Business Pulse: Bums fight for food! What a country
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That’s about the only way I can rationalize watching the guy who played Arnold Horshack on “Welcome Back Kotter” fight the guy who played Screech on “Saved by the Bell.” There must be some sort of mysterious allure that comes with watching someone get hit in the head and knocked to the ground.
Apparently I’m not along in my desire to see people fight. Two California men are making a good bit of money by selling their latest video “Bumfights” on the Internet (for the special price of, you guessed it, $19.95).
Like the title suggests, the video features actual homeless people fighting. The website (www.bumfights.com) promises, “You’ll see drunk bums beating each other silly.”
In case you’re wondering, yes I am considering ordering a copy. Keep in mind, these are actual bums fighting for survival, and probably a cheap bottle of wine.
For their video contributions, the bums are paid anywhere from $20 to $100. Ray Laticia, who is one of the film-makers, says in some cases the bums are compensated with food and clothing. He said some participated for free – but not before they signed a liability release form to prevent any future lawsuits.
Sounds like it will be some exciting boxing, probably more exciting than “Celebrity Boxing” has turned out. Who could have ever known when “Welcome Back Kotter” was enjoying its success in the 1970s, that some 25 years later people would be watching an old and gray Arnold Horshack box another struggling actor.
I remember when the kids at school had “Welcome Back Kotter” lunchboxes complete with “Welcome Back Kotter” thermoses. The show characters were everywhere from T-shirts to school binders. My, how the mighty have fallen, reduced to fighting on TV like bums fighting for pocket change.
Without a doubt, the worst “Celebrity Boxing” match had to be 7-foot-7 Manute Bol against William “I look like I just ate the refrigerator” Perry. You would have thought the bone-thin Bol would have been bent in half and eaten by Perry, but the man who gained fame for the Chicago Bears during their Super Bowl championship was so fat and out of shape, he didn’t even have enough energy to throw a punch.
Fortunately, I’ve got enough energy to bring you this week’s Business Pulse. Here goes.
New baby store opens on Main Street
By now everyone must realize I just love new businesses, but I especially enjoy talking about new Main Street businesses. It’s not quite as much fun as talking about new restaurants (because that usually comes with free food) but it’s the next best thing.
Sara Black has opened a new store on Main Street called Everything Baby. It’s in the location which used to be occupied by the coffee shop called Heavenly Grounds. That might not ring a bell so the best way to find it is to walk across the street from Cumberland Bank, just a few doors down from Magness Library.
Sara has been open for about a month and has just about anything you could need for a baby. She should know because she has two young ones herself, Jona, 2, and Myah, 1.
“Babies are expensive,” said Sara. “I have two and it’s about killed me. That’s the idea behind this store, offering baby supplies at the best possible price.”
Almost all of the items are used. Some were donated, some are on consignment, and others have come from here and there.
There’s no shortage of things to choose from. The inventory Friday included: strollers, bottles, a crib, books, shoes, stuffed animals, clothes, a dresser, a car seat and a swing.
“The big stuff comes and goes pretty quick,” said Sara. “But we have new stuff coming in every week.”
Store hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you want more information, the store phone number is 507-8104.
Beauty school is ready to move
If you recall, it was several months back I told you New Age Beauty Academy was preparing to move to a new location. I had said the beauty school was getting ready to move to Cumberland Plaza into the store formerly occupied by Catos.
As it turns out, that report was wrong. New Age Beauty Academy is moving to the newly built and suddenly thriving Chancery Plaza. The school will be right next door to Curves for Women.
“We all but signed a lease at Catos in April,” said school director Joyce Myers. “But that store is carpeted and we would of had to redo all the floors and that would have cost $12,000 to $14,000. So we decided we might as well pay more rent and get something new.”
New Age will have 3,200 square feet to work with at Chancery Plaza and the school is ordering all new equipment. The new facility will allow 40 day students and 40 night students to take classes.
Joyce was especially excited to report about six months of paperwork has paid off. The school was recently approved as a training provider for Tennessee Workforce. That means workers who have been laid off because of factory closings (such as Findlay) can apply for tuition assistance. In some cases, tuition can be paid in full.
The new location on heavily traveled North Chancery Street will also likely increase business.
“I anticipate our salon business will double,” said Joyce, who indicated she’s also pleased to be next to Curves for Women. “We will be real complimentary neighbors on both ends.”
I’m sure everybody in Chancery Plaza is happy. With up to 40 students, mostly women, it will surely bring business to Tee’s Jewelry and give a bigger boost to Planet Pizza around lunch break.
Joyce is hopeful the move will be complete and the school open to the public by June 10.
Downtown corner lot is for sale
Anyone who drives down College or Donnell streets on a regular basis has probably noticed the old house which used to be on the corner of those two streets is no longer there. It was leveled last week and now work is being done to level the lot.
First Baptist Church owns the lot and according to Ed Porter, the property is currently for sale. The property didn’t stir much interest when the house was there, so this could be called Plan B.
Porter said the plan is to sell the property, but if no one wants it, the lot could also be developed into a parking lot.
Winn honored for 25 years
Helen Winn was honored Wednesday for 25 years of service with Beacon Federal. Winn, now the regional vice president, has been with Beacon since it started as a small credit union operating in the parking lot at Carrier.
Beacon has been at its current location, a nice building on Highway 55, for about 10 years.
“She’s a special lady. There aren’t many like her,” said Rick Bond, assistant branch manager. “She probably has more business sense than anybody I know.”
That’s some high praise. In addition to being recognized by her co-workers, the company presented Helen with a cruise to a destination of her choice.
Ryan Moore joins Supreme full-time
Ryan Moore is no stranger to his family’s business, Supreme Building Products. He’s been doing the company’s marketing for the last eight years and has been working there during the summer since he was 15.
Now after graduating from Belmont University, Ryan has joined the business full-time. It’s a move he said he wanted to make since his sophomore year of college. “That’s when I knew I wanted to play a major role in the company,” Ryan said.
When you talk about go-getters, Ryan certainly fits that description. While in college, he wrote a comprehensive business plan for Supreme which outlined the company’s goals over the next five years. He also wrote a human resource manual called “Doing Business the Supreme Way” that teaches new employees the company’s way of doing business.
While at Belmont, Ryan served consecutive terms as student government president. He also spent a semester studying advertising in Hong Kong. While there, he got to work on a high-profile American Express account.
That’s all folks
If you’ve got business news, give me a call. The tips have dried up over the last few weeks which means I’m left to fend for myself.
That’s something I don’t particularly like to do. I’m a creature who likes to be pampered. I like to have things handed to me. So give me a call at 473-2191 or send me an e-mail at standard@blomand.net.