Ethanol Touted as Innovative Solution to Today’s Rising Gas Prices

As gas prices continue to surge higher and higher and concern over our country’s reliance on foreign oil grows more serious by the day, many experts are pointing to ethanol as a quick and easy solution to the current energy crisis. This article takes a look at Ethanol as the new source of gas and the opportunities it presents.

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ethanol production,how to make ethanol,ethanol producer,making ethanol,how to make your own ethanol,homemade ethanol,how make ethanol at home,investing in ethanol,ethanol recipe,ethanol production process

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Copyright 2006 Stephen Pierce

As gas prices continue to surge higher and higher and concern over our country’s reliance on foreign oil grows more serious by the day, many experts are pointing to ethanol as a quick and easy solution to the current energy crisis.

What is ethanol? Ethanol is a clean-burning, high-octane fuel made from plants, often corn, that many claim will be safer for the environment as well as reduce our reliance on oil from the Middle East.

This is Not Your Father’s Ethanol …

While ethanol first gained minor notoriety as a “fad fuel” that was introduced in the 1970s but never really caught on, the ethanol industry has made numerous innovations and improvements to the ethanol production process as well as the final product over the years and now expects to produce over 5 billion gallons of ethanol this year alone.

Of the ethanol that is produced, much is used to boost the octane rating of gasoline. Premium gasoline is made by adding ethanol to the gasoline mixture. The two most common blends are:

1. E10 - 10% ethanol and 90% unleaded gasoline. E10 is approved for use in any make or model of vehicle sold in the U.S. Many automakers recommend its use because of its high performance, clean-burning characteristics. In 2004, about one-third of America's gasoline was blended with ethanol, most in this 10% variety.

2. E85 - 85% ethanol and 15% unleaded gasoline. E85 is an alternative fuel for use in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs). There are currently more than 4 million FFVs on America's roads today, and automakers are rolling out more each year.

Adding ethanol to gasoline is beneficial because it not only decreases the fuel's cost, increases the fuel's octane rating and decreases gasoline's harmful emissions but it also, according to a recent study, lets drivers travel farther for less money.

At current market prices, $20 worth of ethanol-blended fuel allows a vehicle to travel up to 15 miles farther than on gas without ethanol, according to a pilot study conducted by the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), a national trade association for the ethanol industry headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. “On a twenty dollar bill, drivers who choose ethanol-blended fuel will travel miles farther on less money than those burning straight gasoline,” Ron Lamberty, Vice President of Market Development for ACE said in a press release about the study. “Not only is ethanol's cost-per-mile lower than regular gasoline, the blending economics of ethanol translate to lower prices at the pump for consumers.”

Prices for E10 around the Midwest are as much as 10 cents less per gallon than regular unleaded, the ACE press release indicated. A recent Consumer Federation of America study shows that blending low-cost ethanol with high-priced gasoline can bring down prices at the pump by up to 8 cents per gallon.

The Next Step …

With results like those mentioned above and with new innovations continuing to be rapidly introduced in the ethanol production process, it’s little wonder that many fuel experts are now beginning to talk about shifting from ethanol as a fuel additive to ethanol as a replacement for petroleum-based fuel.

According to these experts, such a switch could allow us to break free from our addiction to foreign oil, could slash gas prices at the pump, could strengthen our national security, could produce jobs to rural America instead of the Middle East – all while protecting our environment.

To see an example of the benefits of increased reliance on ethanol, Americans have to look no further than nearby neighbor Brazil, which has been committed to using ethanol for 30 years.

In Brazil, cars can run on gas or ethanol thanks to “flex-fuel cars.” Drivers can simply choose between the two types of fuel or a mixture of both each time they pull up to the pump.

How far is America away from offering drivers here this same luxury? Many of the flex-fuel cars that triggered the ethanol boom in Brazil were made by GM and Ford and cars with the same technology were first introduced here in the U.S. three years ago. In fact, already three of every four new cars sold in the U.S. have the flex-fuel technology.

Maybe that’s why in a recent speech, President Bush felt compelled to say, “Ethanol will replace gasoline consumption. Ethanol is good for the whole country.”

Business Owner's Essentials - The 5 Biggest Challenges for Today's Business Owner

There are five major challenges faced by business owners today. If you don't know what they are or you don't know how to handle them then your business is at risk. Once you get to grips with these five then your company has a far better chance of survival.

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business, business owner, entrepreneur, exit strategy, coach

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Copyright 2006 Andy Warren

Some of these challenges have been around since business began and others are new ones that are being faced as technology and the marketplace evolves. As a business owner, you need to be sure that you are handling each of these effectively and looking out for where they might destroy your business.

