Luxury lifestyle and business fit hand in hand if you ask me. On one hand, if you succeed in business then you should have the pleasure of treating yourself to whatever you wish. Within reason. Like life though, business is not as easy as it may seem. There are peaks and valleys even for the most ardent.

One of the most difficult things in business is customer/client acquisition and is a constant topic among me and my private consulting clients. Not only that, but retention is another key issue which is of course strongly linked to the initial acquisition. Businesses can’t function without customers or clients as they are the lifeblood of any business. Anyone who wants to focus on the product or service is fighting an upward battle.

So how you do keep em once you’ve got em?

Loyalty reward programs have BIG impact.

About 80% of loyalty program (like freq. flyer-type plans) members reported spreading their purchases around before joining their favourite program, then consolidating those same purchases after finding a rewards program they like.

Some years back when I was in the states, I remember reading a report about the records kept by the Carlson Marketing Group (a leader in reward programs and in the luxury travel industry) indicating consumers will spend as much as 46% more with a business that has a rewards program i.e. “after” than with that business “before.”

Most businesses can create some kind of frequent/repeat user rewards or rebate program, and they should. In fact I only recently joined the Delta frequent flyer program after racking up  somewhere in the region of 24,000 air miles last summer.

How I found myself looking at timeshares.

Why? Well why not?

Many guides that teach how to set goals, advise that you share your goals with those closer to you as a way of being accountable. I’m usually a private person so I never did that. My way has led me to achieve many of my goals but of course I’ve missed a few along the way.

Since I am here to build a community, I will aim to share some of my goals which will hopefully inspire you too.

Back to the aforementioned question.

Firstly it’s an aspiration and it keeps me striving to better and do more. Right now it is out of my reach but it won’t be forever.

Secondly, where I grew up, you didn’t have a chance of experiencing a luxury lifestyle, you didn’t hear about luxury properties, no fine dining at elegant restaurants, no private flights for you and your loved ones, no secluded hotel resorts with beach-front villas. None of this was ever mentioned let alone shown to people growing up in the ganglands of Hackney, London.

Thirdly, I have an eye for expensive things. Call it materialistic if you will but I find that we are only here for a short time and you have to make the most of it. Most of the finer things in life were created for a reason and should therefore be enjoyed or at least experienced. I take no guilt in my desires and neither should you. As long as it’s not illegal or immoral.

However, I am neither the judge nor the jury.

On the subject of rewards, it will be mine for achieving astounding success. Business is not for the faint hearted and requires a certain sticktoitiveness.

Have you set any distant lavish goals?