Indianapolis is My Home

07
Jul

SmallerIndiana

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business, Business Entrepreneurs, Business Leaders, Indy Bloggers, Organizations, Seminars & Conferences

Have you heard of SmallerIndiana? Are you already a member? Are you actively involved in business and networking in Indiana?

You’ve got to check-out this site if you’re not familiar yet.

Here you can see some of the more popular members that are active in the network.

Visit Smaller Indiana

13
Jun

The Bean Cup - It’s a Must!

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business Entrepreneurs, Coffee Shops, Greenwood, Local Artists, Local Businesses, Local Musicians, South Side, Things To Do in Indy

After hearing about The Bean Cup a couple of different times from fellow Indianapolis blogger, Douglas Karr, I decided the next time I worked remotely I’d stop by for a visit.

I stopped in this afternoon to get some work done and try out their version of my favorite drink, a chai tea latte. I little darker than my favorite at my other remote office location (I feel dirty, like I’m cheating on my friends there).

I got to meet the two owners, Chris and Jason Carr. A great couple and seem to totally love what they’re doing with running The Bean Cup. The initiating factor to our conversation was that I thought it was cool they they run a place called "The Bean Cup" and their names are Chris and Jason. If you haven’t noticed yet, my name is Jason and my brother’s name is Chris and our last name is "Bean".

The other very interesting thing I learned today was about Douglas Karr, who’s affectionately referred to as "Norm" at The Bean Cup. Himself, Jason Carr and two other individuals and The Bean Cup, was recently featured in BusinessWeek. The group is competing in the Cisco I-Prize competition. Really cool!

The opening paragraph of the article lays everything out beautifully:

The Bean Cup, a coffee house on the southern edge of Indianapolis, is about as far as you get from Silicon Valley, culturally speaking. Shoehorned between an Arthur Murray Dance studio and a shuttered beauty salon in a nondescript strip mall, the Bean Cup bears faint resemblance to the storied Palo Alto work-play spaces where coders spend all night building what they hope will be the next big thing in tech. That’s not stopping Douglas Karr, a bearded, burly Gulf War vet, from using the Bean Cup to incubate his own big tech dreams.

Later on that afternoon I had an iced white-chocolate blackberry latte ( I think that’s what it was) that was delicious as well. The atmosphere is great, they seem to have a very diverse client base so I think everyone would be happy here if you love great coffees and tea and more.

Similarly to The Strange Brew they also feature artistic works from local artists which you can buy right off the wall if you find something you like. The only challenge I noticed was the same challenge I find with every location offering free wi-fi, FAR TOO FEW POWER PLUG ACCESS!!! The Carrs said they’ll be working on that soon so they will be no reason to not go visit and get some work done of your own.

All in all the final score is that the south side of Indianapolis has two great options for locally owned coffee shops where local artists (both artistic and music) can showcase their talents as well as connect with the community around us.

If you’re on the south side of Indy around the Greenwood Mall, stop by The Bean Cup and get your java fix there. If you’re further south, stop on by The Strange Brew. If you’re a regular customer of one already, give the other a try and spread the love. Don’t worry, St. Arbuck’s will get along without you and these local business owners will be more than happy to serve you some great coffee.

20
May

Indianapolis Wins Bid for Super Bowl 2012

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business Entrepreneurs, Downtown, Indianapolis Colts, Indy Pro Athletes, Lucas Oil Stadium, News, Special Events

Great news for the city! Congratulations to everyone that participated and help secure this deal into reality. Can’t wait to see this thing come to the city and hopefully be a part of it in some way.

Indianapolis officials had gone to great lengths to secure the 25,000 hotel rooms required by league bid specifications. They also hammered home the city’s strengths, including downtown connectivity and history of hosting big events, from the 1987 Pan Am Games to the Indianapolis 500 and NCAA men’s basketball Final Fours.

