Lake Norman Yard Sale Mania Date: 04/26/2014

 What a day to remember in Lake Norman!  Saturday, April 26, 2014 was perfect weather in the Carolinas!  So apparently, everyone came up with the same idea . . . have a community yard sale.    So in the Lake Norman area alone, at 7am the following communities were promoting yard sales with several to hundreds of households involved:

Rosedale, Birkdale, The Hamptons, Tanners Creek, Oakhurst, Wynfield, Stephen's Grove and more . . .

 I interviewed some ladies that were at their third community stop by 8:30am.  Many of the yard sale sellers probably would have preferred to have been yard sale shopping because the crowds were so spread out that no one was spending a lot of money in any one place.

Goodwill probably was overloaded with items that did not sell. Next time, we may have to rotate community yard sale dates!  Otherwise, the community yard sales become a swap meet!  By noon, most sellers were well into packing up.

Anything brand new for a dollar was a hot seller, and any nice furniture in the $10 to $20 range was also a good bet.  Anyone with enough items that you can see from a long distance also worked to get people to park and look.  Too much territory to cover in five hours without people being able to easily spot some things that they need.

As for me, it was a learning experience. LOL!  I probably would not participate again now that I really saw what was in demand.

A Business License or a Permit to Hustle?

Last year when I paid to hear Dr. Joe Dudley, Sr speak, I did not agree with all of his teachings, but there was one statement that I did agree on.

"You do not have a business unless it can run without you."

This statement inspired me to deliver my own message, and here it is:

Most of us have hustles.  As an employee of a larger company, we hustle to keep our job.  As a self-employed person, we hustle to keep the bills paid.  We may have business permits or privilege licenses issued by our local government, but they are really more like a "hustle permit."

So if you have a hot dog stand,  can it run without you?  Can you be gone a week for vacation and still make money while you are away?

Many salon owners are downsizing into studio suites, but does their studio suite make money if they are not there?  Even if they share the studio suite, each stylist typically only collects from their own services rendered.  So in essence,  the salon owners downsize into a hustle in lieu of a business when relocating into these new age styling studio suites.  Let me also be clear, if the salon owner is the only revenue earner working in a larger salon - then the salon is still a hustle with a large overhead if it can not be ran by others.

This same principle applies to nail technicians, estheticians, massage therapists, personal trainers, and any other "one on one" service providers.  Do you make money when you are not working?

If you can make money while enjoying a week off, then you have a business.

My two blogs are probably more of a business than my hair salon. However, I have to keep my blogs fresh with new articles if I want to see maximized revenues.  One week of vacation is not going to stop my blogs from making some money, but I do feel like I make more money on my blogs when I post new articles on a regular basis.

The point of this article is to motivate people to find ways to stay in business, create jobs, maintain demand, fuel the economy, and reinforce team efforts. Everyone has to begin focussing on building businesses; not maintaining hustles in order to assist our country in lowering the percentage of unemployed.

I am working on my business plan, and I am looking for a few good people who want to join me.  Are you working on your business plan?

My Introduction to Alligator Tail meat

Gator tail meat is BACK!  Apparently, it is a seasonal dish at Razoo's Cajun Restaurant in Concord, NC.  It was my first time trying alligator meat, but since watching the movie "Beasts of the Southern Wild," I have been craving "gator meat with hot sauce!"  I ate the first few nuggets slowly to make sure that I liked it, then I was sold.  I ate the rest of the gator nuggets without hesitation.  The gator was better than chicken!  I enjoyed it! I am so happy that Razoo's was my first gator tail experience.  They have set the standard for gator tail for me!

EarthFare Organic Mango Lemonade

The EarthFare Organic Mango Lemonade coated my straw.  I asked the EarthFare clerk was this normal.  Her response was "yes, because it was organic mango puree."  It was interesting because I am going to assume that it had to coat my inside of my body if it will coat a drinking straw.  I am not comfortable with the concept, but I did not get sick from it so I suppose to each his own.

My tour of the new CHS Behavioral Health Campus

On Saturday, April 5, 2014, Carolinas Healthcare System held a fun four hour open house event in Davidson, NC at the new Behavioral Health Campus.

The facility looked liked a "nice hotel" that you can "check in," but you can NOT "check out."  According to the tour guide, the patients admitted to this facility will have short-term mental health challenges.  The patient's rooms cater to their privacy, and their protection from suicidal attempts by hanging and electrocution. ( So no headboards, no footboards, no open handles.)

In the common area, all the chairs are weighted down to avoid use as a projectile in a fight, but one may need some "hip action" to even pull the chairs out far enough to sit.  Yes, the chairs felt "that heavy" to me.

I will also tell you that the cool blue colors of the patient rooms were nice, but the rooms still felt like solitary confinement.  I am sure it is better than institutionalized white cement walls, but nonetheless, the confinement felt real to me.

They do have an outpatient therapy department.  That side of the facility will be run like a regular doctor's office except it is only for mental health counselling.

This Davidson Campus is an extension of the CMC-Randolph Behavioral Health campus.

There is a cafeteria and gym/recreational room for recreational therapy on site at this Davidson location.