Table of Contents

• COMMITTEE REPORTS
  • MEMBERSHIP REPORT
  • SOCIAL REPORT
  • SPEAKER COORDINATOR REPORT
  • TREASURER REPORT
• LEADS
• NOTABLE MENTIONS
• QUESTION OF THE DAY
• MAIN SPEAKER

Committee Reports

Membership Report
(Click here to go to the Membership page)

Continue doing your homework!

Social Report
(Click here to go to the Social Event page)

Althea Bussert passed around the signup sheet for an upcoming MABE Fall Family Social at the D-Spur Ranch.  The cost is $45 per person and payment is due October 8th.   You can mail your payments to Althea.

Speaker Coordinator Report
(Click here to go to the Speaker Schedule)

• 10/08/04     Scheduled:  Keith Miller
                      Alternate:  David Lathrop

Wayne Unruh is looking for volunteers to speak. 

Treasurer Report

No reports.

Leads Report

46-06, 16-28, 16-17, 08-23, 08-46, 08-14, 08-41, 36-46, 36-32, 29-31, 12-02, 12-14, 12-44, 18-43, 24-16, 24-41, 10-26, 10-32, 10-28, 10-24, 10-21, 07-02, 07-13, 45-32, 15-41, 21-34, 21-13, 13-35, 13-33, 11-19, 11-03, 11-22, 22-06, 22-32, 22-13, 31-34, 31-23, 14-23, 43-46, 02-12.

Notable Mentions

October 15th is the deadline for brochure updates.  If you are new, please call Portraits by Reg to schedule a time to have your picture taken for the brochure.  All members need to check the brochure and make sure their information is correct.

We would like to see more outside leads generated.  You may not be able to keep MABE top-of-mind throughout the week but at least try to put the group up in the top 10%.

We would also like to bring back the Question of the Day.  But we need to add controls to it so that it does not take away from the scheduled speaker.  A sheet went around for people to write down topics they would like discussed.  You may also email your suggested topics to melissa@mabe-online.org.

Outside speakers are welcome but we have follow certain criteria before we bring someone in.  All of us pay for the privilege of being here and selling our products or services.  It is not fair to bring in outside speakers that want to do the same thing for free.  These type of people fall under the category of "potential member".   Instead, we want speakers like the one who spoke on mass transit for the Valley.  This speaker was not selling a specific product or service.  He was providing information on a project that is important for our community.  With that said...Who would you like to hear from?  Let the speaker coordinator know so we can get them on the schedule 

Things are moving right along for the new BBQ Builders retail location.  The sign is up.  Phones go in today.  Advertising starts tomorrow.  And the use permit comes next week.

Ralph Cunningham gave a brief Mighty Minute this morning.  He told us the Service Pack 2 is very good for Windows XP but the firewall is still lacking.  A firewall makes your internet connection harder to detect.  In today's environment, it is wise to invest in a good quality firewall.  Also, Ad-aware and Spybot work well but still miss quite a bit.  Consider purchasing a program like Spy Sweeper.  Dave Spiess commented that if you have proprietary software, make sure it will work with Service Pack 2.  Ralph added that you should make a restore point before installing it just in case it causes conflicts.

Question of the Day

Did anyone see the an article in the paper about decreases in premiums?

