Esther: Welcome to The BusinessMakers Overtime Show, your sweeter than chocolate guide to navigating the not-so-candy-coated world of small business. We are your hosts, Esther Steinfeld -

Katie: And Katie Laird.

Esther: - and we're recording live from The Dessert Gallery on Kirby in Houston, Texas.

Katie: Because we're the luckiest girls in the entire universe. [Laughter]

Esther: We might be. We might be the luckiest girls ever to live. Ever. That's right. We are recording our show surrounded by the most delicious treats you can imagine and our luck continues to grow as we'll be interviewing Dessert Gallery CEO, Sara Brook.

Katie: Then we'll wrap up the show by taking a look at love. This our Valentine's Day show, after all.

Esther: Yes.

Katie: Woo! Love. We're gonna talk about some things that we love and some things your customers will love. But first, let's kick it off with some newsy bits, which are kind of like conversation hearts but without the bad chalky aftertaste.

Esther: Some of them say Tweet Me now, do you know that?

Katie: No! [Laughter]

Esther: The conversation hearts.

Katie: I mean an interesting note on that. They couldn't say something like follow me, like on Twitter, because maybe that would be like pro stalker issues. I don't know. [Laughter]

Esther: Maybe.

Katie: So let's start off with a company that's really gettin' kicked in the teeth right now. Toyota.

Esther: Poor thing.

Katie: Oh, Toyota.

Esther: It's so sad.

Katie: It really is and so I mean Toyota's been all over the news lately after going through not one but two, dos, count them, recalls of approximately 2.3 million vehicles in mid-January.

Esther: It's really unbelievable.

Katie: It really is. So I mean of course the issues are with faulty gas pedals, floor mat entrapment, and now Toyota's dealing with some braking issues in their iconic Toyota Prius, which - I mean it's a tough blow to them. But you know, what's even more kind of hard for me to watch is not all these issues that they've been having, as far as their equipment goes, but just how they've been handling themselves as far as crisis communication goes.

Esther: Yeah, it has not been good. This is a case study in -

Katie: What not to do. [Laughter]

Esther: What not to do. Exactly. When it comes to PR. You know the CEO actually did finally come out and make a statement and apologize but it took a really long time.

Katie: It was like almost two weeks from the announcement of the recall to CEO Akio Toyoda with a D not a T and actually, interesting side note, when I was reading about him, do you know why it's Toyoda with a T for the company brand?

Esther: No, why?

Katie: Because in Japanese the number of brushstrokes that it takes to spell Toyoda, which is the family name with a D is actually unluckier than Toyota with a T. Isn't that funky?

Esther: That is weird.

Katie: Yeah. So anyway. [Laughter]

Esther: Good to know. The more you know.

Katie: We can totally cut that out. [Laughter] So two weeks of silence from the top echelons of a global company on a life-threatening issue for their customers is just way too much. And I mean you gotta feel for the United States component of Toyota because they've been thrust into the forefront and I mean they're throwing out, certainly C-level executives but they're not engineers. They're, you know, not part of this Japanese mainstay.

Esther: And actually a lot of other hybrid cars are having these same braking issues. Ford actually already came out and said they're going to change their brake system. They're gonna add some kind of technology to the cars -

Katie: Yeah.

Esther: - and Toyota has said they have no idea what they're gonna do. They actually said, "We are aware of no decision on how best to handle owner complaints about the Prius brakes." What kinda PR speak is that?

Katie: Oh, that kills me.

Esther: We are aware of no decision on how best to handle.

Katie: That kills me.

Esther: Said Toyota spokesman, John Hanson.

Katie: So now contrast -

Esther: That's just ridiculous.

Katie: - this to the 2006 press event when then-Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe actually shocked the entire news conference by bowing, physically bowing low to the group in apology, to all the reporters, you know, saying they were gonna improve quality - 'cause they had some mechanical issues at that time.

Esther: Oh my goodness.

Katie: Not on this, you know, not on this level. So I mean you can see just, even in the last few years, things have changed within, you know, the company culture. You know it's a little scary. I'm looking for Toyota to really kick it up in 2010.

