My apologies in advance for the longwinded post but I’ve had some thoughts rolling around in my head for the last 72 hours or so that I wanted to share.

First off—and this isn’t meant to show off or to stick it to any of PureFit’s competitors—but you’d be hard pressed to find another founder/president of a nutrition bar company who spends as much time on the road interacting with customers as do I. Whether it’s exhibiting at a natural food/products tradeshow close to home or jumping on a cross-country flight to Nashville to talk with customers at the Country Music Marathon and ½ Marathon, no one from a truly comparable company puts in the roadwork like I do.

The best part about traveling for PureFit is meeting our customers. From talking shop to shooting the you-know-what, each and every interaction is truly awesome. So, to everyone who takes the time to ask questions, provide positive feedback, deliver constructive criticism, and share a success story or two, thanks–because without you, PureFit wouldn’t exist and I wouldn’t get to say: You Guys Rock!

Recently, I had an opportunity to spend time on the road, visiting customers. My trip, which stretched on for 10 consecutive days, started in Boston with the 112th running of the Boston Marathon, and ended in Nashville, TN, with the 9th running of the Country Music Marathon and ½ Marathon. And while I’m pretty used to spending time on the road, this particular trip wasn’t without certain challenges and obstacles.

Before going any further, I should tell you that I’m really good at dealing problems as they unfold. As Stewart Scott from ESPN would say, in the moment, I’m “as cool as the other side of the pillow.” It’s not until after the fact that I grind my teeth and become frustrated, usually due to the fact that follow-up work—work that ultimately takes time away from PureFit’s customers—has to be done. It’s in those moments, when I have to clean up from someone else’s mistakes, that I find the mistakes themselves inexcusable.

Case in point:

On this recent trip out east, I found myself having to deal with major issues with some of the nation’s largest companies and brands, including:

• American Express
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car
• Freeman Expositions
• Sheraton Hotels
• Sprint Nextel
• UPS

I’m assuming most of the people who read this blog have never had the distinct pleasure of coordinating and managing the process of setting up, staffing, tearing down, and shipping home a full-size corporate exhibit booth. For me, doing all of that is as easy as riding a high performance road bike, but when company after company throws roadblock after roadblock your way, there’s only so much you can do.

Freeman Expositions. For those of you not familiar with Freeman Expositions, they set up the expo halls, move your product from the receiving dock to your booth, and charge you about five-times or more what is reasonable. When I arrived at the PureFit booth in Boston for Boston Marathon, it was clear that our entire pallet of 11,250 nutrition bars had been dropped. So, for $1,640.00, union forklift drivers couldn’t get the product to our booth undamaged. What is astonishing is it cost less to ship the entire pallet 3,000 miles from California to the east coast than it did for Freeman to haphazardly deliver it from a loading dock or storage facility to our booth. As any good business owner would do, I tried to file a claim with Freeman for the damages but they denied it without much hesitation. The funny part… Freeman took a photo of the pallet as it arrived at the dock, which indicated it arrived in perfect condition. Now, since Freeman won’t be reasonable about the situation, I have to file a dispute with American Express because Freeman refused to waive the drayage cost (which in my opinion is nothing more than an extortion fee to move things on union-controlled soil).

Sheraton Boston. This story is so unbelievable that once again, I have challenged the transaction through American Express. Sheraton’s business center wanted to charge me $700.00 to simply move our UPS packages from their office to a shipping dock one floor down. I asked why I couldn’t simply pay a bellman to do it, to which the business center’s staff said they would similarly have to charge me the same $700.00. Funny part is, when I called a supervisor—a woman named Nicole Brown–to ask for clarification, she stated she had never heard of such a policy and promised to call me back. I called to follow-up and I still haven’t heard back from her. I’m sure Sheraton will respond when American Express contacts them about my chargeback claim.

Sprint Nextel. I’ve been a Sprint customer for more than eight years, and if the company ever offered a “VIP Plan,” I would be one of the first people to sign on the dotted line, especially if it meant being able to talk to a decision maker if and when problems arise. I won’t bore you with all the problems I have encountered with Sprint, because I know many of you have your own and similar war stories to share, but this story has a classic twist. The entire time in Boston, my cell phone was unable to receive a Sprint signal, forcing the phone to use a roaming signal form Verizon. When I called Sprint to verify I had nationwide coverage, the customer service rep assured me that I did. When I asked for credit for the roaming charges—because I was pretty sure Boston is located in the continental United States—I was told I would have to call back after I receive my bill because adjustments to my account could not be made until the end of the billing cycle. This is just a guess but I bet the rep I spoke with on the phone is still looking at a map of the U.S.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Of course, since I was on the road, I had a reservation for a car, for two days. When I was in Nashville, I wanted to drive an hour north to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to visit the manufacturing plant where Corvettes are made. As an owner of several Vettes over my lifetime, visiting the Bowling Green facility is a right of passage. When I arrived at Enterprise’s reservation/ticketing desk to pick up my rental car, I was informed they were out of cars. Sound familiar to anyone? From Seinfeld:

Rental Car Agent: I’m sorry, we have no mid-size available at the moment.

