Friday, January 29, 2010

Bleh. I'm Sick

I didn't want you to think I forgot about you guys~
I miss you!
Wanted to mention it so you wouldn't think I'm a complete blogging flakazoid or something.

I have seven more days of a new antibiotic but I hope to be back before then.

Nothing serious.

I'm curling up with my bed buddy to watch Paranormal Activity.
Probably a mistake.
Oooooh, scary!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Pathetic on a Plate or, Would You Like a Cookie?



I thought we were having a relationship, baking and cooking and I.

Don't you see how hard I've been trying for you two?
Thought things were going well...

And then this.

Tony called them "sugar nuggets".

Oh, hahahahaha.
You're so funny.

Well, don't you think the plate's kinda pretty?
I'll give ya five bucks to say that plate's pretty and choke down one of my cookies.

If you don't want to do that, you can shellac it and either use it for a paper weight, door stop, or troll doll head (glue eyes and fur).

But you're not getting the five bucks.




P.S. I swear to you that I'm writing about Polly's business ideas next! As you can see, the sugar cookies have not gone well.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Meatless Chili Break


I realize that we left off last time regarding how to build a business and we
were going to use reader's ideas- The Pollinatrix (Polly) being next.

But Entrepreneur Chick would be amiss if she did not tell you about how yummy,
healthy, and easy this chili is
and how delightful on a cold, rainy, winter night!

Let me be honest first, about one drawback.
Did you think anything to do with a dead cow escaped EC's husband for one minute when the shopping list was placed in his meatloving hands?

Oh no.
He asks, "Hey. Where's the meat for this?"
"There's no meat."
"What?"
"It's meatless."
"What?"
"No meat. Meatless. You use beans."
"Well, what's the point of that?"

I compromised and let him put his meat on the side, only it wasn't so much "on the side" as I noticed he filled up half of his whole bowl and then
added the chili.

I give up.

Nonetheless, you guys enjoy this, especially tomorrow as
January 25th is supposedly "the most depressing day" on the calendar.

Three Bean Chili


• 1 can dark red kidney beans

• 1 can black beans

• 1 can Great Northern or cannelini beans

• 1 can diced tomatoes

• ½ cup frozen corn (optional) I didn't use this.

• 1 Tblsp. chili powder

• 1 tsp. onion powder (I used a half of a real onion.)

• 1 tsp. garlic powder (I used a clove of real garlic, minced.)

• ¾ tsp. cinnamon* (Oops. Forgot.)

• ½ tsp. black pepper

• salt to taste

• Hot sauce to taste (I like Louisiana Hot Sauce)

Directions:

Add all of the ingredients to a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Bring up to a simmer, and cook covered for about 20 - 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately.

We garnished with shredded cheese and rats! I had sour cream just sitting there
in the fridge but forgot that too.
Next time!

(Also, I doubled the recipe as we have two family members staying with us and it served four with one serving left over.)

What's your favorite cold, rainy, (snowy) winter's night meal?



P.S. If the chili wasn't enough to cheer you up, Postman has some wonderful cocktail recipes.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Beginning a New Biz? Check 2 C if U have These Four Super Heros First


Maybe you've seen this movie and read the comics, but Entrepreneur Chick wants you to think of the Fantastic Four
in a whole new way.

Think of them as your new business associates.
True, you might not take a them to luncheons at the country club,
but their presence is absolutely critical to your new venure's success.

I said, "absolutely critical" to your new venture's success.

Here's your four pointed Super Hero checklist:

(1) Relevancy Girl- See that sexy chick front and center? Think of her as
Relevancy Girl from now on.

If you are not RELEVANT
you are not anything.

Is your venture relevant?
Simply, do people want what you have or not?
Be sure.

The yellow hualking guy behind Relevancy Girl?
That's R.O.I. Dude.

(2) R.O.I. Dude- says "Do the math or I'll hurt you."
"R.O.I." means, "return on investment" or, "how much for how much"?
When I'm considering a new venture, I know really quick if I'm even
interested. If my numbers turn out too low
and the investment too high, I cut the cord.

Do you notice how R.O.I. Dude is bigger and more menacing than the rest?
That's because if your venture's cash flow is puny and slow;
the whole house of cards will surely come crashing down.

