Wed, 10 Feb 2010 07:42:06 -0600 http://www.ocibr.com/ Cleaner News @ OCIBR.com en-us http://www.ocibr.com/images/logo.gif http://www.ocibr.com/ ocibr@yahoo.com http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=233 If you are new to the Internet, you may want to get your feet wet by creating a free website; however, it may be better for you to begin by having your own website hosted. How to choose? Wed, 10 Feb 2010 07:42:06 -0600 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=232 Queensboro is waiving the 4 piece minimum and would like to give you a FREE shirt with your logo! This free sample Queensboro shirt, embroidered with your logo is a two ply pima jersey classic polo. Available in white, navy, burgundy, black, royal, hunter green, red, island blue, heathered grey, and grass green. Solid, substantial and soft. Jersey is a very "flat" stitch and gives maximum contact between the fiber and the skin. When that fiber is ringspun, combed 100% Pima cotton, you experience a whole new level of comfort. Pima is the softest, silkiest and strongest cotton on the planet! We've used this luxurious cotton to create a polo specifically designed for office wear. The professional cut was engineered to help you make it through those long office hours and still look good at the end of the day. Features include a ribbed knit collar, taped neck, and classic two-button placket. Once you experience the long-lasting pleasure of wearing a pima jersey polo, you'll never want to wear an ordinary, department store polo again! http://www.queensboro.com/ref/ECEMCCCQMRB Thu, 07 Jan 2010 08:54:14 -0600 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=231 It’s here again, the time of year filled with hope and promise of a New Year filled with Health, Happiness & Prosperity. The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot. I can’t think of a better time to reflect on your business than right now. Re-focus and re-commit yourself to make 2010 your best year. The beautiful thing about our business and our industry is that each one of you will determine the level to which you want to take you business. It really boils down to investment of time, personal focus and consistency of effort. The question is, where do you want to be this time next year? Now is the time to make the changes and commitment necessary to become a leader and to make 2010 your year. Happy New Year and all the best of Health and Wealth Andrechelle & Mark Cermak Andrechelle.com | OCIBR.com Andrechelle.com knows websites and Internet Marketing systems that work to help small businesses like yours. If you have any questions, contact us anytime. Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:42:17 -0600 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=230 Intuit has introduced the QuickBooks 2010 financial software. With its new online capabilities, QuickBooks 2010 delivers valuable features to help your carpet cleaning businesses save and make money, such as an e-mail marketing service to attract new customers. For millions, QuickBooks is an essential part of their business. Nearly 70 percent of small businesses recently surveyed say the financial management software helps their business be more profitable. “In a tough economy, small business owners scramble for every dollar. That’s why we’re focused on delivering bottom line value when it really matters,” said Kiran Patel, executive vice president and general manager of Intuit’s Small Business Group. “QuickBooks 2010 builds on the strength of past versions by continuing to streamline critical accounting tasks and connecting to new online services to meet small business owners’ varied needs.” QuickBooks Pro and Premier 2010 feature the all-new Intuit App Center, providing users access to scalable, Software-as-a-Service business applications directly from within QuickBooks. Currently more than 25 applications are available, including a service that helps track and manage marketing campaigns and sales leads to maximize profits. All applications offer free trials, and many work directly with QuickBooks data, extending the value of the information and eliminating the need for double data entry. Other new features in QuickBooks 2010 include an improved Company Snapshot, giving the small business owner a tailored visual overview of how business is performing, and Intuit Check Solutions, which allows small business owners to scan or key in checks for immediate deposit. Save Time In a recent survey, QuickBooks users said they save an average of four hours per week managing their business finances compared to their previous method. An array of new features help small businesses save precious time by making important jobs and key tasks easier than ever, giving entrepreneurs more time to focus on their business, so that they can spend less time on their bookkeeping. New and improved time-saving features include: Express Install: A new productinstallation option cuts the number of startup steps in half. Add/Edit Multiple List Entries: Users can save time by editing multiple long lists of items, customers, or vendors, rather than edit each item individually. They can also copy and paste data into QuickBooks directly from Excel with a simple key stroke, eliminating the unnecessary steps of inputting the data directly. Forms