INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE (Okay, maybe just some suggestions.)

Sometimes I sit and think about what life is all about. I think hard and as deeply as my shallow mentality will take me. I listen too and read what great minds have said or written on the subject.

I’ve compiled a list of some of their thoughts on life as well as some of my own. After rereading my list I wish I would have put more in about the search for wisdom and of love. Maybe I should add; “The wisdom of the universe can be found in the pursuit of perfect love.”

1) Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others, Responsibility for all your actions.

2) Never lose hope and if someone you know has; pass your hope onto them.

3) Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

4) No mater how much or how little you have, share it.

5) Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

6) Pray. There's immeasurable power in it.

7) Spend some time alone.

8) Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

9) Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

10) Read more books and watch less TV.

11) In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current
      situation. Don't bring up the past.

12) Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

13) Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.

14) Be gentle with the earth.

15) Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

16) Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for
      each other is greater than your need for each other.

17) Read between the lines.

18) Memorize your favorite poem or psalm.

19) Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

20) When you say, "I love you", mean it.

21) When you say, "I'm sorry", mean it.

22) Believe in love at first sight but not if your married.

23) In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

24) Don't judge people by their relatives.

25) Talk slowly but think quickly.

26) When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to   know?"

27) Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

28) Call your mom.

29) Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

30) You never fail, if you remember the lesson you learned.

31) Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

32) When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.



THE INFORMATION AGE has brought about a new set of communication tools that are pushing some traditional media to the brink of extinction. You need to understand these new media and use the effectively to reach your customers. You need to know how to blend the best of traditional media with the new digital media to increase your reach. Learn more about what Carriage Town Media can do for your business or organization. https://sites.google.com/site/carriagetownmedia


Carriage Town Media Social Media Management Starting @ $50.00 per Month. We don't control your site, we just improve it! We can post on all your social media sites! Let us post the information that your customers/friends need to know! Timely and Correctly! This months special: We can TOTALLY run your sites! $150.00 per month! LEARN MORE, CLICK HERE! . https://sites.google.com/site/carragetownmedia/ Email: ctmediaflint@gmail.com

Churchill’s, the kind of pub every College Town needs.

Flint, Michigan: I would think that no matter what College you attended there was a Churchill’s type pub in the area. It was the place to let off a little steam, meet with friends, find new friends, share common interest, and maybe even find a date.

Churchill’s if just that kind of place; it’s laid back atmosphere, cheap beer, hot food and good music in the background that’s not so loud that you can’t have a conversation, makes for the perfect college town meeting place.

Flint area college students remember this; someday you’ll be reminiscing about the times you spent in college with the words “Remember the time we were at Churchill’s….” So the next time you’re bored, overwhelmed or feeling a little lonely, stop by Churchill’s Food & Spirits and become part of its history.



THE INFORMATION AGE has brought about a new set of communication tools that are pushing some traditional media to the brink of extinction. You need to understand these new media and use the effectively to reach your customers. You need to know how to blend the best of traditional media with the new digital media to increase your reach. Learn more about what Carriage Town Media can do for your business or organization. https://sites.google.com/site/carriagetownmedia


Carriage Town Media Social Media Management Starting @ $50.00 per Month. We don't control your site, we just improve it! We can post on all your social media sites! Let us post the information that your customers/friends need to know! Timely and Correctly! This months special: We can TOTALLY run your sites! $150.00 per month! LEARN MORE, CLICK HERE! . https://sites.google.com/site/carragetownmedia/ Email: ctmediaflint@gmail.com

Business Jokes of the day!

Sometimes running a business just makes you need a little laugh. Here they are!

Don't bite the hand that has your paycheck in it.

Don't blame me; nobody asked my opinion.
Don't do today that which can be put off till tomorrow.
Don't force it, get a bigger hammer.
Don't get lost in the shuffle, shuffle along with the lost.
Don't lend people money...it gives them amnesia.
Don't let your mouth write no check that your tail can't cash. - Bo Diddley
Don't look back, something may be gaining on you.
Don't make your doctor your heir.
Don't mess with Mrs. Murphy!
Don't permit yourself to get between a dog and a lamppost.

Sponsored by: Teton Business Solutions. If your company needs employees, Teton is the business you should turn to for you all your staffing needs. With our leadership having over 35 years of experience we know that Teton can meet your company expectations.

