Helping those with Reading Difficulty

April 10, 2014 by Raul Colon

For the past few months the Limonade team has been working with Donna and Kate from The Reading Network, a new startup which is focused on helping kids with reading difficulties.

This is the first official global client for Limonade thanks to the help of our Strategic Business Partner Chris Brogan ,who referred Donna so we could help her initially with Digital Marketing and the business processes that tie into new digital tools.

Donna has an awesome story and vast experience in education but most importantly she wants to find new ways to help kids with learning differences in the subject of Reading and Dyslexia.

Launch of the Website

Donna launched the new website a few weeks ago and as everyone who has a business website, we are looking to connect The Reading Network with those that need online tutoring for kids or even themselves to improve their reading .

Do you know Anyone that Might Benefit from these Services?

Having difficulties is nothing to be ashamed of and we need to embrace how we learn differently from others.

We would appreciate if you could share with your contacts, on Twitter or Facebook , how The Reading Network can be of help and work One-to-One with your child.

If you have anyone specifically you want to send this to, send a private email about how their services will help.

What projects are you working on?

Igniting a Revolution – Mueblerias Berrios Listens

March 1, 2014 by Raul Colon

This is the sixth post of my Igniting a Revolution Series.

On rare occasions I get to express my frustrations online. Now days I do it less as I work on subtracting occasions where I spend time on negatively charged events in my life.

When I am in a negative situation I first look into how I can make it a positive. Working backwards on how I use to work as an IT Security consultant. I was paid to look at what the client would say was a perfect environment and identify faults in hopes of safekeeping their ASSets.

Making the Difference Locally

I am always on the look out for awesome individuals that enhance the customer experience. From the sharp valet parking attendant to the bar owner who seemed obsessed of having each spot in his bar ready for patrons.

After my negative experience with Sears I went ahead and emailed two companies asking them if they could guarantee I would not have a similar experience.

Answering Faster is not Better

One of them responded within minutes and clearly did not read my request demonstrating that they rather answer quickly than respond a question.

Taking the time to Nurture a New Relationship

The second email was from Abner Muñiz from Mueblerias Berrios. Abner responded after a few hours with an invitation to their VIP Event. Not only would I have the opportunity to get what I needed but I even had the chance to win a few prizes, while there were drinks, cocktails, and food being served.

Since I am getting ready for my SXSW Interactive trip, my time is a bit limited but Abner took the time and went the extra mile to send me an invite after reading my blog post on my experience with Sears that I gladly made time for the event into my schedule.

Great Way to Build Community Amongst your Customers

I arrived at the event after having dinner at my new favorite Asian Bistro and I had someone park my car for me while I walked into the Mueblerias Berrios Showroom.

I walked with my family and we were greeted. Two raffle tickets were handed to me and Lucy which gave us a chance at the over 40 prizes they were giving out. I was then approached by one of their sales personnel and was shown a mattress that fit my needs and budget

It was a relief to hear they include delivery in the price and I could have it the next business day at my house.

Searching for Daniela’s Bed

After that Lucy and I walked around searching for a bed for Daniela. She tested a few beds while another Berrios team member was nice enough to give us the features of the beds and pricing. Once again delivery is free and assembly of the bed is around $20 dollars which I think is at an attractive price point for a hassle free purchase.

We walked around saw some more furniture. It reminded me of when as a kid I use to go to work with my dad Don Tito for the Luis Furniture when it was at its peak in the 80’s.

Searching for Abner

Since Abner had invited me I asked one of the Berrios team members if he was at the event. The team member pointed that Abner was the Master of Ceremonies of the event.

As soon as I approached Abner he smiled and recognized me. It was like greeting a friend. Although being extremely busy running the event, he stopped what he was doing to help me in making my decision with the mattress.

I was so impressed with Abner I had to do a bit of research on the internet on his work and I understood that Abner’s body of work as a performer and musician is useful to work a crowd in a live event.

