees in a landscape business years ago. I realized the best way to solve things (like my own vacations) was to put someone in charge as an Operations Manager. I pumped up my best guy before going on vacation. Called him a VP for the week! Made him believe it (and he WAS for the week). I believed it! Basically told him how I ONLY trusted HIM to make the RIGHT decisions and how I didn't want to be bothered unless someone was hurt or something outrageous happened that he absolutely couldn't handle. I even gave examples of what I would do (flat tires, dying plants, broken pipes, people showing up late, people calling in sick, etc). I told him how I ALWAYS trusted his good judgement. He took this to heart and was the best employee EVER. He wasn't good with stress, but for a week he could handle just about anything that was thrown his way. I did however, ALWAYS have to hear how difficult things were while I was gone. I'd get the 2 hour story when I returned, but I knew he handled it and that was all that mattered. I'd pump him up big time after I returned and tell him how I would have done the same things he did. I think anyone, even a $6/hr employee can be shown how important they are in your company (and in life). Another quick story: I had another kid who was 18 at the time. He had many personal problems in life. Highschool dropout, his hair was a long with a couple tattoos and you could just tell he was miserable in his state in life. Didn't smile much at first and very shy. I needed someone SO bad that I had to hire him where ordinarily, I wouldn't have taken the risk. After many long rides in the truck (you know how that is) and many questions, he told me he used to be a heroin addict and I got the FULL story about his AWFUL childhood. Mom left, lived w/ grandma, never met dad, (fill in tear jerking story here) etc. Anyway, I gave him quite a bit of responsibility and he responded with the utmost superior work. He was responsible as HELL. I could ALWAYS count on him. He ended up leaving for another job where he could go back to school. I told him to stay in touch and stop by once in a while but he never did... :( Moral to the story - deligate some responsibility by encouragement, support, belief and kindness. I think people honestly want a LOT of responsibility in life but ONLY if they really feel like someone (anyone) believes in them. What's the point to being responsible and making good decisions if knowone really cares about you and believes in you? You mine as well be a Fup... $.02

My mother (im 32) - yes my 'mother' MADE me read the first one and I have to admit that I enjoyed it immensely. One of the best books ever. Definitely not the same as watching the movie. I'll buy the set one day and read the rest for sure. I couldn't put the darn thing down until I finished. The imagination it takes to write that is amazing. JK Rowling deserves every penny of that billion shes made... I just finished Charlie Wilson's War. It was awesome! Read the reviews on Amazon. I won't draw away from the Harry Potter subject by embellishing. If you haven't read a Harry Potter book, it's a fantasy that takes you away from everything on the planet - literally. You won't be sorry if you read it as an adult. It's the ultimate escape from reality!

I like to work for free too. As a bonus, you may get good referrals from that!

Jeeeeeeese... I'm going to get another beer!

I watched that for the first time from this thread - Obviously John didn't "watch" Billy's little adverture. funny video, funny you didn't use the search button. hahaha im cracking up.

FYI: If you ever run across a site that requires a password for no apparent reason other than to annoy you and gather your personal information, just go to http://www.bugmenot.com and enter the web address of the offending site. That will get you a password and username to use without registering. Also, try to remember to donate to the site. I've given 3 sets for 3 sites... For LaTimes.com access, the password / username is: wwtk wwtk I use that Bug Me Not all the time!

lol - fun discussion. I just sold my neighbors house to starbucks - he doesn't know it yet but I'll give him the dollar they paid me. Think he'll be upset?

Someone always uses this excuse. Drives me insane. That's the Ostrich putting his head in the sand mentality. What's the answer, sit back, do nothing, let the best country in the world go to sh%$...? Under this new law, even if you had a mud hut and a mule here in the US, you could be FORCED to sell YOUR MUD HUT (that you built with your own hands) to build a bank or a grocery store or a convenience store or a hotel just because that company justified to the city that they could bring in more tax dollars for the town. See the point?

This is a much different situation than what we're talking about though. The city is taking private land to expand a dangerous airport with a population expansion just like widening a road. Agree, Disagree (I disagree), at least it's something not necessarily driven by corporate greed. They are NOT taking private land to give to a bank or a supermarket or a shopping mall or a walmart.

I just said that in fun to make my point. Maybe that was a little TOO direct. Sorry for that - I was smiling while I wrote it though if that makes a difference ;) I completely respect Jon F for his opinions - Im just trying to change them. lol