Customization: More customization options, including free professional design templates for commonly used forms such as invoices and estimates, give QuickBooks users the ability to apply the same design to multiple forms at once. Those who want help designing a unique look can connect with a community of professional designers through Intuit Creative Solutions. “The Add/Edit Multiple List Entries features is one of the greatest updates I have seen in years,” said Christine Bailey, owner of Small Office Solutions in Daphne, Ala. “It is so much easier to add customers, vendors and items, all at one time versus going into each one and saving and then adding the next one. Wow, what a time saver!” Make Money QuickBooks 2010 also helps small business owners gain valuable insights into how their business is performing so that they can make better decisions and increase profitability. New features to help customers improve their bottom line include: Company Snapshot: QuickBooks users can now create a customized report to display on their computer screen, getting an immediate view of their company’s bottom line. Previously, the Company Snapshot was a static view that could not be personalized. Users can choose from several reports, including new ones for yearly expenses and income comparisons, detailed expense and income breakdowns, and a top customer list. Plus, the reports can be changed instantly. Report Center: This radically re-designed report center gives users access to more than 100 reports and makes it easier to find the right report in order to make better business decisions. Different views make it easier to navigate quickly between reports. These include a carousel view to flip through the reports, a list view to see all reports at once, and a ‘favorites’ view to keep track of frequently used reports. A new search feature helps users find the report with the specific information they want. “The new Company Snapshot gives you great information at the click of a button,” said Debbie Kirkland, president of Kirkland Services in Christmas Valley, Ore. “This is a great place to go to pinpoint problem areas or to just determine your strengths and weaknesses within your company.” Do More with Connected Services Building on Intuit’s Connected Services Strategy announced last year, QuickBooks connects to several new online services that enable small businesses to extend the power of their information already in QuickBooks: Document Management: Users can now scan their documents directly into QuickBooks, attaching files to any vendor, employee, account, or transaction. These documents are stored securely online, giving users the flexibility to access them on the go or share them with their accountant or other employees. Online storage also provides confidence that important paperwork is backed up online and will be easy to find. Intuit Check Solutions for QuickBooks: Offered as an add-on service through Intuit Payment Solutions,small businesses can get paid faster by scanning or keying checks into QuickBooks and electronically sending that information to the bank. Marketing Center: This e-mail marketing service helps QuickBooks users sell more by helping them design targeted e-mail campaigns. The professional quality designs and pre-filled templates can be customized based on a company’s business needs. The service, currently in beta, also enables users to see how each campaign performed by analyzing the results with data from QuickBooks. App Center: Users now have access to additional Web-based business applications created by Intuit or members of the Intuit Developer Network, a group of independent software developers, to further expand the value of QuickBooks. Applications include the Intuit Green Snapshot, which uses businesses’ QuickBooks data to show them how to be more environmentally-friendly while saving money, and Fuel Station from ClickFuel, which helps track and manage marketing campaigns and sales leads while synchronizing customer information with QuickBooks. “With the Marketing Center, you can notify customers, solicit new business, get repeat business, send thank you emails and more, all with one click,” said Danielle Lonich, office manager of Clements & Knock Law Firm in Pleasant Hill, Calif. “It’s a very simple, great service that will simplify my life.” Intuit also launched the new version of QuickBooks Premier Accountant, the company’s premier bookkeeping, write-up and financial reporting solution for accounting professionals. The latest edition provides tools for accounting professionals to help increase productivity create seamless integration with clients and expand their practices. Improved features include: Client Data Review: Accounting professionals can now troubleshoot inventory and reclassify hundreds of transactions or write off multiple invoices in batch. Intuit Statement Writer: Users can now create Microsoft Word-based letters, cover pages and documents in financial reports to produce a complete, polished financial statement package for their clients. Pricing and Availability QuickBooks 2010 products are available direct from Intuit at www.quickbooks.com and will be available beginning Oct. 7 at leading retailers, including Amazon.com, Best Buy, CDW, Circuit City, Costco, Fry’s Electronics, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Sam’s Club, Staples, Target and Wal-Mart. Buy QuickBooks 2010 Pro @ Amazon QuickBooks Premier Industry Editions 2010 QuickBooks 2010 for Mac QuickBooks 2010 The Official Guide   Suggested retail prices are: Intuit QuickBooks Accounting Pro Edition 2009: $199.95. Intuit QuickBooks Accounting Premier Edition 2009 (including industry-specific editions for accountants, contractors, manufacturers and wholesalers, nonprofits, professional service firms and retailers): $399.95. QuickBooks 2010 is part of a family of financial software and services from Intuit. Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:17:24 -0600 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=229 At Andrechelle.com, we get a lot of requests for us to guarantee #1 Google rank. We also receive the same spam emails and telemarketing calls that you do, from one "expert" or another who promises to make our website #1 in Google. There are a ton of companies out there looking to make a quick buck from unsuspecting business people who don't understand the complexities of getting to the first page of Google and why it is not possible for anyone to guarantee #1 results for you. Is it possible for anyone to guarantee #1 spot in Google or other Search Engines?The short answer is NO. Why? The easiest way to answer this question is to quote Google directly ... From Google Webmaster Central No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google. "Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google. There is no priority submit for Google. In fact, the only way to submit a site to Google directly is through our Add URL page or by submitting a Sitemap ... While SEOs can provide clients with valuable services, some unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to manipulate search engine results in unfair ways. Practices that violate our guidelines may result in a negative adjustment of your site's presence in Google, or even the removal of your site from our index. " There are no SEO professionals, website optimization experts or Internet Marketing specialists that can guarantee you #1 position results on Google or any other search engine for that matter. In fact you should be very weary of WebMasters or SEO pro's that do offer these sort of guarantees. It is simply not possible or legitimate to offer #1 position guarantees for any type of organic SEO on any type of website on any search engine (least of all Google). Good search engine optimization relies on optimum on-page and off-page optimization. There are too many variables to make any these types of guarantees. Although we cannot guarantee positions on Google (or any other search engine) we can assure you that we always aim for the very best results with all of our SEO, Internet Marketing and Search Engine Domination packages and our higher end packages will certainly help ensure more prominent results even for tougher and more competitive search phrases. We have a long proven track record of achieving #1 and other 1st page rankings for thousands of keyword search terms. Sample of Organic Website Search Engine Results by Andrechelle.com Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:59:04 -0600 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=228 FREE Website & Blog for YOUR Carpet Cleaning Business Compliments of Andrechelle.com iCleanYourCarpet About to Launch! Sign Up NOW!! Finally after months and months of set up and testing (thank you beta testers), iCleanYourCarpet is officially opening on Jan 1st 2010. Although you can get in on the action early by registering your account today – most features are up and running so get building! iCleanYourCarpet is a website & blog service exclusively for carpet cleaning business owners compliments of Andrechelle.com. The features in our members area reflect this and we have lots of future plans as well! Official public release was delayed, a few months longer than expected, due to technical issues and time constraints. Any questions please e-mail ocibr AT yahoo.com or check Club Greenhorn Carpet Cleaners Chat room Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:44:35 -0500 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=227 Las Vegas - The LMCCA (Low Moisture Carpet Cleaners Association) becomes an IICRC shareholder. The LMCCA is a strong and vocal advocate of the IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification), including many LMCCA members that are IICRC Instructors, IICRC Master Textile Cleaners, and IICRC Certified Cleaning technicians, it makes perfect sense for the LMCCA to have ownership shares in the IICRC. Andrechelle Cermak signs the documents to make it official at the LMCCA Board of Directors meeting Sept 10 at Connections in Las Vegas NV. Also pictured IICRC Chairman Paul Pearce and LMCCA President Mark Warner. Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:20:00 -0500 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=226 SummerFest XI Updated Schedule Oct 1- 3 2009 Atlanta, Georgia Thursday Oct 1, 2009 8:00-5:00 IICRC OCT Certification class - Odor-SF Special ONLY $89 @ Truckmounts & Cleaning Solutions Norcross GA 30071 6:00 Dinner @ Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen 7:00- 11:00 pm Meeting Room - Friday Oct 2, 2009 9:00am - 1:00pm Carpet Mill Tour - - Shaw Carpet Mill and Labs 1:30pm - 3:00pm PTL Tour - - Tour the independent accredited laboratory (Professional Testing Lab) and see how and where the CRI Seal of Approval Program testing takes place. ANNUAL FRIDAY NIGHT BANQUET 6:00pm Annual SummerFest Friday Night Banquet - The cost is 40.00 per person. The deadline for the banquet is Sept 20th, so please, if you are thinking of attending, please reserve your seat ASAP. Saturday Oct 3 2009 @ Truckmounts & Cleaning Solutions Norcross GA 30071 9:00am to 9:30am - Thomas Cermak - How networking with other cleaners can help your business 9:30am to 10:00am - Cary Mitchell - Shaw / CRI 10:00am to 11:00am - Bruce DeLoatch - The Cleaners Coach 11:00am to 11:30am - Annual Round Table - Nominate locations for 2010 SummerFest XII 10:30am - 11:30am - Presentation TBA 11:30am - 1:00pm - Lunch - @ Five Guys Burgers and Fries 1:00pm - 2:00pm - SFSMC - SummerFest Spot Master Championship - Who will be crowned 2009 Spot Master? Friendly competition with prize and trophies for winners. Think you are the best? Prove it! 2:00pm - 6:00pm - Demos. Various equipment, products and methods on display. Hands-On. 6:30pm Dinner Location: Ted's Montana Grill Norcross GA - For more information on this years' event please visit www.GoToSummerFest.com or contact Andrechelle Cermak at 440-257-6705 Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:43:36 -0500 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=224 June 23, 2009 – VANCOUVER, Wash. – The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) has named Patrick Winters its first, full-time paid president effective August 1, 2009. Winters will ... Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:15:00 -0500 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=223 Andrechelle's Website Hosting, Website Design, and Internet Marketing Affiliate Program - Sign Up Now! You already refer Andrechelle because of the great service, now when you recommend others, you can earn money! Sign up to Andrechelle's affiliate program today and start earning recurring revenues by introducing people to Andrechelle's services. Recommend friends, family, business associates, your employers or whoever to our world class web hosting, website design, & Internet Marketing services and allow those you recommend to benefit from Andrechelle's excellent customer support and service. Why become an affiliate? It's FREE to register It only takes a minute to sign-up. Low payout threshold. We payout when your affiliate balance reaches $20. You don't have to be an existing customer If you are already a web hosting customer with us click here. You will earn recurring revenues on all web hosting sales by your referrals for the lifetime of those sales Your referrals will be grateful that you have introduced them to a world class hosting service We do the hard work of supporting the customer for all their hosting requirements so you can concentrate on referring more and more people to us Payments made monthly by Paypal So if you have a website either hosted by Andrechelle or otherwise or simply participate in online-marketing activities (ABSOLUTELY NO SPAM!) and can link to Andrechelle, you will earn recurring revenues on all sales generated by your referrals for the lifetime of those sales. We provide you with your own links and tracking panel. The implementation of our affiliate program on your website is very simple. Once you have signed up you will be assigned a special link that points to our site which you simply place on your website either as a text link or using one of the banners we provide. When a visitor clicks this link you earn up to 20% commission for as long as they remain a client. As a web hosting affiliate you can log into your affiliate control panel and view reports showing how many clicks your unique URL has generated, how much commission you are owed and how much you have been paid. So why not take a few seconds and sign up today as an affiliate, it's free and easy and you can start earning up to 20% commission per sale. Get started today. How Credits Are Earned The more clients referred, the more you earn! 1-9 clients referred earns a 5% credit, 10-19 referred client earns 10% commission credit and 20+ referred clients earns 20% commission credit. Register for Affiliate Program Are you already an existing customer? If you are already a customer you can activate your affiliate account by simply logging in to your Client Area, click on the 'Affiliates' link then click on the 'Activate' button. Not a customer? If you are not a customer but would still like to enroll as an affiliate, great! Simply register for an account with us, login and then click on the 'Affiliates' link then click on the 'Activate' button. Affiliate Program Sign Up We will pay you up to 20% commission rate on every successful referral on every purchase they make, every month, for as long as you and they are our customer. Here is how it works: Sign up as an affiliate within your client area and receive $5.00 credit in your affiliate account. Then refer your friends, site visitors and clients to us and you will receive 10% on the original order that referral makes with us for the duration of their time as a customer of ours - 20% for each successful referral over 20.