Jerry Seinfeld: I don’t understand, I made a reservation, do you have my reservation?

Agent: Yes, we do, unfortunately we ran out of cars.

Jerry: But the reservation keeps the car here. That’s why you have the reservation.

Agent: I know why we have reservations.

Jerry: I don’t think you do. If you did, I’d have a car. See, you know how to take the reservation, you just don’t know how to *hold* the reservation and that’s really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody can just take them.

Agent: Let me, uh, speak with my supervisor.

Needless to say, Enterprise eventually scored me a pick-up truck, but really—did it have to come fully loaded with the stench of cigarette smoke, dirt and dust, and a broken windshield wiper? Sure, it had four wheels and didn’t shake at 80 mph, but get real… doesn’t a reservation mean anything anymore? Long story short, I made my 11:30 a.m. appointment at the plant and the tour was spectacular. Vette fans: Do yourself a favor and pay the $375.00 for the extended four-hour tour. I have it on good authority it’s well worth the price of admission. Renting from Enterprise… now that’s a whole-nother story.

UPS. Because they make it so difficult to file a claim, UPS’ entire claims process encourages you not to file one in the first place. Federal Express on the other hand simply pays you anything under $100 and lets you get on with your life. Not UPS; no sir… they appear to want to knock you down and eventually get you to “tap out” just like a contestant in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). One of my lifelong business dreams is to see Fed Ex Ground kick UPS’ ass. Once Fed Ex’s online system designed to ship packages is on par with UPS’, PureFit will ship exclusively with Fed Ex. In any event, here’s the situation I encountered this particular trip with UPS. When I arrived in Nashville, a box of coupons I shipped out for the Country Music Marathon and ½ Marathon Expo had been torn open and half of the coupons were missing from the box itself. So, here again, I get to waste valuable time filing yet another claim, which UPS will undoubtedly deny due to the fact that they didn’t get to inspect the package in question. We will also have to file a separate claim to receive credit for the cost of the replacement package—which had to be sent by next day air from our office in California to Nashville—but I’m sure UPS will deny this claim too, stating the incident triggering the over-night package never existed in the first place.

Situations like those mentioned above cost PureFit and a lot of other small to medium size businesses a ton of time and energy. Sadly, I’ve come to accept that some companies take advantage of us business travelers simply because they can. With the cost of gas being so high, eventually small companies like PureFit may be forced to sit on the sidelines, and service-oriented industries—not to mention our own customers—are going to feel our absence the most.

If there is a silver lining to the entire road trip it’s that I didn’t think I could top the Corvette factory tour, but with the help of a kind soul, I did. The concierge at my hotel in Nashville scored a great ticket for me to see Bon Jovi with Daltrey as the opening act. The show was amazing! The band played for something like 2 ½ hours, which included cameo appearances from Leann Rimes and Big & Rich. Bon Jovi ended the show with their version of the national anthem: “Wanted, dead or alive.”

I realize this is late notice but I’m in Nashville, Tennessee, this week for the 9th Annual Country Music Marathon & ½ Marathon and Health & Fitness Expo. If you live in the area and are planning on running in this year’s race, be sure to stop and say hello. You can find us in booth #509 in the Health & Fitness Expo hall starting at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow morning (April 24), and again starting on 10:00 a.m. on Friday.

According to race organizers, around 30,000 runners of all ages and abilities are expected to participate in this Saturday’s race, with more than two-thirds opting for the 13.1 mile half marathon. As for my team and I, we’ll be handing out samples of our award-winning, all natural, 40/30/30 nutrition bars, as well as providing sound and practical advice for maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine, all day Thursday and Friday (booth #509 in the Marathon exhibit hall — located in the Nashville Convention Center).

For more info on this week’s events, see the Country Music Marathon & ½ Marathon website.

