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

A Great Weekend

Oh boy, this weekend was a blast! On Friday we stopped out to the Kroc Center Omaha for a free family night. It was great! My oldest daughter and I got to spend some quality time together just the two of us which doesn't happen anymore. We watched Frozen, she got to make an Olaf cookie, and she made a wand. It was a pretty great night! To top it off, as we walked out my daughter said, "This was a good Meme(her nickname)- Daddy time." That was when it occurred to me that since we are so busy we don't get our own time. It's always all of us together or her sister and the two of us, I didn't know it, but it was a much needed night.

Saturday was date night with my wonderful wife! We got to go to a The Down Under, a local bar, and be swept away by the soulful sounds of  an acoustic R&B artist by the name of Jamire Gray. Jamire is very talented and we wanted to go out and support him on this beautiful night in Omaha. This made for a very relaxing and fun evening. We stayed for a couple of hours and enjoyed some original and cover songs. So glad that we got the opportunity to do this and I hope to not only see Jamire again soon, but also work with him. He is an amazing talent and provided a perfect atmosphere for a date night.

Here's a little sample.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEu_bVfLcMc

Sunday was another awesome day! We get a lot of awesome days around my house it seems. We as a family went to see Paddington Bear at Marcus Twin Creek in Bellevue. We got to sit in the oh so comfortable recliners at this remodeled theater and kick back and laugh. This was a pretty good movie to my surprise because I was not sure what to expect. I hadn't seen any previews for the movie and did not know the storyline. I vaguely remembered the name Paddington Bear from my childhood so it was foreign to me. We sat and watched as my youngest and I dosed off for a bit during the movie. Nothing to do with the quality of the movie at all, but those dang recliners and the dimmed lights make the conditions just right to catch a couple of quick ZZZs. I would say that the movie is good and I would recommend seeing it if you want to take the kids out for some fun at the movies.

I'm always so thankful for all the fun we get to have as a family. Too often time slips through our fingertips and we fail to realize all the loss moments that we missed out on. I definitely hope that we have more weekends like this!

Thanks to #JamireGray, #KrocCenter, #PaddingtonBear, and #MarcusTwinCreek.

Until next time, have wonderful days!

Just stopped by to blog

Well, I'm stopping by to blog again! It hasn't been as long, but I need to make sure to get on here more often. Things have been going great as of late and I have no complaints. It seems like we're gaining ground and people are starting to know who Small Guy Productions is...Oh, I mean Promotions. Though my business is titled #SmallGuyPromotions people tend to say Small Guy Productions. I'm not sure why. I usually just tell them that the only thing I produce is results. Haha. Hopefully in due time people will recognize who we are.

I have a feeling that 2015 will be another great year! We already have our first #SmallBusiness Expo scheduled for March 14th at Hope Skate from 12:00-4:00PM and it seems like people enjoy them. I have been receiving a good amount of interest for this expo so we may have 30 vendors this time out. Can't wait! #Omaha, stop out and see us and find out what all these awesome businesses are about.

Until later,

Danell

Keep It Moving!

Well, I've been bad about getting on and blogging. I know I need to get on and do it more often, but the time just disappears and I don't know where it went. Alas, I am back! These last few months have been something. I can't remember ever feeling better in the past than I have in these last few months. The positivity seems to be taking control and bringing in new possibilities. I was asked to be a co-host on a web radio show called Surviving Life's Tribulations that is broadcast on 1690AM The One, then asked by a blog site to provide an article about a favor that has been done for me that made a big impact, after that I received an invite to speak to a youth group about any topic that might be near and dear to me, we recently had another small business expo, and this weekend we put on our second live music show. It's been busy to say the least.

Dona Smith, is my co-host on Surviving Life's Tribulations and she is the one that asked to be on her show. I was shocked to get this request, but happy to take on this task. I've been known to be a talker so this was right up my alley! Basically, we get to sit around and talk with new guests each week about serious topics that people have to deal with and how they overcome these situations. If you would like to tune in we are on Mondays from 6:00-7:00PM (CST). If you are unable to tune in live we podcast the show so you can watch when you have time. I've provided a link from the most emotional show that I've been a part of. I hope you can check this out as its so close to home.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/55797905

Out of the blue I was contacted via #Twitter by someone from a blog called OweYaa asking me if I would like to take part in providing an example of a a time when I did a favor for someone or someone did a favor for me. They requested that I present an article to them between 400-800 words and this. It was an awesome opportunity! If you have a few minutes I've pasted the link below.

http://blog.oweyaa.com/favor-change-in-the-world-launch-your-business-through-favors/

I had never spoke in front of a group before so this was also a big first. I wasn't worried because again, I like to talk. A local youth minister name Stacia, that I had met in the previous year while promoting for Hip Hope Fest, reached out to me to see if I had any interest in speaking to the youth group at her church. I didn't think I was the right person for the job, but after speaking with her she thought I might be a perfect fit so I agreed to do it. It was a great experience as I spoke with the group about being positive, anti bullying, and giving back. I was given 20-25 minutes and I got rolling and before I knew it my time was up. Boy do I like to talk!

