It is all in the way you look at things

I chatted with a young man over the weekend that I have known since he was a small boy.

I recently had visited his business and was so very impressed with the place.
I told him how proud I was of him that he was doing so well. He looked at me and said…
“Cindy, all I did was create a job for myself so I could provide for my family.”

Gotta love an attitude like that.
I wish more people would share it.

Way to go Billy!!
Posted under Local Business Market,Local Marketing,stuff you need to know by Cindy on Friday 29 April 2011 at 2:46 pm

Brighton Dining.Com

I was reading a “Local Detroit” magazine the other day and came across a very interesting ad. I could hardly wait to get home and check out the website. What a Concept!
I have been racking my brain trying to use the concept and apply it to the small town where I live.
The website is     brightondining.com
Brighton, Michigan is located where 23 and 96 cross. Brighton Dining is made up of 9 family owned and operated restaurants. All of the restaurants are located within walking distance of each other. They all offer a very diverse cuisine. Looking at the menus it would be hard for me to choose which one to dine at first.
But… it is the concept of “WHY” they have all joined together that makes the website so unusual.
The group consists of 9 restaurants all in a very small area and in a city of less than 10,000 people. They are not in competition with each other, they are in competition with the chain restaurants… like the Applebee’s and the Ruby Tuesdays.
Joining together as they have done and promoting as one will be good for all I am sure.
I can’t help but think that this “concept” could be used to promote my small town. But at the moment I am brain dead as to HOW. Any input would be much appreciated.
Cindy
Posted under Local Business Market,Local Marketing,stuff you need to know by Cindy on Friday 29 April 2011 at 2:27 pm

If it Sparkles and Shines it is Lia Sophia

If it is shiny or sparkles I LOVE IT! I know for a fact you can never have enough shoes, bags or jewelry. 

 

I got an email from a friend of mine the other day showing me her new website. I am sure she sent it to me for a reason. She knows how much I like shiny sparkly things. The site contains lots of pretty items.
I have put this at the top of my list.
Curvature Bracelet

I have known Christy for a long time. She loves hosting parties and showing off all these pretty items. I found shopping at home from Christy’s website was what worked out best for me. 

 

Several years ago my husband brought ne home a couple of pins from this company. There were very cute. One of the teachers at the school that he services was hosting a fund raiser for another after school function. He bought the pins for me to help her out. A cat and a horse… my husbands knows what I like. 

 

I can see the fund raising possibilities with so many items to choose from and a price to fit every budget.
Browse the site
Book your party
Plan your fundraiser 

 

What ever works for you my friend Christy will be happy to help…. because that is just how she is.

Check out her website. 

 

Cindy
Posted under fundraising,stuff you need to know by Cindy on Thursday 7 April 2011 at 3:31 pm

What did you do today that caused a ripple effect?


I read an article about how simple acts can have tremendous rippling effects.
I would like to share it with you.:

It is called…

LEAVING GREAT LEGACIES
by Steve Goodier

Edwin Hubbel Chapin once said, “Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.” That is the definition of a legacy. Wouldn’t you love to do something that might strike a beautiful chord that will “vibrate in eternity”?

I’ve discovered this about legacies – generous people leave great legacies. I read about a couple in Canada who stopped to help a motorist who had run out of gasoline. It was a regular occurrence in their part of rural Canada. After they got him on his way, they bought
a new fuel can, scratched their initials on it, filled it with petrol and stored it in the trunk of their car.

A few months later they again stopped to assist a stranded motorist. But this time they GAVE him their gas can and told him to fill it up, keep it with him and pass it along to the next motorist he sees who has run out of fuel.

Though they never expected to see their can again, in a couple of years they spotted it being passed along to a grateful motorist on the road. They recognized it several more times over the years, and each time they asked its owner where it had come from. They ascertained that the can had traveled across the continent at least two times!

They never intended to leave a legacy. When they bought the fuel can they never dreamed that their action might strike chords that could vibrate in eternity. But that container is probably still traveling across Canada in the back of somebody’s vehicle!

I wonder how many stranded motorists have been rescued by the generosity of complete strangers who stopped to help? And how many have then taken the container, re-filled it, and finally passed it along to some other poor soul? Good will generated by a humble can of
fuel has no doubt been multiplied many times in countless ways, striking beautiful chords that vibrate forever.

It’s true – generous people leave great legacies. Even that small piece of yourself you freely give away may thrive in surprising ways throughout eternity.
========================================================
After I read it I thought of an incident that happened several years ago. My husband has a vending company. One very HOT day I had to help him fill vending machines. So that meant my van was loaded with pop chips and candy. Before I had gotten to my first stop I had a tire blowout on a very busy expressway near Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Go Blue)

Needless to say I was a damsel in distress. I got out the manual of how to change the tire and getting the spare out of its stored location proved to be my first obstacle. Standing by the side of the very busy road with cars traveling within inches of me going 90 miles an hour, I was well out of my comfort zone.

