Press Release:  Targeted Small Business (Woman-Owned) Certification offers advantages

Iowa is the only state in the nation that provides a Targeted Small Business (TSB) program specifically designed to help small businesses owned by women, minorities and the disabled.  Mindy Seiffert, down to earth Owner/CEO, decided it made perfect sense to take advantage of this one-of-a-kind program for her business.

The TSB program is designed to help women, minorities, and the disabled start or expand a small business.  The program offers many benefits, including access to low-interest loans of up to $50,000 at interest rates less than 5%, early notice on government bidding opportunities, and more.

Seiffert says, “This just made a lot of sense for my business.  Not only do I now get early access to government bidding opportunities, down to earth is also listed on the Iowa TSB Directory.  This allows businesses to find and partner with other Targeted Small Businesses throughout the state.”

In order to become certified as a Targeted Small Business in Iowa, companies must meet the following requirements:

·         Be located in the State of Iowa

·         Be operated for a profit

·         Have a gross income of less than $4.0 million computed as an average of the preceding three fiscal years, and

·         Be owned, operated, and actively managed by a female, a minority group member, or a person with a disability.

For those companies interested in learning more about the Targeted Small Business Program, the Iowa Department of Economic Development is sponsoring a free seminar next Tuesday, May 25th from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, at Scott Community College in Davenport. Please pre-register by calling 1-800-532-1215 or visit Iowa Department of Economic Development.

There are times when I am searching for information or visiting a subject matter "expert" web site that I am completely shocked by how information is conveyed.  At the same time, I am also somewhat sympathetic.  Why?  Because as a marketer and business owner, I know what is it like to never be able to accomplish everything that you would like to do, either on your web site, in your branding, social media efforts, or really anything for that matter.

I will tell you this story because it happens somewhat frequently in the mapping solutions world.  Have you ever visited a certain site to find a listing of locations, perhaps store locations or addresses of community resources?  But then realize that these addresses are static pieces of data and not valuable or accessible to you in any way?  You can't click through on them to a Google Map.  You can't download the information.  In most cases, the best functionality that you can obtain is to copy and paste the information to a different, more user-friendly application. 

Have you ever stopped to think about how many times you use a web search tool such as Google or Yahoo! Search to find a business that you are looking for?  Whether you are a restaurant, a plumber, a therapist, or manufacturer, I can guarantee you that someone, somewhere has searched the web for your business or service/product. 

There are some easy & affordable ways to make sure your business listing appears correctly and to increase your website's overall ranking in Google.

On Friday, April 23, 2010, you can attend a one-hour workshop where you learn how to own your Google business listing, capitalize on free marketing opportunities, and more importantly, protect your listing from being owned by others.  Get your business on the map today!

I realized today as I walked into Target that it has been more than 40 days since I had a Starbucks coffee.  In some ways, I am surprised about that.  In other ways, I am proud.  Keep in mind, prior to the resolution, I was going to Starbucks at least once a week, if not more.

Since my return from Hawaii, I really haven't been dining out that much.  Both because it is a lot easier to eat at home or take my lunch when I am not traveling and because sometimes it is nice to save a little money.  However, if you have been following me on Facebook or Twitter, you probably know that I have been to a few of my regular coffee shops over the last few weeks.  Just over a week ago, Brewed Awakenings, a locally-owned coffee shop announced that they have been struggling financially and that if business does not pick up, they will be forced to close.  This was a very different approach compared to what downtown restaurant blend chose to take.  I have to admit, I personally appreciated Brewed Awakenings choice to come forward and share with the public that they are struggling and need help.  The very next day, I stopped for a coffee with 3 friends.  I wish them the best of luck with their business and will continue to support them as much as I can. 


View Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Area Local Dining Recommendations in a larger map

Although I haven't been spending much of my own money eating out lately, I did get treated to a few meals in the last few weeks.  Even better!  One that I would like to mention is pizza from Tomaso's.  Tomaso's is absolutely one of my fav loca pizza joints in Cedar Rapids.  If you haven't had it yet, I would strongly recommend ordering a pizza...or 10...from there. 

The last 40 days have given me some insight that I can share with local restaurant owners.  Most of them are not doing what they could/should be doing online to maximize their visibility to customers, most of which is FREE. If you are a local business or restaurant owner and would like to learn more about this topic, please send me an email at mtseiffert@gmail.com. 