Call us: (810) 767-5111

Gmail tetonbusinesssolutions@gmail.com

Funny Business is a humorous look at some serious issues your business or organizations have to address. http://funnybusinessbystephenjames.blogspot.com

It used to be a common view that the Human Resources department in large companies was more sophisticated, more professional and more forward-thinking than what you would expect to find from HR in smaller companies.

We all presumed that the “big guys” knew what they were doing.

But current thinking among some practitioners now challenge that presumption.

The pendulum of thought has begun to swing the other way. Indeed, sophisticated has become cumbersome,professional has become bureaucratic and forward-thinking has created a chasm of credibility between philosophical concepts and the practical realities that managers deal with every day.

Remember the K-I-S-S principle (keep it simple, stupid)? Many large organizations seem to have forgotten that common sense caution as they saddled their reward programs with ever more forms, procedures and bureaucracy.

Sponsored by: Teton Business Solutions. If your company needs staffing Teton is the business you should turn to for you staffing need. With our leadership having over35 years of experience we know that Teton can meet your company expectations. 

The Evolution of Performance Appraisal

A good example of HR systems gone wild is the difference between a small company performance appraisal and the convoluted processes often followed by large companies.  Herein lies a stark contrast not only of styles, but of methodologies and core beliefs that a more complex better way will increase the effectiveness of employee reward programs.

This growth of complexity is commonplace; by the time an organization achieves a certain population size HR feels compelled to complicate their processes – usually in the name of increased employee sensitivities and streamlined procedures. What worked well before (when the business was smaller) is suddenly suspect, deemed somehow less effective, less desirable.

What began as direct cause and effect, performance followed by assessment = reward, suddenly becomes much more complex, more confusing to some, more aggravating to others. Communication becomes critical, but is often flawed and ineffective as both employees and managers question the additional complexity.

What follows is a brief comparison between how small and large companies approach the critically important performance appraisal process.

The Small Company Experience

§  The employee’s performance is assessed against what is expected of them.

§  Performance discussions usually take place on the anniversary of either employment or promotion.

§  Forms are basic, even simple. They may not be standardized, and one or two pages are usually enough.

§  The process doesn’t take a lot of time. Meetings tend to be short and focused, so both parties can get back to work.

§  What the boss says is what is going to happen. The approval chain is abbreviated; messages from the performance meeting are typically what actually happens.

§  The money discussion (pay increase) is front and center, a cause-and-effect dialogue. You have performed thus and so, and your salary will be changed from “x” to “y.”

How Large Companies Tend to Operate

§  The employee’s performance may be assessed against other employee’s, as much as against what is expected of them based on their job description.

§  Performance discussions use a Focal Point strategy, where everybody is reviewed at the same time. For managers with more than two or three subordinates, this represents a challenge in terms of time spent and quality of assessments.

§  Managers are often required to use intricate, multi-part, multi-page forms designed by a specialty section within HR.

§  Employee performance as a group may be viewed against a desired bell-shaped curve of results.  Individual assessments may later be modified to fit the expected/budgeted shape of the curve.

§  The boss makes upward “recommendations,” which may or may not be approved. Thus, the conversation with the employee ends on a “we’ll see” basis where money is concerned.

§  Other topics like developing future performance, improvement strategies/action plans, and “where are we going?” discussions may predominate. Sometimes talk of a pay is deferred, raising the question of whether performance actually relates to reward.  Meanwhile, the employee wants to hear about a raise.

§  Employees could feel lost in the bureaucracy, a faceless ID number trapped within a huge spreadsheet. For them, cause and effect becomes a pep rally concept, with little connection between individual performance and reward.

So what has been lost as the organization grew larger? Has it become more impersonal, forms-centric, process controlled and standardized? And is that better than before? Perhaps more has been lost than gained.

How did the organization evolve itself into something potentially less helpful, less effective? Perhaps the poking and prodding of systems and procedures in the name of improvement went too far, until they created a convoluted and twisted version of their desired state.

Perhaps we’ve let specialists over analyze the psychology of a boss rewarding a good performer. We’ve exchanged hard decisions with real impact for a muted “everyone deserves something” approach. The following scenario is common.

§  Sub-function specialty groups are created within HR, be they Training, Management Development, Succession Planning or a host of others popularized in prevailing industry jargon. Each group has advocates that push an agenda of change.

§  These specialty groups must justify their existence to validate the worth of their profession and their mission. The result is additional layers of forms, procedures and extra time constraints for managers to struggle with.

§  Over time, these experts lose sight of the managers they should be trying to help. They don’t understand the beast they’re trying to tame. By pressing their own agenda, they tell management how to assess performance.

