🍺Wage wars, weight loss, and what are you vetoing?
Plus, a FREE trial of your new favorite telcom service, Telzio.
The Weekly from The Liquid Lunch Project, Issue No 112 | April 5, 2024
This Day in History: George Washington flexes his veto muscles for the first time, shutting down a bill that would have given northern states more House seats. Talk about some southern (dis)comfort. But this got us thinking, if you could get ol' Joe to presidentially veto something, what would it be?
Wanna see something else bite the dust? Let us know.
ON TAP THIS WEEK
🤖 How Small Businesses can Unleash AI to Take on the Big Dogs.
💰 Wage Wars on the West Coast are Heating Up.
☎️ It’s Time to Ditch the 1980s Tech: Why Telzio gets our vote.
🖥️ From Typewriters to TikTok: Job evolution explained.
🛒 Amazon's 'Just Walk Out' Tech Takes a Hike. What’s replacing it?
🍫 A “Sweet” Look at Inflation? Check out this week’s Money Minute.
🌐 And from Around the Web: Sin City Waves 👋🏼 Goodbye, Costco Joins Weight-Loss 🏋🏼 Race, and Parisian Waiters 🥐 Sprint for Olympic Gold (sorta).
THE CLASSROOM
8 Easy Ways Small Businesses Can Embrace AI in Their Daily Operations
by Luigi Rosabianca
In today's fast-paced business landscape, small businesses need every tool in their arsenal to stay competitive. Enter artificial intelligence (AI)—a game-changer no longer reserved for tech giants. In this post, we'll explore practical ways small businesses can leverage AI to streamline operations and drive growth.
HEARD ON THE STREET
💸 Minimum wage = Maximum Pain
A contentious law that raised the minimum wage for most fast-food workers in California to $20/ hour took effect this week. Both sides are entrenched in their opinionated corners.
In the far corner… the law will raise the living standards of hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers, many of whom are Black and Latino, ala Robin Hood.
And their opponent …argue it will lead to higher prices for consumers, job losses, and small business closures. McDonald's, Chipotle, and Jack in the Box are among the chains that have already said they'll have to raise menu prices because of the added labor costs.
Tale of the Tape: The law applies to fast-food companies with at least 60 locations nationwide but excludes smaller fast-food operations in grocery stores and other venues. Proponents claim the pay hike is a necessary make-good for exploited employees who weren't sufficiently compensated while America fed during the pandemic. Democratic Gub'na Gavin Newsom has also pushed back on the idea that fast-food workers are primarily teenagers looking for extra cash, saying that many adults rely on these jobs to support their families. As of '21, the typical US fast-food worker is 26.4 years old and female. Critics of the law allege restaurant owners will be burdened with hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra labor costs per year, which cannot be absorbed without hiking prices for customers + cutting jobs + slashing employee hours. The job cuts are already here. A large Pizza Hut franchisee in California is laying off more than 1K delivery drivers this year, citing the minimum wage increase.
Ding, Ding, Ding - This is what is going to unfold: automated food preparation tasks will be delegated to robots + large food businesses will trim down to 59 or fewer stores + restaurants will ramp up their client interface automation efforts by replacing humans with kiosks for taking orders.
These abstract solutions are always proposed by clueless legislators. Our solution? Take all newly elected officials and have them run a business for 3 months and work in a soup kitchen for another 3 months. Only after they've experienced the challenges of entrepreneurship in this Great Nation can they take office. If they refuse (or drive that business to the ground), we can replace them with AI!
📲 Small Business, Phone Home!
Stop using 1980 technology to run your 2024 business! Telzio provides communication systems that are easy-to-use, all-in-one solutions for small businesses. Created by Peter Schroeder (former DJ turned telcom disrupter—click here to 🎧 listen to our conversation with him on this week's Liquid Lunch Project Podcast), it's putting "The Big Guys" to shame.
The highlights?
Easily manage calls and text messages from anywhere using their feature-rich apps.
Get full inbound and outbound calling capabilities from any device.
Set up is a breeze (under 5 minutes), and the interface gives you complete control, so you don't need to wait on hold for hours to make changes to your phone system.
