Author: foxtrot

When Life Deals You Lemons, Make Lemonade!

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MEMBER HIGHLIGHT

“When it comes to health and wellness, I discovered the more education I got, the more I learned I was wrong”.
Marc Rosenberg, The Lemonade Shaking Guy

When Life Deals You Lemons, Make Lemonade!
It takes a LOT of energy being the Lemonade Shaking Guy!

One of our fair members, Marc Rosenberg has a rather unusual career history. He got his start in the entertainment world at Baltimore’s Oriole Park selling lemonade in the stadium. Kids would yell at him to come their way with his goods, and he made up a kind of goofy shaking-the-body act that became legendary, making him boatloads of tips just for making people laugh.

Adding a funny costume, Marc still does this energetic routine over two decades later but has accumulated new titles, including professional entertainer, auctioneer, and motivational speaker. In all he does, he brings laughter and joy to thousands of people each year! Now that’s our kind of guy.

Without a doubt it takes enormous amounts of energy and good health for Marc to work while exposed to uncomfortable weather, surrounded by lots of noisy people, and working long hours on his feet. Matter-of-fact, when our conversation began, Marc was soaking his poor tired feet!

During our conversation, Marc exuded passion and enthusiasm, not only for what he does for a living but also for his journey into well-being.

Like many of us, Marc’s personal journey to wellness has been a long complex one with many twists and turns.

He suffered serious injuries in a 2010 car accident and in the winter of 2014 the cold weather triggered those wounds.

Marc made a call to Teri, our director of member services and smiles, and she recommended a few nutrients that included Turmeric/Curcumin, Fish Oil, and a few other supplements. Within 9 months he was 75% better, and within 18 months of taking the supplements he was back to 100% on his feet.

Marc further explained because a few friends were battling cancer he was researching alternative cancer treatments and had stumbled across Bill Henderson’s work. This is how he discovered Cell Nutritionals and learned about Constant Health, a jam-packed super-supplement, which he wanted to try straight away. Once he tested the product and spoke to Teri, it was all over for him. He was hooked!

Marc shared how he was blown away by the fact he could call the company, speak to a real person, and get friendly guidance on supplements he was considering.

Marc stated, “In this day and age, the kind of personal service and caring shown by Teri made me loyal. Honestly, I can’t imagine going anywhere else.”

Marc’s has several favorite supplements he considers staples, which include Constant Health Daily, Turmeric/Curcumin, Vitamin D3, and Beta Glucan.

We would like to thank Marc for his time in sharing his personal story with us. We’re very grateful to have him as a loyal member and hope his story is an inspiration to others.

If you would like to share your story, please send us a quick message and we will look forward to reaching out and giving you a 20% OFF coupon for use any time if your story is chosen.

9 Famous Baseball Stadium Vendors

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A good stadium vendor can make you forget that you’re forking over $7.50 for 16 ounces ““ or four bites ““ of fleeting enjoyment. A bad stadium vendor can ruin your ballpark experience and your wallet. If you were to field a lineup of All-Star hawkers, you could do worse than this group.

Read the full article here

Excerpts from Chapter 1: Facing the Truth: There Are Too Many Faceless Companies

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Today’s competitive business landscape demands differentiation. Companies must stand apart to be noticed. When evaluating the options—one can look at those brands or corporations that have done this exceptionally well and pinpoint the factors that have contributed to their success. In The Authentic Brand we go inside the minds of some of today’s most prominent entrepreneurs to see how they achieved their success.

We begin by asking a simple question that many entrepreneurs ask: How can a company or brand stand apart when such a large number of competing companies and brands are vying for our attention? One way of achieving this is to put a face on your company, and to give it an identity that separates it from the often faceless competition. As we have seen with the entrepreneurs featured in this book, sometimes that face is the entrepreneur’s own!

As Jeff Taylor, founder of the Monster Board job listing service and the first CEO of Monster.com, told us “You’ve got to put yourself out in front of your brand.”

Today, among those faceless companies are too many who forego authenticity for homogeneity. Just go online. Website after website touting a company’s products or services looks just like the next. Strip malls are a great example of the vanilla retail landscape that has lined our roads from coast to coast. And beyond that, what percentage of the products, services or businesses are truly authentic? Is it two, or maybe three, percent? Which insurance company should you select? Isn’t that really based on price or your local insurance broker? What technology company should you hire? Isn’t that hit or miss? What real estate company will get your listing? Aren’t most really the same? What brokerage firm should you trust? Do any stand apart for their integrity, compassion, exceptional service or other attributes that immediately come to mind? What accounting firm stands out for these traits? We are sure that you get the idea that being truly authentic is uncommon.

