Posts Tagged ‘food’
Does It Really Take Money To Make Money (Online or Offline)? A Reality-Check of 2 Case Studies
The short and simple answer to this question is NO!
Now, before you start screaming that I am crazy, out of my mind, have lost my marbles and all the other things that generally get tossed around when someone has the nerve to state something like that, let me clear a few things up.
It does not take a monetary investment to get your business off the ground (aside from the everyday items you already have around your house).
It does take time, effort, drive and determination on your part to do it though, a good dose of imagination, sprinkle in some luck for good measure and most importantly, it takes a dream. Now I am not going to go into any of the usual dream-building, nor will I tell you exactly what to do, or how hard you have to work to do it. You already know the answers to these things.
NOW, to make it big (and trust me, what you consider to be ‘big’ may differ greatly from every other reader of this article) it will at some point take monetary investments. There, I said it. At some point, if you really want to break out and make some serious money, you will have to invest some money in your business.
But that does not mean you can’t get started for free, work hard, and see your cashflow begin to roll in. At that point, reward yourself, you’ve earned it, maybe take your loved one out for a dinner, because he/she probably had to put up with quite a bit already.
Being an entrepreneur is not hard, but the dedication it demands can be hard on any relationship, so take a night off.
Ok, now we’re back, had a great and wonderful evening, time to get back to work. The next step is to take some of the money you are making and if at all possible, invest it all in growing your business (after all, you probably still have a job that pays your bills at this point).
If you reinvest at least a healthy part of what you earn from your new venture, you can achieve the success you dreamed of, but beware, it can be an pretty strong temptation to start tossing your money out the window, but I know you are strong enough, deep inside (go ahead, grab yourself by the collar and shake a little) to overcome it.
Let me give you two examples from my own experience that I hope will inspire you to take your dream, embrace it and get you rolling with your own vision.
Case Scenario 1: Offline Food Delivery Service
While still living in San Antonio, I was working part time at a Pizza joint delivering pizzas a few nights a week. I had a full time job as a dispatcher, but with a wife (now ex-wife), two kids, a dog and a cat, and all the bills that come with a family, things can get tight. The team that managed this little franchise was doing a pretty poor job at marketing, and an even worse job at managing. Well, enough of the ugly picture, it just gets worse. Time to talk shop…
I wanted to do something a little different, help my colleagues (who were just as fed up as I was), so I happened to notice that most of the deliveries (and probably the only thing really keeping that pizza shop going) was the local Air Force training facility.
So I sat down one weekend, with my ex-wife and laid out the plan (You have to have a plan. Let it start as a vision and a dream, but make sure you write it out step by step).
The plan was simple, take orders from the Airmen, pick up food, take the food to them, and get paid. Easy, huh?
Ok, here’s what I did, I made some flyers on my beat up old computer, used a freeware contact management software to keep track of customers and an old tin lockbox I had in the garage for a change drawer. Bingo, N.E. Deliveries was born.
We would take calls from the local servicemen and my ex-wife would jot down their order. She then paged me, since I normally hung out (if I wasn’t on a run) near Fast Food Central (a little corner where a bunch of the main chains all had a shop). I called her back from the payphone (I didn’t have a cell phone at the time), took the order, grabbed it from the store and took it to the Airbase. Cost to the Airmen? Price of the food, plus a $5 delivery charge and whatever they wanted to tip me. Understand the scenario please, these men and women, come out of basic training and haven’t even seen a Big Mac in ages. Now they are at a technical school, which still doesn’t give them the freedom to run down the street and grab a taco.
It only took one weekend and I had made more money with this venture than I had during the whole week of delivering pizzas every night.
But here’s the kicker. Word spread real fast, I got too busy and I was even getting orders to go pick up pizzas at my old shop (they couldn’t deliver fast enough and people were willing to pay the delivery charge for good and fast service). We even started getting calls from the local neighborhoods, were our fliers had spread to, or other personnel, who were not in training at the airbase, lived.
Uhoh, we ran into a big problem, too much business. (What a wonderful problem to have). It happened that I kept running into some of my former colleagues, and boy I tell you, the first few times they saw me show up at their shop to grab a pizza and then a little while later some others saw me deliver their pizza to the airbase, wow, what a rush that was and it was the turning point for my company. 4 of the drivers that I was pretty close to and that I had great respect for came on board with me instead.
