Having a reliable company that handles the heating and air conditioning for your home may be more important than ever, as New York State has passed a law that is changing the landscape of the heating and air conditioning industry throughout the entire state.

Cerrone Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning has a long and successful history in both residential and commercial industries in this region that spans over 25 years. Cerrone has professionally-trained plumbers and HVAC technicians that are capable of completing a job from beginning to end.

There is new legislation in effect in New York State that is aimed at lowering greenhouse emissions by prohibiting the installation of fossil fuel equipment in new buildings starting in 2026… The law effectively requires all-electric heating and cooking in new buildings shorter than seven stories by 2026. This legislation will prohibit gas hookups in most new homes and other constructed buildings, and is expected to help the state transition from fossil fuels consumption to meet new electric-only requirements. This ban on gas hookups in new buildings is a move to lower carbon pollution from homes and businesses, which account for about 30% of New York state’s greenhouse gas emission.

New York is the first state to pass a law that will ban natural gas and fossil fuels in new buildings. Existing buildings will not be affected by this law, so residents will not be forced to get rid of their existing gas stoves or appliances.

This new legislation is pushing the heating and cooling industry towards heat pumps. A heat pump runs on electricity and can both heat and cool the home… As the industry evolves and changes, Joe Cerrone, owner of Cerrone Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning, sees what he calls “hiccups” with covering the heating load of a house: “When a house is converted to be all electric, the heat pump will have a back up strip heater in the unit… So when the heat pump can’t keep up, the electric heater will help cover the load. The issue is that the electrical panels are not large enough to take care of the load of the house… So if the house has a 150-amp panel and with all of the electricity being drawn from it, the panel would have to be upsized to a 400-amp meter.”

As the technology shifts and changes, supporting the new advancements is one of the types of problems that will crop up… Joe Cerrone, with his experience in the field of HVAC, would recommend a gradual change towards the technology: “Right now, people still like their standard furnaces… They are all hooked up, and the furnaces last for 15 years or so. Right now, what I would recommend to customers is if their central air conditioning system needs to be replaced, then replace it with a heat pump,” Cerrone said.

To encourage customers to install heat pumps, there are substantial rebates that are in effect to offset the cost to the consumer. These rebates are between $500 and $5,000. Cerrone Plumbing Heating & Air conditioning has completed the training for the certifications to be an affiliated contractor to install the heat pumps.

Although the industry is shifting, the technology of heat pumps is not new: “We’ve been installing heat pumps, mainly mini-ductless heat pumps, for 15-plus years… So they have been around… Heat pumps and central air heat pumps have come in the last 5 years and have gotten better. If people install heat pumps, they will use less fossil fuel sources and more electricity to heat and cool their homes. Heat pumps have come a long way… In some situations they can take the whole load for the house,” Cerrone said.

This new legislation has been seen as a major victory for climate activists; however, it will most likely face court challenges from the fossil fuel industry. Critics of the law argue that it limits consumer choice, while supporters argue that because the law only affects new construction, the transition will happen gradually… Currently, about 14% of households in the state heat with electricity, whereas around 60% of households still rely on natural gas.

As the legislation moves into effect and the industry shifts toward cleaner sources of energy, it may be a good time to talk to a local HVAC company about what is the best option for heating and cooling your home. Contact us today at Cerrone: We’re always here to help!

Kristopher Brunelle is a Navy Veteran turned local entrepreneur. In October of 2022, Kristopher started his own company, White Glove Janitorial Service… His motivation for opening his own business was that he knew that he could do better himself, and teach others to do better for themselves as well.

Kristopher Brunelle and his team serve medium to large offices, medical practices, car dealerships, and day care centers. White Glove Janitorial provides office cleaning, carpet cleaning, interior window washing, restroom cleaning, sanitation and re-stocking, floor stripping, waxing and buffing and specialized disinfection services. Kristopher and his employees use proven techniques, proper tools and equipment, in-depth training, and an intensive focus on team mentality and quality control to ensure that the client is pleased with their clean work environment.

Kristopher Bruenelle, as the owner of White Glove Janitorial, draws his professional expectations from his time in the military – Kristopher enlisted in the Navy for job security during the uncertain economic times of 2008 and the “Great Recession”. His goal when entering the military was to have a stable job, where he could learn skills that he would carry with him past his military career. Kristopher has been able to utilize the training that he gained in the military, and apply it to both his business and to building his team.

Kristopher is now separated from the Navy, which means that he has been released from active duty. During his time in service, he was a E-5 builder in the Construction Battalion, known as the Seabees – which is coined from the abbreviation “CB.” During his tour of duty, Kristopher spent a lot of time cleaning, and he found the activity to be cathartic for him… Having both his equipment and spaces in a ready state was comforting in a world of chaos. When he joined the Seabees, Kris found out that he was joining a battalion that “built where others couldn’t.”