In The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, Thomas Friedman gives a couple of wonderful examples of people who are outstanding examples of authenticity in the form of spokespersons for their product. These people are so authentically engaging that they make you go out of your way to buy their product. The first is a lemonade vendor who works the lower deck at Camden Yards during Baltimore Orioles home games. He has, as Friedman describes it, “perfected a dance routine around how he shakes and prepares the lemonade. He does a little jig and then high-fives you before he hands you the drink.”

Friedman writes, “I love to watch him operate because all he is selling is water with sugar and a lemon in a plastic cup. It couldn’t be more of a commodity. It couldn’t be a more vanilla job. Yet I always notice that by the end of the game he is carrying around a wad of bills-and tips-that is thicker than any other vendor I see.”

Answering the question “Why?” Friedman explains that here is a man who has taken an ordinary job and he has creatively put his personal touch on the way he delivers his product. Consumers, who could buy soft drinks or water from other vendors, patronize the lemonade man because, as Friedman points out, he puts a smile on your face.

Another example cited by Friedman is an African American woman who works at the Caribou Coffee outlet near his K Street office in Washington, D.C. As he describes her, “she goes out of her way to be helpful and asks me about myself—not in a phony, over-trained way, like the staff at the Ritz-Carlton, but in a sincere way that I find charming.”

In both examples, Friedman might also have added the adjective authentic.

To solve the problem of facelessness, some companies have opted for using celebrity endorsers, such as professional athletes, to promote their products. Does this give you the idea that they are truly authentic? In fact, studies—including those that led to creation of the National Credibility Index—have shown that celebrity product recommendations lack the level of credibility that is given to a product or company when the person responsible for the product puts his or her identity on the line to promote it. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) undertook the creation and development of the National Credibility Index to measure and track the extent to which the American public perceives its leaders and/or public figures to be believable sources of information and guidance on major issues. The study shows that business leaders, experts in a given field and educators rank most credible, while celebrities and professional athletes ranked towards the bottom of the list. At the top of the list are the people who are actually behind the company. What’s more authentic than that?

The entrepreneurs with whom we spoke when writing this book have built successful brands while putting their own names and faces on the line. By so closely identifying themselves with their products, these entrepreneurs add an emotional element and genuineness to their brand that is generally absent in the Brand Xs of the world. Through this personal connection, these companies have turned out true consumer and customer advocates.

Lemonade Shakin Guy by Gary Tharaldson

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Marc Rosenberg: The Lemonade Shaking Guy

SP: Marc, please give our readers a little background information about yourself?

MR: I graduated from the Univ. of Maryland. I worked at Club Med for 2 years…during the day I taught snorkeling and at night I worked private parties for 6 hours at a time. I was the choreographer of Guests of Club Med.

SP: Exactly what type of services do you provide to your clients?

MR: I provide my clients with physical comedy. If I`m in the stadium selling beer, I`m doing my shake act while not taking myself too serious. I make people laugh, I take their mind off of the money they just paid for an admission ticket. Sporting events are expensive, I help people forget about that…I study and read the crowd.

SP: When did you start this business?

MR: I started my business 9 years ago…I was helping a friend sell lemonade at Camden Yards. He handed me a tray and put me up in the nosebleed section. On the 3rd day they put me down by 3rd base, it was 98 degrees that day and little kids were yelling at me, “can we have some lemonade!” I put the tray down and started doing my lemonade shake act to have some fun with them, I made my whole body shake and the Jumbotron picked me up while I was doing it.

After the game a guy asked me to work at his bar mitzvah and that was my first gig. The next thing I know I`m doing corporate events for national agencies. I currently have agents who market me out to several agencies.

SP: You have a very energetic routine that you do on a pretty consistent basis, how do you stay in shape to keep it up?

MR: I live a very clean lifestyle. I eat the right foods and keep my stress level down. I have the energy to turn my character on when it`s time to turn it on, but I do turn it off sometimes.

SP: What kind of start-up costs did you encounter when starting the company?

MR: In the beginning, word-of-mouth and my built-in audience at the stadium kept marketing costs down. My only costs included $200 for business cards and my website development was $1,500.

SP: How do you deal with people that recognize you on the street and want autographs and beg for you to make them laugh? Does it get hard sometimes to always be working, even when you are not in character?

MR: I`m in entertainment, so I can`t be standoffish. I realize that I need my fans. You`ve got to remain humble in this business because you can be here today and gone tomorrow.

I get tired some days and I just want to rest, but I don`t have time. When you have a new business you have to put time in to make it grow. An athlete doesn`t become great overnight. I`m doing this interview right now at 11:00pm because I understand what sacrifice means.

SP: What type of business certifications did you need to start your business?

MR: I didn`t need any. I create laughs and you don`t need any certificates or licenses for comedy.

SP: What is the typical price of a cup of your lemonade?

MR: (Marc laughs) The lemonade is just a prop. It doesn`t matter if I`m selling lemonade or beer…I`m in the business of making people laugh.

SP: How did you establish and maintain the relationship that you have with the various venues that you provide your services?