A white van pulled up behind me an a nice young gentleman got out and offered to help. He put on my spare tire as if he had done it many times in the past. He would not take money for his trouble nor would he accept my offer of junk food. he simply said, Please just have your husband return the favor one day to someone else.”

As he drove away I noted that it was an 84 Lumber Company van. His sewn in name tag told me his name was “Dennis”. When I got home I made a few phone calls and got the address of the 84 Lumber Company in Ann Arbor, where “Dennis” worked.

At that time I was a volunteer for our local cancer organization so I made a donation to it in his honor. Several days later I went into the cancer office and the ladies informed me that I had had a gentleman call and ask for me. They told him I volunteered there
and assured him that any message he left would get to me.

He proceeded to tell the ladies that I had made a donation in his honor simply for changing my tire. He went onto explain that my gesture was especially heart felt to him because he himself was a cancer survivor.

In writing this now many years later it still brings a tear to my eye of how a simple act of kindness can generate so much good.

Posted under stuff you need to know by Cindy on Wednesday 6 April 2011 at 4:14 pm

How old are your tires, Really?

I just had to share this video with you about tires.
It is very informative and a little scary.
I am on my way to check out “my tires.”
abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

Posted under stuff you need to know by Cindy on Wednesday 6 April 2011 at 4:05 pm

My Kind of Place

Several years ago my Dad introduced me to a new place to shop. Now my Dad is not a shopper so for him to want to show off what he found I could hardly wait. Best Bet Pawn, located right down town Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Now I just love junk stores but I must say this was a step or 2 above even my “Favorite Junk Store.”

We were all greeted by the owner Danny Garcia and of course his Grandfather. Since my Dad had been a prior customer I thought the greeting was given because of repeat business clientele… but to my surprise all that arrived were treated with the same attitude of, “glad you stopped in.”
Now I didn’t care about all of the stuff that was packed in that store right up to the ceiling. But I did care about the jewelry case. Be still my heart, those rumors that diamonds are a girls best friend are true.

Have you ever gone somewhere and your eyes just zeroed in on an object? Well that is what happened to me. Danny must have had 3 show cases full of beautiful rings but my eyes were drawn to a very unusual designed ring. It had 3 diamonds, 2 round and 1 oval, swirled off to the side. Now for someone not wearing a plain thick band this ring would have meant nothing… but to me it was icing on the cake.  And it was a perfect fit. Ever heard the expression, it was waiting for me? Well “it was waiting for me.”

My Dad also found a ring that he thought was just wonderful and my friend Billie Jean found one too. Billie always makes this Arizona trip with me. We leave the husbands home and are treated like little kids by my Mom and Dad, now that is a vacation!

But not wanting to seem anxious, we got a price and told Danny we had to think about it. ( I hate that expression, I’ll leave that for another post.) Then we LEFT.

Well I thought of nothing else except that perfect ring. What if someone bought it while I was…. THINKING ABOUT IT?????

We all went back 2 days later with me in the lead to do the bargaining. When I walked in the store, Danny took one look at me and said, “I am so sorry but I sold your ring yesterday.”

WHAT?????? HOW COULD YOU !!!!     “Just kidding”, he said with a smile. After I gained my composure not wanting him to think  I would have paid about anything he asked,  I asked him to get out all 3 of the rings we were interesting in out of the show case and give me your “BEST OFFER.”

SOLD… the 3 of us left with sparklers on our fingers and smiles on our faces.

I found it very odd, in the pawn shop there were only a couple of trays of men’s rings but there were several show cases “FULL” of  women’s rings, many of them wedding rings. I am still wondering what that means.

We go back to that pawn shop every year and this year was no exception… I found another ring exactly like I had been looking for, an anniversary ring ( channel set diamonds) it sets right along side of my beautiful ring and once again it was a perfect fit. It was waiting for me. I also found a right hand ring. It is very unusual. Yes it has beautiful diamonds, I believe the style is called Art Deco. It too fit perfectly. I think they were both waiting, just for me.

I even took a ring back that I had purchased a few years back from Danny. He gave me credit towards my new purchase, “what a guy.”

I always try to do my part to keep the economy going.
Next time your around the Lake Havasu City area, make the trip to  Best Bet Pawn. Danny and his Grandpa will take good care of you and please tell them,
Cindy sent you.

Posted under Local Business Market,Local Marketing,stuff you need to know by Cindy on Wednesday 6 April 2011 at 1:36 pm