April 2019
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Starting New Beginnings
Why Millennials Are Perfect
Spring is all about new beginnings, and to me, life should always have new beginnings. If someone is living their life the same way every day and is content because nothing changes, I don’t believe that’s healthy. I believe that when things remain the same, you can’t grow. You need to face situations or choices that make you uncomfortable because without them, things won’t change, and people won’t learn. When we think about something new, such as launching into a new project or joining a sports team, it can be a scary thing. But we need change to grow, learn, and become better people. Personally, I love new beginnings and believe in actively seeking them out, especially when things are too stagnant. When you everything else! Usually, the scariest part for everyone is the first moment of that new journey. If you only sit there and think about it, it’ll seem so daunting that you won’t be able to think of how you’re going to get there or how it's going to turn out once you get started. I’m commonly asked questions like, “How do you achieve so much success,” and, “How do you know what to do and what not to do?” The truth is I don’t know. That’s the big entrepreneurial secret: You don’t absolutely know what the right decision is going to be. The only thing I do know is that nobody gets anywhere without starting something first. Just by doing, you’re going to find yourself in a rut, you’ve got to find something that trounces
open a multitude of possibilities for yourself. It might be terrifying and overwhelming at first, but once you get rolling and gain momentum, you’ll find it gets easier. All this talk of new beginnings and growth leads me to another topic: millennials. I’m generally passionate about this subject, and I’ve even gone into depth about this group of people in my podcast, “All In with Rick Jordan.” While that episode “The Team Matchmaker: Remi Sorrentino” is about career advice and how millennials are afraid to get into a business profession, right now I want to talk about how amazing it is when you have this group working for you. First, I despise the term “millennial” because it's condescending. What I hear a lot about is how entrepreneurs can’t keep millennials on the payroll because “they feel entitled” or “they just want to jump from job to job.” I’ve also heard the complaint that a business leader will interview tons of candidates but that the millennials have all had something like 17 jobs they’ve worked within the past two years. But honestly, this is missing the point. I absolutely love that demographic — not just because I feel like they get a bad rap — but because it's one of the best groups to have around right now. Studies by Harvard Business School over the past 20 years show that once someone in this group is driven to challenge themselves — once they get hired, or when they feel like they have a mission they fully believe in — this
group has more longevity and loyalty than the baby boomer generation. While it's true that you might see a lot of job-hopping at the beginning, as soon as they find a place they feel like they can grow and succeed, this generation will stick around longer than almost anyone else. Millennials are hungry, and when they aren’t challenged, they seek out another job in the hope they’ll find something that does challenge them. A lot of the time, I believe this reflects on the company itself. The places where they previously worked most likely lacked leadership or a clear direction of where the business was going. So, when a millennial does find a company that has great leadership with a mission, they take off! This group is constantly seeking change and growth throughout their professional careers, and that’s why I love, love, love hiring them. And if you don’t want them, you can always send them over to me. I’ll be happy to get them on my team, provide them with something to grab onto, and take on the world!
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MEETING YOUR CUSTOMERS WHERE THEY ARE 3 Guerrilla Marketing Tactics to Grow Your Business
It’s easy to imagine the hackers attacking your network as a team of computer masterminds. But in reality, the vast majority of data breaches don’t occur from some genius hacking into the mainframe. According to Trace Security, a full 81 percent of breaches happen as a result of poorly constructed passwords. Luckily, avoiding this is pretty simple. Ensure every member of your team uses strong passwords, over eight characters in length and comprising of letters, numbers, and symbols. Keep the numbers and symbols away from each other, and definitely avoid the common, obvious passwords like “123456789,” or “password.” You also might consider implementing two-factor authentication into your system, which is several degrees of magnitude more secure than ordinary passwords, but it can be a headache to set up without an expert on your team. (And How to Prevent It From Happening) THE NO. 1 WAY HACKERS ACCESS YOUR NETWORK Steve Jobs was a notoriously exacting boss. He constantly held himself to the highest standards of business and creativity and drove himself, and those around them, to greatness. But in his own words, one of his greatest strengths wasn’t the quality of his mind, but his strength of belief. As he put it, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your cut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” Of course, he’s not talking about faith in some divine purpose; he’s talking about faith in your own ability to make things work. Instead of developing some “perfect” master plan where every detail is accounted for, we always have to work with imperfect information and step into uncharted territory. Being comfortable with this, according to Jobs, is one of the biggest secrets to success. That Separates Successful People From Everyone Else THERE IS ONE THING
Guerrilla marketing strategies, with their low-cost methods and innovative approaches to advertising, can be the key to growing both large and small businesses. Here are three examples of guerrilla advertising that, with enough creativity and boldness, you can use to maximize business growth.
LEAVE NO SURFACE UNTOUCHED AND NO MEDIUM UNUSED.
