July Newsletter
You can now read the July 2009 Newsletter by clicking on the link that follows
2009_jul
harper_global
harper_unitedstates
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4th of July Jamboree!
The Double B Ranch and Resort will be hosting their 4th of July Jamboree!
The “ol timey 4th of July with kids games, mega fireworks, dancing with Barbara Puckett & her band.
Starts at 6pm till midnight.
Adults $ 5.00 & kids only a buck.
Lodging still available.
Camping too!
(830) 990-9500
Bar-B-Cue Cookoff and Fundraiser
Details can be found at 1st Annual Harper Bar-B-Cue Cookoff and Fundraiser
More information about the Lone Star Bar-B-Cue Society can be found by clicking here
Reconciled Bank Statement today
The following link is to the most current income statement
The following link is to the most current balance sheet
I’ll say this again for those of you that do not know this.
This is your money that is being spent and you have a right to know where it comes from and how it is being spent.
As a potential member, you too have a right to know what an organization does with their money and as you can see by the balance sheet, we could use your help to sign up new members, or even a donation if you’re in a position to make one because this is your community and we want to be doing what we can to bring in new businesses, support our existing member businesses and promote our community.
If we can do anything to help along those lines, don’t hesitate to give us a shout.
Harper Gross Sales
I was asked last week if I could produce the sales tax records for Harper.
In order to do that, I pulled the sales tax receipts from Gillespie County and from Fredericksburg.
I then subtracted the Fredericksburg totals from the Gillespie county totals which left the totals for outside fredericksburg.
I then had to make an assumption, so I calculated that 70% of this figure were produced in Harper and 30% were produced in Doss and I came up with these figures.
I have also produced a chart showing what is happening.
By the way, if you haven’t noticed it yet, please disregard the 2008 figures as they are not complete yet as we are missing the 4th quarter totals.
As you can see, 2002 and 2003 were fairly flat, but since then the pace is picking up, which is why I sent my previous email because it is time for us as a community to come together and take advantage of the prosperity that is heading our way.
I have attached the spreadsheet for those of you that have excel and can open it.
For those that do not have excel, you can view the chart by clicking on the following link
Regards,
Virgil
Laying the foundation
I sent the following email out to the members of the chamber of commerce today and I’m posting it here for anybody else that would like to help as I believe that Harper has a prosperous future in store for it.
The attachments referenced in the email can be viewed by clicking on the following 3 links
analytics_wwwharpertexascom_20090430-20090530_contentcontentbytitlereport
analytics_wwwharpertexascom_20090430-20090530_geomapreport
I hear it every day.
- We don’t need a web site.
- We don’t need/want to put our information out there for everybody to see it.
- We’re doing just fine as we are.
- Yada, Yada, Yada, etc..
And I hear this every day.
- Our organization cannot find new members and it is dying.
- Our business can’t find help.
- Our business is losing customers
- Insert your problems here.
So I’ve decided that perhaps it a little see and tell project will give you a much better perspective then some opinionated guy like me telling you what you need to do.
So, using google analytics, I have created two reports for you to see.
Out of about 500 people, which by the way, viewed our site at http://www.HarperTexas.com in the last 30 days, you can see by looking at the GeoMapReport that they came from all over Texas.
What you don’t see is that they also came from just about every state and a lot of countries around the World, so yes people, there is a lot of interest in the Harper area ( I believe it is the focal point of the Paradise Triangle concept that I promote ) and by the way, I am putting together a business plan regarding the future of Harper ( I could use your input if you are a business owner, a professional or an interested person that will work towards a future that we can all live with ) that I hope to distribute to people that I believe are in a position to influence the direction that Harper proceeds in the next 100 years, because as many of you know, if you build a house or a community on a framework that was not properly laid out, most likely that house will eventually crumble.
Now lets take a look at the second report titled ContentByTitleReport and you will see the pages of our web site that have been clicked on the most.
Hopefully this will open peoples eyes and feel free to distribute it to anybody not on this list and if you are a board member of an organization here in Harper that would like to take their message to the people of the community and beyond, I can show you how to do it without hiring a programmer or any of the other things that will drain your budget and because I believe in the future of Harper, I’m more then willing to donate my skills as we need to be planning for our future and we need to be doing it now.
I have a plan that will bring (and I am proceeding with it):
- Sewer
- Grocery Store
- Restaurant (open 7 days per week, breakfast, lunch and dinner) and event center similar to luckenbach
- Motel/Hotel
- Nursing Home/Senior Citizen Center.
These will all provide much needed jobs to this area and they will bring new members that will help staff the organizations in our community that you believe are necessary to the success of our community.
I can’t do it by myself and I could use your help and more importantly your support and donations so that we can provide for our childrens future and the future of our community.
What will it be?
- Will you do nothing because you are happy with the way things are?
- Will you join with me to build a future for our community?
Regards,
Virgil Bierschwale
http://www.KeepAmericaAtWork.com
Taking care of your customers
In getting back up to speed on cars, I monitor a lot of web sites via email subscriptions and one come across my desk this morning that I decided I should share with you because of the following comments.
You can read the whole article by clicking here
A month or so ago, my Rodeo needed some brake work. I knew the linings were getting low, and it was due for another oil change. I took it in to the same shop my wife had used for her lube services for the past year or so. When I arrived, the service writer gave me an estimate of $225 to reline both front and rear brakes (disc/drum system). Of course, I understood that the rotors/drums needed to be checked and there may be other parts needed, so I wasn’t holding them to this quote until they had a chance to look it over. I didn’t expect any problems, though, since I had just looked them over myself a few months prior during the last oil change. I left the car with them, with the understanding they would call with a firm estimate.
