Take a look at the November Edition of our monthly newsletters!
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November 2021
Is It Possible to Give Back Too Much ? 3 Business Lessons From the Humble Bundle
November kick-starts the season of giving, and as a business owner, I always feel that I should go above and beyond to share my good fortune around the holidays. It’s tough to see people go without a Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas presents if there’s something I can do about it! So, I always choose a few charities to donate to in either my own name or the name of my company. Giving back to the community feels great, and it’s often a smart business move, too. Donating to local causes can boost your reputation, improve your local area, earn you more respect from your team, and help you build your network. But there is such a thing as giving too much . I was reminded of that this summer when I heard the story of Humble Bundle — a one-of-a-kind gaming company that eventually gave so much that it landed in hot water. Humble Bundle is a unique online platform that lets people buy limited-time bundles of games, software, and books. From the day it was created in 2010, it had giving built into the buying process. Users could choose how much of the money from their purchase went to charity, how much went to the game developer, and how much went to Humble Bundle. This helped people feel good about their gaming. Humble Bundle’s popularity exploded, but things got complicated when too much money went to charity for the company to stay afloat. You see, buyers had the option
to give all of their purchase proceeds to charity or the product creator, leaving nothing for Humble Bundle. When game developers started raising their prices, that put Humble Bundle in a financial bind. This April, Humble Bundle announced it would discontinue its “pay who you want” sliding scales and cap donations at 15%. This outraged customers so much that Humble Bundle had to change its plans. Instead, now they require users to give Humble Bundle a minimum cut of 15%– 30% depending on the bundle, meaning charitable giving could still make up 70%–85% of each purchase. As business owners, I think there’s a lot we can learn from the story of Humble Bundle. In particular, these three do’s and don’ts stood out to me.
allowing users to give 100% of their purchases to charity, it took away its own safety net. If you build donations into your business model or give back a lot during the holidays, don’t forget to factor that into your overall budget. 3. DO take customer feedback into account. This is another thing Humble Bundle did right. After the blowback it received from its first update to giving, it pivoted to a model users prefered. Every business owner can borrow this strategy and listen to customers in order to constantly improve their products or services. This November, I’d definitely encourage you to give back — just make sure you do it the smart way!
1. DO build your business around a
mission. This is something Humble Bundle did right. Its model helped it reach more than 12 million customers who donated almost $200 million to charity. How cool is that? Your company would be wise to take a leaf out of its book, as studies show millenials look for socially responsible companies to work for and buy from.
2. DON’T forget the bottom line.
Humble Bundle’s big mistake was letting its charitable mission take precedence over common sense. By
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Matthew Grow
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How to Cook for Diabetics and Vegans on Turkey Day Thanksgiving Dinner for All
Alongside family and football, food is often the highlight of Thanksgiving. But if you’re cooking dinner for a large group, crafting the perfect menu can be difficult. Veganism and vegetarianism are more popular than ever, and it can be frustrating finding dishes that everyone can enjoy — or even eat at all, in the case of a diabetic friend or family member. Luckily, there are plenty of options to create an amazing meal for any group of diverse diners. DIABETICS Thanksgiving is a stressful time for anyone who monitors their blood sugar. Sweet potato casserole and sugar-packed pies can tempt even the most diet-conscious diabetic. But undereating can be as unhealthy for diabetics as overeating, so it’s important to include appetizers in your Thanksgiving menu. Healthy options include raw vegetables and hummus, roasted nuts, shrimp cocktail, or a cheeseboard. For the main meal, turkey is fine if you hold off on any brown sugar or honey glaze. Green bean casserole is safe as well, and stuffing can be included as long as you use whole-grain bread. For dessert,
parfaits made with Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, and sliced almonds are healthy and tasty and can round out the perfect meal.
VEGANS The best thing about cooking Thanksgiving for a vegan is that there are plenty of substitutes for classic dishes. Vegan turkeys are available at most grocery stores. It may
not look like your traditional turkey since there are no bones, but it still cooks and tastes like a turkey. If a vegan turkey is out of the question, you can try making a mushroom Wellington or roasted cauliflower as a replacement.
For side dishes, vegan macaroni and cheese and roasted Brussels sprouts are easy and safe. As for dessert, most grocery stores carry a variety of gluten-free and vegan desserts at their bakery, such as nondairy ice cream and flourless cookies, that taste similar or identical to their gluten-filled, non-vegan counterparts.
The holidays are a great time to come together, and with these options, you can make everyone feel included in the celebration.
Football and Thanksgiving: A Match Made in Marketing Heaven
Last year, 30.3 million people tuned in to watch the NFL’s Thanksgiving showdown between the Washington Football Team and the Dallas Cowboys. For those Americans (and probably for you if you’re reading this article), football is as essential to Thanksgiving as turkey and stuffing — but why?
The second reason we watch football on Thanksgiving is more about money than tradition. In 1934, a Detroit Lions coach, George A. Richards, decided that in order to attract more fans, his team would make a point to always play on Thanksgiving when most people were off work. To sweeten the pot, he committed his radio station (an affiliate of the NBC Blue Network) to broadcasting the Thanksgiving game live on 94 different stations across America. This idea was a hit from day one! According to Sporting News, the long-unloved Lions “not only sold out the stadium, they also had to turn people away at the gates.” In 1966, the Dallas Cowboys signed on to play every Thanksgiving, too, for similar publicity reasons. Since those early days, football-themed traditions have flourished in American families. Apart from watching games on TV, one of the most popular is organizing a pre-turkey game of family touch football a la the sitcom “Friends.” (Its famed episode “The One With the Football” aired Nov. 21, 1996.) If you’ve never organized a game, this could be your year! To get started, Google “Scott’s Family-Friendly Touch Football” and click the first link.