This concept of pushing forward, and succeeding where other people couldn’t, has helped Kristopher build his own business. The military taught him the importance of getting a job done, even if it seems impossible.

Through the military, Kristopher gained the tools he has used to be a good leader and, eventually, a good employer. During his time in the Navy, he learned a lot about people and about working together. On his tour, he spent time in Spain, Croatia, Afghanistan, Japan and Africa.

He had the opportunity to lead increasingly larger groups of people, and discovered that each individual team member brought specific strengths to the team, while their weaknesses could be shored up from the strengths of other team members… Kristopher carries with him the experiences that he gained overseas, which remind him to try and see the world from someone else’s perspective.

As Kristopher grows his business, he often revisits the lessons that he learned in the military. As a unit, it was necessary for each individual to work as a team: “There wasn’t the option to fire someone if they weren’t doing a good job. So, I learned to find a way to motivate that person so that the unit could get the best results. As an employer, I find myself using those same tools,” Kristopher said.

“I want to motivate the people who work for me to learn and grow. From my time in the Navy, I have gained the skills necessary to assess people and offer positions that they may have been previously overlooked. Everybody brings strengths and attributes, and as an employer I try to find what a person can bring to the table.”

As an entrepreneur and a father, it has also been important to Kristopher to teach his little girl Lindsey life lessons… Kristopher and his wife Kealy are raising Lindsey to be an independent thinker when it comes to business. Lindsey gets to see her mom go off to work as a teacher every day, and that sets structure in her young life. When she is home with her dad, he is often working out of his home office, and she gets to see that you don’t have to work a “Nine-to-Five” job to succeed – it’s ok to follow your own path.

“I want to motivate the people who work for me to learn and grow. From my time in the Navy, I have gained the skills necessary to assess people and offer positions that they may have been previously overlooked. Everybody brings strengths and attributes, and as an employer I try to find what a person can bring to the table,” Kristopher said.

As Kristopher sets goals for his business and watches his daughter grow, he is thankful for the community that came from his military career, as well as the Veterans Business Network, The Adirondack Chamber of Commerce, and military friends and mentors Juan and Amy Gonzales, who give so much help and support to Veterans.

For more information, please visit 518whitegloveservice.com

For a three-week period in late March and early April of 2023, the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) surveyed its members on engagement, reasons for joining the Chamber, and the importance of business advocacy, education, and connection opportunities. The ARCC team was pleasantly surprised to receive the most responses to a membership survey than had been received in many years.

Below are some highlights from the survey:

When asked for the reason why a business joined as a member of the ARCC, the following answers were presented:

• 80% joined for networking and connection opportunities
• 74% joined to increase visibility of their business
• 83% joined to support the Chamber in its mission and support the greater business community
• 47% joined for marketing benefits
• 55% joined to attend Chamber events
• 7% chose the “Other” option, which included the following responses:
  • –  All of the above;
  • –  Because of the people who make up the ARCC
  • –  To be aware of the happenings in our communities
  • –  To create and grow long-lasting relationships
  • –  Become more involved in the community

When asked if advocacy for business was important, the respondents indicated that it was somewhat important to their business. When asked how important educational opportunities provided by the ARCC were, the respondents indicated that they were slightly important.

We also were interested in learning more about which ARCC hosted events were enjoyed most by our members… 86% of our respondents indicated that they have attended ARCC events, while 14% have not. We learned that the majority of respondents enjoyed our networking mixers, annual Business Expo, Lunch with Legislators, and other educational “seminars the most.

When asked if respondents had made valuable connections through the Chamber, 87% indicated that they had.

The ARCC Staff and Board truly appreciates the tremendous level of engagement by our membership. Your feedback is vital to ensure we are delivering each and every day for you, and just as important to know if we are not. Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey, provide us honest, actionable feedback that we will use to enhance your experience and membership with the Chamber. – ARCC Board Chair Marc Yrsha, also EVP, Director of Relationship Banking for Glens Falls National Bank & Trust Company

One of the most common conversations I have with clients and potential clients is about whether it makes sense to pay us or any other company to handle their social media for them… The challenge is that there aren’t many upsides to social media at this point, if any. Here are my top 3 reasons why Social Media is no longer the goliath it used to be… For those of you searching and hoping for a reason to stay on social media, just skip past these and head on down to the conclusion.

#1 – COST OF AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT

Not long ago, businesses had it made. If they wanted to get their brand in front of people and engage with their audience, it was as simple as creating a business page and posting content… Sometimes the content didn’t even need to be good. You could garner likes, shares, and followers with just a few clicks – and it was 100% free. It seemed like every post gained a new follower and every offer attracted a new client. What a time to be alive!.. Until suddenly, it wasn’t. It was like watching the lights go out after you flip the switch. – all at once, brands that used to get hundreds or thousands of likes went down to maybe three or four, and brands that saw dozens of new followers a day went down to zero – unless you wanted to pay.