§  Ultimately these groups become blockers, getting in the way of a smooth-running operation. Objecting managers tend to respond with a campaign of passive resistance.

So can we make our large companies “feel” smaller when dealing with employees? How do we reverse the model of increasing complexity and confusion?

When the state of affairs has gone off the tracks, how many times have you heard – or used the phrase, “let’s get back to basics?”

Perhaps that thought could be useful today, no matter what size organization you hail from. Simply return to the fundamentals of performance management, where performance is assessed, which in turn leads to reward.

It doesn’t have to be any more complicated than that.

K-I-S-S

Your face shows us what your Business is saying!

RIDDLE: “It costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.

Answer: Smile

Everyone Is Watching!

Sponsored by: Teton Business Solutions

If your company needs staffing Teton is the business you should turn to for you staffing need. With our leadership having over35 years of experience we know that Teton can meet your company expectations.

Think back to all the miserable faces you see on the way to school or work each day.

Yet, when smiled at, these same people will most often smile in return.

Check out the following facts about smiling:

72% of people think of those who smile frequently as being more confident and successful.

86% of people say that they are more likely to strike up conversations with strangers if they are smiling.

Bosses are 12% more likely to promote people who smile a lot.

Research shows that 65% of communication is non-verbal (many claim an even higher percentage).

The effects of a smile are so powerful that even a smile on the telephone produces positive results.

When someone comes into a room, people are automatically drawn to their face, and a smile provides a warm greeting.

Research has shown that when two people in conversation use the same kind of body movements and gestures (such as smiling), they will experience greater empathy for each other, which they may not even consciously notice.

The Value of a Smile: Increased sales!!!

Does the uniform your employees wear include a smile?

We all have walked into a business only to have the person working the counter stare at us with the “What the heck do you want?” look.

It doesn’t make you comfortable and deep inside it makes you just want to get what you came for and get out.

I once moved to a city just because every 7-11 store (I’m a Slurpee junkie) I went into all had sales folks that smiled at me. Really, no kidding! I had been living in Miami and was feeling bad about how everyone there seemed to be so grouchy. The friendly service I found made me believe that everyone in that town was happy. And by god they were (for the most part)!

So what do your employees’ faces say to your customers?

Do you want to make increase sales, add on’s and impulse buys? Do you want customers returning to your business? Do you want the people that come into your business talk to their friends about how nice your place is?

Teach your employees to smile!

Tip number one:

Smile at your employees and they’ll smile too.

Teach your employee the importance of the “first impression”.

Have a short training time with your employees about appearance and its effect on customers.

OR

Talk to the folks at Teton Business Solutions for help finding employee with a smile.

Teton Business Solutions is in the business of helping your business succeed. Be it staffing, training, payroll, tax consulting and other services that will help your business stay ahead of the competition.

Pop in on the folks at Teton Business Solutions in downtown Flint, Michigan or click here to see their website: Teton Business Solutions.

You’ll be smiling all the way to the bank!

WHY PEOPLE ARE LATE...

WHY PEOPLE ARE LATE...
AND WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!

by Alyce Cornyn-Selby

Why is it that it’s always the most talented employee you have seems to have some kind of irritating habit! Example; Lateness.

You’re on time. You see no reason why everyone shouldn’t be on time. What is it about

time that some people just don’t “get”? Whether the perennially late person is in your personal life or your professional life, it can create stress for you to the point that it may disrupt work and ruin relationships.

Four reasons why people are late (to appointments or with scheduled assignments):

Because you make excuses for their lateness. Yes, sometime we employers cover for late arriving employees. This is mostly done because the late employee is so good for our business in other ways that we cut them a break that we wouldn’t cut for others for being late. This just empowers the late employee to continue to be late.

They’re late and they don’t know their behavior is a problem for others.

1) They’re late because they’re living up to a reputation for being late. Take this quiz. Who sang: “I’m late, I’m late...for a very important date”? We all recognize the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. “I’m late, I’m late” was the bunny’s mantra; he said it over and over to himself. His reputation was his identity. He was the late character. Many people have become like this rabbit. They think of themselves as people who are always late so, guess what? They’re late. It becomes a part of how they think the world sees them and therefore, how they must be.

