Mae West said, "When I'm good I'm very, very good, but when I'm bad I'm better!" The cleaning business is like that. Price increases are more difficult and the residential market has slowed some, but overall when the economy is slow the cleaning business increases in volume.

The commercial market for carpet cleaning service has literally exploded in the past ten years. Building managers recognize the advantages of carpet. It's quiet, safe to walk on and adds to the aesthetic qualities of a place of business. Carpet has become much more expensive in recent years and there is concern about protecting this larger investment. We've cleaned everything from the Indianapolis Colts artificial grass in the RCA Dome to the NCAA's new headquarters building in Indy.

With all the doom and gloom about mold and mildew in recent years, I've got to admit I get a little squeamish when we clean for two large law firms. But lawyers are just like any other consumer....if we do a good job they will refer us to their friends.

How's your business?

Article in Cleaning Digest® in 1994*

There is no doubt the spam mail is on the increase. A lot of the spam mail is generated by a sophisticated bot network that actually controls computers and uses them to send out auto generated spam. They are even getting smarter on the emails sent to all of us. Now we are seeing headline news and other top stories in the email subject lines trying to make us open up these spam emails.

My advise to everyone is use you head. Don't open these up ever! And never click on the links inside them. Turn off all images when opening up any emails so the spammers can't track you as easily. Avoid leaving your email address on web sites where spam bots can grab them.

Also. banks, credit card companies, ISPs, and online pay-per-click companies don't send you emails asking you to update you account details.  If you are unsure just examine the URL (web site address) they want you to go too. The web site address will probably be to a totally different web site in a far off country.

Last, keep your anti-virus software up-to-date and run everything through it, including anything you are downloading from the Internet.

If you have any questions feel free to email me at: john@webstreamdynamics.com

 Did you know that in just a few short years, 25% of the population in the United States will control 75% of all assets and be responsible for 50% of all discretionary spending? While this may sound daunting in some respects, it points out the importance of "Target Marketing."

Lew Migliore sent this to me.  Click on the link below for an editorial worth reading in this election year.

http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=302137342405551

Many of the problems with carpet are not in the quality of the product but are in the eyes and ears of the consumer. Dr. Michael Berry, perhaps the most respected and certainly the most quoted person of science in our industry said, "Carpet is a sink." Just hearing this graphic analogy could cause a prospective buyer to choose another floor covering.

Quotes like, "Clean that sink" and  "Clean carpet for health's sake" have become the mantra of teachers in the cleaning industry. Unfortunately, much of the good information they teach is passed along to consumers by well-meaning students in the form of negative advertising .

When the news business is slow, reporters revisit Kawasaki syndrome, formaldehyde and the 120 neuro toxic chemicals found in carpet by "Green Nest." Dr. Rosalind Anderson got reams of publicity with her claim that carpet killed her lab mice. Vacuum cleaner hucksters show dust from carpet fouling the air that we breathe. Half-hour long Rug Doctor Infomercials embellish the amount of dirt and germs found in carpet.

With the continual negative litany about carpet no wonder there's a downturn in consumer confidence. Could it be time for a change in strategy?

Russia is the world's largest exporter of softwood and hardwood logs.  Their largest customers for those logs are China, Japan and Finland.  That's right, most of that wood flooring from China is really made from Russian logs, but that is about to change.

Concerned that their natural resources were being depleted so quickly that they might not be able to keep up with their own domestic needs, Russia recently implemented a 25% Export Tax on all logs leaving Russia.  A pretty big number but that tax will rise to 80% on January 1, 2009, less than 5 months from now.

How will this impact the USA and the wood flooring industry?  By removing the largest exporter of wood from the market, the global supply of logs will shrink by 50 million cubic meters.  A shrinking supply means higher raw material costs for those importing logs to make furniture, flooring and plywood.  Just when you thought wood flooring prices were stabilizing, they are probably go higher.

The converse is good news for the timber industry since it will make their standing inventory worth more.  Species like red oak that are indigenous to North America will be more price competitive than ever.

Just one more example of how we are all living in a new global market.