1. Cashflow Management

This is the number one essential for all businesses, no matter what stage they are at. Even the most successful businesses can fail if they take their eye off the ball on cash. Your cashflow is the difference between how fast money comes into your business from your customers and how fast you pay it out to your staff, your suppliers and the tax man.

Many business owners don’t realise that their cashflow can be at most risk when they are growing fast or taking on big orders. This happens because, in most businesses, products and raw materials have to be bought and paid for before they can be provided to customers and billed. This is also similar for services, where your employees and contractors have to be paid at the end of the month but the client may not be billed until the following month or when a job is completed. And they may not pay you until some time after that.

In periods of high growth your costs can go up and out of the door long before the cash from the increased sales comes in. And suddenly you find you have a cash crisis on your hands.

2. Your staff

Your employees can make or break your business. When you choose the right ones they can massively add to the value of your business. When you get the wrong ones they can be a drain on your time, your money and they can hold back your business.

The usual mistakes made include recruiting people who are not as smart as you so that they make you look good; Hiring too fast and firing too slowly; Not investing in training and development for your staff; Not listening to what they’re telling you; Not taking up proper references when recruiting; Not adopting good, consistent and fair HR policies within the company.

Many business owners find that employee issues are the number one drain on their time and attention. And often the issues don't get resolved and lead to litigation and expensive legal bills.

The first key is to recruit high quality people, who are smarter than you, who are motivated to build and grow your business and who come with a good track record. Also, always take up references and carefully check CVs or Resumés for any gaps or inconsistencies.

The next key is to treat your staff fairly and reward them for good work. Whatever you measure and reward will get done more, so consider this carefully. Create clear and consistent policies for employee development and training and make sure you allow good time for one-to-one reviews where the discussion is allowed to be open and frank.

And above all, keep the lines of communication open and clear and trust them.

3. Getting Noticed in a Crowded Market

You may have a great product or service but unless your potential customers know what you provide you’ll never have a great business. You need to get out into the market and deliver your message to the people you want as customers.

The challenge comes with the fact that today people receive an average of 3,000 marketing messages a day. And they’ve become immune to many of them. Your job is to be able to cut through all those messages and stand out enough to get noticed by your customer.

The best way to achieve this is by focussing on a niche. This way you can target your marketing with a laser focus to match your desired customers directly. And when you specifically target your prospects with a message that is tailored to them and their needs, they’re far more likely to take notice and listen.

The standard reaction to this is to worry that by focussing on one niche you could miss out on other customers. The reality is that the scatter gun approach that throws your message out to anyone and everyone is extremely hit and miss in its results. And it rarely works now because the message becomes so generic that no-one believes it applies to them. Remember, you can always select another niche once you’ve worked the first one. So you can eventually get to all of your potential market in a far more effective and targeted way.

4. Poor planning

It’s said that when you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. This means that without a clear plan and objective you can get distracted and diverted all over the place and never achieve what you really want for your business.

When businesses fail to plan they find themselves losing money, losing staff, losing momentum, losing customers and losing business.

Without a plan, you won’t know whether you’re on the right track and you’ll have no guide as to whether you need to go faster or approach the business in a different way. Stumbling through simply doesn’t cut it for a good business.

Making plans allows you to prepare for more eventualities. It allows you to foresee potential problems and avoid crises. It actually gives you more flexibility because you can flex around your plan and revise it as you go. It also makes it easier to make decisions because you have something to judge the outcome against. You’re able to assess whether taking a specific decision takes you further along your plan or moves you away from it.

5. Neglecting customers

The final challenge that is faced by every business in this supposedly service oriented world is neglecting customers.

After all the uphill struggle of finding a prospect, telling them about your product or service and closing a sale, are you just going to let them go? Many businesses do. They are so focussed on making new sales that they forget that the best source of additional sales and new business referrals comes from their existing customer base.

They also forget that when you neglect a customer and lose them, they will tell others. And as a customer with experience they will be believed and that can knock a significant hole in all your marketing efforts.

It costs significantly more to find and sell to a new customer than it does to keep and sell more to an existing customer. Make sure you get your customers' contact details, look after them and keep building and strengthening the relationship. The first sale should be just the beginning.

And a happy, satisfied customer can do more to market your business than almost anything else.

Career Planning in Today's Turbulent Times

What you were taught in school no longer applies to the job searching skills needed in today’s market. The rules have changed…from the resume through the interview. Don’t be caught with an “objective statement” on your resume, or asking the interviewer questions you should have researched on the web on your own.

