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A COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER FROM ANYTIME MAILBOX

BUSINESS TO-DO
How to Set Up a Virtual Address for Google My Business (Even Without a Physical Location)

Google My Business is essential for establishing your presence online.

You can set it up the right way (using either your virtual or physical address), and our blog walks you through the process step-by-step.

In addition, our blog shows you how to do the following: 

• Include your current phone number, website URL, and business hours.
  

• Add high-quality images of your products, complete with descriptions.
  

• When you see customer questions and reviews, respond with solutions or help.

Learn more about optimizing your Google My Business profile here.

Looking for visuals and charts, rather than words, to understand the daily news?

Bay Area Times is a visual-based newsletter on business and tech, with 250,000+ subscribers.

Click once to sign up for free.

VIRAL MUST-HAVES
Move Over Stanley Cups, TikTok Has A New Star

That’s right. TJ’s merch is totes sweeping the nation. 

Beanie Babies. Pokemon cards. Stanley cups. Even the classic “Tulip Mania'' that crashed Dutch markets in 1637. Studied in economics classes across the globe, these examples demonstrate the power of white hot speculative bubbles, and TJ’s bags are the latest:

• Trader Joe’s recently began selling versions of their classic canvas totes for $3-a-pop, and these cute, multi-colored bags caught fire on TikTok.
  

• The totes quickly sold out across most TJ’s locations, so tote-heads turned to Ebay where sellers are posting their inventory at a 400% markup – and they’re still selling.

Why it matters:

• Creating or predicting an economic bubble is the stuff of dreams. Does your company offer a product that could go viral with just the right creative and well-timed social?
  

• Or does your company offer a product that’s adjacent to a currently hot item? (for example, a company that produces mini-totes may want to run sales on their product to tap into Trader Joe’s fever and bag some tote sales for themselves).

Shopping for more info on TJs mini-tote craze? Check out this link (2-min. skim).

BUSINESS INSIGHT
The Smart Cookies Behind a Billion-Dollar Enterprise

It’s cookie season and the sales strategy is anything but cutter.

This year, Girl Scouts is shooting for a billion dollars in cookie sales. And if you’ve ever contemplated what goes into getting your frozen Thin Mint (you’re welcome) into your hands, here are some details:

• They Needed Dough - Annual dues don’t cover a troop’s expenses. To fund extracurricular activities (e.g. learning to ride horses or camping), 25-30% of cookie sales go directly back to the local troop. 

• No Half-Baked Forecasts - Troops must pay for every box of cookies they commit to sell. Careful sales projections ensure families don’t have to, uh, eat the profits.
  

• Recipe for Success - Selling 200 million boxes a year requires more than just setting up in front of the local market. From warehouse pickups to storage to inventory management and accounting, parents provide the operational horsepower.

Why it matters:

• The reality is parents agree to volunteer for their daughters, not for the organization. Is there a way you could implement a similar concept to inspire your customers or employees to be more enthusiastic and supportive? Ask yourself what’s most important in their lives. Put your focus there to inspire action and support.

To ‘Tagalong’ and learn more about the Girl Scout cookie biz, here’s the link (2-min. skim).

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