The end scenario was that we delivered a lot of food to hungry people and made everyone happy in the process. And the drivers were able to make more money as well.
Scenario 2: Online and offline Telecommunications Brokerage
Unfortunately, N.E. Deliveries had to stop when we were transferred to Japan (thinking back, I know I could have sold the concept and kept it going, but I was still new to business thinking).
So, here we were, overseas in a new country, not a lot of jobs to even start with, what to do.
I happened to notice that a lot of the phone services for calls back to the States were very expensive and even more so in my case, since most of my family lives in Germany.
I also happened to have noticed this online company, which was giving away free dealerships for long distance calls, callback programs and a few other telecommunications services. And who doesn’t like free? Not only that, but their rates were pretty good, they offered not just one service from one company, but a lot of them together. So I sat down at that old beat up computer again, cleared out all the contacts from N.E. Deliveries out of the same old freeware contact manager, and created some new flyers. I was able to hang them up in a lot of areas at no charge and started to get some calls in. Now, part of my online business meant, I could literally just send them to a website, let them pick the service they wanted and just wait for my check. The problem I saw though was that a lot of military people overseas at the time were not familiar with what a callback service is, so I decided to help. I put my phone number on the flier, and when someone called, I explained to them briefly the cost, how it works and what makes it better for them than using, say a calling card. I would even go visit them to show them how and even set up an account I used for myself as a demo account and would allow them to call home to the United States for 5 minutes for free, just so they could say hi to someone special in their life.
Just doing something simple like that (and it really didn’t cost me much on my phone bill) generated a lot of extra sign ups, since I went out of my way to give them more information than any of the other companies that were trying to push their services.
Ultimately, this lead to a steady, monthly stream of income and several other opportunities to work with other companies as a telecommunications consultant. The best part? I learned everything I needed to know from the online company I signed on with, I still learn a lot even now. I am still receiving paychecks from clients that signed up with me all those years ago, who now have services through me in either the United States or in some of the other countries they are now stationed in. And once I took some of that income and placed a small display ad in the local military paper, wow, things really started to take off.
The overall thing I want you to leave with after taking the time to read all of this is plain and simple: YOU CAN MAKE MONEY OFF-LINE AND/OR ON-LINE, without investing any additional money (I only gave you two examples, but your imagination will guide you well, as long as you think outside of the box). And you can grow your business even more by reinvesting some of your earnings (if not all) into your new venture.
I know you’ve heard it a thousand times before, but I have to say it anyway. If I can do it, so can you. I have no special education (aside from the school of hard knocks), no degree, none of those things. I am just an average guy, with a computer, an internet connection, a printer and most importantly the dream, desire, vision and determination to succeed.
Here’s to your success,
Xavier Nelson is the publisher of eBusinessCornerNews, your source for reviews, articles, free resources and more. Get your free subscription at http://blog.makemoneymarketingonline.com right now.
Don’t forget to grab your free copy of the new, rebrandable ebook “Time to laugh” at http://freestuffbazaar.com/timetolaugh and promote your website and grow your list further. My gift to you.
Stripper–Turned–Waitress Cant Leave Former Job Behind
She stretches in the break room for 30 minutes before each shift. She glides around the dining room like silk wafting on the breeze. She’s been known to strip off her shirt and bra to combat the heat in the kitchen.
The newest addition to the Red Robin wait staff, Paula Roche (also known as Mystique and Sable), who spent the past five years dancing at various upscale gentlemen’s clubs, is finding that old habits die hard.
“We absolutely love having Paula around,” said Red Robin manager, Ted Sunds, who appeared to be having problems adjusting his wedding band. “It is truly a joy to welcome her as the newest addition to our Red Robin family.
“The guests love her, too. She has become, in just a short time, our most requested server by far. We’ve even set up a private room for her to accommodate all her regulars, who, by the way, tend to be some pretty wealthy and influential people. Who would have thought the mayor would dine regularly at Red Robin? Ha. Take that Chili’s.
“And the morale around this place has gone through the roof.”