Listen kids, it's about cash.
Talk about a better product and service all you want, it always comes down to
a bunch of dead presidents in the end.

See the Super Hero to the left of and behind R.O.I. Dude?
That's Sir KnowItALL.

(2) Sir KnowItALL- wants you to ask yourself what do you truly know about the field you're about to embark.
He'd ask you to do your due diligence or he'll have R.O.I. Dude rough
you up, because as you can see, he's way too much of a pretty boy
to get your blood all over his nice shirt and
manicured nails.

(Do not tease him about his manicure. He's sensitive about that. He likes nice hands, that's all. He's been spotted in the Super Hero Gay Bar a few times, but he swears he was just with "friends".)

And finally, the Super Hero to the back right-
that's StandOut Man.

(4) StandOut Man- insists that your company not be merely average or mediocre.
The company that starts out average or stuggles to stay mediocre will ultimately fail.

Customers have too many choices in the market place.
You're dealing with much more educated and savvy consumers who have
access to all sorts of information.

If your company blows, they'll know about it.
Bad news is a Google click away.

StandOut Man can tell you, when asked why someone should hire him and not the next Super Hero, quicker than a fat kid on a cupcake, the reasons why his company is superior.

How are you differentiated from your competitors?

Let that uniqueness be clearly articulated to your staff,
usually in the form of a mission statement-
and most importantly, communicated
to your customers!

Do you think you have all four Super Heros on board?

Next time, Entrepreneur Chick will be using real-life business ideas from her readers.

The readers are:










Tuesday, January 19, 2010

An Award for me but There's Alcohol in it for YOU




I am honored with another award!

Postman, you're really too much. This is what he said:


Entrepreneur Chick: This witty, fearless lady has multiple business concerns on the go, and is always attending some high-powered function or shindig. She's never at a loss for something smart, funny and feisty to say, nor a pearl of wisdom concerning the business world. If you're a burgeoning entrepreneur yourself, or just want to read about the exploits of a bold and brassy businesswoman, this is the blog for you.

Postie, (as I like to call him now) that was so kind and thoughtful of you.
The funny thing about blogging is that I never expected this.
This being blog friends that I am connected to on a daily basis.

When I wake up and after my coffee in bed, (I always have my coffee in bed. If you are not having your coffee in bed, you are not doing it right) I wonder- what's going on today with Polly and Postie and Chloe and DUTA and so forth.

Here's the rules for this award...

First, make yourself a cocktail, then chose four bloggers who have contributed greatly to the world of blogging.

It's nearly two in the afternoon here in Dallas.
Not quite cocktail time but here's what I would have if it were and where you can order these fine drinks.






Texans are all crazy about these- margaritas! But this one is entirely different in that it's SUGAR FREE.  Here's what a party planner recently said about this drink; "And this is the ultimate Margarita mix; it's sugar-free yet it tastes the same as-if not better than- a drink you would make from scratch. I brought it to a party and once the people started complimenting me on it, I told them, 'Can you believe it? It's sugar-free!" Everyone was amazed- I really don't think there's anything better."  $5.49 at http://www.bajabob.com/



Party Perfect Apple Martini- The author of The Stylish Girl's Guide to Fabulous Cocktails, Collen Mullaney, loves this particular drink. She says it gets people smiling- instantly! $9.00 at Stirrings.com
 
 
 
 
Here is Entrepreneur Chick's award recipients:
 
Chloe: Fortune Cookies and Men- a voice to be heard! She's to the point. She's funny. She's honest. She's Chinese in New York City! And she's gorgeous.
If you need anything more than that, something's wrong with you.
 
Robin: Budget Girl- "Budget Girl" has been a friend of Entrepreneur Chick's for over a decade now. I always tell her she's " a walking encyclopedia" and the fact that she's blond doesn't seem to stop her one bit.
She has so many tips about fashion, lifestyle, beauty, wines- you name it- all under one pink and snazzy blog.
I'm always asking her- "I have this event to go to- which do you think? Black tights? No tights? Boots? What? Help me, help me!"
 
