[Arif]

Well, it's been almost two weeks since I last posted here and we've been as busy as we want to be. We've been in business exactly one year and so far it's been a great year.
We bid on a new commercial pool two weeks ago and found out we won the contract today. So far this month we've grown 15% in gross revenue (month over month)thanks largely to this new contract. While I was talking to the maintenance guy he mentioned that we were the only pool company that he found with worker's comp. and general liability. I did another bid for a commercial pool and the guy there told me the same thing. Most pool companies hire indepedent contractors to avoid the requirement for worker's comp and employment taxes. I think we'll keep our employees and it turns out to be a competitive advantage.
To meet our goal of 155 accounts (currently we have 97 accounts)by the end of summer we've increased our marketing budget by 45% and will be reiterating our compensation program at the local pool stores since they have new employees that aren't aware of it. Speaking of marketing, we signed up for the yellow pages last February and I think we've gotten two calls. Unless we start getting more calls from them we won't be renewing next year.
As far as retiring early, our goal is to continue growing the business for another 8 years and then cash out. The good thing about owning a business is your networth goes up as the business grows. So we'll also continue to save a large portion (atleast 50%) of our income and purchase foreclosures which is what we were doing before the pool business. For me there is not a better way to make money than real estate and owner your own business.