The Unanimous Declarationof the Thirteen United States of America
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.
He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.
He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.
He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:
For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing taxes on us without our consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:
For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:
For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:
For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:
For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely
paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their
hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.
We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.
New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer,
James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
Source: The Pennsylvania Packet, July 8, 1776
Friday, July 04, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Hey, Let’s Mix It Up!
One of the most controversial subjects I have come across in this industry is mixing product lines. I recently asked the question, “Why would anyone want to mix product lines.” One of the responses I received was… “Our reasoning for mixing lines is quite obvious”. Unfortunately I am not one of the sharpest knives in the drawer because it is not so obvious to me.
If you need to stray from our line, then I am not doing my job.
Some of the other responses I received are that there is little or no support from companies on this issue. Some companies say it is OK some say it is not. Still yet, others have said that no one company has the “Perfect” system.
OK I understand that. Nail Techs feel they have been abandoned by the very people that are supplying them. Sure, we show up once a year at tradeshows. We buzz into town, make everyone really excited then leave. But are we really listening to the people that are out there using our products every day?
The answer is; I hear you. I understand. While I am sure we can’t be everything for everyone, I am damn sure going to try.
Introducing the Gelousy Advisory Board…. Here is your chance to shape the future of nail technology. Very soon, I will announce on the front page of our website that signups are on. You can sign up to give feedback to the people that are designing your product line. We will have advisory meetings on a regular basis where you can speak directly to us in a group format and let us know what we need to do to help you become the best nail tech you can be. The best thing is we will hold the meetings on our Gelousy Live service so you will be able to see us as we are responding in real time to your questions and comments. As a member of our advisory board you will test out the latest products and see all the new stuff before it is released to the general market. You will receive, absolutely free of charge samples on a regular basis to evaluate and give us your comments.
OK I am lying when I say “Free of Charge”. Your charge will be to give us your HONEST opinion. We are not looking for people that will say everything is great. We are looking for people that will put these products to the ultimate test. If you sign up, there is a definite commitment on your part. You will get the products for free, but your obligation will be to give us honest feedback.
I don’t even care if you are our customer or not. We still want your feedback, perhaps we make the worst crap in the known universe. I want to hear about it. On the other hand, if it really works well for you, I want to hear that too. As well as everything in between, if it is just OK, I still want to hear about it. Tell me how we can make it better.
Keep checking back at gelousy.com for info on how to join, coming soon!
If you need to stray from our line, then I am not doing my job.
Some of the other responses I received are that there is little or no support from companies on this issue. Some companies say it is OK some say it is not. Still yet, others have said that no one company has the “Perfect” system.
OK I understand that. Nail Techs feel they have been abandoned by the very people that are supplying them. Sure, we show up once a year at tradeshows. We buzz into town, make everyone really excited then leave. But are we really listening to the people that are out there using our products every day?
The answer is; I hear you. I understand. While I am sure we can’t be everything for everyone, I am damn sure going to try.
Introducing the Gelousy Advisory Board…. Here is your chance to shape the future of nail technology. Very soon, I will announce on the front page of our website that signups are on. You can sign up to give feedback to the people that are designing your product line. We will have advisory meetings on a regular basis where you can speak directly to us in a group format and let us know what we need to do to help you become the best nail tech you can be. The best thing is we will hold the meetings on our Gelousy Live service so you will be able to see us as we are responding in real time to your questions and comments. As a member of our advisory board you will test out the latest products and see all the new stuff before it is released to the general market. You will receive, absolutely free of charge samples on a regular basis to evaluate and give us your comments.
OK I am lying when I say “Free of Charge”. Your charge will be to give us your HONEST opinion. We are not looking for people that will say everything is great. We are looking for people that will put these products to the ultimate test. If you sign up, there is a definite commitment on your part. You will get the products for free, but your obligation will be to give us honest feedback.
I don’t even care if you are our customer or not. We still want your feedback, perhaps we make the worst crap in the known universe. I want to hear about it. On the other hand, if it really works well for you, I want to hear that too. As well as everything in between, if it is just OK, I still want to hear about it. Tell me how we can make it better.
Keep checking back at gelousy.com for info on how to join, coming soon!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Mom was right
You do have your clients wash their hands before they sit in your chair?
No?
Do you really know where they have been and what they have been doing?
Hand washing is the single most important step in preventing the spread of infectious disease.
Hand sanitizer is great, it works well. It is not a substitute for hand washing.
