“Game”-Changing Impact on Small Businesses

With “The Big Game” (sorry, but I don’t want to get a cease and desist letter from the NFL because of this post) now in the rearview mirror, many small businesses – some of which are in industries most negatively affected by COVID-19 – may have just received a much-needed boost.

Take, for example, the economic impact on small businesses in the County of Los Angeles and the City of Inglewood – the host of said game. Prior to the big game, the host committee hired Micronomics Economic Research and Consulting to analyze the potential economic impact of the game in the Los Angeles region. The consulting firm’s 60-page report, published in October 2021, forecasted that, based on conservative estimates of visitors, hotel rates and daytime spending, the game at SoFi Stadium would bring in approximately $234 – 477 million in economic benefits to the LA region, and would result in the creation of approximately 2,200 – 4,700 new jobs in the LA region. Unsurprisingly, the transportation, hotels and motels, personal care services, and full and limited-service restaurants industries were expected to receive most of these economic gains. The consulting firm also predicted that Los Angeles county would realize many qualitative benefits, including national and global exposure that would affect economic activity in the short and long-term.

Of course, the actual economic impact of the game on the Los Angeles region is still to be determined, and likely won’t be determined for several weeks. However, these pre-game estimates predicted a significant positive impact on small businesses in the region, many of which were in the throes of significant pandemic hardship.

As another example of the positive impact of the game on small businesses, the NFL and its partners made efforts to inspire positive change in communities surrounding Los Angeles through charity and community service events. For example, the Business Connect Program, the NFL’s diversity initiative, identified and supported 225 regional minority, woman, LGBTQ+, and veteran-owned businesses (26 of which were in Inglewood) through professional development, networking, and contract opportunities and beyond.

Additionally, in connection with the game, QuickBooks and Mailchimp teamed up with the Los Angeles Rams to provide three small business with a $25,000 grant and free one-year subscriptions to QuickBooks Online and Mailchimp. The three small businesses selected for such grants were Glow + Flow Beauty Supply, South LA Cafe and Burn Cycling, each based around the city of Inglewood. During the game, QuickBooks and Mailchimp also unveiled a 30-second add dedicated to celebrating entrepreneurial spirit and inspiring new entrepreneurs watching the game.

Of course, not only the Los Angeles region was positively impacted. Although more difficult to quantify, it’s likely the Cincinnati region – home to runner-up Cincinnati Bengals – also saw significant economic benefits from the big game, through additional spending, foot traffic and publicity to the region caused by the big game.

Whether or not you were happy with the results (and/or commercials) of the big game, I think we can all be happy for the many small businesses that received a game-changing impact as result of it.

TikTok: A Resource for Small Business

For many small businesses, social media can bring significant value. It can allow businesses to engage with customers in a cost-effective way, collect and track customer engagement, gain insight into competition, and develop and grow their brand.

Because of these advantages, many small businesses now utilize one or more of the many social media platforms out there – LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram, to name a few of the most popular. TikTok, a relatively new social media platform, has also started to grow in popularity. 

Helping You Fulfill Your New Year’s Resolutions: The Smart Home Gym

For many, the start of 2021 means a brand new set of New Year’s resolutions. At the top of the list of most popular New Year’s resolutions is, as you’d expect, getting more exercise. According to a study conducted by Statistica in late 2020, a staggering 44% of participants in the study were planning to start 2021 with this resolution. But with many gyms closed due to the global pandemic (or due to the anxiety caused by going to a gym in a global pandemic), sticking to this popular resolution may be more difficult than in past years.

Enter: the smart home gym. Most people have heard of home gyms and many probably own one or more of them, whether in the form of a treadmill, exercise bike or otherwise. In recent years, though, the options for home gyms have expanded greatly. You can now find a home gym that offers just about any workout you can imagine — running, biking, weight lifting, kickboxing, etc. Home gyms have also become significantly more advanced and technologically innovative in recent years, some even with Artificial Intelligence.