I am hovering close to 90% of my dining out dollars right now so I am making a concerted effort to continue forging ahead with my resolution, especially given the state of our community today.  My kids asked me just tonight if we could go to Panera and get bagels tomorrow morning.  At one point in our lives, that was an every Saturday occurrence.  I reminded them about my resolution and suggested some local options including Riley's and Cork 'n Fork.  I will see what tomorrow morning brings but I am quite certain that it will not include a trip to Starbucks or Panera.

There have been many times when I have heard people complain about taxes (I include myself in this group called "people").  When I worked for a local government doing GIS work I started to see things in a different shade, if not a different light.  Recently a friend and I were talking about a discussion he had with a coworker in which the issue of taxes was the main gripe.  I asked him if he ever wondered what he got for his tax money and we proceeded to talk about just that.

Before I go any further, I'd like to stay clear of politics in this rambling.  I'm not pushing an agenda.  I'm merely discussing what a person living in a medium sized city in Iowa might expect from his or her local government in return for their tax money paid out.  Whether or not the various services are considered to be performed well or even worth the amount paid are discussions for another time.  I just want to explore what services a citizen gets in return for tax dollars.  I also want to focus on services at a local level, leaving services provided by the county, state, and federal governments out of the discussion.

In no particular order, I'm going to list out every service I can think of that the city for which I formerly worked provided.  That should be a good start so take a deep breath and read on:

-         Police

-         Fire (I won't go in to all the services police and fire provide as most people are well aware of many of them)

-         Water (quality, quantity, and pressure control, maintenance of pipes, valves, manholes, and hydrants)

-         Water Pollution Control (waste water monitoring and treatment)

-         Sewer Maintenance (upkeep of storm and sanitary sewer intakes, pipes, manholes)

-         Streets (maintenance, snow removal, salt and sand application on slippery areas, inspection of new construction, pavement inspection)

-         Traffic (maintenance and control of traffic signals, painting of lane lines, signage)

-         Traffic Engineering (design and modification of traffic flow)

-         Engineering (supervision and inspection of new and existing streets, bridges, sewers, etc.)

-         Solid Waste (garbage, recyclable, and yard waste pick up, fall leaf pick up)

-         Building (permitting and inspection)

-         Parking (parking ramp, lot, and meter adherence, maintenance and inspection)

-         Transit (busing)

-         Recreation (landscaping, grounds keeping, park apparatus upkeep)

-         Golf (public course maintenance and upkeep)

-         Library

-         Forestry (tree maintenance along streets and in other public areas)

-         Animal Control (stray pick up, abuse investigation)

-         Development (assists and advises personnel [both government workers and private citizens] in issues concerning development of land, infrastructure, neighborhoods, the economy, etc.)

-         Housing (rental assistance, housing rehab)

-         Assessor (while not performing a strictly "city" function, this department performs the task of estimating the market value of new and existing properties)

-         Clerk's Office (documentation of anything important to the city)

-         A number of other departments that support the personnel doing the work listed above, including, but not limited to Purchasing, Treasurer, Human Resources, and Information Technology.

How does all of this relate to GIS?   The street maps used for computer aided dispatch for emergency services, the infrastructure (pipes, manholes, etc.) used for Water and Sewer, routing for garbage & recyclable pickup, traffic flow & patterns, bus stops and routes, parking meter locations, pin and sprinkler head locations on golf courses, pavement inspection, tree locations (yep, all of them on public property or in easements/rights-of-way), zoning, annexations, parcel boundaries, easements, fiber optic/cable locations, and location of signage would all be greatly enhanced by the application of GIS.  There are many more that I haven't thought of, but that's a nice start.

So the next time you are in a conversation with someone complaining about taxes and you feel the need to interject, I hope my little list will help.

-Rich

It happened.  We had to return to reality.  We returned to Iowa from the sunny paradise that is Hawaii. 

I had been without an internet connection for the last two days of our trip so I am just finally getting around to updating our map and posting. 