2) They’re late because they’re too optimistic. I know you’ve been told to look on the sunny side of the street but optimism can get in the way when you say to yourself, “I can make it across town in 15 minutes.” Yeah, sure, if it’s 3 a.m. on a holiday and you catch all the green lights, maybe! The optimist thinks that the car will start; the parking place will be there, the computer won’t go down, the weather will hold, planes will fly on time. They cut the time so close that if the slightest thing goes wrong--they’re late (again).

3) They’re late because there’s no reward for being on time. “Behavior that is acknowledged will increase in frequency.” This is a basic pearl of behavioral psychology. Fear, pain, boredom and anger are primary motivating factors in human beings. Unless there is a reward for being on time...or a punishment for not being on time...why not be late?

4) They’re late because they’re “drama queens.” Don’t let the title fool you. At least half of all “drama queens” are male. A true drama queen may even be addicted to their own adrenaline.

If you’ve recognized your boss or yourself or your teenager or your spouse. Now what can you do about it? A problem can’t be solved until you make it important enough to solve. Decide that this is an issue that you want to do something about. Once you’ve decided “Yeah, I’ve had enough,” here are five things you can do.

1. Come clean. Tell your late person what effect their lateness is having

on your job performance, your relationship. Use only “I” statements, not “you” statements. “I’m uncomfortable with having to cover for you.” “We’ve got this scheduling system and any lateness puts a strain on the system--there’s no margin for error.”

2. Don’t label someone late or make jokes about their lateness. It makes it part of how they see themselves and they become stuck with it as a behavior pattern even when they don’t want it.

3. If you’re late person is of the optimistic variety, diplomatically direct this person to reality. The optimist requires retraining and you’ll need patience with this person but don’t just do nothing. A reassuring tone of voice and simple statement of fact...repeated frequently...will help the late person rethink their priorities. “Let’s treat ourselves to a little stress reduction,” you say, “and get this out early.”

4. If they’re late because they sincerely love the action and chaos it creates, you’ve got a special problem. They’re action junkies or drama queens. It’s OK for them to be that way but it’s also OK for you to not want to participate. Take yourself out of the Game. “I know it’s exciting to nearly miss an airplane but it’s not fun for me anymore.” “It was exhilarating the first time we had to get that report done overnight but it’s getting boring now.” Bored is the last thing the drama queen wants to hear. They create chaos to avoid boredom. If you express the idea that the chaos is now boring, they are apt to change.

5. Reward behavior you want repeated. I had to work with a chronically late person and I did not have the sophisticated tools listed above but I knew that you train dogs by rewarding good behavior. It works with people too. I had an idea but I didn’t know if I had the nerve to pull it off. I bought a gift and wrapped it in paper and ribbon. I had it with me and when the appointed hour came I told myself that if he arrived on time, I would reward him with the gift. If he did not arrive on time, I would tell him, “I was going to give you this gift if you arrived on time...but, maybe next time,” and then put the gift away. The next appointment, he was on time and I gave him the gift. He was always on time after that. When was the last time you thanked or rewarded someone for being on time?

It proved to me that people can do it. They can be on time. Being on time gets to be a habit.

Carriage Town Media Social Media Management Starting @ $150.00 per Month. We don't control your site, we just improve it! We can post on all your social media sites! Let us post the information that your customers/friends need to know! Timely and Correctly! This months special: We can TOTALLY run your sites! $150.00 per month! LEARN MORE, CLICK HERE! . https://sites.google.com/site/carragetownmedia/ Email: ctmediaflint@gmail.com

Funny Business Friday. Weekend business jokes!

A backscratcher will always find new itches; a brown-noser will always find new sense.

A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.

A bird in the bush usually has a friend in there with him.

A bird in the hand is always safer than one overhead.

A bird in the hand is dead.

A bird in the hand makes it hard to blow your nose.

A boss with no humor is like a job that is no fun.

A clean tie attracts the soup of the day.

A closed mouth gathers no foot.

A committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours. - Milton Berle

A committee is twelve men doing the work of one.

A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.

A consensus means that everyone agrees to say collectively what no one believes individually. - Abba Eban

A conservative is a man who believes that nothing should be done for the first time.

A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who has never learned to walk. - Franklin D. Roosevelt

A consultant is an ordinary person a long way from home.

A coup that is known in advance is a coup that does not take place.

A couple of months in the lab can often save a couple of hours in the library.

A crisis is when you cannot say "let's just forget the whole thing."


