Insights With Trent Munday

Not every trend, a market makes. So said Rodger Berman. I think it's an important perspective to keep in mind, especially in these crazy times we are living in today. Lots of us are looking to reinvent ourselves. Trying to find a way to evolve our businesses. In that search, we can sometimes read too much into trends and convince ourselves of a market opportunity that really isn't there. Or at best, it could be a short lived opportunity. The current trend towards bespoke face masks comes to mind. No doubt there is a market for such face masks today. But I think we're all hoping it will be short lived and that some day soon we won't have to wear them. So just tread careful. Not every tend, a market makes. BTW - If you do want to get hold of those cool face masks I mentioned from Raad Ghantous - here's the link - https://bit.ly/2BfPQrC #facemasks #marketopportunity #trends

We all have our own, unique lines in the sand. In fact, whether we're aware of it or not, we've all drawn these lines for just about every aspect of our lives. Of course, there are certain community rules and social norms that set the parameters, but the exact location of each line is for each of us, alone, to draw. But it's worth remembering, that just as sand tends to move, it's ok if your line moves a little sometimes too. The world in which we live is constantly changing, so it makes sense to recalibrate and reassess our lines in the sand from time to time. #lineinthesand #limits #life

There will always be those who seek to advantage of a crisis situation. I've heard several stories of business owners of accommodation, villa rentals, AirBnB, etc who have been had customers and clients request obscenely large discounts. Just because they can. They believe that they have all the leverage and can make demands that are in essence opportunistic, mercenary and even predatory in nature. It's not fair. It's not right. But it is, I fear, part of our New Normal. So as businesses, we need to get our head around how we want to deal with it. What are your limits? How will you respond to these crazy requests? How will you educate your staff to cope with them? Eventually, I believe the market will make the correction and even things out. But for now, it may well be part of your New Normal.  So get ready. #negotiations #tactics #pricing #newnormal

The way we respond to pandemics and crises in the future will be informed by what we're doing now. What can we learn about how better to prepare our business. If, When and How your business is permitted to open in the wake of this global pandemic will no doubt be determined by your local, state and federal governments and regulatory bodies. As we're seeing, the type of licence you have for your business is one of the key considerations. In Malaysia, Spas can not open yet, but Beauty Salons can.  Some Spas have only a Spa License. Some have a Spa License and a Beauty License. Those Spas with a Beauty License are permitted to open to provide beauty services only. For many businesses, being open to open a few weeks earlier may be the difference between survival and bankruptcy. So, whatever your business, consider what different types of business licences you could have for your business. When the next wave or the next crisis hits, it may just give you some more options for survival. #businesslicense #c

If you're in the business of selling your time and expertise then you generally look at revenue opportunities through the lens of your Hourly/Daily Rate. That makes perfect sense...if you're busy. But if you're not...it's pretty irrelevant. Trust me. I know. I'm currently narrating an audiobook, for which I'm getting paid $100 per Finished Hour Of Audio.  Sounds like good money, right? $100 per hour. What if I told you it takes me 4 hrs to create 1 hour of Finished Audio? Now, my effective hourly rate is just $25 per hour. I was getting more than that working as a casual bellman in a hotel 30 years ago. So if I was busy doing other stuff, this hourly rate isn't a good time/money trade off. However, if I was just going to be sitting on the couch anyway, this hourly rate is a great deal. #timeismoney #hourlyrate #valueyourself

My wife bought some Aesop hand wash on the weekend. I love it! Her experience in-store started me thinking that this is a unique moment in time for Aesop...and any other brands selling high quality soaps. We're all now obsessed with washing our hands, often with pretty average soap products, or even worse, those horrible hand sanitisers. So, how about the Aesop Hand Wash Membership Card? You pay $50 for your membership and that entitles you to come into any Aesop store, any time you like, to wash your hands. If for no other reason, it lets wash off the smell of those hand sanitisers! Who wants one? PS: Hats off to Aesop too. Awesome product. Cool stores! #soap #skincare #brandingtip

The Democratisation of Wellness is all about making Wellness accessible to all. Wellness should not be something exclusively for Elite and the Wealthy. Thus far, it's something we've largely failed to deliver. What if we created a not for profit Global Wellness Certification? Any business in the World of Wellness, from Spas to Hotels to Product & Supply Companies pay a fee to receive this new Global Wellness Certification. The profits generated from the certification revenues are then dedicated to providing Wellness products, services and solutions for those who could not otherwise afford them. What do you think? Would this work? #wellness #democratization #certification

There's a lot of business advices that suggests when building a new product, you should first ask your customers what they want. But Jason Fried says it's better to build the first version for yourself. Then you can seek customer feedback to hone, tweak and improve your product. Personally, I think I prefer Jason's approach. Asking customers what they want can get messy. Also, they don't know what they don't know.  By seeking out customer opinion as your first source of direction, you might be missing a massive upside that you see, but they do not. #productdesign #marketing #customerfeedback

The more people you have involved, the less likely you are to get any one of them to take action. It seems counterintuitive. That is the phenomenon of the Diffusion of Responsibility. If there are other people involved, why do I need to take action? Why didn't they? When it comes to decision making in your organisation, the concept of the Diffusion of Responsibility is one which you really need to understand, if you want to get stuff done. #responsibility #accountability #decisionnmaking

Yesterday Twitter launched Voice Tweets - and I have access. It works just like you'd imagine...compose a tweet, click the Voice icon, record your message. Voice Tweets are limited to 2 minutes 20 seconds, but if you run over that time, it just splits your Voice Tweets into a Thread. Voice Guru, Brian Roemmele, has suggested this may be the start of a new micro-podcasting platform. Maybe. Who knows? Regardless, it certainly opens up some interesting opportunities for storytelling on Twitter. You can read more about Voice Tweets here - https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/product/2020/your-tweet-your-voice.html #voicetweets #voicefirst #voicetech