Ambient marketing is one of the more common guerrilla marketing strategies, and it is a great way to raise local awareness for your brand. It involves advertising in unusual spaces with unusual methods. A recent example of this is how Taco Bell announced their presence in London in 2018. They created the illusion that Big Ben was ringing by mixing its sound with Taco Bell’s signature bell sound. They played it on speakers attached to rickshaws, which were driven around the city. While this is certainly a more elaborate example, ambient marketing can be as easy as using more unconventional surfaces, like sidewalks and drinking glasses, to market your product — so long as it is creative enough to make a potential customer take notice. ENGAGE INTERNET USERS WHERE THEY ARE. The marketing strategy that used to be known as “word- of-mouth,” “network marketing,” or “creating a buzz,” is now known as “viral marketing” on the internet. This is not a new concept in and of itself, but it can be made even more effective with some creativity. Major fast-food chain Wendy’s utilizes this strategy with their Twitter account. Their account takes on a personality, as opposed to just being a place to make announcements, which works well in their quest to get away from the cynical idea of the soulless, profit-mongering corporation. Having an online presence that engages people where they are, instead of making posts and waiting for potential customers to happen upon them, can help your business stand out online. FORM REAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS. This tactic, sometimes known as a grassroots movement, has many different facets. However, the goal is to ultimately win a customer’s business by engaging with them on a more personal level. This approach often involves using the internet to ask supporters of your business to repost or retweet material from your social media pages. You can also encourage your employees to engage with real people in places where your target demographic likes to spend their time. The goal is to foster genuine relationships with customers that make them feel cared for by your company and eager to keep coming back.
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The Booming Subscription-Service Business
Recurring Subscription Satisfaction for Businesses and Consumers
In today’s economy, the demand for accessible and customized goods and services is steadily increasing, and companies are responding by bringing their business to the comfort of your home. With recurring payments, deliveries, and an ever-changing selection of products, pioneers like Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Dollar Shave Club are redefining what a modern transaction looks like. From movies and pop culture memorabilia to contacts and glasses, there is a reasonably priced subscription service destined to cut out the middleman for most industries today, and the numbers show that the companies developing this market have no intention of slowing down. The subscription-service industry is booming all over the globe. According to a long-term survey conducted by McKinley and Company, the e-commerce market has grown by more than 100 percent per year in each of the past five years, grossing $2.6 billion in 2016 alone. We’re all familiar with Netflix and Hulu, but subscription-box services, like
Blue Apron and Birchbox, have been growing in popularity in recent years. These companies provide subscribers with a new box of products — from groceries and cosmetics to potted plants — on a monthly, bi-monthly, or weekly basis. The impact is widespread, with 15 percent of online shoppers saying they’ve subscribed to an e-commerce service over the past year. The numbers are even higher for entertainment services; 46 percent of the survey’s respondents subscribed to a streaming platform like Netflix. The priority for most customers is the ability to customize. Over half of all subscription services are built based on the pillars of curation and customization. And while some consumers buy subscriptions just for convenience, the majority sign up to be able to customize their products to their needs and preferences.
Whether you want graphic tees, hair-loss products, or healthy meals, there’s a subscription service for you.
HAVE A Laugh
Shiny New Gadget of the Month
As more and more things in the world become digitized and revamped for the smartphone generation, the humble
peephole has joined the ranks of IoT-enabled devices. Enter the Ring Door View Cam, a nifty little piece of tech that replaces the fish-eye lens of your peephole with a camera so there’s never any question who is at the door. In addition, you get mobile notifications whenever the device’s motion sensor is triggered, enabling you to remotely communicate with a visitor from your phone, even if you’re not home. That means no more missed drop-ins, packages left out in the open on your doorstep, and no more shady, late-night encounters with suspicious strangers.
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Inside This Edition
1.
New Beginnings and Millennials
2.
The No. 1 Way Hackers Access Your Network Maximizing Creativity and Cost- Effectiveness in Your Business Take a Look at the Subscription- Service Market
3.
Have a Laugh
4.
Can You Trust Alexa?
The Privacy Compromise Amazon Listens to You — What Does That Really Mean?
Millions of homes across the globe have some version of Amazon’s Echo digital assistant. There’s the standard Echo, the Echo Dot, Echo Plus, Echo Show, and Echo Spot. Echo has even been integrated into refrigerators, microwaves, and other appliances. It’s seems like the lineup gets larger every year. But are we putting too much trust in these digital assistants? We all know these devices are listening. Echo recognizes its name, whether you call it Alexa, Amazon, Echo, or Computer, as a “wake word.” Once it’s “awake,” it will answer any question you ask it. But what does it hear beyond what you ask it directly? This is a question that has security and privacy experts concerned. Major companies like Amazon, Google, and Facebook thrive on the data they collect. Facebook is worth as much as it is because of its monetized user data, and a huge portion of Facebook’s business model involves selling its users’ data to other companies. It comes down to this: If an online service is free, you are the product. With the Echo, once you speak the “wake word” (usually “Alexa”), everything you say is shared with Amazon. The company uses this data for several things. For one, it compiles user data to make Alexa’s responses better. But it also uses your data to target products to you that you’ll be more likely to buy, preferably through Amazon.
The effect is similar to using your browser to shop on Amazon or using an Amazon-branded credit card. Everything you do on their website and everything you buy with an Amazon card is tracked: the company builds a profile for you and your likes. The same can be said for Google and Facebook. The bottom line is that if you are concerned about your privacy and want complete control, you will want to keep digital assistants like Echo out of your home. Every time you fire up Amazon, Facebook, or Google — or use their service or app — you are being tracked. This might mean location tracking, your shopping preferences, the posts you read, etc. That’s part of the deal: It’s free, and you give up your privacy in exchange. You consent to have your personal data mined. When it comes to the Echo, Amazon explicitly states they do not sell your data to third parties. The company says they only use this data internally; they say it’s secure — and so far, that’s technically true. But there have been reports of “malfunctions.” If you do have a digital home assistant like the Echo or you use these kinds of services on your smartphone, you can set your privacy and security options pretty much however you want. In the end, you do have some control over your privacy with a digital assistant, but as long as one of them is in your home, that control — and your privacy — will never be at 100 percent.
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