Indianapolis also came up with $25 million in corporate and individual support to fund various Super Bowl operations, including event hosting, transportation and building a practice facility. NFL sources said Indianapolis has more money secured to host the 2012 Super Bowl than either Phoenix or Houston.

I still think that working as hard to get back and keep events like the F1 should also have the same importance.

What do you think?

Indianapolis lands Super Bowl

09
Jan

Holy Closed Doors Batman!!!

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business, Business Entrepreneurs, Downtown, Local Businesses, Museums, Things To Do in Indy

The Indianapolis Super Heroes Museum has closed its doors.

A downtown Indianapolis museum that displayed a collection of Superman, Batman and other super hero memorabilia has closed its doors.

The American Super Heroes Museum displayed the collection of Dane Nash of Fishers.

Nash didn’t indicate the reason for closing the museum, which has been shut since Dec. 31. It opened last spring.

That’s too bad, but I guess people like me are to blame. I thought it was a great idea but I never visited the museum. Apathy sucks you know it? I need to make a better effort of getting out more and doing stuff that’s local and support more local, independent business ventures.

What’s your favorite "hidden" local thing you love to do that more people should know about? The only problem with that is when things become too well known they lose some of their mystery don’t they?

Source: IBJ
Image Source: trentisw.com

08
Jan

Silly Safaris Live Animal Shows

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Areas, Business, Business Entrepreneurs, Elementary, Greenwood, Local Businesses, People, Seminars, South Side

If you’re looking for a unique party for your kids birthday and those same kids just happen to love animals, look no further than Silly Safaris.

What kid doesn’t love animals? With Silly Safaris you get to let them see and interact with some really great things they may only see on Discovery Channel.

If you’re a teacher, you can also have Silly Safari come in for a special class or lesson on animals.

Here’s a little bit about what Silly Safari offers:

Read the rest of this entry »

04
Dec

"Speed Zone" Development Moving Forward

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Brickyard 400, Business, Business Entrepreneurs, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy 500, Indy MotoGP, News, Real Estate, Speedway, Sports, US Grand Prix - F1

An article today in the IBJ confirmed that local real-estate developer Mansur Real Estate Services, Inc. has been chosen to lead the redevelopment of the Speedway area to increase the attraction to businesses to come into the area.

I believe they did a tremendous improvement a few years back with the new lamps, median work and other details leading into the Speedway area from off of I-465 on the west side.

I feel anything they can do to further increase the development and commercial viability of that area is going to be worthwhile. What I’m not sure about though is how the residents of the area feel about the development. I know there are a number of people that live right along the main stretch that make a killing by using their property as parking for the hundreds and thousands of race fans that come into the area each year.

With the MotoGP and talks of Formula 1 coming back to the area, I think further developing the area is a plus. I’m sure it’s quite a disruption to the residents of the area though regardless.

Do you live in the area? What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

21
Nov

Dave Ramsey Live Event in Indianapolis

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business Entrepreneurs, Pepsi Coliseum, Seminars, Volunteers

Last week Dave Ramsey, personal finance author and speaker, was in Indianapolis at the Pepsi Coliseum. I volunteered at the event and a friend that volunteered with me pointed me to some of these photos they’ve posted on their website.

This is my first event I’ve attended at the Pepsi Coliseum. I wasn’t sure about it but it turned out to be a great venue. Let me also say that volunteering for the event was another great experience. Dave Ramsey’s staff were a joy to work with and made the entire 9 hour process fun and memorable.

If anyone is interested, they’re having a special Thanksgiving sale of their books and materials. Loads of items are all just $10 each.

15
Nov

Dave Ramsey "Total Money Makeover LIVE!" Event Today

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business, Business Entrepreneurs, Pepsi Coliseum, Special Events, Volunteers

I’ll be participating in “The Total Money Makeover LIVE!” event today at the Pepsi Coliseum. I’m actually volunteering, so if you’re attending you may see me helping you find our seat or selling you a book.

