Small favor, if you're able - Looking for some feedback on some audio files

Hello folks,

I've been encouraged to work on my personal introduction and both 30-second and 60-second commercials for my coaching. So I got busy (there I am below, being busy with the microphone!)

I've spent some time on these and would love feedback if anyone could help. They're business-related so feel free to skip this post, please, but any feedback I can get will be appreciated.

This first one is (roughly) what I'd say if I met someone at a networking event or on the street and they asked, "So, what do you do?"



The next two are 30-second and 60-second versions of an "elevator speech". I attend a lot of meetings and networking events where the attendees are invited to stand up and give short intro (time is usually suggested by the host). I should have each version memorized but then be able to be comfortable not making it sound too plastic or commercial. But anyway, I'd love some feedback on these, as well.

The 30-second version:



and the 60-second version:



[[BEGIN - Semi-Techy Tutorial for anyone who wants to know how I added these files to this blog post follows]]

For those who wonder how I made the recording and added it to this blog post, btw, what I did was use Audacity (a free download audio recording program with a free utility for converting to MP3 format files). I used a low-end DJ-quality Alesis microphone, but otherwise nothing special. Then I uploaded the MP3 files to Box.net (a free online storage program) and used the Embed code for each MP3 file.

[[END - Semi-Techy Tutorial for anyone who wants to know how I added these files to this blog post follows]]

Thanks again, in advance for any feedback.

Pecan Pancakes - Breaking Rules Never Tasted So Good - Recipe

This weekend on Saturday Marge made a suggestion to add to our (former) favorite pancake recipe and it was a winner. I added another twist and the results were over the top. In order to take the photo above I had to mix another batch Sunday just so I could have something to shoot.

So here's what we did: basically we just used the pancake recipe on the back of the Bisquick box, adding every one of the "make it special" ingredients they suggest - that's how we usually (used to) make pancakes that we, our family, and guests have always enjoyed. Marge's idea was to add some finely chopped pecans. My addition was to cook them using Extra Virgin Olive Oil - (yeah, I know, it's not supposed to taste all that great in a pan like that and some say EVO only delivers its healthy goodness served cold or at room temperature. But guess what? They were easy to make, easy to cook, and awesome!

So here's the recipe:

Bruce and Marge's EVO Pecan Pancakes

Ingredients:
2 cups Bisquick
1 cup milk (actually I used Lite Silk)
1 egg
2/3 cup finely chopped pecans
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla (I used a strong flavored Mexican vanilla brand)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
Note: this recipe makes about nine 4-5 inch diameter pancakes each about 1/2" thick.

Preparation:
Dump all the ingredients in a mixing bowl in (in any order) and mix 'em up. The more finely you chop the pecans the smoother the mixture will be, but it doesn't effect taste or cooking time, just the crunchiness.

Cooking:
Preheat a medium hot skillet (or griddle or frying pan or whatever)
Add a generous amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Put about a 1/3 cup of mixture on the skillet
Cook 'em for a while on one side, then flip 'em. (They likely will be thicker than your usual pancakes so maybe turn the heat down a smidge if you're concerned about them getting overly dark before cooking all the way through. I find it takes about 30 seconds  per side, maybe a bit more)

Eating:
 Serve and eat. I suppose you can add butter and syrup if you wish, but I like them just as they are.

Hint for next day cold pizza lovers: Make extra pancakes and store covered in the refrigerator, they're firm enough that they're easy to eat just holding them with a cup of coffee the next morning.

The Pecans add texture, taste and flavor and (for Marge and I anyway) the EVO adds a wonderful flavor and feel to them.

Of course I'm a big fan of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and even made a video a year or so ago on using EVO as a moisturizer - let me know if you'd like those instructions or for the video link.

Some fun cards we've sent recently - Week 3

More and more, Marge and I utilize custom printed greeting cards we create with SendOutCards to send heartfelt messages to people.

We love to take photos of folks and put those pictures in cards that we later send as thank you's or notes of appreciation.

Here are the fronts and insides of some of the cards we sent recently.

Here's the front of a birthday card to our granddaughter:

 

A card we sent to Joe Gaugham or WECT and Mike Triggiano of Mail Express in Leland:

 

A card I sent to Tom Hemphill, Director of the Brunswick Community College Small Business Center:

A card I sent to Jerry Helms, Manager of Brunswick Forest  Realty, the front of which was a photo of the community entrance as it looked four years ago:

 

And a similar card to a neighbor of the street where he now lives:

Here's the front of a card I sent to Jon and Amy David with their son:

And this last one, a 90th birthday card to Marge's Uncle Morgan, with the card front and inside three panels:

 

 

If you're looking for an effective, easy, low cost, and very personal way to keep in touch with friends, family, contacts, clients, and referral sources, using cards like this can be highly cost effective. And they sure are fun to create and send.