On any given night, Roche waits on as many as 75 guests, and requires the assistance of what amounts to her own personal staff: two bussers, two food/drink runners, a bartender, and her own floor supervisor. And other than the 6′ 3″, 275-pound Bruno Iafrate-employed by Roche and required to stand by the door to make sure the VIPs remember their dinner etiquette-her entire support team is female.
“I’ve worked with Sable before,” said Envy, one of Roche’s runners. “In fact, we worked at The Flashing Chest and Booby Knockers together, and we were working the same shift that night Knockers was shut down because of the new laws. It was kind of a drag, but I can see now that things happen for a reason. This is a nice change of pace, and could really be a profitable gig.”
Judging from the rolled up bills safely tucked in her money belt/garter (newly added to her Red Robin uniform thanks to Sunds), Roche & Company are already reaping the rewards. She works four nights a week, coming on the floor at 5 p.m., then again for meal sittings at 6:30 and 8:00, and though exact numbers aren’t available, it is estimated that she brings home anywhere from $500-$1000 per night.
“We do okay,” said Envy. “Sable is in high demand at this place. It’s not like the other places where the competition was cut-throat, and the girls had to quickly establish their territory and guard it from the wolves. Compared to Booby’s, these other girls are child’s play.”
“The male employees love Sable…er, um…Paula,” said Sunds. “She seems to have a natural bond with the guys, and they’ll do anything for her. But the others-the female servers and bartenders-uh uh…not so much.”
Said longtime Red Robin waitress, Bethany Haller, “She’s a bitch. Along with all her little groupies. I thought this was a restaurant. What happened to suggestive selling, and hot food first, and all the other Red Robin serving procedures we were trained to follow? She’s a prima donna with her own agenda, and she has management wrapped around her g-string. It’s disgusting the way they treat her, like she’s some kind of celebrity. I’ve been here six years, and it took me two to get my preferred schedule. She’s been here what, a month? It’s garbage.”
“And she always needs help,” said waitress Tanya Stearns, “but if you’re say, helping take out her food, you can only go up to the door of the room. You can’t go in. It’s like this law, and of course there’s always CoCo, the talking ape, to make sure.
“She totally talks down to you, like you’re this piece-of-crap waitress and she’s above you and makes more money…oh, well you know what I mean. It’s like we are simply there to help and everybody comes in to see her…oh, um…anyway, the guys don’t seem to have a problem with her. She talks the same way to them, and they eat that crap up. And Ted…oh my God, Ted. He is always turning up the heat in the kitchen and freezing out the dining room, and he’s constantly messing with the music anytime she comes out on the floor.
“If his wife could only see him.”
“First of all,” said Sunds defensively, “Paula has single-handedly created a new definition for ’suggestive selling.’
“Two…I am not married,” he added, discreetly tucking away his wedding band. “And C…my wife doesn’t understand me.”
Roche was unavailable for comment. The only way she would grant any type of access, an interview or otherwise, was if a party made a dinner reservation in her section, and the earliest available reservation is for a week from Thursday.
After over 12 years as a waiter and bartender, Dennis Rymarz walked completely away from the business and launched Don’t Tip the Waiter, a one-of-a-kind satirical publication that reports fictional news and events from the restaurant industry.
Initially intended specifically for servers and bartenders, the publication is now read by a rapidly growing audience that includes just about anyone who goes out to eat.
Don’t Tip the Waiter is distributed free-of-charge to bars and restaurants in the Detroit area, and can be read on line at http://donttipthewaiter.com
New Advances In Early Breast Cancer Detection
In November 2003, the American Cancer Society stated that breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women between the ages of 40 and 44. In the United States, there are approximately 200,000 new cases of breast cancer and more than 40,000 deaths; making the U.S. one of the countries with the highest death rate due to breast cancer. Perhaps the most alarming statistic is 1: 8 women will eventually develop breast cancer over their lifetime.
