The poor UG’s have had a rough week! Our business model seems to be changing daily and speaking from a 50,000 foot level, the challenges seem insurmountable at times. As you’ve witnessed, the economy sucks. With that said, the UG’s have found it especially difficult to produce a viable product/service in these increasingly hard times.  It hasn’t been a happy prospect, but UG’s are resilient people and they never give up. Oh, and we speak in the third person; it helps maintain some sanity and/or makes us feel important

This week our tale reminds me of an episode of Entourage. In the episode, Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), gives Turtle a “motivating talk” on the business of producing an invest-worthy idea. In the show, Ari is a stern and oh so sexy businessman; he’s kind of my idol. I’m not sure why Carina doesn’t love him (after all, he is Jewish). At any rate, Carina and I were talking about bitchiness in the business world and its compatibility to a woman’s role within that sphere of influence. Most women that do succeed in the business world have done so because they were bitches (or shall we say…shrewd). Don’t believe me? Well there’s: Martha Stewart, Hillary Clinton, Julia Child, Samantha Jones, Miranda Hobbes, Melinda Gates, Meg Whitman…I think you get my point.

The week started off long and arduous. I had a 3A start time and worked until 2:30P. From work I moved to downtown for a business meeting with one of our business mentors, Barrett. Barrett owns a really cool site called, MusicUnion.com. Music Union leverages their internal business know-how to help artists (musicians, in particular) in their plight against being taken advantage of by industry sharks. Truth be told, I was going to go to art school.  However, my parents threatened that if I did, they wouldn’t front the bill. They said,”So many artists get taken advantage of. You’re already an artist, get a B.S., in Business. At least then you can hold your own as businesswoman.” That changed by life! It was in college that I developed a long love affair with entrepreneurship and I met my soulmate (business, not life), Carina.

Yxta:

Stop in at Yxta and you are bound to run into: Carina, Krissy, Arun, John, or I at any given moment. Carina and I were first introduced to the place when Krissy found out that her favorite childhood Mexican restaurant in Highland Park, El Arco Iris, would be opening up a trendy new place in downtown. Hence, the opening of Yxta. The place has been open for a few months now and we frequent it at least twice a week. The parking is ample, the music is in Spanish, and the staff is one with whom you’ll fall in love with. I always get my favorite, the chicken al pastor and the chipotle mash potatoes. I doctor it up with what else? Salt and lemons. Why? Because I’m Mexican!

We decided to stop in and do some business that night. Jesse, the owner, was kind enough to agree open his doors and host the first locale on Arun and Veronica’s crazy pub crawl next Saturday and hopefully, entertain the idea of hosting a UG/Yxta charity event there later this month. Look for it bloggers! It may just change your life….After speaking to Jesse, we crunched some numbers for our newest client, CMI Direct. It’s our first consulting job. Congrats UG! Plus we always impress everyone by conducting meetings while sitting at bars with food and drinks in hand.

Back to Yxta – At the risk of an understatement, one of the best things about Yxta is their staff – and hey, the food isn’t so bad, either. We’ve always been fond of Yxta and have never once found it unpalatable. Our bartender buddy, Dennis, cracks us up every time we go in. Also, he doesn’t believe that there are any pictures of him on our site so here’s the proof.  He’s always attentive and always seems to remember our crazy stories, incoherent ramblings, and our ex-boyfriend’s that try to start fights (Carina’s ex-not mine). Upon Dennis’ recommendation, Carina ordered the garlic shrimp and finished all of it (she almost never polishes off a plate). Also, don’t forget to try the margaritas; they fresh squeeze all the juices. The mix drinks always contain the right amount of sweetness, tart, and alcohol. All in all, the food is fresh and the drinks flow freely. So throw on your beer googles, you’re bound to see someone cute at Yxta-maybe even a UG girl!