5 Things You Need To Know This Week

1) Time for Retailers to Prepare for the Holiday Season

2) Are You About to Lose Your Google Account?

3) Everything You Need to Know About Generative AI

4) Podcast Wisdom

5) Words to Live By

Happy Tuesday, July 25th!

In my letter last week, I wrote, “If you had one wish that would be granted this week, what would you wish for?”

The feedback was amazing!

Many readers wished they could go back in time to see a loved one again or change a part of their history. My initial response would be to wish for something similar. But I would then remind myself that everything from the past has led me to where I am today. So, I accept all my decisions and am grateful for the wonderful memories of the people who have been part of my life up to this point.

The majority of responses focused on immediate changes for the better. The three biggest themes were financial freedom, better health/wellness, and success in business. Unlike the people who wished for something in the past, there is definitely something we can all do about our wishes for the present and future. I was reminded of this by my wife when I recently told her the changes I would make in my life “when I hit the Powerball Lottery,” which was about $500 million at the time. She replied, “For all those things you want to change in your life, you don’t need to hit the lottery; you just need to change your mindset and behavior.”??

She was right. Change your mind, and you can change almost everything in your life. For the things that we don’t control, we can still decide how to respond to what happens (I’m paraphrasing Viktor Frankl’s famous quote). We are so much more powerful than we realize. All we have to do is recognize our strengths and then point our minds toward what makes us happy.

In business, connecting with business owners makes me happy. Helping other people realize their dreams makes me happy. In a sense, my wish was granted a long time ago.

That doesn’t mean I will stop playing the lottery ??

Enjoy today,

Brian

1. Time for Retailers to Prepare for the Holiday Season

Salesforce says now’s the time for e-tailers and retailers to prepare for the “competitive holiday shopping season.” And the key focus this year will be on keeping your loyal customers happy because it’s gotten more expensive to attract new customers.

AllBusiness.com reported on the Salesforce data, which noted that customer loyalty is on the rise, so repeat customers “will be responsible for more the one-third of holiday orders this year.” Hi Friends and Fellow Business Owners,

Read?about Salesforce’s?5 holiday predictions and tips?for retaining customers.

2. Are You About to Lose Your Google Account?

Last week Google announced it was likely going to delete accounts that had been inactive for at least two years.

Don’t panic; you have until December 1, 2023, before Google starts to delete accounts. If your account is eligible to be deleted, Google will send you warning emails.

You can prevent your account from being deleted by logging into it.?Tom’s Guide?also reports on the other ways to keep your Google accounts active.

Click here?to find out how to save your Google accounts.

3. Everything You Need to Know About Generative AI

Are you keeping up with all the developments in generative AI? McKinsey says, “ Generative AI is evolving at record speed while CEOs are still learning the technology’s business value and risks.”

And “since the release of ChatGPT, Bard, Claude, Midjourney, and other content-creating tools, CEOs are understandably wondering: Is this tech hype, or a game-changing opportunity? And if it is the latter, what is the value to my business?”

To help, McKinsey created a “generative AI primer.”?Check it out here.

4. Podcast Quote of the Week

“The ability to run your business from a phone is a significant selling point for home service providers who are constantly on the go.” – Tami Cannizzaro, CMO at Thryv.?Managing Your Business from Your Phone is Here!?- Small Business Edge Podcast episode

5. Word to Live By: