The latest stimulus proposal, announced this week by Barack Obama, will put $50 billion into the hopper for improvements to “the nation’s roads, railways and runways,” as the Associated Press story alliteratively noted.

And certainly, those improvements are needed. Europeans and east Asians laugh openly at our rail system. Our roads and bridges need shoring up. And plane travel in general has become a chore.

But before we go off improving more roads (which seemed to be where the bulk of the first round of stimulus went), shouldn’t we be looking at energy? How about a program to deep-energy retrofit many existing buildings, become a world leader in nonpolluting renewable energy, and reinvent public transit in ways that encourage its use. A massive program to cut fossil fuel and nuclear dependence by, say, 75 percent would have these extra advantages:

And those are only a few among many.

The really good news? Such a plan could be put into place with surprisingly little capital outlay, because creative financing structures already exist that can let private investment step to the plate. I’ll talk more about this in my next post (after Rosh Hashana is over).

Hey, Barack, When Do We Get the SOLAR Stimulus? is a post from: Principled Profit

I read a lot of business books, and too many of them are so dry you could use them for sawdust.

Last year, I happened to meet Kevin Daum at a dinner party Sam Horn threw in Washington, DC (where neither of us live) and we connected quickly and personally. Kevin is a sales and marketing guy who has a similar approach to mine, and he’s also someone who can write. He’s even working on a book about Green business!

Kevin’s latest book, Roar! Get Heard in The Sales and Marketing Jungle, is a classic business parable of the sort popularized by Ken Blanchard. I’ve read a lot of these. What’s especially interesting about this one, in addition to the quality of the writing is what he calls the “3500-year-old sales process,” rooted in, of all things, the metaphor of the Four Sons from the Passover Seder.

And it’s impossible NOT to get the message that every company employee needs to know how to highlight the company’s strengths and points of differentiation, both in general and to specific types of buyers with specific concerns.

As a marketer, you can learn a lot just by watching this book launch. Kevin is doing something very smart: he’s building his preorder list months in advance. And he’s built in lots of try-before-you-buy (something else I recommend). He’s even managed to find a bcouple of independent bookshops to do discount coupons. So you can go visit http://www.awesomeroar.com/index.htmand see a brief video, grab a couple of sample chapters, and read dozens of blurbs (including one from me). and of course order your advance copy, if you’re so moved. You can also read Kevin’s wonderfully transparent blog about his “Quest for the Jewish Super Bowl Ring”: to launch as a New York Times bestseller (where he’s not afraid to discuss failures in the campaign as well as successes).

Not a big surprise either that Kevin is a master networker who’s asked a lot of important people to help out. I’m glad to be in that category, and happy to alert you to what he’s doing.

A Fun Book About Marketing…A Great Strategy for Product Launch is a post from: Principled Profit

My friend Denise O’Berry is running a contest for the best advice to new entrepreneurs. I don’t have much use for the prize (a year of blog hosting at Network Solutions–I’m happy hosting my own blog), but it felt like a fun and seasonal thing to do. Here’s what I posted:

1. Be as helpful and friendly to others as possible, and be well-networked (both online and off)–cultivate relationships from an attitude of how you can be of service, and people will help you. Introduce people who need to know each other.

2. Do outstanding work. Stuff that people will want to brag about. Turn it in on time or early, and on or under budget–and then suggest the next thing they need and you can help with that maybe they haven’t thought of on their own.

3. Stay true to both your ethics and your values. Do not cross the line to take on projects you shouldn’t. Keep honesty, integrity, and quality front and center.

4. Keep expenses down while starting out. And keep good records.

5. Make sure people understand what you do and how you can help–but do it without being salesy. Show that you know your stuff by answering questions, writing articles (and later, books), speaking,etc.–not by going on and on about how great you are.

Advice to New Entreprenurs is a post from: Principled Profit

I love the concept of EcoStiletto.com that you can be super-Green and also super-fashionable. The site name, of course, is taken from stiletto heels.

I will not win any prizes from the fashionistas myself (and it’s really ironic that I’m writing about fashion today), but I’m delighted to see sites springing up that reinforce this duality: Green doesn’t have to be ugly. Of course, it’s really not new; I live just outside a town that has for several years had a hemp clothing store as well as an Eileen Fisher natural cotton boutique. You could even make a case that Gandhi started the trend when he refused to wear anything but homespun cloth from local natural fibers, even when meeting with heads of state.

