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🖐 Happy Wednesday!

Issue #49 is 731 words and a 3.0-minute read.

1 big topic: Stop Wasting Time with a Strategic Plan

Today’s strategic plan fails because it lacks the most important piece: strategy.

• Why it matters: Strategy is your first step in creating a product that offers a unique solution to a painful client issue.

The big picture: Instead of writing a futile strategic plan, work on two separate documents:

• a one-page strategy diagram AND
  

• a one-page plan

👇 Go deeper:

Your strategy diagram shows what you’ll build and the benefits it provides.

Your plan shows the money you’ll spend to put your strategy into motion.

Draw your strategy so it looks like this:

Create your plan to show the costs that support your strategy.

🗓 In September, test your strategy to see if you can add new benefits to solve a key client problem.

Update your plan to adjust the costs of working with the right people and the best tech to keep your strategy front and center.

🗓 In November, you’ll be ready to revise your strategy and plan for 2025.

💡 Here’s a way to check your strategy.

This week’s business story:

Chase Bank says, “You Can’t Pay That Way!”

Effective October 10th, JP Morgan Chase customers cannot use their credit cards to pay off “buy-now, pay-later” loans. ⁽¹⁾

Why now: A top federal consumer agency believes these loans are a form of credit, and they worry that payment delinquencies will increase if consumers use credit cards to pay off the loan. ⁽²⁾

Why it matters: If you let customers use these loans to buy your products, you could see a big drop in sales if your customers can’t use their Chase card to make the loan payments.

📊 By the numbers: Lending Tree, an online marketplace for borrowers, says that nearly 40% of Americans hope to use a ‘buy-now, pay-later’ loan in the next six months. ⁽³⁾

Between the lines: It’s time to weigh the pros and cons of letting customers use a payment plan to pay for your products.

And it’s time for you to decide if payment plans make sense for your business purchases.

Zoom in: 

• Giving buyers the option to use installment loans can boost your sales
  

• Charging buyers more if they pay over time could paint your brand in a negative light
  

• Using the loans to purchase items for your business might cause a problem if you can’t make the payments on time or if you use a Chase card for each installment

The bottom line: Installment plans like buy-now, pay-later loans need your attention.

1 fun idea: Help a College Student Boost Their Business

When you become a business advisor for college kids, you bring real-world advice that helps them advance, and you see new ways to improve your own business.

Why it matters: As a business mentor, you hone your communication and problem-solving skills—two vital inputs that drive results.

Catch up quick: I like to wash and detail my car.

Unnecessary? Perhaps.

😀 Fun? Yes!!

I’m starting to chat with college students about how they can earn money for tuition with a mobile car wash and detailing business that goes to a customer’s home.

We hit on key topics: strategy, inventory, pricing, operations, marketing, and customer segments.

Some may go for it, and others may pass.

☑️ The goal is to energize students and help them launch a smart venture.

What’s next? Contact a local college and ask about their business mentor program.

You’ll find many ways to advise and help solopreneur students.

😀 The added bonus is that you’ll discover areas in your own business where you can advance.

Stay curious and keep opening doors.

-Erik

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Notes:

**I may earn a commission if you choose to explore or purchase any products from the Ghostwriting Academy advertisement in this issue.

⁽¹⁾ Ann Carrns, Chase to Bar Customers from Using Credit Cards for ‘Pay Later’ Loans, New York Times, July 26, 2024, last viewed July 28, 2024 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/26/your-money/chase-pay-later-loans-credit-cards.html

⁽²⁾ Ibid.

⁽³⁾ Matt Schulz, BNPL Tracker: 30% of Customers Considering Applying for Buy Now Pay Later Loan this Month, Lending Tree, July 15, 2024, last viewed, July 29, 2024, https://www.lendingtree.com/personal/buy-now-pay-later-loan-statistics/