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1. What Age is Appropriate to See the Hunger Games?

My daughter read the Hunger Games trilogy at 10 years old. My plan was to read it around the same time, but as usual, she raced through and devoured all three books before I could turn the first page. The movie opens Friday, and those of us with children in tow, are wondering: Is it OK for them to see it?

My friend, Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips, said Director Gary Ross “does not pump the action for cheap thrills or opportunities to stoke the audience’s blood lust.”

In other words, the movie will send chills at reasonable temperatures, not unlike the book.

According to Michael, “The film feels dramatically substantial but not inflated. A lot of it – the core of it, really – puts us on the ground, running, in the woods with Katniss, without much in the way of digital effects.”

Librarians and teachers know that seeing a movie made from a beloved book is a great way to make the characters and the plot come alive for young readers, and it creates a very real connection for them to reading, imagery and writing.

I’m letting my daughter, now 11, see the movie, not just because she loved the books almost as much as the Harry Potter series, but because she is inspired, even idolizes, the lead character, Katniss Everdeen, who is a great, strong female role model.

Anybody else going with a kid? Why or why not?


Tagged: Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen

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2. Enter our Writing Contest!

Are you interested in entering our 2012 Writing Contest? For details and prize information, send an email to  [email protected] Prizes, deadlines and more information coming soon.

Want a great book? Go to www.Storybuildersbooks.com

 

Last year’s winner:

THE BIG PROBLEM

BY TEAGHAN, age 9

Once there was a penguin named Bubbles. He loved bubble gum, but what he loved to do is blow bubbles with bubble gum. Bubbles has a best friend named Josh and he never minded Bubble’s problem until this day. That day, Bubbles went to school and was chewing gum. He blew a huge bubble and it got all over his friend Josh. Josh said, “Why did you do that, Bubbles?” “I’m so sorry,” said Bubbles. The next day, Josh took him to the doctor to get rid of his bubble problem. As they felt the warm breeze when they walked in the office, Bubbles had tears going down his face because he was scared. Josh told him, “It will be fine.” He conquered his fear and they entered the room. “Hello” said Dr. Penguin. “You must be Bubbles.” “Yes, that’s me,” he said. “Well,  your friend Josh told me about your problem and if you take this Bubble Gum flavored medicine every day you’ll be sure to be better with it,” he said. “Yummy,” said Bubbles. “I’ll take it!” Every single day Bubbles took the medicine. After a while, Bubbles wanted to blow bubbles MORE! He ran to Josh’s house. “JOSH! JOSH! JOSH!” Bubbles yelled. “What?” he exclaimed. “I don’t think the medicine is working.” “Why not?” asked Josh. “I feel like I want to blow even more bubbles than usual.” “OH, great,” said Josh. “Well I guess I’ll have to bring you to see Dr. Penguin again.” So Josh took Bubbles to see Dr. Penguin. “Well, Bubbles, I bet the problem is the flavor,” said Dr. Penguin. “What flavor?” asked Bubbles. “The bubble gum flavor. I guess I will have to give you grape,” said Dr. Penguin. “Either that or sour lemon.” “I’ll take the grape,” Bubbles aid. Bubbles took a dose and it tasted HORRIBLE, but the feeling of chewing bubble gum was gone! He didn’t want to blow any more bubbles either.  Bubbles was so happy! He was glad that he didn’t have to blow bubbles any more. When Bubbles came home, Mamma and Papa Penguin were so proud of him.

 


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3. Having the Puberty Talk

When my daughter was 9, we read “The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls” (American Girl Library). We read it at night while she was cozy in her bed and the dim light made it less embarrassing for us. On several nights, that was the book she wanted to read TOGETHER, and I was stunned at the ease of our puberty talk.

My misstep is that I assumed this talk was a one-time deal. I brought the topic up again recently, but my daughter, now two years old, clearly did not want to go there again. In hindsight, I realize that The Talk should actually be a series of tender conversations that grow as your child grows.

Here are some helpful links to get you started and keep the conversations going:

Check out Amy Lang’s Birds + Bees + Kids: http://www.birdsandbeesandkids.com/

“The birds and the bees can be tough to talk about, but with a little information, skills, some careful thought and planning, it’s possible to have comfortable and effective sex talks with your kids that don’t make either of you nuts!”

Melissa Taylor, an educator and author of Imagination Soup, says, “Don’t forget that another part of a child’s puberty education is the mis-education at recess.”

http://imaginationsoup.net/2011/08/why-you-must-talk-about-puberty/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ImaginationSoup+%28Imagination+Soup%29


3 Comments on Having the Puberty Talk, last added: 11/1/2011
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4. New Spies Inc. now available!