What used to happen for free now has a price tag, and it rarely offers a sensible ROI… By some estimates, a single new Facebook or Instagram follower can cost as much as $2 to $4. When it comes to scaling, the math isn’t difficult. You could easily be thousands of dollars into audience development on marketing channels that have limits on who sees your posts based on… The Algorithm.

#2 – THE ALGORITHM
Over the last few years, the word algorithm has been everywhere… In the social media world, The Algorithm is the boogeyman that decides which posts live and die, which posts are seen by millions… Or by none. The Algorithm and its complexities have spawned a whole new industry of people who claim to know and understand it… They promise to optimize your posts, increase engagement, and generally outsmart The Algorithm; a promise that likely won’t be kept. By our estimates, organic (i.e. unpaid) posts are seen by less than 4% of your total audience because of The Algorithm… LESS than 4%! Now let’s run those numbers: at a new follower cost of $2 (the low side), gaining 10,000 followers would cost $20,000… And of those 10,000 followers, only 400 would actually see the post. How many of those will even interact, let alone make a purchase?

Don’t take my word for it though – a quick look at major brands like Pepsi, Nike, or even Black Rifle Coffee (who used to create great content, in this author’s opinion) will bring home the point… To check their engagement rate, just add up their engagements from a recent organic post, then divide that number by their total followers. The result will be surprising! I know it would surprise me, but that’s also because I haven’t looked at my social accounts in over a year… Truthfully, I’m just tired of social media. And I’m not alone.

#3 – SOCIAL FATIGUE
Some say it’s information overload, too much data, or that the media overall is the problem… The Social Media companies claim it’s a myth because their overall user count keeps rising. What they don’t address is the number of accounts that are either fake (“bots”), or duplicate. They rarely address how many of these accounts are actively engaging, and they never address how many active accounts are under management.

I personally have an active Facebook account that I never access, because my team manages it… We have an office full of marketing professionals, writers, and creators who will openly profess their disdain for social media. They’re still on it, but not nearly as much as even a few years ago. Most other people we speak to say something similar… In fact, I’ve been hard-pressed to find someone that speaks positively about social media! Most complain about the toxicity, the politics, the opinions, the fake news, and the censorship. These items create a fatigue in users until they no longer engage, post or even log in anymore… They’re tired. Can you blame them?

In conclusion, there are still uses for social media, but they may not come with a dependable ROI. Our current guidance is to use social media as a communications channel – it’s no longer where new customers are finding you, but it’s helpful for building credibility in a brand with existing customers. We suggest companies do their own social media, and focus marketing budgets on more effective strategies.

For those of you that are still hoping for results like it’s 2016… Social Media has left the building.

Markets are doing their thing again, so let’s discuss. Markets tumbled, heading into negative territory, and then bounced back. And then promptly fell again.We’re caught in a whipsaw pattern of uncertainty. Is this weird? Not really. These things happen pretty regularly when investors get jittery. Let’s talk about what’s going on.

WHAT LED TO THE SELLOFF?

Phew. There’s a lot going on. There was yet another debt ceiling deadlock between Congress and the White House. Worries about the banking sector continue. Sticky inflation is still on everyone’s radar. And then there’s the endless speculation about recessions and what the Federal Reserve might do next. All these stressors lead to jumpy investors and nervous markets. Could we see another serious correction? Absolutely. If more bad headlines appear, such as what we saw with the debt ceiling standoff, markets could react negatively. And, corrections and pullbacks happen very frequently because there’s always something going on. How often? Let’s go to the data.

Here’s a chart that shows just how often markets dip each year. (You may have seen this chart before because it’s an oldie and goodie.) Take a look at the red circles to see the market drops each year.

The big takeaway? In 15 of the last 23 years, markets have dropped at least 10% each year.

Market pullbacks happen all the time.

We’re dealing with a lot of uncertainty and investors are feeling cautious. However, that doesn’t mean that we should panic and rush for the exits. Markets are going to be turbulent this year and knee-jerk reactions can be costly. We don’t have a crystal ball, so we don’t know how it’s all going to play out, but this situation isn’t surprising. We expected volatility and we’re prepared.

We’re watching markets closely. Any questions or concerns we can address? Let us know. We’re here to help.

“In times of uncertainty, create structure.” – Sir Ernest Shackleton, Explorer

Is your business in an uncertain spot? Are you not sure what to do to jumpstart sales growth?

Follow the words of Mr. Shackleton. His story of leadership is an amazing one. He kept his crew alive in the early 1900’s for over a year when his ship became stuck in the ice in Antarctica. An amazing feat for that period! One of the keys to his success was creating structure that every member of his team could follow day in and day out. This structure allowed them to focus on the task at hand versus getting caught up in their situation. The team trusted the process … and that led them to survival.