Hand sanitizer is like mouthwash. It has its place. If you don’t brush your teeth, even if you use mouthwash, guess what… Your teeth are going to fall out.
If you don’t have your clients wash their hands before they sit down, there is a simple solution to your problem. Start doing it. I don’t care if they get offended. I don’t care if they laugh at you. It is your job to keep your clients safe. If you don’t have them wash their hands you are directly responsible for the spread of disease. Do you want that on your resume?
Start today, just do it.
***
Hepatitis A virus usually enters the body through the mouth. Transmission occurs mainly when a person puts something in his or her mouth that has been contaminated with stool from a person infected with hepatitis A virus. Therefore, hepatitis A virus spreads most easily when sanitary conditions and personal hygiene are poor.–CDC (US Centers for Disease Control)
***
CELEBS including MADONNA, BRUCE WILLIS and GWYNETH PALTROW are at the centre of a Hepatitis A scare following a party thrown by DEMI MOORE.
Health officials yesterday warned guests at the bash Demi threw for toyboy hubby ASHTON KUTCHER’s 30th to see a doctor urgently.
The alert was sounded after a barman at the New York club venue was found to have the highly contagious liver disease Hepatitis A.
***
“This horrific and debilitating condition was left under my thumb nail as a direct result of the salon using non-sanitized instruments. This type of infection has caused not only me, but thousands of women the expense of medical attention, loss of wages, loss of sleep, traumatic medical procedures, fear of returning to nail salons, and in my case and many others, emergency surgeries.” “I'm no stranger to pain. My tolerance is this high…but this kind of pain was so excruciating, that even my hair touching my thumb and the bed sheet touching my thumb caused me to scream. If left untreated it could have lead to the loss of a limb or worse, death.” -Paula Abdul
In a tribulation that lasted 13 months and was proven to have originated from dirty equipment at a manicure salon, Paula Abdul had to fight a flesh eating bacteria that developed into a full blown streptococcus infection.
***
In 2000, an outbreak of Mycobacterium fortuitum furunculosis affected customers using whirlpool footbaths at a nail salon. We swabbed 30 footbaths in 18 nail salons from 5 California counties and found mycobacteria in 29 (97%) –CDC (US Centers for Disease Control)
No?
Do you really know where they have been and what they have been doing?
Hand washing is the single most important step in preventing the spread of infectious disease.
Hand sanitizer is great, it works well. It is not a substitute for hand washing.
Hand sanitizer is like mouthwash. It has its place. If you don’t brush your teeth, even if you use mouthwash, guess what… Your teeth are going to fall out.
If you don’t have your clients wash their hands before they sit down, there is a simple solution to your problem. Start doing it. I don’t care if they get offended. I don’t care if they laugh at you. It is your job to keep your clients safe. If you don’t have them wash their hands you are directly responsible for the spread of disease. Do you want that on your resume?
Start today, just do it.
***
Hepatitis A virus usually enters the body through the mouth. Transmission occurs mainly when a person puts something in his or her mouth that has been contaminated with stool from a person infected with hepatitis A virus. Therefore, hepatitis A virus spreads most easily when sanitary conditions and personal hygiene are poor.–CDC (US Centers for Disease Control)
***
CELEBS including MADONNA, BRUCE WILLIS and GWYNETH PALTROW are at the centre of a Hepatitis A scare following a party thrown by DEMI MOORE.
Health officials yesterday warned guests at the bash Demi threw for toyboy hubby ASHTON KUTCHER’s 30th to see a doctor urgently.
The alert was sounded after a barman at the New York club venue was found to have the highly contagious liver disease Hepatitis A.
***
“This horrific and debilitating condition was left under my thumb nail as a direct result of the salon using non-sanitized instruments. This type of infection has caused not only me, but thousands of women the expense of medical attention, loss of wages, loss of sleep, traumatic medical procedures, fear of returning to nail salons, and in my case and many others, emergency surgeries.” “I'm no stranger to pain. My tolerance is this high…but this kind of pain was so excruciating, that even my hair touching my thumb and the bed sheet touching my thumb caused me to scream. If left untreated it could have lead to the loss of a limb or worse, death.” -Paula Abdul
In a tribulation that lasted 13 months and was proven to have originated from dirty equipment at a manicure salon, Paula Abdul had to fight a flesh eating bacteria that developed into a full blown streptococcus infection.
