What are you doing on Saturday April 28th? How about participating in what could become the largest Indoor Cycling fundraising event ever?
The people from the Wish Upon A Hero Foundation contacted me and asked if I would help promote their event.  Once I understood what they do and who they help (over 88,000 wishes granted so far) I couldn't say no 🙂
Social Helping Network
The vision of Wish Upon A Hero consist of using the power of the internet combined with the passion to help. This combinations allows the world to help more people, more efficiently. We call it the Social Helping Network. The Wish Upon A Hero Foundation utilizes this network to grant wishes in two ways.
First, we grant wishes posted on WishUponAHero.com. Posted wishes provides our team with the basic information about you and your need. The wish can easily be shared which will give it the exposure needed to be granted.
Second, our wish granting team finds people in need and post their wishes under the Wish Upon A Hero Foundation account. We do this for individuals who do not have internet access or the ability to post a wish on their own.
The potential to be connected to this incredible organization sounded exciting and I invited Dave Girgenti (founder of the Wish Upon A Hero Foundation) on the Indoor Cycle Instructor Podcast so he could explain what you need to do to participate April 28th.
Wish Upon A Hero understands how important it is to assist partner clubs and studios. They have marketing materials ready for you to use to promote the event to your participants.
You can listen to the Podcast below or click here to subscribe for free in iTunes and never miss a show.
As a followup to my original article; save money on your smart phone with savelovegive.com, I received a call from Anthony, a very nice representative at Verizon Wireless, in response to the email request sent on my behalf from savelovegive.com.
Anthony told me that he's been seeing and responding to a lot of similar savelovegive.com requests.
Dear John,
It was a pleasure speaking with you today. I am very glad that I was able to provide you with information regarding switching to the Share Everything plan. I was able to process your request to switch to the 4 GB plan and it will become effective on February 8, 2013. Also, if you are interested in making money on your old Verizon Wireless devices, you can go to www.verizonwireless.com/tradein and appraise your old phone to see how much you can receive from us for it. You will also have the option to donate your old device to HopeLine and help victims of domestic violence.
Thank you for being the best part of Verizon Wireless. Have a great day and I hope that you enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Sincerely,
Anthony
Verizon Wireless Customer Service
It turned out that we had a data plan that was larger than we needed or were using. The net result is that I'll save $8 a month. Not a lot but as I explained Amy keeps close watch on these things. It can't hurt for you to check your billing to confirm that you are spending the minimal amount for your wireless service. It could surprise you.
P.S. I did go back and donate the entire $102.00 to The Seven Bar Foundation. I'm confident that the will put it to better use than I will 🙂
Michael working hard during the Tour L'Etape on Mt. Baldy
Studio owner Michael Stadvec joins me to discuss his upcoming event – The Tour de Pier on the Manhattan Beach pier. You can hear more by listening to the Podcast below.
John and Jennifer,
Thanks for the opportunity to promote the Tour de Pier!
Several months ago a student and friend (they all become friends!), Jon Hirshberg, approached Fit On Studios with a goal of getting “hundred's of bikes” for a one-of-a-kind charity event here in Manhattan Beach on May 19th called the Tour de Pier ( www.tourdepier.com). Jon lost his father to pancreatic cancer over 15 years ago and he started the annual 5k/10k LA Cancer Challenge, which has helped the Hirshberg Foundation become the largest Pancreatic Cancer non-profit in the country. We immediately said “yes” and then quickly began wondering how the heck we were going to get “hundreds” of bikes (we have 40). Our first call was to our buddy, over at Studio Cycles, Jeff Wimmer. Jeff has supplied us all of our bikes and not only is he a master bike mechanic, he has a knack for filling his warehouse with new and used bikes that he ships all over the world. He quickly committed 100 and then we pressed and he upped it to 200 bikes! That gave us 240 and we pooled some resources and Spectrum Clubs committed to another 150 or more bikes from local clubs and the total has kept growing to over 400 bikes!
Personally, I love anything to do with cycling – indoors, outdoors, going around a track in circles, so that was an easy selling point, but what hits home is that during all of this, my mom was diagnosed with a stage 4 Glioblastoma brain tumor. We had not been strangers to the devastation of this disease as my wife's father has been battling liver cancer for over 6 years. My mom fought hard, but passed away earlier this year. The Tour de Pier has become even more personal for me and bringing awareness and money for research that is critical to beat this unforgiving disease.
All of the fundraising dollars will go directly to four worthy charities: Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer, Cancer Support Community of Redondo Beach, Livestrong and the Friendship Circle. We will also have a Kids Zone and a Health Expo with sponsors focused on promoting healthy living in kids and adults.
We have a quote on the wall in our studio that one of our favorite (ok, they are all favorites) students masterfully phrased that sums up not only what we strive for in our studio, but for this event and all others like it… “The Power of Shared Energy.” That is such a powerful statement, but even more powerful when put into practice. It is hard to describe to someone if they haven't experienced it first hand, but it is so true…it keeps us going when we want to quit, it fuels us when we are down, and it inspires us to give that energy back.