I get asked a lot about coffee for athletes. I don’t mean a special coffee made for athletes (although that might be an idea—Athlete Espresso, anyone?), but I mean–should athletes drink coffee? While opinions vary widely, there are a few facts to keep in mind:

1. Used in moderation, caffeine is relatively harmless to healthy adults who are not pregnant.
2. Coffee (again in moderation) is a great way to “wake-up” in the morning and get your day going. If coffee is part of your morning ritual, go for it (although consider switching to tea which has less than a third of the caffeine).
3. Coffee (in moderation) does have a stimulatory effect on the digestive tract and metabolism.
4. Numerous studies have concluded that caffeine facilitates the metabolism of fatty acids during continuous aerobic activity.

So the short answer is, yes, athletes can drink coffee so long as they stay hydrated (coffee is a diuretic, which will increase urine output and decrease hydration) and drink it in moderation. 

For some people, the cost of doing business is being on the road more days than not. If air travel is your business partner, than you are all too aware of the less-than-savory options when it comes to in-flight meals. You also are probably sick of paying five-star restaurant prices for airport fast food.

Do know what I’m talking about? If you answer yes, than consider this: A box of great tasting PureFit bars is smaller than your laptop and weighs less than a soft cover airport novel. Yet inside that package is a virtual survival kit for travelers. All natural, high protein bars are just what the travel doctor ordered when you are on the road, and we’ve got them now in Berry Almond Crunch!

Fifteen bars of travel-ready nutrition come in each box, enough to hold you over on your next business trip for sure. Lest you become over-indulged with one flavor, may I suggest you buy five boxes in an assortment of flavors, and I’ll throw in a sixth box free? That’s 90 wheat and gluten free bars—that should get you across the country a few times. Just go to the online PureFit store now, and start arriving at the other end of your business trip energized and ready for anything. Happy traveling!

Pearl Izumi was sold by Nautilus to Shimano—they used to make the best cycling clothes in the world. I recently got a brand new pair of their gloves (the second time) and they’re falling apart already.

A few years ago, I got an eight-foot table with a ten-year warranty from Staples. It broke, and now Staples won’t warranty it because I don’t have the receipt. I called the table manufacturer, but they won’t warranty it either, because the serial number (printed on stick-on label) is no longer readable. My Sony television just broke; its one year out of warranty, so I have to buy a new television now.

Some people might say this is the cost of doing business, but here at PureFit, we don’t see it that way. The cost of doing business should never outweigh the value you place on your customers. Our customers are our most important aspects, and that’s why at PureFit we stand behind our product!

What do six-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps and PureFit have in common? Apparently not the energy bar they eat. In commercials launched today, Phelps is seen chewing on a PowerBar before diving into an indoor Olympic-sized pool full of sharks. “Fear is good,” Phelps muses.

Fear may be good, and maybe Phelps does prefer PowerBars, but after seeing this ad, I just had to get something off my chest. You see, PureFit is not about fear—it’s about family and health and normal people, and I certainly hope that anyone smart enough to choose a PureFit bar wouldn’t be dumb enough to dive into a pool of sharks.

Of course Phelps survives his shark swim in the same way that a cartoon superhero is invincible. But neither a PureFit Bar or a PowerBar are going to make you immortal. So why all the bravado in the new PowerBar marketing campaign? Maybe it’s because PowerBar can’t talk about the nutritional value of a PowerBar with the same Phelpsian superlatives.

We here at PureFit understand you are most likely just like us. You’re savvy, fun to be around and you try to live a healthy lifestyle. You’re not an Olympic athlete or a superhero, but you are smart—smart enough to see beyond the hype and choose the ONLY great-tasting, all-natural, high protein 40-30-30 nutrition bar on the market. This bar—the PureFit Bar—is just as at home in your kid’s lunchbox, as part of the PureFit Fat-Burning System, in your back pocket on a century ride…

…or perhaps even while teetering on the brink of a shark-filled pool (Hey, we won’t be offended if you use the PureFit Bar to distract the sharks—we’ll make more!).

So you know how people always want to return to those halcyon days of college? Well I just got the chance to, and, to be honest, it is shaping up to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional life to date.

The Center for Entrepreneurship at California State University, Fullerton, is part of that institution’s award-winning Mihaylo College of Business and Economics, and I was fortunate to recently be given the opportunity to mentor six seniors with their semester projects. These students are Julie Woods, Jeff Abraham, Maria Lizarraga, Jacob Poth, Jenn Angel, and Shawn Mermilliod.

