It was the moment I decided to buy the Flax Seed from the vendor at the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market whose pitch included " took care of my hemorrhoidal problem"–that I realized my wallet was not where it was supposed to be.  At first, I thought I must have left it on the front seat of my car but when I got to my car, my wallet wasn’t anywhere around.

I knew I hadn’t left my wallet anywhere because I had just stopped at the  drive thru ATM to pull $100 out to buy my Farmers Market goodies.

Then it hit me. My phone had rung just as I arrived at the Farmers Market  and in my mad dash to answer it, I put my handbag on the trunk of my car and dug deep inside to answer the phone.

(Read the full post about ‘Manager of Minneapolis Farmer’s Market Goes Beyond The Call Of Duty’…)

Wait, Is This Another Meme?

Brian Yerkes, Owner/Creative Director of Brian Joseph Studios and graphic design blog author, is writing (curating, really) a post about the Business Cards of Bloggers. I’ve recently talked about what I do for a living here at MCE, and I thought this rare Sunday post might tie in pretty well with that.

Kelly’s card. You can write, email, or call me.

There’s something in it for me (and for you, too): Write a post, showing your own business card, and Brian will put the image and a link to your post up on his blog.

(Read the full post about ‘Get In On the Action: Business Cards of Bloggers’…)

Since introducing the world to the baby bottle that looks and feels like a mother’s breast,The New York Times has featured the company on the front page of its business section and it has become a must have product for celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Halle Berry

The company is run by three women: two attorneys and a marketing executive. None had any experience in manufacturing. In its first year, the company estimates it will earn a conservative 2.5 to 3 million dollars.

CEO Jennifer Morrill had no intention to run this business. She inherited it, along with a life insurance policy from her dad –the original inventor of the product.  When she tried to sell it, no one was interested.

The rest is the Adiri story.

(Read the full post about ‘At Just 9 Months Old, Adiri Is a Rising Star In The Baby Bottle Business’…)

Delaware Valley Businesses Are Rocking the Basics to Stay Ahead and Grow: Can You?

This post is the second of three in the series Brand Propheteers: 10 Ways to Get the People You Already Know to Rave About Your Firm. To read Part One, click here.

Propheteer: The very best driver of word-of-mouth for your company: a cross between prophet (someone who preaches) and volunteer. VisionPoints’ term for the raving fans we want you to have more of!

Just How Big a Deal Are Brand Propheteers?

Handwritten sign outside a local café: “You can use 90% of the statistics to mean anything you want 50% of the time.”

In that spirit, three statistics compiled from these interviews.

(Read the full post about ‘Brand Propheteers: Part Two Is Tricky’…)

Delaware Valley Business Owners Say It’s Simple! Put a Smile on my Lips if You Want my Word-of-Mouth

This is the third and final post in the series Brand Propheteers: 10 Ways to Get the People You Already Know to Rave About Your Firm. Click on the links to read Part One, and Part Two.

Propheteer: The very best driver of word-of-mouth for your company: a cross between prophet (someone who preaches) and volunteer. VisionPoints’ term for the raving fans we want you to have more of!

Let’s Sum It Up—or Not

BUSY

Boy, did I hear that word a lot in the last month. As a small business owner and a single mom, I hear your pain.

(Read the full post about ‘Brand Propheteers: Part Three - Grand Concepts, Practical Advice, and the One Great WoM Story’…)

One of my goals for this summer is to see how much "fat" I can trim from my business operating expenses. Okay I also plan to trim some fat from my hips but that is the same old song I’ve been singing for years.

I’m hoping that you will share some of the innovative ways you are cutting business costs — I’d love for you to share them — my goal is to create a list of ideas that people can use to reduce costs during a time when expenses are out of hand.

My business expense diet is new.This will be the first time –in a long time– that I am actually going through my expenses–line by line–and looking where I can save money. While I don’t have an actual goal.

(Read the full post about ‘Business Diet Tip #1: Digital Phones’…)

I still remember when I was first invited to an art gallery by my friends and my instinctive reaction was a feeling of apprehension. It was a strange feeling as I have always loved art especially paintings, so why the anxiety. It dawned on me that I was not worried about experiencing the paintings but how to react to them, what to say and how to converse about them so as to not look like a complete moron to my friends

This very unusual problem led me to explore and find a simple and down-to-earth approach to art appreciation. The idea is to demystify the process and make it easy to enjoy art. Here are some steps that I came up with to make it an easy learning experience

Step No. (Read the full post about ‘5 Steps to Art Appreciation’…)

Wednesday Words

To Go Where Your VisionPoints, a few inspiration points for you and your business.

A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.
—John Barrymore

Grow and be well,

Kelly Erickson

The phone call came in shortly before 8:00 a.m. The woman was looking for those red coke glasses that are on American Idol. Okay, true confession. I don’t watch American Idol and have no idea what coke glasses she is talking about. However, the woman was surprised since she said the phone directory lists me as a distributor.

She explained when she search for Coca Cola Distributors in the Minneapolis St. Paul Area  my name popped up.In case this is your first visit to FunnyBusiness — I’m not in distribution. I’m a marketing communication consultant/blogomist/social media strategist.

The only time I get near a bottle of Coke is if I am under the weather.

(Read the full post about ‘Today[’s Worst Business In The World Award : U.S. Directory’…)

Be a Trusted Resource

Let’s close out the Brand Propheteers series with an action tip for you today.

A while back, I wrote a post asking Who Drives Better, Men or Women? There are many studies that show women are traditionally better drivers of word-of-mouth.

This Mother’s Day weekend, think about your Mom. She was always recommending a doctor, a new snack food, a restaurant where babies are welcome, or a shop where the salespeople never tire of answering her questions in plain English without making her feel pressured to buy.

Times are changing, and men are catching on to the amazing power of word-of-mouth.

(Read the full post about ‘Tip of the Week: Mother’s Day Special - The WoMamas and the WoPapas’…)