As it turns out, there are two answers to that question. The first is that games have been played on the holiday for almost as long as it has officially existed. Thanksgiving became a holiday in 1863, and just six years later, the third American football game in history was played on it. According to SB Nation, the Young America Cricket Club and the Germantown Cricket Club faced off in that inaugural Thanksgiving game in Philadelphia, and football has been played on Thanksgiving pretty much ever since! When the NFL was founded in 1920, the Thanksgiving game was official from the get-go.
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TAKE A BREAK
COMPARISON SHOP LIKE A CHAMP
During the Holiday Season
The holiday season can be expensive. Sure, you might describe this time of year with less cynical words like “magical” or “warm,” but unfortunately, most stores don’t accept magic or warmth as legal tender. Whether it be for gifts or for holiday meals and treats, most people want to get the most for their money while saving their time and energy. That’s what makes comparison shopping in the age of technology so worthwhile. In case you didn’t already guess its meaning, “comparison shopping” is simply when you compare prices of the same or similar products at different stores or online retailers. You’ve probably done comparison shopping without knowing you were doing it. However, once you truly embrace the concept, you can increase your savings. Plus, by using the bevy of online price comparison tools, you can do so without scrambling around to every store in town.
If you want to comparison shop like a champ this holiday season, here are a few general tips.
The best deal isn’t always the lowest price. If you’re buying gifts online, be sure to take shipping costs into account. They might end up making the cheaper option more expensive in the end. You should also take a look at the return fees, in case these could drive the price up significantly. Look at the per unit price for food. If you’re buying groceries for Thanksgiving dinner, sometimes the item that’s more expensive at face value is actually cheaper per unit. That can mean you’ll save money overall by buying in bulk. Be wary of markups. Black Friday can leave you feeling frenzied, and that’s not always when stores have their best deals. In fact, many of them mark up their prices (sometimes “discounting” them back to their regular price) in preparation for that day. It’s a good rule of thumb to be wary of massive “sales” at big retail locations.
WAS ALEXANDER THE GREAT BURIED … ALIVE?!
Alexander the Great is most known for his hard-fought capture of land all across the globe after succeeding his father on Greece’s throne at just 20 years old. Today, the facts of his premature death are starting to piece together a curious puzzle for historians, because some now believe Alexander was buried alive. After 12 days of abdominal pain that led to a fever and paralysis, ancient Greek doctors couldn’t detect a breath from Alexander, and he was declared dead. His body was prepared for the afterlife, but he didn’t show signs of decomposition for six days. This only fed the belief that Alexander — like other rulers of his time — was part god. Dr. Katherine Hall of the University of Otago, New Zealand, believes this suggests Alexander wasn’t yet dead. In fact, he may have been suffering from a rare bacterial infection that attacks the nervous system and leads to paralysis, which could result in the lack of breath.
If you want to know where you can compare prices, take a look at any one of these apps: Google
Shopping, PriceGrabber, Shopping.com, Idealo, Shopzilla, BuyVia, NowDiscount, ScanLife, or ShopSavvy.
This is still a theory, so while we may not know exactly how Alexander died, some of the final pieces of the puzzle may fall into (an eerie) place.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
3 Business Lessons From the Humble Bundle
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The Big Debate Surrounding Alexander the Great’s Death Comparison Shop Like a Champ This Holiday Season Thanksgiving Dinner That Everyone Can Enjoy Football and Thanksgiving: A Match Made in Marketing Heaven
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Jelly Bean Deception
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JELLY BEAN DECEPTION
Why Jelly Belly Got Sued for Using Sugar
Before Bang and other creatine energy drinks became all the rage, many companies tried their hand at candy designed to energize. Not wanting to miss out on the action, Jelly Belly developed Sports Beans. Like most other energy supplements, Sports Beans contained electrolytes, carbohydrates, and a plethora of B vitamins. They also included the phrase “evaporated cane juice” as one of the ingredients — but this got them into some legal trouble. A woman named Jessica Gomez filed a case against Jelly Belly in 2017 over this ingredient. She claimed the company had falsely advertised their Sports Beans by stating they contained juice instead of sugar. Gomez believed the company portrayed that the beans were healthy by trying to appeal to athletes instead of stating that the product contained sugar.
Her complaint argued that the product’s label was designed to mislead consumers, asserting that she would not have been willing to pay as much or at all for the product if she knew it contained sugar. Jelly Belly responded, calling the lawsuit complete nonsense. They pointed out that evaporated cane juice and sugar are interchangeable terms and also cited the product’s nutritional chart which showed that each serving contained 17 grams of sugar. Jelly Belly further picked apart the claim by stating that Gomez did not insist on expecting a sugar-free product, and she did not explain why anyone would be surprised to find sugar in a product described as jelly beans.
for sugar. Though the Food and Drug Administration does not have any legal requirements regarding “evaporated cane juice,” it recommends calling the ingredient sugar to avoid these instances. The courts ended up siding with Jelly Belly, as Gomez failed to show any facts specific to the purchase or the advertising of the product. False advertising and deceptive practices do happen, but this case was not one of those instances. If Gomez had paid attention to the nutritional chart, this entire lawsuit could have been avoided.
This is not the first lawsuit against a company for using an alternative term
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