John,
Greetings from Korea… I would just like to let you know my current situation. At this time, I am not able to continue my membership with ICI/PRO due to financial reasons. As you may not remember, I am in the US Army over here in Korea and someone in the States (most likely Washington) decided that we were getting paid too much and cut the BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) and COLA (Cost of Living Allowance)… so, I lost over $500 this month, and have to pay for more out of pocket expenses. I would like to know if it is possible for you to keep me as a member and I pay at a later date? I will keep you informed of when and I will put some aside to make the payment. If this is not possible, please let me know.
Respectfully,
Tim [redacted]
SFC, US Army Korea
Yes Tim, I do remember you and how last year you requested that we host a conference in Taegu, Korea – Boston was a little too far for you to travel.
I don't know about you, but I feel very blessed by those who serve as Active Duty Military. It also brings me a lot of joy to know we have ICI/PRO members serving in Korea and the Middle East who are using our resources to keep their base personnel fit and ready for duty.
I'm also glad that I could help former Spinning MI Debbie Miller promote Sweat for a Vet – where 51 clubs, with hundreds of riders, will participate next Saturday 11/12 to raise money to help wounded warriors become fitness instructors.
I also feel very blessed by the support of the ICI/PRO community and felt compelled to do my part and give something back…
So I responded to Tim explaining that I had him covered and his subscription would continue. Not wanting to limit this to just Tim, I decided that new and renewing ICI/PRO members on active duty (any country) will qualify for a 6 month Gratis level membership = FREE 🙂
Please forward this information on to anyone you feel would qualify. If you are aware of any Military Fitness Instructor social media groups or email lists, I would appreciate you posting this information.
Last year I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Sadvec, co-owner of Fit On Indoor Cycling Studio located in Manhattan Beach, CA. Michael shared with us his plans for their upcoming Tour de Pier, which was a big success!
Tour de Pier is back again this year and Michael sent me a note asking for my help promoting the event. They're planning to raise a half million dollars to be distributed to the; Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research (pancreatic.org), The LiveSTRONG Foundation (livestrong.org) and Cancer Support Community (cancersupportredondobeach.org)
John,
I hope all is well!
Tour De Pier is right around the corner…Â May 18th! This year we should smash our $350.000 mark and are already at $256.000 with over a month to go. Goal is $500,000.00 (http://www.tourdepier.com/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1086425) Mad Dogg Athletics is donating all of the bikes this year and we should be close to 300 or more. Would love it if you could give us a shout out.
This year they are partnering with a SoulCycle studio located in Greenwich, CT – where I see they've already sold out all of their available bikes 🙂 There are still spots open for the Mahatten Beach event – more info here.
You can learn more about Tour de Pier and possibly pick up a few ideas you could apply to hosting a charity ride of your own, by listening to this podcast
As an Indoor Cycling studio owner or manager, you want your supplier relationships to be a WIN/WIN/WIN where your supplier wins…your customer wins…and you win.
Find the right retail supplier and you add value to the overall customer experience and to your bottom line.
On the flip side, choosing a supplier in haste can cost your studio time and money.
Poor decisions risk creating a false brand illusion, detract from your customer’s overall experience, are expensive lessons to learn.
A new Indoor Cycling studio owner or manager lacking in retail experience is left to rely on trial and error and the test of time to determine what retail products work or don’t work. Social media advice and google searches may help you determine what works in other studios … but there is no guarantee that what works for one will work for the next.
So, once you have narrowed down your chooses of suppliers, think about choosing a partner instead of a supplier. Stay focused on WHY you offer a specific retail product and consider the following…
1. CHOOSE A BRAND NOT A PRODUCT
The way you treat a product is different than how you treat a brand
A product is something. A brand stands for something
How you feel about a brand trickles down to your customer
Products come and go. A brand is here to stay …very similar to how one feels about a job vs. a career
2. KNOW THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE BRAND
Passion drives success
You're passionate about your small business so choose partners with passion …FUN Fact:smart business people surround themselves with like-minded people
3. CONSULT YOUR MISSION STATEMENT
Your mission statement is the foundation of every decision you make …if you don't have a mission statement GET ONE
4. CAN YOU WRITE A TESTIMONIAL?
A brand that parallels and magnifies your own brand is easy to write about
A brand for which words are hard to find…may need to be reconsidered and …go back to questions 1, 2, & 3
Think of your suppliers as partners and watch the WIN/WIN/WIN MAGIC unfold.
Here’s WHY…
A supplier who is also a partner amplifies brand awareness for both brands.
A supplier who is also a partner adds value to the overall customer experience.
A supplier who is also a partner makes you and your partner $$$.
A supplier who is also a partner … well … that’s KEEPING IT FUN for everyone!!!
YOUR CUSTOMER WINS. YOUR SUPPLIER WINS. YOU WIN.
EVERYONE WINS.
Additional FUN Fact:
The article … WIN/WIN/WIN, was inspired by a testimonial I wrote for Violet Love Headbands.  While writing the testimonial, it dawned on me that the reason Violet Love Headbands are so successful at our studio is because of the partnership that I share with the founder/owner, Rebecca Michaels.  It's not the product that's amazing, it's the people behind the product.         KC
Rebecca and Karen share a business philosophy of #keepingitfun
Email info@totalstockroom.com to inquire about wholesale pricing on Violet Love Headbands and product.           Violet Love by Rebecca Michaels