One of the most powerful steps a woman can take to reduce her risk for developing breast cancer is to educate herself about the petrochemicals, or xenoestrogens that are in her environment and work to eliminate or reduce them. Petrochemicals are “hormone disruptors” and it is through the unbalancing of your hormone system that can lead to problems. These xenoestrogens are found in cosmetics, lotions and fingernail polish and polish remover. They are obviously found in pesticides and insecticides. What you may not be aware of is that petrochemicals are found in plastics. If food is placed in a plastic container and reheated in the microwave, the plastic melts into your food and you ingest it. The harder the plastic, the more resistant it is to this process but the potential for accidental xenoestrogen ingestion is still present. Simply put, do not reheat food in plastic containers in the microwave.
Conventional screening methods all examine structure. For example, mammography uses X-ray to examine breast tissue. Any structure that has grown large enough to be seen by X-ray could be detected by mammography. However, mammography can have a high false positive rate. In fact, only 1 in 6 biopsies are found to be positive for cancer when found by mammography or clinical breast exam. This leads to increased psychological stress, physical trauma and financial concerns.
Other risks of mammography include the radiation exposure, although this has been debated by doctors for many years. Recently published in Radiation Research, 2004 the author suggests that the risks associated with mammography screening may be FIVE times higher than previously assumed and the risk-benefit relationship of mammography needs to be re-examined.
There exists a technology that can detect a breast issue YEARS before a tumor can be seen on X-ray or palpated during an exam. This technology has been approved by the FDA as an adjunctive screening tool since 1982 and offers NO RADIATION, NO COMPRESSION AND NO PAIN. For women who are refusing to have a mammogram or those who want clinical correlation for an existing problem, digital infrared thermal imaging may be of interest.
Thermal cameras detect heat emitted from the body and display it as a picture on a computer monitor. These images are unique to the person and remain stable over time. It is because of these characteristics that thermal imaging is a valuable and effective screening tool.
Breast thermography has undergone extensive research since the 1950s. There are over 800 peer-reviewed studies on breast thermography with more than 300,000 women included in large clinical trials. An abnormal thermogram is 10 times more significant as a future risk indicator for breast cancer than a first order family history of the disease. A persistently abnormal thermogram carries a 22-fold higher risk of future breast cancer.
Medical doctors who interpret the breast scans are board certified and endure an additional two years of training to qualify as a thermologist. Thermography is not limited by breast density and is ideal for women who have had cosmetic or reconstructive surgery. It is recommended that since cancer typically has a 15 year life span from onset to death, that women begin thermographic screenings at age 25.
Thermographic screening is not covered by most insurance companies but is surprisingly affordable for most people. For more information or to find a certified clinic in your area, go to www.proactivehealthonline.com.
Brenda Witt is co-owner of Proactive Health Solutions in Southern California. She is an American College of Clinical Thermology (ACCT) certified thermographer in the Orange County area.
A Very Simple Program Anybody Can Follow To Gain MASS
Until I started following a routine to eat, my gains were minimal. Once I set my eating times to a specific time during the day along with a protein boost, I could see the gains immediately. This sample program is a quick way to get your protein WAY up and generally increase your food intake. But it doesn’t require the traditional sit down 6+ a day to eat 30 chicken breasts and spend all day cooking. I’ve got a full-time job at a corporate office. Cooking isn’t an option. Nor is eating 6+ times a day involving meals with Tupperware and the likes. I need food and I need it fast.
Try this program on for size and notice the size you just might see.
Meal 1 – 7:00am
- 1 packet of a meal replacement with 16 ounces of skim milk
- 1 serving of whole grain cereal
- 1 cup of non/low-fat yogurt
- 1 piece of fruit
Meal 2 – 9:00am
- 1 serving of whey protein mixed in 10 ounces of water
- 1 large apple
Meal 3 -12:00pm
- 2 grilled chicken breasts
- 1 serving of brown rice
- 1 cup of low-fat yogurt
- 1 serving of whey protein
Meal 4 – 3:00pm
- 1 packet of a meal replacement with 16 ounces of water and 5-10 grams of
- 1 large banana
L-Glutamine
Pre-Workout
- 1 workout bar of your choice (preferably some carbs and 20+ grams of
protein)
Meal 5 – 6:00pm (Post-workout)
- 1 serving of whey protein combined with a 5gram serving of Creatine
mixed in kool-aid. (This is an important meal and is designed for an
insulin spike at just the right time to increase creatine and amino acid
uptake by the muscle cells).
