T. Have Eker says that the slow economy may not be what is holding us back from building wealth.

The smART discussion groups continues with next week’s discussion about Eker’s book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind.  We will meet next Wednesday, May 23 from 11:30 am – 1 pm at Buffalo Wild Wings at the Central exit / North service rd. on Airport Freeway.  Lunch is Dutch treat.

I read the book and attended the author’s seminar Millionaire Mind Intensive (MMI), last year. It was a life-changing experience.  This seminar is returning to Dallas June 1-3 and will be held at the Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel.  Come and see what’s it’s all about, get some inspiration you can put to work right now, and decide if you want to take the next step by signing up to attend the next MMI in Dallas*!

In our quest to learn and practice  the ART of Sales and Marketing, we have assembled a ga fantastic group of peers attending these monthly discussions.  We hope you will join us on Wednesday.

 Books discussed as part of this series can be ordered on through the buildingsavvy.com bookstore.  Don’t worry if you don’t have time to read the book before you come–

Just come, learn and share…

the ART of Selling and earning More!

 Register for next Wednesday’s event

*  If you’ve read the book and are ready to sign up for the MMI in Dallas, I can offer you the seminar with Premium Seating package FREE.  This is package is valued at $995 and includes premium seating, a 165-page workbook, an autographed edition of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, and the Secrets of the Rich 10-CD collection.

Register for MMI using this special code, then enter the special code PS2012.

The Prairie style originated in Chicago in the early 20th century and spread throughout the suburbs and other large midwestern cities. The style quickly faded after World War I, but was most popular in the years between 1900 and 1920.

A group of unusually creative architects, such as Frank Lloyd Wright, were the main developers of this unique style. Those architects were known as the Prairie School. Wright is acknowledged as the “master of Prairie house.” His 1893 Winslow House was possibly the first known Prairie house. Most of the other Prairie architects either worked with Wright, or worked with his earlier employer and
teacher, Louis Sullivan. Other architects were inspired over the years by Wright’s and Sullivan’s designs while visiting Chicago.

Although originating in Chicago, many Prairie style houses in their vernacular form spread widely throughout the country by pattern books published in the Midwest. Many elements from Prairie style were resurrected when Ranch style initially began during the 1930′s. These elements can still be seen in some American homes built today.

This single living area home includes 5 Bedrooms, 5
1/2 Bathrooms, and a 3-Car Garage. The First Floor
plan features a Game Room located directly off of
the Gallery with its own fireplace and Terrace that
overlooks the front. The large Master Suite also has
its own Private Terrace and fireplace, as well as a
spacious Bathroom and His and Her Closets that
access the Utility room. The Family Room, Casual
Dining, and Kitchen are open to each other. The
Formal Dining Room, just beyond the Butler Pantry,
and has an abundance of natural light from the tall
casement windows in front.

The Second Floor includes 3 Bedrooms, 3 full
Bathrooms, and a Playroom.

This original Prairie house was designed by Heritage Design Studio and is available  for purchase. If you are interested in seeing this or other unique designs, please visit:

www.HeritageDesignStudio.com
Or contact Chris Hough (email: chris@HeritageDesignStudio.com)

Join the ASID Fort Worth Design Community for Vendor Night:   Design & Construction Tradeshow and Networking Event.

This event is being held at Diamond Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth on Thursday, April 12, 2012, from 6:00pm-8:00pm.  Open to all industry professionals.  Bring your clients too!

More information and registration.

Building SAVVY Magazine publishers, Beverly & Steve Smirnis, recently produced a commemorative photobook about the design and construction of a completely remodeled home in Bluffview built for  Dallas-based mega entrepreneur Phil Romano and his wife, Lillie.

Click here to view the book.  Just click PREVIEW on the cover and then after it loads, be sure to click on the enlarge icon in the lower right corner underneath it for viewing.

Featured in the book:

Tim Fox

While Tim Fox started in residential construction with his father, the majority of his career has been focused almost entirely on commercial construction.  His specialty and expertise in restaurants earned the Construction Management/General Contractor firm of Gilmon Fox a long and fruitiful relationship with Romano.  So when Romano spotted the property that would eventually become his new residence, he would settle for no less than working with a team that had proven itself to him time and time again.

Bart Richardson, North Texas Design

Under careful supervision of Bart Richardson of North Texas Design, the front drive at the Romano residience was painstakingly scored to look like large tiles and then sand blasted to give a worn and rustic look.

Randy Welborn, Complete Restaurant Services

Complete Restaurant Services has installed products in some of the most influential dining concepts throughout the country including work in many of Phil Romano’s commercial establishments.  While CRS’s scope of work doesn’t normally include residential construction, when Romano asked his friend Randy Welborn to build the stainless steel cabinetry in both his new home and his previous residence, he was honored to perform the work.

Outdoor lighting by Illuminations by Greenlee

Since its establishment in 1966, Illuminations by Greenlee has designed, installed and serviced exterior lighting systems for more than 6,000 clients locally, nationally and internationally.  As the expert in its highly specialized field, Illuminations by Greenlee considers its work an art form.  For the Romano project, owner Todd Cormier explains how the use of “moon pulse” light creates a cool color effect that contrasts with the warm light coming from inside of the house to dramatically highlight the bold colors of the contemporary art sculptures.