*** We will even retro the 20% back to your first referral, so that you receive 20% commission every month for every dollar spent on the original order by every referral still with us. Affiliate Account Credits you earn will be banked into your affiliate account. When you have accumulated $20.00 worth of credits, you would request those credits to be released from your account through your Client Area of Andrechelle.com. Credits will be first applied toward your account at Andrechelle.com. Once a person clicks on the link (or banner) that you email them or place on your website, a harmless cookie is added to their computer that stays active for 90 days. This means that after a person visits Andrechelle.com from your referral link or banner, and they do not become our client right away, at any time during that 90 day period they decide to sign up from their computer, you will get the referral! Real-Time Statistics and Reporting! Login 24 hours a day to check your sales, traffic, account balance and see how your banners are performing. How Credits Work If your hosting account with us is $19.95 per month, any earnings you make as an affiliate will be applied as a credit to your account. For example, if you made 7 referrals who converted to customers of Andrechelle.com, you would receive $14.00 per month of credits in your Affiliate Account. Once your account reaches $20.00 of credits, you may request to make a withdrawal of the credits from your Client Area and this would be applied toward your account with us at Andrechelle.com on a monthly basis. Free Account Make 10 referrals who convert to customers, and you will receive $19.95 toward your account monthly - essentially giving you a free Business account! Earn Cash! If your recurring monthly Affiliate Credits exceeds your monthly recurring hosting costs with Andrechelle.com. any credits in excess of your cost will be sent via Paypal. For example, if 21 of your referrals became customers of Andrechelle.com and your monthly cost of being our client is $19.95 and each referral's monthly order is $19.95, then you will receive $83.79 commission per month in Affiliate Credits. That results in $19.95 per month which pays for your hosting account and you will also receive a $63.84 check - per month! And you pay nothing to Andrechelle.com and do nothing to earn the money. As long as the customers whom you referred remain our customer, you will get paid. First, toward your account, then a check to you for the balance owing you! What have I got to lose? Absolutely nothing! Even if you refer only 1 person to us, based on the minimum you and your referral would pay - $19.95 monthly, after ten months you get a month free. For as long as you and that person are a customer - you will be given 10% of that person's total purchases per month! Banners, coupons and links We provide you with professional, quick loading and original banner designs. Text links are available too. As an extra incentive, we may also offer you a discount code to distribute to your site visitors, friends and colleagues. This code will be a special promotional offer for first time customers. Do you require specialized banners or links for your site? Just ask and we will be happy to assist! How do I register? Once you are our customer, simply go to your Client Area, and click on Affiliate tab, press the Affiliate button to activate, and you will receive $5.00 in your Affiliate Account to get you started. You will be provided with banners and links to either email your friends, put on Facebook, or add to your website. Just ask if you would like further instructions or would like for us to customize a banner for your website. * A customer/ client is one who signs up for a hosting account with Andrechelle.com at a minimum rate of $9.95 for a one year contract or more ** A successfull referral is a referral you have made who signs up as a customer *** Affiliate must maintain at least 10 active customers with Andrechelle.com for rate of 10% to be applied **** Affiliate must maintain at least 20 active customers with Andrechelle.com for rate of 20% to be applied **** DIY Hosting Plan not included in Referral Credit program We want good affiliates! We want you to recommend our web hosting services with a passion. We see you as extension of our own marketing team and we are here to help you succeed and be seen in good light with those that you have referred to us. Our affiliates will play an important part in our ability to develop into the best web hosting company in the world. We want you to participate in the development of our services. Along the way, you may feel we should be providing something that we don't currently offer... we want you to tell us. Register for Andrechelle's Affiliate Program Tue, 26 May 2009 16:33:29 -0500 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=222 Today, we celebrate Memorial Day. You may have grown up recognizing this day as the beginning of summer, a day of picnics and parades, and fun times at the beach. This Memorial Day, I urge you to pause and reflect on what the day is REALLY about. Memorial Day is set aside as a special day for us to remember and honor our veterans, especially those who died defending our freedom. Let us honor and remember those who gave all, those who gave some, and those who never came back, who never