And now two new blogs, not new blogs but those that are new to me, that I am utterly impressed with:
 
Workforced: I received a personal email from the author of this blog, which is how I found about about Workforced, as he liked Entrepreneur Chick, and I must say, WHOA.
Entertaining. Insightful. Hysterical.
Just check this out about "Office Romance" and see if you don't laugh yourself silly.
 
Mimi and Tilly: who's tag line is, "The Art of Living a Glittery Life".
Oh. My. Goodness.
Just say "glitter" to me and I get all fuzzy and excited.
But glitter aside, the blog is far more than that.
You see, I deeply understand as an entrepreneur that the more creative you are, guess what?
The more money you're going to make!
The embrace of the creative is what attracted me to this blog as found in the excellent profile section...
 
 
"A friend once told me that being creative was The Answer. Having had a sit down, a nice cup of tea and a think about this, I've set myself a task. One year to change my life by embracing being creative. There are five rules for me to follow: Rule One: I must only do what I feel excited about doing. Rule Two: I must refrain from writing any more To Do lists. Rule Three: I must share my creative exploits here for the amusement (or not) of others no matter how successful or unsuccessful they are. Rule Four: I must do what my creative instincts are telling me to do no matter how scary it might feel. Rule Five: I must say "Yes!" to my creativity. On 24th August 2010 I will assess if I have found The Answer for me. Follow me as I attempt to see if embracing being creative really will change my life."
 
I believe you will thoroughly enjoy these bangin' blogs.
 
 

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Sorry I've Been Gone but I Baked You Some Cookies


So you want to own some businesses?
Before you do that, think hard about those eating into your blogging time, because they will!

Sorry I've been gone. Everything was unexpected.

First, family dropped in.
Second, staffing issues.
Third, back to back functions I had to attend. (Oooh, the parties!)
Fourth, Eliot, my beloved Yorkie became very ill and is doing okay now, but I was SO stressed out over that.
Fifth, my main computer I enjoy using caught a nasty virus and had taken, by my computer guy, for four days until it was well again.
Sixth, I am learning to cook and apparently that takes more time than to plop something in the microwave and press a few buttons.

But lookie at mah cookies!


Those are Cooking Lite Magazine's heart healthy chocolate cherry oatmeal and they got such high marks, that the test kitchen tasters had a hard time not polishing them off!

Plus, I could understand all the ingredients.
I asked two friends what "chick peas" are and they both laughed at me.
I still do not know what the hell they are. Thanks, guys.

Nonetheless, Entrepreneur Chick thinks she's back and will resume the next few posts by accepting an awesome award from Postman
and also, on the post following, we will resume where we left off last time, which is getting back to building those business ideas of yours!




Friday, January 8, 2010

Do You Know how to Swim? Then You Know how to Start a Biz!


I'm not sure where the idea crept in that goes something like this-

I want to start a business. I should bite the bullet, quit my job cold turkey and start one!
Or, I'll wait until I get fired and get so desperate, I'll do something about starting a business then.

As if there is a greater air of legitimacy when one is stepping out in blind faith, hoping against hope that things will be all right for no good or apparent reason.

The art of starting business is controlling risk.
That's a stupid risk.

When you learned to swim, I bet no one violently threw you, kicking and screaming and horror stricken, off the side of a fishing boat into a deep murky lake, did they?

(For those of you living in Louisiana and Arkansas, forgive me. I hear that's how y'all learn.)

I'm asking you now, to go back in your mind and think about how you learned to swim.
Go ahead. I'll wait...










Of course you did!
You just said to me, "I learned a little bit at a time."
That, boys and girls, is the very, very same way you're going to start a successful business.

A little bit at a time.

Entrepreneur Chick's mother was a beauty queen.
Here's how beauty queens teach their daughters to swim.

First of all, there's absolutely no getting wet.
Getting wet will mess up your hair, it will mess up your make up, and everyone knows a swimming suit is only for looking hot and sexy, certainly not for swimming.


Elizabeth carefully spreads her beach towel by the side of the pool.
She lights a cigarette. Adjusts her sunglasses. Exhales with a certain unidentifiable annoyance and says to me~

"Okay kid. Here's what I want you to do."

"Okay!"

"First of all, hold your breath like this- and stick your face down in the water and hold it there a few seconds."