After vacating our Hawaiian Jungle Hangout that we inhabited during the weekend, we headed North for a fair amount of sight-seeing and snacking along the way to our overnight destination at the Kohala Club Hotel.  We saw gorgeous waterfalls, tsunami memorials, major eco-system changes, and more as we journeyed North and back West around the island.  I will share just a few of my favorite pics.  Several are what we refer to as Dr. Seuss trees.  Nature in Hawaii is very different than Iowa.  To us, many of the trees and plants looked like something you would see in a Dr. Seuss book.

   



As I mentioned, we visited Rainbow Falls and Akaka Falls.  Both worth the time if you are traveling through the area.  We did feel like we should be able to get much closer but it seemed to be heavily discouraged



We had a late lunch/early dinner in Kamuela at Tako Taco.  As you will see, they embrace the essence of my New Year's resolution so I was really happy to come across the restaurant.  Good Mexican food, good beers(soon to be a brewery in the back), and my kind of people.  As for Tom if you stop by.

Yesterday was our last full day on the Hilo side of the island.  We did our best to make it as action-packed as possible.


View Hawaii Local Dining, Accommodations, and More in a larger map

First thing, we headed to the farmers market.  This market is open every Sunday and is a huge attraction for both locals and tourists.  You can definitely buy most of your weekly produce needs at this market in addition to lots of other things like breads, clothes, gifts, and more.  Our hosts strongly recommended the crepes for breakfast and, I have to agree, they were quite delicious.  Plus, a lot of fun to watch them being made.  We did get to try some unique Hawaiian fruits while we were there too.  Take a look at these guys!  You take the peel off and the inside is sort of like a grape.  Very strange but cool to look at. 
  


From the market, we headed to Ahalanui Beach Park to check out the volcanically-heated pools.  They are heated to a toasty 91-95 degrees depending on the day.  It was a nice treat and since we are geeky tourists with snorkel gear, we did a little bit of snorkeling in the warm pool too.  Who knew we would find so much ocean-life just in that one warm pool.  Definitely worth an hour or two if you are on this side of the island. 

Once we were all toasty, we decided to cool down by going snorkeling at Kapoho Tidepools.  My friend, Tim, says this area offers the best snorkeling on this side of the island.  This was a completely differently snorkeling experience compared to what we had done on the other side of the island.  The tidepools present a few challenges because we were there at low tide and you have to be creative about how you move from pool to pool.  Both coral and lava rock are quite sharp so you need to be extra careful.  The coral was so extensive and elaborate and we saw so much sea life! It was amazing!  As I have already said, I could snorkel all day but it got a little chilly again and the tide was coming in so it was making things a little difficult.  Hopefully, we will get more snorkeling in on Tuesday before we leave.


We were all famished after our morning so we needed to get some lunch.  We decided to pass by the nude beach and head to Kalapana Beach to get some lunch at the cafe (local!) there and check out the black sand beach.  If you haven't seen a black sand beach before, it is quite a trip. 


We returned in late afternoon to prepare our dinner that consisted of mostly fresh fruits and veggies from the market.  We shared some wine and food with our friends and hugged them all goodbye.  Today, we head North around the island for the last two days of our trip   We are definitely starting to panic a little bit about having to return to "real life".  It just doesn't seem fair.  Although, I think we are all missing our kids and I know they are missing us too.

Our Hawaiian adventure has definitely continued.  Here you can see how we are making our way around the island.


View Hawaii Local Dining, Accommodations, and More in a larger map

As I mentioned, we left the Kona area Friday morning to journey South.  Our first destination was Captain Cook's Monument.  This is a well-known snorkeling area on the SW side of the Big Island.  While planning our trip, we made kayak reservations through a company called Ehu and Kai Kayak Rentals.  They were mentioned in the "blue book", which is THE resource when planning a trip to the Big Island.

Anyway, to make a very long story much shorter, we turned too early and missed the kayak pick up locations at the top of the mountain.  That meant that we found ourselves at the kayak drop-in site at ocean level and had several non-licensed kayak vendors all fighting over us.  Everything about the whole ordeal had illegal written all over it but in the end, we did get two double kayaks that floated, four life jackets, and some dry bags to get us out to the monument. 

This was the first time that I have snorkeled and now I want to do it over and over and over again!  It truly was one of the coolest things I have ever done.  Unfortunately, all of those pictures were taken with the waterproof camera but we saw everything from dolphins to octopus to beautiful coral and more.  We will definitely be heading back to the initial snorkeling spot in Kona that we couldn't get into on Thursday. 

