When I bought a Chevy Volt in January the wheels started turning in my brain… what if a solar system on my roof could power my plug-in car?

I’ve been researching residential solar and I’ve learned some cool facts.

5KW (kilowatts) of solar panels will lower your electric bill about $100 per month.

A 5KW system will cost about $15,000, minus the 30% federal tax credit makes the cost of the system about $12,000.

At 4% interest a $12,000 loan for 9 years is about $130 per month, that’s with no money down. You save $100 per month, your cost for a 5KW solar system is $130 per month.

Your NET cost for the system is $30 per month, and after the loan is paid off you GAIN $100 per month.

Since most solar systems last 20 plus years… that’s $30 per month for 9 years = $3,240

BUT… then you get 11 years at $100 SAVINGS = $13,200

Gain             =    $13,200

(minus)

Net Cost      =     $3,240

Total back in your pocket =  $9,960 !  

The numbers skew in your favor if electric rates go up, which they tend to do.

If rates climb your net gain from a 5KW system might be $11,000 to $14,000!

If the panels last longer than 20 years you gain even more, and by the year 2040 there will be better panels to install anyway, you’ll want to upgrade your system.

What about inflation? If energy commodity prices go up (like coal and natural gas) your electric rates will go up as well. Check out this chart:

Oil and Natural gas prices will climb as global demand increases. Your money spent on a solar system now is really a strong hedge against monetary inflation.

When 70 or 80 million consumers start driving electric cars and plug-in hybrids this will also increase the demand for electricity and drive up utility prices even further.

But if your home has solar, and you plug in your vehicles? Fossil Fuel prices won’t matter to you, not that much. Other commodity prices rise with energy, like food and basic services… but you could use the gain from solar to pay off other debts, like your mortgage or credit cards.

I’m going to get a solar system on my roof in the near future, it just makes sense.

Ben Alexander

March . 2017

UPDATE: I did indeed get solar on my roof (see pic below) and the system paid for itself in less than 4 years, with the savings in gasoline (for my Chevy Volt) factored in.

In 2019 I bought a 2017 Volt, and the solar still powers that car in 2023!

I’ve been driving a 2013 Chevy Volt for the last 7,000 miles.

The Volt has a ton of electronics that measure everything, I can log onto the OnStar app on my smartphone to see the air pressure in each tire, the amount of gas in the tank and the exact charge on the lithium ion battery.

This is the most technologically advanced machine I’ve ever owned. My daughter Grace calls it the “space ship”. When my Volt is plugged into the charger it won’t shift into reverse or drive. I can even program the Volt app to notify me when the car reaches a full charge!

The Volt is truly a smart car.    

I get 36 miles per electric charge before the gas generator kicks in, so I’m still using gas anytime I have to run to the other side of Tampa Bay. If I drive somewhere in the morning I’ll plug the car in again when I get home. My electric bill went up $20 last month, but that was cheaper than putting $20 in the tank 3 or 4 times each week.

The new 2017 Volt has a 53 mile electric range, a little better than the 2013 model.

The Volt is more convenient than the Tesla, it takes 2 minutes to gas your Volt but several hours to charge your Tesla. The Tesla has a 230 mile range, but that’s not far enough to drive from Tampa to Miami, or Atlanta.

Until electric cars can go 500 miles on one charge its nice to have the gas option.  

One key metric I’ve been tracking is how far my Volt goes per 10 gallons of gas. On one cycle I got 770 miles, or 77 miles per gallon. There are Volt owners on YouTube who drive less than 35 miles per day… they can get 5,000 miles or more on ten gallons.

My experience is probably more typical. If I get 65 to 70 miles per gallon my Volt is far more efficient than my wife’s (non-plug-in) Prius, which averages 45 miles per gallon.

A four cylinder Honda Civic gets 34 mpg, most 6 cylinder cars get about 25 mpg. Any larger vehicle with a V-8 gets less than 22 mpg.

The big variable in Volt ownership is the longevity and maintenance costs of the vehicle, compared to the excellent reliability record of the Prius. There are a few Volts on YouTube with 300,000 miles on the odometer, this was one of my deciding factors in taking the leap to a Chevrolet product. GM put their best engineers on the Volt, knowing that they would look bad if the car was a failure.

The Volt sold new for $35,000, mainly because of the cost of all the technology baked into the car. If you get a used Volt for less than $20,000 you are getting a ton of value per dollar. I got my 2013 Volt for $14,500, with just over 15,000 miles on the odometer.

