Spam Breakfast Burritos - thanks Google for this rare find!

No, I'm not making this stuff up! I was checking my spam folder in Gmail and there was a paid link for Spam breakfast burritos. Doesn't that sound good kids? I guess the ad worked, I clicked on it and now I'm sharing it with you. If anyone out there actually tries this recipe, please let me know.

T-shirt is on the bestseller list at bookstores across the country

The Love Thy Neighbor Shirt is quickly becoming a bestseller at many independently-owned bookstores. Why? This T-shirt is spreading its threads across a vast faith divide.

Love Thy Neighbor is more than a catchy phrase or popular wisdom, it is a time-honored commandment rooted in Islamic, Jewish and Christian faith traditions.

Love of neighbor is a cornerstone Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, with love of God (Allah and Yahweh) as the foundation. The command to love one’s neighbor is not about the emotion of love, but rather the action of love. Who is my neighbor – those who are like you, that is created by God. Therefore, all of humanity is our neighbor.

The front of the shirt has Love Thy Neighbor printed on the front left chest and the words Thy Homeless Neighbor, Thy Muslim Neighbor, Thy Black Neighbor, Thy Gay Neighbor, Thy White Neighbor, Thy Jewish Neighbor, Thy Transgendered Neighbor, Thy Christian Neighbor, Thy Atheist Neighbor, Thy Racist Neighbor, Thy Addicted Neighbor and www.love-thy-neighbor.org at the bottom. The Love Thy Neighbor shirt is produced and distributed by Studio3b, Inc.

Many churches and temples have found this shirt to be a great fundraising item that has attracted attention for their outreach efforts. Other items can be found at GayByGod.org, www.love-thy-neighbor.org

The Love Thy Neighbor shirt was created by Cyndi Wiley and Rev. Jennifer Hall, and is produced and distributed by their graphic design firm Studio3b.org

Gateway Cafe Des Moines a Good Surprise

I stopped in at the Gateway Cafe (on Woodland Ave) Tuesday for a quick bite. There was a line, but nothing too troubling. After I paid, I had a seat and waited for my chicken gyro to arrive. I waited and waited and looked at my watch at least five times. I was due at a meeting at 6:30pm. Finally, after 20 minutes, my food arrived and I began to eat (very quickly). I was frustrated about the wait and contemplated if I would be coming back. Just then, the manager came up with a cash refund in hand for my meal and apologized for my wait. What a surprise! I had not complained, but this gentleman was acutely aware of my wait and extended this bit of grace to me.

Way to go Gateway Cafe! You made my day. Good customer service does still exist.

When does volunteering create a conflict of interest?

Definition of Volunteer from Wikipedia:

"A volunteer is someone who works for free for a community or for the benefit of natural environment primarily because they choose to do so. The word comes from Latin, and can be translated as "will" (as in doing something out of ones own free will). Many serve through a non-profit organization – sometimes referred to as formal volunteering, but a significant number also serve less formally, either individually or as part of a group.

By definition, a volunteer worker does not get paid or receive compensation for services rendered other than reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses."

When a business owner is using a volunteer opportunity to build his or her business and/or control a certain aspect of that organization, they are looking to receive some sort of compensation. This creates a huge conflict of interest. If you are volunteering solely to get the word out about your business, then you don't need to be volunteering until you can learn to build your business in an ethical way.

I am a small business owner and I volunteer for Capital City Pride Des Moines. How do I handle a potential conflict of interest? I do not receive any compensation for the work that I am doing and do not expect to receive any compensation. I'm volunteering. I'm NOT donating my graphic design services, I'm volunteering them. I have passed along my vendor contacts to extend my wholesale pricing to Capital City Pride Des Moines and am very careful to remove Studio3b from that equation.

I will also not be doing any kind of sponsorship that involves an in-kind donation. This would create a conflict as a volunteer. I have chosen to run an ad in the Pride Guide, but am paying full price as any other advertiser would.

Ask yourself this question before you volunteer. Am I seeking a monetary benefit, in-kind donation that can be used as a tax write-off, control of any aspect of the group from choosing which vendors are utilized, making a profit from this organization or increasing your prospect list? If you answered yes to any of the above, then you should abstain from volunteering. If you don't know the answer or do not agree with this, I would also suggest you take a class on business ethics to learn the difference between the right way the easy way to conduct your business.

Natural Highs

A friend sent me an email this morning (one of those forwarded messages that you're supposed to send on to at least seven others). I normally disregard them, but I accidentally clicked this one open. The subject of the email was Natural Highs. The list went on and on and at the very end was number 44:

44. Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.

For at least the past five years, I have taken this idea and have incorporated it into my daily life. Both in business and personally. Unfortunately, doing the right thing is not always the popular choice and it sometimes costs us in money, resources or even friends. I have lost some of all three over these five years, but have gained much more as a result.

In the past, I haven't always chosen to the do the right thing, but it's something that I now strive to do. For me the hardest part of this is communicating with others in the midst of conflict. I've had to learn how to effectively work with others and pull people together to come to a mutual decision. I've even taken a workshop about conflict resolution. Experience has been the best teacher and faith has guided me through some pretty sticky situations.

Choose to do the right thing, you'll feel better later.

Coming out in business

I was having coffee with someone that I met through social media (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.) yesterday afternoon at the Village Bean and we discussed being out in business. My choice to come out as a lesbian in my business was not an easy one. For years I had chosen the safe way of not disclosing my sexual orientation to my clients. I had feared that I would lose business and even had visions of bricks flying through my office windows.

I do not say "Hi, I'm Cyndi and I'm gay," when shaking someone's hand, but I don't hide who I was created to be. I don't do the pronoun game when speaking of my partner. I refer to her as "she," when asked about my personal life. In the past I would not assign a pronoun of he or she when speaking about our relationship. I left it extremely ambiguous and often left the other person wondering why my speech was pronoun free.

I have been able to form stronger client relationships by being nonchalant about myself. I have found that the more comfortable I am with myself, the more comfortable my clients and contacts have been. In any aspect, not just about being gay. The more confident I am in my design ability, the better I am at presenting myself and my work. It seems so silly now to look back and see where I was and where I am today in relation to self confidence.

Being out is an individual choice and should be left up to the individual whether or not she or he discloses this with others. I've had many experiences where someone else outs another. Gossip does not mix with well with anything. Business or personal, leave the gossip behind.

You can be your own brand

What do you think of when you see Rachael Ray? I picture her talking on her show. I hear her voice, even when the TV is not on because I remember what she sounds like. I even know things she commonly says. Like her term for extra-virgin olive oil, EVOO. By watching the show often, I have found that Rachael Ray (RR) says the same things over and over again while she is cooking. I hear her voice sometimes when I am cooking and the repetition is helpful for her to get her message across. This is the ultimate experience in branding. My mother-in-law (who doesn't watch the show) even bought me her "garbage bowl" this weekend after hearing me talk about it.

There are many stores that are now carrying RR's products. I was in Dahl's last night shopping for groceries and came across her brand of EVOO. A couple of weeks ago, I was in Bed, Bath & Beyond and saw her line of cookware.

She, like Martha Stewart and others, has created a brand around her personality. How can you brand yourself? Get your face out there, use repetition to get your message across and stay consistent. Just when you are about to throw in the towel or think that you've beaten your message to death, is just about the time that your target audience will be starting to remember you. Keep it coming and coming and don't give up.