Personal Note for 3rd Quarter 2011

I meant to write my 3rd quarter personal note a few weeks ago when I wouldn’t have been thinking so much about winter. Instead, I’ll have to recalibrate my thoughts and recall what July, August, and September were really like.

Warm thoughts, warm thoughts, warm thoughts…

For the Rudko’s, the summer months were a complete blur. Thanks to my wife—the trooper she is—we managed to get upstate for a small getaway and a few weekend trips.

After all, we had to maintain our sanity as we prepared for the birth of our daughter, Domenica Anna.

Our little Domenica, the princes of the family, was born in August. I’m not sure how some of the other fathers out there might feel, but having a daughter has made me a little nervous.

Raising boys was easy. I knew what to do almost instinctively. I knew which toys they would like, where they would want to go on trips, and how to interact with them when we spent time together.

Unfortunately, I don’t think my daughter would have as much fun cutting the hair off a My Little Pony or getting into gunfights with a Cabbage Patch Doll as I did when I was a kid.

So far she’s been terrific, and I love spending time with her. I probably have some time before I really need to get on my A-game with this, but you know me—I’m always thinking a few steps ahead.

If you have any advice for me, please share it in the comment section!

As for business side of life, I think I can sum up the year already in that the effects of the economy are still punching through new bottoms, just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse.

Some areas in technology have remained stable or are even climbing, but then we see some familiar struggles happen to even a giant like HP. I think it’s fair to say we all worked harder to earn less. It’s times like these we need to reinvent, change our comforts, and be mindful of the “what ifs.”

At AMRCON, we’ve increased our capacities and have begun our policy and protocol rewrites earlier than normal just to make sure we’re staying ahead of the curve. Also, project work took a surprising increase this year compared to the year prior when most businesses were in a purse lock down.

Now is the time to take advantage of technology projects. The large hardware providers are cutting some nice deals and financing is available. IT companies that offer professional services, like AMRCON, can schedule out in advance. This helps us allocate labor and keep overhead costs low, which translates into savings for our clients.

Be sure to share your comments. I hope everyone has a great 4th quarter and close to the year. The next time we talk will be 2012.

Sincerely,

Dee Rudko, CEO