• Gus Dekavallas - Some of the larger companies like United Health have had some record profits so they are able to now decrease premiums.
• Dave Spiess - My premiums stayed steady or even went down slightly for the last 10 years.  But this year they want to give us a 27% increase.  But I will shop it and probably get a better rate.  But the problem is, when you are young and healthy you can afford to bounce from company to company.  But as you get older or if you have people with serious medical conditions, it gets harder to do.
• Lisa Schnaidt - Mine goes up every year.  I am in a high risk industry.
• Gus Dekavallas - One of our clients was threatened with a 19% increase.  We got it down to 1%.  You have to have an agent that will work for you.
• Jim Bache - I was with a company that decided they were no longer going to underwrite in Arizona.  I had to go to another company that went under.  In the middle of all this, my wife developed a health problem which made things more difficult.  When shopping for a provider, make sure to get one that will be around for a long time.
• Chris Curran - Who here carries professional liability coverage?  About half.  I ask because it seems to be a developing market.  It takes a full work week out of my year to fill out applications to get coverage.
• Charles Hultstrand - I have been with the same company for 12 years and it only takes 1/2 hour of my time every year to renew.
• Chris Curran - Unfortunately, they don't like to accept personal injury lawyers.
• Mark Dreher - When it comes to employee leasing, I have run the numbers many times and it always comes out more expensive to use them versus covering employees.  Personally, I have been told 3 years in a row that they were not covering CPA's.  I now use a broker.  I fill out one applications and he does the rest.
• Gus Dekavallas - A lot of small companies are turning employees into independent contractors and just paying them a little more to get their own coverage.
• Dave Spiess - There is a test the IRS uses to determine if someone is an employee or independent contractor.  I have been advised not to even go there.  I have people wanting to work for me as independent contractors.  I ask them if they have the liability coverage, etc.  They always tell me no.  And I always tell them "Then your just a guy wanting a job."
• Bill LaLonde - There is a list of 35 criteria that determines whether a person is an employee or independent contractor.
• Mark Dreher - Each entity (ie., IRS, State Fund) has their own criteria for determining whether a person is an employee or independent contractor.  I agree...Don't go there.

Wayne Unruh
Inside Jobs, Inc.

I was born and raised in a small Kansas town.  It was a good place to be from...far from.  I went to college there...flunked out.  I got a draft notice but decided that I would rather choose what service to go into rather than let them choose for me.  I enlisted in the Air Force.  I was in the service from 1966 - 1970.  I had already taken some engineering classes while in the service.  I went to Kansas State University and finished my degree in 3 years.

After graduating, I moved to Phoenix to work for Motorola.  After several years I decided I couldn't take the corporate life anymore.  I then tried real estate.  I did this for 3 years.  I also changed wives during this time.  I have a son and 3 grandchildren.  I ended up in remodeling out of desperation.    My wife was an interior decorator (hence, the Althea Bussert connection). 

In 2001 I bought a Kitchen Solvers franchise to create a niche.  It turned out to be the thing I really like the most.  We do cabinet refacing.  We can also add those extras like pull out shelves.  The whole process can be very painless.  We can also do countertops and nice, cost-effective closet organizing systems. 

For diversion I like to play golf and take care of my reptile zoo that I have in my back yard.  The reptiles started as an "interest" but soon became an obsession.  I have about 80 turtles at the moment.  The largest is 90 pounds and growing.   I have several different species.  The vary in size and color.  I even have a new crop of baby turtles for sale if anyone is interested. 

Q&A

How did the TV show go?

They promised a lot.  We started with high expectations but were disappointed in the end.  We ended up being in only 3 or 4 brief shots and did not receive any credits.   It wasn't easy.  We had to haul everything up to the second floor (we did the master suite) and had to watch out for cameras and cords.    The project was nice when it was done but our exposure was slim.  They paid us for all our materials but not nearly enough for our time. 

Do you have a crew that does granite slab countertops?

No.  I am not licensed for fabrication.  I have to contract out for that.

People see these shows were homes are remodeled in days while the family vacations.  Do you find that people expect every job to be that fast?

When we did the TV show, everything was done out of sequence for the sake of time.  It is not something I would want to do on a regular basis.  I didn't stop shaking for 3 days.  I don't think I would want a home put together in 3 days!  I would never buy a model home.  They are for looks only.  They are not built well.  We try to do our work with a little more care so they last.

Do you do garage cabinets?

There are so many contractors out there that specialize in it that we just can't compete.  I do have a nice product that I offer for do-it-yourself types.  I have a program that will design it for you and list everything that is needed.  It comes in a kit and is easy for the client to install. 
 

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