My boss came back from lunch this afternoon and told me how both he and his wife got to eat their lunch for free. They stopped into a new artisan bakery that just opened up a few blocks away from our office. While he was looking over the menu to see what the place had to offer he noticed that something was missing. The prices. When he asked the woman behind the counter about the prices she simply said, “It’s all free.”
The restaurant had earned one of their permits but was still waiting on one and couldn’t legally open for business. So instead of letting all the food they had already had in stock go to waste they decided to have a soft opening and give it all away, in hopes of generating some buzz.
It worked. They started the day offering three shelves full of different kinds of pastries, and there wasn’t a single one left by the time my boss and his wife got their for lunch. Both my boss and his wife came back to the office raving about how delicious the food was, and now I’m making plans to stop in there for some pastries in the morning.
If you have a special talent or ability that no one knows about, volunteer your time and talent. If you have an amazing product or service that you believe can change lives, but don’t know how to get people to notice it, give it away. If what you have to offer is as good as you think, it won’t take much more to get people talking.
Ummm… so I didn’t notice any pastries waiting for me on my desk this morning. What’s the deal??