Mark's Blog

Energy
Since the nineteen sixties there has been a group of people constructing solar panels and wind generators in their back yards. Testing and researching ways to harness the sun, wind and Earth's heat. Who are these experts and is the government listening to them? The rise of the EnergyAge is upon us.

Please read these articles on related subjects
Insulating Your Home and Finding Drafts

Strategic Relationships
There was a posting on LinkIn today of a company trying to find a Freelance Strategic Marketing Plan Writer. It sounded good anyway. I think outsourcing has many advantages for a multitude of services and this one happens to be in my area of work. By the time someone gets to a third party in a conversation on strategic planning, you have destroyed the idea of outsourcing, and, making a living at it.

Here is the main message: Direct involvement in a client's efforts, by the client and you, is the only way success can be achieved. This is for any project in-house or on a contract basis and it doesn't matter what type of project it is. This business 101.

If a client is not directly involved in these processes in some way, nothing in the project will be acceptable. You can do independent research, but the results have to be presented and understood by the client. Understanding markets reaches back into a business plan and maybe into your engineering of the product as well. And, it is not all about the numbers you discover in your perspective target market either. These are humans and have a wide range of market profiles and they change over time. I always advise a potential client that strategic planning of this kind requires them to stand on slippery rocks and know these documents are “dynamic”. They can change day in and out, so review and revision is a routine issue.

Eaton Hydraulics

My Samples

Research
I am starting a private research service, where interested people can hire me to find information and receive a report about their areas of interest.