Second book in the series.

The first book was devoured so we cooked up another one!

Click and spin through it….it’s still yummy and nutritious, but longer.
 
Didn’t get book one? No worries. You can get the set for $20!
 
Coming soon…
 
Dealing with school anxiety. Tips that worked for our family and interviews with the experts.
 
Then I promise we’ll laugh again. Enough of this serious stuff.
 
Enjoy the sunshine
 
Carolyn
 

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5. How Teachers Pick Students for Gifted Classes

     Most parents notice the talents of their children early on, whether it’s a child who is athletic, artistic or an early reader. But what do teachers look for when they formally identify students as “gifted”?
     As your child moves through school, teachers begin selecting students who have the potential or ability to be included in a gifted program. In addition to teachers’ observations, identification is also based on:

  •  Group or individual intelligence tests (IQ tests given in 3rdand 5thgrades. OLSATs are given in Illinois’ public schools)
  •  Standard achievement tests (In Illinois, these are the ISATs)
  •  Grades
  •  Parent observations

    Below are some of the most commonly used IQ score categories. NOTE: There are different versions of this breakdown, so you need to find out where the cut-off is for your school’s program, according to the Judy Galbraith, author of “You Know Your Child is Gifted When…”.

IQ Score
  • 180   Profoundly gifted (about 1 in 1,000,000)
  • 160   Exceptionally gifted (about 1 in 100,000)
  • 145   Highly gifted (about 1 in 1,000)
  • 130   Gifted
  • 115   Bright
  • 100   Upper normal
  • 85     Lower normal

      What’s important to remember is that your child is so much more than a number, said Joy Bell, a gifted education teacher in Illinois. The intelligence tests identify students who bubble out from the mainstream as having a higher ability in learning. Bell said she is looking for students who not only score high, but are great at abstract thinking, an ability that separates bright students from gifted students.

    “It is in the thinking. Gifted students are great abstract thinkers,” Bell said. “It’s not about, gee, this student did well on the tests because their parents prepared them. Those students will struggle too much in a gifted classroom and could lose their self-esteem.”

  Abstract thinking is a concept often compared to concrete thinking, in which thinking is limited to what’s in front of the face, and the here and now.   In contrast, the abstract thinker can conceptualize or generalize, understanding that each concept can have multiple meanings. Such thinkers might see patterns beyond the obvious and be able to use patterns or a variety of concrete ideas or clues to solve larger problems.

    Bell said she also looks for:

  • How quickly students learn. A gifted students needs between 1 and 4 repetitions. An average student needs between 6 and 12. If you have to drill a child to learn something, it takes the fun out of learning.
  • Students who are so thoughtful about what is being taught that they jump 2 or 3 steps ahead of the teacher.
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6. How to approach an injured mom, I mean animal

GUILTY

 

I’ve tried to teach my daughters about compassion, but nothing seems to hit home unless I introduce a baby rabbit or puppy  into the lesson.

 

“Be nice to that old man,” I’ll say, but they are dumbfounded until I add, ”He has a hungry puppy at home that he needs to feed.”

 

 Never before have these lessons been so important in our home. I tore my rotator cuff while ice skating with my 8-year-old (see photo) and my husband is on crutches with a broken foot, which happened a week after my injury while he was playing soccer in the basement with the same daughter. The timing of these painful injuries couldn’t be worse. Our daughters are oblivious to our need to be left alone.

 

To help them understand our foul moods, I found a helpful article online entitled, “How to Approach an Injured Animal”, which I have tailored to my situation. Feel free to use it when your kids compromise your independence by putting you in a sling or crutches.

 

1.) Assess the situation and secure the area first. An injured mom is scared and will try to escape. She can bite, claw or scratch you so approach with caution. MY ADVICE: Let mom escape.

 

2.) Think of your safety first and then your mom or dad before you approach them. You do not want to be injured yourself in the process of giving help. MY ADVICE: Get out of the way! Can’t you see your dad is on crutches?

 

3.) Observe the mom or dad for signs of extreme fear or aggression –  baring teeth, raised hair, growling, ears flattened against the head. MY ADVICE: Do not interrupt any staring. Daddy’s pain meds are kicking in.

 

4.) Find something soft to muzzle the injured mom or dad. MY ADVICE: Don’t you dare. Just back slowly away and hand us the remote.

