Even ordinary things, like baskets for strawberries, take on new meaning when we get them together. So bring your good news to share. Photo by superde1uxe on Flickr
The Brag Basket is open! This one is for May 8-10, 2015. Bring your good news to share with everyone.
What can you do in the Brag Basket?
- introduce yourself
- share some great news from this week
- congratulate a friend
- applaud for each other
- confess your undying love for rural places
How do you join in?
Below this post is the comment section. Add your good news there.
Reading this in your email? Hit reply.
Don’t like to brag? Just share some good news for yourself or a friend.
Just don’t make it an ad. I delete the ads that people stick in here. If you talk more about the people involved than the things, you’ll be fine.
It’s a conversation with friends. So jump in. And remember to cheer for each other.
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The rural small business blog. We talk about small town business, with how-to articles, especially on social media marketing and making your community a better place. We use this “author” for announcements and other things you’ll want to know.
Hey all,
I’d like to take a second to brag on my wife Teresa for a minute. She’s starting a cupcakery in our home in Pella, Iowa called “Sweet Blessings 2” to supplement our income and to raise awareness for foster children in Iowa (and in general).
The “2” in Sweet Blessings 2 does double duty. We have two passions. Great cupcakes and a love for foster kids. But it also means that there are two blessings, one for you the “cupcakee” and one for the foster kids for whom we are trying to recruit good people to become parents for.
Teresa is hard-working. She has 6 children, a few of whom are homeschooled, and a part-time job besides. But she can’t get over all the kids in the “system” and how some of the parents providing care are working that “system” instead of genuinely offering love and support to the kids and their families.
OK, enough with the soap box. She threw together over 200 cupcakes in less than 24 hours for the farmer’s market last week without any idea how many would sell, how we’d get that many cupcakes there, or how well they’d transport or take the wind and the heat (by the way, not terribly well). She handled herself with grace and patience, and shared the message with every visitor with a smile on her face.
She’s whipped up a few small batches since. It’s already starting to wear her out a little. It’s not all about the success of the business, it’s really about the kids in her view.
Can you guys shoot her an email at teresa (at) sweetblessings2.com and offer some encouragement?
Thanks,
Clint Hudson
Good on you, Teresa & Clint!
Hoping for the very best success for Sweet Blessings 2.
thank you, not only to Paul, but to everyone who responded with kind words and an email to Teresa. Her mailbox was filled with awesome encouragement and she felt very blessed and very loved. The timing was perfect also because it’s right before Mother’s Day! Thank you so much!
Clint
Go, Teresa! What a great idea and wonderful mission. I wish you tons of success. Cupcakes are the bomb! :-)
Teresa, you’re an amazing woman with a big heart! You’ve got this.
Wishing you every success,
Glenda
A little bit of Teresa’s love & spirit lives in every cupcake; that’s a priceless bit of flour & sugar!
Teresa – great idea and great passion. You have a great future as a small business owner, because there are great rewards to those who persevere. Remember to always maintain a standard of high quality in your cupcakes and in customer service. Customers will be loyal to you if you do that. Best wishes!
Hi everyone! I’ve been lurking for a while now and now have something to bring to the brag basket :)
When getting ready to open our business, we were getting the ‘vibe’ that businesses here didn’t play nice with each other – very territorial and not willing to share information, support, and in some cases – even talk to each other, even when the businesses were in completely different industries. We decided that just wouldn’t do at all. So we spent a year promoting other businesses events, websites, facebook pages – anything and everything, even when it directly competed with events we were holding. Customers noticed and it certainly helped build our reputation in the community, but even better than that – we now have over 20 local small businesses working TOGETHER on a Memorial Weekend giveaway package. The walls have started coming down and we can feel a tangible difference in the openness, communication, and support between the owners, managers, and even employees of locally owned businesses – and we’ve seen 5 new small businesses open in just the past month – I think our community is on the right path now. It was a gamble to go at it the way we did, but sometimes that’s all it takes – to break out of the ‘usual’ and shake it up a bit.
I love reading all the inspiring news in the brag basket – and feel a bit guilty that my brag is on us instead of a fellow business, but i was feeling so great about this milestone that i HAD to share.
Renee, You certainty have the true spirit of a small business owner. Helping others in the long run helps your own business. Be sure to come back to Becky’s Small Biz Survival and share how Memorial Day weekend goes. I predict it will be successful and full of good memories.
MissDazey
PS: I am a regular lurker here. It’s fun to read about what everyone is doing, isn’t it?
Good idea, and nice work!
A little kindness goes a long way!
Clint
Renee, you can always share your own good news. Always! And this is good for your whole community. What a terrific success story for the power of boosting your community! Great job!