It is 2011 and with that brings another great year to grow and prosper.
With the help of my management team and mentors, we decided in 2010 to take a different direction with Hybrid Homes. Ultimately, this had a great effect for the other builders who were waiting for Hybrid Homes to step off the fast lane. They are now handling the work that Hybrid Homes passed on and we couldn't be happier. I hope they find the joy in it that I did and that they are doing it for more than just the money that comes along with it..
The goal of Hybrid Homes from the beginning was to change an industry that was refusing to change. We helped create a demand for a greener home and the fact that other builders have stepped up to build a greener home is a major accomplishment for everyone that took part in this wild adventure.
Hybrid Homes is still alive and kicking, but with the taxes that small business is forced to pay in Michigan, we have found that we can have a wider impact through nationwide consulting and building cutting edge homes. Homes that are always ahead of the curve. The result has been very favorable on Hybrid Homes debt load, which was increasing by the day due to a number of variables.
Hybrid Homes saw a friend and fellow team member go out of business. We saw that same possibility for us here, but we were able to pull back on the reins, and keep control of our business with no customers getting hurt or losing money. I am happy to report, that our time on the Earth Shelter Project has allowed the company to fight its way back into a positive situation.
It is safe to say, that Hybrid Homes will never return to building multiple homes at once. That was never in our business plan, and is something that happened as a result of me not being able to say no. Also, there was a lot of pressure on the business to keep the subs working and others who were finding it hard to get work without Hybrid Homes drumming up the work.
The goal for Hybrid Homes was and will always be to build the most cutting edge houses for the advancement of the industry. The goal has never been to make everyone else happy, only to build homes to gather research on.
Hybrid Homes began as a company that was to gain research from each house it built. That happened. Every house that was and is built by Hybrid Homes has extensive journaling and reports on them as to how they perform and what it took to build them. This information is currently being compiled into a book so that everyone can have this information.
The videos that my team has put together on the Earth Shelter Project Michigan have been viewed by people in 77 different countries around the world and by tens of thousands of people each month. The move to create a documentary of the Earth Shelter Project Michigan began many months ago and is going well. We are moving into the post productions stage. Hybrid Homes is not part of this venture, only me and the production team.
The question that I get asked quite a bit is: "Will Hybrid Homes build any more homes?" As leader of the company, I would love to give a definate yes, but I really can't at this point because I am not sure how busy my team will be as we consult around the country and make a move to get on television. I am actively seeking a new management team to run Hybrid Homes and that would give us an answer of yes, we will build more homes.
It will be very tough to top the Earth Shelter Project. Projects like these do not come along very often, and since we are pouring everything we have into this project, I am afraid that I won't be able to find a project that will push me to the limits like this project has. I have many oppurtunities in life and after putting up with what I have over the last 5 years, the thought of putting myself back into a bad position is not very alluring.
There were several rumors flying around about me. Some are true and some are not, I encourage anyone who has a question about any of the rumors to email me and I will set the record straight. The best thing that I ever did was get off the fast lane and 'disappear'. I predicted that the press and impact of the Earth Shelter Project would be ten fold of what it was for the Onekama Project. The impact has already been incredible and on track to be the most ground breaking and incredible residential project ever. Secretly, we are building the company up to handle the the impact of when we release the Earth Shelter Project to the public. We will enter this project in for awards, and better yet, there will be opportunities to come to the Earth Shelter Project to see why I have changed my thought process on sustainability. It's not just a home, or recycling, its everything. The Earth Shelter Project will introduce people to the term '
symbiosis' and why this term is so important to a sustainable life. Stay tuned..
Thank you to everyone who continues to follow our progress. I had the best year of my life in 2010 and I am doing all I can to have a better year in 2011. I wish everyone success and that you may find symbiosis in your own lives...
