On this page the following entries were made in the “Business” category. Check out other categories in our Archives.
Bug Blog Archives for “Business”
The Green Marketing Era
Green, green, everywhere it’s green. That seems to be a big focus in 2008, green power, green cars, green computing. It amuses us in a way — since we’ve been green since 1992 as a company and gardened green our entire lives — that the marketplace has suddenly turned so green, but it’s all good. We know it’s nothing new, but to those who have previously never embraced the concepts of environmental responsibility, sustainability, and other green goodness, this is a dawning moment and we’re happy to see it. It seems a good share of the world has decided to trade in their Hummers for hybrids in 2008 and that’s good, since we sure do need it.
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Did Someone Say Recession?
Word has it that a new trend is afoot. It’s called a recession by the press, and it’s a state of being that begins as simple pessimism. Individuals and business have a reason to be pessimistic, but they learn it from the press — whom the general public, apparently, regards as the pundits of pessimism. Let’s face it, bad news and unrest sells.
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What Business Experience Do You Give?
There is a basic understanding that the best writing is that which makes the reader nod with empathy. If the reader says, “no kidding, ain’t that the truth,” the writer has succeeded in pushing that magical button of ultimate communication — by binding the reader and writer into a single collective that nods with understanding and appreciation. This happened to me recently. I read a business-related article that I could connect with on many levels. It is the topic of that article that I write about here.
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Cut Greenhouse Heating Costs with Water
This is really worth doing, unless you’re happy with your current greenhouse fuel bill.
The Green Spot started life back in ‘91 and through it I grew culinary herbs for a living. That was how I learned about good bugs and jumped tracks. I had a solar-type greenhouse that I had built myself. I had a ton of strapping left over from a construction project so using glue and screws I laminated “beams” and I made a frame. It had an insulated vertical back wall, insulated vertical side walls, a short translucent double vertical front to create more head room, and a clear double front-facing roof pitched at a dramatic 51-52° — I forget. It served me extremely well, requiring very little maintenance. The best part of using this type of greenhouse was the huge fuel savings.
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Killer Freight
One of the biggest disadvantages to using biological pest control is the cost of getting product shipped to you. Because the good bugs you’ll use in your garden or greenhouse are living organisms, it’s imperative that they are shipped via an expedited means. The reason is simple: If shipped via another means it can be at the expense of the bugs’ lives or general well-being. Moreover, slo-mo shipping can significantly eat into the usable life-span of the good guys. Say, for instance, you order some mites that live for ten days. Overnight shipping equates to a ten percent loss — not in numbers, but in the amount of time they are usable as effective predators. Second day freight is twenty percent in this example. Based on the usable life of most biocontrols, this example is exaggerated, but you hopefully get the idea. Time in transit has its own cost.
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Making Ends Meet
Word from the field is that making ends meet as a grower is increasingly difficult. Fuel costs are a whopper, forcing many growers to shut down or at least delay the season’s start. Moreover, competition from large corporations make prices tumble. Entities like WalMart which buy and sell in incredible volumes essentially set the prices. And they are set too low. Unfortunately for many growers, those not serving the giants, that is (though I suspect they take a hit doing so) are unable to raise prices relative to the increasing costs. It’s a shame because the knowledge and insights gained by buying from specialists can be significant. Also, the quality of plant material grown by loving professionals is typically better. I’m not saying the large corporations don’t hire qualified staff, I’m sure they do have their criteria, but I will state emphatically that volume production and sales will never match have that same personality or whatever you want to call it. The love isn’t there.
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