U-Guide expands to 7 universities for the 2009-2010 school year

We are excited to announce that University Guide (U-Guide) now partners with seven major universities in the Midwest.

• University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
• University of Illinois - Champaign
• University of Illinois - Chicago
• University of Missouri - Columbia
• University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
• North Dakota State University
• Northwestern University

Our brand new website is now live, where you can learn the details of the U-Guide guidebooks.

www.uguideonline.com

The U-Guide combines the best elements of student-oriented publications and leaves the fluff behind. We help students navigate through college life with student interest articles, exclusive interviews with athletes, coaches, and stand-out teachers and students, custom-made maps of the campus, directory listings of important phone numbers and area businesses, perforated coupons, and more...

U-Guide - Your Roadmap to College Life.

The Kings Stock meats

Direct from a handful of local butchers in the Upper Midwest, The Kings Stock meats deliver unparalleled quality and unique flavors into the homes of meat-loving men everywhere.

• Pork chops stuffed with Ham, Salami, and Cheese or all the Reuben goodness one can ask for.
• Tender and flavorful buffalo sirloins and ribeyes.
• Brat flavors from Beer and Cheddar to Southwest Fiesta to Pizza with Mozzarella and many more!

Available exclusively through Man Cave. Contact an Advisor or check out the link below.

The Kings Stock Meats

Announcing.... Man Cave!

Welcome to Man Cave Worldwide.

If you're a guy, this company is for you. Man Cave is dedicated to letting men be men.

I'll let the website speak for itself.

www.ManCaveWorldwide.com

Enjoy!

1st Annual Back Yard Championships

It's official! The First Annual Back Yard Championships will debut on Saturday August 15, 2009 at Lake Calhoun, Minneapolis, MN.

You and a teammate can compete for a chance to become the first-ever Back Yard Champion.

Teams of two will compete in a day-long tournament of three back yard game classics: Bean Bag Toss, Ladder Golf, and Washer Toss.

How to Register:

Click the Register Team link to sign up your team of two. Register soon as there is limited space in the event!

ENTRY FEE

2 Official BYC T-Shirts….. $30.00 ($15 per person)

No T-Shirts……………….. $20.00 ($10 per person)

Check out www.BackYardChampionships.com for more details.

Businesses are Recipes

This was one of those dots-that-have-been-swirling-around-upstairs-finally-connected kind of thoughts that I just came across earlier today as I shared parting words with Nick (taking a few days to kick it with the fam in LA).

As far as I'm concerned, the world of business has no rules. None. Lots executives choose to run their businesses with similar practices, frameworks, and methods, but in this great country there is no mandate, no "set way" of conducting business (ok ok so we all pay taxes, use the same accounting principles, obey the law... we're all on somewhat of a level playing field but you get my drift).

Businesses are recipes. Take... banana bread for example. One person might use 2 bananas. One might use 3. The bananas could be ripe, or still green. Varied amounts of sugar, flour, and other essential ingredients. Also important is the how the bread's made- how many minutes in the oven, at what temperature, and so on. Some banana bread recipes result in fluffy, moist, deliciously baked bread. Some... well... don't.

A business is the same. It's the sum of all of its parts and components- policies, people, products... You can look at ten companies in the same industry, selling the same types of products (sometimes even the same products), and their internal structures, cultures, managers, and P&L statements almost always look very, very different. AND... only one of those ten companies is #1 in their segment.

I think the point is...
- Figure out the recipe you enjoy making
- Keep the recipe easy to understand
- Decide what's going to make your recipe different and worth trying. Once you figure that out - stick with it!
- Better ingredients, better business!

Now if only I had some bananas....