Carriage Town Media Social Media Management. We don't control your site, we just improve it! We can post on all your social media sites! Let us post the information that your customers/friends need to know! Timely and Correctly! This months special: We can TOTALLY run your sites! $150.00 per month! LEARN MORE, CLICK HERE! . https://sites.google.com/site/carragetownmedia/ Email: ctmediaflint@gmail.com

We will not spam mail! Don’t even ask!

Sure, sometimes we at Carriage Town Media will send a select group of small business entrepreneurs or non profit organization leaders an email telling them about us, but we will not spam mail, don’t even ask us to!
We too use Facebook in our personal lives just like you do and maybe like you we get bunch’es of spam emails in our Facebook message center. Sometimes it’s stuff that we want to see but mostly it’s the same message sent over and over and over again. Hate IT!
The customers we work with know we will not send stuff that might annoy their customers. We believe that Facebook friends stay friends when they have the choice in what they look at and receive.

So, if you’re getting spam mail in your Facebook box, it isn’t from us!

Yours, Stephen James

To learn more about what CTMedia can do for your small business or non-profit organization see our website http://sites.google.com/site/carragetownmedia/

Or email us at ctmediaflint@gmail.com


Carriage Town Media Social Media Management Starting @ $50.00 per Month. We don't control your site, we just improve it! We can post on all your social media sites! Let us post the information that your customers/friends need to know! Timely and Correctly! This months special: We can TOTALLY run your sites! $150.00 per month! LEARN MORE, CLICK HERE! . https://sites.google.com/site/carragetownmedia/ Email: ctmediaflint@gmail.com

Announcing a new Micro Business, here in Flint,

Announcing a new Micro Business, here in Flint, that not only helps the homeless but also the Social Media Marketing needs of your Small Business or Organization! Stephen James


Over the last winter as I was volunteering at Carriage Town Ministries’ Homeless shelter working with the men there on their employment and interviewing skills, I came to this conclusion; some of these fellows are in the same position we might be in if we were to be laid-off or unable to work due to an injury. These men have skills! But due to circumstances sometimes beyond their control, they have found themselves homeless and hopeless.

I also came to another conclusion: Many of these guys can’t get a “Normal” job because of their physical disabilities, not having a home address or because no one is willing to give them a second chance.

So, we started a new micro-business that meets their needs and also the needs of your Small Business or Organization: “Carriage Town Media Flint”, Social Media Marketing Management.

Do you want to know the best reason to use CTMediaFlint as your Social Media Manager; Customer retention! There are two things all your customers have in common. They’ve been to your place and they are on Facebook. Every time they see a soft unobtrusive posting with your business or organization’s name on it, they remember the experience and in the back of their minds they’re thinking “I need to go back there.”

For only $50.00 per month CTMedia Flint will update posting 3 x a day 365 days a year to your Facebook page or fan site. This is perfect for Restaurants, Pubs and Clubs that have a set monthly menu or have preplanned their monthly events.
Basic Facebook Package: $50.00/Month, with one year commitment.

OR

You can step-it-up with our Standard Package: Same as the Basic Facebook Package management but we create and use Post Helpers; short, one to two sentence postings that are interesting and informative about your business or organization. Post Helpers gets your readers’ actively involved. Great not only for restaurants and clubs, but it’s the best way for Bloggers, Retailers, Service Businesses, Bands, Churches and non-profit organizations to get their message out.
Standard Facebook Package: $75.00/Month, with one year commitment.
OR

Full “Facebook” Maintenance Campaign:

1) Three, daily relatable postings with Post Helpers, on your Facebook site.

2) One additional relatable, informative “Outside Link” posted twice weekly to your site.

3) Creation of 100-300 Friends/Fans per month to your Facebook page.

4) Two weekly relatable “site” postings from your page onto other Facebook pages with 1,000 or more friends/fans.

5) Site email: We will also, set up and monitor a separate e-mail just for your Online Social Media activities so that you will not be receiving spam e-mails within your inbox.
Full “Facebook” Maintenance Campaign: $150./Month, with one year commitment.
If you would like to learn more about what Carriage Town Media Flint can do for your small business or organizations, see our website at http://sites.google.com/site/carragetownmedia/
Or
email us at ctmediaflint@gmail.com
And a customer representative will contact you.

Remember: “We’re all in this together!”

Stephen James

Carriage Town Media was started as a micro-business for the disabled and homeless. All our post schedulers are either on social security for their disability or are awaiting confirmation of benefits, and each is homeless. Some stay at local homeless shelters, others in resident homes. Each, at one time in their life, was hard working, tax paying citizens of our community. Each carries their own story of how they became disabled, some by workplace injury, others by disease, and some as innocent bystanders of street violence. Their workman’s comp and medical benefits have run out long ago. But the disability stayed. Unable to find or maintain jobs that they are physically capable of, these people have lost their homes, families and hope.