 

5.)  Approach the injured mom slowly with steady movements. Speak in a soothing voice to calm and reassure them. MY ADVICE: It sounds nice on paper but this will never happen.

 

4.) Do not look the injured mom in her eyes as this can be interpreted by some moms as a threat. MY ADVICE: I know what you’re going to ask and the answer is no or get it yourself.

 

5.) Make sure the mom welcomes your approach. MY ADVICE: Do not ever during the course of the healing process ask, “Will you play Polly Pockets with me?”

 

6.) Continue talking to the mom. MY ADVICE: N0. No talking. At all. Nothing. Silence.

 

7.) Lift it up with one arm around its chest and the other arm supporting the rump and hind legs and put in the trunk of your car and bring it to the nearest vet. MY ADVICE: I’d like to see you try.


2 Comments on How to approach an injured mom, I mean animal, last added: 4/12/2011
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7. OUR WRITING CONTEST WINNERS

During my visit to Mrs. Lee’s 4th grade classroom in Niles, I had a wonderfully engaging time starting a fictional story with the students about a penguin named Bubbles who had a terrible problem: He couldn’t stop blowing bubbles! And that’s where I left the story. The students were asked to finish it to enter it in our Writing Contest.  All of us here at the Storybuilders publishing center were amazed at the creative minds in Mrs. Lee’s classroom! So many good stories to choose from, but alas, only one can win First Place. Below, you’ll find a delightful adventure written by Teaghan, our First Place winner, who was awarded a free copy of Spies Inc.

2nd place:  Bubbles the Penguin by Susan G.

Third Place: Bubbles! by Angelica C.

THE BIG PROBLEM

BY TEAGHAN

Once there was a penguin named Bubbles. He loved bubble gum, but what he loved to do is blow bubbles with bubble gum. Bubbles has a best friend named Josh and he never minded Bubble’s problem until this day. That day, Bubbles went to school and was chewing gum. He blew a huge bubble and it got all over his friend Josh.

Josh said, “Why did you do that, Bubbles?”

“I’m so sorry,” said Bubbles.

The next day, Josh took him to the doctor to get rid of his bubble problem. As they felt the warm breeze when they walked in the office, Bubbles had tears going down his face because he was scared.

Josh told him, “It will be fine.”

He conquered his fear and they entered the room.

“Hello” said Dr. Penguin. “You must be Bubbles.”

“Yes, that’s me,” he said.

“Well,  your friend Josh told me about your problem and if you take this Bubble Gum flavored medicine every day you’ll be sure to be better with it,” he said.

“Yummy,” said Bubbles. “I’ll take it!”

Every single day Bubbles took the medicine. After a while, Bubbles wanted to blow bubbles MORE! He ran to Josh’s house.

“JOSH! JOSH! JOSH!” Bubbles yelled.

“What?” he exclaimed.

“I don’t think the medicine is working.”

“Why not?” asked Josh.

“I feel like I want to blow even more bubbles than usual.”

“OH, great,” said Josh. “Well I guess I’ll have to bring you to see Dr. Penguin again.”

So Josh took Bubbles to see Dr. Penguin.

“Well, Bubbles, I bet the problem is the flavor,” said Dr. Penguin.

“What flavor?” asked Bubbles.

“The bubble gum flavor. I guess I will have to give you grape,” said Dr. Penguin. “Either that or sour lemon.”

“I’ll take the grape,” Bubbles aid.

Bubbles took a dose and it tasted HORRIBLE, but the feeling of chewing bubble gum was gone! He didn’t want to blow any more bubbles either.  Bubbles was so happy! He was glad that he didn’t have to blow bubbles any more. When Bubbles came home, Mamma and Papa Penguin were so proud of him.


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8. Yummy Cake Recipe for Diabetics

This is a layered cake I make my husband on his birthday, which is today and I just ate two pieces! You’re probably saying to yourself, “Yes, Carolyn, but you’d eat two pieces of ANY birthday cake.” True, but this one is guilt-free and it doesn’t make John, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 28 years ago, feel like he’s being deprived.  We could easily order a regular birthday cake, but this one doesn’t force him to take an unusual amount of insulin and he doesn’t get a sugar rebound.

