August 13, 2010 - Several years ago, marketing guru Seth Godin gave a presentation at the TED conference on the importance of standing out. We have all heard the term..."Best thing since sliced Bread", but did you know it took 15 years after the invention of sliced bread before it was widely accepted? Until Wonder Bread came along and SOLD the concept, no one wanted it. Your product or service must stand out for someone to first notice it, before you ever have a chance at selling it. The example he gives is... "you drive down a road and see a cow - so what?  But if it were a purple cow, you would stop (or at least slow down) to take a closer look.  If something is different or remarkable, it gets talked about.  Average products for average people will no longer work. We live in an age of specialization. You sell to people who are listening, and hopefully those people will tell their friends."  Bottom line - Don't be boring! Gordin goes onto say that "The riskiest thing you can do now is to be safe". So how can you apply this to your business?

Posted by Vic Cherubini on August 13, 2010

May 18, 2010 - When our architects first mentioned using cellulose as the primary insulation for the Creative Co-Op, I have to admit it was not even on my radar screen. I have a great deal of trust in their material choices, but the idea of using recycled newspaper for serious insulation alluded me. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY in a bungalow style house built in 1922.  When built, most of these homes had no insulation in the walls and attic whatsoever.  Cutting holes in the walls and pumping in cellulose was how many of these homes were later retrofitted to provide some degree of protection from the heat and cold.  It never seemed to do a very good job.

I started my online research not on Google, but on You-Tube.  I wanted to "see" the latest in cellulose technology, not read about it.  After I looked at some videos, I then went go to Google to locate a source.  As I was doing my search, I heard a news report that it was YouTube's 5th Anniversary, and the narrator started spouting off statistics that were simply mind boggling (24 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute!).  This was music to my ears.  Since one of the key reasons we are building the Creative Co-Op is to handle the increase in business for sales and training videos our clients want for their corporate web sites.

Posted by Vic Cherubini on May 20, 2010

May 15, 2010 - The idea of being inside of a large metal box in the heat of a Houston, Texas summer is a bit scary.  The insulation decision is a big one because of its long-term impact on the comfort and success of the Creative Co-Op. The challenge is to get the building property insulated from the elements, keep the occupants comfortable, and do it in a cost-effective way. Part of the fun of building a non-conventional structure is doing the research to find out what others have done and their experience.  The internet is excellent for this kind of research.  Unfortunately, for cargo container insulation there is not one single source of great information, but I was able to glean some information from blogs, online forums, and web sites.

Below I will share my findings with you, followed by my ideas for an insulation system and some comments from our architects.

May 6, 2010 - As the school with the third largest statistics department in the U.S., Texas A&M University has a history and tradition of graduate education in statistics that dates back to 1963. The school has produced over 700 Master's and Ph.D. graduates since it's inception, and now has a goal to aggressively promote the TAMU Distance Learning program. This department has a strong tradition of theoretical and interdisciplinary research with an internationally recognized faculty.  In addition to their on location courses, the statistics department  now offers an online distance learning program.  The online courses provide the same course materials and exams with the flexibility to fit a schedule that may not allow for in-class instruction. 

Posted by on May 06, 2010

After months of watching government spending that is out of control, followed by dropping off our 2009 taxes at the post office yesterday, I was in the mood to express my frustration with the way our federal government is being run.  And it looks like I had lots of company.  At the Tea Party Rally at Sam Houston Racetrack, thousands of people came out to show their support for the cause.

Specifically the core values of the Tea Party Patriots include: Free Markets, Limited Government, Fiscal Responsibility and Upholding the Constitution.  The folks at the rally were wonderful, and the speakers did a great job of expressing the dissatisfaction felt by many in the crowd with our national politicians and the policies they've introduced.  We have a 12 trillion dollar deficit, spending that is out of control, and the economy is in a mess.

Posted by Vic Cherubini on April 16, 2010