Some amazing notes from an amazing man.

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man in America, who has donated $31 billion to charity. Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:

• He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!
• He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.
• He still lives in the same small 3-bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence around it.
• He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.
• He never travels by private jet, although, he owns the world’s largest private jet company.
• Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies.
• He writes only one letter each year to the CEO’s of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.
• He has given his CEO’s only two rules.
  • Rule number 1: Do not lose any of your shareholder’s money.
  • Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.
• He does not socialize with the high society crowd.
• His pastime, after he gets home, is to make himself some pop corn and watch television.
• Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for 10 hours, and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.
• Warren Buffet does not carry a cellphone, and he doesn’t have a computer on his desk.
  • A. Money doesn’t create man, but it is the man who created money.
  • B. Live your life as simple as you are.
  • C. Don’t do what others say, just listen to them, but do what you feel is good.
  • D. Don’t go on brand names; just wear those things in which you feel comfortable.
  • E. Don’t waste your money on unnecessary things; rather spend on those people who are really in need
  • F. After all, it’s your life –“ then why give a chance to others to rule your life.”

These guidelines absolutely helped me influence my goals for 2008… have you set yours?

Jim Warren, CEO

New home sales up and existing home sales down…according to HanleyWood’s Key Indicater Alert today.

“New home sales increased slightly while existing home sales continued its downward spiral in October. New home sales increased 1.7% in October to a seasonally-adjusted 728,000 homes, up from a downwardly revised September figure of 716,000. Revised new home sales figures showed that sales were at their slowest pace in September since January 1996. At the current sales pace, there are 8.5 months of new homes supply on the market. Inventory levels continued to decline as builders have been scaling back production until the market stabilizes. The number of new homes for sale declined to 520,000 which is the lowest it’s been since December 2005. The median price for a new home plunged 8.6% from September levels to $217,800. Median new home prices are now at their lowest levels since September 2004.

Existing home sales declined for the eighth consecutive month as seasonally-adjusted sales of existing homes fell 1.2% in October to 4.97 million units. That is the lowest sales pace recorded since August 1998. Sales of existing homes are down 20.7% from the 6.27 million units in October 2006. Median existing home prices fell another 1.2% from September levels to $207,880; the median price is at its lowest levels since March 2005. Inventory of existing homes jumped to 10.8 months supply at the current sales pace, while the number of existing homes for sale increased 1.9% to 4.370 million units. Inventory of existing homes is at an all-time high.”

Hey in the current times any good news is GREAT news.

Other interesting news in the report:

“Inland Empire, CA - Despite Housing Slowdown Growth Remains Strong

Fueled by strong economic growth the Inland Empire has benefited from strong migration patterns from coastal areas. Drawn to the area by affordable homes and employment opportunities, the region’s population has been growing by 3.5% on average for the past five years”

You can subscribe to their email here: here: http://www.hwmarketintelligence.com/meyersalerts/newsletter.asp

Let’s face it there are several hundred companies out there right now all saying they are #1 in the renderings/animation industry, all of which are banging on your door saying “look at me and my wonderfully pretty images”. At first glance you can easily bring the number down to what looks like 50 qualified firms. Upon further review I’m sure you will find that the number of qualified proven VR Firms in North America is somewhere between 5-15 (and even fewer that handle the deliverables AND content…most are just content) depending on your vertical. Here are some questions to ask yourself when bidding out your next project…

What is their track record?
Does their portfolio reflect multiple projects over several years? A qualified vendor may cost a little more on the front end but will no doubt save you thousands in lost time and resources during the production of a project. The reason you may be getting a “deal” could mean many things i.e. they upcharge during production, few staff (longer timelines), their proposal leaves something out or of course quality.

Who have they worked for?
Doing VR for one custom home in Muskogee, Oklahoma or a new church in Bismark, North Dakota is a little different than a 1200 home master plan or urban infill project in a major market. Make sure they can handle the workload that you will be entrusting them with. Another thing to keep in mind is if their portfolio only shows condo/multifamily and you are developing a single family home project then I would ask to see something similar in scope to your project.

Where does their specialty lie?
If their portfolio shows print renderings only and you are asking them for renderings AND animation keep this in mind………

Number of Images to make up a rendering: = 1
Number of images to make up a 2 minute animation = 3600

A still rendering for print may take anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours to “render” a final image. Therefore if you have a change and need it quickly then not a huge problem for a “Renderings” company. An animation frame can take anywhere between 15 -45 minutes to render. Mutiply that by 30 frames per second of animation, 60 sec per minute and you can see how an unqualified firm might get in over their head quickly. One change in an animation may take several days to render even with a rendering farm of 20 computers……….. If the firm does not have full rendering farm of cpu’s then you are asking for numerous delays and will need to purchase plenty of Aspirin!

Ask about the production process?
Their process should outline when you will approve architecture, when you will see preliminary images for comment, when you will be seeing revised images, how many rounds of comments, what constitutes an extra charge during production etc etc. If this question draws a blank face from the sales person…….RUN! Without a standard production process they simply won’t hit your deadline or any critical dates along the way.

Brad Jaycock, Vice President
Imagenius.com Inc.
888.439.4633

If you are going to go through the time and money to build a website portal to generate advertising revenue then follow up on ALL inquiries or don’t offer the service. I’ve inquired twice via email and twice via phone to BuilderOnline’s new Sponsored Videos on their website without a single response. No wonder their reputation is what it is with the builders. Drives me nuts when companies don’t follow up with their customers.

Note to CSR managers everywhere, if you have a person responsible for exactly this function for your website…test them regularly by sending inquiries through your site. In a time where the public voice has never been so loud, a single experience like mine can cost you more than one lost sale.

Jim Warren, CEO