Thursday, January 30, 2014

Ten Awesome Super Bowl Party Foods From Pinterest

Ken Lear Buffalo Wings
Flickr CC via  wEnDaLicious
No one watches the Super Bowl without munching on something tasty. From foods that take all day to cook, to something simple that you can throw in the microwave, the possibilities are endless when coming up with a menu for a Super Bowl party. No matter if you stick to the basics, or whip up something from out of this world, just make sure that people watching the game can enjoy what you’re making without any questions. Here’s my take on 10 of the most popular foods found on the table on Super Bowl Sunday. Check out this board on Ken Lear’s Pinterest for even more Super Bowl food recipes.

Sliders
Mini burgers have become a staple nowadays for get-togethers. The best part is that you can fill them with anything: chicken breast, pulled pork, or the classic beef patty. The slider can also be perfect for vegetarians. Fill them up with some avocado, onions, or even Boca burgers!

Buffalo Wings
According to the recent surge in chicken demand, Americans will eat 1.25 billion chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday, which is 20 million more than last year. You can’t go wrong with the classic buffalo, but there are a few different flavors to try such as peanut-crusted chicken wings or Kung Pao chicken wings. Don’t forget about the dipping sauces!

Chili
Having the best chili is the best bragging rights to have on Super Bowl Sunday. Even if your favorite team made it to the Big Game, they won’t have anything on you if you make a great tasting chili. Cook it all day to get the flavors going, and pile on the sausage!

BBQ
It might be cold where you are, but its still a great reason to fire up the grill. From rib-eye steaks to baby-back ribs, you can’t go wrong with anything thrown on the charcoal. Mix it up with some peppers and onions on kebabs!

Nachos
These are great because it’s a group effort to eat. Cheese is what’s important here. Too much cheese, and people stay away. Not enough, and people complain. You want to find that right amount. Spice it up with a great meat choice and the best veggies, and you will have a ball.

Seafood
This is a wild card since not as many people love seafood as much as they love every other type of meat. Some cocktail shrimp is a great party starter. If you have access to fresh fish, get your hands on some cod and make fish and chips. If you’re feeling really adventurous, try a crab boil with corn on the cob and potatoes.

Pizza
The pizza industry makes $30 billion a year, and there’s a reason for it. Everyone loves pizza because it’s still good even when it’s bad. If you’re ordering for delivery, do it early. You won’t be seeing it until the post-game interviews if you order right before the start of the game.

Chips and Dip
The perfect meal to go along with the pre-game show, chips are the easiest to not mess up. For dips, guacamole is a universal must. Pair it with a delicious 5-layer dip or a Mexican bean dip. People will dig it and dig in.

Popcorn
Usually used on movie nights, this snack can be healthy if you prepare it right. Skip the butter and lightly salt it, and you’ve got a pretty guilt free snack. If you want to spice up the flavor, turn it into kettle corn with some sugar, or if you’re really daring, turn it into caramel corn.

Subs
No one wants a giant sandwich when there are other choices to try as well. Keep them small, like finger foods, and people will be all over them. A plate with a variety of sandwiches works best. Mini meatball subs have a special place in my heart.


Learn more about Ken Lear by checking out Ken Lear’s CrunchBase profile.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Using the Law of Attraction to Get What You Want

Ken Lear Law of Attraction
I’m Ken Lear, entrepreneur and leadership expert, and I have implemented the Law of Attraction throughout my professional career. Business is created through relationships. Utilizing the Law of Attraction can bring new connections that can turn into success. By focusing on positive thoughts, we can bring positivity to our lives. The same can be used for negativity; it comes when we tend to think negatively.  By implementing the Law of Attraction into what we want professionally, more opportunities for new business can be created.

The Law of Attraction’s concept is that you draw things through your thoughts, whether your mindset is positive or negative. These opportunities can be meeting new prospects by believing you can, or losing a client because you believe you’ve been struggling lately. A danger of succeeding with the Law of Attraction however can create an ego that makes you think anything can happen if you want it to. If you try to present yourself as something you are not, the fear of getting caught will affect your thoughts. To succeed in practicing this well, we need to keep our ego in check.

In order to survive in any type of business setting, you must thoroughly enjoy what you do. By believing in your business and being passionate about it, you can create some clarity, focus, and enthusiasm. It can keep you going when times get tough, and also help to spark solutions to any problems that may arise. Your passion will not only inspire you, but your colleagues and customers as well.