Carriage Town Media isn’t passing on this information to receive your sympathy or charity. We are a for-profit company. We did so, so you would better understand how hard we will be working for you. We have something to prove!



Carriage Town Media Social Media Management Starting @ $50.00 per Month. We don't control your site, we just improve it! We can post on all your social media sites! Let us post the information that your customers/friends need to know! Timely and Correctly! This months special: We can TOTALLY run your sites! $150.00 per month! LEARN MORE, CLICK HERE! . https://sites.google.com/site/carragetownmedia/ Email: ctmediaflint@gmail.com

So, there's this guy, Gerard Burnash….

So, there's this guy, Gerard Burnash….

First impression: Nice guy, friendly, smiles a lot.

Second impression: You sit down in a meeting with him and a group of other people. (One of the countless meetings he attends in Downtown, Flint) He’s a nice guy, friendly and smiles a lot and he’s not afraid to crack a joke (he does this well) or to make an insightful comment or two during the meeting.

Third impression: (Two weeks later) You’ve joined him again, at the same meeting with the same people discussing the same subject: This time as the Chairman starts his dissertation on what needs to be done and how we all need to get together to get it done, Gerard pipes in, “It’s already done.”

That’s the kind of guy Gerard is. The kind that listens to a problem, listens to suggestions, gets his head wrapped around the solution, and then, gets it done.

By the way, did I tell you he’s the new Director of the Downtown Development Authority, in Flint?

Sure, you might not agree with everything Gerard says or does, but you’ve got to be impressed with his impression of a “Get-R-Done!” kind of guy.

The Downtown Development Authority will seek to provide a critical link between the economic development and physical development objectives of downtown by facilitating collaboration and partnership building throughout the Greater Flint Community.

412 S Saginaw St # 206 Flint, MI 48502-1809 - (810) 767-2297

Carriage Town Media Social Media Management Starting @ $50.00 per Month. We don't control your site, we just improve it! We can post on all your social media sites! Let us post the information that your customers/friends need to know! Timely and Correctly! This months special: We can TOTALLY run your sites! $150.00 per month! LEARN MORE, CLICK HERE! . https://sites.google.com/site/carragetownmedia/ Email: ctmediaflint@gmail.com

Spotlight on Spring Grove:

It was such a beautiful day this past Sunday morning in Downtown, Flint, Mich. First day of SPRING! Temperatures in the 70’s, nice breeze, perfect day for a walk around the downtown area.

WOW! What was that?! There are geese quacking, swimming and splashing around in a pond! It looks like their having so much fun that I wish I could join 'em!

Where did this pond come from! Right on the outskirts of downtown, Flint!

Back on June 7, 2010 PatchWorkHeaD, a local blues and rock band teamed up with GTDNA (Grand Traverse District Neighborhood Association) and Stockton Center at Spring Grove to raise money and awareness for the 4-acre site named Spring Grove.

The money was used to return the spring (Yes, a natural spring!) to its original, pristine wetland with native plants, wildlife habitat, nature trails and scenic resting areas for the community.

They not only talked about it, THEY DID IT!

We’ve now got our own quiet, little, natural oasis just outside of Downtown, Flint!

 “As we all look to beatify the city of Flint and create a sense of community, it is important that we foster local outreach and parkland development.” 

They did more than just talk about it!

Take a look at it for yourself.  Located behind the Stockton Center at 720 Ann Arbor St. There is parking available and an access stairway down to the spring.

Great job you guys. You truly are, POSITIVELY FLINT!

Carriage Town Media Social Media Management Starting @ $50.00 per Month. We don't control your site, we just improve it! We can post on all your social media sites! Let us post the information that your customers/friends need to know! Timely and Correctly! This months special: We can TOTALLY run your sites! $150.00 per month! LEARN MORE, CLICK HERE! . https://sites.google.com/site/carragetownmedia/ Email: ctmediaflint@gmail.com

Spotlight on Raspberries Rhythm Cafe & Bar

The DJ is playing some “Cool” jazz from his booth at the back of the room. Smiles, laughs and sounds of conversations come from the booths and tables that fill the dimly light, yet sparkling clean Raspberry Rhythm Café and Bar.

