Kate: I think you and I went to the same school of "rose advertising" (LOL). But in my climate there are very few roses that I like that don't need to be sprayed at least sometimes so I'm resigned to doing a little of it for roses that have merit. For instance if the blooms fade and blow quickly or aren't produced in abundance with a fast repeat then I wouldn't buy it even if it's disease free. But I hear you. Yellows are particularly susceptible to B.S., so not to mention any resistance in their ad is highly suspect to say the least. But you have to wonder why in the world would they bring a disease magnet out in this day and age. Maybe they are selling off the "old stock" pre-Parks buyout? Well, I hope someone has some experience with it to tell both of us. Here is a link that might be useful: J&P Monkey Business 2010

I guess I should explain this business better in order for you to understand why there is a loss of $4000.00 each month. There is nothing we can cut out to avoid this. We simply must grow the business. We are publishing a real estate book that is a free publication available in all grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, etc. Our income is earned from realtors, builders and mortgage brokers buying advertising in our book. The cost of printing these full color digest size books is spendy, not to mention the cost of racks, the cost of paying to be on certain racks (grocery stores have a contract with a distribution service and we have to pay the distribution service), shipping of the 25,000 copies from Portland, where they are printed, artist fees for designing the ads, etc. There is absolutely nothing to cut for the business at this point. We bought the equipment we had to buy up-front (Computer, fax, etc.) but have not splurged on nice office furniture, new vehicles or any obvious mistakes. I run our household very lean also. We do not want to borrow more, as we are afraid it will be too hard to ever catch up. If we progress at the rate we are moving now, we will eventually earn a decent income, but in the meantime our hard, unchangeable business costs are significantly greater than our earnings. I would love for DH to be able to work less, but am not sure how that can be done. He is a paramedic in a supervisory capacity. There isn't enough job security as it is to be able to "dicker" with them on hours. If he went part-time he would lose all benefits. We simply cannot risk no insurance for a family of five. I have been a powerseller on ebay for several years and also have a booth selling antiques. It is a great way to earn quick cash, such as in times like now, but of course also takes time. The antique booth is not very time consuming, but it also earns much less than the ebay. I spend many hours each day handling the production end of the publication . . . getting photos and listing info. from realtors, instructing our artist with design specs., proofing and editing text. I just don't have the time to go out and sell the advertising too. When the publications come out, DH and I distribute all 25,000 ourselves, rather than hiring that out, as that isn't feasible. That is very time consuming, not to mention the gas and wear on our cars! When I do ebay, I do it late at night, so that it doesn't interfere with the business or the kids, so it isn't like I can just swap ebay time for this business time, as I must operate during realtors business hours. We are seriously looking at putting the boys in school in the fall. I just don't want them to get the scraps" of our time. DH spends most of his off time on the business, for example spending over 8 hours today doing cold calls and setting up appointments. We are seeing growth . . . just slower than what we need given the debt factor. This is a rapidly growing publication throughout the Northwest and all the publications started in other towns prior to ours have grown rapidly and are now showing a profit, so we are no where near walking away from this. I just am not sure what we should do in the meantime. We have used up our HELOC and visa. We can get more credit as we have an excellent credit rating and we have checked into it. It is just the fear of borrowing so much that it will take forever to catch up. So I guess I am wondering, if you were in our shoes and knew that within a year, two at the most, you can probably be earning a 6 digit figure, would you keep borrowing or what would you do? Thanks. Brenda

Hey there stonehard, I did some research for you and found a compnay called Johnny Grip that sells them. They also have some good videos on YouTube too. They are selling theirs for $829 with free shipping...this is the address http://www.slipperytile.com/american-slip-meter

Deadline for our first book is today. I am just waiting for the artist to send me the final PDFs and then I send them to print. It is exciting. But, don't be too impressed with my energy. I think as soon as this is done today I am going to majorly crash for about 12 hours! LOL! Talley Sue, I guess I will accept being a type A -, though I never am happy unless everything I do is A+! LOL! But seriously, finding my limits and farming out the rest is by far what works the best. As much as I like ebay, I think it is going to be gone for quite a while. It is just too much. Unfortunately my MIL hasn't been able to start cleaning for us, because of a sick relative that is consuming all her attention right now. They are in ICU, and so she is there all the time. I certainly understand, but my messy house doesn't! Between e-mails and phone calls today I have been playing "24 pick up", doing laundry and cleaning the kitchen. It is amazing the difference just a few minutes here and there makes. It's still messy, but it doesn't look like the after-math of a terrorist attack either, so I can live with it! I am just taking a few minutes now for my "late lunch" to grab my senses and chat with you all! Thanks for the encouragement. Things really are good. Just busy. Brenda