MN Cup Winners in a Virtual Competition

 Last week was the 16th annual final awards ceremony for the Minnesota Cup, an annual state-wide, industry-agnostic competition for Minnesota’s entrepreneurs. Over 1,000 entrepreneurs participated in this year’s Cup (collectively taking home around $500,000 in prize money) and hundreds of mentors, sponsors, partners and judges helped make the competition a success, even in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Lathrop GPM (and, prior to our combination early this year, Gray Plant Mooty) has been a sponsor of the Minnesota Cup dating all the way back to year two of the competition.  However, like everything else in this crazy year of 2020, this year’s competition was markedly different. Typically, the competitors have the opportunity to pitch their businesses to the judges in person and, for those fortunate enough to make it to the finals, also have the opportunity to give their final pitches to a crowded room full of judges, mentors, sponsors and members of the general public at a crowded McNamara Alumni Center at the University of Minnesota. In addition, throughout the competition, there are normally several in-person networking opportunities for its competitors and supporters. However, the challenges presented by COVID-19 caused the entire 6 month competition, related networking opportunities, and last week’s awards ceremony to be almost entirely virtual. 

You Deserve a Break Today

Stepping away from work and going on vacation can be a struggle. With the weight of business on your shoulders, it is so easy to convince yourself that there just isn’t time for a break. After all, there are always more numbers to hit, business to obtain, and goals to achieve.

These reasons may even seem more important this year due to the impact of the global pandemic on your business. And — truthfully — there probably is not a perfect time to go on vacation. However, stepping away from work is not only beneficial for your mental and physical health, it is also important for the health of your business.

Movies All Entrepreneurs Should Watch

Have you suddenly found yourself with some extra free time at home? Consider spending some of that free time in front of the TV. If you pick the right movies, this will not only fill up some of your extra time — you might even learn some tips for how to be a successful entrepreneur in the process. Based on my many hours of “research” in the past few weeks, the following is my list of must-see movies for every entrepreneur:

1. The Social Network (2010)

The Social Network tells the story of the founding of the social networking website Facebook and the lawsuits that followed thereafter. The movie offers a glimpse into the challenges faced by companies on the path to making it big. It also provides an inspirational reminder that sometimes big companies start small.

2. Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened (2018)

This movie follows the events surrounding the Fyre Festival, the 2017 festival that a young entrepreneur promised would be a luxury music experience on a private island. It turned out to be nothing but a scam. This movie shows the dangers of making big promises but not investing in the end product.

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year! It’s now January — that time of year when many people are fully committed to their New Year’s resolutions of eating healthy, working out and saving more. But New Year’s resolutions don’t need to be limited to our personal lives. Right now — the beginning of a new year and decade — is a great time to create meaningful New Year’s resolutions for your business as well.

This Forbes article gives some great examples of New Year’s resolutions that will set your business up for success. To summarize:

1. Get more balance in your life. Your health — physical and mental — is important to the success of your business. Make an effort to invest in your health by delegating more and spreading the workload. 
2. Revisit your business plan. Every business should have a business plan. If you don’t, or yours is out of date, spend some time putting one together. Consider your short-term, medium-term and long-term goals and be specific about the necessary steps to get there.
3.  Protect yourself against cyber attackers. Cyber attacks can happen to all businesses, no matter what size. Review your current cyber security and establish safeguards to protect your business. 
4. Find out how to make your customers even happier. Invest in your existing customers. Research shows that it is 25 times more expensive to win a new customer than it is to obtain new business from existing customers. 
5. Prioritize productivity. How can you improve your business’s productivity? Consider updating out-of-date processes or investing in new technology.
6. Give your business a financial health check. Take a hard look at your financials. How can your business improve? Make an effort to identify and resolve potential issues. As an example, find ways to collect on your accounts receivable faster.
7. Be prepared to invest for the future. Make an effort to invest in your business. Failure to do so could limit future opportunities for growth. 

The start of 2020 is a great time to set New Year’s resolutions for your personal life and your business. And whatever specific resolutions you choose to set, make sure they are specific, measurable and achievable. This will help ensure you don’t give up on these resolutions in February. You want these resolutions to set you and your business up for prosperity in 2020!

The Great Minnesota Get-Together: A Brief History

If you’re like me, at this time of the year, you have one thing on your mind: the Great Minnesota Get-Together (also known as the Minnesota State Fair).

The fair, located on a massive 322 acres, is a highly popular event, attracting more than 2 million people annually. It employs over 80 full-time year-round individuals, adding 450 seasonal staff members in the summer. It also hires over 2,300 fair-time staff members. In 2018, the fair brought in $57.3 million in revenues. The fair is further estimated to have generated a whopping $268 million in economic impact for the Twin Cities as a whole.