I won't go into too much detail as I'm going on and on, but the 2nd edition of the Small Guy Promotions Small Business Expo was another way for people to get together and network while sparking some business. We still didn't have the desired foot traffic, but we had over 20 businesses and I know we're headed in the right direction. The next one will be in March and we will began planning soon!

Lastly, we brought Just Music, a live music show, to the Side Door Lounge. The lineup was great and filled with talent! We started the night with DJ El Ness spinning to get the audience warmed up and then Syd Matson kicked off the performance portion followed by Jamire Gray. We took a brief intermission and came back with Jay White, Nate O, and then finished the evening with The Madness Apparatus. Believe me when I tell you that people were blown away by talent that poured out from the performance area. It was like the greatest show that not many were talking about. After the show I think people will begin to take notice. #Omaha has so many talented people that it's crazy that we have not been recognized as a supreme power. Our time will arrive, I have no doubt. No matter what the plan is to stay busy and keep it moving! We'll see you soon and I promise to try to stay more up to date with the blog. Maybe I'll even blog again this week!

Stay tuned for more!

Small Guy Promotions Small Business Expo

Okay, Small Guy Promotions Small Business Expo took place on 9/28/14 at the Salvation Army Kroc Center. This event proved that I have much to learn about the promotion business. My hope was that we would get at least 100 people on the low side and 250 people on the high side. Sadly, we did not come close to the low number. That is okay though because this still was an opportunity for the businesses to meet each other and network. That made this event worth it!

We had 25  awesome small businesses showcased at this event. There was HinesGlow Airbrush Tattoo, Rich Bak of RE/MAX The Producers, Booth Babes, SilvherHammer Surveillance, Firefly Photography, Coaches Place, 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu, Crown Enterprises Inc, and so much more. This event had so much potential, but failed to gain steam. I don't know if it was the day, the time, other events or what. There was some small paid advertising, flyers, social media, community calendars, a press release, and word of mouth. Maybe it boils down to needing a bigger more recognized company to do some of the heavy lifting. I'm not sure, but I plan on doing research and seeing where we can improve if we plan to do this again.

                                         Photo by Jimmy Conover Photograpy

Our vendors were ready to go! Since there was not a lot of foot traffic people were able to move through the expo and talk about their business with other businesses. Life gives you lemons so you make lemonade. This was a perfect example of just that. In the above pic you can see Nitasha Shumaker giving an explanation about some of the cool items that she had to offer. My wife Mitzi, who was also a vendor for cosmetology and massage therapy, said that we will definitely be purchasing some Scentsy products from Nitasha. This is what the event ended up being and that is fine because it worked! No pun intended Joe Balanay and Kristin Hetrick. Now the next time out we will be bigger and better.

No matter what, I am happy that we were able to do this! Pictured here you have my good friend Joe Balanay, who is an It Works Consultant, and myself posing for a photo. This is what it is about! Spending time doing something you love, being able to do it with people you care about, and respect all made it special. For a lot of us it was our first event like this and we went in not knowing what to expect. Now with this behind us we are ready to take the city by storm.

I would like to give thanks to everyone that played a role in this event. Special thanks to my wonderful family and friends for rolling up their sleeves and putting in work. I honestly would not have been able to do this without them. My wife was such a rockstar and she definitely held it down! Thanks to our coordinator, Lisa Rushlau, and the Kroc Center!

Hip Hop Gumbo

Oh yeah! My first solo coordination of a live music show, Hip Hop Gumbo, was a decent success. There no doubt were a couple of hiccups, but overall it developed to be a very fun event. I have to say that I am definitely excited for the thought that I may be able to do this again in the near future. I cannot go any further without saying thank you to ALL the people who made this possible. Alaina Foster, Trac Schacht, Ben Salzinger, Nate Owen, Gene Poindexter, Eric and Noelle Konrad, Pensive Poetry with Miranda Wrights, Mike Hodge, TJ Johnson and The Side Door Lounge. There is only so much that I can do on my own accord and it is so wonderful to have people who like to work together to accomplish a common goal.

Leading up to the event I was not really nervous about it, but I didn't know what to expect. It seemed like the last few hours before the show zipped by at a crazy pace. Before I knew it, it was show time. A few heads were in the building and I was thinking that people might not make an appearance, but it was almost like I blinked one time and the venue was filling up. What a site to see! Not only was there people in attendance, but they were engaged. More engaged than almost any other show that I have been to. So, let me take a minute to thank those in attendance also. You guys seriously rock! I know all the performers and I especially am thankful to you for the energy you brought. I would put a show together for you any day. I would like to do something like this again soon. I guess I better get to some more shows and scout some other talent.

The performances were sweet. Nate O has a very smooth laid back sound that is different from most styles I have heard in my time out on the scene. I am partial to my guy TKO and his performance was one to remember. He really had good interaction with the audience. Simian Simpleton with Noelle always impress! Simian has this dope flow that takes you by surprise and paired with his wife Noelle's singing it really stands apart. What can I say about Pensive? Super multi-talented expialidocious! This guy is not only laying down hot lyrics, but he is painting live at the show before his set. He was so kind to offer me his are piece at the end of the show. All around this show was special to me!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Stay tuned for more work coming through the pipeline.