Success only runs one direction....
Do I agree with last weekend’s Amazon scan-for-credit sale? No.
Do I think it may go down in history as one of the smartest marketing moves ever? Yup.
Jeff Bezos (CEO, Amazon.com) knew exactly what he was doing…and he got all of us, present company included, to help him. [click here to continue…]
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‘Tis the season for scammers, apparently. This one is now making the rounds—it hit no fewer than three of my inboxes, each of which uses an address published on one of my websites. As always, DO NOT open the attachment. Just click delete.
Crazy thing? I’m not a property owner in Washington State, have never lived there, and can’t fathom why in the world these bozos think telling me I paid property taxes there would make even one modicum of sense.
Proof positive that “sleezeball” and “smart” are mutually exclusive terms.
Click the image above to see full size
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I go to great lengths to keep politics out of the blog—would rather focus on the things small business owners have first hand control over than invite the “aromatic waft” accompanying most political debate these days. This morning, however, Bob Schieffer (host, Face the Nation, CBS) delivered an editorial that really resonates in my brick-and-mortar lovin’ heart: [click here to continue…]
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From the “Weekend News” segment on Saturday Night Live, November 5, 2011:
“Macy’s announced this week that its flagship store in Manhattan will undergo a $400 million renonvation that will create the world’s largest women’s shoe department, featuring more than 300,000 pairs of shoes, and—as always—one cashier.”
And:
“Several department stores have announced that on Black Friday—the day after Thanksgiving and the beginning of the Christmas shopping season—they will open their stores at midnight because nothing puts people in the giving spirit like enduring a long, stressful holiday with their family, hopping in the car half drunk in the middle of the night, and battling an angry mob over a tennis bracelet.”
On behalf of the mom and pop businesses everywhere, thank you, Seth Meyers. Big time.
(If you haven’t seen it yet, check out Keep the Cheer Here, The 3/50 Project’s 2011 holiday campaign.)
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Apparently, there’s yet another crazy idea floating around in Washington–and by “crazy,” I mean “no one has stopped to consider the ramifications of this on Main Street.” A bill recently introduced by Rep. David Schweikert (Ariz.) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (Texas) is aimed at retiring the dollar bill.
Okay. At first glance, the math makes sense, given what paper currency costs to produce.
But.
When you think about it a moment longer, from a local brick and mortar’s point of view, a few glaring realities come to light: [click here to continue…]
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According to a report on CNN, banks are considering limiting the amount of debit card transactions to a paltry $50 or $100? Well folks, if you want to ruin independent brick and mortars, that’s an effective way to do it. [click here to continue…]
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This has been a different 9/11 for me than in years past. Until a few weeks ago, like most people, it had a dark cloud hanging in the proverbial sky, given the horrors we witnessed nine years ago. During a recent trip to New York, though, one of the meetings I attended was in a building near Ground Zero. Afterward, a fellow attendee and I visited an office on the side that overlooked the construction site…and my entire perspective shifted. [click here to continue…]
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As I load up my sleigh and head home to celebrate Christmas, I’d like to leave you with a true story, introduced to me by Ilene Spector (a treasured friend of the family). How this has escaped major media is beyond me…. Really reminds us of what holiday spirit is all about.
As a 12-year-old paper boy living in Maine, Morrill Worcester won a trip to Washington, D.C. It was his first time to the nation’s capital–and his first to Arlington National Cemetery, which made an indelible impression.
Many years later, as a successful businessman, those memories continued to resonate. [click here to continue…]
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