Just a few short weeks ago, I had all the time in the world. I was on LOCKDOWN. The one thing I was allowed to do, go to the supermarket, had become annoyingly cumbersome time consuming due to the new COVID-Safe SOPs. But it didn't matter. I had time. Today, the supermarket and any shopping experience for that matter is still annoyingly time consuming.  But now it does matter. I don't have all the time in the world anymore. As your business starts to reopen, remember that your customers will soon resume to their normal programming - ie: time starved (or so they think). You will need to implement new SOPs that will take more time. So start thinking about what else in your product or service offering or process can help your customers save time. Pre-COVID-19, Time was a big deal. Post-COVID-19, it will be again. #time #postcovid19 #reopening

As many countries around the world look to restart their economies and reopen businesses, we all want to know when our specific industry and business will get the green light. In recent weeks, many in the Spa Industry around the world have been asking me, 'When will Spas be able to reopen?' Sadly, I think Spas will be one of the last industries to reopen in many countries. We simple are not seen as an essential enough industry AND we are high contact...which means we are high risk in terms of this specific virus. As Adam Chatterley, Chair of the UK Spa Association said recently, 'Hope for the best, but plan for the worst'. #spas #reopening #postcovid19

If your primary business is selling services or experiences, you really should make sure you also sell a physical product too. Use your existing expertise, experience and networks to source products that your existing customers would buy. If business is good, it's an additional revenue stream. If your services or experience business is bad - like it probably has been lately during this global pandemic - the revenue from your product sales may just be the difference between survival...or not. #products #revenuestreams #businessstrategies

A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy is an 'individual's expectations about another person or entity eventually result in the other person or entity acting in ways that confirm the expectations.'   That's what's happening with Wellness in Hotel Spas.   I don't believe that the push towards Wellness in Hotel Spas is necessarily demand-led.   But I do believe that hotels are, once again, looking for Spas to bring them the shiny new thing.   That shiny new thing at this time is Wellness.   I do not believe that this will be the right, long-term strategy for all Spas - or indeed most Spas.   At the high end? Sure. But for the vast majority, I don't think so.   I've spoken and written about this extensively before.   In fact, I have a few FREE eBooks on my site that you can take a look at if you want to dive in a bit deeper.   Here's the link to the eBooks - http://bit.ly/2n6HOHo   #wellness #hotels #spas

When the Russian chemist Dimitry Mendeleev created the Periodic Table back in 1869, he knew it wasn't complete. He knew there were some elements missing, but he just didn't know exactly what they were yet. So rather than hold off on publishing what he had until it was complete, he put it out as it was and left some blank spaces in his table for others to fill in over time. In business, especially at a time like right now, you should do the same. Don't wait until you have all the pieces. Put out what you have now and then work hard on filling in the rest of the pieces as you go along. PS: Thanks to Seth Godin for the inspiration for today's episode. #lessonslearned #business #dontwait

Time is an Equal Opportunity employer. So said American author & motivational speaker Denis Waitley. It's something we sometimes tend to forget. So often, the excuse we use for why we aren't able to get something done, do achieve something special is that we just don't have enough time. But if you have the same minutes in a day as the next guy - and you do - then it's just a matter of choice about what you spend your time on. The next time you find yourself about use lack of time as an excuse, just remember that we all get the same amount of minutes in a day. PS: Thanks Lucky for the inspiration! #time #noexcuses #motivationalquotes

In the wake of the death of George Floyd and the subsequent global protests we've been hearing this word a lot. Minority. George Floyd was black. He was a minority. I understand that technically that he way well have been from a socio-demographic group that has less total numbers than some other such groups. So yes, in that sense, he was in the minority. But I feel that the term 'Minority' instantly suggest that this group is less than the other group. The term, to me, carries with it negative connotations. I don't think that is helping the cause. #minorities #discrimination #racialequality

A lot of people right now are feeling like life just isn't fair. Understandable too. Many have lost their jobs and some are literally forced to beg, borrow and steal just to survive. However, life has never really been fair. It's just that so many of us have simply been so lucky, so privileged for so long that this current situation is unfair - to us. But for many others, this has been their reality for a long time. Also, by writing off your situation as life just not being fair, it also absolves you of any responsibility for taking action to remedy the situation. #fairness #equitable #luck  

From Crisis Comes Opportunity. And this current COVID-19 Crisis may well lead to a boom time for Spa Management Companies. Many hotels have been forced to lay off most, if not all, of their staff, including the Spa Team. As they start to re-open, hotels will be looking to cut costs and reduce their risks wherever they can. One area of exposure for hotels in the payroll of the Spa Team. So, why not outsource the management to the spa to a Spa Management Company in return for a revenue share or profit share? It reduces the risk/exposure on the payroll yet ensures the hotel can still offer the Spa to their guests. If you're a Spa Consultant or a Spa Manager who's been laid off, there could be an opportunity there for you, if you're willing to grab it. #hotels #spas #opportunityawaits

'Just-In-Time' is an inventory management technique which, as the name suggests, is based on carrying a minimum amount of inventory or stock. Rather than carrying lots of stock, you schedule the stock to arrive Just In Time to meet the market demand. It makes perfect sense from a cash flow perspective. But during the COVID-19 crisis, with global supply chains shit down, those relying on Just In Time were suddenly exposed. Or were they? Maybe Just In Time actually saved them at this time, as they weren't carry lots of stock which they couldn't sell. So, what does the future hold for an inventory strategy like this? Have a listen... #justintime #inventorymanagement #cashflowmanagement