Here’s exactly what I did, but you can experiment with the flavors your family likes. The carb count on the Angel Food Cake is 11 grams per serving.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 boxes vanilla or banana-flavored sugar-free, fat-free Instant Jell-O pudding. (1 oz box)

  • 2 boxes strawberry sugar-free Instant Jell-O. (0.30 oz box)

  • 1 Sugar-free Angel Food Cake loaf made by Hill & Valley. (7 oz. Got mine at Jewell)

  • 1 container of Cool Whip reduced sugar

  • 1 banana

Make the strawberry Jell-O and pour it into an 8 x 8 baking dish. Slice banana and add to Jell-O. (I only used about 3/4ths of the Jell-O.)

Chill it just until it starts to gel. Slice the Angel Food Cake loaf length-wise so you have two retangular pieces. Remove Jell-O from the fridge, and press the pieces of cake into the Jell-O to make the second layer of the cake. The cake shouldn’t be completely immersed in the Jell-O. Return to the fridge and let it chill for about a half hour more. Make the pudding, and spread it on top of the cake for your third layer. Cover the entire cake with Cool Whip for the fourth layer.

Hope you like it!


Tagged: cakes, cakes for diabetics, cooking, diabetes, food for diabetics, healthy cakes, healthy recipes, recipes, recipes for diabetics, sugar-free cake for diabetics, sweets for diabetics, Type 1 diabetes 0 Comments on Yummy Cake Recipe for Diabetics as of 1/1/1900
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9. “The Earth” – by Cece, age 9
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By: readlaughwriterepeat, on 11/8/2010
Blog: read. laugh. write. repeat. (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  children, writing, education, environment, green, Earth, recycling, poetry for kids, mompreneur, momblogger, saving the Earth, Add a tag

The Earth
 
What is Earth, really?
It is something sweet,
Some parts you can eat
Earth is full of life
Some life is furry,
Some hop, others scurry
None are boring or lame
We should all be treated the same
(Dogs and cats can’t
get all the attention)
I mean, what if me and you
owned a baby kangaroo?
(I’d name mine Darryl)
But now the Earth is in peril
The ice is melting,
More animals dieing
So, down with global warming
And up with recycling

For the Earth is something sweet
And something worth saving.


Tagged: children, Earth, education, environment, green, mompreneur, poetry for kids, recycling, saving the Earth, writing

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10. Serendipity
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By: readlaughwriterepeat, on 9/14/2010
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Most of us have driven past an injured animal on a roadway and wished there was something we could do to help. But how many of us would actually stop?

Here’s a woman’s amazing story, and how her act of kindness for a suffering cat brought her an unexpected reward.

Sally Geer was driving to work on  country road in southern Michigan when she saw a cat crouched beside the road. As she drove by, she realized that something was terribly wrong with the cat’s face. She turned her car around to get a closer look. The injury was horrific: The cat’s eyes had bulged out of her head, presumably from being hit by a car.

Not knowing the extent of any other injuries, Sally guided the cat into a pet carrier she had in her car, and sped toward her veterinarian so the cat could be put out of her misery.
 
“Our wonderful vet said, ‘I think I can save her” and I just about fell over,” Sally said. “The only damage was to her face.”
Besides her injured eyes, she had a fractured and dislocated jaw and a smashed nose.
 
“But you could feel the life in her,” Sally recalled. “She wasn’t ready to die, so I told the vet to go for it.”
 
A true animal lover, Sally has been bringing home strays since she was a little girl, something that her husband, Wayne, has come to expect. But she was worried that this time she went too far. How was she going to explain a $300 vet bill for a stray cat?
 
Sally decided the best way was to tell him at the Moose Lodge that night, with the thought that he wouldn’t get too upset with other people around. 
“While we were waiting for supper, he played his usual $5 worth of pull-tab tickets,” Sally said. “He hit $500 winner!”
 
Sally couldn’t believe it. He always shares half his winnings with her, which ended up being just enough to cover the vet bill.
 
Nettie, as she was named, had her eyes removed and her jaw put back in place and stitched together. Sally fed her baby food through a syringe for weeks. Now, 5 years later, she rules the house, Sally said.
 
“She plays more than the other cats and just loves life!,” Sally said.
 
This is just one story of many amazing rescues the volunteers with Animal Aid of Branch County, or AABC, take part in every day. The grass-roots organization is dedicated to end animal homelessness and promotes owner responsibility in Branch County and Hillsdale Counties in Michigan. It is a 501-c3 organization.
 
Sally is my sister-in-law and an AABC member. Storybuilders is proud to partner with this awesome organization for a fundraiser to help them help more animals.
 
For every Storybuilders book purchased on our web site, we will donate $5 to AABC. Just use the code AABC10 when you check out.