I enjoy driving the Volt every single day, the sound system is excellent, the front seats are great for my janky back, and I love how I can gas it up for $15 and drive all week.

The back seats are too small for larger passengers, ok if you have younger children. By September of this year both my daughters will be in college, so I’m alone in my Volt or taking my wife out on a date.

If you drive something old and you’re looking for a great commuter car look for a 2013 or 2014 used Volt online. Some people might have not considered the Volt because they were put off by the price of the new car, but the used Volts are really worth it.

If you’re a Prius driver get over yourself and go drive a Volt.  

You can find a low mileage Volt for around $15K, about the same price as a comparable used Prius, but you’re getting a faster and more efficient vehicle.

I tolerate my 2010 Prius, but I love my 2013 Volt.

Ben Alexander

February . 2017

For the past three weeks I’ve been hitting the elliptical at the rec center in my neighborhood. I started at 30 minutes, now I’m at 40 minutes while also increasing the  difficulty level. It’s getting easier each week, so that’s progress.

I’m also jotting down everything I eat in a small notebook. You can’t change what you can’t track, my goal is to get down to 170lbs by the end of 2017. I’ve lost a few pounds, but I still have 30 to go before I hit my goal!

Most folks wig out on exercise machines after a few weeks due to sheer boredom. There you are in one place, staring out the same window… for 40 minutes. To keep my elliptical time interesting I listen to the Rascal Radio 3.0 app on my smartphone.

Rascal Radio is only $12 per month, and the new interface is very user friendly.

The audio teaching on Rascal Radio runs the gamut from success principles and professional development to marriage and parenting talks. There are also talks about business case studies, people skills, finances, economics and faith.

Rascal Radio is like Spotify for anyone who wants better results in their life.    

If you want to try out Rascal Radio for FREE make a comment on this post and I’ll email you a sample log in. Rascal Radio 3.0 works on all Android devices and any iPhone with version 10 the iOS update.

Chris Brady, pictured above, is the CEO of LIFE and one of my favorite teachers on Rascal Radio. Chris is an entrepreneur and a multi-millionaire. He’s also a man of faith, a devoted husband and a family man. I want to have Brady’s excellent results in my own life, so learning to think the way he thinks is a step in that direction.

Spending 40 minutes on cardio each morning, while also learning how to be successful… there’s no downside to that. There is also a connection between increased blood flow and mental sharpness.

The talks on leadership and success will help me in my LIFE business as well as Balloon Distractions.

One day at a time, one audio at a time.

Ben Alexander

February . 2017

If you don’t know anything about astronomy YouTube is an amazing resource.

I took my first astronomy course in college, in the late 1990’s. The findings from the Hubble space telescope were just coming in at that time, check this out:

Countless galaxies, each containing billions of stars…. these images from the Hubble rocked the astronomy world, giving scientists a glimpse of the universe that wasn’t possible from any earthbound observatory.

Space telescopes sit in orbit, with no interference from our atmosphere, no light pollution to contend with, just the dark cold of space to peer into. The Hubble was the first space telescope, but it won’t be the last.

Astronomy is about to take another huge leap forward with the launch of the James Webb space telescope in October of 2018:

https://jwst.nasa.gov/about.html

There is no doubt that we will see some incredible images from this new technology, the James Webb is a huge tech upgrade from the Hubble. The Hubble was built with 1990’s technology, versus current computing and imaging tech in the James Webb. It’s like going from a using 1995 flip phone to the best smartphone on the market today.

The James Webb will let us see even farther out into the universe, the next leap is to unlock quantum mechanics and figure out how to cross interstellar space without spending a thousand years to get there.

This is a thrilling time to learn about astronomy, get on YouTube, expand your mind!

-Ben Alexander

February . 2017

Here’s a neat little YouTube video about the Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest galaxy to our own Milky Way:

Our solar system is located in a smaller arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, an average size galaxy with about 500 million stars. Our neighboring Andromeda Galaxy is twice as large, some scientists estimate that there are more than a trillion stars there.

We orbit an average star, in an average galaxy. Our technology isn’t even good enough to send a human to Jupiter yet. We tend to overestimate our importance, but what if civilizations like ours are pretty common? 500 million stars in this galaxy, a trillion more over in Andromeda… with BILLIONS of additional galaxies out there?

Even a hostile and bloodthirsty race of aliens that loves to kill for sport would have to sort through millions of stars to find us… then sort through all the planets circling each star. Finding our planet, in our solar system, in our galaxy is like finding one grain of sand on a beach that stretches a thousand miles.

