Randall Blaum's Blog

Love app for Blog

This is my first blog using my iPhone. Very cool as I can now blog on the go. Closing down for the holiday so bless you all and each of you have a warm, safe, and happy holiday

Randall

How to profit from customer complaint - Dec. 24, 2009

Because I am obstinate, I pursued my dream of creating a premium pet-food company that sells what it claims to sell and not some unidentifiable substance in a dressed-up bag. Stella & Chewy's ingredients include organic fruits and vegetables and meats that are free of antibiotics and hormones.

via money.cnn.com

How to make more money - just by listening to customer comments and complaints. Sell them what THEY want, not what you think you have.

How Panera Bread Defies the Recession - TIME

What's the best business reaction to a recession? How about none at all. Unlike many outfits in the struggling restaurant industry, Panera, the soup and sandwich chain with more than 1,300 stores in 38 states, has stayed strong by standing still. "The key to Panera's success lies in what the company hasn't done," says Nicole Miller Regan, an analyst at Piper Jaffray. "Panera hasn't fallen victim to discounting. It hasn't levered up the balance sheet. It hasn't tried to change."

via www.time.com

This is a superb article and one worth noting. In many cases businesses cut their prices to go after "everybody" and in the end wind up costing themselves business. Panera, of which I am a fan, did what it does better and did not lower any prices during the recession. What are you doing?

David Scotland with music legend Dennis D'Amico

David Scotland with music legend Dennis D'Amico
Originally uploaded by Randall Blaum

Dennis is David's producer and, WOW, does he know his stuff. He produced songs for Sir Paul McCartny and other huge music legends. He thinks David, "Is the goods" and his next song could go platinum.

Production Team In Studio A

Production Team In Studio A
Originally uploaded by Randall Blaum

Working with the "A-Team" on David Scotland's new album. Been a busy year, but I can't wait to show what we've been up to. Killer...

'Twas the night before the night before Christmas and all through the house, the employees were working without any grouse. Yes, here we are on the 23rd of December having the time of our lives and the entire crew is still going at it hard with new client work and getting ready to take the next three days off....



Coming in January is a whole new world of great products, projects, and huge business ventures... Talk to you soon and I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas.

30 Rock's Judah Freidlander

30 Rock's Judah Freidlander
Originally uploaded by Randall Blaum

One of our clients is a Broadway and Vegas star as well as a big-time comedian and one night in NYC she was sharing the stage with Judah who hung with us after the show. Fun times and a great NYC night!

Set Sail for Harbour

High-end food and service may seem like only a blue-blood's paradise, but the quality of the cooking and the amazing prices at Harbour appeal to everyone and every wallet.  Welcome to First Class food and service you can afford.

It has been a long time since I have written here and for that I'm sorry.  I have been traveling the world and in those travels I found a beacon of light in a dark sea of gray, pre-packaged, microwave, "want-fries-with-that eateries." 

A new restaurant opened its doors about nine weeks ago on Hudson Street at the intersection of Spring Street in New York City.  This evening was one for the books and the name of this new find is, "Harbour."

Something of note about this new delight is its Chef, Joe Isadori.  He and his staff won a Michelin star while at DJT's in Las Vegas, which is part of the Donald Trump Empire.  At Harbour, the four-course tasting menu is a tasters dream and for only $45 it's one of the best great-food-experience bargains in the city.

The evening we dined at Harbour we were a party of seven and sat in the main area of the dining room under the Chihully-inspired chandelier. As you can see from the photo left, the dining room is a yacht-inspired affair that really makes you feel as if you are on a 1950's mega-yacht, rather than being located next to an abandoned lot and almost inside the Holland Tunnel, which you are.

As we were enjoying our wine with the Mike and Jeff, the World Wine Guys, (www.worldwineguys.com) our first suprise of the evening appeared at the table... and amuse-bouche which was a chilled pea soup with crisp slices of green apple.  Nice touch and a great way to start the dining experience.

My first course was small and to the point, which I like so I can get my taste buds up and running.  This evening they were serving a raw fish on greens and when I asked if they served something that could be cooked, and immediate, "Yes" was offered and my course held beautiful cooked shrimp and greens that was both light and tasty...  Just enough to get the palette wanting more.

The next choice I made was for the clam chowder which was, to say the leas,t unexpected in its depth, flavor, and savoryness.  Many people may be taken aback by the robust nature of the chowder at Harbour, but this is not your mother's clam chowder.  Chef Joe's clam chowder has a pan-roast taste and feel to it, but it is bursting with flavor and was a great compliment to the light and airy first course.

So far during my "dinner cruise" I had tasted three wines and had two more tastings to come.  With the wine, the food, and the friendship the evening was off to a great start and then it happened...  The main course arrived.  It was a simple, yet elegant presentation.  I'll tell you about my dish in a moment, you must know that Chef Joe had two entree hits at our table that night; one was the fresh sea scallops, which are out-of-this-world meaty, fluffy, and tender all at the same time.  He pairs the scallops with soft chunks of caramelized cauliflower and finishes them with a dramatic and inspiring emulsion flavored with lobster.  Wow, indeed....  I, however, chose another entree, the Arctic char, which was served over slices of ruby grapefruit with miso and yusu. A dining companion chose the soft-shell crab and after tasting all these dishes, it's no wonder Chef Joe is building a reputation of high-end food and service at a truly affordable price.

After the main course a playful intermezzo of cantaloupe sorbet with candied plum and Meyer-lemon soda was poured into martini glasses by the maitre d' himself.  Fun, tasty, and really took the palet back to "start" in order for us to truly enjoy the upcoming deserts.