2 Comments on Serendipity, last added: 9/14/2010
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11. LARD-BUTT COOKIES
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By: readlaughwriterepeat, on 8/5/2010
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I was recently reminded that life imitates art, and that I am decidedly more juvenile than I had thought.

The “art” being our first book, Spies Inc., in which a middle-school boy is sent on a spy mission by bully Biff Vermin to steal a top-secret cupcake frosting recipe from The Lunch Lady. I won’t give away the entire plot because YOU CAN BUY IT HERE WWW.STORYBUILDERSBOOKS.COM,  but here’s an excerpt: 

All the kids in school knew about the frosting, but none of us had actually tasted it. The Lunch Lady used it only on cupcakes that went to grown-ups. “I’m going to be a famous TV chef some day, geekhead, and that frosting will be my claim to fame,” Biff said, scowling.

 After promising to have the recipe by the end of the day, the boy sneaks into the school kitchen, where he dons a disguise and tries to swipe a tray of cupcakes out of the school.

Now, fast forward to a small-town shop in northern Michigan called The Cherry Hut. Here is the actual text message exchange between me and my neighbor, Margaret, who is also an adult and who, like me, has  dismissed Botox in favor of exclamation points.

MARGARET: I smell the cookies baking!!!!!! Sweeeeeet!

ME: Get the batter recipe!!!!

MARGARET: I will beg after I get my cookie or they won’t sell them to me.

ME: Say this: “I can taste butter, right? Or is it lard?”

MARGARET: Yes…good line…and cherries?

ME: We already know there are cherries, pecans and white chocolate. JUST GET THE RECIPE!!!!!

I added that last sentence for effect, but suffice it to say, another summer has ended without the recipe for the best cookie on earth that we have aptly named Lard-Butt Cookies. That’s a combined 7 trips to the Hut, and 7 conversations with the owners (actually 8 if you include last winter’s phone call when I inquired about them mailing me the cookies.)

Stop judging me. I know you wannabe Iron Chefs are saying I should just recreate the recipe at home from scratch. I know plenty more are saying we should just ask for the recipe. Duh? Then what am I supposed to talk to my neighbors about all winter? The weather?

Margaret still has one more chance. Her family will stop at The Cherry Hut on their way home at the end of this week. Here’s what I plan to text her:

ME: OMG!!!! Don’t forget to get the recipe!!! Those cookies are so, like, AWESOME!!!! Do you really think they use lard???? I will totally freak. Isn’t that pig fat???

I feel younger already.

 

 


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12. Ten Mother’s Day Laws – rated PG for language, violence
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By: readlaughwriterepeat, on 5/6/2010
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10. Mother’s Day is not a day. It covers the entire weekend from Thursday 6 p.m. through 9 a.m. Monday.

9. Instead of escorting spiders, ants, mosquitoes, earwigs, etc…out of our home, I will kill them on the spot. 

8. You are not allowed to cry over said insects bereaved family members or wonder aloud about how said insects’ parents feel.

7. Don’t correct my grammar. I worked at the Chicago ‘effin Tribune, for God’s sake.

6. Do not, under any circumstances, say, “Mom look!” unless you are skydiving or graduating from high school.

5. I do not know where anything of yours is located.

4. I will change the TV channel at the drop of a dime to “The Dog Whisperer” or HGTV.

3. The words “Harry” and “Potter” are banned.

2. Play with those &%$ Zhu Zhu pets that I went insane trying to find for Christmas.

And my Number One  rule on Mother’s Day……

1. Ask Daddy.

A shout out to MOMS — let’s make this list gigantic and laugh! Add some rules. Your day starts tonight.


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13. My Illustrator Can Beat Up Your Illustrator
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By: readlaughwriterepeat, on 4/21/2010
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 I’m talking to you. Steve Ravenscraft, the designer of Spies Inc., can out design any other designer, any day of the week, in any medium.  InDesign, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash -  the whole Adobe Creative Suite. What’s that? You’re backing down now?  Well, maybe you should go home and take your baby crayons with you.

Disclaimer: I’m not encouraging any actual physical violence to break out over this blog post.

What I am encouraging is for you to check out his designs at www.ravengraphics.com or better yet, take a mini-tour of Spies Inc. at www.storybuildersbooks.com

A friend of mine, a photographer and designer, was looking through Spies Inc. this week and summed up Steve’s design like this: “It’s like you’re looking through a virtual world in a book.”

What we love about Steve is that he is meticulous, a perfectionist if not obsessive, about the end product.

Check this out:  I asked him for a simple spy disguise – glasses or a mustache – so we could disguise kid’s photos – and here’s what he gave me.

