Incubator:  Let’s Hatch a winner!

I pitched my Hidden Jewel’s business to a representative from an interesting program today (April 30).  The UCF Business Incubator in Leesburg offers emerging businesses support in many areas of business.  Classes, low cost office space, experienced contacts, possible introduction to venture capitalists are among the opportunities available to entrepreneurs if your business is accepted into the program.

I ran home and got to work and now application has been submitted. I am hopeful that we will be a good fit for this central Florida program.  It seems to me that a product like Hidden Jewels’ focus on travelers would be important to an area as dependent on tourists as ours is. I am getting all positive feedback, and I am encouraged.  I really could benefit from advice from business and marketing experts, and some training on cost assessment.  The idea seems to have jelled, now moving to the next stage I could really use some technical assistance.

Hidden Jewels - Entrepreneurial Spirit

This Hidden Jewels project is a bit overwhelming.  The scope is bigger than I have taken on in the past.  I have felt the pull of entrepreneurship since I was 16.  My first business was Shalom, a head shop in the back of an Army Recruiting storefront in the City of Tonawanda.  It was 1969 and my partners and I were 16 year old war protesters. The Irony did not escape anyone in town when we painted our section of the building Red White and Blue stars and stripes.  I don’t think that we made any money, but we made the paper and I learned a thing or two about the pro’s and con’s of working for ourselves. (It’s harder than working for someone else!)

The next venture began with my wedding.  I didn’t want traditional centerpieces and I thought the idea of balloon bouquets at the tables would add an air of frivolity to the occasion.  This was a unique idea for 1982 and the florists tried their best to discourage me.  Their suggestion was to add a balloon to a traditional arrangement.  Not what I had in mind, so I decided to make the balloon bouquets myself.  No, stress, just one more thing to do for an already over tasked me to do! The balloons were a success and I am still married to the groom 30 years later. The lack of ballooney solutions, coupled with a long layoff from my job at Delphi led me to my next venture: Balloons for all Occasions! I worked out of my garage and delivered balloon bouquets all over Lockport.  It was a unique gift idea and went over big!  My problems came not from lack of business, but lack of business savvy.  Billing and collecting money owed me were not my strong suit.  Luckily I soon was called back to Delphi and balloon businesses began sprouting up all over town. I learned about the importance of bookkeeping with this venture. (Blech: hire an accountant if you can afford it!)

Next bright idea came over drinks at our UAW hall in 1992.  A guy that I worked with in the Model Shop at Delphi and his wife were looking for a business opportunity.  They had recently sold their successful hot dog stand and were looking for another venture.  We were not working much overtime at the time, and thought that we all could contribute hours to a business. We tossed around several ideas and settled on looking into opening a liquor store in the south end of Lockport as the area was developing at a rapid pace and we loved wine and liquor! Booze Brothers was born and everything went along grandly for a while, until life took a detour.  Our workload at work went crazy, hitting three of the four of us with fifty plus hour work weeks.  A messy divorce for our partners ended any chance of success that we could have hoped for and we were forced to sell the business at a big loss. I learned a bit about partnerships with this venture. (Take care in your selection or maybe don’t do it!)

Fast forward to today….. In 2006 General Motors gave us a precious gift: Early retirement.  At the young age of 54, I was fortunate to be able to retire.  To young to rock on the porch, I resisted the urge to go back to working for someone else.  I have enjoyed considering my options for the past 6 years.  I have considered opening a gift shop, a haunted bed and breakfast, a restaurant/bakery, a Tim Horton franchise, and several internet businesses. I have chosen the Hidden Jewels project because I have spent most of my life working to support my passions: Now I am choosing to try to make an enterprise of them! Travel and seeking new and wonderful experiences have created my most valued memories, so I hope that I can create an opportunity for others to join me on making the most of this marvelous earth walk!

Reunion: RIP Uncle Fred!

My Uncle Frederick died last week. He was an interesting man. He traveled the world, living in exotic places including Vietnam and several unstable countries in Africa. None of us ever knew exactly what he did but we all suspected that it was not the supervisor of the “Motor Pool” as he claimed. He married a wonderful woman from Vietnam and Hy and her two sons John and Lee joined our family over thirty years ago. They retired to the Gulf coast and after not seeing them for many years, we reconnected and began joining his daughter, Maureen and her family on Christmas day for the past few years. This November I hosted a “Holler Girls” (Our grandmothers) family reunion as I knew his health was deteriorating. My Uncle Ron and Aunt Gloria attended as they are also in their 80’s and the three of them were the last of their generation. I tried to get as many of us cousins together as possible. The party was well attended by cousins from all over the country but sadly Uncle Fred relapsed and at the last minute he could not attend. My sister Connie and I did get a chance to visit him in the hospital that week. He lost his fight with cancer last week. I am sad for the cousins who could not attend, I am sure they regret not taking the opportunity to say goodby.


A brief introduction to the game: Flat Sandy’s Hidden Jewels is a game created to help introduce players/visitors to an area, in a creative and unique manner. The players are to find, and then take a photo of preselected spots within a specified area. The idea is to help visitors who may not be familiar with an area, see the best of that area and share their experiences with our web-viewers. The participants become eligible for prizes, and the local merchants are given an opportunity to be introduced to our players after being pre-determined as hidden jewels of that area.

Welcome TACO!

The newest member of our family is Taco, a Redheaded Mexican Parrot! This sweet guy was ignored at the home of a breeder, but seems to be well adjusted and loves everyone. The first day he stepped up for everyone who came to him. So far he barks like a dog, whinnies like a horse and says hello. We are looking forward to being forever friends!

Flat Sandy’s Hidden Jewels is my new project. It is a unique combination of scavenger hunt, travel guide and marketing plan. I have always wanted to combine my love for travel with a career so this may be the answer. My first steps were to take this idea that has been percolating in my head onto paper. I made a power point presentation and pitched it to my family and select friends. Everyone that has heard the idea, so far, has liked the concept, told me that it would be something that they would buy, and have added ideas that will help make it better!

The next steps included a patent search. This was more expensive that I probably needed to pay, but the firm came recommended. They told me that the search would be complete in a week to 10 days, but took over 5 weeks. The first meeting was the only time that I saw the lawyer and his secretary was the only person that I could talk to after I paid for the search. When it finally arrived, I was encouraged to find that nothing exactly like my idea was found, and the products that were close, had very significant differences. The patent search process taught me something about timelines: They are not necessarily as important to others as they are to me! This has lead me to decide that if this was the law firms best interview for a job performance, I was not ready to hire them.

I decided that the expensive next step was something that I could try myself with the help of Legal Zoom. I also am a bit uncomfortable not having a personal relationship with a lawyer to get me through this maze, so I asked an old lawyer friend from NY if he knew anything about patent work but he didn’t so I am thinking about engaging an old boyfriend of Erika’s who recently graduated from law school, in the process.

I now have a patent pending and spoke with the legal zoom lawyer today. He answered some of my questions, and told me that I would be done with this provisional process in a couple of weeks. We will see if that is the case. My goal is to have a prototype by July and to take it on our cross country RV trip this summer. My first target cities are The Villages, Fl. Lockport, NY and LaCross, Wi. I will explain the product in small bites in postings to come!

Update: New Projects!

It has been a while since I have updated this blog! Over a year has flown by in the blink of an eye. Dad passed away in November. He had 90 healthy years and 18 months of sad decline. His stubborn German constitution kept him alive for much longer than was comfortable after his fall, but he was a lucky man to have enjoyed those great 90 Years (you can keep those last ones if I have a choice). He called up an old friend and confided that he was going to be the oldest man in the world. He whispered that on his birthday December 15, he was going to be 200 years old. She told him she would bake him a cake that was bound to set off the fire system with all of those candles, but sadly he died just short of that day.

Briana is graduating this year and going on to the RN program. Erika is fighting the good fight in Wisconsin, organizing for SEIU and Stephanie moved into her own place about 10 minutes away in Leesburg. RC’s house is full. His Mom spent the winter with us, grand kids, Cassie & Josh are camped out and his 2br is filled to the brim! We laugh about putting up the next visitors in the east wing. Our houses are so full that our attention has been turned to the sale of my apartment house in Lockport, to investment in a family compound here in Florida. Details to follow!

I asked for travel related gifts for all of the holidays this year. We do not have room, or need for any more stuff! I have so much stuff now that I had to rent a storage unit, and I am trying to reduce the unnecessary stuff and not always winning the battle. Back to the “year of adventure”, we have just returned from a long weekend in the Keys, are planning a short cruise in the Bahamas. Summer looks like July at the lake and a RV trip (if gas prices allow). We are hoping to take the Northern route across the top of the country. We would like to start in Northern Michigan at Black Lake, stop in to see Erika in Wisconsin, visit the Dakota’s, Montana, Glacier National, Washington State, Seattle and whatever else catches our fancy.

All this time spent thinking about travel led me to my new project. I have applied for a patent for a game/invention I have created to introduce travelers to unfamiliar destinations, combining fun and information in a unique manner. The game is called Hidden Jewels. I was ready for a project and I love the idea of combining an opportunity to merge my passion for travel with a business opportunity. I think that I am going to change the focus of this blog to document the birth of an idea. More details to follow!