Suddenly, there’s a man’s loud voice at the bar. You can’t make out what he’s said but you can hear the agitation in his voice as it has disrupted your enjoyment of the club’s atmosphere. Within moment a stern, squared shouldered man walks from behind the kitchen counter and strides up to the man.

I couldn’t hear the conversation between the two, but in the short time I’ve known owner Dave Berry, I can imagine what was said.

Dave, lifting a hand onto the man’s shoulder, looking up to stare the man straight in his eyes; “You have to leave.”

Man, stunned, stammers: “But Dave, you know me. I didn’t mean nothing!”

Dave, softens his voice. “You have to leave, either I call you a cab or one of your friends needs to drive you home.”

Man, “But, Dave….”

Dave, “No buts, you’re leaving. I don’t want you disrupting my customers and I don’t want you getting yourself in trouble.”

Man, “But Dave, I haven’t had that much to drink!?”

Dave, removes his hand off the man’s muscular arm, and places both his hands onto his own hips. “How’s it going to be?”

Man, “ahh, Dave.... Okay, I’ll get my friend to drive me home.”

Smiles return to the faces of the patrons when the man stands-up quietly and a friend of his joins him to leave.

No one in the place is holding bad feelings toward the man that just left. We’ve all been there at one time of another. Yet, you can see the relief on all our faces because of what Dave did. He handled it.

I have no doubt the man returned to the club the next night. I have no doubt he walked up to Dave, or Dave to him. I know they shook hands, smiling to each other. A manly apology and acceptance was exchanged.

That’s because, that’s how Dave Berry rolls.  “Don’t expect no trouble, don’t except no trouble.”

Dave Berry is a man that’s as tough as a rhino, but has a heart as big as one too. He’s POSITIVELY FLINT.

Raspberries Rhythm Cafe & Bar. Downtown, FLINT, Michigan -- It's been a vision of owner David Berry for 15 years. A nice place where you can go for relaxing conversation, good food and relaxing, yet sometimes heart-pumping, jazz and blues!

• Where: 448 S. Saginaw St. in downtown Flint.

• Planned hours: 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Thursdays through Sundays.

• Contact: (810) 766-9446.

Carriage Town Media Social Media Management Starting @ $50.00 per Month. We don't control your site, we just improve it! We can post on all your social media sites! Let us post the information that your customers/friends need to know! Timely and Correctly! This months special: We can TOTALLY run your sites! $150.00 per month! LEARN MORE, CLICK HERE! . https://sites.google.com/site/carragetownmedia/ Email: ctmediaflint@gmail.com

Spotlight on Garibella Hair Salon in Downtown, Flint, Mi.

So, you’re sitting in Garibella Hair Salon in downtown, Flint. You’re enjoying the atmosphere, chatting with the friendly Stylist who is doing your hair, maybe even getting your nails done or later you have an appointment for a relaxing massage.  And HE walks in! 

He’s looking a little worn around the edges; his hair looks like it hasn't been cut in months. He holds his head down as he quietly asks the receptionist for the owner, Tami O’Neil Harchick. She hears the conversations and comes right over to him, she has a big smile on her face (As she always does.) and reaches out her hand welcoming the scruffy man. He’s feeling uncomfortable and a little out of place, he can feel the eyes of the other women and men in the shop staring at him. He fumbles in his pocket and pulls out a rectangular, yellow piece of cardboard and hands it to her. It’s a coupon for a free haircut given to him by the homeless shelter at Carriage Town Ministries. He’s about to go on the first job interview he’s had in months. 

Without missing a beat, Tami turns to all those present and announces “This is my friend from Carriage Town Ministries, he’s got a job interview and we’re going to make this guy the best looking man in the town!”

He lifts his head up in time to see all the frowns and questioning looks on the faces of those in the place being replaced with beaming smiles. “Alright!” One smiling lady pipes in.

Tami guides him to a chair; standing behind him as she drapes a clean white apron over his chest and legs. She places her hands softly, firmly onto his shoulders and says proudly “You’re going to get this job.”

He feels safe, accepted and even starts to believe her words as she chats to him while cutting off his ragged, messy hair.

When finished, she whips off the apron, hair falls to the floor. He stands and hears the sound of voices in the room “You look great!” another voice “Now there’s a good looking MAN!” another “Oo-wee, you’re going to knock the ladies dead!”

He starts to feel something inside him he hasn’t felt in a long, long time. His shoulders’ square up, he stands taller, he’s feeling, confidence!

