As a journalist I like to think I can spot a story.  Not just a news headline or a tease attention getter, but a story that pulls the reader or viewer in.  A story has a clear and hopefully universal connection engaging the intended audience.

Not all stories are news.  This blog is more on the story side of things.  It is my sincere hope sharing this tiny little story will reveal some basic truths about the way the world works.  It is my sincere belief there is a thread connecting experiences.  It may take some time to notice and we are often too busy to see it, but I believe it happens more than we know.

While most of my siblings and playmates in the neighborhood would play dolls, I would pretend to be a weather girl as a child.  Back in the day, before I started school, most journalists were men.  The women on the local network affiliates were doing the weather.  So, I pretended to be a weather girl using the straightest stick I could find.  If my younger brother and sister didn’t listen as intently as I thought they should, there might be a well-placed whack in their future from the handy weather pointer.  After a few whacks, I no longer had a pretend audience for my weather forecasts.  I was undeterred; I used a shorter stick for a pretend microphone and would interview my dolls.  They didn’t talk back and try to leave in the middle of a pretend broadcast.

The fall of 1964 interrupted my burgeoning broadcasting career because the stick had to be put away as I would start school.  I hit the books but never forgot my dreams of reporting and being a part of the small screen.   I took part in theatre, volunteered to read to the blind over the radio, did anything I could to prepare myself for becoming a story-teller on the tube.  I had abandoned the early hope of a career in meteorology because by the time I reached high-school the “weather girls” had morphed into serious meteorologists.  The study of meteorology requires solid math skills and third grade was the last grade I did not fear arithmetic.

I had the opportunity to be the announcing voice at the first “garden show” in my community when I was a junior in high school.  I jumped at the opportunity.  It was only two or three nights, but I would travel into the city and be announcing in the biggest civic center in my home state!   This announcing job at the garden show introduced me to the world of home improvement.  I began working at a now-defunct store named “Handy Dan”; a job I would work during high school and college until I landed my first reporting position at a small television station in 1980.  I worked almost full-time at “Handy Dan” while going to school full-time so I learned a lot in the classroom and on the aisles of the store.

I’ve been thinking about those “Handy Dan” days a lot this week.  A philanthropist and legendary entrepreneur came up in an editorial meeting at my office this week.  The business owner who was listed among the top charitable donors in the nation for his $200 million donation to the Georgia Aquarium is making small business news.

So why would Bernie Marcus remind me of my high school and college days at Handy Dan?  You see, the retailer isn’t best known as one of the first home improvement chains.  It has another distinction.  Marcus and I were both employees of Handy Dan.  The defunct retailer is best known in the business world for firing Marcus.  The day after Handy Dan gave him a pink slip, Marcus put a plan into motion that led to the founding of “The Home Depot.”

So on days when it seems like nothing is going right on your job, remember Bernie Marcus.  If I get the opportunity to interview him, I hope he will remember me. 

I can still recall some of my memorized announcements; “Good evening Handy Dan shoppers, the time is now 8:50 and all departments of your Handy Dan store will be closing in ten minutes. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for shopping with us, and hope you will visit again soon.  Handy Dan will re-open……”

Buying and selling Maryland seafood is easier for the state’s entrepreneurs, small business owners and consumers.  There is a new online home for Maryland seafood direct from watermen and aqua-farmers as easy as picking up the phone and placing an order. 

The University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center and the Maryland Department of Agriculture are working together to make a berth for local seafood on the Internet – at the University’s virtual farmer’s market, www.Foodtrader.org

 A free service to buyers and sellers, Foodtrader.org provides instantaneous listings of fresh foods available only from Maryland farms. The idea is to offer consumers the freshest food at competitive prices by connecting them directly with local farmers and now the fishing industry.  Maryland Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance, says he is thrilled with this new opportunity for producers to reach consumers; “It’s a perfect example of how technology can help our agricultural and seafood industries sell their products directly to consumers,” Hance says.

“I feel like I am doing my part to keep the seafood industry here sustainable,” says Joanne Throwe, director of the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center and creator of the website. “Buying local should be more than just about fruits and vegetables.”

Signing up for Foodtrader.org is free and acts like a Craig’s List for local foods.  Currently, the site is designed for Maryland producers and consumers; as such, anyone outside the state is unable to create an account.  Interested, but don’t live in Maryland?  Anyone can visit the site, click on listings, and view listing details and producer contact information — that is, buy from anyone listing items for sale.

One mid-west farm has several high-tech communications features at work today getting world-wide attention!  You see, Verizon Wireless is sponsoring Benton Farms’ quest to offer the world’s largest corn maze in Guinness Book of World Record’s.

 You can see a familiar face and slogan in the 54.428 acre maze open until November 1, 2009 at Benson Farms in Denton, Nebraska. The sponsorship is not the only high-tech communications link at the farm; the Benson family uses Twitter, text messages and other social media to let visitors to the farm know about special events and activities. You can visit the farm website at http://www.bensonfarms.com to sign up for updates.

Located a short drive west of Lincoln, Nebraska, the record-setting corn maze is a great place to get some fresh air, have some fun and enjoy a piece of the “good life.”  The huge maze holds 14.88 miles of trails in four phases ranging from easy to moderately difficult.  The easiest phase will require 10 to 20 minutes to navigate.  The most difficult phase will require 45 to 120 minutes to navigate.  One phase of the maze gets haunted after dark on Friday and Saturday nights beginning October 9th.

