Skateboarding is not an afterthought. For the last few years boarding has lost its skates in the public eye. Skateboarding is not a dead art; in fact it’s more popular than ever. Skaters have new things to do as well. Since surfers that needed something to do when the waves weren’t breaking or the weather was bad turned to “concrete surfing”, the basics of balance, skill and committing to a risk in a moment have been and hopefully will be the ethos that boarding enthusiasts will continue to live by. Today, as many skaters surf, so many snowboard and wake board as well. Its natural progression and the future will bring out crazier and more extremes of board sports for the new breed of athletes who are looking for more than a stick and ball experience. When I was growing up, if you didn’t want to be on the team, whether it was softball, soccer or whatever sport kids and young adults were taking part in at the time, you turned to an individualistic sport. As options were limited, tennis, track and skiing made up the short list. In a nation that has bread teamwork and forced social skill sets, the paradigm has changed and changed in a way that has created different values, goals and interactions for our kids while they grow up. Skateboarding and alternative sports may in fact be a metaphor for the new generation of a progressive society. Participation in individual sports is not for everyone; as there is no set practice to be late for, you really need to get out there and practice and be involved. From there, advancing your skills is mainly up to you and for that reason, the learning curve is what you make of it. Skateboarders and other one-participant sports love that aspect of these activities which leaves them in charge of their own future. Studies have shown that kids growing up without team related activities, who take part in sports like skateboarding, surfing and motocross were more likely to lead and less likely to succumb to peer pressures.

Like all sports, gear is essential and to think that a skateboard is a piece of wood with some wheels on it is just going to piss off skateboarders. If you’re a skateboarder, you know what I mean. As with all industries, skateboard manufacturers spend lots of time and money researching and developing new ways to make boards, trucks and wheels more durable, lighter and less expensive, in an attempt to increase their performance and help riders further the sport. Skateboard shops are not such fringe retailers anymore. Today the sale of boards and accessories still makes up a good portion of their revenues; however, many are expanding their product lines to include other extreme sports that are loosely linked to the skate scene. It’s not uncommon to see snowboards, bmx bikes and wakeboard equipment next to decks and trucks when you walk into your local shop anymore. Merchants see the trends and are preparing themselves for the next new rage. Remember, you used to buy your skateboards in a surf shop. Skateboarding is not going anywhere; however skateboarding is a sensation activity and skaters will look outside skating for a new rush. Consequently, skaters who haven’t picked it up as quickly or get sick of skating will try the next like sport quickly, and repeat until they find one that works for their lifestyle and natural ability. Shop owners need to be ready for everything. Their shops operate mainly on a walk-in basis; however, many operate websites to serve customers worldwide. A merchant account is a necessary evil, or is it. The terms that banks offer merchants is often an unreasonable proposition that they deal with but don’t have to. Merchant service providers can help small shop owners like skate shops and the like to better their situation. Getting good discount rates on credit card processing is available if you look for it. A good place to start is online. Look up merchant service provider if you’re interested.

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We don’t mean that literally or even that you should be watching The Hills on MTV, but let’s just talk about your money or lack of it in today’s economy. It’s hard to find a starting point and even harder to pinpoint where the end to our fiscal woes is going to be and when. The sad state of affairs we call our economy probably started after September eleventh, unfortunately. This isn’t intended to unite, divide or cause alarm to anyone, but every now and then, we need to put back into perspective what our wants and needs are in reference to the dollars that we do have. As I’m no economist, I can only offer an objective view on what I do see every day and what I see on the news; sometimes these two views of American life contrast sharply.