Esther: Well, unfortunately, Toyota has lost 34 billion in market value as the recall has grown to almost 8 million units. That's so sad.

Katie: It is sad.

Esther: They went from being one of the leading retailers in two weeks their brand has been demolished. I just think it's a shame.

Katie: And I mean it's interesting to see competing car companies get in on the action.

Esther: Take advantage of the struggling -

Katie: You're seeing - exactly. You're seeing ads saying, "Hey, Toyota drivers, you know, come on into our lot. We'll help you out a little."

Esther: I know.

Katie: So a couple of other industry giants in their own right. Walmart and Target are talking about some interesting things lately. So of course we're familiar with these football-field size stores in Walmart.

Esther: Actually three football fields.

Katie: Three? Holy moley.

Esther: Some of their stores are three football fields in length.

Katie: Ah. But they're actually looking to change some of that. Well, not completely, but to change some of that in -

Esther: To tap into this urban market.

Katie: Exactly.

Esther: Where there is not that kind of space.

Katie: No, I mean that's like a living room in New York City for like 80 families, right? [Laughter]

Esther: Eighty? A lot more than 80.

Katie: Yeah, probably. So both Walmart and Target are looking to expand in different direction, again trying to get in with the urban dwellers by having kind of different store setups. So definitely smaller stores. They're gonna be testing out for Walmart a 10,000 square foot store that goes in a little bit of a different direction. They're featuring financial services, like check cashing. They're gonna focus a lot more on allowing customers to order online and have them brought to the store where they can pick it up.

Esther: Oh, cool.

Katie: And I'm kind of interested. I mean I know in New York and in a lot of metropolitan areas, take out is very important. You have all these grocery services where you -

Esther: Right.

Katie: - order your groceries online. They bring it to your doorstep.

Esther: Right.

Katie: Is this in the future for Walmart? Like am I gonna be able to move to New York and have them bring it to my kitchen?

Esther: Well that's how people do it in New York. So maybe.

Katie: Yeah.

Esther: I mean they're gonna - if they wanna fit in in that market space they're gonna have to adjust.

Katie: Yeah.

Esther: I would say if they're gonna open these stores - and I guess what they've said is that these huge stores that they have used to make sense. Or they make sense in certain areas.

Katie: In some areas.

Esther: In suburban landscapes where they're -

Katie: It's perfect.

Esther: - wide, sprawling areas of just open nothingness -

Katie: Right.

Esther: But.

Katie: The fill it with somethin'. [Laughter]

Esther: Exactly. So they fill it with a Walmart. But that doesn't make sense, especially now that baby boomers, especially are moving away from these types of suburban areas. They're moving back into the cities where the jobs are.

Katie: Exactly. Exactly.

Esther: And they just can't get those customers to warrant these giant, sprawling stores anymore.

Katie: Exactly. And so as an apartment dweller myself, of course I don't live in a closet like New York City but I'm interested to see how they're gonna be changing their product offerings. Like are they - since they're gonna be marketing and trying to sell to people that don't have a lotta space aren't gonna buy 16-piece dining room sets from them. Am I as an apartment liver, am I gonna find more product that kind of suits my needs and my lifestyle? Like I'm kind of excited.

Esther: Yeah.

Katie: You know, where are they gonna go with this? So let's talk about something absolutely wildly and completely different. [Laughter]

Esther: I think we should. This is totally unbelievable.

Katie: We've been excited to talk about this news story.

Esther: Oh my gosh. So apparently British officials unveiled shatterproof pint glasses, swearing that the country would save billions in healthcare costs by coming up with a glass that doesn't double as a lethal weapon.

Katie: [Laughter] So I must admit that I get pretty excited about out of the box government research projects. You know, like green energy, technology, dehydrated astronaut ice cream [Laughter] but I mean to have a government -

Esther: Shatterproof pint glasses.

Katie: - they're trying to like innovate on bar glasses. Like this is crazy.

Esther: Yeah, they know their - they know their population.