DO YOU HAVE THE STRUCTURE YOU NEED TO THRIVE?

Every highly-productive sales force, whether the company is big or small, has an infrastructure and proven process in place that allows the team to thrive and produce results every year. That structure helps remove some of the variables that come from running a business. Implementing such an infrastructure will allow you and your management team to effectively lead your sales team to execute at an elevated level.

START WITH THE BASICS:

Building a solid sales infrastructure to support both the sales team and sales management is of the utmost importance for increased and sustainable revenue growth, specifically:

• Developing a customized, written sales business plan and revenue plan by salesperson, by product, and by month.
• Implementing a Customer Relationship Management system (CRM).
• Developing a custom sales process for each product line and programming it into the CRM. This enables business owners and sales management to tell at a glance which stage in the sales process each opportunity is in, and what needs to be accomplished in order to move each opportunity to the next stage.
• Developing key performance indicators (KPIs) – forecasting models to track how the sales team is doing.
• Defining the structure and content for productive weekly sales meetings.

BOTTOM LINE:

At Velocity Sales powered by Sales Xceleration, we know that any sales and business growth comes with structure. Without a solid sales infrastructure as a foundation, your organization will struggle to produce consistent results. When we are called in to assist a business, we work with you side by side to build a solid, time-tested, results-proven structure to realize growth. Regardless of when we enter the situation as your advisor, we help you manage the uncertainties associated with sales and build a foundation that will help you and your business to thrive for years to come.

Listen to Alan’s episode of Buying Local HERE!

Tourism creates jobs, strengthens local economies and contributes to local infrastructure and development. It can help to preserve cultural assets, traditions and the natural environment… In April of 2023, Warren County Board of Supervisors hired Heather Bagshaw to serve as Warren County’s new Director of Tourism. Bagshaw replaced the previous Tourism Director Alfred Snow, who held the position for a brief two-month period – Snow stepped down from the position in November of 2022. As Heather settles into her new position, she would like to broaden the experience of tourists who come to the area. “I would like to see people extend their stays and experience the culture and activities that we have here,” Bagshaw said.

The County Director of Tourism is responsible for planning, developing and implementing programs to promote Warren County and its facilities and businesses as a premier destination for leisure travel, group tours and special events through marketing and advertising campaigns.

Glens Falls has many of the qualities that Bagshaw is looking for to optimize tourism in the area. The location of Glens Falls – halfway between Saratoga Springs and the Adirondack Mountains – has a geographical advantage that the city can exploit to increase the contribution of tourism to the economy: Saratoga Springs has its world-class race track and rich racing tradition that draws hundreds of thousands of turf enthusiasts to the area during racing season, Lake George has its famous lake and recreational facilities, and the Adirondack Preserve attracts visitors seeking to experience the unmatched natural splendors.

The question then becomes: What is “World Class” in Glens Falls?.. Answer? The Hyde Museum. The Hyde Collection is beautifully housed in a majestic trio of adjacent family mansions on Warren Street. The Collection includes an important Rembrandt: “Christ With Arms Folded” and hundreds of other works of art by American and European artists.

Charlotte and Louis Hyde acquired a vast personal collection of art, including pieces by Van Gogh, Picasso and Renoir… Some of the pieces are displayed in a modern “Art Gallery” fashion, but many of the family’s most beloved works are shown as they have always been – on the walls of bedrooms, hallways, and public rooms throughout the house.

The Hyde Museum showcases the rich history of Glens Falls, and displays priceless pieces of art… The house is listed on the national register of historic places, and the house itself is reminiscent of days gone by and lifestyles that are now just a memory. The Hyde house, which was built in 1912 by Henry Ford Bigalow, has characteristics of Renaissance Revival architecture… The fanciful interior conveys both Louis and Charlotte’s love of entertaining, art, culture, and whimsy.

The museum has expanded, and truly opened itself up to the community… The permanent collection features approximately 3,000 works, and the museum features community events and social engagements.

Heather Bagshaw, as the new Tourism Director, will have the opportunity to explore Glens Falls and the surrounding areas to find out how to best utilize beautiful and historic venues like the Hyde Museum: “During my career, I have worked hard to move visitors to different locations around the county. Finding events that compliment each other and inspire visitors to extend their stay from three days to a week,” Heather said. The location of Glens Falls and the historic significance of the architecture enhance a community that supports art, entertainment and tourism.

The summer calendar for the Museum includes:

• Celebrating 60 Years: The Collector Charlotte Pruyn Hyde

• Recent Acquisitions

• Songs of the Horizon: David Smith, Music and Dance

• The 1960’s: Beyond Op and Pop

For more information, please visit hydecollection.org!