Looking at the EcoStiletto site, I’m not sure the reality has quite caught up with the concept–but give it a year or two. I can remember when recycled paper looked like it had been used to wipe up a spill and felt like sandpaper. I’m sure the day will come when truly fashionable clothing is widely available form organic and fairly-traded ingredients and processed naturally.

Anyway, it reinforces the idea that my forthcoming book, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson), is appearing at the right time.

The Dawn of Eco-Chic? is a post from: Principled Profit

While visiting Minneapolis, I took in the opening day of the new Ben Franklin exhibit at the Minnesota History Center in downtown Saint Paul. I’ve long ben a Franklin fan. To me, his far-reaching curiosity, big-picture viewpoint, multiple interests, creativity, willingness to question authority and even make fun of it, media and persuasion skills, dedication to the public good, and rise from poverty to a comfortable (even hedonistic) lifestyle are all traits that today’s entrepreneurs can learn from.

No one can question that he made many important contributions in science (adding vastly to our knowledge of electricity, inventing a safer and more fuel-efficient wood stove), diplomacy/statesmanship (bringing France in as a powerful and game-changing ally against the British during the Revolution, oldest member of the Constitutional Convention), literature and communication (best-selling author/journalist/printer/publisher who was successful enough to retire from printing at 42, and propagandist for causes and philosophies he believed in), entrepreneurship (training and funding printers for a multistate network to print and distribute his works, anticipating the Internet by about 200 years and the modern franchise system by at least a century), as well as civic good (co-founding a public library, public hospital, fire department, fire insurance company, postal system, philosophical society).

But what struck me were some of the contradictions—there are many others, but these two in particular need a second look:
Slavery
Franklin became convinced late in life that slavery was evil, and served as president of an anti-slavery society. Yet he not only owned slaves for over 40 years, but often published ads from slave-hunters in his periodicals, and refused to put his name on much of his earliest anti-slavery writing.

Integrity
Franklin is well-known for his moralizing, his aphorisms, and his commitment to honesty and integrity. Yet he broke his apprenticeship to his brother, ran away to Philadelphia before it was completed, and started as a printer without the papers necessary to show he qualified as a journeyman.

While none of us are perfect, it does seem that these areas of Franklin’s life, among others, need careful examination, with more detail than was provided by this traveling exhibit (which seemed to be aimed largely at children).

Ben Franklin: Genius and Contradictions is a post from: Principled Profit

Guest post by Jacqueline Wales

Everything that glistens may be interesting, but it’s not gold, and it’s a mistake that many young entrepreneurs make.

So here’s my top 10 list of things to do when starting your own business for the first time.
1. Create a step-by-step strategy. SERIOUSLY simple steps (ex. step 1: buy domain name step 2: buy hosting package etc.)
2. Set a budget and stick to it. Until you start making money…And then still stick to a budget.
3. Don’t believe everything that’s shiny. Just because someone says they are the expert in their field doesn’t mean they are.
4. Be prepared to use the materials and follow the instructions before deciding it doesn’t work. Most programs fail because of lack of implementation.
5. Ask yourself if you really need this now. (You may in the future, but that’s another thing). I have a word I use. “Sombrero”. Whenever I’m confronted with something I’m not sure I’ll use, I consider whether it’s a useless trinket like a Sombrero.
6. Just because you can afford it doesn’t mean you must have it.
7. Titles on the bookshelves won’t bring you results unless you read them.
8. There is only one of you and you don’t have to do it all at once.
9. Be consistent in your approach and don’t chase bright shiny things unless they really will work for you.
10. Get a coach! It’s about accountability. If no one holds you to your goals, will they materialize?

And lastly, if the fear stops you in our tracks, take a deep breath and make a decision. It may not be the right one first time around, but it will teach you something important. After all, that’s why we make mistakes, isn’t it?

Jacqueline Wales is known the world over as The Black Belt Millionaire.  Her unique programs have helped women around the globe develop strong personal success, confident communication and clear visions of their goals. She is the author of five books including The Fearless Factor and you can sign up for a free report at http://www.thefearlessfactorbook.com/signup.html
To get YOUR copy of The Fearless Factor visit https://www.createspace.com/Customer/EStore.do?id=3392398

“Don’t Get Caught in the Magpie Syndrome” is a post from: Principled Profit