To all my family, friends, customers, business associates and since this is on-line everyone who is bored enough to take the time to read this is an explanation of some major changes happening with Success Express.

Effective at the end of December Success Express will be closing our retail store.  It is with great sadness that Paula and I have made this decision but it has become clear that times will just not allow us to remain open.  For those local to Plainfield I would like to clarify that the construciton in front of our store has nothing to do with the closing.  This construction is a necessary evil and will give this wonderful town a much needed boost in its downtown once it is completed.

Additionally, we are not closing due to a lack of current business.  All of our loyal customers have been fantastic over the eight years we have built our business and we would not have made it this far without you.  We are deeply pained by any inconvenience our absence will be to you as we have cherished our relationship with every customer regardless of how small or large.  This is more of a result of the economic times.  I guess you could say we are not too big to fail.  Like any growing business we accumulated debt while in our growth mode.  The plan was to refinance this debt when it was appropriate to have enough sales and a strong plan to retire it.  Unfortunately in past eighteen months many of the financial products we were relying on to assist with cash flow have been removed from the market and it has proven to be impossible to achieve any financing through the banks.  (To my Democrat friends this is not Obama's fault, and to my Republican friends this is not Bush's fault.  Recesseions happen and when you open a business you gamble.  We put our chips on the table and the cards did not come up in our favor.)

Both Paula and I at peace that God will have a plan for us and at some point we will land on our feet.  In the meantime here is some information you might need to know depending on your relationship to us.

1.  If you are an Embroidery or Promotional Product customer.  We will still be able to service you.  I intend on maintaining all of our business contacts and vendor relationships to continue providing you with the same high level of service we have become known for.  These relationships are important to me and we hope to serve you now and in the future.  We just simply will not have a store front so please contact me by e-mail or cell phone once we are closed and I will come to you. 

2.  If you are a name tag customer.  If you name tags are printed we will continue to service you.  Orders should come by e-mail and we will get you more information as have the details.  If your tags are engraved then we will provide you with assistance in locating a new vendor and assuming we do not sell any of our accounts we will also provide you with the necessary files to take to your new supplier.  We will not leave in a position needing to pay new set up charges or having to start over.

3.  If you are a screen print customer:  We have relationships with several contract screen printers and will still be able to accommodate some of your jobs.  On the smaller scale work we will be working to find a quality company to recommend for you.

4.  If you are a Meeting Planning Customer:  You should not see much change.  We will continue to provide our outstanding level of service.  We may change company names or web addresses but we will keep you posted as those decisions are made.  You may wish to become a fan of our facebook page for any continued updates.  Simply search Success Express Meeting Planners to locate the page and become a fan.

5.  If you are a Training Customer:  Again you should see minor changes at best.

6.  If you are a friend or business associate:  Personally, I will be looking for a job and would appreciate any assistance you can provide.  It would be my pleasure to forward a resume to you if you have contacts or just want to simply see what my qualifications are.  I believe there is a wonderful opportunity out there where I can use my talents to be a blessing to an organization so if you know of any opportunities please forward them to me.

7.  If you know of anyone looking to open a business or buy a business:  We have fixtures, computers, office supplies, desks, slatwall gondolas, clothing racks and much more for sale.  Everything must go before then end of December!  Make an offer and get a great deal!

Finally to all:  Your prayers are of course appreciated.  Our family has been very blessed but the next few months are going to be extremely challenging so any prayers will help.

Thank you for your time and I hope to remain in communication with each and every one on you.

God Bless,

I'm Back!!!  I know it has been awhile since I have posted but I am still new at the on-line approach. 

This week my column explores what I am looking at in a President.  The more I have thought about the more I have gone back to what exactly is the job of the President?  During this campaign season we have been promised tax cuts, social programs, reform and trillions of dollars of new government programs to make our life better.  So what happens when the election is over and our new fearless leader has to actually do something besides give speeches and make promises?  So being the history teacher I once was I went straight to the source, the Constitution of the United States.  Supposedly this is the only legal reason we have for our goverment.

According to the Constitution the President....

1.  He is the Commander and Chief of the Armed Forces.
2.  He can make treaties with other countries with the consent of the Congress.
3.  Appoint Judges to the Federal Benhes with the consent of the Congress.
4.  Inform the Congress of the State of the Union.
5.  He shall take care that the Laws of the United States be faithfully executed.

That's it.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Congress discusses laws.  Congress passes laws.  Congress raises taxes.  Congress passes the budget and determines what we spend and what we don't spend.  Congress commissions the military.  Congress, Congress, Congress.

Just once I would like a President to do his job.   Nothing more, nothing less.  That is Change I can live with.

One of the most popular columns I have written in the past year talked about Fred the Ghost that lives right here at Success Express in Downtown Plainfield.  Fred is a name we came up with to explain the mysterious happenings around our store.  Everything from radios malfunctioning, to the sounds of footprints, to moving ceiling tiles.

Since this column published a couple of months ago we have had a few people stop in to share their own stories.  Each one a little creepier then the last.

A business owner from across the street stopped in to tell us about their ghost that they have actually seen in their basement.  A little Creepy!

A gentlemen who owns a business in the same block of buildings as mine but around the corner came in to relay this little story:  His grandson had been playing in the basement about 2 weeks before the column ran in the paper.  They heard him talking to someone and when he came upstairs they asked him who he was talking to and he said his new friend Fred!  Creepier!!

Then an older gentlemen who has lived in Plainfield his entire life came in to share with me a little history about downtown Plainfield.  It seems that in the 40's and 50's there was a dry goods store in our building owned by, wait for it, FRED Breedlove.  Really Creepy.

I never saw myself as superstitious or a believer in ghosts but these are a lot coincidences to say the least.

Till next time.

Welcome to my first attempt at modern journalism.  If you are reading this then you are already familiar with my weekly column in the Hendricks County Flyer or you tripped on your journey through the World Wide Web and found me accidentally,  Either way I welcome you.  I am going to be using this space to provide updates on my columns or write about some topics that I don't feel are ready for the paper yet.

You also have a chance to leave comments about my columns, or about topics in general, or maybe even offer a suggestion or two.  (Keep it nice please!)  I don't know how often I will post but the greater the response I have the more likely I will be to post more often so please take time to complete the guestbook entry at the bottom of the page.

You can look forward to an update on Fred next week!