My Solution to BP Station Owners’ Declining Revenue and Boycott
Jul 2nd
I have been following the BP disaster in the Gulf quite closely and have been especially observant regarding the business and economic ramifications of the event and I feel I have a solution to the revenue problem being realized by station owners. I will be the first to say that a boycott against BP branded gas stations is a childish solution to the problem at hand. The minimum wage employees of BP gas stations all across the country are being harassed verbally and physically threatened because of their affiliation with the oil giant. These stations are typically owned locally or regionally and the only connection they have to BP is the gas in their underground tanks.
While I am on the subject of boycotting BP, it should be realized that as one of the world’s largest producers of crude oil, they supply the raw materials for making plastics, food preservatives, dyes, carpet, DVD’s and more. So, just because you boycott a BP branded gas station, doesn’t mean you aren’t consuming a product utilizing their crude oil.
BP recently announced a rebate program to compensate its distributors 1-2 cents per gallon of fuel purchased going back to the date of the rig explosion. This compensation is meant to alleviate the sales declines suffered by these distributors from the nationwide BP boycotts. But the question remains, will this money trickle down to the station owners and/or consumers? I think not.
Gas station owners derive a good portion of their revenue and virtually all profit from the sale of items inside their stores and make little to no markup on the gasoline. Many BP station owners are reporting revenue declines of 10-40% because people who would ordinarily fill up (and grab a coffee or snack inside) are patronizing alternate gas stations. The solution that BP should be attempting is getting people back into the stores to purchase those convenience items that the station owners depend on to stay in business.
My solution: BP needs to begin a loyalty/rewards program for consumers that offers a rebate on every gallon of fuel purchased. This way the discount is not reflected on the price advertised at the street corner so that competitors will not just match the discount. BP could require you to signup for an account and give a membership card that will then entitle you to a 3 to 5 cent per gallon discount on fuel. This discount could be given directly at the pump in the form of a lower price after swiping your membership card, or in the form of a reward sent to you in the mail after you reach a certain rebate threshold.
By offering an incentive such as this, BP stations would see a dramatic rise in business not only at the pump but inside their convenience stores as well. In desperate economic times such as this, many people will choose a BP station to save a nickel per gallon despite what’s going on in the Gulf. This would also go a long way in repairing the PR nightmare that BP has been experiencing over the last couple months. The cost to BP would be minimal considering the larger positive impact it will have on their stations’ business, thus increasing BP’s overall franchise royalty revenue.
New Hosting and Blog Design
Jul 2nd
It has been quite a long time since I posted here and to celebrate I have changed up the theme to something more fun. I have also moved to a new webhost, iPage. After much searching and deliberation it was clear that iPage offered a terrific value at only $3.50 per month compared to the $10 I was paying previously with another host. The service I have received has been terrific and the control panel and features are quite impressive as well. I highly recommend checking them out. And for those affiliate marketers out there, iPage pays $115 per referral!
I have some new content on the way and a couple web projects in the works that have been taking up a lot of my time. I will explain them in more detail at a later date.
If you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. – Conan O'Brien
Jan 23rd
Conan O’Brien just finished his last episode of The Tonight Show. I have not been a long-time fan or follower of O’Brien, but the recent controversy surrounding NBC’s decision to shake up the late night line up had me tuning into his show regularly for the past couple of weeks. I grew to enjoy his show and comedic delivery and felt the final episode tonight was the best one since I started watching.
The title of this post “If you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.” is one of the final things Conan O’Brien said at the end of his final Tonight Show episode and really struck a chord with me. During the episode, O’Brien had Tom Hanks on the show and they reminisced about the old days when he was a young red head kid trying to impress an accomplished actor with his raw comedic talent. O’Brien expressed his hatred of cynicism and encouraged the young viewers to be kind and work hard to get what they want in life.
I’m feeling extremely motivated and inspired by his words tonight and will be keenly following his career and working really hard on my own future, and being kind along the way.
Are We Really Out of the Recession?