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Job, search, career, planning, skills, interviewing

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What you were taught in school no longer applies to the job searching skills needed in today’s market. The rules have changed…from the resume through the interview. Don’t be caught with an “objective statement” on your resume, or asking the interviewer questions you should have researched on the web on your own. Here are some hot tips for being a savvy career planner:

1) Identify your top competencies, strengths, demonstration situations and high point stories – Different behaviors for different jobs are needed. Today there are sophisticated career planning assessments on the market to help you identify your ideal work environment. It is important for you to become very familiar with your strongest skills. Then, whether it is a resume, a job application, or a job interview, you’ll be able to articulate them succinctly and professionally.

2) Identify your competitive advantage – the single most important job search skill is your ability to communicate what you can do for a company! When the hiring manager believes that you can help solve the type of problems they face, you dramatically increase your chances of being offered the job. The fact is, companies will hire someone when they believe that the person will bring more value than they cost.

3) Selling yourself using high point stories and demonstrating your skills through examples – Your accomplishments or achievements can be identified in your demonstration situations. Using accomplishments in your letters, resumes and interviews gives a convincing picture of you in action. Employers today want do-ers. Your high point story should illustrate a contribution that you made to something that had a positive outcome.

Effective Resume Writing

Creating an effective resume is a crucial step in the career planning process. Most job seekers rush into creating a resume before they fully understand their product (themselves). A resume advertises you – it sells ability, experience, potential benefits and value. It stimulates the interest of prospective employers to find out more about you and invite you to an interview. A common myth is that a good resume will get you a job. The reality is, however, that a resume will at best interest the reader enough to want to meet you. Here are some helpful tips on writing an effective resume:

• Keep your resume brief – especially in describing responsibilities. Describe the key outcomes or accountabilities of the position, not the tasks!
• Eliminate any information which is extraneous or that could create a negative effect; for example, marital status, religious or political affiliations, sports or hobbies, salary and references.
• Make sure it is formatted neatly with the latest software to help you. Be sure it has plenty of white space and use the grammar and spell checker. Final copies should be printed on at least (20) pound bond paper in ivory or white.
• Check to make sure you use a consistent format throughout your resume. If you used bold headings, make sure all headings are bold. Also make sure your verb tense is correct.
• Have your resume reviewed before finalizing it. Typos and spelling errors are almost guaranteed to eliminate you from being considered.
• Do not underestimate the importance of using a cover letter in your job search! Cover letters reflect the time, care and preparation you have given to your search. They also demonstrate enthusiasm and confidence which can help you begin to develop a rapport with the reader.

The Interview

The interview is an exchange of information between the candidate and the company for the purpose of determining if there is a fit for the open position. You have certain qualifications to offer and they have certain needs to fill. Your qualifications have already separated you from the pack and brought you to the final selection process. The following tips will provide you with some techniques and information to help you fine-tune your presentation:

• Dress conservatively. Men: wear a suit and tie, dark colors. Women: wear a suit or a dress with a jacket, conservative colors, simple jewelry, little makeup and perfume. Neatness is critical!
• Arrive about 5-10 minutes early. Be nice to everyone you meet at the company.
• Sit up straight, leaning forward slightly; this helps to convey an attitude of high interest and energy.
• Be positive, friendly, enthusiastic and sincere. Practice will help you to relax and be yourself. Be positive about previous employers and managers.
• Maintain good eye contact.
• Rest hands comfortably in your lap; gesture appropriately as you speak.
• Speak at adequate levels and avoid monotone patterns; don’t drift off at the end of sentences. Speak with assurance.
• Be an attentive listener; ask questions and clarify meanings; answer concisely and clearly, do not ramble.
• Anticipate general questions and those related to your experience. Prepare answers ahead of time. Picture yourself answering these questions confidently.
• Anticipate behavioral interviewing questions that demonstrate you have the behaviors, competencies, and attitude to do the job.

For examples of behavioral interviewing questions, see Well-Run Concepts’ previous article, “Behavioral interviewing,” published in Careers, summer of 2003.

Once you have won the job you want, it is important to maintain your competitive advantage. The world of employment is dynamic. Employees need to become just as competitive and strategic about their careers as their employers are. More significantly, employees need to take responsibility for their own careers. If you want to continually compete and win in today’s job market, you must maintain a competitive edge in your job performance in order to do so. Just as everyone has strengths, everyone has weaknesses or hindrances to performance that they must manage and overcome in order to grow professionally.

The best of luck on your search!