We need more Abner’s Working for Our Local Companies

Abner seems to be a creative at heart. He understands communication and showing people that he cares. I am sure Mueblerias Berrios knows that they have a great resource, but I wanted to point out on my end that they are leading many other local and international companies established in Puerto Rico by listening and responding to their clients in a human way.

I am writing this post based on the limited interactions I had with Abner where he exceeded expectations by far.

Locally it is normal to fill a contact form on a website and receive no response. Or you get a generic response from an auto reply giving you more things to do.

The Opportunities

It is my opinion that Mueblerias Berrios is on the right track so far.

I see many opportunities in having an edge over their competitors by listening and using the website and online eco-systems to:

Bring New clients like myself to visit their location
Finding a way to incentivize their customers like Mark Hayward (who referred me to them) to refer more customers.
Being able to match pricing or make the buying furniture experience more pleasant by receiving feedback. Similar to Amazon’s price match.
Making the purchase process even leaner and online. So if someone visited their location did not make a decision at the moment they can even buy from the comfort of their home.

I am glad I listened to Mark Hayward and decided to email Berrios. I got to meet a very talented individual who seems to be a local Marketing and Human relations rock star. His effective use of online tools benefit the company he works for and made my life a lot easier.

If you are planning to buy furniture feel free to tweet or contact Berrios. I am sure Abner and his team will be listening and will be as helpful as they were with me.

What other companies stand out that I should include in the Igniting a Revolution Series?

San Juan’s Vegan Friendly Asian Bistro

February 9, 2014 by Raul Colon

Finding a regular restaurant that caters to Vegans in Puerto Rico can seem impossible at times. Same reason why I go to vegan/vegetarian food venues or we eat at home.

It’s truly hard for me to walk into a place and ask them to make me a vegan option because on most occasions, as hospitable as the restaurant may want to be, they might make a mistake preparing or serving my food. Instead of interrogating the restaurant staff, I save myself the headache and only go to places I know understand my lifestyle.

It happens everywhere

Last week, I went around the northeast of the United States and it made me realize that understanding what a vegan eats can be a problem everywhere.

A friend of an old friend

About a year ago I met a young entrepreneur and Asian Bistro owner called Kahoo Yu. I was introduced to him by my close friend Millie Pang which I met through ICQ in the late 90’s.

Since last summer, I have kept very good communication with Kahoo and I have noted that he is a very selfless individual. He is always trying to help and make others happy.

I am sure he would be very embarrassed if I mentioned how many times he gives a little of himself to support my efforts. I won’t go into the details but I can say he is usually one of the first to ask what he can do to make any situation better.

First visit to SOGO Asian Bistro

This past week I had the opportunity to schedule a business meeting with my friend Larry Lliran and we decided to go to Kahoo’s restaurant, Sogo Asian Bistro.

I messaged Kahoo on Facebook to get directions. He quickly called me and gave me easy directions.

Once we arrived at the restaurant he showed us the specials and even offered to modify any of them to be vegan. I rarely get options at restaurants much less are having a place honor a daily special and modify to my needs.

I quickly choose the Fried Tofu with Black Mushrooms and some Veggie Fried Rice on the side. The plate arrived and the flavors and taste were right on the money.

Bonus: They have a Vegan Dessert

Most places that have vegan options don’t have vegan desserts. Kahoo recommended some Lychee which I went ahead and ordered.

When I went to pay the bill, once again Kahoo mentioned that the first visit was on the house.

A True Giver

During my drive back,I kept on thinking how I want to be near those few selected individuals in my life which are always giving. I already have a group of people that are always supporting me and they would kill me if I mentioned them.

Kahoo is definitely one of them. Once I arrived home I made the decision to go with the family to have lunch on the next day so Lucy and Daniela could try SOGO Asian bistro.

Lessons from Kahoo

Kahoo has taught me many lessons during the past year and he also reminds me that by giving you create stronger relationships.

I am grateful for having another restaurant to take my family to that has vegan options. But, I am even more grateful that this establishment is run by a good friend and a great human being.

Our Homework

So what are you going to do this week to give back to someone who is always taking care of others?

How can I help you?