Meal 6 -7:00pm
- 8 to 10 ounces of a lean round or flank steak
- 1 serving of rice
- 1 medium baked potato
- 1 large green salad
Meal 7 – 10:00pm
- 1 packet of a meal replacement with 16 ounces of skim milk
- 1 large banana
- 3 to 5 grams of L-Glutamine
And that’s about it. Simple? You will be significantly increasing the protein uptake. Which means you should be increasing that water consumption as well. I’m not a fan of waking up at 1:00am to get more protein and therefore, I did not include anything beyond 10:00pm. I’ve noticed some significant gains from this program. My workouts were hardcore but my nutrition was lacking. By putting my eating times to a set schedule, I felt better during the day and was even more ready to tackle that workout later in the day.
Good luck,
Marc David is a bodybuilder, writer, and author of the the e-book “The Beginner’s Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding” (BGFB): What Every Beginner Should Know but Probably Doesn’t. Marc has written over 20 articles and has been featured in several health and fitness websites. Marc’s opinionated and informative articles on bodybuilding, weight loss and training are featured regularly on: http://www.freedomfly.net
To subscribe to Marc’s free b-weekly e-zine, visit the Freedomfly website here: http://www.freedomfly.net/fitnessnewsletter.htm
Peugeot Pepper Mill Decorate Your Kitchen
One of the important parts in your house is kitchen because in this place you spend your time to create or prepare the food for your family. On the other hands, there will be a lot of equipment to support your cooking activity. The kitchen equipment also can be function as the best decoration because they will have the beautiful and antique design. If you confuse to choose the best kitchen equipment, you can shop around on the internet to find the online store that provide the complete kitchen equipment collection. You can find a lot of varieties of kitchen equipment with the different function and with the different price. It is better for you to choose the kitchen equipment that is made from the high quality material but the price is affordable.
You can also choose the equipment that has the best design so that you can get the elegant sensation for your kitchen. Peugeot pepper mill will be the best option for you. You can find the equipment in one of the best online shop on the internet that already provides the high quality product since 1993. The website will offer the best service for the equipment and you can easily order the product by online. You can get the free delivery service if you order the product over 70 pounds. The other interesting offer is you can get the 10% discount if you order 3 items for the same product brands. If you like to buy wine, you can also get the voucher that you can use it to buy the best wine on every order. You do not need to worry about the product quality because the website guarantees that the entire product is made from the high quality material.
Just get the best kitchen equipment to decorate your kitchen.
The Secret to Staying Centered and Happy in a Troubled World
Many of us are probably so used to crisis in the world that it has become a natural part of our mental scenery. We’ve grown accustomed to living in a world where acts of bitter conflict, unrest, and inhumanity are everyday things, and their constant contradiction with our essential values almost seems normal.
But are we really aware of the effect that these daily messages have on our minds and attitudes, on our inner life? How do we deal with our real feelings about the war, terrorism, the elections, the environment, and other issues? Do we even know those feelings are, aside from our general opinion? It’s surprisingly easy to carry silent resentment, fear, and deep anxiety about these things without even realizing it.
Everyone knows it’s important for any individual to stay balanced, but how can one do it when the pressure is on, when one is assaulted by negative messages from all sides?
Get in Touch with yourself.
People are usually much more willing to analyze an external issue and give opinions than to look inside themselves. Take a moment to get in touch with your inner response to a much talked about and urgent current event. Use some adjectives to describe your personal way of relating to the events you are aware of, and write them down on a piece of paper. Do you feel concerned, combative, hopeful, disgusted, despondent or numb? Are the feelings obvious or vague? Allowing your feelings to become clear to you gives you more power to influence them.
Decide what gets inside your head.
Every day, Americans are bombarded by information from advertisements and the media. Maybe in years past, news about world events used to come at a slower pace, often by word of mouth, but nowadays it’s easy to overdose before finishing breakfast, on information about events occurring on the other side of the world.
Just as you make choices about the foods you eat, be judicious about what you allow to enter your mind. What you hear and see affect what you think, and what you think over time determines the quality and substance of your life. How necessary is it to read the entire newspaper every day, or to listen to and share office or family gossip? What other possibilities can you think of for your valuable time?