Have you ever wondered how this great event came to be? Its roots trace all the way back to 1854, where it first began as a territorial fair. The fair as it’s known today was first held in 1859, a year after Minnesota was granted statehood. At that time, the fair’s location changed annually, moving between Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Red Wing, Winona, and Owatonna. It wasn’t until 1885, when the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners donated 210 acres to the State Agricultural Society, that the fair found a permanent home at its present location in St. Paul. Because the fair’s original purpose was to encourage farming in the state of Minnesota, the fair in its early days was comprised of mostly agricultural-related exhibits and competitions.

Over the years, the fair has expanded its activities. 1899 saw the introduction of grandstand shows and fireworks. Theodore Roosevelt spoke at the fair in 1901 and delivered his famous line, "speak softly and carry a big stick." In 1947, the Pronto Pups (and other tasty foods on a stick) were first introduced. The Princess Kay of the Milky Way competition started in 1954. The beloved Sweet Martha’s cookies hit the fair in 1979.

Despite the fair’s expansion in activities and in size, agriculture has consistently remained the primary focus and heart of the fair. There are still several exhibits and competitions dedicated to just that — agriculture. This year, consider stopping by these exhibits or take a moment to watch a competition to pay homage to the fair’s roots and to appreciate how far the fair has come since then.

FDA Food Labeling Requirements

What do a package of ground beef, a box of tortilla shells, a bag of Mexican style cheese, and a jar of salsa have in common? The best answer is that, together, they make a great meal. The second-best answer is — you guessed it — that they are all subject to the Food and Drug Administration’s guidance on food labeling. 

The FDA is responsible for ensuring that food products are properly labeled. The federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act are the federal laws governing food products under the FDA's jurisdiction. Like a lot of regulations, these laws are long, dense, and detailed, and certainly don’t make for easy reading (although they are great if you are having a bout of insomnia).

Fortunately, in January 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a 132-page Food Labeling Guide. The guide unpacks and summarizes those dense, detailed laws on food labeling in an easier-to-understand way. 

The Value of Convenience in Cooking

I’ve never been a fan of cooking, so I certainly never expected to write about it. But to my surprise, here I am, writing about cooking.

This is because I’ve recently become curious about these new meal-kit delivery services that purport to make cooking quick and easy. To my disbelief, they even purport to make cooking fun. 

There are several companies that offer meal-kit delivery services. Some of the more familiar are Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Plated, Sun Basket, and Home Chef. Their concept is simple: Consumers select the meals they want for the week and they receive in the mail easy-to-follow directions and fresh, pre-portioned ingredients. They are then able to cook meals that are quick, easy, healthy, and tasty. 

While the concept is simple, it ultimately addresses something highly sought after by consumers all over the U.S. — convenience. At an average cost per plate of $10, these delivery services don’t run cheap. Yet the convenience factor is so powerful that it has caused consumers to eat the idea up (pun intended).

Why Buy When You Can Share?

My husband and I recently honeymooned in Italy and Croatia. As we made our way through both countries, we stayed almost exclusively in homes we rented from Airbnb, we took several Uber rides, and we were wined and dined at the home of a Tuscan winemaker, an unforgettable experience we booked through Airbnb. In short, we took part in what is known as the “sharing economy.”

The sharing economy goes by many different names and is difficult to define. The Oxford Dictionary took a stab at it in 2015 when it defined the sharing economy as “an economic system in which assets or services are shared between private individuals, either free or for a fee, typically by means of the internet.” Basically, the sharing economy is a system in which individuals and businesses can share their cars, homes, clothing, and other assets, thereby making money on otherwise underused assets. On the other side, individuals and companies can pay to use these assets at a fraction of the cost of buying them. Win-win. Examples of well-known companies operating in the sharing economy include:

• Airbnb, an online marketplace used to arrange lodging and tourism experiences.
• Uber, a peer-to-peer ridesharing and food delivery company.
• Lyft, an on-demand transportation company.
• Turo, a peer-to-peer car sharing company.
• Rent the Runway, a clothing rental service.
• Le Tote, a clothing rental subscription service.

The concept of sharing resources has historical roots. However, the old concept was made new in the 21st century thanks to new technologies such as the internet and mobile phones. The concept has since seen extraordinary growth worldwide.