I just came across a well organized way of asking customers/clients for reviews and I wanted to share it in case you are looking for an effective way to promote your business through Google and Yelp.

About a week after my positive experience with this business, I got a call from the business owner:

“Hello, Daria?”
“Yes, this is Daria.”
“Daria, this is <<business owner>>.  It’s the start of the month and we’re doing an audit of our reviews.  I was wondering if you would consider writing a review about your experience with us.”
“Sure.”
“Ok, great. I’ll send you an email with confirmation.”

By the time I checked my email again, the email was already waiting in my inbox.  First paragraph: Thank you for your time in writing the review + the value of the reviews in getting a business noticed.  Second paragraph: a list of questions perspective clients will look for in a review:  well crafted that match the strength of the business services that are provided. Third paragraph: links to the Google and Yelp pages where to write reviews and thanks.

This business has 36 5-star reviews from the last 3 years, which is the best I’ve seen in their expertise in this geographic area.  These glowing recommendations drive clients (like myself) to the business and setup people to have a positive experience.

This is a well crafted, well thought through process which every small business owner should consider when they are starting out and especially as their business develops.

A few months ago, my husband treated me to my first Uber ride.  I know, I can hear you gasp.  Thing is, I live in the city and I’m lucky to have just about everything I need within an easy reach by bike or public transport. Anything that’s out of reach is accomplished by weekend trips in our Prius.

My first Uber ride was Uber Black.  It’s a luxury to be sure and a real treat, but for me, if felt like sand in my mouth.  I am concerned about climate change and what it means for my kids’ future.  I conserve in every way possible, from paying for a composting service, to volunteering hours of my time to environmental organizations.  What I really want for my treat is a ride that’s clean and as independent of fossil fuels as possible.

That’s where I got my idea for Uber Green.  It would be effective for people with concerns about the amount of fossil fuels we burn, to have an Uber option for cars which are either hybrid or electric.  In case you’re thinking that this is already an option, it’s not.

And while Uber toots that they offer hybrids as most of their uberX cars, of the 4 rides we took with Uber on that fateful weekend, not a single one was a hybrid car.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m fully aware that few people will take their Tesla to the road for some extra Uber income, but there have to be Prius, Leaf, Energi owners who are willing to use their car to drive humanity around.  And you know what?  I’d even pay a little extra for it.

I listened to a great Freakonimics podcast the other day on the upside of quitting.  As a society, we don’t often advertise quitting as it has a negative connotation, but I see quitting as having a definite upside: saving you time, energy and sanity.

Recently, I had a new client who started off with a project that made me truly uncomfortable.  After a few phone calls and some preliminary discussion, it became obvious that what they wanted me to do would be illegal.  So, I quit.  Granted, it took a few days for me to gather up the courage to make a phone call rather than sending an email.  But, when I did, I called the client, explained my reasons and let them know that I would uncomfortable doing this project for them. It turns out, they agreed.  Within a few minutes, our conversation turned from all the things we weren’t doing to be doing to the things we could be doing in a positive, productive and, not to mention legal way.

It’s important to note that I called the client rather than sending them an email or even, gulp, texting. Calling the client gave me a chance to understand the situation from their perspective and get closure to the issue at hand. Let’s imagine that I had sent an email and they never responded, I would have no knowledge of how the relationship ended.  What will they tell people about my business? Did they even get the email?  That would be a very awkward and open way to end the relationship.

In our tech friendly world, however you might be tempted to send an email or even a text to quit, don’t.  Call or see the client in person.  You’ll get closure or even open a new avenue you didn’t know was possible.

A few months ago, I wrote about some business reading that I had planned to do this year, starting my reading list off with books from the Best of 2013 lists.  I found Col. Chris Hadfield’s An Astronaught’s Guide to Life on Earth on inc.com’s list of inspirational business books. The first chapter, which I read while walking from the library, sums up his life path from a Canadian kid who decided to be an astronaut at a time when Canada did not have a space agency to the first Canadian to do a spacewalk during his 6 months on the ISS (his 3rd space mission).

While I expect business books to be dry, this book was refreshing, smart and a quick read. With fascinating stories of how a single astronaut is chosen from thousands of applicants to how to work a problem from every angle to get the result you need, the book is a page turner.  It also shows Hadfield’s love and mission to bring the importance and understanding of space travel to the dinner conversation at home and make it accessible for most to understand and value.

I savored every page, even the hard to read stories.  Hadfield’s humor and honesty make it a refreshing read, and I particularly value the end where he talks about coming off the high gracefully and looking forward to the next thing.  I can’t wait to see what he does next, but I sure hope that it has something to do with the environment.

Every year, right about now, with new year’s resolutions swirling around, I feel the need for some good business reading. My strategy, which has worked well in the past, is to browse the lists of “Best Business Books of 20??” and pick a few that catch my interest.

Last year, I read Driving Excellence by Mark Aesch among others. Living in Boston, you can imagine my excitement when I read about someone overhauling an almost bankrupt public transport system and turning it into a well oiled machine with one goal: giving their customers efficient public transportation service at a fair cost. The book is a must read if you are a) concerned about the decrepit state of public transport around the country, b) would like to see more people take public transport rather than drive c) would like government to operate more like a business.

This year, in my search for something good to read, I scanned the inc.com’s list of the most inspirational business books of 2013.  I’m not typically one for inspirational books, but one caught my eye: An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Col. Chris Hadfield.  First of all, I am an engineer by training, so puzzles like fitting a square astronaut into a round hole is the stuff that makes me tick.  Second, in my masters program I worked on some image processing and through it, took to loving astrophysics (not to be confused with rocket science as my friends referred to it), so the idea of space and being in space has always fascinated me.

I’ve already requested the book from the library. Why not buy it outright? I have set a theme for myself and Brown Couch Consulting in 2014: as green and paperless as can be. Step 1: borrow books.