Create professional greetings and manage callers with auto-attendants easily using intuitive text-to-speech tools.
Filter inbound calls by business hours, menu options, and updated announcements.
Save time with voicemail to email transcriptions.
Manage your business phone system from anywhere in the world using the Telzio Mobile App, Web phone, and Dashboard.
And the best part? With Telzio's pricing model, you only pay for what you use, not the number of users. 🙌🏼 (Which helps you save money AND scale your business.) Plus, their dedicated team of specialists provides great customer service and fast response times.
➡️➡️ The other best part? (Yes, there are two.) Weekly subscribers can try it out for one week FOR FREE. Use the link below to snag this deal.
🛟 Swim Forward or Sink
About six out of 10 jobs people are doing at present didn’t exist in 1940. According to a new analysis of US census data from 1940 to 2018 led by an MIT economist, many of those jobs were created by new technologies, while others came from changing consumer needs.
The census data reveals a notable divide in recent new-job creation: During the first 40 years of the 1940-2018 period, many new jobs were middle-class manufacturing and clerical jobs, but in the last 40 years, new job creation often involves either highly paid professional work or lower-wage service work.
Technology improves, tastes change, and demographics evolve. No one was doing a lot of the things that we do today at that point. Most contemporary jobs require expertise that didn’t exist back then and was not relevant at that time. So what? Get good at what you do because technology is in place to do it more efficiently, and you will avoid being modern-day versions of Kodak, Blackberry, and Blockbuster. Keep learning, keep moving, keep improving.
🛒 The Cashierless Disappearing Act X2
Amazon abandoned its cashierless "Just Walk Out" technology at its grocery stores, retreating from the ambitious idea of letting shoppers skip the line. Instead, it plans to rely more heavily on Dash Cart (aka, a "smart cart" that uses sensors to track items customers put in their carts). Why?
This technology, first introduced in 2018 with the opening of a convenience store in the lobby of Amazon's Seattle headquarters, made its way into dozens of Amazon Go branded convenience stores and a pair of Whole Foods Market locations. However, it also alienated some shoppers, who were put off by entry gates or the feeling that Amazon had turned a visit to the grocery store into a high-tech vending machine. (Fair points.) Additionally, receipts arrived digitally a few minutes to hours after a shopper checked out, which wasn't practical for big shops. Oh, and the company also tip-toed around the fact shrewd shoppers found ways to bypass cameras, thereby increasing 'shrinkage' at all these stores. Ahem - no one saw this coming!
THE MONEY MINUTE WITH MRM
Adjusting Business Prices for Inflation
with Matthew R. Meehan
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, inflation's been crashing small businesses' party for a while now. Take it from Harlem Chocolate Factory – they've been grappling with rising costs like it's an Olympic sport, from dairy shortages during Covid to packaging price hikes. But they didn't just sit around crying over spilled chocolate. 🍫 They dove into their accounting, axed unprofitable treats (RIP turtles), and even dared to tweak prices on gift packaging and events. Keep reading to learn how this small business found sweet ways to stay in the game despite every financial twist and turn.
AROUND THE WEB
Viva Lost Vegas: In a tearful farewell, the Tropicana Las Vegas, once a playground for the Rat Pack, closed its doors after 67 glamorous years. From mob ties to iconic shows, its journey mirrored Sin City's evolution, now making way for a baseball stadium – because what's more Vegas than swapping a casino for a ballpark? 🤔
Anti-Bulk Bulk Store? Costco's latest offer has shoppers buzzing: weight-loss programs and prescription drugs straight from their bulk-buy haven. For $179, members can get expert advice and snag some meds. And with Amazon and Walmart diving into healthcare, it seems like the battle for your waistline and your wallet is heating up in the aisles. 🤑
Pâtisserie Pursuit: Parisian waiters kicked into high gear, sprinting through the streets with trays held high in a century-old race to prove their lightning-fast service skills. Dodging croissant 🥐 crumbs and wobbly coffee ☕ cups, they rushed toward the finish line, vying for medals and a fancy hotel stay. Who knew French café culture could be this competitive and caffeinated? Think it'll make it into the 2024 Olympics?
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