Recently I wrote about wiring wall outlets. This time I want to talk about wiring wall switches and light fixtures. If you've ever looked at an installed wall switch, you might see that there are two black wires attached to it, and no white. Or you might see a black and a white. Or there might be a black and a white with a black mark on it. Does it make a difference? And if so, what is the difference? Let's find out.

Anyone who has sat through a high school science class may remember the term “osmosis.” This process was first described by a French scientist in 1748, who noted that water spontaneously diffused through a pig bladder into alcohol.

More than 200 years later, a modification of this process known as “reverse osmosis” allows people throughout the world to affordably convert undesirable water into water that is virtually free of health or aesthetic contaminants. Reverse osmosis systems can be found providing treated water from the kitchen counter in a private residence, to installations used in manned spacecraft.

Motivate your employees to succeed by playing games on the job.

Someday, maybe not for a long time in some owners' minds, selling the business will become a priority. Like many other events that occur in the business, planning ahead makes the difference between mediocre results and a true success.

One comment that I will never forget was a doctor telling me that when you're sick, the worst place to be is in the hospital. At first, this statement made absolutely no sense. But this doctor went on to explain that, in a hospital, there are germs all over the place. If you are sick, your immune system may not be able to fight off all of the other germs in the hospital.

Ever hear the old saying, “You'll catch more flies with honey than you will with vinegar”? What's that got to do with you and your business?

Most business owners that contact me are reaching out because they're frustrated by what their employees do and don't do. Rarely does someone contact me to let me know they love what their people do and that they're the best in the business. Most owners think poorly about the quality of work done by their employees. This is truly unfortunate. The negativity actually invites more bad performance.

The plumbing industry's second largest national supply house chain, Hughes Supply, is now owned by Home Depot - or soon will be, depending on when they wrap up all the legalities of the takeover. This was Home Depot's largest acquisition ever, costing around $3.5 billion. Hughes operates some 500 branches in 40 states with $4.4 billion in annual sales. Hughes is now part of Home Depot Supply, whose revenues are projected to shoot past $12 billion this year.

Editor's note: We received plenty of responses to Ellen Rohr's December 2005 column, “Women In Plumbing?” which was itself a response to Jim Olsztynski's September 2005 editorial, “Why Do Women Shy Away From The Trades?”

When a plunger doesn't get the throne room back into operation, homeowners usually turn to their plumber for relief. For some plumbers, these calls are a necessary evil that are more trouble than they're worth, but others find special opportunities in drain cleaning. In the course of customizing pricing books for contractors from coast to coast, I've noticed four major camps in the plumbing and drain cleaning business.

Code approval has become a problem area. But you cannot always blame the code-writing organizations. Many times, it is the standard writing organizations that have been delaying the acceptance of new joining methods. They are the groups that need a kick in the butt.