"Like that?"

"Yeah, like that. Now I want you to stick your face in the water but lay down in the water on your stomach and move your arms like this..."

"Like that?"

"Yeah, like that. Now I want you to stick your face in the water, lay down in the water on your stomach move your arms like I just showed you and kick your feet like this..."

"Like that?"

"Yeah, like that. Now you know how to swim. Don't bother me any more; I'm reading."

Are you ready to start of business?
Here's what Entrepreneur Chick wants you to do.

Write down a few business ideas that you have.
Go ahead, write them down.
Don't edit yourself, just write.
If you have ten, write ten.
If you have one, that's awesome too.

Now leave them in the comment section or email me, and next time, I'll show you how to, a little bit at a time, get started using your very ideas.

Let's make some cabbage, guppies!



Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Don't Cheat on Your Husband, but Definitely Cheat on Your Boss


Or his boss or the boss in general.
It would be amiss for one to line up an extra spouse, you know, just in case the current one doesn't work out.

However, I wouldn't think twice about lining up some side action when it comes to a boss.
In case things don't work out.
Because, I don't want to be the one to tell you this but someone has to-
things seldom work out.

Perhaps in the 1950's there was such an animal as "job security", but those happy golden days are long gone the way of poodle skirts and bobby socks and gold watches given for twenty five years of loyal service.

Times, they are precarious, no?

Entrepreneur Chick has exprienced the happy good fortune of doing what was right even though, at the time, I wasn't aware of how good my choices were relative to this cheating idea.

August fifteenth, two thousand and three, was when my husband actually walked away from his job that he was most certainly bound to lose anyway.

Why was he bound to lose it? Was he a bad employee?
To the contrary, after significant downsizing in his company and after they had fired over two hundred people, and kept but one-  my husband was the one they retained.

However, the handwriting was on the wall and we knew it was only a bleak matter of time.

Unbeknownst to Entrepreneur Chick, while her husband was hard at work, she was also hard at work, quietly building up an asset base- to the end that, when the day came to make the inevitable break,
because of the income stream still coming in from the asset,
we could transition to paying our bills, have someplace to live, and keep up that pesky eating habit of ours.

Since that time, I've understood more clearly the reasons why it's important to have something else going on and have focused on that.

The biggest risk you can take these days, is not to take a risk at all.

People ask me all the time- I want to start a business, I think I should start a business, what should I do?

My answer?

Take any sort of positive action to that end.
You can always modify it later.

As I don't know you, I don't know your situation; but I do know the job market.
I'd lay odds you can come up with something much better than that hill of beans if you put your mind to it.

More next time about how to break into owning your own business!





Friday, January 1, 2010

A Few Glimpses of My Pretty Much Sober New Year's


I only managed to pull out the camera after midnight.
Sorry about that.
A lot of people already left.

I'm afraid I don't have any pictures of the conga line that snaked through
the house,
or
the Cha Cha Slide, the Cupid Shuffle, the Macarena,
Shake Your Tail Feather,
the Hustle or the really cool swing dance we did either.

But passing Elizabeth, our D.J. ...




and while everyone else was still downstairs...






I was summarily greeted by this Merry Fellow...





keeping a round the clock vigil over this...




"Ooooooh, score!" gushed Entrepreneur Chick.

"Not so fast."


"Huh?"

At first I couldn't tell just where the demanding, pushy little voice was coming, but upon
closer inspection...




"What happens when you mix your drinks?" asked Magic SinkLizard.
"I throw up."
"Right, you throw up. Is that how you want to start the New Year off like you did three years ago and barfed from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. like you had a job?"
"No sir."

"You can have some, but not all. Understood?"
"Okay."
"Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year to you too."

But once downstairs, it all got a little hazy-
this guy seems to know me.
Who are you again?



What'd you say I said?



Dude, you didn't listen to the Lizard, did you?





When is it my turn to ride the guests?




It didn't matter anyway because The Poodles said it was time to go...







"Take another picture of me and I'll bite you."



Dear God, please make Entrepreneur Chick go away...


Well, Poodles, I have news for you.

When there ain't no cake,
ain't no party.



I was leaving anyway.