 Sponsorship of the maze is just one way Verizon is reaching out to small firms.  There are Verizon free Wi-Fi hot spot access at more than 14,000 locations nationwide, available to every Verizon business broadband customer.  Free Verizon Wi-Fi hot spot locations include hotels, airports, restaurants, coffee shops, retailers, convention centers and public locations across the U.S. For a complete list, visit www.verizon.net/hotspots.

Please follow me on Twitter to learn more about small business trends and events to give you a competitive edge in business at http://twitter.com/danitablackwood   To learn more about vital technology issues impacting your enterprise; head to http://www.sbtv.com/Technology

Barry McPherson, executive vice president of worldwide support and services at McAfee, said the online community “will enable us to evolve beyond traditional phone and e-mail based services and focus more on collaboration with our customers through discussions, blogs, wikis, user groups and community polling.”

McAfee already monitors Twitter and Facebook. The online community, which will launch in the fourth quarter, will run on Jive’s social business software platform. Please follow me on Twitter to learn more about small business trends and events to give you a competitive edge in business at http://twitter.com/danitablackwood   To learn more about vital technology issues impacting your enterprise; head to http://www.sbtv.com/Technology

A number of mobile payment providers are currently servicing retailers; but Amazon is a major player in e-retail and the new service could be an excellent option for businesses exploring options to easily accept mobile payments. Amazon’s new service will automatically detect the request origin, meaning a Web or mobile browser, or a mobile application so that developers don’t need to re-work their applications. Consumers will be able to make purchases on third-party mobile sites using the payment information in their Amazon accounts.

 (Amazon MPS process:(Credit:Amazon Payments)

Please follow me on Twitter to learn more about small business trends and events to give you a competitive edge in business at http://twitter.com/danitablackwood   To learn more about vital technology issues impacting your enterprise; head to http://www.sbtv.com/Technology

Nearly a third (31 percent) of small business IT decision makers say their companies plan to implement Green IT initiatives in the next two years!—more than any other corporate or government sector. More than half (54 percent) still report cost as the greatest barrier to implementing Green IT solutions.

Small business is also driving green technology on the nation’s highways!  Small business owners and self-employed professionals are taking part in a two year test of hydrogen fuel-cell powered vehicles.  Click here to hear from one of the test-drivers and see what the hydrogen fuel test cars look like.

Small business owners are also starting from the ground up in going green in business. Government incentives and energy savings are two reasons small business owners are choosing to build green. Click here to learn more about green building initiatives and incentives on the small business level.

Please follow me on Twitter to learn more about small business trends and events to give you a competitive edge in business at http://twitter.com/danitablackwood

Small business and mid-sized companies are increasingly developing initiatives to help employees develop a healthier lifestyle. With a rising number of sick days taken by employees and increasing health care costs, employers have a vested interest in the health and wellness of their workers. More business owners are working to create low cost wellness programs and the authors of the book, “Discover Wellness: How Staying Well Can Make You Rich”, offer some suggestions in this short video interview.

Putting an emphasis on healthy behaviors in your enterprise can help workers be more productive.  A number of simple ideas can help steer staff toward healthier choices. Click here to see just a few in a free video of “Your Healthy Biz.”

Effective wellness programs do not have to be expensive. Changing vending machine selections or offering health training such as smoking cessation programs or weight loss clinics can help workers make better choices.  Steering staff toward a healthier lifestyle can begin with free, seminars from community health agencies or a wellness fair.

One drugstore operator is pledging to provide 100,000 free flu shots starting Monday, October 5, 2009. CVS pharmacies in sixteen states will give away vouchers to unemployed people for three million dollars in flu shots. The vouchers will be given out at some One-Stop Career Centers starting Oct. 5. The vouchers can be redeemed at CVS pharmacies that are running flu shot clinic events, or during regular business hours at walk-in MinuteClinics inside CVS stores.
 
More information on contacting the individual employment centers participating in the free flu voucher program can be found at www.cvs.com/flu.

The CVS free flu shot vouchers will be available in Washington, DC, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia.

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The new device expected to hit the market next year will include all the features of a “smart” device, including the ability to access AT&T’s wireless network. There are other satellite phones available, but they currently don’t offer the smart phone capabilities. AT&T has not announced pricing of the phones or service.

The new satellite phone will be introduced later this week at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference in Denver.

Looking for the best wireless device for your business now?  Check out this short informational video on cell phones and wireless devices especially for business owners and entrepreneurs.

Please follow me on Twitter to learn more about small business trends and events to give you a competitive edge in business at http://twitter.com/danitablackwood

Fibromyalgia affects more than five million Americans and is one of the most common, chronic widespread pain conditions, yet it is often called an invisible illness. The disorder is one of the most common chronic widespread pain conditions in the United States.

This short streaming video reveals some of the ways small business owners and entrepreneurs are making changes to help the millions of Americans living with chronic pain.

Please follow me on Twitter to learn more about small business trends and events to give you a competitive edge in business at http://twitter.com/danitablackwood