Of course, in human history we have become less violent as we’ve become more educated and advanced. It takes learning and cooperation among many individuals to develop civilization and technology. This means that advanced societies will probably become LESS violent over time, not more so.

Any race that is overtly violent would probably destroy itself soon after the discovery of atomic weapons, and long before they can master space travel. Even today humans are at risk of a nuclear war that decimates our planet, hopefully we’ll move past this stage and make it to a era when atomic weapons are no longer needed.

Any aliens that have mastered interstellar travel will be pretty bored by our current technology. Nothing new at this planet, we haven’t even figured out how to cure cancer, or how to travel through wormholes.

The laws of mathematics, physics, and chemistry are the same in the rest of the universe. Aliens probably know all about radio waves, atomic weapons, genetics, and all the other cool stuff we’ve discovered over the last 10,000 years.

Interstellar aliens won’t need our raw materials or resources, with billions of stars in each galaxy there are countless planets out there with every resource imaginable. Why stop at Earth and mess with humans when countless other uninhabited planets are available to exploit at will?

We began broadcasting radio signals about 80 years ago, those signals would have traveled outward in a sphere 160 light years across. In a galaxy that’s 100,000 light years in diameter 160 light years is tiny. Even if some aliens have detected us they can watch our broadcast signals for a few days and see that we’re still not that advanced.

Most of the TV signals hurtling through space right now celebrate the stupidity of humans; the Simpsons, All in the Family, any sitcom from the 1980’s…

There is probably another way to broadcast a radio signal (and travel through space) using quantum mechanics, wormholes and extra-dimensionality. Perhaps this will allow us to communicate across far greater galactic distances with no lag in time. The current technology is too slow, even traveling at the speed of light the nearest star is 2.5 years from our planet.

Until then? Aliens probably don’t know we exist, but even if they do we’re still pretty backward and boring.

Until we develop better technology we remain the hillbillies of the universe.

Ben Alexander

February . 2017

I’ve been pitching restaurants on the idea of hiring a balloon artist since 2003.

This past Wednesday I was working with one of our newer Regional Partners just south of Tampa Bay, we were pitching restaurants in Bradenton and Sarasota. We landed 5 new clients, and then we had lunch. It was a great day, with lovely weather to boot.

The young man I was working with started as a 16 year old entertainer on the Tampa team, when he moved to Sarasota to attend college he approached me about growing the region there. He’s doing well; I went down there to teach him, hang out, and encourage him to grow a larger region.

After 13 years of landing new clients all over the place I feel like pitching is automatic and easy on a subconscious level. You could wake me up at 2AM, place me in front of the GM of a restaurant and I could get started without thinking about it. All business owners have to get good at the pitch, and the best way to do this is sheer repetition.

Balloon Distractions does not have a single competitor who has been pitching as long, as hard, or as frequently as we have. Me and my team have pitched restaurants THOUSANDS of times, and in that process we’ve learned a ton about what works and what doesn’t.

My most infamous pitch was in front of the investors on Shark Tank. That was very different from pitching restaurants, when I pitch a restaurant I’m talking to one person, with the simple goal of landing a tryout in that store.

The “sharks” were all talking to me at once, it was even more chaotic than the (edited) clip actually shows. If you’ve never seen the segment there’s a link at the top of this page.

Pitching investors is not the same as pitching clients. Investors have more at stake, a client can cancel your service if they don’t like you, an investor is married to your business, at least until they get their money back. If your enterprise crashes and burns your investor might lose everything they’ve put in.

After 13 years in business I’m still out there pitching. Even here in Tampa Bay, where you might think we’ve pitched every restaurant… there are new General Managers being promoted every month, new restaurants being built, new opportunities if you keep your eyes open.

Last night I went out to fill a booking at a restaurant that’s been a weekly client since 2003! I don’t even remember pitching the place, but I know they were one of our first clients when I started Balloon Distractions.

If you own a business I would encourage you to get out there and start pitching. Do it so many times that you become unconsciously competent at it.

Ben Alexander

February 17 . 2017

I had to do something. I only have one business suit left that still fits me.

Swimming was not enough, and my joints can’t handle running anymore, at least at my current weight. I needed to get my heart rate up, without tearing my body apart.

The elliptical has become my daily 30 minute habit every morning.  

I listen to the Rascal radio 3.0 app on my smartphone to pass the time.

This is one of the many reasons you want to be an entrepreneur and be FREE to do what you want. I work on my schedule and work-out on that same schedule.