Today, we all pay more for the things we need as well as the things we want. Not a winning proposition; in fact that is the heart of our frustration. Essentially, our wants are drowned out by the need to partake in crazy activities like driving to work and school and eating food. A lot of this is created by the rise in oil prices. When it costs a manufacturer more to produce goods and deliver them to you. We’ll work backwards from here. Increased manufacturing and transportation prices are more of a result of our weak economy. Being in a recession, everyone cuts back, consumers are fickle which makes it difficult for manufacturers and retailers to predict what it is that they are going to buy. What makes it almost funny is that as Americans, we tend to buy things we want and skimp on, borrow or neglect purchasing the things we need. That’s why, when they say that consumer confidence is low, it’s almost all our fault. Another factor that is interchangeable with consumer confidence and increased prices on goods and services is unemployment. With manufacturing costs being high in America, manufacturers have turned to Asia, namely China to produce whole products or some of the parts that make up “American Made” products, putting Americans out of work. It’s easy to see the next step backwards is that those people with no or limited income, feel the crunch more than everyone. Before all of this started, the housing crunch began. This was a result of people taking full advantage of their bank prequalification letters, in my opinion. You all know what I mean, for years prequalification letters gave home buyers an estimate on what they could afford based on their credit score and debt to income ratio; for a while approvals were fast and loose on those guidelines. Yes, the catch was that they had to take an adjustable rate mortgage. Who’s to blame? Is the banking industry to blame for creating such a financial product or consumers for agreeing to pay massive mortgage payments? Looking back further, I find it comical to think that those people just needed a nice house with a nice driveway to park their nice car in that they could afford only because they got it at zero percent interest. Why did that happen? I remember about seven years ago, no one spent a dime; in fact we all thought the sky was falling and hoarded our money. That was until we could buy a turbo diesel one ton pick-up truck for $450 a month. I guess we can’t blame the auto industry for our woes, but taking our current situation into consideration, it’s really clear that (and I’m sorry to say) many of the issues we fact today, we have indirectly created for ourselves by making poor and hasty purchasing decisions in our past.

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Organic produce has worked its way from a nonsensical luxury to a fringe health craze to the mainstay of the fruit and vegetable industry. Once, when farms were being forced to shut down, the farmers chose to grow organic produce to supplement their incomes. In rural areas, farmers offered co-op markets where mostly local residents could pay an annual upfront fee and visit the market once or twice a week to pick up a predetermined amount of organic produce for their families. In many cases this type of business became more than a supplement than a sideline; farmers were now able to forecast crops, have working capital to run their farms and even grow the size of their farms which in most cases makes them more competitive in terms of harvest size which can lower their market price, bring a quality product, organic or non-organic to consumers in the super market and make room for new types of crops.

Today, the produce section at the super market is comprised of twenty to thirty percent organic fruits and vegetables. The pricing is becoming more in line with non-organic produce; as well, the selection and quality is much better than it was even a couple years ago. With the supermarkets purchasing organic produce in mass quantities, some farms are converting all of their crops and facilities to strictly organic. Like most good ideas whose time has come, small farmers markets, roadside stands and co-ops have all but disappeared, and it’s easy to see the reason the minute you walk into your local grocery store. Bringing products, especially produce to market is becoming harder than ever; with the cost of fuel ever on the rise, farmers can only afford to produce in mass quantities. To add insult to injury, the pricing is not in line with the buying in mass quantity school of thought that we are used to when making a purchase. Super markets prices are through the roof totally defeating the purpose of farmers increasing production and to bring their products to market cheaper. In reality, the only people winning at this game are trucking companies, if they can win at anything these days? We all know that truckers are bearing the brunt of the oil crisis in America; what we mean is that perishable items need to be replenished which fosters a need to keep the trucks running, that is all.

What is a farmer to do? Do they increase crop sizes, lower costs of harvest and eventually go out of business, while large super market chains and pessimistic futures investors systematically grease the pole that farm owners are sliding down? Some farm owners are getting back to basics or downsizing crops and reopening their roadside markets and co-ops. What they’ve found is that this doesn’t cut into their newly grown business and reinvigorates the local need for quality produce. Co-ops, farmers markets and corner produce stands have always been a cash business. Maybe some people like it that way, but today, Americans are carrying around a lot less cash. Even, for a farmer to have a merchant account so that they could accept credit cards at their stands can help grow their business more. Naturally, credit cards create a buy now pay later mind set; while it’s not always an ideal way to live, it tends to bridge the gap between consumers and consumables. For farmers or operators of farm markets, this can be the difference between a ten dollar sale and forty dollar sale. For small businesses like them, merchant service providers can be most helpful. Dealing with small businesses and being in touch with those new to processing is what sets them apart from the rest of the pack. If you don’t know to get in touch with a merchant service provider, you can find one on the internet.

For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit http://www.stradafee.com.