Dec 22nd
Economic indicators are pointing to a recovery, but I’m not so sure many working-class Americans would agree. With official unemployment in my home state of Michigan at 15% and the realistic number in the 20′s, I don’t see an economic recovery anytime soon, especially in Michigan.
Home sales are up, economic growth is up, jobs are still being lost (albeit at a slower pace) and more Americans saving rather than spending is what will keep the downturn/recession stretching into 2010. Much of the increase in home sales could be attributed to the government stimulus expiring and buyers rushing to make their purchase to claim the $8,000 tax credit. Employers continue to belt tighten in anticipation of further economic difficulty and in turn are essentially compounding the problem by supressing payroll numbers to save costs.
In 2009 I earned most of my income working in another state because of the lack of jobs in my own. At the same time I have seen my college tuition rise at unprecendented rates making it increasingly difficult to gain the degree needed to work in my desired profession. At what point does it not make economic sense for me to invest in a college degree? That point is fast approaching.
Get 25% Off at GoDaddy
Dec 10th
I received a renewal notice from GoDaddy today and decided I should get it taken care of and also discovered a 25% off coupon code for purchases over $100. I decided to go ahead and renew ShaunCarter.com for 9 years using that coupon code and was able to bring the per year cost of the domain down to around $6 by renewing a couple other domains to bring the order total to $100 – not a bad deal.
BTPS255 – 25% OFF $100 purchase at GoDaddy.com
Tiger Woods Saga Better For News Outlets Than Michael Jackson's Death
Dec 8th
I don’t really care about Tiger Woods’ personal life and think what he does is his own business. But apparently the hoopla surrounding the unfolding “transgressions” has proven extremely lucrative for news agencies, specifically Yahoo and The Wall Street Journal according to The Huffington Post. They claim that web traffic is exceeding what was experienced after Michael Jackson’s death.
While Yahoo and WSJ were the only ones to publicly say that the web traffic generated by Tiger will substantially increase ad revenue for the quarter, it will undoubtedly help out many other online news agencies as well such as, MSN.com, CNN.com, Google.com and others. Could this create a “Tiger Effect” that could boost results for these companies in the fourth quarter of 2009? I think it just might and if so this could be a good time to enter into long positions in these companies as the market has taken a bit of a beating the last few sessions and pricing is a bit more attractive.
On a side note, Tiger lost his first endorsement – although Gatorade claims it was already planning to phase out the product, their timing is quite a coincidence.
Repaid TARP Funds Being Hijacked
Dec 7th
I think it’s appalling that the Obama administration is trying to find a way around provisions in the TARP legislation to use the extra funds for job creation stimulus instead of for paying down the deficit as was originally agreed and laid out in the law.
The government recently announced that the losses incurred by TARP will be $200 Billion less than was originally projected. Any monies left over from TARP are to be used to pay down the spiraling federal deficit. I am in 100% agreement that this “extra” $200 Billion be put toward retiring some of the debts incurred by TARP, but now Obama is trying to find a loophole to use it for more stimulus spending.
I have long been a proponent of paying down the national deficit because, quite frankly, it makes good financial sense. In the long run, reducing and eliminating the federal deficit would allow LOWER tax rates AND increased government spending because of the savings on interest payments. In 2008, 18% of all incoming taxes to the federal government went toward interest payments on the national debt. This percentage is artificially low because of historically low interest rates and will climb significantly higher in the future as rates increase.
That 18% is $454 Billion… imagine what we could do with all that extra money lying around. Lower taxes, better schools, and much, much more.
Verizon vs. AT&T Wireless Television Ads
Dec 6th
I’m getting a little tired of the back and forth jousting and taunts between Verizon Wireless and AT&T over their respective cell phone coverage. For the sake of full-disclosure I am a Verizon customer via the Alltel merger.
