GastroSquad: The 40 Person Tactical Eating Team

So I was driving home from my networking meeting this morning and my thoughts were a mishmash of both Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and lunch. I usually start thinking about lunch around 9 AM. What to eat, where, if anywhere to go. I had also just come off an evening of watching the Travel Channel's Man Vs. Food which featured an incredible double-dipped roast beef sandwich from Brennan and Carr in Brooklyn, NY. To die for, or so it would seem, as I have never actually eaten one personally. But I digress.

My kids had been watching Man Vs. Food and they saw an episode featuring an eating challenge that involved consuming a 190 lb. hamburger. Apparently, the host Adam Richman could get together a team of 40 people to consume this gargantuan burger (which apparently required 16 hours just to cook the meat. Unbelievable.) Adam got together a collection of people to help him with the challenge including some roller girls, a pro wrestler and, for some odd reason, the band KISS. They all failed to eat the burger.

Which got me to thinking. In order to really conquer a challenge like that, you need to assemble the right people. A team, if you will. So I decided to illustrate this said team, and call them GastroSquad: The 40 Person Tactical Eating Team. I am looking for input from the internets on who would be on this team and what their specific class and skillsets would be. I would be happy to draw the best ideas and make them part of this team. So feel free to comment here or on Twitter and Facebook and help me assemble the GastroSquad!

HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO TAKE YOUR HOBBY TO THE NEXT LEVEL?

Well if you did of course?  This question came to me from Indy News an American site for Independent Cosmetic Businesses that I subscribe to and I thought it was well worth sharing.

Most Indie Business owners don't start a business with the idea that they'll, well, start a business!

Mostly, we find something we love to do and we starting doing it with a passion. Soon, we find that we can't stop ourselves. Whether it's making soap, jewelry or baby blankets, our new hobby absorbs us fully.

Then, we give the products we make away as gifts. It's easy enough since by the time we start unloading everything, our houses are overrun with supplies and something has to give.

Then, the people we give stuff to come back and ask to buy some. After a few months, it dawns on us that we just might have a budding business!

So we coast along for a while in what I call "No Man's Business Land." We are a cross between a hobbyist and a business owner.

We are a hobusiness owner, and we know we've come to a fork in the road.

What to do?

Take it to the next level and start a real business where we have to be profitable, market ourselves, embrace state and federal regulations and more?

Or stay at the hobbyist level where we make things for fun, don't have to worry about insurance or following federal and state regulations and just have a good time?

Id love to hear what you think..........

Question: If you are a business owner, how did you make the move from "hobusiness owner" to real, full-fledged business owner? Are you in the process of deciding? What are you considering?

Brand Update : Sony Vaio

Sony Vaio is currently running a campaign featuring Kareena Kapoor as the brand ambassador for its Vaio range of ultra-portable laptops.

The brand is now running a campaign featuring Kareena.
Watch the tvc here : Vaio

My first question is whether Sony need a brand ambassador for the Vaio brand ?. Vaio had some brilliant commercials and had built in a premium image without the help of any stars. So why now take the help ?

Sony is positioning Vaio not as a netbook but as the ultra-thin laptop and also as a lifestyle accessory. But a discerning consumer will think twice before splurging Rs 85000 for such a product. The brand is fighting for the market along side the competitor Mac Air.

The ad is also not very impressive because the focus is more on the brand ambassador than on the product. According to reports, the brand is trying to cash in on the " Size Zero " rage popularized by Kareena. The brand is feeling that consumers will find a connection between the " thin " Kareena and the " thin " Sony Vaio.

But I think that for a brand like Sony, it could have depended more on the creativity of the ad guys to make the brand popular than piggybacking on some thin stars



Related Brand

Sony Vaio

Loreal foundation creamy natural makeup

Loreal Paris always creating something new in terms of natural makeup, like in the picture is creamy foundation natural makeup. Foundation creamy base used to before you ran a powder. Her womb SPF makes you feel safe and comfortable from the sun.