Look at successful people who dreamt big when everyone said they couldn’t succeed. When those people finally found success, others quickly accepted that their achievement was normal, and the accomplishment they once dreamt of now existed.
To gain success, we need to feel success. Our thoughts create our experience, and only do we find success if we can feel victory as well. Understanding that you can’t do it alone will keep your thoughts positive as well. Rely on coworkers, family, and friends. They can help to build the positive thoughts to create positive actions.

Succeeding in our professional lives takes a lot of hard work. Not everyone will find it, but the ones that do most definitely practiced the Law of Attraction. If you can see yourself being successful, and make yourself believe it is possible, you can reach it. Think about all of the success you have achieved to get to where you are now, and this will allow you to focuses forwardly on the future.


For more blog posts by Ken Lear, check out http://www.ken-lear.com/

Check Out My New Website Ken-Lear.com!


Please check out my new website that has recently launched: http://www.ken-lear.com.

There you will find more information about myself and what I do. I also have another blog on there that I will be updating weekly. Thanks!


Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Why Giving Back To The Community Matters For Business

Ken Lear is a leadership professional and entrepreneur. He enjoys blogging about business and leadership advice.  Follow Ken Lear on Twitter.

Flickr CC via Jorge Quinteros
It’s often found that today’s prospective employees bring their passions and causes with them to every company they are employed. This new generation was raised on giving back to the community; everywhere form school to helping the Red Cross after a natural disaster. A workforce that engages with meaningful causes is more satisfied with their career. As a business, it’s important to incorporate giving back to the community for these reasons.

Giving back is not only going to benefit the company. You’ll also create awareness for a great cause. An employee does not want to feel guilty about their job if they know that the company they work for makes no effort for the greater good. Companies that have a focus on helping the world can create strong and emotional connections with their employees. Focusing on giving back can also cause an affect of positive change within the business.

Another aspect that is not frequently identified is the opportunity for new skills to be learned by your employees; as well as new connections can be created for business.  Building awareness for a cause through social media could be applied to everyday business as well. Holding a fundraiser or event will allow employees to interact outside of work, cementing colleague friendships.

Giving back is exceptionally great for linking business with the local community. Employees and customers are part of this community, so getting involved with it will only lead to more benefits. The connection will put a face to your company, while allowing employees and executives to become more relatable. Being a member of the community will lead to collaboration with local businesses, and promote a sense of belonging.

Lastly, giving back is just plain fun. There’s nothing better than seeing smiles on people’s faces, knowing that you’re making a positive impact on their lives. Maybe it could be giving blood on a weekend, or holding a fundraiser for kids in poverty. Knowing that you are making an effort will only lead to more positivity around the office.


To follow recent updates, connect with Ken Lear on LinkedIn.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Unlocking Social Media Potential For Sales

Flickr CC via tfrancis
I’m Ken Lear, entrepreneur and leadership expert, and I want to talk about utilizing social media.

The golden rule of a successful sales transaction is getting to know a sales prospect while establishing a solid relationship for them to come back for more. New spectrums have been created to establish this digitally, using social media as the main influence. Salespeople now have an easy way to reach a target audience, and communicate with them at all times.

The biggest social media networks are worth billions of dollars. This is a large amount of money that could be worth a lot more to the sales industry. Utilizing social media can help with sales while also building engagement and reputation. Being familiar with these social networks regularly can help a business succeed, but it also could become trouble if not used correctly.

For many salespeople, social media can become time-consuming and distract from the real path to completing a sale. Salespeople should focus on growing the customer base and reach more than gaining followers and friends. Getting caught up with these interferences will not do the business any good.

Social media is centered on the idea that connections with others can turn into relationships. This helps business in many different ways. Relationships are the basis of business, which can lead to creating customers.  They also allow the company to gain notoriety on search engines and other social channels.

In a video by Jill Konrath, she explains that selling on social media is centered on 4 aspects: building a strong online brand, gathering sales intelligence, making connections, and sharing the good stuff. All four of these things can lead to greater outreach with potential customers that can lead to helping your brand on social media.

Trending topics are also great for sales. By taking advantage of hashtags, a salesperson can reach out to more users who are following the hot topics of the day. Not every visitor is a customer, but it will give you more opportunities to get the attention of someone looking to buy.

Social media engagement has even become a business itself. Celebrities and corporations have begun to buy fake Facebook likes and fake Twitter followers. There is a growing market for this fake engagement, and its leading to bad reputation from the public. Soon, it’s going to be difficult to

The most important thing to take away from social media and driving sales is to work on making your company an engaging brand. Users will come back to a page if they enjoy the content, and can trust it. You want to create an engaging and positive image for your brand. If you can do these things, social media can become another medium for the company to grow.


Ken Lear is a father and an entrepreneur specializing in leadership and business consulting.