Dear Friends,
We have had some coolish weather here in Vermont that reminds me of October rather than the middle of August. I see some trees already beginning to change colors but there is plenty of summer left so I am blotting that out and trying not to be tempted to turn on the heat even when it is in the 40s at night.
This is Stephanie’s last issue of Kibbles & Bytes as she moves on to a new gig at a company that is about 50 miles closer to home for her. It has always been a tough commute for that long distance but Steph is always here on time with a smile and gets right to work on our web site, graphic design and newsletters. We are going to miss her mightily and wish her the best in the next adventure.
That leaves our marketing department a bit thin but Jason, Emily, Mike & I will get help from others while we seek out some new members of our dog team. If you know anyone in Vermont that has web and design skills have them drop us a line at jobs@smalldog.com.
We were chosen by the Vermont Business Magazine and Key Bank as one of the winners of the 5 X 5 X 5 awards here in Vermont. This honors the top 5 businesses in 5 business categories with the best growth over the last 5 years. This is our third time winning this honor although I thought they might never ask me back after I gave a talk at the last award presentation that questioned whether “growth” is a good measure of success. I don’t really think it is; I think sustainability, community involvement and other factors are better. Nevertheless, we are proud of the award. We also placed #75 on their annual VT100 list of companies (and #6 retailer) but pretty far behind the #1 company, Keurig Green Mountain, at $4.4 billion.
Apple stock hit an all-time high this week based both on the company’s continued stellar performance and in anticipation of this fall’s product releases. Over the past 10 years Apple’s stock is up 4,419%, which is the 4th best performer in the S&P 500. As of Monday, a $10,000 investment in Apple 10 years ago would be worth over $450,000 today.
This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive is just in time if you are going to hit the road over the Labor Day weekend. Hammerhead has just released the “Bouy” a dual port 17 watt charger for your car. This charger will simultaneously charge your iPad and your iPhone or a couple of iPhones. It fits right into your 12-volt outlet and provides two USB ports. I am bundling it this week with two Hammerhead flat Lightning cables so you are all set for the road. Normally this would be $57.97 but this week only and exclusively for the readers of Kibbles & Bytes you can get this bundle for only $29.99!