After our sea kayaking and snorkeling adventure, we continued South around the tip of the island.  This part of the Big Island is probably not often seen by tourists who come only to resorts and larger cities.  Very rural, very poor and desolate areas exist in some parts of Hawaii.  We were hungry from the morning and trying to find a local dining establishment.   That part wasn't hard as there were certainly no chains in this area.  What was difficult was locating a restaurant that wasn't serving out of their garage.  After having just been through our kayak ordeal, we were a little leary.  Finally, in Ocean View, we found the Desert Rose!  It was certainly an oasis.

From there we continued to our "home" for the next several days, The Hawaiian Jungle Hangout.  Ironically, we booked this VRBO(Vacation Rental By Owner) knowing that it was close to our friend's home but we are literally in their same sub-division and just a few blocks away.  It couldn't have worked out better!

The Hangout is perfect for us.  It is tucked away on a one-acre jungle-filled lot.  We have everything we need and get to wake up every morning to fill like you are literally smack dab in the middle of the jungle.  The first night we went to see the moon rise on the beach just a few blocks from where we are staying.  We got to sip on wine and enjoy the view while sharing our ridiculous kayaking story with our friends.  I also got to snap a shot of Nessie (or what is really a humpback whale).  We then headed back to our place for soup, toasted bread with brie, and more wine.  How can you go wrong with that?!
Saturday, we decided to go to Volcanoes National Park.  I really had no expectation for this trip other than a little bit of information I had seen on the Discovery channel   It really was well worth the trip.  It is a 4-mile hike down to the crater and back up but you just really wouldn't get the full experience without the hike.  In the crater, we were standing on steam vents that literally were hot enough to burn our feet and legs.  Craziness!  We then went into some of the lava tubes.  One is widely-used by tourists but, of course, our hosts were aware of a different tube that is accessible but you have to bring your own flashlights.  Again, like nothing I have ever experienced before.  Similar to a cave in many ways but different in other ways.  When we reached the end of the tube, we turned off our lights for a few minutes and just sat in silence as a group.  It truly was an incredible experience.  When we exited the tube and other tourists saw us, I felt lucky to have been able to experience that piece of the park with our experienced hosts.  Those other poor tourists were out of luck!  Oh, we did stop at Volcano Winery for a wine tasting on the way back down the mountain.  I didn't love the wine but certainly a cute, little local winery and probably worth the stop.

Dinner last night was at Ning's Thai Restaurant.  Great, open, laid-back dining experience.  Affordable as well.  And, although they don't serve alcohol, you can just bring your own in.  So, of course, we did.  They have been yelped quite a bit and gotten pretty good reviews.  I would say a must if you are in the area.

Today, we have another fun-filled day planned:  a trip to the market this morning, tide pools and snorkeling in the afternoon, and then grilling at our VRBO this evening.  I would venture to guess there may be some wine then too. 

I am happy to report that all is well here at the Big Island.  In some ways it has been much different than I expected, but in other ways, exactly what I had in mind.

Our flight to Kona was pretty smooth.  We left O'Hare a little later than expected due to de-icing and set on the tarmack a little longer than expected in LA.  This meant we departed one plane and boarded the next one immediately...no time for food.  This ended up not being too big of a problem but AA was short on food so I am quite confident there were many hungry travelers that night.  However, it was all soon forgotten as we landed in the very cute, open-air Kona Airport at 9:00pm to find the temperature a balmy 70 degrees.  Sorry, Iowa friends.

Our friend, Eric, sent us this Saturday Night Live skit and I have to admit, it is a little funny.  It hasn't been that bad yet but I can see where the idea for the skit came from.  We are spending some time this week with my old co-worker Tim Blakley, and his wife Heather, who live on the Big Island.  I have already heard several interesting stories from them about what life is really like in Hawaii.  Not sure it is all that different than other places in our country:  discrimination, corrupt government officials, high prices, etc. 

As I mentioned, some things have been different from what I expected.  I wasn't prepared for all of the lava fields.  Really, they are a bit shocking.  They kind of look like overturned soil in Iowa farm fields, but hard.  Not sure that is a good description but that is sort of what it looks like to me. 

