From the category archives:

Business Development

Starbucks is Holding WiFi Hostage

Starbucks is in trouble. They just closed 600 stores.  In addition to an over saturation of the market (which the NY Times called “location, location, location”), Starbucks is making the huge mistake of holding its free WiFi service hostage.  This sets it apart of many independent coffee houses, most McDonald’s, all Panera Bread restaurants, and a host of smaller national chains like Krystal Burgers and Schlotsky Deli - in a BAD way … .

For the rapidly increasing number of people who work at least part of the time on a laptop in public places that serve coffee or food, free WiFi is a major incentive for spending more time and ultimately more money.

Personally, when I’m working at my neighborhood coffee shop, I always buy at least a cup of iced tea and a brownie to “pay for” my time there.  It appears that I am not along in this.  Schlotsky’s founder and CEO John Wooley says he estimates that there are an additional 15,000 visits per restaurant annually at a $7 average purchase per visit that are directly related to the free WiFi service.  Panera Bread has had similar results.  As a big fan of Panera Bread, I always buy a cup of soup (usually French Onion) and a cup of lemonade when I’m working there (even when I’m not really that hungry).

While I certainly prefer an independent coffee house to Starbucks, I might be more inclined to spend time at my local Starbucks if they had free WiFi.   Unfortunately, Starbuck’s new idea of “free Internet” is to force you to load a gift card with a minimum of $5 (there must be $5 on it at all times) for 2 hours of service.

Ridiculous. Stingy. Cheap.

And, this behavior is outside of the new business paradigm of sharing and generosity.   Since I’ve launched UpwardAction, my visits to Panera Bread and my local coffee house (and my purchases at these places) have soared.    Starbucks would be getting at least part of these funds (because I love working in various locations) if they didn’t have such a bad business attitude.

What about you?  When working in public places with WiFi that serve food or drinks, do you feel compelled purchase vitals or replenish your cup of iced tea (or coffee - for you coffee drinkers)?

Image source: The Studio Blog

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Smaller is Better… Finding Your Niche

“Do what you love, the money will follow…”. While perhaps it’s cliche, it is also true. The “niche movement” has proven to be an effective way to structure your business and is an effective way to master your subject area and effectively market your services.

At UpwardAction®, we call this creating a industry circle for greater influence.

connection

Be thoughtful when determining which niche (i.e. niche circle) to invest your time in. Make sure to consider client groups for which you have the most interest, concern and connection when choosing your niche.

When you are thoughtful about choosing your niche circle, you will likely become emotionally invested in providing greater value to your customers – leading to more authentic connections.

While is it certainly possible to *specialize* in more than one niche circle, I highly encourage you to limit yourself to no more three (at least until you have been able to become a *big fish* in your chosen niche circle). An effective UpwardAction® plan of action is to … start with one and then expand.

If you are having trouble deciding on a niche circle for your financial services or insurance business, here are a few questions to get you started!

Expect the Best!

Coach T.C. Coleman

UpwardAction® Success Work

1. Who are your current favorite customers?

2. Conversely, who do you dread calling? What line of business causes your angst?

3. Which seminars, workshops, and conventions have you enjoyed attending?

4. What business books have you enjoyed the most? Which of your clients are also reading your favorite book? In which industry do they work?

5. How can you combine your hobbies with your work?

Use your answers to these 5 questions to create a list of 3 to 5 possible niche circle. Now, invest time to thoughtfully consider where you have the most interest and deepest connection.

If you need more help, feel free to schedule an introductory coaching session with an UpwardAction® Coach.

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Outsourcing for Accelerated Success …

Tim Ferris struck gold with The 4-Hour Work Week (”4HWW”) and if you haven’t read it you should. While I don’t agree with everything in the book, if you want to make a big change in your life or reclaim large chunks of personal or professional time, this book will get you motivated and it also provides some very serious tools. A great deal of the book (and the most “googled” topic) is about outsourcing your life. Tim advocates the use of virtual professionals, often in foreign countries like India and the Philippines, to manage administrative tasks like appointment setting, email management, contact management and online research.

The trend has certainly caught on! In fact, one of the companies Ferris’ personally uses nearly collapsed under the explosion of post 4HWW business they received and many of the new customers were not happy (the press has been so bad I’m not reiterating it here in case you decide to try it-but it is in the article and video and I don’t recommend going that route). CBS New ran a great story on outsourcing and noted that it is not just the wealthy who using outsourcing to enhance their businesses and their lives.

If you are interested in following a couple attempting to live Tim’s Four Hour Work Week lifestyle (along with the pitfalls and confusion), you will enjoy The Newly Rich blog! Part of this couple’s experience with outsourcing to foreign companies wasn’t so great so they started their own domestic US outsourcing company.

At UpwardAction, we are big proponents of outsourcing one-time or coding projects and using qualified virtual professionals for on-going projects. If you want to see a measurable increase in your productivity, I invite you to evaluate the daily projects you perform to keep your business running smoothly, and then consider outsourcing appropriate projects.

If you decide to give outsourcing a trial run, I’d love to hear how it goes. I would also love to hear about your experiences if you are currently outsourcing one time projects or working with a virtual assistant for on-going projects… Feel free to leave a comment below!

Expect the best!

Coach T.C. Coleman

PS - I work with two FABULOUS US based VAs for a variety of tasks with great success! These wonderful ladies execute projects that range from helping me package programs to updating my website to customer service projects!

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