***
In 2000, an outbreak of Mycobacterium fortuitum furunculosis affected customers using whirlpool footbaths at a nail salon. We swabbed 30 footbaths in 18 nail salons from 5 California counties and found mycobacteria in 29 (97%) –CDC (US Centers for Disease Control)
Friday, November 30, 2007
Welcome to Hungry Town!
I was talking with a friend of mine the other day about business. He just couldn’t figure out why he was not busy. He had mailed out to people, done radio, TV, newspaper magazine even advertising on the screen at the local movie theater. He had written articles that were published in his trade journal and even done interviews with reporters. But he still couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t busy.
Here is what I told him.
There were two people of equal means that were getting ready to open up a restaurant. Both of them had a concept for a family friendly high end dining restaurant. Both of them had all of the details of the restaurant figured out, everything from staffing right down to portion costs. They were both ready to start building and open. Everything was calculated right down to the penny. The only thing still left to do is look for a great location to open up.
They both did much research and decided on a location. They were in different towns, but both towns were very similar.
Day one and the restaurant opens its doors for the first time. Both owners are 110% sure their restaurant will be successful, otherwise they wouldn’t have opened it. One of the restaurants is fully booked on the first day and pretty much every day after that. The other has a few people for the grand opening and customers slowly trickle in for the next week or two.
The owner of the slow restaurant starts to panic so he starts spending money on advertising, promotion, magazines, newspapers. He even invites the mayor to come in for a free meal. He does coupons, discounts, and charity events.
The other restaurant does not spend one dime in advertising, the dining room is always full, the customers are always happy and the servers always get big tips.
Six months down the road the first restaurant is going strong. The slow restaurant never really got off of the ground and now is closed.
How could you have two equal restaurants in two almost equal places and one thrives and the other dies?
Let’s go back to before the restaurant is even opened. Both owners had confidence that their place would be successful. That is the first thing you need is confidence.
One restaurant owner decided to put his restaurant in a town with higher income families with an average of 2.2 children. They were mostly busy home owners with lots of social commitments. The schools were top notch and there was ample parking.
The other restaurant owner opened up his restaurant in a town where the people were hungry.
You see, the best place to put a restaurant is in the middle of a bunch of hungry people.
You may have tried advertising your services in a monthly coupon mailer or the newspaper. You may have tried to get your clients to send you their friends. You may have even tried entering nail contests and writing letters to the trade magazines.
But have you tried marketing your services to people that want them?
Who gets their nails done?
Bank Tellers
Retail Sales People
Food Servers
Entertainers (ie. Strippers) You may have an ethical problem with this one, but you would be surprised about what great clients they make. They never miss appointments and they tip extraordinarily well.
Real Estate Agents
I would be willing to bet that at least 50% of the people that go to a nail tech regularly are not satisfied. They are looking for a change, but the search to find someone new is just not worth it.
Call the HR department of any large higher end retailer and offer to give them as many 20% off coupons as they need to be put in the next cycles pay envelopes or handed out at the next sales meeting. You will be giving them the opportunity to create good will with their employees and you may just end up with a more business then you can handle.
Do the exact same thing at every bank, grocery store, restaurant, real estate agency and yes, strip club.
You will not be able to handle the business you get, be sure to have two or three other nail techs in mind that would honor the coupon to get a new customer. You will probably be so busy that you will need to shut off your cell phone and put a message with another nail techs name and number to refer to because your book is full.
Welcome to Hungry Town!
Here is what I told him.
There were two people of equal means that were getting ready to open up a restaurant. Both of them had a concept for a family friendly high end dining restaurant. Both of them had all of the details of the restaurant figured out, everything from staffing right down to portion costs. They were both ready to start building and open. Everything was calculated right down to the penny. The only thing still left to do is look for a great location to open up.
They both did much research and decided on a location. They were in different towns, but both towns were very similar.
Day one and the restaurant opens its doors for the first time. Both owners are 110% sure their restaurant will be successful, otherwise they wouldn’t have opened it. One of the restaurants is fully booked on the first day and pretty much every day after that. The other has a few people for the grand opening and customers slowly trickle in for the next week or two.
The owner of the slow restaurant starts to panic so he starts spending money on advertising, promotion, magazines, newspapers. He even invites the mayor to come in for a free meal. He does coupons, discounts, and charity events.
The other restaurant does not spend one dime in advertising, the dining room is always full, the customers are always happy and the servers always get big tips.
Six months down the road the first restaurant is going strong. The slow restaurant never really got off of the ground and now is closed.
