Archive - February, 2009

No Press Is Bad Press? Think again!

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying before.. “No Press Is Bad Press” and on occasions I’d agree with such a statement, but today it’s just not true for a few companies.

Today I got an email from TripAdvisor naming their Top 10 Dirtiest Hotels of 2009! At first I thought it was a joke but then I opened the email and saw they DID in fact name the top 10 dirtiest hotels. The graphic accompanying the page is just hilarious, with the quote from the poor soul who stayed in room 919!

I wonder how many people TripAdvisor emails? I’d be willing to bet millions upon millions got the memo!

picture-3

TripAdvisor.com went ahead and listed 10 Hotels for various places all over the world (based on traveler reviews)

It was quite fun to actually go in and read the individual reviews for these places to get a glimpse of how bad some of these places actually are. I’d hate to be getting ready for a trip to say Paris, your hotel has been booked for 6 months when suddenly it’s named the #3 dirtiest hotel in France.

Below you’ll find the Top 10 Dirtiest Hotels in the United States.

Dirtiest Hotels – United States

(based on TripAdvisor traveler reviews)

This is definitely not a case of no press is bad press, this is just wrong. Can we do the world a favor and shut these places down? And what’s up with the Days Inn, 3 Hotels in the top ten??? C’mon Days Inn! Get your act together. This is enough to sway me from staying at ANY Days Inn regardless of where it’s located.

I wonder if the Days Inn is on Twitter?

In Trying Times – Follow The Money

Yesterday I got a copy of GQ Magazine in the mail. While I was preparing a dinner of Salmon burgers and mixed vegetables I decided to casually flip through the magazine. I got about 15 pages into the magazine when an Ad caught me eye. Now I’ve seen the  Ad before and  I’ve heard and read about it many times but it never really struck a chord with me until yesterday.

We all know the economy is in bad shape, you don’t need me to repeat it. But does a recession really hurt the “already rich” folk of the world?

Visa seems to think not. Inside GQ was a full-page Ad for the “Visa Black Card.” I’m sure you’ve heard about it before. Jerry Seinfeld and Paris Hilton are two rumored to carry the card.

I took a photo of the ad (sorry I don’t have a scanner right now) Check it out below and let me know what you think.

blackcardI think it’s a brilliant ad and more importantly an awesome marketing message. Here we are in clearly the biggest financial economic mess and meltdown we’ve ever seen and Visa doesn’t even blink an eye. The ad makes no promises or claims except that it’s for the Ultra Elite, no one else.

But not only that, if you’re one of the lucky 1% eligible for the card, you’re also eligible for amazing rewards, 24-hour concierge and people who will wipe your butt every time you use the washroom.

Dan Kennedy writes a newsletter on Marketing to The Mass Affluent and he also recently released a book of the same title.

The moral of the story, in trying times while many are looking for ways to capitalize on those who may be struggling and even desperate, the smarter  (more ethical) and likely much more profitable thing to do is follow the money.

Dan Kennedy’s Newsletter  on Marketing to the Rich – http://dankennedy.com/luxury/

Dan Kennedy’s New Book – No B.S. Marketing to the Affluent: The No Holds Barred, Kick Butt, Take No Prisoners Guide to Getting Really Rich

The Visa Black Card – http://blackcard.com

Get Fit or Die Tryin’ Part 2

Get Fit or Die Tryin’ Part 2

I mentioned I’d write Part 2 to a post I started near the end of January and my gosh has time flew by. I figured now was about time to follow-up with the remainder of that post.

In part 1 I discussed how adding a daily fitness regiment has not only drastically increased my overall health and fitness but has also increased my productivity allowing me to earn more money.

Of course adding high intensity fitness training was only a small part of the equation. In fact I’d be willing to say that in my circumstances the training and exercise was only about 20% of the equation. The remaining 80% had to do with diet and the foods I was eating but more importantly the foods I stopped eating.

As I mentioned in part 1, I’m following Crossfit.com which is a free and open source model of fitness training. I started back in September but about a month after that, I still hadn’t changed my diet or changed the way I was eating. Which meant my days were packed full of refined sugars and carbohydrates. I would be willing to bet the BULK of my diet was made up of these.

When I finally decided to get my diet into check I figured I’d see what the people over at Crossfit were recommending since they hadn’t led me astray thus far. To my surprise they were suggesting the “Zone Diet” which I’d heard and read about before. A quick google search gave me a billion reasons why the Zone was good or the Zone was bad but I decided to put my trust into Crossfit.

I’ll try to make this as simple to understand as possible without getting into any of the scientific and technical stuff.

The zone works like this. Every meal is a balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat. The ratio is 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat. I’m sure you’ve heard people talking about the 40/30/30 diet or zone diet. Same thing.

Now the folks over at Crossfit have released a free PDF of the optimal Zone for Crossfit Methods so you can check that out HERE.

Once I got the diet going and started eating a strict zone the fat just fell off. Literally I was dropping about a pound of body fat per week while still maintaining muscle and lean body mass.

The biggest trick to the success of the zone for me was cutting out sugar and drinking a HELLUVA lot of water. These two simple changes are drastically increasing my energy and productivity and that is key.

Do you know how great it feels to wake up at 6:30 am and be ready to go? No grogginess, no tired eyes, just ready to rock and get stuff done? Hard to imagine that such small changes can be so life changing but they are.

Now… I’m not recommending you go out and start the zoning but I am suggesting this. Look at your overall diet and then consider how you feel each morning. Do you have the energy to accomplish what you want? Do you feel energetic and motivated to tackle whatever is on your plate? If YES, then I’m a firm believer that if it’s not broken don’t fix it.

But if not…. Then I hope this gives you something to think about. Fitness & Diet. Do they really relate to entrepreneurship and making money? You bet.