PS: If your in San Juan you might want to make a stop for lunch or dinner at SOGO Asian Bistro.

Feel free to read my review on Veglatino and our family visit to SOGO Asian Bistro.

More About SOGO Asian Bistro

SOGO Asian Bistro

Centro Comercial San Francisco
San Juan, Puerto Rico

(787) 766-0111

On Yelp
Directions to SOGO on Google Maps

Medalla Beer, From Missed Opportunity to Promoting Vandalism

January 22, 2014 by Raul Colon

For me Old San Juan has always been an escape to walk on the streets that our ancestors built while living in the present. When you visit Old San Juan, the images of cobblestone streets gets imprinted in the minds of those that and it could be a great memory to take back home to those who have never visited the island.

That said I wish I could say I was shocked by the poor decision Medalla Light beer made by choosing a sad situation where Old San Juan’s streets were vandalized to grab some attention to their brand.

A Quick Recap

This past weekend as the San Sebastian Festival took place in Old San Juan, hundreds of thousands drank and partied; some used the excuse that the event has cultural value.

Initially the theme of the festival was aligned towards promoting culture but over the years greed took over. Companies and individuals who benefit from this event are tied to liquor and beer sales. The festival in my opinion is about being loud, getting crazy, and according to Medalla leaving your footprint behind by vandalizing.

No Longer a Fan of the Festival

The past year and half I have gotten closer to some of the merchants of Old San Juan. Some are neighbors and close friends and I know the struggles they have in the maintenance of architectural history under strict standards while trying to run a business in one of the least small business friendly places in the world, the island of Puerto Rico. In short, Old San Juan merchants perform a juggling act with little or no support from the local government.

Preparing for a Disaster

You would think a festival would give these merchants a breath of fresh air by bringing new business and some extra cash. The opposite happens and preparing for the festival is more like preparing for a natural disaster.

Every merchant I know closes down for safety and security reasons. They try to cut their losses short by not opening for those days and not having any major loss caused by the crowds.

I was even amazed that, my favorite beer garden, La Taberna Lúpulo decided to close down because the crowd that arrives at San Sebastian is not interested in enjoying high quality beer.

Is Medalla Talking to their Audience?

Based on how much profit Medalla probably made, you really can’t blame them if they are just thinking of their bottom line and trying to reach the audience that makes them profitable. Those who buy their beer in large quantities, get inebriated and also find themselves vandalizing the streets of Old San Juan.

UPDATE: As of 7:11 PM of January 22, 2014 In a typical traditional public relations move they deleted the image without an apology or further explanation.

A Missed Opportunity

With the high volume of sales Medalla does during that specific week tied to steep tax incentives the least they could do is give back.

If the image posted would have mentioned that it’s of their interest to protect our island’s assets, they could have donated and created a fund to fix part of the destruction. The brand would have looked like a HERO instead of a ZERO!

I still think they have time to flip this around especially after implying they were part of the destruction and being proud of of this with their picture and ad .

The Message Does Not Surprise Me

But then again the message does not surprise me because one, it’s normal for beer companies to communicate online without thinking about the consequences and two they might be drinking so much Medalla they were probably drunk when they posted the status.

What are your thoughts?

Video: Solving Puerto Rico

January 9, 2014 by Raul Colon

For the past few weeks I have been creating videos in spanish with Gil Schmidt for small business owners which I have been publishing on our new company website.

We have covered subjects that might be useful for entrepreneurs as improving email communications, Prioritize your Strategy over Executing Tasks, and Why and When to Fire Clients.

Solving Puerto Rico Episode 4

The Limonade Stand video series was an idea born and created by Gil after the Solving Puerto Rico interview.

It is a follow up on some of the opportunities him and I could collaborate with and maybe help entrepreneurs and/or those that want to become entrepreneurs.

Video Interview

Can’t see the video click here.

As we try to tailor our video creation efforts it would be great to get your feedback on the video.

Also take the time to watch the rest of the series of videos and reach out to Gil.

What are you creating that we have not seen and we need to put the focus on? Let’s chat in the comments or contact me directly.