Thanks you, Garibella Hair Salon. Not just for what you do, but for the heart you do it with!

Garibella Salon Beauty & Wellness, Downtown, Flint, MI

(810) 238-9000

Tami O'Neill Harchick, Owner/Stylist

Tami O'Neil, wife and mother, is an astute business owner and is experienced in hair design, color and makeup. Tami's salon is located in Downtown Flint, Michigan.

Carriage Town Media Social Media Management Starting @ $50.00 per Month. We don't control your site, we just improve it! We can post on all your social media sites! Let us post the information that your customers/friends need to know! Timely and Correctly! This months special: We can TOTALLY run your sites! $150.00 per month! LEARN MORE, CLICK HERE! . https://sites.google.com/site/carragetownmedia/ Email: ctmediaflint@gmail.com

“Spotlight” on Flint, Mi. Carriage Town Ministries.

Many of the fellows that reside at Carriage Town Ministries are not looking for a hand-out but a hand-up. Once you start to hear their stories you learn that each of us is just a couple of missed pay-checks away from being in their same position. 

These guys got skills, some are carpenters, pipe fitters, plumber ect. Some of them have made mistakes with dealing with being laid-off, some have lost their families, their homes and their pride. What I say next might not be PC correct but, a MAN needs to work, having pride in what he’s doing, pride in supporting his family. 

Losing a job can make a man lose his identity and sometimes he’ll fall into drinking, drugs or battery in trying to deal with it. Second chances are what life is all about. I thank God for all the second chances he’s given me. 

Carriage Town Media Social Media Management Starting @ $50.00 per Month. We don't control your site, we just improve it! We can post on all your social media sites! Let us post the information that your customers/friends need to know! Timely and Correctly! This months special: We can TOTALLY run your sites! $150.00 per month! LEARN MORE, CLICK HERE! . https://sites.google.com/site/carragetownmedia/
Email: ctmediaflint@gmail.com

What's Your Business Is Saying.

Your face shows us what your Business is saying!

RIDDLE: “It costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.

Smile—Everyone Is Watching!

Think back to all the miserable faces you see on the way to school or work each day. These hollow stares and “sour-puss” faces reflect dissatisfaction and unhappiness, almost as if they were headed to a torture chamber! These expressions reflect a negative and rebellious attitude, and many folks are trapped in this mentality!

Yet, when smiled at, these same people will most often smile in return.

Check out the following facts about smiling:

72% of people think of those who smile frequently as being more confident and successful.

86% of people say that they are more likely to strike up conversations with strangers if they are smiling.

Bosses are 12% more likely to promote people who smile a lot.

Research shows that 65% of communication is non-verbal (many claim an even higher percentage).

The effects of a smile are so powerful that even a smile on the telephone produces positive results.

When someone comes into a room, people are automatically drawn to their face, and a smile provides a warm greeting.

Research shows that when two people in conversation use the same kind of body movements and gestures (such as smiling), they will experience greater empathy for each other, which they may not even consciously notice.

The Value of a Smile: Increased sales!!!

Does the uniform your employees wear include a smile?

We all have walked into a business only to have the person working the counter stare at us with the “What the heck do you want?” look.

It doesn’t make you comfortable and deep inside it makes you just want to get what you came for and get out.

I once moved to a city just because every 7-11 store (I’m a Slurpee junkie) I went into all had sales folks that smiled at me. Really, no kidding! I had been living in Miami and was feeling bad about how everyone there seemed to be so grouchy. The friendly service I found made me believe that everyone in that town was happy. And by god they were (for the most part)!

So what do your employees’ faces say to your customers?

Do you want to make increase sales, add on’s and impulse buys? Do you want customers returning to your business? Do you want the people that come into your business talk to their friends about how nice your place is?

Teach your employees to smile!

Tip number one:

Smile at your employees and they’ll smile too.

Teach your employee the importance of the “first impression”.

Have a short training time with your employees about appearance and its effect on customers.

OR

See below:

If you’re looking to re-energize your Staff, inspire your Marketing Department or to encourage your Board to think “Out of the Box”, “The Stephen James Comedy Troupe Corporate Team Building” will work together with you in delivering the message you want to give! Team Building will always be a top priority for today's organizations. Building effective teamwork through interactive "Improv games" is one of “The Stephen James Comedy Troupe” (Corporate Team Training) greatest capabilities! And we make it so much FUN!
CONTACT US AT:Email: stephenjamescomedy@gmail.com