Hello again; I am always looking for new places and new ways to promote myself and the business. This is why I started doing Brian The Hammer Jackson Radio Show that focuses on and promotes owners of small businesses or as Brian calls them up and coming businesses. Its also why I decided to do the Derrick Hayes Interview where he mentioned me as a leading amusement industry entrepreneur.
So when I got the happy news that the Bertazzon carousel was sold I asked myself if there was some new way I could take advantage of this big occasion in my life. Naturally, I shared the news on face book, linked in, twitter, and my other social media pages; but I wanted something extra. I had been hearing the Mutual of Omaha TV commercials featuring people’s Aha Moments. I thought that this was my Aha Moment, so I found their face Book page and submitted my story. I told them how I had started selling rides by helping my dad when the family needed to buy or sell equipment and that after my father’s passing I decided to find out if I could make a living doing it. I told them that I had just made a big sale and thought this was the moment when I realized I could really do this. And then I mentioned that i did this in spite of the fact that I happen to be blind. I finished by attaching a photo of the carousel. Now, I wrote this post with no expectations positive or negative. I will be honest enough to admit that yes I dreamed about being featured in one of their ads and me and my site becoming famous. But the best I could really hope for was that some of their followers would see my post and decide to check out the page.
Man was I surprised when the next day I actually heard from the people at the My Aha Moment page. They said that they liked my story and wanted to meet me to hear more about it. I told them that I would be happy to meet with them and asked them when they would be near Houston Texas or the east Texas area.
They wrote back and said they were sorry to tell me that they had just been in Amarillo a few weeks earlier and weren’t planning a trip back to Texas any time soon. I responded by telling them that was okay. I gave them my phone number and email address and told them to just let me know the next time they were anywhere nearby. I attached a link to the blog post I had written about selling the merry-go-round.
I figured that was the end of it, but I was wrong. They wrote me again saying that they loved my story. They called me inspirational. They also said how they thought the carousel was beautiful. They asked if it would be okay to give me a 100 dollar Amazon gift card to celebrate my success. This shows that whoever writes for Mutual of Omaha has some experience with visually impaired people because he or she asked before just sending it. I told them sure I would love to have the gift card and I told them I was proud that I could inspire people. And then first thing this morning I received the email from Amazon saying my gift card was available.
I want to thank the people at Mutual of Omaha for providing such a great resource that not only allows business owners to promote themselves but lets regular people share their personal stories of triumph. I strongly encourage you to visit their page. I don’t know that I am there yet, but I do know that when I get there; it will be because of the help and support of friends, family, mentors, and other business owners. Which is why I always tell people that if there is anything I can do to help them to just let me know.
This is why I created the links section on my website. And I want to remind you that if you own an amusement based business like a carnival, fun fair, circus, amusement park, family fun center, party rental company, etc; or if you sell products or provide services that can be used by such companies; you should submit your company details for a free text link on the site. If you need to buy, sell, or trade anything related to the amusement industry, I hope you will consider using the midway. You can just email your listing or you can use the submission form I work on a commission basis, but it doesn’t cost you anything unless I am successful. And if you have a comment or question please use the contact form I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks and take care, Max