Yes, Burritos will soon be flying in Virginia. Virginia Tech in conjunction with Alphabet Inc (Google’s parent company) will soon be delivering Chipotle burritos on campus via drones. The test will only last a few weeks but companies like Amazon and Walmart are hopeful that some version of this will someday become routine.
When burritos fly: Project Wing drones will test delivery
“It’s the first time that we’re actually out there delivering stuff to people who want that stuff,” said Dave Vos, who heads Project Wing.
Project Wing will use self-guided hybrids that can fly like a plane or hover like a helicopter. They will make deliveries from a Chipotle food truck to assess the accuracy of navigation systems and how people respond.
The devices will hover overhead and lower the Chipotle edibles with a winch.
Part of the experiment will be to see how well the packaging protects the chow and keeps it warm. Food was selected as the demonstration cargo because it’s a challenge. The company is already at work on a more sophisticated second version of the aircraft that won’t be used in the tests, Vos said.
Read Article: When burritos fly: Project Wing drones will test delivery
Out of the box ideas fuel big business. Those of us who aren’t looking to make deliveries by drone and just want to run a reputable business that delivers quality goods and services locally probably see this as a crazy and funny idea but of no value to our business.
Although, this is a great reminder that we can think out of the box and develop new ways of doing things that will differentiate our business from the competition.
Companies like the Mermaid Oyster Bar in Manhatten uses embeded videos offering lessons on how to prepare some of their seafood recipes. They also have an active presence on Tumblr, Google Plus, Facebook and Twitter.
In 2008 the home improvement industry was hit hard with the recession and many businesses were forced to close their doors. But some contractors got creative.
Home-Remodeling Businesses Get New Business Models
The recession was in full swing in 2008 when the management team at heating and air-conditioning company Princeton Air Conditioning Inc. realized that things were changing in the residential remodeling market. Not only was the economy down, sales were below budget. Company president J. Scott Needham laid off 10 percent of his 40-person staff and called an emergency meeting with his top managers. The goal was to identify alternative sources of revenue to keep the business alive.
“We found ourselves floundering in terms of sales volume,” Needham says.
Instead of staying in a market where the business wasn’t likely to grow, Needham and his team decided to also offer energy-efficiency services, including insulation, high-efficiency hot-water systems, and geothermal heating and air-conditioning systems.
“As we started to understand the home-performance industry, we determined that the market we operate in was ripe for this type of work,” says Needham, who is 51. “The demographics, age of existing housing stock and ‘sustainable’ mindset of our customers made up the right mix of ingredients.”
Read Article: Home-Remodeling Businesses Get New Business Models
You may not need to make such drastic changes but an annual inspection of your business is an important step as you begin to prepare your goals for 2017. A thorough analysis of the last 3 years sales and profit will help you better understand the shifts in your market, which services are growing and which ones are declining. This will help you determine where to invest your marketing dollars and if you need to expand other service offerings. Social Climb specializes in the home improvement industry offering many online marketing solutions.