Need I say more?


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14. Opening Night Jitters – The Countdown Begins
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By: readlaughwriterepeat, on 3/30/2010
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Inventory is low

Some people are hesitant to start their own business because they feel the risks involved are not worth taking. I had no trouble getting started, but now, as I get closer to launching my publishing company, I’m feeling opening night jitters. 

Then, out of the blue, I remembered that I had started and ran an  innovative, wildly successful and personally profitable business before. I know I can do it again.

Just Crackers! operated out of my desk at a scrappy Ohio newspaper where vending machines didn’t exist and appetites were ravenous. My idea was brilliant. I had managed to collect a stash of packaged crackers from eating establishments throughout town – single servings of Club Crackers, saltines, oyster, and others. If I had soup, chili or salad for lunch, I brought back inventory. There’s no way I would eat all of them, I had thought, why not open a store for my co-workers?

Word spread quickly through the newsroom. I branded my company with an innovative name, organized inventory according to color and taste in my right-hand drawer and took advantage of starving reporters, copy editors and one unusually hungry photographer who stopped by. A lot.

Just the other day, a former customer asked me if Just Crackers! was still open. Without any regrets, I said: “No, but how about a book?”


6 Comments on Opening Night Jitters – The Countdown Begins, last added: 3/31/2010
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15. Should You Be An Entrepreneur? Take this test
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By: readlaughwriterepeat, on 3/12/2010
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It’s exhilarating working on my business, Storybuilders, but some days I have a hefty amount of fear.   Should you do it? Should you start your own business? Should you take that invention to the market? Leave the security of your job?  There are strong internal drivers that compel people to create their own business, according to Daniel Isenberg, in his blog post for the Harvard Business Review.

 I started Storybuilders  because I had a lifelong dream to own a business AND the timing was right: Laid off, no credit card debt, low mortgage,  husband still employed, kids young.

Just answer yes or no. I scored 15 on the test. What did you score? Anything you would add to the test? Keep in mind that this is just a test that could give you some insight.

  1. I don’t like being told what to do by people who are less capable than I am.
  2. I like challenging myself.
  3. I like to win.
  4. I like being my own boss.
  5. I always look for new and better ways to do things.
  6. I like to question conventional wisdom.
  7. I like to get people together in order to get things done.
  8. People get excited by my ideas.
  9. I am rarely satisfied or complacent.
  10. I can’t sit still.
  11. I can usually work my way out of a difficult situation.
  12. I would rather fail at my own thing than succeed at someone else’s.
  13. Whenever there is a problem, I am ready to jump right in.
  14. I think old dogs can learn — even invent — new tricks.
  15. Members of my family run their own businesses.
  16. I have friends who run their own businesses.
  17. I worked after school and during vacations when I was growing up.
  18. I get an adrenaline rush from selling things.
  19. I am exhilarated by achieving results.
  20. I could have written a better test than Isenberg (and here is what I would change ….)

If you answered “yes” on 17 or more of these questions, look at your paycheck (if you are lucky enough to still get one). If the company that issued the check isn’t owned by you, it is time for some soul searching: Do you have debts to pay? Kids in college? Alimony? Want to take it easy? Maybe better to wait. Do you have a little extra cash in the bank and several credit cards? Do you have a spouse, partner, friends, or kids who will cheer you on? If so, start thinking about what kind of business you want to set up. It doesn’t matter what age you are: research by the Kauffman Foundation shows that more and more over–50s are setting up their own businesses. Talk to people who have made the plunge, learn how to plan and deliver a product or service, think about that small business you might buy, talk to people with whom you would like to work, and talk to customers.

“I like to take risks” is not on the list. People don’t choose to be entrepreneurs by opting for a riskier lifestyle. What they do, instead, is reframe the salary vs. entrepreneur choice as between two different sets of risk: the things they don’t like about having a steady job — such as the risk of boredom, working for a bad boss, lack of autonomy, lack of control over your fate, and getting laid off — and the things they fear about being an entrepreneur — possible failure, financial uncertainty, shame or embarrassment, and lost investment. In the end, people who are meant to be entrepreneurs believe that their own abilities (e.g. leadership, resourcefulness, pluck, hard work) or assets (e.g. money, intellectual property, information, access to customers) significantly mitigate the risks of entrepreneurship. Risk is ultimately a personal assessment: what is risky for me is not risky for you.  By Daniel Isenberg, The Conversation http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/02/should_you_be_an_entrepreneur.html


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