MR: I am honest, trustworthy, and dedicated. I`m on-time and I`m not a primadonna, clients don`t have to kiss my ass. I`m a man of my word. I do use contracts, but that`s just a formality, they can take my word. I don`t nickel and dime my clients. You`ve got to respect your clients, it is a business relationship, treat it as such! No one owes me anything, but I owe my clients excellent service, whether I`m entertaining, motivational speaking or vending.

SP: How much of your business is based on referrals?

MR: 85% of my business is based on referrals.

SP: How has all the publicity that you have received over the years affected your business?

MR: The publicity has affected my business in a positive manner. It gives me credibility to people who may not know who I am.

SP: What do your family and friends think about what you do for a living?

MR: My family thinks that it`s a riot! I get to release my energy. My close friends are not surprised by what I do for a living…everyone is behind me 150%. Even if my family and friends weren`t behind me, I still believe in myself.

SP: Do you use your website to book any engagements?

MR: No, I use my website so clients know who I am and what I do. In the beginning I used to send VHS videos out to people which was costly. Now people can click a link on my website and see what I do using streaming video technology.

Click here to see the Lemonade Shaking Guy on Fox morning news.

SP: Do you have any plans to take your show on the road to other stadiums around the country perhaps?

MR: I`m already am doing that. I did a minor league game for the Summerville Patriots, I did NASCAR in Las Vegas, the Superbowl in New Orleans and Jacksonville. I`ve done two all-star games in Houston and Detroit. I travel coast to coast for corporate events…I will travel anywhere for a gig.

SP: Do you have any paid employees that help you?

MR: I am a solo act. I do all my own booking…a friend helps to do the invoices. My agency takes care of booking speaking engagements, celebrity golf events, and minor league baseball games.

SP: Did you form any type of official entity for your business? (i.e., LLC, S-Corp, etc.)

MR: I incorporated as Shaking Guy, Inc. A patent attorney advised me to service-mark myself, it cost me $1,300.

SP: What is your projected revenue for this year?

MR: $45,000 – $50,000.

SP: Share with us anything that a budding entrepreneur might need to know before starting his/her business based on your experiences.

MR: 1. Be very wary of what people who try to offer you help in terms of growing your business.
2. Don`t be afraid to ask questions.
3. Learn from your mistakes
4. Believe in yourself; if you don`t, who will?

Baltimore Jewish Times

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Photo Caption:
Most people who attend baseball games at Camden Yards have probably seen Marc Rosenberg. Mr. Rosenberg doesn’t just hand over the lemonade he sells at local sports venues, bar mitzvahs and corporate functions, but he does a bizarre drink-mixing routine, performs like a stand-up comedian and promotes general crowd craziness. The 37-year-old Owings Mills resident is incorporated as “Lemonade Shaking Guy Inc.,” and has worked the stands at Orioles games since 1997

Who Asked You?

Will your act suffer next year without Cal Ripken Jr.?

“Look, I’m a diehard black-and-orange, but we’ve been very fortunate to have Cal for 21 years. He’s moving on, so you have to be excited for his next step. We want to win the World Series every year, but that’s not in our control. Now getting a smile on every face in the crowd, with or without Cal, that’s in my control.”

Things You Won’t See At Camden Yards in 2001

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10. Scott Boras Night
9. Shaky Lemonade Guy selling herbal tea and Yanni cds
8. Mark Wiley looking relaxed
7. “Bring the Expos to DC” rally
6. Syd Thrift Bobbing Head Doll giveaway
5. Matt Riley winning the Fraternal Order of Police “Man of the Year” award
4. Activity in the Scalp Free Zone
3. Sid Fernandez retired number ceremony
2. Earl Weaver/Jim Palmer “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” duet
1. Pennant fever

Baltimore Magazine: Marc Rosenberg, Lemonade Vendor

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Once, Marc Rosenberg was just like any other lemonade vendor prowling the upper decks. He hustled, though, and was promoted to the third-base side lower boxes. Then, on a humid 98-degree Baltimore day, with every kid in his section screaming for a lemonade, the inspiration came.

“I put the tray down”, Rosenberg remembers, and I started flipping out.

Now, Marc Rosenberg, 34, is the Lemonade-Shaking guy. His sktick is a Jumbotron staple-a frenzied seizure of a dance routine that accompanies every freshly shaken lemonade he serves. (Well, almost every one: About five percent of his customers, Rosenberg says, “don’t want the shaking.”) Rosenberg works the crowd tirelessly, exhorting kids to jump up and convulse around in the aisle with him. “I want to make it like a party every night,” he says.

He’ll lose about five to six pounds per game on a warm night. It’s a small price to pay for his new slot on the prime first-base side. But Rosenberg knows that he needs to keep the routine fresh; this season he promises several innovations. “I got fake teeth, I got wigs, I got funky glasses,” he says. “I’m going for shock value.”