When we arrived Wednesday night, it was dark and we really didn't have any idea what was around us as we left the airport and traveled to our B and B.  We awoke yesterday morning to be surrounded by nature.  It was fabulous!  Birds of all kinds were chirping (clearly I haven't heard that for awhile), turkeys and chickens were wandering all over the property, and geckos were sharing our bathroom with us.  Pretty awesome!  Right now as I type this, the sun is just starting to rise and all of the critters are doing their best to kick start our day.

The B and B has been just what we were hoping for.  We spent two nights at this location but will be leaving today.  It is owned by an older gentleman who has recently hired a younger couple and their 5-year old daughter from Wisconsin to come out to Hawaii and manage the property.  Adam, the manager, was a plumber in WI and had been laid off from his previous position.  His wife said they got creative when job hunting and ended up here.  How cool is that?!

We attempted to go snorkeling yesterday morning but the beach was closed due to rough waters.  So instead, we headed north to one of best Hawaii beaches: Hapuna Beach.  It was fabulous!  We boogie boarded for several hours.  I have to admit, it was more physically exhausting then I would have expected.  We managed to get back to the B and B for a quick soak in the hot tub, cleaned up, and headed out to Huggo's for dinner.

I have no complaints about dinner at all.  We sat ocean-side, sipping a locally-brewed beer, eating yummy seafood dishes, and watching the waves roll in.  We did get to watch a sea snake wiggling around the rocks for awhile as well.  I think Mike may have gotten a picture of that.

Today, we are moving South to Captain Cook's Island to try some snorkeling today.  Then, we will be circling around the Southern tip of the island and heading up towards Hilo where we will spend the weekend with Tim and Heather and their other guest, who is also from Iowa!  What are the odds of that?  Multiple people wanting to leave Iowa in the death of winter?   I can't even believe it!


View Hawaii Local Dining, Accommodations, and More in a larger map

So far so good on the resolution.  Other than my initial screw up in Chicago, I have remained 100% true to my goal.  And, as expected, when back at home, I have been dining out much less.  Although, I do have some updates to share and recommend. 

I definitely have some regular places I go when I am working downtown.  Victor's, home of the famous breakfast burrito, is a fav among most of my friends at Skywalk Group.  We love the place because the breakfast selections are fabulous, sandwiches and salads rock, and they have daily $5 lunch specials.  Also, we use them for catering training events and they sure do pack a mean lunch box.

When seeking coffee, I have to admit that I strongly recommend Coffee Emporium.  The customer service is outstanding and the coffee is the best downtown.  It may be small but there is free wireless and you will get to see some regulars if you decide to stick around for awhile.

Another one of my downtown favorites for lunching is Mr. Beans.  They also offer wireless but it is usually too busy for my liking to actually eat there.  However, if yout get there around 11:30am or so, you can grab some a delightful sandwich and soup "to go".  I saw they got Yelped.  Gotta love it!  And, I can't forget to mention the big draw to Mr. Beans....the cookies!  Absolutely the best cookies available in downtown Cedar Rapids.  I prefer the monster cookie but I have heard that the frosted sugar cookies are also out of this world.

Yesterday, I managed to have yet another flat tire.  Yes, that is two flat tires during one cold, crappy Iowa winter.  So, tonight, we took the car in to get new tires put on and decided to eat dinner at Joensy's.  Initially, my kids were really pushing for Carlos O'Kellys.  I did my due diligence and determined that they are mostly a Midwest-based chain so I could probably allow it.  However, I thought Joensy's seemed like a better choice to support local business. I swayed the boys by telling them that Joensy's claims to serve the best tenderloin in the state and that they would need to decide for themselves if they were telling the truth.  I discovered tonight, when attempting to add the restaurant to my Cedar Rapids Local Dining Challenge Map that Joensy's is mentioned on Wikipedia's pork tenderloin page.  Check it out! 

Tomorrow, we leave for Hawaii and will, therefore, be faced with new challenges throughout the next week.  I suspect I will be fine in Hawaii but might struggle during airport travel.  For all of you who have traveled with me before, you know I will be packing snacks!  Stayed tuned for most local dining updates and Hawaiian adventures.