Train yourself to consistently stay on guard, and watchful of the external messages constantly contending for your precious attention. Make it a point to actively allow or deny them entrance, according to your best judgment. Over time, this kind of work on yourself will help you be freer of the invasion of external messages, and to help you think more clearly and precisely.
Invest in your personal Vitality (Wind your Clock)
Much like a car depends on gas, everything you do in life is made possible by your level of vitality or energy, especially the decision to remain inwardly balanced and happy. Surprisingly, your energy comes from many more sources than just the food you eat.
For example, in Hypsoconsciousness by John Baines, a book of consciousness-developing exercises, the author describes a consciousness building exercise where the individual moves very slowly and carefully, in a relaxed manner, mentally concentrating on the movement. Any physical movement (such as writing or walking) works and is performed at an exaggeratingly slow pace for five to ten minutes, and sometimes more. After practicing this exercise, you should feel an increase in vitality, presence, and greater mental clarity. Try this exercise when you feel fatigued, and see how it makes you feel.
Take life as a Challenge
When life is taken as a healthy challenge, difficulties seem more like an engaging game; it becomes more intense, joyful, and real. To spend most of our lifetime fearfully avoiding problems ultimately doesn’t work, because fear contaminates our every act, and in the end, we have to deal with even more problems. Things take a different color when we accept difficulties as normal, patiently work through them, and don’t assign so much negative emotional weight to them. This takes development of the will.
Try this suggestion: Set one small goal for yourself this week. For example, if you hate washing dishes, set yourself the challenge of washing the dishes with a light, cheery attitude for the entire week. If you tend to be shy around people, go to a party with the specific aim of chatting comfortably with a few strangers. Whether you succeed or not, if you take the right attitude with this exercise, you will see yourself and your possibilities differently. Remember to take small steps – making the challenge too difficult or too easy defeats the purpose.
Seeing the Big Picture
Have you ever been positively influenced by a person who had some quality you admired? Sometimes just one well balanced and positive person can affect a great number of people just by the way he or she “is”. It’s been said: “If you want to change the world, start with yourself.” Though it’s tough to accept at first, each of us who is concerned about the world can make a contribution with our own development, with our own growth. It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of negative events on a global scale, to give up, to contaminate each other with opinions, or to avoid how we feel. These things only make matters worse, on the inside and out. The most potent tool each person has for attaining genuine happiness is his or her potential for self development, and the greater the number of people who work on themselves, the greater the effect on the world.
Junod Etienne is a Seminar Presenter at the Institute for Hermetic Philosophy in New York. The ideas and exercises in this article originate from the Teachings of philosopher and author Dario Salas Sommer, who writes under the pen name John Baines. For more information about the Institute visit http://www.ihpny.org or write to seminars@ihpny.org.
Weight Loss Tips for Your Goals
For certain people with weight problem, the weight loss program is not so easy to do. If they push too hard, it can result in stress. The commitment is really needed here for the successful goal of weight loss. The following weight loss tips may can help:
Reasonable Goal
Make a reasonable goal so that you will feel easy to do that. Split your big goal to the smaller ones. And also pick some motivational statements to give you stimulate like “I love myself unconditionally†and so on. Read those statements often.
Smaller Portions but Often
Getting the smaller but often portion prevents you from feeling hungry within meal. So that you dont take too much food in meal. This is not a good habit in your weight loss program.
Food Journal
using food journal you can know exactly what you have eaten so probably you can realize how much food you eat. In stress condition, the more food you eat or even less. Your food journal can be used for evaluation.
Treat Yourself
For giving you spirit, once you reach a goal, give your self a reward. Of course this reward cant be a food like ice cream or pizza. Maybe your reward can be money or shopping or something else.
These weight loss tips can be used for you to help you achieve your goal, life healthier and happier.
ABC of Breastfeeding
From the first moment the toddler is applied to the breast, it should be nursed upon a sure plan. That is necessary to the properly-doing of the kid, and can contribute basically to protect the health of the dad or mum, who will thus be rendered a good nurse, and her duty at the similar time will develop into a pleasure
Read more from the original source: ABC of Breastfeeding – Breaking News