I have three main goals for 2017, one of those goals is to get down to 170 lbs.

If half an hour on the elliptical does not do it I’ll increase to 45 minutes.

I’m also writing down every everything I eat in a small notebook.

See you at the Rec center!

Ben Alexander

February 15 . 2017

My name is Ben Alexander, I started writing this blog in 2014.

I’m just a middle class guy from New Jersey who likes to write about… whatever comes to mind, really.

The picture above is from 1998, that’s me and my oldest daughter Claire.

Today my daughters have finished college and they have been successfully launched into the grown up universe. I’m really proud of my girls, they turned out OK.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

From 2003 until 2017 I ran a nationwide talent agency, then sold the darn thing.

It was time to move on.

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In 2017 I went into the solar business with veteran owned and operated Tampa Bay Solar. Green tech is a frequent subject throughout this blog…

I’m currently an equity partner at Tampa Bay Solar, a solar installer that works primarily in Central Florida.

I’m also a consultant for other solar companies (outside of Tampa Bay Solar’s service area) who need help developing and building their sales teams.

I love selling solar, and showing sales teams how to do the same.

It’s all here in the blog, along with posts about motorcycles, guns, solar and anything else I’m thinking about on any given day.

This blog is really a record of my life, going back to 2014.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

I was in Rotary for a few years, and I went to Honduras to install water filters with a wonderful organization called Pure Water for the World.

I’m also a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity over in Dade City, just north of Tampa.

In April of 2022 I went to Ukraine to volunteer with the Methodist Church in Lviv.

It was a unique trip, for sure.

That month-long trip had a ripple effect in my life that continues to this day.

I write this stuff for my own enjoyment, feel free to share it on social media, or not.

God Bless!

Ben Alexander

SEPTEMBER ::: 2022

I was listening to a speech by entrepreneur Chris Brady and he was talking about entropy. Brady listed several scientific definitions for entropy, but my favorite definition is this:

Entropy = Neglected Things Fall Apart, over time.

When I was in my twenties I bought a home in Baltimore that was constructed in 1918. Over time I realized that it needed a major rehab that I did not have the funds nor the skill to carry out. When I sold the house a few years later it was with a sense of relief. The house was not as bad as the wreck pictured above, but there was plenty of original plumbing and electrical wiring that had not been replaced or updated since World War 1.

Then there’s automobiles… entropy and daily use will slowly turn a shiny new car into a big lump of faded metal that makes weird sounds and leaks oil on your driveway. I’ve been driving 15 to 20,000 miles per year for the last decade, it seems like I buy a car with 20,000 miles on it and in the blink of an eye it’s a sagging heap with 180,000 miles on the odometer!

Entropy will fade it, dry it out, rot it, or just disintegrate anything in it’s path over time.

Physical entropy in your house or your car is easy to see, but there is also a form of intangible entropy that is just as real. Intangible entropy will slowly go after everything from your relationships to your finances.

Your Body —

Entropy can destroy your health. In our modern society crappy food is everywhere and plentiful, along with entertainment like cable TV and Netflix that makes it easy to sit on your couch and watch endless entertainment for hours at a time. You need a system to fight entropy in your health. I do push-ups and swim in cold water several times each week. Some people write down everything they eat, others run marathons or do yoga. Maintaining your health is a constant battle against entropy. You need a daily habit just to maintain any semblance of good health.

Your Money —

Your financial life can easily descend into entropy and chaos simply by using credit cards and not tracking your debt number on a monthly basis. By the time I was 40 years old my business and personal debt had gone off the rails! Even with a degree in Economics I had let financial entropy creep into my life, one loan at a time, one debt at a time. I had spent money based on EGO rather than logic. EGO and filling your mind with endless marketing is a sure way to plunge yourself into debt and the chaos of financial entropy.

Your Mind —

Entropy is the enemy of the intellect. The best way to fight mental entropy is to develop a daily reading habit. Even 10 minutes of reading each day will hone your mind and keep you sharper than someone who never reads. Another way to fend off mental stagnation is to read about something new that sits outside your current expertise; microbiology, urban economics, Fibonacci numbers, quantum physics, the Crimean War, etc.

Tonight I’m attending a talk given by bestselling author and entrepreneur Orrin Woodward. I’ll be right there in the front row, taking notes and deepening my perspective on business and success. I don’t know what my competition is doing tonight, maybe  sitting at home watching TV? I’m fighting my own intellectual entropy by reading, listening and writing on a daily basis.

