Mixed Dish

St. Petersburg’s Open Air Post Office

My throwback Thursday is dedicated to one of my favorite landmarks in my hometown of St. Petersburg, FL:
the Open Air Post Office.

This fantastic Mediterranean revival building with a charming highly ornamental design is located at 400 First Avenue North in the heart of downtown St. Pete. It has been in continuous operation since being dedicated in 1916 and became listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

It is the nation’s first open-air post office and I fell in love with it as a kid. Interestingly, I worked summers and holidays at real estate, CPA and insurance offices downtown when I was in high school and college so I wound up spending A LOT of time waiting in line at this post office. Fortunately for me, it is a visual delight!

  

 

Photos: My own and Digital Commonwealth

Happy 1st Day of Spring!

The beginning of spring evokes emotion & action because it symbolizes the promise of renewal.  Do you have a spring “TO DO” list? Preparing for Easter? For Passover? Closet cleaning? Stepping up your workouts? Spending more time outdoors?

Well, if you are ready to move forward with a business project and need guidance, contact me. Through my advisory business, I work with people, across the country, who have product and services ideas as well as existing businesses that want to develop.  Stuck? Looking to connect the dots to progress? Not quite sure how to take the first (or next) step?

What I do is find out what your goals are, then I assess how I can help you (if I cannot, I will try to find someone who can) and then I come up with a customized plan for you to be enabled to accelerate.  Our interactions are confidential and based on mutual respect with a “no question is too small” theme.

I offer complimentary consultations so that we can chat to see if we should work together before we dive in to execute your plan.  Give yourself the gift of progress for the spring season of 2018!

Interested? Reach out to me on candi@candiobrentz.com
Do you want to find out more about me? Click HERE!
Curious about what I offer and how I work with people? Click HERE!

 

Happy Spring!

Dishing about what happens when Hoda Kotb brings strangers together…

In September 2016, my product invention RestoPresto was featured on The Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda.  I was watching all of the action through the huge windows from the Today Show plaza and thought that my heart would explode out of my chest with excitement and pride!

After the segment there was a bunch of people congregating around Kathie Lee and Hoda and then a commotion ensued. I saw someone jump up and….well, to find out what the commotion was and why the hashtag #DerekGoBoom was created, you have to listen to Randy Jones and I tell the story during my interview on his Show Me MORE podcast on The Nice Guys on Business that aired last Saturday.

Randy and I met on The Today Show plaza that day so in addition to telling this serendipitous story, we will dish about relationships, business and how important it is to pay attention to the opportunities that are right in front of you AND all around you…particularly when National TV is involved!

Here is the hyperlink to the podcast – please take a listen:
Randy & Candi segment on Show Me More podcast

 

Dishing about deserving recipients for Giving Tuesday!

 

Giving Tuesday was yesterday however I think that we all agree that if we are able to do so, giving every day is a beautiful thing…a kind word, a financial contribution, emotional support….

If you need suggestions for deserving recipients of your hard-earned funds, please take a look at my list. Each recipient holds a special place in my heart because I know the Founders of the organizations or the recipients of the funds (or both). Each recipient is legitimate and each organization is a 501c3.

1. MAYA MACEY FOUNDATION – funds provide college scholarships to outstanding students who have overcome adversity in their young lives. www.mayamaceyfoundation.org

2. BRADY’S SMILE – funds help children (and their families), who are in the ICU at children’s hospitals. www.bradyssmile.org

3. Cure Spinal Muscular Atrophy (“SMA”) funds the treatment and cure of SMA, which is the number one genetic killer of infants. www.curesma.org

4. SING FOR BLAIR – all funds go to the Sanfilippo Research Foundation (via Susan & Roger Chapin in memory of their beautiful daughter Blair) to find a cure for Sanfilippo Syndrome. www.gofundme.com/Sing-for-Blair

5. BORN JUST RIGHT – the mission of this organization founded by Jen Lee Reeves is focused on building creative solutions that help kids with differences live a more enjoyable life. http://www.bornjustright.org

6. DIRECTLY & PERSONALLY help my lifelong friend, Niki Goodman Ricker who has stage IV Colorectal Cancer and is currently in the hospital. Funds will go to Niki’s medical care and well-being via a GoFundMe campaign. https://www.gofundme.com/lets-show-niki-goodman-ricker

 

Commemorating a Kickstarter launch & a product reveal at the same time!

RestoPresto was funded with Kickstarter!

This past week I celebrated the anniversary of the RestoPresto & Kickstarter launch! I actually set BOTH into motion on the same day since I had been keeping RestoPresto a secret until I went live with my crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the first production run in the U.S. It was a double whammy of excitement.