We invite you to send a card on us, absolutely free, to see what it's like.

Just go to our web site www.FatCityCards.com and click on 'send a free card'.

If you're wondering about whether using the SendOutCards service would make sense for you, answer these 3 questions:

1. Do you send cards and gifts?
2. Do you know anyone who sends cards and gifts?
3. Would you like to make money whenever you or anyone you know sends cards and gifts?

If you answered 'yes' to the first question, it might make sense for you to be a SendOutCards customer.

If you answered 'yes' to questions 2. and 3., it might make sense for you to be a SendOutCards distributor.

All it takes to find out if either does make sense for you is to watch a 15 minute video, which you can see on our site www.FatCityCards.com. After you watch it you'll know if it makes sense for you.

We have a ball sending custom cards - Week 2

As you know, Marge and I utilize custom printed greeting cards we create with SendOutCards as one of our primary ways to keep in touch with people.

We love to take photos of folks and put those pictures in cards that we later send as thank you's or notes of appreciation.

Here are the fronts and insides of some of the two dozen or so cards we sent in the past two weeks:

Here's the front of a card we sent to Monica Clark and Kerry Kasotsky of K&M Speed Networking:

 

Here's the inside:

 

Here's a birthday card we sent to Dana Fisher:

The inside:

 

Johnny Mercer, Director of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission spoke at a meeting I attended, so I sent him this card:

Here's the inside:

Our friend Sidney Rabon of Cape Fear Chem-Dry Carpet Cleaning (whose passion is cooking for crowds):

The inside:

A card I sent after meeting Rita Tatum and Amy Lowrance of the Ocean Isle branch of East Carolina Bank:

 

The inside:

A card we sent to Brandon Sneed after meeting him at his book signing at RBRBooks in Leland:

 

And last, the front of a card we sent to several friends for Halloween:

 

 It's fun to use custom greeting cards for business (as well as for personal use). All you do is create them on your computer and then hit send and the company prints, stuffs, stamps, and mails them. And, to top that off, each of these cards costs only .93 (plus .44 in postage with a real, first class stamp on the envelope).

A great deal.

If you're looking for an effective, easy, low cost, and very personal way to keep in touch with your clients, contacts, or referral sources, using cards like this can be highly cost effective.

We invite you to send a card on us, absolutely free, to see what it's like. Just go to our web site www.FatCityCards.com and click on 'send a free card'.

If you're wondering about whether using the SendOutCards service would make sense for you, answer these 3 questions:

1. Do you send cards and gifts?
2. Do you know anyone who sends cards and gifts?
3. Would you like to make money whenever you or anyone you know sends cards and gifts?

If you answered 'yes' to the first question, it might make sense for  you to be a SendOutCards customer.

If you answered 'yes' to questions 2. and 3., it might make sense for you to be a SendOutCards distributor.

All it takes to find out if either does make sense for you is to watch a 15 minute video, which you can see on our site www.FatCityCards.com. After you watch it you'll know if it makes sense for you.

We have a ball sending custom cards - Week 1

As many know, Marge and I utilize custom printed greeting cards as one of our primary ways to keep in touch with people. We love to take photos of folks and put those pictures in cards that we later send as thank you's or notes of appreciation.

Below are the fronts and insides of three of the dozen or so cards we sent this past week (each card took only about a minute to design):

After Justin and Kristy William's 5th anniversary party for NBM magazine:

This is the card front with Justin and Kristy:

This is the inside of the card - note that we used my handwriting and both of our signatures:

 

 

After Dr. Sheila Hanby's Capeside Animal Hospital Business After Hours for the North Brunswick Chamber of  Commerce:

The card front - note the human rabies (vodka) shots on Sheila's tray:

 

And the inside of the card - check out how many photos we were able to include:

 

After I met with Shannon Carlson, Career Services Coordinator for Miller-Motte College:

Here's the card front:

 

 

And inside the card - I had an older, silly shot off myself that I included, just for fun:

 

It's fun to use custom greeting cards for business (as well as for personal use). All you do is create them on your computer and then hit send and the company prints, stuffs, stamps, and mails them. And, to top that off, each of these cards costs only .93 (plus .44 in postage with a real, first class stamp on the envelope).

A great deal.

If you're looking for an effective, easy, low cost, and very personal way to keep in touch with your clients, contacts, or referral sources, using cards like this can be highly cost effective.

We invite you to send a card on us, absolutely free, to see what it's like. Just go to our web site www.FatCityCards.com and click on 'send a free card'.