RECENTLY, I STARTED LISTENING TO STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW, a podcast by the folks at HowStuffWorks. A recent episode on high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) caught my attention because it’s a hot topic in the food industry and in our family. When The Boss and I are shopping for food for Peanut, we keep an eye out for HFCS in the ingredients and avoid it as much as we can. And, of course, most of us have seen the ads recently that the Corn Refiners Association has run lately on how there’s nothing wrong with HFCS. We all know that’s a load of crap. Right? Read on…
Tabled Ideas - Putting it all on the table
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I DON’T CONSIDER MYSELF A CREATIVE PERSON. That’s not to say that I don’t have an original thought. It’s just that I always think of creativity associated with artists and visionaries, neither of which I count myself among. But since I’ve started working on getting things done in earnest, I’ve found that even just doing the first part, collection, opens the floodgates for new ideas. Read on…
THE BIG NEW BUZZ IS FIGURING OUT how to turn Twitter into cash. Everyone’s got a book, or a seminar, or a podcast, or a website about how to use Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, blogs, and anything else that has the faintest whiff of social media about it to create marketing gold. Most of these so-called experts are completely missing the point. Social media is not about your business. It’s not about your product, and it sure as heck isn’t about your marketing, Madison Avenue or otherwise. It’s about your people. Read on…
I WENT TO A SEMINAR HELD TONIGHT by the Hagerstown Economic Development Council and the Maryland branch of the Small Business Administration regarding the new America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) loan program that launched this week. For those of you who have been in business for at least 2 years, this is an amazing opportunity that you don’t want to miss out on. I’m going to give you some of the details from the meeting, as even most banks are not clear on the details of this program yet. Read on…
I HAD A MOMENT OF WEAKNESS THE OTHER DAY. The realization that summer is a slow time of year for our business, combined with the knowledge that we’re not operating in the black yet, hit home somewhat hard. Some might even call it a mini-meltdown. I lashed out at The Boss in IM. I got myself in a funk for the rest of the day. But sometimes that’s just what you need to clear your head and crystalize what it is we need to move forwards. Read on…
I LOVE FOOD, WHICH IS NO SURPRISE FROM LOOKING AT ME. My tastes range from tender aged prime rib right down to a nice bowl of stovetop neon noodles. My father always says that I don’t look at the descriptions in a restaurant, I just look at the prices and pick the most expensive. Hardly true, but an indicator that I definitely appreciate the finer things on the plate. I would go so far as to say that I am passionate about eating, but not in the way you think I mean it. Read on…
DECISIONS ARE MADE BY THOSE WHO SHOW UP. You can’t win if you don’t play. You’ve gotta risk big to win big. We’ve all heard the clichés over and over. We all know they’re true. Most of us still don’t listen. Whether it’s cynicism, a lack of time, or the big one – fear, we just don’t put ourselves out there. Thoreau wrote, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Even in this day and age of the Internet, being able to stand up and shout to the world at a cost of nothing more than pennies, most people don’t get beyond tweeting “it’s time to feed the cat.” Read on…