A few hours after I dropped it off, the service manager called with a new quote of over $400. No new parts were needed…his quote was based on “how hard the job was”, specifically resurfacing the front rotors. Please…he now wanted more just for the front job as I was originally quoted for both.
I told him that many manufacturers now recommended that rotors only be resurfaced if pulsation was present or damage was noted. Mine had neither…could he just reline the front?
No was the answer. We follow ASE guidelines. What? I didn’t know that ASE established repair guidelines….
I wasn’t going to push the issue. And I won’t fault him for making shop policy. But will I go back to this shop?
No IS the answer
The real difference between these two shops was “service”. The first treated me like I was just another number, while the second treated me like I was the only one doing business with them today. Which shop represents the norm, at least in my area?
We are responsible for the future of our town
Any community, not just ours, can drift aimlessly if thought is not given to the economic direction of the community.
Typically this direction comes from a united effort on the part of the business owners, professionals and concerned community members.
At the current time, the two largest employers here in Harper are the School and Bode Feed.
For the most part, we have all amenities here in Harper that a town could want with the exception of two and those two are a grocery store and a nursing home.
Many of you may be wondering why we need a grocery store here in Harper and that is a good question and the answers that I can come up with right away are:
- A substantial saving in time and money when you consider the fact that a round trip to Kerrville or Fredericksburg will take a minimum of two hours out of your day each time you go to the grocery store and when you factor in the fuel costs, this can quickly run into a large portion of our citizens weekly pay each week.
- Be able to go to the store and get the items you need at a huge discount over convenience store pricing with a larger amount of items and fresh vegetables and meat and dairy products available
- A grocery store here could potentially employ another 10 to 20 or more of our citizens.
- I’m sure that there are many other reasons and if you will send them to me, I will add them to this list. You can reach me at vbiersch@ktc.com or (830) 864-4726
The same thing applies to a nursing home.
How many of you would like to visit your friends and neighbors that are in a nursing home and might not be able to do it because you can no longer drive?
And again, a nursing home could potentially employ another 10 to 20 members of our community.
Unfortunately the costs of building, staffing, stocking and running these two organizations could potentially take up to 1 million each and that is a large amount of money to shell out for a business that is not making any money at the current time so, unless you have somebody that has that kind of money and wants to do it for the community to grow, we must take it on ourselves to do.
Very few, if any of us are millionaires, but as a community of nearly 1,000 households, we could easily bring 10 to 20 jobs to town just by forming a cooperative and depositing the fee of 1,000.00 into the cooperative via a lump sum or via a payment plan to be worked out by the board of directors, so this is doable and it also has the added benefit of a profit distribution of 25% split among the members according to a distribution plan as determined by the board of directors.
There are many benefits and we can do this if we will come together and put aside our differences and believe in our community.
I for one, am all for it, no matter who is chosen to run the coop and I am willing to put my money up to make it happen.
I hope that you will choose to join with me in this important endeavor for our community so that we can begin the operations necessary to make this very important project a reality.
You can call me at (830) 864-4726, email me at vbiersch@ktc.com or visit with me here at the Fix-It Shop at 229 S. Ranch RD 783 during the hours of 7:30 - 5:30 M-F
I also am posting a list generated by the National Cooperative Business Association that shows why cooperatives fail or thrive.
Why Cooperatives Fail
- poor selection of directors, especially those who fail to support their cooperative
- members who join but never use their cooperative and bypass it for a small gain elsewhere
- members who use cooperatives but fail to take responsibility. Each member must be ready to accept responsibility when asked, or as the need arises. Every member should have an equal opportunity to be president of the cooperative.
- members who never ask questions and who let a few persons make policy
- members who don’t attend annual meetings and directors who fail to attend board meetings
- lack of consistent membership education about the problems cooperatives face and the challenges they must meet
- not supporting the cooperative with enough money (risk capital) to get the job done
- low-cost management - it’s the most expensive item for a cooperative. High-priced management is usually the least expensive item.
- not closely watching the formation of cliques and special interest groups within the cooperative
- concealing facts about a cooperative. All facts, both good and bad, should be placed on - not under - the table.
- errors in financial policy, such as over-extension of credit, too little capital, poor accounting records, lack of a financially sound, systematic program for reimbursement of equity
- errors in educational and social work. This begins by failing to teach cooperative ideals to members unfamiliar with how cooperatives function, neglecting general educational programs, failure to develop member loyalty or countering the development of factions within the association.
- management errors, such as inadequate inventory, poor location, improper equipment, neglected appearance of physical facilities, employee dishonesty, ineffective management, incompetent directors, nepotism, poorly conducted meetings, admittance of disloyal and dissatisfied members.
Why Cooperatives Thrive
- providing only the goods and services members use
- financed by the members. The greater the financing (risk capital) supplied by the members, the more efficient the cooperative.
- using all major fixed assets at the 75 percent level, or more
- members who do the majority of their business with the cooperative
- low administrative and overhead costs
- more individualized and specialized services, particularly in the marketing area
- maintaining an open line of communication with members. Individual members will then become more influential
- selecting and developing a quality management team.
- placing more emphasis on electing business-oriented directors
- developing and implementing a systematic method of cooperative education for members, employees, directors and paid management
- aggressively positioning for changes in operations, markets and member needs.
Texas Big Game Awards
EDWARDS Plateau 2009
TBGA Awards Celebration
July 18th, 2009
Fredericksburg TX
Hangar Hotel.
Flyer is located at the Chamber of Commerce office.
Email Updates
If you would like to be added to the Chamber of Commerce list, please email vbiersch@ktc.com with your email address and I will add you to the list.
