Flash Guy attends Utah Valley Leads Connection

I wore my Flash shirt to the Utah Valley Leads Connection meeting. It was nice to be greeted at the door by Carolyn and Chris. It made me feel glad  I came. Chris was handed out the October edition of his newspaper ServeDaily. I was happy to see the article I wrote about South County Lanes, a bowling alley in Payson.

When I walked into the room, Jaden called me out with, "hey! it's your birthday!". I appreciate the friendliness of the people in this group. I sat down next to Carolyn Lewis and Elizabeth Ross. Carolyn asked me why I come to these meetings. I am a Technical Writer who has been unemployed for an extended time and I need help to build a business. I'm struggling to set up a business. I've always had a role where someone gave me marching orders and I worked within those parameters to set up a project plan, build relationships of trust with engineers, product managers and project managers.

I have been working on my 30 second commercial. I struggle to define a behavior, or what someone says that would need the services of a free lance writer. I have attended Scott Moran's workshop twice and he has helped me to define what services I offer; free lance writing but I'm still not sure how to tell someone that a good lead for me is someone you know that something documented.

At the end of the meeting, everyone sang happy birthday to me. I thought it was funny when they sang "Flash guy" instead of my name. There were a lot of people attending for the first time. I won the door prize, a $25 dollar gift certificate from Smart Media and Print. I contacted Adrian Escalante for an appointment, I'm excited to create some new business cards.

One on one with Brad Clarke

Brad Clarke invited me to Utah Valley Leads Connections a few months ago. I met Brad because Hansen Chiropractic prescribed massage therapy, When we walked into the office, he greeted us with a smile and a warm handshake. First impressions count for a lot. There was another Massage Therapist in the office but she was too preoccupied to even acknowledge us, so Brad got our business (click to see his online business card). I was in a lot of pain. Brad's treatment was intense in the best way. Each treatment left me feeling exhausted and relaxed enough to sleep up to 4 hours. This was a blessing since I was struggling to sleep.

Brad was going to the University of Utah and enrolled in a cooking class. The professor encouraged him to continue taking classes. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Culinary Arts with Business Management from the University of Utah. However, after reading the book Soul of a Chef and some time working, he decided to seek another path. He enrolled at the Provo College of Massage Therapy because a friend recommended it to him. Brad wanted to get his money's worth so he didn't miss a single day of class! He has continued to serve as an adjunct professor teaching at the Provo college of massage therapy. He decided to specialize in Sports Massage because he enjoys helping athletes reach their goals and improve performance. He works with the Utah Valley University (UVU) Women's basketball team providing sports massage. He started Sports Massage Specialists a few years ago. His goal is to upgrade his clinic with a TRX training center. He recently contracted with two additional massage therapists to work in a spare room in his office suite.

Brad's holistic massage techniques goes beyond treating just sore muscles. He has an intuitive gift for determining what the body needs. He is very conscientious about the connection between mind and body. He strives to restore balance. He has an excellent bedside manner, listening and offering counsel while I struggled with anger, sadness and frustration. He inspired me to set goals and to work out. Each week, my muscles and ligaments strengthened. His massage is sometimes uncomfortable but the results are worth it.

Serve Daily with Chris

Chris and I were chatting before a Utah Valley Leads Connections meeting at Key Bank a few weeks ago.We talked about the publication he founded, Serve Daily. The publication is a monthly newspaper that features stories from South Utah County, e.g. Springville, Mapleton, Spanish Fork, Salem, Elk Ridge, Woodland Hills, Payson, Genola and Santaquin Utah.

We went to Sizzler for lunch for a one-on-one discussion. Chris shared that he is learning to swim. I recommend to him Kai Zen Swimming. It helped me to calm myself in the water especially during the swim portion of a Triathlon. I asked him why he founded a newspaper and he shared his story. It was from a desire to serve his community. He started out with a small brochure promoting awareness of the Constitution of the United States of America and the importance of serving others. His brochure became the middle section of another publication called Tidbits of Utah County. On June 2012, he published his first paper and has continued publishing once a month since then. He has made preparations to expand his publication to a weekly offering. I asked if there was anything I could write for him. He smiled and said he wanted to feature a bowling alley in Payson, South County Lanes on his upcoming October issue. He gave me some contact information and I followed up and wrote a 500+ word article. He also gave me a lead to contact Wendy from The Crossroads Journal.

I really enjoyed writing the article. I visited South County Lanes, talked to Bud Marrott and listening to his story. He has built a nice bowling alley, expanded his offerings to include laser tag and other activities for families. It made feel good to be able to help spread the word about his business.