Make Your Business the Rule

Scott T. Janney here. I’m a passionate entrepreneur with 20 years of experience spanning industries. Welcome to my newsletter!

In my newsletters you’ll find:?

• Tips on what I think it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur based on experience gained, lessons learned, and things I’ve read over the years.
• Takes on business, industry news, entrepreneurship, and anything else relevant to my experience/knowledge.?
• Stories about my current work as CEO of Magazine Jukebox (MJB) that I hope will be useful for budding entrepreneurs and interesting for others.
• Valuable content that’s also entertaining. As my newsletter name suggests, I’ll aim to offer a good mix of business and entertainment.

In today’s newsletter, I’ll talk about my recent experience at the HITEC 2024 conference and making your business the rule instead of the exception. Then, I’ll share a tip and a take.

Why Conferences Like HITEC are Valuable

I recently attended the HITEC 2024 conference by Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP?) in Charlotte, NC hosted at Marriott Bonvoy . I made a last minute decision to head there with Chad McPhatter , MJB’s Director of Sales and Marketing. We showcased Magazine Jukebox and all of our integrations with fellow vendors, demonstrating how we elevate the customer/guest experience and add value to existing apps and technologies. It was a great trip (check out a reel of our experience here ).

It was excellent talking to so many different businesses, networking, and growing our business footprint. I've always believed in the power of connecting. With so much emphasis on remote work, we sometimes miss out on one of the most important factors: the “human factor.” This conference reminded me how important it can be to connect with potential partners face to face.

A highlight for me was the Entrepreneur 20X pitch competition. Multiple startups were given 4 minutes to pitch their product. The winner received $5,000. This competition had to do more with exposure than money, though. The exposure they received was huge, 150-200 or so hoteliers were in the audience listening to their pitches. A big theme of this conference was that hotels are always looking at new and upcoming technologies for better ways to run their business and help their customers. This pitch competition was a great way to facilitate this.

Side note - many companies who presented really cool products were still rejected. I know this feeling very well, having faced multiple rejections throughout my entrepreneurship journey. That’s part of the process, you’re never going to be everyone’s favorite. You’re going to get rejected sometimes. You can’t let the rejections keep you down, you just have to continue to do better, find your ideal audience, and perfect your skill/messaging. You need to find a good match - for instance, at Magazine Jukebox we meet people who don’t like magazines or have some other digital entertainment they prefer. We’re not for everyone and that’s okay. On the other hand, we are desired and enjoyed by many other businesses. You just have to find your match.

Overall, the conference was fantastic, and we connected with 40+ companies that have great synergy with Magazine Jukebox. There was a huge focus on enhancing the customer/guest experience (a main goal of Magazine Jukebox). HITEC helped us grow and build our brand awareness. Looking forward to attending next year in Indianapolis!?

(If you know of any trade shows focused on customer experience, please share with me via DM! Always looking for more opportunities to showcase Magazine Jukebox.)

Make Your Business the Rule (Not the Exception)

Magazine Jukebox is quickly becoming the rule and no longer the exception. For those of you who don’t know, Magazine Jukebox is a digital entertainment hub for businesses. Our platform is set up in our business partners’ locations, where end users access the platform directly on their mobile devices (via QR Code, SMS, email, or app integration). We keep customers entertained, speed up perceived wait times, and help our business partners receive ROI through custom ad placements.?

Our solution is an extremely affordable way to elevate the customer/patient experience. The average cost for a cafe to have Magazine Jukebox in their location is only $0.05 per customer! This is based on being open 6 out of 7 days a week with 30 sit-in customers per day. Now, if you're open 7 days a week with 50 sit-in customers a day, the cost per customer is even less!?

As Magazine Jukebox continues to grow its presence not just in the U.S. but around the world, it’s pretty clear that businesses are feeling the heat for leaving MJB out. Every time a potential partner sees us at another business, it validates us and sparks interest. As more and more companies have MJB, more are feeling like they’re left behind. It’s business FOMO.

We’ve seen this a lot especially with our healthcare partners - current partnerships can help facilitate new partnerships. Healthcare centers often look to one another for guidance when it comes to amenities and patient experience. We’ve gained many new partners by healthcare workers seeing us/hearing about us in other hospitals, or seeing the big names we partner with, like The Beryl Institute . No one wants to be left behind when it comes to patient experience. We can’t blame them. This demonstrates the importance of showcasing your partnerships.

I’ve also chatted with customers using the Magazine Jukebox platform in our partner locations. (It’s key to communicate with those who actually use your product - never forget this.) I visited a few of our partner coffee shop locations where I personally met with patrons and asked them about their experience using Magazine Jukebox. People told me that they frequently visit certain coffee shop in order to read their favorite magazines on our platform. And if the location stopped offering Magazine Jukebox and another coffee shop had it, they would change coffee shops (given that they still have good coffee and a convenient location). This really validated MJB becoming the rule.

It’s always important to be thinking about how you’re working towards making your business the rule and not the exception. Approach your business goals with this mindset in order to make your goals become realities.?

My Monthly Tip

Set up a solid foundation to be successful. If you set your foundation on sinking sand, then certainly it will fail. But if you set your foundation on a firm rock, certainly it can withstand the hands of time.?

You can do this mainly by building the right team - be very selective, hire people who see your vision and actually want your business to become successful.

My Monthly Take

Customer experience must be embedded into company culture. Customer experience isn't just something a company "must give attention to" but something businesses should embed in their culture. Those that embrace this truly stand out and it shows in everything they do.?

I recently had car trouble when I was on a family vacation. I took my Ram 3500 in to Dick Myers Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Harrisonburg, VA. They took my car in on a Monday during a tough situation and handled it like true professionals. Not only did they fix my transmission, but they also provided a great workspace for me while I waited and a spare car to ensure my week wasn’t ruined—all during the week of July 4th!?

It was truly outstanding service, which really helped enhance my experience as a customer. Now, the only thing left is for them to get Magazine Jukebox in the facility and it would’ve been perfect! ??

What’s Next??

Keep an eye out for next month’s newsletter to discover more about my experience with Magazine Jukebox , along with new entrepreneurial tips and takes. I hope you found this newsletter to be valuable and entertaining.?

Please subscribe and share my newsletter if you enjoyed it. Also, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn or comment below with any feedback - tell me what you liked, what you didn’t like, and what you’d like to see more of.?

Recent updates to share:?

• MJB Podcast is back! ?? Discover our newest episodes and sign up to be a guest here: https://magazinejukebox.com/podcast
• Magazine Jukebox has been invited to pitch at the New York Venture Summit hosted by youngStartup Ventures September 4th-5th! ?? So excited for this opportunity.

By the way, we also prepare a monthly newsletter for Magazine Jukebox. Feel free to subscribe to the Magazine Jukebox newsletter if you’re interested!

Thanks for reading!?

Interested in investing in Magazine Jukebox? Feel free to email me at [email protected] .

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