Since I managed my own successful Kickstarter campaign, many people have asked me how I did it. In a nutshell, it took strategic planning, brainstorming and input from my trusted advisor group to ensure that I was on track. Because of my experience, particularly knowing what worked and what I would have done differently, I am sharing my “been there done that” advise with my private clients on whether crowdfunding is the right way to go for their own projects and if so, how to properly prepare (and stay sane) for that rollercoaster ride.

Do you have an invention idea and are asking, “NOW WHAT”? Do you have a prototype and are not sure what to do with it? Is an idea for a product or service buzzing in your mind and you do not know how to take the first step? Contact me! I work one-on-one to help others progress their projects, at any stage.

Collaborate. Accelerate. Execute. Hop over to my new website: Work with Candi!

Here is a the celebratory post that I wrote on my advisory business blog to commemorate the day.
https://www.candiobrentz.com/kickstarter-launch-anniversary/

 

It has been rewarding and very special to take the knowledge gleaned from own creation process of bringing RestoPresto to market, being granted a patent and seeing it featured by Kathie Lee & Hoda on The Today Show to apply it to my clients to help them bring their own ideas to life. It’s a win-win!

Dishing about the THRILL of seeing your own product on The Today Show!


It was ONE year ago today that I was standing in Rockefeller Center watching my beloved product invention being featured on The Today Show! It was and remains an inventor and small business owner’s dream…NATIONAL TV EXPOSURE!

Click on the hyperlink to read all about my fab experience on the Work With Candi Obrentz BLOG and how I am working with people who have their OWN ideas for products and services.

I offer customized plans, guidance, connecting the dots, intros to specialists and just about everything in-between to guide people on their creation process. Bring your ideas to live with me! www.candiobrentz.com 

 

We rise by lifting others…

Asking for help can be difficult.
 
My lifelong friend, Niki Goodman Ricker, is a strong fighter, a Mom to 2 sons, a Wife, a Daughter and my childhood memory sharer from elementary school at Shorecrest in St. Petersburg, FL.
 
Niki is battling stage IV Colorectal Cancer every moment of every day…and it’s horrible. In order to focus on her treatment and healing, Niki does NOT need the added burden and constant concern about her mounting, overwhelming medical bills.
 
Fortunately, after a lot of convincing, Niki agreed to a mutual friend’s persuasion and gave her the green light to launch a GoFundMe campaign on her behalf. SO we now have an easy way to financially assist my friend.
 
Whether you know Niki or not, you can contribute to make life a bit easier for her and her family.

Here’s how:


2) SHARE this campaign with everyone who you know (there is POWER in numbers)!

3) Reach out to Niki with words of support (or a Duran Duran photo – she’s a huge fan) by messaging me and I will pass it onto her!
Thank you in advance for your consideration in supporting a wonderful woman with whom I have been friends for over 35 years! Niki will be grateful for the kind words and assistance given to her.

Happy 241st Birthday, America!

Dishing Independence Day wishes to my fellow Americans!

Happy 241st Birthday to the USA! Here’s to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Declaration of Independence

241 years ago on the 4th of July, the Declaration of Independence was officially adopted by Congress to formally separate from Great Britain AND the United States was born. The Declaration of Independence, one of the most important founding documents of the United States, is kept safe and sound in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC.

On my last visit to D.C., I took an early morning stroll along Pennsylvania Avenue (with my easily portable product invention RestoPresto  the Made in America wearable blanket, of course) and when I happened upon the National Archives, I had an A-HA, very meaningful moment. Here I was, at this striking building that holds a document that bestows life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and I had achieved a very American dream: I switched careers from corporate to entrepreneurship (after the age of 40) when I discovered a gap in the market for a product that I wanted but could not find. I envisioned an easily transportable, multi-functional, soft, water-repellent textile to use how and when I needed it instantly…then through hard, strategic work beset with challenges, accomplishments and several big set-backs, brought it to life! It was subsequently patented and featured on the TODAY SHOW last September.  As we all know, dreams are universal and not just an “American thing” however when you achieve a business goal in the USA, there is a unique sense of pride since our country is a young 241 years old!

So here’s the thing: since the moment I launched my Kickstarter campaign which also revealed RestoPresto to the market, people have asked me how, what, who and tons of other questions about prototyping, crowdfunding, intellectual property, manufacturing, shipping, branding, PR, social media, marketing and everything in-between. I learned that necessity is the mother of invention with RestoPresto and am now, proudly running a second business…a customized advisory business. I work with innovative people who have an idea, at any stage, that needs to progress. I customize solutions based on individual needs to bring that idea for a product or service to life. WOW – it is a totally different kind of gratification helping people do what I did with the hope of reducing the headaches and adding firsthand experienced value by sharing my “been there done that” expertise.

