Britain`s Got Talent, Not.

April 21, 2009

We have been watching Simon Cowell capture global headlines, again.  He is doing it in our country, but from England this time.  Even as American Idol owns US network television our appetite is still enormous for more, and we find ourselves watching Britain's Got Talent.

We have a spoof news piece on the main site about Susan Boyle.  Steve can be ruff, but it is in fun.  Check it out here. 

This article is not all in jest.  We have made an offer to Amanda Holden.  She is a judge (think Paula Abdul) on Britain's Got Talent.  NJOY NOW has offered Amanda a significant figure to do an erotic video shoot and intimate interview with Steve Levine.

Holden's done other television in England besides Britain's Got Talent.  She has also done theatre, and has her fair share of scandal's, such as an affair that ended her first marriage to the British comedian Les Dennis.

Amanda is a British star, and her celebrity will translate well in the United States.  It can be supercharged by aggressively introducing all of herself to our NJOY NOW fans.  This is just the beginning for Amanda causing another country to fall in love with her, and NJOY NOW taking the UK by storm.

Tax day has past, now we can focus on the rest of 2009

April 16, 2009

If you watched the news yesterday, we were witness to 'tea parties" taking place all over the Country.  April 15th is not a fun day for a lot of us.  I like the enthusiasm, and I think it would be wonderful if this could lead to a third party establishing another viable alternative to our current two party system, which really means no options.

Are taxes bad?  Let's be realistic,the majority of us pay through our paychecks, then receive a tax return the next year.  This is from our federal government, then we pay any number of other taxes through our states, counties, cities and my bookie (juice).  So really, if you look at the federal burden, by itself, it isn't all that much.  Now think of what we are paying for.

We have the greatest military in the world.

A true democracy, with elected leaders that in theory, represent our needs and interests.

Clean water, and air.

The ability to open a small business.  Our country still runs on small business.

Great police and fire protection.

The freedom to follow any or no religion.

I must admit, we may not always love how our taxes are spent.  Aside from the elected officials we endorse, we cannot control how our tax money is distributed.  I hate Haliburton receiving government contracts.  This just seems criminal.

Does anyone want the largest banks in the country to receive tax money?  All Bank of America has done is buy more banks and businesses, and opened up more store front banks.  They collect more deposits, receive money from the fed at 0 percent, and lend through credit cards at 20 percent.  This is why monopolies are supposed to be illegal.

AIG receiving more money then anyone, and how does this help us?

The alternative is terrible.  We must pay taxes, and hope our leaders make good decisions.  I hope their greed does harm our nation.  We cannot let hatred for taxes cloud our ability to improve our nation, and ourselves.  We must pay taxes, let's try and elect good leaders so that we can trust that they are not stealing, too much.

The successful have a common mindset in business

April 16, 2009

As NJOY NOW has become a franchisor, and a successful franchise system, we have been learning what mindset's need to be adjusted prior to accepting partners into our business.  It is not unusual to meet excited prospects, that don't understand our franchise mentality.  Without us working together, we do not help each other succeed.  Here are some mind-sets that must be adjusted prior to becoming an NJOY NOW prepaid card distributor.

Short-term thinking may = long term failure.  Buying a franchise is faster then building a business from scratch.  You are investing in an established system and product.  It still takes time to make this NJOY NOW franchise stable, profitable, and a recognized brand to the consumers inside of the convenience store client you have.  If you have trouble thinking beyond next year, your comfort will suffer as this business like all businesses takes time to mature.

Are you a Maverick?  A franchise works because of the blueprint established by the franchisor.  Trying to reinvent the wheel, inside of a franchise system rarely helps anyone.  There is always room to improve a system, but wholesale change is avoided as this is costly, and inefficient.

Investor or business owner?  If you are seeking a passive investment, stock brokers and financial advisors are the answer.  A franchise is a business, and without being hands on, or having a hands on partner, you will not realize the true potential of your business.  This even applies to a small, home based business like the NJOY NOW franchise.  This distribution business is part time, but you are the owner, and responsible for the success or failure of your business.  Now if you are investing through an advisor from Morgan Stanley or Merrill Lynch, they manage your money for you passively.

Consumers may not be great franchise owners.  Shoppers that buy businesses because of enthusiasm, without considering the responsibilies of operating the business are like people getting in line to own a Portuguese Water Dog because President Obama owns own.  These urges need to be managed and the reality that this business must be run for the next 5, 10, 20 years.  Are you ready?  Consider this when you bring a new dog into your family as well.

Hobbyist, find a business you love.  There are countless opportunities that vary tremendously.  If you are passionate about sports, retail, hardware or porn, try and select a business that will maintain this enthusiasm.  You may do research, and this research may tell you that your ideal franchise may not be needed, but at NJOY NOW we firmly believe that your passion will help you become successful.  You can transcend a market, and the inertia involved in establishing this product, category, market and business.

State of the Industry. Convenience Store Reach, 2009

April 15, 2009

We have recently spent time with the large players in the convenience store industry at the NACS State of the Industry Summit.  CSP magazine, and NACS hosted this, and NJOY NOW has learned a lot related to what the convenience store industry needs through continued research with Nielson.

Can we learn from up to date consumer purchasing dynamics how to reach more consumers, and ultimately build the bottom line of our stores, and our business and brand?  Yes.  Our stores are, our partners in business, and their needs come first.  Together, NJOY NOW, convenience stores, franchisees and distributors all benefit from this research and our understanding of purchase dynamics, and buyers persona's.

3 Key components of all sales growth and decline.

Penetration:  Are fewer individuals buying?  How can NJOY get more individuals to buy?

