Now Is The Time.

Finding a great company can be difficult.  By a great company I mean one that offers a great product or service at a great price.  It shouldn’t stop there though.  A great company has the industry expertise to back up what it provides.  Having a great product is great, and expertise in the industry is better but having true quality customer service is even better.

Being able to call any company anymore to speak with a real live person is becoming more and more difficult.  As a society we are beginning to loose our ability to communicate with each other unless we are behind a keyboard.  Reading about the attributes of a product or what a company can do from behind a keyboard is one thing but speaking with a person is another entirely.  If you speak with someone you can tell how excited he/she is about the product.  The enthusiasm you can pick up on through their voice can make you feel much better about your decision.

There are millions of products for sale online.  What really separates them?  Each claims they are the best.  Each claims superb service, try calling the company.  See how willing someone is to speak with you.  How fast do they return your calls if you do get voicemail?  Hell, how fast do they return an email?  Back not so many years ago there were sales persons that sold products…not websites.  Those sales people are still out there.  You can still find them.  A great company has both.  They have sales people as well as a website to back up their products.  

Can you imagine a company that sells the products it makes, made in the USA, at low prices, backed by actual people you can talk to?  A company that will take the time to listen to you the customer not just push a product onto you.  How about a company that will make a product according to what you want and not charge you an arm and a leg for “custom” work?  Think that company doesn’t exist?  Think again…think Northstar Products Inc. 

Pontoon Bimini Top Frames – make the old new again.

So here we are ending another boating season.  This is the time of the year we begin thinking about pulling the boat out, getting it winterized, and start thinking about the next boating season!  It is time to stand back and take a good look at the pontoon boat to see what you want to replace or repair for the next boating season. 

The framework for your bimini top can really take a beating over the season.  Your passengers use it as a handrail to get in and out of your pontoon at the dock and they hold onto it to keep from falling out of the boat as you decide to jump that 3’ rolling wave!  Drinks are spilled and fish are flopped against it.  Your pontoon frame has indeed seen better days.  You really don’t want to buy an whole new frame though.  The only thing you really don’t like about it are the fittings that put it together are all vinyl.  You would really like to have the metal fittings.  Not necessarily stainless but at least the aluminum kind that match the frame and will give pontoon bimini framework a bit more rigidity. 

Replacing your pontoon bimini framework hardware will only take a couple of hours on a rainy (or snowy) winters day.  The first thing you need to do is check out www.northstarproductsinc.com to buy the fittings you need.  Then, when they come in, take your frame apart and replace the fittings.  It may take a little bit of your time to adjust them to get them in the correct location on your frame but the money you will save from not buying a whole new frame will be well worth the time.  Not to mention the money you will save by buying the parts at www.northstarproductsinc.com. 

So now that the fittings are replaced you want to know what works best to buff out your framework to make the actual metal look like new again.  We find that using a stainless steal polish works best even on a satin anodized aluminum.  Rubbing compound works as well but you have to put in a bit more effort with it.  Once you have replaced your fittings and buffed out your frame with some polish and a terry cloth towel, the only thing left to do is wait for the ice and snow to melt and get your pontoon back in the water where it belongs!

Small business in America

I hear a lot of small business owners saying things like "the government bailed out the big guys, what about the small guys?" " What about us?" I say let them keep their bailout money in washington. I know I didn't start my small business with the intention of using government money to survive. I've learned that nothing is free. I prefer to rely on my own inginuity to survive this economic downturn. As any business owner knows - it's not easy. Hell if it was easy everyone would own their own business. At times like these you have to be smart about your expenses and revenues. We are very loyal to our suppliers. Because of that they are being very loyal to us right now. They extend credit to us that they may not to others. Why? Because we have stuck by them over the years and not jumped ship to save a nickel on a dollar. Loyalty. A term that seems to be forgotten now a days. Entreprenuership by definition is risk taking. It is not for the faint hearted. Small business owners must be able to be flexible and creative in times like this. I heard Glenn Beck say on his show that this world doesn't want anything that America can produce. That is complete and utter bologna! We are still the most productive and ingenious people in this world. Small businesses make this country what it is. Our blood, sweat and tears is why we will continue. Treating our customers like family is why we will survive. Supplying the best products available is why we will continue. Not a bailout.