Sheerglow starter kits natural makeup

Natural Sheerglow makeup starter kits, a new breakthrough in the makeup of natural sheerglow makeup needs. Natural makeup is needed because of the many products that are no longer natural, the number of circulating mercury wearing makeup makeup does not make natural again. And of course it is very dangerous to your skin. With natural makeup that's not expected to happen, so you still look beautiful with the natural makeup.

DIRTY DOG SOAP DONATES 10% TO THE RSPCA

One of the most popular soaps in the range is the suitably names Dirty Dog soap made with natural oils and including Tea tree and Citronella essential oils.  It smells wonderful, very refreshing with a zingy citrus undertone.  The soap is designed to be an easy, fuss free way of washing your mud magnet dogs, treating them to the same caring bubbles as yourself.  Much easier to use than fiddly bottles of shampoo, just wet the fir, rub the bar all over, lather it up and rinse away for soft, silky fur.  Tea tree is a natural antiseptic, its also great for itchy skin, citronella is renowned for its insect repelling qualities while also combating oily, smelly dog coats.  Dirty Dog soap is also suitable for using yourself for a refreshing, uplifting shower and is great to take away on holiday where you know midges and mossies are a problem, they HATE citronella.

By buying Dirty Dog soap you will also be able to support the great work of the RSPCA as Naturally Made Soaps is donating 10% from the sale of every bar.  You can help by ordering from the Naturally Made Soaps website - click on the link to the right of this article.

Dirty Dog bars are only £3.00 each and make a fantastic gift for Christmas.  Go on, give it a go, let me know what you think of it.  By the way, the illustration above is from the label, drawn by me and is a picture of 'Blue' Naturally Made Soaps own mud magnet!

In September and October I sold 37 bars of Dirty Dog which means I have raised £11.10, Ive topped this up to £15 and a cheque is on its way to the Exeter branch of the RSPCA.  Not an enormous amount but I'm hopeful this will be the start of something bigger.   thanks to all those of you who have bought a bar.  I will let you know about the next donation, watch this space........

I JUST HAD A WONDERFULLY UPLIFTING DAY WITH NATURALLY MADE SOAPS!
I attended a fundraising day for FORCE the Cancer Charity at Bicton College today, what a fantastic time I had, mingling and meeting some truly lovely women, networking, selling, chatting and generally enjoying the day. It was a day of pampering, pleasure, learning, shopping and fun. There were lots of opportunities to learn more about ways of taking care of our health, our appearance and our stress levels by talking to experts, booking into therapy sessions and taking one of the four mini-workshops. The event was organised by three local women who believe in supporting other women. All the retailers were female-led businesses and were selected to make sure everyone there would be able to do a little Christmas shopping in between the pampering and learning. A well known lifecoach and motivational speaker, Talane Miedener, was there and talked about ... "Ending Emotional Eating: How to Stop Self-Sabotage by Satisfying your Personal and Emotional Needs" - before lunch of course! She was really inspiring.

To find out more about the group who organised the event and to see photos from the day go to
www.LocalWomen4Women.co.uk
FORCE is an established cancer charity based in Exeter. Their work finances improvements in patient care through research, the purchase of advanced equipment and their new Information and Support Centre located in the grounds of the RD&E Hospital.

I also met a lovely lady today, we were sitting together for the seminar and chatted a lot. one year ago she was a vibrant, happy lady with shoulder length blond hair, everything going for her. She was waiting for a knee replacement operation but doing so patiently, until the worst news possible. She found out she had cancer. She had lots of chemo and radiation treatment, lost all her hair, is still taking strong drugs but has beaten it, and was so thankful to FORCE, she said they were simply wonderful, helping her all the way with lots of support and advice. For that alone, for she was a really lovely person, I was so happy to be there, supporting FORCE.

About FORCE
Cancer brings about change in people's lives. Hearing that you or someone close to you has cancer can be a distressing experience. A diagnosis is often accompanied by a range of different emotions which can prove challenging to face alone. When you visit the Centre you will find a relaxed and comfortable environment where you can seek information and discuss your needs with our experienced staff. You can meet other Centre users as well as talk with our trained volunteers. You do not need a referral, which means you can call in when it's convenient to you. All services within the Centre are funded by FORCE, so there is no charge to you. http://www.forcecancercharity.co.uk/