In 1997 52% of US households were Shopping in c-stores compared to 40% in 2008.  This is a dramatic drop.

Purchase Frequency:  Are consumers buying less often?  How can NJOY NOW drive more frequent trips - purchases?

This is strictly for Convenience Stores, and the numbers are positive.  In 1997 the average number of shopping trips per year, per customer was 13, in 2008 it was 14, for a +1 change.

Purchase Size:  Are shoppers spending less?  How can NJOY NOW increase these shoppers spend per trip.  Big shopping carts.

Average dollars spent per customer in 1997 was $7, and in 2008 it was $15, for an enormous 100%+ increase of $8 per customer.

We are sorting through mountains of data delivered by The Nielson Company, NACS and CSP.  NJOY NOW has solutions that will help c-stores profit per square foot.  Let's work together to help our partners in business.  This is a straight line solution to more NJOY NOW card sales, and a better brand.

2 blogs for the price of 1. Adult Social Networking and Lenny Dykstra.

April 13, 2009

Some companies may block access to Facebook on the job, but that hasn't stopped Forrester Research from estimating that social networking will be a huge priority of "Enterprise 2.0."  If social networking is being adopted by business, what will happen and how will adult social networking expand?  NJOY NOW has the answers, and in most circles, NJOY NOW is the solution, at least on the adult social networking and entertainment side.

In a new report written for Forrester Research, the market research firm, analyst G. Oliver Young predicts that "Enterprise 2.0" applications will be a $4.6 billion industry by 2013. Social networks, Young wrote, will make up the bulk of that, with nearly $2 billion invested in them.

This means we'll probably see a lot of intra-company networking tools (souped-up corporate directories, for example, or internal forums) as well as more interactive varieties of technical support. Not surprisingly, Young's report predicts the biggest adopters will be large companies where you can't just stroll over to the HR or IT folks for a little face time, and where instituting collaborative tools from 37Signals or Zoho could speed things up when not everyone's based in the same building (or time zone).

On the adult social network and entertainment side, the market is already in place, and champing at the bit for a vehicle that allows more privacy, and freedom then Facebook.  Forrester Research has done more analysis then needed for us at NJOY NOW.  We read the market years ago, and have been a first mover on this new category, both as an adult social network resource, and a prepaid entertainment card for convenience stores and their customers.

Behind social networking, the Forrester report asserts that the "Enterprise 2.0" landscape of 2013 will consist of mashups ($682 million), RSS technologies ($563 million), wikis ($451 million), blogs ($340 million), and podcasting ($273 million).

As an aside, if you want to read a story of a mini meltdown, Lenny Dykstra, former center fielder for the World Champion 1986 Mets has not been weathering the economic recession well.  Here is an article from GQ magazine by a disgruntled former Lenny Dykstra employee.  Jim Cramer from CNBC was long Lenny Dykstra in a large way.  Cramer has worshipped Lenny's baseball career and his financial moves on his show, Mad Money with Jim Cramer.   Cramer... sell Lenny, I think he has been delisted on the exchange.  Another pie in the face of Jim Cramer.

Think Your Job Sucks? Try Working For Lenny Dykstra

Lenny Dykstra was known as Nails, and was famous for slamming into outfield walls, and barrelling through catchers at home plate.  Lenny might agree that slamming into a wall in center at Shea is far less painful then financially slamming into immovable objects.  This is a small example of the difference between CEO's and professional athletes.  Now, as for Jim Cramer...

NJOY a New Adult Social Network

April 09, 2009

If you haven't visited njoynow.com lately, please do it, now.  Finish reading this post first.

My NJOY Social Network is now live, and we Ncourage you to sign up.  It is only the beginning of the robust NJOY NOW 2.0 platform.  Our new api's and user interface have been built for adult social networking.  The elegance of this system extends deep beneath the obvious user interface.  Underneath this elegant adult social network is some fantastic, robust software engineering that will dramatically change social networking.

The My NJOY social network has not been built to compete with MySpace, or Facebook, or even Yahoo groups, or Twitter.  It is niche, and made for adults that NJOY erotica, and humor that may be in poor taste.  It is for adults, that are fun, and want their own place to meet.

Facebook has over 150 million members, and most people are found without even realizing they are being introduced by the Facebook application.  I know a lot of people that do not want their personal profile to be available to, their, fill in the blank__________ (wife, husband, daughter, grand parent, rabbi, boss, teacher, ex girlfriend, lover, etc.)  We welcome you to My NJOY.

As a social network, for adults, only, we are in a position (sometimes doggystyle) to protect people, while granting them the ability to let their hair down.  Just like a nightclub, casino, gentleman's club.  We want our community to have fun.  Our adult social network allows our members to maintain the amount of privacy they need.  They only engage and open up to members they choose to reach out to.  My NJOY members are special, and are looking for something they cannot find on My Space or Facebook.

Most of our NJOY NOW members have not road tested the social network for adults, yet.  You can still purchase cards in convenience stores, log on and watch wonderful adult movies without creating a profile.  This is the highest degree of privacy, as we do not require an email address or a credit card.  Anyone that has ever purchased a membership to an adult site, like Playboy, or Penthouse has been hit with hidden recurring charges.  This is not the NJOY NOW business model.  All our costs are up front, and there are never hidden charges.

The most exciting new feature of My NJOY is coming soon.  The Girl of the Month contest.  This is one of the main features we will be promoting this summer.  If you are in Chicago, please let us know.  We are preparing live casting calls, as well as the digital casting which will be through our social network for adults.  Stay close to www.njoynow.com, we are starting to create a lot of buzz.