My doors are OPEN to work with me so please reach out if you are curious how I can help YOU and how we can partner on your project. Of course, referrals are very welcome: candi@candiobrentz.com

 

Free to Create: Give yourself permission to leave your comfort zone!

You would think that I am used to seeing my photo and articles “out there” on the world wide web, right? NOPE…it took my breath away to see that I am the “#ResetYour Ambassador of the Day” for The Reset for sharing my story about giving myself permission to completely leave my comfort zone to create RestoPresto.

This decision not only reset my life, it completely transformed my life! Click on this hyperlink to read my #ResetYour story

As I grow the RestoPresto business, I am once again leaving my comfort zone in a different way: I am building an advisory business that helps people bring their own product ideas to life. After I launched RestoPresto to the market, I received SO many questions: how did you know what to do? how did you make a prototype? what is a prototype? how did you get a patent? what is a trademark? how did you run a successful Kickstarter campaign? how did you figure out shipping rates? who helped you with your logo? how do you manage social media? HOW? WHO? WHAT? WHY? So many fantastic questions, all of which MUST be answered. So to supply the demand for guidance on bringing a product idea to life, I offer customized advisory services. Each “case” is different, each stage is different and each client is different so I work with you to create a personalized plan to get you where you want and need to be.

A new website is on the way and in the meantime, if you have any questions about how we or someone you know can work together, please contact me. No question or need is too small and of course, if you want to be added to the RestoPresto waiting list for out-of-stock RPs, hit me up!

The Reset is a terrific source of inspiration, information and ideas for me and I love that my personal and professional stories align with their mission to embrace changes: big and small in order to be your best self! Subscribe and follow @theresetsocial !

It’s Flag Day 2017 in the USA!

American Flag waving over Rockefeller Center, NY

American Flag waving over Rockefeller Center, NY

240 years ago, on June 14, 1777, the flag of the United States was adopted by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. The Flag Resolution stated: “Resolved, That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

IMG_6148

American Flag waving over Fifth Avenue, NY

American Flag waving over Fifth Avenue, NY

Many Americans cherish the, often refuted, story of Betsy Ross being the designer of the first Stars and Stripes. As General George Washington’s seamstress and fellow-church congregant, legend says that Betsy Ross was commissioned around June of 1776 to create the flag from a drawing, which she subsequently re-designed and produced successfully. Some historians discredit this tale based on lack of evidence but either way the story is a great one.

Over 100 years later, Bernard John Cigrand, a young man from Waubeka, Wisconsin, authored hundreds of articles, made speeches and submitted proposals for there to be an annual observance of the birth of the Flag. He felt strongly that good would come from a “Flag Holiday”. Then, in 1949, President Truman signed an Act Of Congress designating the 14th day of June every year as National Flag Day. 55 years later, on June 14, 2004, a unanimous vote by U.S. Congress declared that Flag Day originated in Waubeka, Wisconsin recognizing Cigrand’s dedication to the cause.

Since 1777, the design of the flag has been officially modified 26 times. The 48-star flag was in effect for 47 years until the 49-star version became official on the 4th of July 1959.

American Flags painted on trees in Battery Park to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the September 11th Attacks.

American Flags painted on trees in Battery Park to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the September 11th Attacks.

IMG_6149The American Flag, which is also known as the “Stars and Stripes”, “Old Glory” and “The Star Spangled Banner” with 50stars to represent the 50 states of the United States of America was ordered by President Eisenhower on August 21,1959. The blue rectangle in the canton (specifically called the “union”) bears 50 small, white, 5-pointed stars arranged in 9 offset horizontal rows of 6 stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of 5 stars.

The current 50-star American flag was designed in Ohio in 1958 by a then 17-year-old, Robert Heft, who created it for a high school class project. Apparently he received a B- on his assignment, which was subsequently raised to an A after his design was chosen and adopted by presidential proclamation.

Isn’t it fantastic that young adults have played integral (sometimes unrecognized) roles in US history?

“Flag of Honor” listing the name of each human who perished on September 11, 2001 displayed in Battery Park during the 10-year memorial.

“Flag of Honor” listing the name of each human who perished on September 11, 2001 displayed in Battery Park during the 10-year memorial.

Happy Birthday to the American Flag!

Photos are my own.

error: Content is protected !!