Speaking of desserts, have you ever heard the angels sing when consuming a confection?  I have and this night they sang again this night in the form of my desert choice...butterscotch pudding. I know what you are thiking?  What is butterscotch pudding doing in a five-star dining room?  Just wait and see.  The pudding was thick and creamy and poured into a 4x4 shallow square dish (so you can get every last bit onto your spoon) and it was chilled to perfection.  Topping the pudding was salty popcorn (odd at first, but wonderful once you got over the shock of popcorn and pudding) and small cookies.  It was simply the best grown-up-I-want-to-be-a-kid-again deserts... ever. 

Before this blog ship sails you have to know about the wine list at Harbour. No matter your budget Harbour has a wine for you.  The have a great list of bottles under $20 that are all good to great and for $50 - $60 you can find a bottle of wine that will suit any taste.

When most of the US is looking for the next burger joint and looking for a meal in 10 minutes or less, it is nice to know that an entire team of people have stepped out of the box to provide 5-star service and food at a very reasonable price.  Some people say that Harbour is doomed to fail because people don't want this type of experience.  To that I say, "Balderdash!"  For $45 per person for the tasting menu and $20 for a bottle of wine, the prices at Harbour are amazing and anyone who misses the adventure that is Harbour is simply missing the boat.

I am yours in success,

Randall

Short Review:

4.5 out of 5 stars

Harbour 

290 Hudson Street Near Spring Street

212-989-6410

Hours:  Mon - Wed 6pm to 10:30pm Thurs-Sat to 11:30pm

Prices:  Apps - $8 - $16  /  Entrees $19 - $39

$45 tasting menu is the best deal in the city.

Launching a Payload into Space isn't as Easy as it Looks on TV

Good Sunday to you all.

I know it has been well over a month since my last post and I got all the messages and, yes, I'm fine.  My team and I have been working nearly 'round the clock on some major initiatives like:  Sending a payload into space, a new major internet IPO, a new television program and more.  To put it succinctly, we've burned the candle at both ends and the middle. Whew!  What a ride.  It has also been some of the greatest days of my life.  I wake up early, go to bed late and love every minute of my life. 

Well, the past few days we have been at Spaceport America deep inside the New Mexico desert preparing for our sub-orbital launch.  We spoke with the mission commander, toured mission control, and got up close and personal with the space vehicle and the launch pad.

Here are some stats on the vehicle itself.  It is 20+ feet long, 10 inches in diameter and can carry a payload of 110 pounds into space and back to earth.  The rocket motor is designed and built in Canada and uses the same solid fuel that the NASA Space Shuttle does.

Yesterday we were up at 3am to make our way to the launch site, Launching pad 1 at Spaceport America.  It takes about 2 hours from Las Cruces to get there and about 30 miles is on unpaved "washboard" roads.  Talk about the unintended back massage.

Yesterday the launch went flawlessly.  Exactly at 0800 the countdown reached zero and the launch vehicle screamed from the launch pad and into the sky.  We saw the rocket ignite and the vehicle launch, but there was not sound... Until about 15 seconds later when the sky was filled with the roar of the rocket motor and as the vehicle went up, up, up and out of site.  All that was left was a miles long contrail.  People were cheering and I literally got goose bumps and cried.  These were tears of joy, that man has come so far and created so much that I was at a launch of a space vehicle that was carrying a payload for us.  For the moment that payload is top secret, but I'll reveal that when I can.

David, my partner was there, too which is only right since it was his idea to create a program and payload for this mission. We both worked for months on all the paperwork, the creation of the payload, shipping all of that to the space services company and planning the trip to the Spaceport.

That's David in the photo looking at the vehicle mounted on the "rail."  The rail is like the vehicle's guidance system.  It is  hydraulically operated and on the day of launch the rail will go vertical and so will the vehicle.  We had "crew only" access to the launch pad and the vehicle and when I have the okay to release those photos I will.  When it comes to security and launch vehicles, everyone is very careful.

Back to the story...  About an hour after launch, the launch director told us that the vehicle had failed to reach "space" which is a minimum of 62 miles (the mission was slated to reach 73 miles) above the Earth.  While that was not great news, it almost didn't matter because our payload and the other payloads (University of NM, The Air Force and others) all came back to terra firma intact and safe. 

We will be working with the space services and aerospace company to build another launch vehicle so we may launch our payload again.  Plans are in the works with our space services company to do at least 2 more launches this year and even a deep space mission in 2012.

Well it seems as if I have gone on long enough now, so I'll sign off and tell you more about the IPO and our other programs in a future post.

Be well and I am yours in success,
Randall

You Can See Randall Speak Live from Toronto on the Internet!!!

Hi Marketers,

Do I have Exciting News!

The Raymond Aaron Group will be broadcasting the entire Maximum Mind---Mega Wealth event being held this weekend LIVE on the internet...

As you know I will be speaking at the event along with many other very accomplished speakers and I urge you to tune-in to the webcast if you can't be at the event in person. (It's the next best thing)

Now there is a nominal charge of 9.95 to view the webcast but Raymond tells me this is just to cover off the costs of putting the ENTIRE event up on the web...and when you consider what your getting---three days of solid instruction about creating and developing a mindset that will virtually guarantee your success in whatever it is you send your mind to accomplishing---the decision to tune-in is really a no-brainer...

Get all the details here:

http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=933787

And watch...  The entire event...if you can...  Or check-in from time-to-time throughout the weekend...

I am leaving in a few minutes to fly to Toronto so sign up now and you can see me tomorrow at 10:30am EST.  Get all the details here:  http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=933787

I am yours in success,

Randall