I’ve been a reader of Dave Ramsey’s books since I was in college. Sadly, I’m still working on applying everything I’ve learned to my life. However, the lessons and understanding I’ve gained in all of those years are and have made their impact already.

My goal is that we’ll be out of debt (except for our house) within the next 3 years. If we could get “gazelle intense” as Dave would say, we could probably reduce that to under 2 years.

What about you? What are you financial goals and aspirations? Have you heard of Dave? Do you even consider living a debt-free life a possibility?

09
Oct

Support Your Local Java Joint

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Areas, Business, Business Entrepreneurs, Coffee Shops, Local Establishments

I’ve been known to partake in a cup of coffee on a regular basis. My kick right now is Chai though and I’ve been selecting it over a cup o’ joe when the opportunity is available.

One of my favorite places to get a chai is at Strange Brew in Greenwood. Their vanilla almond chai is fantastic and free wi-fi makes it all better. The fact they have a giant aquarium is also a plus since I’ve been a fish freak since grade school.

The benefit though is that I’m also supporting a local business owner with their efforts. A post on the I Choose Indy site today shares that a person has put together a Google Map listing Indianapolis’ independent coffee purveyors so you can help support local businesses too.

And to help spread the love, I’ve posted the map here: Indy Indie Coffee Shops. Use the map to find your own little corner of caffeinated Heaven, and spread the word. If you have a new coffee shop, or one that’s opening soon (I’m talking to you, Corner Coffee. Come back quick!), let me know, and I’ll add it to the map. The same goes if I missed one, or inadvertently put a business on here that doesn’t sell coffee.

It would be nice on the Google Map if he colored the coffee shops differently that offered free wi-fi.

I’m not going to swear off St. Arbucks yet, but like a good chai, when I’ve got the option I’m going to start actively looking for the local company first.

19
Sep

A Taste of Morocco in Indianapolis

Author: Jason Bean, Category: Business Entrepreneurs, Cultural Events, Dining, Keystone, Local Establishments, Northwest Side

My boss and I stopped by El Morocco restaurant last night after our IndyPASS meeting and enjoyed an absolutely fantastic and unique meal.

We had come across the restaurant before after my brother told me about it and found out they had a great lunch buffet. One afternoon we stopped by there as we had been looking forward to it for a couple of weeks and they had closed down for lunch. They didn’t have enough business.

Having the opportunity to go back last night for dinner was a treat. The owner immediately recognized us and welcomed us back. After some light-hearted banter about him taking away one of our favorite lunch buffets, we jumped into trying to decide what to choose since we couldn’t just sample everything.

The owner pointed out the 5-course meal option and it provided us the reward of sampling a large variety of dishes. Some of them had not been on the buffet and some had. I meant to take a picture of the dishes but was so wrapped up in just eating, it slipped my mind.

The meal started with some fresh whole-wheat bread and a bowl of lentil soup that was tremendous. That was followed by a plate with a variety of prepared vegetables: eggplant, green peppers and onions, carrots, cabbage and spinach. The 3rd course was an interesting chicken pastry dish. The crust was like a thin, crispy phyllo dough and the whole thing was dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar. That was followed by the main entree of a whole Cornish hen roasted in a sweet sauce with onions and raisins. The last dish was fresh fruit and a very sweet pastry. If you go there you have to get the hot tea as well. It’s like drinking Double-Mint gum.

After the last course, we thanked the owner for his time and great hospitality. I told him that he should open up the lunch buffet once a week if we could organized a group to show up each day to support him. He said if I got 20 people to let him know and he’d open just for us.

If you’re interested in trying it out, let me know in the comments and when we get 20 I’ll give him a call and schedule something. I’m SERIOUS!

I really think we should support local establishments like this and there are a variety of them that I visit frequently and will highlight on the site. If you’ve got a restaurant that you recommend, be sure to let us know in the comments. I’m sure my boss and I would love to try them out.

More Details at Indy.org about El Morocco Restaurant

Map Graphic Credit: CNN.com