Tom Massey, UrbanTurf

The artistry of Tom Massey and his skilled team at UrbanTurf are to thank for creating a field at the Romano residence that rivals any professional field in the world in terms of performance and durability.  While most of Massey’s work around the state is commercial, the residential market is also discovering the benefits of turf products. Clients like Romano looking to provide the ultimate sporting field or golf green at home have sought out UrbanTurf as Texas’ premier SyntheticTurf dealer.  Beyond the benefits of sports recreation, imagine a perfect lawn all-year-round without the constant upkeep–no water, no fertilizer and no mowing, no matter how many kids, pets and adults play on it.

Every year, automakers unveil vehicles with innovative designs, cutting edge technological advancements, increased safety features and improved performance. And what better venue to peruse the hundreds of models that are in dealerships now and those that are bound for showrooms in the near future than the 2012 DFW Auto Show in Dallas, March 21-25 at the Dallas Convention Center.

“This is one of the most popular annual events in the Metroplex,” said Don Herring, Jr., chairman of the 2012 DFW Auto Show in Dallas. “It’s obviously the best place to be if you’re in the market for a new car, truck or SUV, but the Auto Show also is just good old-fashioned fun.”

Energy efficient continues to be the “buzz phrase” at the DFW Auto Show this year with many manufacturers highlighting their hybrids, all-electric and low emissions vehicles such as Ford’s 2013 C-Max Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), Chevrolet’s 2012 Volt, Audi’s Q7 and A3 TDI vehicles, Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, Nissan LEAF and many more.

In addition to an impressive lineup of 2012s, including the all-new Fiat Abarth and all-new Range Rover Evoque, manufacturers are looking toward the future with a variety of 2013 models including: Audi A5 and A8L; Buick Encore; Cadillac ATS and XTS; Chevrolet Malibu and Spark; Dodge Dart; Ford Mustang GT500, Escape, Taurus SHO, Fusion EcoBoost and Focus ST; GMC Acadia; Hyundai Veloster Turbo; Infiniti JX and Mazda CX-5.

An expanded Ride & Drive event will take place at Lot E (the old Reunion Arena Parking Lot) where Show visitors will have the opportunity to get behind the wheel of some of their favorite cars, trucks and SUVS from Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Jeep, Hyundai, Kia, Ram, Subaru and Volkswagen.

The DFW Auto Show in Dallas also is bringing community awareness to the Show this year as it joins forces with the North Texas Food Bank for “Fuel Up North Texas”. On Saturday only, visitors are invited to donate one can of food for a $2 discount off of a $12 admission. According to the North Texas Food Bank, items most needed include: peanut butter, tuna, beans and canned ham.  In addition, members of the Dallas Fort Worth Metropolitan New Car Dealers Association (DFW NCDA) are taking part in a Dealership Challenge with a goal of donating 3,000 cans of food to the organization.

New to the Show this year is Kids’ Day, sponsored by Univision. This one-day event on Saturday, March 24 will feature local companies, organizations and entertainment outlets that cater towards children. Univision will be on location along with an expert to discuss the safe installation of children’s car safety seats. Certified safety seats also will be given away during the presentations. The Dallas Police Department will provide a fingerprinting service for children. Other participants include the Dallas Zoo, Fossil Rim and Crew Kids.

Hours of the show are: 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, March 21 and 22; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 23 and 24; and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, March 25. Tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for senior citizens 65 and older, and children 12 and under are admitted free. $1 discount coupons are available at participating franchised new car dealerships. For more information, visit dallasautoshow.com

Your potential buyers are everywhere you are… and everywhere you aren’t.  Experts David Yates, Mike Snyder, Elaine Bartlett and Leslie Blandford-Akins will drag you into this millennium and help you understand, adopt and implement a modern, mobile marketing plan that fits your budget and reaches your potential and current clients where they are… wherever that may be.  *Please bring your mobile devices to this seminar, especially iOS devices as they can/will be utilized during this seminar.

The program includes:

• Understanding the terms and the technology
• The mobile web
• Native mobile apps
• Geoppurtunities
• Mobile social media
• Mobile media
• Text/SMS/WAP
• Mobile devices in your workflow
• Much more 

Do you need to attend? Take this quiz to find out:

Pinterest drives more referral traffic than….

A. Google +

B. LinkedIn

C. Twitter

D. Google +, LinkedIn and YouTube combined

QUIZ ANSWER

If you answered either C or D – you’re correct.  If you asked yourself “What’s Pinterest?” then it’s time you considered purchasing an iPhone!

Register for this FREE Seminar

Thursday, April 5, 2012

12 noon – 1:30 PM

Lunch is Included!

Mike Garabedian will lead a  discussion about the book “The Outliers”  Order it today from Amazon for only $10.  For your convenience, you can order at the buildingsavvy.com bookstore.    Find The Outliers on the 2nd page of our e-store.  (click on the cover for more info on its content)

Join us Wednesday, March 28

11:30 am – 1 pm

Buffalo Wild Wings
1933 W. Airport Frwy
Bedford, TX 76021

No Charge for the Event.  Lunch is Dutch Treat.