The problem I have with these attack ads is not their frequency, it’s the claims and comparisons that are being made and disputed by the companies. AT&T set off a furor and sued Verizon when the first of the 3G coverage ads were launched. The claim was that consumers would interpret AT&T’s lack of 3G coverage as meaning there was no cell coverage in those zones. Unless the consumer is stupid (a likely possibility), then those assertions are ridiculous.
AT&T’s response to this Verizon ad compares the two services and is even more misleading than the original Verizon ads! AT&T claims to have the fastest 3G coverage – ok that’s possible but the coverage is severely limited to major urban areas as accurately conveyed in Verizon’s ad. Another claim is access to over 100,000 apps – yeah that’s great but only if you have the iPhone! The two Samsung models they peddle in the ad can’t run most of those apps! The ad also claims the ability to talk and use apps at the same time, again that is only possible with the iPhone.
The injunction sought by AT&T was denied, so they keep churning out more ads peddling the capabilities and features possible with an iPhone (without specifying that face) and then trying to sell a different type of smart phone in the end. A smart phone that doesn’t have the crippling revenue share agreement that AT&T is locked into with Apple for every iPhone activated.
This is causing me to really hate AT&T for making the assumption that I’m stupid and will buy into their marketing bullshit. While I may have been looking to find a new carrier at the end of my contract term that is approaching, I don’t think AT&T will be one of my choices.
I have an iPod Touch and love the interface, but can’t seem to get used to texting via a touch screen so I use a Blackberry Pearl. I have a love/hate relationship with my Blackberry, but that’s another story. The Droid, by Motorola, is definitely on my radar screen for my next smart phone purchase because of the combination of a touch screen and the world’s slimmest slide out QWERTY keyboard.
Government Needs to Get Out of Executive Compensation
Oct 22nd
I think it’s indicative of the state of the nation’s intelligence when the general consensus among the public is that the government should be determining pay rates for executives of publicly traded companies. I wrote about this topic before with regards to the AIG bonuses and am further outraged by the current Administration’s intent to slash bank executive pay just to please shareholders.
Bush’s previous administration is just as guilty, if not more-so, than the banks themselves. Bush would speak ad naseum about how home ownership is a right for every U.S. citizen and he made it his mission to put everyone in a home, pressuring banks to loosen lending standards amidst skyrocketing home prices – which were caused by increased demand. For an MBA from Harvard, the former President had a lackluster knowledge of the damaging effects his policies would have on the economy.
This financial mess we find ourselves in today was created by government policy and is trying to be blamed on the banks themselves. Now, government policy is again causing problems by determining executive pay simply to please the public. Executive pay is high, but it is high for a reason. The job is tough, there is a lot of competition for talent and quite frankly those that lead multi-billion dollar companies should be paid as such. The thing more people need to do is put themselves in other people’s shoes before judging them.
What if the government decided that a fair wage for the work you do is half what you are getting paid now? You’d be outraged right? Mad that the government is taking away your money? Exactly.
Increased Pell Grants and Lower Higher Education Borrowing Costs
Sep 17th
I am happy to see the US House of Representatives passed a bill that will increase Pell Grant funding and lower stafford loan borrowing costs for those of us that are continuing our education at the college level.
The bill will eliminate government subsidies to banks issuing Stafford Loans and will now make those loans funded directly by the government. While I don’t ordinarily like the government getting involved in private enterprise, I feel this move is needed. These banks have tremendous leverage and power over students by making Billions in profits on loans that are guaranteed to be repaid, and are even protected from bankruptcy discharge. These are the same banks that have received Billions in government bailout money because even with their massive student loan profits, they lost money on highly leveraged, risky investments. Companies like Citibank and Sallie Mae.
The cost of higher education is quickly reaching a point where many people are questioning whether the accumulation of debt is even worth the increased earning power a college degree may provide. I am in too deep to look back now and will have to finish my program in order to have something to show for my massive student loan debts.
I look forward to receiving a higher Pell Award next year and even greater savings on my Stafford Loans. I would love to see the government offer more incentives for student loan consolidation which I will be looking to take advantage of in a couple of years to make repayment easier and more cost effective.
