Paul and Rachelle Baron own Beau & Belle Littles, a once thriving swim diaper business. But when Amazon resold a returned diaper as “new,” a one-star review flagged by more than 100 buyers left them $600,000 in debt. Plus, CrowdStrike trouble continues, web searches are changing, and a remote worker turned out to be a North Korean spy.
💳 I’m not overdrawn, I’m under-deposited! FICO has two new types of scores that now include Buy Now, Pay Later loans. Lenders can now see that debt or your on-time payments. Just passing it along.
💰 Struggling with debt? Ask your favorite chatbot to pretend to be your creditor to practice your pitch. Just say, “Imagine you’re my creditor. Let’s role-play negotiating an [adjustment, extension, etc.] to my payment plan, and then critique my strategy.” Leave out private info when chatting with the bot.
Grad name reads go full robo: Pace NY grads scanned QR codes at graduation, then heard their names announced by an AI voice that sounded like a sentient Waze app. Phonetic accuracy? Maybe. Vibes? Students compared it to checkout somewhere between dystopia and Duane Reade. Four years of debt, and Alexa stole your thunder.
💸 Reality check: Publishers Clearing House … more like clearance house. The prize patrol biz just filed for bankruptcy with only $490K in the bank. They racked up $40 million in debt and owe $26 million in lifetime prizes. It’s not the end of those giant checks (for now).
🤝 I want to be your secret helper and mentor: I’ve been around tech forever. My business has thrived for over 20 years without debt or investors. If you have an issue, problem or question about your life or business, I’d love to help you. Ask me here on my site. I read every single note.