Your Business / Career —

I started Balloon Distractions in 2003, and a couple years later I started to coast. I delegated all my day to day work and just enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle for a few years. I wasn’t growing as a person, I was not improving my business, and entropy started to creep into everything.

Having a mentor who challenges you to grow and reach the next level is a great way to guard against career entropy. I like hanging out with folks in the Life Leadership (LIFE) community because there are people in that group who are earning 100 times as much as me. My mentor earns well over 100K per MONTH, and when I see how he interacts with people and how much he is constantly learning and growing it encourages me to follow the same path.

Truett Cathy, founder of Chic-Fil-A, was famous for always reading and learning up to the end of his life. Even as a billionaire he was learning about leadership and how to run a better business.

—-

The first step in fighting entropy is to be aware of it. Look for entropy in your life, and take action to correct it. An old house does not have to fall to ruin if you take action to maintain and even improve it.

If your relationships have stagnated a bit pick up the phone and take someone to lunch.

If your money is a mess get out a calculator and a notepad and start to figure it out.

If your brain is sluggish pick up a book.

Action over time is the enemy of entropy.

-Benjamin T. Alexander

February 10 . 2017

Disclaimer: I don’t work for Chevy, but I bought a used 2013 Volt in January, 2017.

I had test driven a Corvette at Wesley Chapel Chevrolet a few months previous. Sales pro Tim Autore had helped me out, and I got to know him a bit.

Tim had managed rock bands back in the day, he had even partied with AC/DC, Stevie Nicks, Nick Nolte and many other wild and crazy folks from that era.

Tim is one of those guys who is laidback, professional, and he makes his success look effortless. One gets the sense that he could put anyone at ease, especially when they are making a large decision like the purchase of a vehicle.

When I took the Corvette to triple digit speeds on the test drive Tim didn’t even blink. I guess after you hang with the 1980’s version of Nick Nolte nothing is shocking anymore.

I didn’t buy the Corvette at that time, but I went back to see Tim when I decided to buy a used Chevy Volt. They had 2 on the lot, and the prices were right. I bought the red one with 15,000 miles on it. The car was perfect, it looked brand-new.

If you just bought a Prius DON’T test drive the Volt, you’ll be mad at yourself for choosing the wrong car. My wife owns a 2010 Prius, I drive it all the time, the Volt beats it hands down, no contest.

I love my 2013 Chevy Volt.

As a business owner who drives 30,000 miles per year this car is perfect.

In normal driving I use full electric about 70% of the time. Driving around Tampa Bay I’m averaging over 75 miles per gallon. I charge my Volt every night, it takes 2 seconds to plug it in, just like a cell phone.

I’m spending less than $10 a week on gas, even though I drive a ton.

On full electric mode I get about 36 miles of range before the gas generator kicks on. You can hear the gas engine if you are going through town, not so much at highway speeds.

In full electric mode the Volt is quieter than any gas powered car.

The Volt is the most underrated car out there. GM built the Volt to be sold globally, so the  engineering is top notch.

In Europe the Volt sells under the Ampera brand name.

The Volt and the Ampera are directly competing against the plug in hybrid cars sold by Toyota, BMW and Nissan. For this reason GM spared no expense, the Volt was designed to compete against the best.

My Volt has the basic trim with a cloth interior and standard wheels. You can get a Volt with leather and chromed out rims, if you’re fancy like that. I prefer cloth seats in humid Florida.

The interior is very nice, it does NOT feel cheap or plastic like you might find in some smaller cars. The stereo is excellent, plenty of bass and high end response.

The sound system in the Volt matches the Alpine I had in my Lexus a few years ago.

The Volt rides like a $35,000 vehicle, accelerates like a BMW with a V-6, and sips less gas than a Prius. It’s tight as a drum. The lithium ion battery gives this car a very low center of gravity. In extreme cornering the Volt feels solid and stable.

My electric bill went up $20 for the month, but my gas costs went DOWN from $50 per week to about $15.

There are days when I use ZERO dead dinosaur juice.

The back seat is small, but in my first 5,000 miles I’ve only had 4 people in the car for less than 25 miles. This is not a car for a family with a bunch of little kids.

For 2 passengers the Volt is perfectly comfortable. 99% of the time I’m the only person in the car. In August both of my daughters will be in college, my backseat will remain empty.

If you are in the market for a stellar high-mileage commuter vehicle take a minute to visit Tim at the Wesley Chapel Chevy store to check out a Volt.

Ben Alexander

February 7 . 2017