The Garden

Hello again,

Today I bring you a discussion about an event my family attended called The Garden that was put on by The Light Poetic Ministry and took place on the University of Nebraska at Omaha Campus in The Thompson Center this past Saturday. This was not the first event that I have attended that was put on by this awesome small organization and if you are not familiar with them I invite you to take a minute to learn what they are about. As if the name doesn't say it all one of the main features of this organization is to minister through poetry. However, this gathering was not only for poets, but for musicians, dancers, and  they also had a couple of vendors on location. This was an open mic night that featured various artists from a truly diverse background.

The goal? To give people an opportunity to do the thing they love while being in an environment that was free of judgement. Not only that, but to get the word out about the mission of The Light Poetic Ministry. The mission of serving the community with the talent that God has given them. At a previous event they were raising money to help a daycare that went out of their way to help families by providing services and only charging the parents at a rate of "Whatever they could afford to pay" and I had never heard of anything like this. They use the performances as a driver to get people excited about the movement. We didn't get to catch the all the performances, but we were able to see some pretty talented people.We saw 4 or 5 poets, a contemporary dancer, a sax player, and a young music artist that was only 5 years old and who probably stole the show.

 Here's one that we missed!

Allen Stevenson performing at The Garden

There was a $5 suggested donation(if you didn't have it they still invited you to come) at the door and though it would seem that the funds would go to The Light Poetic Ministry Allen and Angelica Stevenson had a trick up their sleeve. Towards the end of the performances Allen called four people to the front of the room. One was in charge of a Chest Club, another was Miss Black Nebraska, another was a single mother of four, and the last a single father. These individuals did not know why they were being called to the front of the room and to their surprise Allen had planned on giving back right then and there. He had an envelope for each person containing some of the proceeds that were received at the door. This was the Light Poetic Ministry's way of instant charity I guess you could say. They wanted to plant the seeds for plants to grow in this beautiful garden that they were trying to nurture. I think they succeeded!

They have a lot of big ideas for 2015 and there is a dynamic thought process behind what they are doing. Each event and interaction is a chance to gain momentum and move things in the direction of their ultimate goal of helping as many people as they can. I applaud their actions and I am happy to have met such a fine couple of individuals. They share the mindset with Small Guy Promotions that we can all come together and build a bond that can be stronger than anything we could ever imagine.

Thank you for your time and please feel free to leave comments!

Small Guy Promotions

Be sure to visit The Light Poetic Ministry site at: http://www.thelightpoeticministry.com/
#Omaha #Giving #SmallGuyPromotions

Eating Food and Supporting the Small Guy

Hey all,

Today I want to talk a bit about our Friday night experience at a new restaurant in Bellevue called the Golden Bowl. The family and I were sitting around contemplating about where we should go and eat dinner and we could not decide. My wife and I both share a common characteristic of being indecisive at times when we need to make decisions. We probably sat around for 20 minutes being hungry trying to figure out a good place to go. I even threw the question out on social to try and spark some assistance. Well, that did not help as we did not get much feedback.

A light bulb went off in my head remembering how I had saw that this new Chinese Restaurant had opened up in Bellevue and not only was it good, but affordable as well. I told myself that I would make sure to take a visit to try the establishment as eating food and supporting the #SmallGuy are two of my favorite things so this was a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. I made my mind up that this would be the place for dinner. My wife was just happy that a decision was finally made.

We got on Yelp to get directions to this new place as we only knew it was on Fort Crook Road. It only took about 10-15 minutes to get there and when we pulled up we remembered eating at the location once before when it was a German restaurant. We walked in and were pleasantly surprised by the small and intimate design. We were immediately greeted and seated when we walked in the door. We were off to a very good start!

Combination Fried Rice

The portions were huge and we could not believe the amount of food that we received when it came out. My daughter wanted the Combination Fried Rice and it was a mountain sized serving! This was only the personal size and not the family size. The portions were not the only big thing here as the shrimp were a decent size in this dish.

Barbecue Fried Rice

Sweet & Sour Chicken

For me, I again could not decide. Since I did not want to settle for one thing I ordered two items to share. I only shared a little because it was good! Haha. No, I did share and there was plenty for leftovers that got devoured on Saturday for lunch. I got the Barbecue Fried Rice and the Sweet & Sour Chicken and neither dish disappointed. I wish I could have ate more. Each dish came with two Crab Rangoon which made my wife and girls happy. When I cracked one open it was so thick and creamy and I really enjoyed it. The Barbecue Fried Rice was so good that I did not even dare to put Soy Sauce on it. I cannot remember a time when I have eaten Fried Rice and not put any on. It was that good. I am already prepared to go back which is good, but bad for my waistline.

The service was good, the staff was nice and it was extremely affordable. My 4 year old at one point during the dinner said that the restaurant was "Awesome!" I overheard another young kid say something to the same affect as well. After only this one visit we are fans and plan on going back. If you are in Bellevue and are craving Chinese I would recommend trying out Golden Bowl. If you do not feel like going out they will also deliver. 

It is important to note that I am not a food critic! I just wanted to focus on a small business and tell about our experience while visiting. Please stay tuned for more blogs each week and leave comments of what you think!

Have a great night!

Special thanks to Golden Bowl-http://goldenbowlbellevue.com/

Doing Things The Right Way

Doing things the right way, that is what I feel like I'm doing. I am not so concerned about not growing as fast as I initially thought Small Guy Promotions would. Why? Aside from feeling that I am adequately learning what to do to be successful I feel like we are doing things the right way. In this journey I have come across a lot of people who seem to share a lot of the same thoughts as myself. People who not only want to grow their businesses, but who want to establish genuine relationships with other businesses. Working together in a collaborated effort to build something great is an awesome feeling. I LOVE being a part of this collective movement. 

On that note, let's talk about the next Small Guy Promotions Small Business Expo that is taking place on March 14th at Hope Skate. In continuing this new what I hope will be a tradition we will be gathering again to market and advertise our small businesses. Last night was a marvelous night because a handful of the businesses involved met over a meal at B & B Classic Dogs in Bellevue so that we could introduce ourselves to one another and gameplan for the event. It felt so good to meet with these business owners and it is so assuring to me knowing that even if hundreds of people from the community do not show up we will still be comfortable visiting with each other. We had some really good conversation time and I always say that I do not want to do business with people that I cannot have a meal with. If we are not comfortable enough to sit and have a meal together why should we be in business together?

 I think that we are making steps in the right direction and in time I have no doubt that we will get the attendance that these businesses deserve. It is important to keep the overall goal in mind, but to also set smaller ones that are attainable and keep you motivated. We have some ideas about getting the word out about this event and I feel good about the situation. We will just keep forging ahead and making leeway until we can see the finish line! Well, we hope to see you there at this incredible event.

Info for the expo:
Small Guy Promotions Small Business Expo

Thank you for your time,

Small Guy Promotions

Special thanks to B & B Classic Dogs for their hospitality and great food! Please make sure to visit their restaurant. B & B Classic Dogs