Plate Saver

It's that time of year again where we all give thanks and then eat like crazy! So I thought I would share one of my food related ideas - the Plate Saver. I am not sure this would be an appropriate dinnerware piece for Thanksgiving Day but it may be a good idea for the days that follow when we are all eating our delicious leftovers.

I thought it might be easiest to share the idea visually. Excuse my poor graphics. It was the best I could do in Publisher. The steps are hard to read because the text is too small and this was as large as it would let me make the image so I have listed the steps again below the graphic.

Step One: Prepare your food and serve it atop your Plate Saver (Note: instead of typical food saver container lids this lid is made of a heavier plastic material that doubles as a plate and a lid)

Step Two: Eat what you can and then twist the plate surface around, scrape your leftovers in to the shallow container, and flip the lid back around to create a tight seal.

Step Three: Rinse off your plate/lid and voila you are good to go. Put your leftovers in the refrigerator and be on your way...No messy cleanup or extra dishes!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Until my next idea,
Matthew

"Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude." - E.P. Powell
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Read my first blog and discover the inspiration behind The Mother Load.

"There's No Place Like Home"

Today is a sad day for me. It marks the 14th anniversary of my mom's passing. She died of health complications stemming from Renal Failure. I miss her more than words can say. And it is because of her and her struggles that I had an idea to start up a non profit organization called "There's No Place Like Home". The name of the non profit obviously stems from The Wizard of Oz's Dorothy and her desire and attempts to get back to Kansas by clicking her ruby red heels together three times.

When my mom made the decision to end the treatments and was nearing the end of her life we made the decision to solicit the assistance of Hospice. What a godsend they were. I don't think we would have been able to get through it with out their support. More importantly, however, was that Hospice provided the opportunity for my mom to transition in to another life in the comfort of her own home. This option, to me, is so important not only for the family but more importantly for the patient.

This got me thinking...wouldn't it be great if there was a non-profit organization out there that assisted with providing funds to individuals and their families who cannot afford at home care? Hospice was incredible and services were provided at no cost but there are thousands out there who need help and assistance and yet are not in their final stages of life. I have had, and know of many friends who have had, loved ones who needed financial help and personal attention yet couldn't afford the costs of the necessary care for things such as visiting nurses, physical therapists or at home dialysis. Wouldn't it be amazing to bring care to the homes of people who need it most...those who may be all alone, to ill to travel, too depressed or broken hearted to face the world or simply have no means of transportation? Afer all..."There's No Place Like Home"
Until my next idea,
Matthew

P.S. - I love you mom

"What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?" - George Eliot
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Read my first blog, titled The Mother Load, and discover the inspiration behind the Blog

We Gopher You

When I think back to my very first "business idea" I am reminded of a group project in 10th grade. My teacher was Mr. Vashaw and it was an Advertising class. We had to come up with a new business plan and idea. I remember feeling fully engaged in the project and I think it was then, that I new Marketing was my gig!

I graduated in 1991, so the year would have been 1989 which would put me at 16 years of age. It's funny because I think the idea that we (because there is no I in team) came up with then might still be relevant and viable today. The name of our business was "We Gopher You". It was a service business where we would basically run your errands for you. You guessed it, our company logo was built around a character drawing of a gopher. I can still picture the rendering, an animated gopher whose legs were moving so fast you could only see a blurry whirlwind where his legs should be...kind of like the Road Runner or While E. Coyote during one of their notorious games of cat and mouse.

So here we are in 2009 and I wonder how many people out there would pay a little extra to have their dry cleaning picked up and dropped off or their dinner delivered from their favorite carry out place or perhaps have someone stop by with a replenishment of eggs, butter and milk. Sure its cheaper to run your own errands but who in this microwave society has time to do that?

Since 1989 thanks to the Internet things have went the way of "instant delivery". We have Netflix, Itunes, snapfish and FreshDirect but until someone can pick up my pet from the groomer, take my holiday packages to UPS or grab me a six pack of beer then I think there might be a niche market waiting to be tapped.

I do have to admit, it may be a shrinking market but because it stands out in my memory as my first idea I thought I would be re missed to not acknowledge it. Who knows, maybe you'll "gopher it" maybe you won't.

Until my next idea,

Matthew

“Today convenience is the success factor of just about every type of product and service that is showing steady growth.” - Charles G. Mortimer

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Read my first blog and discover the inspiration behind The Mother Load.

A Toast to Vote

In honor of the Presidential Election my idea for today is to VOTE! Its not a new idea but it is the best one out there.

Taking it one step further I do suggest that in celebration of "making history" (one way or another) and taking steps towards change (one way or another) everyone should lift their glasses. Whether its alcoholic or non you should toast with an "Obamatini" (my personal choice) or a "Palini" (pronounced bellini only with a P). Perhaps I should work for the restaurant and bar industry.

I have repeatedly been asked what is in these drinks and my response....I'm not sure but my suggestion is to take your normal martini and/or bellini and change it up and chances are it will leave a better taste in your mouth

Until my next idea,

Matthew

"I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past"

- Thomas Jefferson

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Read my first blog and discover the inspiration behind The Mother Load.

The Mother Load

Seven days ago I attended the first day of a three day PRSA Conference in Detroit. This conference was the best conference I have ever attended and I realized that the reason I loved it so much was because I am passionate about the subject matter - Social Marketing and Media. The presenters were fantastic and the content was truly inspiring.

It was on the second day of this conference that I had two unique and individual ideas. Ideas that have brought me here.

Idea One: Create a blog about ideas, my ideas...all of them. I feel like every day I have new ideas, ideas about new businesses, services or products and they are all trapped inside my head vying for attention. I used to think that I had to be hush hush about my ideas because if I talked to loudly they would be scooped and some lucky person would run with them and reap the rewards. The truth of the matter is that a) in reality, all of my ideas are probably not gold mines and b) if I don't have the means to do something with my ideas then that's all they are...thoughts in my head that take up space and collect dust. So my first "idea" was to put my ideas out there and see what happens. Maybe someone will steal an idea and run with it and if they find success then at least my idea saw some light. But maybe other things will happen and I want to take that ride and explore what those "things" may be.

Idea Two: I have this great friend and former colleague, Stephanie, who shares my passion for coming up with the next big idea. We are always bouncing our ideas off of each other. Months ago she shared one of her ideas with me, and yes I do have her approval to share it. Her idea was to start a business that helped out moms. As a mother of three she finds herself buried in laundry on a daily basis. Her idea: start a laundry service targeted to mothers. A mom's time is precious and how great would it be to free up moms everywhere by "lightening their loads". So we kicked around ideas relating to the business. I wont go in to those details because they belong to her, but I will comment on the business name. She suggested calling it the Laundry Lady. We both liked the name and so like we had several times before, we parked it there and moved on to our next "brilliant" idea. So you may be wondering how this all relates and what my second idea was. For whatever reason, on this day - the second day of the conference - an alternate name for the business popped in to my head. What about calling the business The Mother Load. I later shared the idea with Stephanie via Facebook and we had some back and forth fun with it.

I don't know if the laundry service idea will ever come to fruition but on the third and final day of the conference I had another idea and that was to blend the two ideas above and create "The Mother Load" Blog. I love it, because for me it brings it all together. Seeing it and hearing it will always bring me back to that conference, it will always remind me of my friend and all of our ideas (some that I plan to share in future blogs) and it just seems to bring it full circle. For me I think it is "The Mother Load" of ideas!

So that is what brought me here and will bring me back.

Until my next idea,
Matthew

“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” - George Bernard Shaw