Register

We are pleased to announce the launch of savvytrucksandtoys.com, our new website dedicated exclusively to car reviews and suggested road trips for driving the latest and best new vehicles!  We’ll keep reviewing the trucks and toys in Building SAVVY that we feel builders will be most interested in, and the website will allow us to provide you with all the latest news on even more vehicles.  If you’re thinking of making an investment in a new car, be sure to check out the new Facebook page for it and press “Like” so you know when we’ve posted something new.

Today, Ram Truck announced it will become the only manufacturer in North America to offer a factory-built compressed natural gas-powered (CNG) pickup truck.

The Ram 2500 Heavy Duty CNG pickup is designed for fleet and commercial customers and offers cost and emissions benefits, using an abundant, domestically sourced fuel while reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil.

“Commercial customers are extremely important to Ram Truck,” said Fred Diaz, Ram Truck President and CEO Ram Truck Brand and Chrysler de Mexico – Chrysler Group LLC. ”Adding a hard-working, fully capable CNG-powered truck to the Ram lineup makes a lot of sense – both economically and environmentally.”

“Our commercial fleet customers have been asking us to build a CNG powered Ram,” said Peter Grady, Vice President, Network Development and Fleet – Chrysler Group LLC. “These fleets have already developed their own fleet fueling infrastructure for CNG, and are strong proponents of the technology.”

Bi-fuel
The Ram HD CNG is powered by the 5.7-liter HEMI® V-8 and features both compressed gas storage tanks and an 8-gallon gasoline fuel tank. Canadian customers can opt for a 35-gallon gasoline tank.

“Compressed natural gas is a widely accepted fuel in the U.S., Europe and Asia,” said Robert E. (Bob) Lee, Vice President and Head of Engine and Electrified Propulsion Engineering — Chrysler Group LLC. “As a fuel, CNG is readily available, well-suited to run in our 5.7-liter HEMI engine and is clean-burning with a low environmental impact. In fact, CNG demonstrates a reduction of 70 to 90 percent of smog-producing pollutants and significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Ram’s 5.7-liter HEMI bi-fuel engine has been modified to run on compressed natural gas as well as gasoline. Redesigned cylinder heads with specifically designed CNG compatible valves and valve-seat materials allow the engine to burn both fuels. It also gets a second, CNG-specific fuel rail and set of injectors. New spark plugs improve combustion and durability, and a new powertrain control module allows the HEMI to seamlessly operate on either of the two fuel sources.

The Ram 2500 CNG system was fully engineered and tested by Chrysler Group and assembled at the company’s Heavy Duty truck plant in Saltillo, Mexico.

In use, the system is automatic; eliminating operator switches altogether and utilizes either CNG or gasoline, transitioning from one to the other with little discernible difference in operation or capability.

Although a small amount of gasoline is used during engine startup, the Ram CNG runs exclusively on compressed natural gas. If the CNG tanks are emptied, the vehicle will automatically switch to gasoline.

In addition to a conventional gasoline fuel gauge, a second CNG-specific gauge sits adjacent to it in the instrument cluster.

CNG-only range is estimated to be 255 miles, while the backup supply of gasoline extends the range to 367 total miles.

The Ram 2500 Heavy Duty CNG’s two ultra-strong 4.6 cu.-ft. (130-liter) CNG tanks are located in the forward portion of the Ram’s 8-foot pickup bed. Both tanks are mounted to the frame and covered by a painted 50 ksi high-strength steel cover. The CNG filler connection is located next to the gasoline fuel neck, accessed through the Ram’s fuel filler door.

The CNG tanks provide a gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) of 18.2 gallons.

GGEs are calculated as having the same energy equivalent as one gallon of gasoline. CNG sold at filling stations in the U.S. is priced in dollars per GGE. A gasoline gallon equivalent of CNG is approximately 14.5 liters at 3600 psi.

At current prices, which are generally $1.25 less than the gallon equivalent of gasoline, CNG promises significant cost savings over the life of the truck.

Capability
With  1,580 lbs. of payload, 4-ft.-8-in. usable bed length and 7,650 lbs. of towing capability, the Ram 2500 CNG retains its heavy-duty capability: competent towing, payload hauling and outstanding acceleration for highway merging and passing.

Remodelers, GCs , window contractors, siding contractors, painting contractors, electricians, HVAC contractors, roofers, restoration firms, masons, interior designers:

Did that job finally come through and you still need to take your EPA Lead Renovator Certification?

Many of you  already took the Lead Renovator certification course, but we have had some people asking about it lately, so we are offering it once again:

The Rule:  Residential construction companies who work on single and multi-family properties built before 1978 must register and certify their company and designated employees with the EPA. Significant fines can be levied against any firm doing work on these homes without having the proper registration and certifications on file with the EPA. This rule applies to any trade that disturbs areas known to have lead paint on the interior or exterior of a pre-1978 property.