Surprise!!! It's me, Jan!

I've been thinking about you folks for some time now; I miss the moments we've shared in the past. In previous posts, I imparted my faith perspective using somewhat unusual and perhaps questionable metaphors such as my colonoscopy, menopause, and shopping at Ikea. Whether or not you chose to agree with my points of view, if I made you think and put a smile on your face my mission was accomplished.

There's lots to catch up on, but for now, let's talk about the economy.  It's a tad broken.

When I was a young'n, my concept of economy was the purchasing power of my allowance, 25 cents - paltry by today's standards,  but back then, I had serious purchasing power.  The world was my oyster on Saturdays: I could buy 5 popsicles, or 75 black balls, or a box of Pink Elephant Popcorn/a bottle of coke/and 20 jujubes; yes sir, I was rolling in it!

Along with supporting Mr. Secret's Candy Store, I also contributed to the health and well being of my family dentist, and family doctor; not to mention the economy of the school playground where candy was king and favours could be bought for a candy cigarette and a jujube.

I was also an entrepreneur.  My first foray into business was a small catering company. There was lots of housing going up in our neighbourhood and it was the hottest summer on record. There were lots of thirsty and hungry construction workers and no coffee truck in sight.  So, with my trusty red wagon, a jug of lemonade and a sack of oranges, I made the rounds and sold out before I reached the end of the  block.  My profit margin was 100 percent, thanks to my mom who unknowingly supplied the lemons, sugar, and assorted citrus fruit. I would have made a boat load of money that summer if it weren't for that nosey Mrs. Jones ratting me out to my mom. My business was shut down and I went from the Ivanka Trump of Jackson Crescent to closing down the operation in one afternoon. But I got a taste of the business bug and have never looked back.

So this is usually the point in my blog were cometh the lesson. For the sake of keeping you on your toes and guessing what I'm going to come up next, I'm changing things up a bit. Today, I'm going to give a nod to one person who is doing her part to fix our broken economy by starting a small business which I think is going places.

Meet Lyubov G., proud co-owner of PhotoCoasters, a cool company with a new and innovative product that allows you to display your digital photographs in a more visible way. PhotoCoasters are the solution to the showcasing the best of the best of your copious quantities of digital photographs into elegant and artistic coasters. They provide the much needed visibility and move your photographs from the realm of digital and into the realm of the everyday life. Luba and her partner are in the process of raising funds through a KickStarter campaign in order to launch their business and they need your help. 

So here, finally, cometh the lesson.  It's people like Luba and her partner who have the ability to fix our economy by starting  innovative businesses that meet a need and offer solutions to our problems. Small business owners hire the majority of the workforce in Canada, so supporting start up businesses gives us all a chance to fix a broken economy.  Take a quick moment and check out PhotoCoasters website: http://www.photocoaster.com, and help them to raise the necessary funds to expand their online presence and establish a marketing campaign. This is the solution to fixing a broken economy:  empowering individuals to offer their craft and skills in a business venture by offering up a small contribution along with others and supporting the launch of small businesses.  Small business which will no doubt grow and create job opportunities which in turn make our lagging economy grow. Think of every great thing anyone ever did for you, and pay it forward by joining a KickStarter campaign today. You'll get a good feeling, someone else will build a business and someday someone else will get a good job, who will in turn start their own business and so on. And every time that happens, an angel gets her wings.

So, I'm back, better than ever, with some new and interesting stories to tell.  Stay tuned.

It's me, Jan