Never Think About What to Make for Dinner for the Next Two Months with My Lazy Cooking Bundle
These ideas are my own, but they’re brought to you by Name.Kitchen.
I didn’t start out thinking, “I want to be an entrepreneur” but as circumstances and experiences have come together, I’ve found the pathway has led me to being a small business owner. I love it. It takes a lot of hustle to stay on top of commitments, but I thrive on busy. There’s always more to do, more to learn. Turns out there are a lot of people like me, following their passions and making a living from it. I like to read about other small business owners and what they are doing to actively grow their businesses. A trend I’ve noticed is using the not-com Name.Kitchen domain names rather than dot-com names. A benefit of that is the memorability. One of the interesting success stories coming out of the Name.Kitchen domain users belongs to Amici Catering Company.
Being interested in food and all things party related, I was drawn to Amici’s story. “Real Food Made Simple” is part of the Amici business description. On the surface, Amici Catering might appear to be an overnight success. After all, their business is on the cusp of its third expansion in just eight years. That caught my attention. What caused their phenomenal growth?
Photo: Amici Catering
Amici Catering is the business of husband-wife team Scott and Lori Harlig, but they are quick to point out it takes all members of the team, which includes everyone from servers and dishwashers, to successfully pull off an event. And they love being part of that team effort as much as they love the hospitality industry and serving delicious, creative food. Amici actually means “friend” in Italian.
This year their Arizona-based company was chosen to cater a VIP Super Bowl party for 2,500 guests. Two thousand five hundred—and Amici doesn’t use frozen food, either. All of their food is fresh, which they prepare, sometimes with the help of local purveyors. Can you imagine?! Pretty impressive.
As they’ve grown, and it became available, Amici decided to switch to a dot-catering domain because, as Lori explained, “It’s more personalized” and “right to the point.” You see their domain name and you know their business. Is that not smart business?
With the many thousands of businesses that are birthed each year, it only makes sense to consider how people are going to find you. A business name that is personal, unique and to the point will serve you well. Include your service or product right in your business domain name to help with name recognition from the start—built in advertising!
If you’re considering starting (or growing) your own business, you can find advice and tips for choosing a great name for your business or project at Name.Kitchen. They also have an inspirational video series that showcases businesses using naming and creativity.
I, myself, have been drawing on the inspiration found from others’ successes as I try to get back to my own creative work. September and October were very challenging months for me personally, with family illness and several personal hiccups. I lost my creativity in the stress of dealing with the moment. Surrounding myself with inspiring stories and positive people has helped me get back in my own kitchen and create fun ideas that anyone can incorporate into their holiday entertaining. These delicious Christmas treats were a result of my effort tonight. And tasting the results reminded me how much I love what I do!
Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Pretzels
(makes 12)
Ingredients
- 12 mini pretzels
6 marshmallows, halved - 1/3 cup of peanut butter chips
- 1 teaspoon corn oil
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 teaspoons corn oil
- snowflake sprinkles
Directions
Layer marshmallows on top of pretzels on a cooling rack with a baking sheet under it.
Melt peanut butter chips and 1 teaspoon of corn oil in the microwave in 20 second blasts. Stir between each blast. Spoon a dollop of melted peanut butter chips on each marshmallow and let set.
Melt chocolate chips and 1 teaspoon of corn oil in the microwave in 20 second blasts. Stir between each blast. Cover each marshmallow-pretzel combo with the melted chocolate. Add snowflake sprinkles. Adjust each pretzel slightly to break the chocolate drips. Serve once chocolate is completely set.
I had so much fun making and photographing these tonight. It reminded me why I love blogging and entertaining. Just as Amici Catering showed, following a passion and creating a business around it — combined with integrity and hard work — seems to be a recipe for success, no matter what your area of interest is. And, certainly, learning about what worked for them is a terrific way to give your own ideas a jump start.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Name.Kitchen.