became “veterans”! Thanks to all American veterans and to the families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us all. Mon, 25 May 2009 08:39:37 -0500 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=221 Got a call this afternoon from an upset customer that we had cleaned carpet for 10 days ago. She complained of a yellowish spot that had just "appeared" in the last few days and was worried that it had happened outside our "7 day spot free guarantee". (We were shocked as it was the first complaint, call back, re-do that we've had in the 5 years we've run this company, since we started in 2004.) She was very upset. :shock: She wanted to schedule but her only day off work in the near future which was Friday the 29th. We assured her that all would be ok (we stand behind our work!) and that we would be there at 7pm TODAY when she got home from work. Upon arrival we could see the yellowed area from across the room and the distress in her face. We quickly set up our spot removal kit and inspected the tufts and backing with a magnifying tool. No visual residue or soil. Could feel no texture or difference between this yellowed areas and other non affected areas (it was all very very soft). Checked for residue / wicking with volatile spotter with no transfer on to the spotting towel. pH meter batteries were dead, so just tried a little de-browning agent to check for a pH problem, no result. While continuing with the inspection and testing, she proceeded to tell us how great everything else we cleaned had turned out. BUT that this one spot was just not acceptable. She stated that it seemed to be getting deeper darker yellow each of the past few days. I asked her if we could clear the area of furniture and bring in some more light. Upon moving the sofa, the spot also moved. :D Seems the unknown yellow spot that appeared in the last few days was ... THE SUN! It was a yellow reflection off the green furniture on the now clean, shiny and reflective light beige fibers. We had several gloomy days after cleaning her home, then the last few days the skies have cleared and the sun has made a return appearance in Northeast Ohio, making the "spot" appear to be getting deeper and darker. The look on her face was PRICELESS! Shock, amazement, relief, embarrassment, gratitude within a second. She went from very upset, hinting at possibly wanting new carpet, to ecstatic and another definite cheerleader. I love my "job" (and am happy to be back to 0 complaints, re-do's, re-services) Mon, 18 May 2009 20:50:00 -0500 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=225 The Summerfest Committee is proud to announce the 11TH ANNUAL SUMMERFEST by Carpet Cleaners, for Carpet Cleaners. Date: October. 1,2,3 - 2009 Where: Atlanta GA Please check back for updates. SummerFest WebSite - www.GoToSummerFest.com Fri, 01 May 2009 17:50:00 -0500 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=217 10th Anniversary of OCIBR – Celebrating Our First Decade Ten years ago Andrechelle launched a new website, OCIBR.com – Official Cleaning Industry Business Resource. It began as a small group of carpet cleaning business owners wanting to work together to share marketing materials and experiences and has since developed into an ever growing library of shared marketing materials, 2300+ members. Over the last ten years, over 900 marketing pieces have been shared and thousands of cleaning business owners have been helped. The biggest changes to the OCIBR Web site in the past ten years occurred in November 2003, when a completely new design was launched which included support forums, new flash chat rooms, free classifieds, free auctions, cleaning and marketing articles, cleaning encyclopedia, image gallery, arcade games, casino games, and much, much more. http://cleaning.sytes.net is the original address for OCIBR and an old version of the website is back online to visit as an online museum of sorts. Flashback to Flashchat, even one of the old versions of Club Greenhorn has been reactivated. All new and active services are still available online at www.ocibr.com. More recently, OCIBR has continued to add new features to its Web site. For instance, the SEO Tools, which may be used to enhance search engine optimization and internet marketing for your carpet cleaning business. OCIBR TV features live events (Connections, SummerFest, etc), pre-recorded seminars, educational clips, business tips, and industry news. The "on Demand"feature will provide convenient access to some of the pre-recorded programming. Submit your own videos to OCIBR TV and WIN great prizes (cleaning or business related videos). Thanks for watching, stay tuned, more to come... As a part of our 10th Anniversary celebration, we're offering dedicated OCIBR fans like you a chance to enter to win some great prizes. At first a few free DIY Website / blogs will be awarded, then a little later this year (hopefully early summer) we plan to offer a free DIY Wordpress website and blog to all carpet cleaning business owners, compliments of Andrechelle.com. In conjunction with "how to" sessions in Club Greenhorn Carpet Cleaners Chat Room helping you set up, configure and optimize your own website and blog. We invite the whole cleaning community to participate in the activities to celebrate the OCIBR Website 10th