How could you have two equal restaurants in two almost equal places and one thrives and the other dies?
Let’s go back to before the restaurant is even opened. Both owners had confidence that their place would be successful. That is the first thing you need is confidence.
One restaurant owner decided to put his restaurant in a town with higher income families with an average of 2.2 children. They were mostly busy home owners with lots of social commitments. The schools were top notch and there was ample parking.
The other restaurant owner opened up his restaurant in a town where the people were hungry.
You see, the best place to put a restaurant is in the middle of a bunch of hungry people.
You may have tried advertising your services in a monthly coupon mailer or the newspaper. You may have tried to get your clients to send you their friends. You may have even tried entering nail contests and writing letters to the trade magazines.
But have you tried marketing your services to people that want them?
Who gets their nails done?
Bank Tellers
Retail Sales People
Food Servers
Entertainers (ie. Strippers) You may have an ethical problem with this one, but you would be surprised about what great clients they make. They never miss appointments and they tip extraordinarily well.
Real Estate Agents
I would be willing to bet that at least 50% of the people that go to a nail tech regularly are not satisfied. They are looking for a change, but the search to find someone new is just not worth it.
Call the HR department of any large higher end retailer and offer to give them as many 20% off coupons as they need to be put in the next cycles pay envelopes or handed out at the next sales meeting. You will be giving them the opportunity to create good will with their employees and you may just end up with a more business then you can handle.
Do the exact same thing at every bank, grocery store, restaurant, real estate agency and yes, strip club.
You will not be able to handle the business you get, be sure to have two or three other nail techs in mind that would honor the coupon to get a new customer. You will probably be so busy that you will need to shut off your cell phone and put a message with another nail techs name and number to refer to because your book is full.
Welcome to Hungry Town!
Saturday, September 22, 2007
I added a little gadget called Twitter to the blog. It is a couple lines of text that will say what I am up to at that moment. I hope you like it.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
How is the economy doing?
I thought it was doing pretty good. I hadn’t really seen any problems. I know housing prices are in decline. I heard that high risk mortgages were seeing an increase in defaults. But that is to be expected. When you buy a house and an expert tells you that you can afford it, you believe them. But then in a few years your rate adjusts and you payment goes up a few thousand dollars you’re in trouble.
Then I heard that there is a marked increase in defaults on people who have the highest credit scores. That made me take notice.
I went to the mall for the first time since Christmas the other day. I noticed a few stores were boarded up. A few big stores. This mall is what I would consider to be the most successful in town, is now starting to lose tenants. There were clearance sales everywhere and more stores going out of business. I also noticed a big increase in aggressive sales people. In one sunglass store the sales person kept steering me back to the store brand when I told him I just was not interested in it. I imagine that he was told to do that because the store makes a better margin on those products. Oh and he wouldn’t leave me alone for a second. Every time I picked something up he started to say something about it and offer an alternative in the store brand. Problem was the store brand just did not have any styles I liked. We didn’t buy anything there.
I counted three stores that we used to shop in that were either closed or going out of business. There were six or seven others that had already closed.
I haven’t heard that it has been slow for salons, our business hasn’t slowed down. But what is coming next. Is the mall a sign of what is to come for Salons and Day Spas? Time will tell. Perhaps it is time to start thinking about new ways to market your services. How about a gel manicure and a gel pedicure?
Then I heard that there is a marked increase in defaults on people who have the highest credit scores. That made me take notice.
I went to the mall for the first time since Christmas the other day. I noticed a few stores were boarded up. A few big stores. This mall is what I would consider to be the most successful in town, is now starting to lose tenants. There were clearance sales everywhere and more stores going out of business. I also noticed a big increase in aggressive sales people. In one sunglass store the sales person kept steering me back to the store brand when I told him I just was not interested in it. I imagine that he was told to do that because the store makes a better margin on those products. Oh and he wouldn’t leave me alone for a second. Every time I picked something up he started to say something about it and offer an alternative in the store brand. Problem was the store brand just did not have any styles I liked. We didn’t buy anything there.
I counted three stores that we used to shop in that were either closed or going out of business. There were six or seven others that had already closed.
I haven’t heard that it has been slow for salons, our business hasn’t slowed down. But what is coming next. Is the mall a sign of what is to come for Salons and Day Spas? Time will tell. Perhaps it is time to start thinking about new ways to market your services. How about a gel manicure and a gel pedicure?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)