Before we ate the hairy tofu with chinese mini escargot, we’d already filled our stomachs a few times as we we were walking down Tunxi Ancient Street.
At the crossroad in the middle of the street, we saw this guy with a very simple stall. He seems to have become a roundabout for the crossroad for electric motorbikes were whizzing past and around him all the time.
Even though his stall is so simple that he could just carry the entire restaurant home when he’s done for the day, there was a queue for his food. I suppose the location helps, but then again, other shops in the area were completely devoid of customers.
Most of his customers are families who live in Tunxi itself, while most of the families who live in Tunxi run shops that caters to foreign tourists.
Even though he makes his food by hand, it is very hygienic for he refuses to touch anything that could contaminate. His customers place their payment into a neatly arranged money box and remove the change on their own.
He used to serve his wonton in cheap plastic bowls, but a VIP who visited suggested that he uses better quality bowls.
This sparked in him a lot of marketing ideas. He printed his own bowls that brands himself as the famous Tunxi wonton stall and his own plastic spoons that he gives away as souvenirs. That way, customers could bring home the spoon and tell their friends.
The men were so impressed by this marketing genius, they insisted on taking a photo with him.
I too was gobsmacked when I discovered, the wonton seller at Tunxi is a blogger too!
He’s upgrading his stall to a solid restaurant with walls. If you’d like to know where he’s moving to, click to visit his blog.
Since we had planned to climb Mount Huangshan the next day, we headed back for the Huangshan hostel early to rest.
I once met a girl with a very interesting business card. She carries in her handbag a few creatively designed address stamps. When you ask for her card, she’ll stamp on a napkin or on the wrist of your hand or whatever that’s available.
People always burst out laughing when they see her doing that. This immediately lightens the formal mood of the usual business card exchange routine.
At the same time, my friend gets the message across that she is an interesting creative person. She successfully brands herself as a graphic designer.
VistaPrint offers a wide array of printing services including postcards, address labels, magnets, checks, and stamps. Imagine the hundreds of ways you can use all these stationery to turn them into engaging business cards.
If you’re interested in using a stamp just like my friend, just use coupon code “Stamp25” at checkout to receive 25% off your stamp order. 
In less than a month, I will be hosting a small event for about 30 people. Events are always crazy in the sense that this is when the fourth law of thermodynamics always spring into action. The law states, “If anything can go wrong, it will,” and that is that.
But event’s also the time when the event organizer (that is, me) will have to look calm as though every thing’s running like clockwork. When the 30 guests stream in, they expect a warm hello even though the stage curtain is on fire and the fire extinguisher is expired.
While I call the fire department, I will expect my helpers to be the kind and merry persons they’ve always been and brush off that Omg-the-fire-is-spreading-to-the-VIP-seats-on-the-first-row look as though it’s just our opening entertainment.
Note to self: Some customer service training material before hand will probably be very important. :wink:
More and more of my friends are starting their own business. One friend is about to start an online bridal gown shop. Another is fastidiously writing a thick e-book packed with useful information.
According to the experts, small businesses often fail because of cash flow challenges. If you have the kind of business where you provide the service first but expect the payment later, you can most definitely expect to run into cash flow challenges. In fact, the better your business gets, the more cash flow challenges you will face as you will need to hire more staff now to service the multitude of customers but you will only be able to collect the money that pays the salaries much later.
EZUnsecured advises that business owners take business loans to avoid the shortfall even before the need arises. It helps to find loans that require no collateral, no tax returns, and no business plans, offering expert help in the complete and correct preparation of your application so it gets approved the first time.
February 4, 2008 – 4:47 pm
For the past few months, I have been helping a friend to install her website. Her two most important requirements are that it must be able to play music , and it must be able to sell things.
The site is finally ready. Do hop over and say Hi! 
January 31, 2008 – 7:45 pm
How did you choose your domain name? For me, it was very straight forward. My first blog was hosted by wordpress and the domain was clonic.wordpress.com because it chronicles the lives of CLONIC i.e. CL & Nic. I titled the blog, Notes From My Heart.
When I decided to move out of wordpress, I chose the domain notesfrommyheart.com because I thought it sounded a lot more catchy than Clonic and because I decided this shall be the place to pour out my innermost thoughts. Since some of these thoughts are rather personal, I decided to hide behind a nickname, “Precious”.
Now, I still need a blog that chronicles the life of Precious, so a second blog is necessary. I chose to name it Precious-living.com, hahaha! So there you have it, straight as a ruler.
What about you? How will you choose your domain name? Where will you go to register domain? Mine’s with my favorite blog host, bluehost. 
December 18, 2007 – 12:43 am
I love my webhost so much, I will gladly hang a mistletoe between us permanently if I could. Many times, the guys behind Bluehost have rescued me from desperate online situations that only I could have entangled myself in, even though it is not part of their job.
However, a few weeks ago, I almost got into trouble for recommending them to a friend! She signed up for the hosting package the day before the long thanksgiving weekend which was when most of the staff were away, spending the special time with their family.
Of course all the queries she sent was only answered after the weekend. For the first few days, I kept receiving emails wondering why I had so vehemently recommended Bluehost. Poor Precious…
Thankfully, after the thanksgiving weekend, Bluehost responded as they always did for me which was immediately. I was thus spared the wrath of a woman scorned. You have to trust me that Bluehost is the bestest, most flexible and most hardworking webhost on the face on this earth.
If you are not convinced, go to http://www.webhostingchoice.com and use the clever tool that helps you search for your perfect host based on the features you desire and the price range that you are comfortable with.
December 4, 2007 – 8:29 am
Last weekend, Nic and I enjoyed a fun time at the Alpsoft 5th Anniversary Dinner.
Nic in an Alpsoft shirt.
These are the smart, tech-savvy folks who work at Alpsoft. It was a good idea to host them at the HomeTeam NS because the restaurant is adjoining a karaoke lounge, a cyber cafe, a bowling alley, a swimming pool, it’s all there.
Nobody stripped down to Speedos for a swim though. Some were challenged for a game of Counter-Strike in which Nic whipped them royally.
Geek prizes were given away, including a PSP2. But Nic and I didn’t win any.
This is the team that services DBS bank.
Well, they may be the real geeks, but when it comes to setting up blogs with shopping cart software, I’m still the expert. Teehee!
I like Ashop Commerce because it is a turn-key solution. Geek wannabes like me will just need to slot in the key, turn the ignition, and the engine will be started.
With Ashop, any one can build an online store capable of competing with powerful sites for a low monthly fee. Accept credit cards in real-time, customize the design, update content quickly and easily all by yourself within hours!
If you’re not comfortable until you’ve given it a try, there is a demo store for you to test drive.
September 6, 2007 – 8:29 am
This policy is valid from 11 September 2007 which is two days before my birthday! 
Precious Living is a personal blog written and edited by me. My posts are meant to be honest, kind and helpful to you. You might not know this before, but you are not just one person. As my precious reader, you are the world to me.
If you have any other questions, you can always contact me. I am happy to accept encouraging emails, special gifts, souvenirs from your trips abroad, forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. If you do that for me, I will definitely blog about it.
It goes without saying that the compensation received may influence my choice of advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. Most times, I won’t bother to specify them as “paid” or “sponsored” content. I don’t think it would matter because even though I receive compensation for it, I will still give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products.
Having said that, do remember that the views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.
You might find that some of the content on this blog may present a conflict of interest which I may not always identify. This is just my personal blog, not the New York Times!