Anniversary. The OCIBR website is made possible through your support. We would like to take this time to thank all of you that have helped out in our success along the way. Without you, we would not exist, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It has been a great experience throughout the years and we look forward to what the future brings. We would also like to extend our business relationship with you for many years to come and as always, look forward to helping you improve your business. In the next ten years, look for continued improvements and enhancements to the OCIBR.com Website. We would be happy to hear your suggestions for making the OCIBR Website better—please contact us via email ocibr @yahoo.com Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:16:18 -0600 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=216 Virtually all security experts are counseling users to switch to any other web browser -- none of the others are affected, including Firefox, Chrome, and Opera Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:01:51 -0600 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=214 We're Thankful for You Thanksgiving is the appointed time for focusing on the good in our lives. In each of our days, we can find small blessings, but too often we overlook them, choosing instead to spend our time paying attention to problems. We give our energy to those who cause us trouble instead of those who bring peace. Starting now, let’s be on the lookout for the bits of pleasure in each hour, and appreciate the people who bring love and light to everyone who is blessed to know them. You are one of those people. On Thanksgiving, We're thankful for you. Happy Thanksgiving! Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:09:07 -0600 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=213 OCIBR TV for Carpet Cleaners Online TV channel for carpet cleaners goes live with new format. Carpet Cleaning junkies can log on to the new and improved OCIBR TV from their computers for a daily fix. The channel will feature live events (Connections, SummerFest, etc), pre-recorded seminars, educational clips, business tips, and industry news. The "on Demand"feature will provide convenient access to some of the pre-recorded programming. Submit your own videos to OCIBR TV (cleaning or business related). Thanks for watching, stay tuned, more to come... CLICK HERE TO WATCH OCIBR TV FOR CARPET CLEANERS ENTER THE OCIBR TV VIDEO CONTEST! Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:41:43 -0600 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=215 McKeesport PA – Nov 2008 / OCIBR.com Press Release Pembertons Cleaning and Restoration Supplies hosted an advanced training course for Oriental rug cleaning with instructor Aaron Groseclose. Whether you have been cleaning rugs for decades, or you have yet to clean your first rug, this course will provide you with the skills, techniques and ideas to immediately implement in your cleaning company to position yourself as the rug cleaning expert in your service area. This course taught the techniques necessary to be a successful rug cleaner. Students discovered cutting-edge cleaning techniques and tools —and their real-world applications. They learned rug construction, inspection and identification as well as the appropriate cleaning technique or methods for each rug type. This hands-on rug cleaning course, with live demonstrations of actual cat urine removal, cleaning techniques ranging from minimum-moisture to total-immersion, fringe cleaning and dye bleed correction. Emphasis was on teaching cleaning theory, practical application, hands-on techniques, and understanding cleaning limitations, including situations to avoid. Students who attend this advanced rug cleaning course have experience in the fundamentals of carpet cleaning, fiber types and characteristics, fiber identification and testing, carpet construction and styles, mill dyeing, soil characteristics and the chemistry of cleaning. IICRC carpet and upholstery cleaning certifications are pre-requisites for this course. Sat, 15 Nov 2008 10:25:00 -0600 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=212 Our road trip from Northeast Ohio to Las Vegas Nevada and back. Once again we had the webcam attached to the rear view mirror and aimed out the front windshield. Thanks to everyone who rode along with us from up to 80+ mph on the Highways to about 1 MPH on the dirt roads back in the Rocky Mountains to the red roads of Zion. All total it was just over 6500 miles through 16 states in about 3 weeks. Highest altitude (noticed on the GPS) was around 10,000 ft. Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:50:00 -0500 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=211 Building a Web page that displays well on all browsers isn't easy. To make matters worse, sometimes you've done everything right, and your page still doesn't display correctly under one specific browser The first step to solving browser compatibility problems is to ... Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:29:32 -0500 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=210 Please be careful when receiving "renewal" notices that come in the form of a letter sent through regular mail, an email and/or a telephone call requesting you to renew. Some of our customers that have acted on these "renewal" notices have found that they have ended up paying for a service they did not want, from a company they did not choose to deal with, and have lost essential services from Andrechelle.com. These "renewal" notices are sent by our competitors who monitor the publicly accessible WHOIS database and obtain our customers' contact information through it. These are not renewal notices. A customer is required to transfer their domain name(s) to another company when they did not intend to. If you do "renew" your domain with them, your registration will be transferred to another company, and your name servers (the record which controls who provides service for your domain name) will be changed so that you are no longer using Andrechelle's services. You can also avoid this issue altogether by renewing early or adding additional years to your account. Thank you for taking the time to read this! Your WebMasters @ Andrechelle.com Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:25:00 -0500 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=208 The tenth annual SummerFest was held July 24-26 in Muskegon MI with some events in Grand Rapids MI. A full schedule of activities kept everyone busy but not rushed. Each year is better than the last and this year was certainly no exception. Paul Lucas of ChemMax taught a CCT course at a very special SummerFest rate for attendees. Two days at Nathan Koets rug Plant (Advanced Restoration) for in depth, hands on rug cleaning demonstrations, tips and training. An impressive tour of Scott Group Custom Carpet Mill where they make custom wool, silk, and cashmere carpets and rugs for the airline and marine industries as well as residential and commercial carpets and rugs. Following the custom carpets from design to the art of hand tufting, to completion was an incredible experience, not easily put into words. Informative presentations by Shaw’s Cary Mitchell on encapsulation cleaning, Ruth Travis on the IICRC, and Paul Lucas on the history of soap / detergent were also highlights of this years event. The annual Friday night banquet was packed. Everyone went home with at least one door prize, as well as a roll of Sticky Tabs, a gallon of VacAway and a SummerFest shirt. Grand prize was a 14” Greenhorn wand, winner George Farnworth of Quality Carpet Care Mentor OH. This year’s winners of SummerFest awards for participation and dedication to bettering the industry and helping make SummerFest a success are: 2008 Man of the Year – K. Mark Kling. 2008 Woman of the Year – Ruth Travis.       Saturday at DSC everyone enjoyed the friendly competition for the 2008 SpotMaster Championship title. This year’s SpotMaster Champions are Jerry Szpak (Commercial Carpet Care Redford MI) and Jerry McMahon (Hawkeye Carpet Care Fort Dodge IA). Jerry Szpak also the lucky winner of the Rug Badger raffle to help an orphanage in India. After the tour of DSC Laboratories to see how cleaning products are designed and blended and a spectacular authentic Polish food lunch buffet, DSC shuttled all the attendees to the marina and took everyone sailing. All three days had equipment, products and methods on display with time for in depth, hands on training. Great speakers, presentations and tours, the (no suit and tie) atmosphere was relaxed and fun. Special thanks go out to Mark and Andrechelle Cermak and the Summerfest Committee who put this awesome event together, Scott's Group, Paul Lucas, Nathan and the Koets' family, and Mark and the Kling family for your hospitality and generosity. Thanks also to all who participated and made this event so terrific. Hope to see you all next year! SummerFest Committee Visit www.GoToSummerFest.com for announcements and updates for SummerFest XI in 2009 and to view photos from SummerFest X and previous SF events. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:15:00 -0500 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=209 The EZ Tower debuted at SummerFest X in Grand Rapids at Nathan Koets Rug Cleaning Plant. Steve "Dusty" Roberts explains how this innovative rug drying tower can help carpet cleaners with hanging and drying rugs after cleaning. The EZ Tower Rug Drying Sat, 26 Jul 2008 08:35:00 -0500 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=205 MikeysBoard.com presents the Low Moisture Carpet Cleaning Super Conference (VLM Chat) with Rick Gelinas, Steve Smith, Clark Lancaster, John Geurkink, Jeff Hruby ... Hosted by Mike Pailliotet @ OCIBR.com Club Greenhorn Carpet Cleaners Chat Room CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE RECORDING Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:35:00 -0600 http://www.ocibr.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=203 Indianapolis, Indiana - Summerfest IX 2007 Spot Master Champions - Andrechelle Cermak and Rachelle Hill The 2007 Spot Master Championship sponsored by DSC (dscprod.com) was on Saturday at Summerfest IX in Indianapolis, Indiana. The contestants (teams of 2) had to take out some of the hardest stains in a given time. The winners received a trophy, and spotting kit from DSC and title of SummerFest IX SpotMaster Champions Think you've got what it takes to be champion? Bring it to Summerfest X 2008 Spot Master Chapionship Mon, 06 Aug 2007 10:25:00 -0500