So you’re probably wondering how this all works. The program accepts applications from Orange County businesses that are looking for assistance with improving six areas of their operations. The applicants range from small companies with revenues in the low six figures, all the way up to multi-million dollar companies. The business on which my students are focused must remain nameless for confidentiality reasons, but I can tell you it’s a successful salon with major expansion plans. Over the course of the project, each one of my students takes a part of the salon’s business and analyzes it. Our focus is on marketing, accounting, public relations, team building, and website development and optimization.

I am truly having a blast and will admit I’m probably more enthusiastic than the students — I think they just want to graduate! My own excitement for this project is rooted in my experience as an entrepreneur. I’m proud of where PureFit is today, and I’m eager to give back to others who dare to dream as big as I have dreamed.

For more information on Cal State University’s unique program, contact Michael Ames, director of the Small Business Institute, Center for Entrepreneurship at sbiames at fullerton dot edu.

At PureFit, we believe in going well beyond producing a nutritious, great-tasting nutrition bar. We believe in a holistic approach to health involving regular exercise and good nutrition. I guess you could say we also like to walk our talk.

Making a great nutrition bar is, well, great, but we strive to go beyond the product. PureFit is a lifestyle. It is a lifestyle about which my staff and I are passionate, and we are always eager to share that passion with you. Towards that end, we aim to pass on our knowledge based on experience to you, our customer, through providing healthful living tips or PureFit Tips, as we like to call them.

Today’s PureFit Tip is about hydration. Most people know that staying hydrated is important for overall health, but it is especially important for sports performance and body fat loss.

• The average person needs eight 8-ounce cups (64 ounces) of water a day without factoring in exercise or climate variables.
• During exercise (or other strenuous activity), be sure to consume even more water.
• We suggest people drink at least 16-ounces of water before exertion and that they consume an additional 32 ounces for every hour of exercise.

Don’t get us wrong, we believe PureFit bars are an important part of a healthy nutrition and fitness regiment, but be sure to not forget the simple basics of healthy living. Take full advantage of that which is free–clear, clean, cool water.

PureFit nutrition bars are all about what they do not contain in terms of potentially harmful ingredients or ingredients which may interfere with the bar’s ultimate nutritional value. For example, PureFit nutrition bars don’t contain any dairy, artificial sweeteners, hydrogenated oils, trans fats, or sugar alcohols. They also don’t contain gluten.

The fact that PureFit bars are gluten-free is important to many people but especially to those who suffer from Celiac Disease. Celiac Disease (also called celiac sprue, nontropical sprue, gluten-sensitive enteropathy, or, simply, CD) is a genetic, autoimmune, intestinal disorder triggered by gluten. It affects, on average, 1 out of every 133 people, and yet 97 percent of people who have Celiac Disease don’t even know they have it. As many as three million Americans are believed to have Celiac Disease, and, if left untreated, these people run the risk of additional complications including, but not limited to, osteoporosis, cancer and autoimmune diseases.

For somebody who has Celiac Disease, exposure to gluten (wheat products) damages the villi of his or her small intestine making it difficult for him or her to absorb essential nutrients from food. Currently, the only effective treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet.

PureFit has long been committed to making a product that is gluten-free, but we also feel it is vitally important to educate people about Celiac Disease. This is a topic to which we will continue to return over the coming months, and it is one that is core to the PureFit philosophy. In the meantime, for additional information on Celiac Disease, check out the following resources:

National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA)

Celiac Disease Foundation (CDF)

Celiac Sprue Association (CSA)

PureFit is a proud supporter of the Celiac Sprue Association (CSA).

I’m Robb Dorf, founder and CEO of PureFit. PureFit is truly a product of my own personal passion for living a healthy lifestyle rooted in fitness and good nutrition. As a student, I studied exercise physiology, and I followed my studies with more than a decade of experience in the health and nutrition industry. Fitness and nutrition is more than just head-knowledge for me. It’s also more than just a business proposition.

I am an athlete who, like anyone who has had the satisfaction of achieving personal goals, is proud of my own athletic accomplishments. More importantly for my customers, however, the first-hand knowledge I have gained in the process of training and competition has been invaluable in my pursuit of the ideal nutrition bar.

PureFit is, for me and my team, truly a way of life. We are constantly aware of how much misinformation is out there when it comes to nutrition and fitness. Educating people on what it takes to achieve maximum health and fitness is as much a part of what we do at PureFit as deciding what ingredients should go into our next nutrition bar.

My vision has always been to take a holistic approach to one’s health, and like I’ve always said, I like to keep it simple. Life is too short to not do what you enjoy, and regular exercise and good nutrition make doing what you enjoy even more enjoyable.