Katie: Their constituents. Yeah, and I mean - and this speaks to kind of a culture problem that they're having with binge drinking and people getting incredibly aggressive with their glassware. I just can't wrap my brain around it, you know?

Esther: Apparently, there are 87,000 alcohol-related glass attacks each year -

Katie: [Laughter]

Esther: - resulting in hospital visits. So imagine the kind of money they would save not having to pay for these hospital visits. These emergency room visits where people come in with a glass shoved in their face. I mean it's unbelievable.

Katie: Yeah, that is absolutely insane and the kicker is that to me the obvious answer, kinda like whenever NASA was trying to research the ultimate pen to send astronauts up with so they wouldn't have to worry about the ink, you know, not flowing. I mean they spent a lotta money and in the end it was a pencil, right, that was really good. They didn't need to spend all this money -

Esther: [Laughter] Yeah.

Katie: - on a space pen. But I mean wouldn't a plastic Dixie cup suffice, like really? I, I don't understand.

Esther: No, apparently. Plastic glasses were not an option because experience shows that drinkers are not happy with them. So this is a major issue. Look, they're telling people, "We are gonna pour our government resources into making a glass that does not shatter. We don't want you to have to drink from a plastic glass." That would be the obvious choice, but no.

John: It's not a keg party.

Katie: [Laughter] So our producer John says it's not a keg party.

Esther: Not a keg party. That's a good point.

Katie: Well, well. See, so -

Esther: Spoken from the man on our, in our team sitting here right now.

Katie: [Laughter]

Esther: He says, "Absolutely not. We must have glass. So you better spend a lotta money makin' it so."

Katie: We've got another really quirky news story and I'm gonna let you introduce this one, Esther 'cause it's pretty funny.

Esther: This is actually a Valentine's related story. This is hysterical. So this Valentine's Day a Toronto restaurant is encouraging customers to have sex in its bathrooms.

Katie: [Laughter]

Esther: That is in its ad campaign. I don't know -

Katie: It's buying advertising to have people come into their bathrooms to procreate or to, you know, whatever you wanna call it, the horizontal polka.

Esther: Mildred's Temple Kitchen, a restaurant in Toronto's Liberty Village has long been known for bathroom extra-curricular activities and they've been taking it to the next level with this ad campaign. Says check out Mildred's bathrooms throughout the weekend of big love. You get the picture.

Katie: [Laughter]

Esther: That's what the ad says. The best thing about this is Toronto Public Health's response. They said, as long as it stays out of the kitchen and in the bathrooms and it's kept clean. They said as far as bodily fluids, it's pretty much similar to the other human functions going on in there. So, okay, go for it. Whatever. So one last little tip that I think is really exciting. Something we have coming up on the horizon from The BusinessMakers, the whole team - we will be offering you 31 days to a better business. Basically, you opt into an email. You'll get one every day and you're gonna get tons of great business tips, starting from start to finish on how to start a business, grow a business and then by the end of 31 days you'll have a business plan, you'll have a whole schedule - you'll have this whole schedule of activities to follow - and by the end of it, you'll be way, way ahead in your business planning.

Katie: Exactly. So we've been hard at work - our entire team, actually - pooling all of our respective, you know, areas of expertise, our little areas of passion, and can't wait to have this offering to you. So all you need to do is jump online and go theBusinessMakers.com/31days. That's the number 3, 1 and days, D-A-Y-S and that's gonna lead you to some great information about the better business in 31 days program and a place for you to put your contact information so that you can join in on the fun. So it's gonna be great. It's gonna be very interactive, lots of exciting activities, calls to action -

Esther: You'll be able to also share your business expertise with the rest of the group, so -

Katie: Yes. Yes, so we cannot wait for this to begin and we can't wait to help you grow in new and completely wonderful ways.

Esther: Sounds great.

Katie: And with that, we're gonna wrap up our section one. Stay tuned for our segment two where we're gonna be speaking with Sara Brook, CEO of the lovely Dessert Gallery.

Esther: Cannot wait.

Katie: You're listening to The BusinessMakers Overtime Show, heard here and online at theBusinessMakers.com. See ya in segment two.