Today I want to discuss 7 very useful tips and ideas you should put to use immediately to improve your store's outlook and image. Most of these ideas will cost you very little, and some will only cost 50% of the total cost as the other 50% is paid by, well not you, so stay tuned, and I will tell you who will pay the rest. Let's get started. There are co-op programs available from most branded oil companies like Exxon, Shell, BP, and Chevron where they share some upgrade cost with you; often it is 50% of the total cost but yes there is usually a cap as to how much you can spend. These Co-Op programs are available from your brand managers. They can tell you what and how much your brand is offering for you to do certain upgrades. 4 Upgrades your Brand May Pay up to 50% 1. LED Lights Upgrade For Example, most all brands offer you up to 50% cost to replace and upgrade your exterior canopy lights to LED lights as long as you follow their requirements. So if replacing your 18 canopy lights cost you $8,200 you may be able to get half of that or $4,100 from your company again as long as you follow their exact guideline and submit all necessary paperwork to them. It is that simple really. 2. Pressure Washing and Painting This upgrade falls under the Co-Op program. Just ask your brand manager what is available from your brand and how you can get the work done. The common practice is to get the work done first according to their specification then submit the invoice, but remember the work has to be done by a licensed contractor, so they know the work has been done properly. 3. Pump/Dispenser Skirt Replacement Similarly, again this is another Co-Op program where they can pay you to upgrade the most important part of your dispensers. Skirts are the bottom metal part of your dispensers where the brand stickers are. Due to their location, they get dinged very easily, they get dirt, scratches and everything else and make your dispensers look old and worn out. But they don't cost much to replace them. Ask your brand manager to order them for you and again they may pay 50% of the cost of them, not bad huh? 4. POS Upgrade I know I mentioned this in a couple of the episodes before that if you own a branded store, you most likely have done your POS or register system upgrade already. If you haven't, you should check into it. 50% refund on your POS upgrade, in this case, can be thousands of dollars. Just to give you an example, we upgraded a few stores, and the average dual system cost was around $, 17,000 so if you get half of it back, why not? Check into it. The next 3 tips and ideas are very different than the Co-op ideas I just shared These ideas are for those of you who do not have a branded store. 3 Ideas for your Unbranded Store 1. Create your Own Brand If you are running an unbranded store, think about something unique that makes your store stands out. If your store has a deli, then try to come up with something from the deli. For example, I recently helped a store brand their BBQ sandwich, and we named it BBQ Pit- "Homemade Real Pit BBQ Sandwich" Here BBW Pit is the name of the Deli we came up with, and the 2nd part is the slogan. In Episode 30 I shared some passive income ideas, in that episode I shared some great resources and one of them is Fiverr, where you can get anything done for around $5. So for this store, we logged on to Fiverr.com and hired a logo designer to design the BBQ Pit logo, then ordered some T-Shirt with that logo from an online store. I am not mentioning the store's name as there are hundreds of choices out there all you have to do is find the one that fits your budget. We also hired a graphic designer from Fiverr and had him do a flyer design which the owner gave out to his customers. So suddenly this unbranded store became a brand well not a fuel brand but something can people can identify easily and when they can relate good food with a name, it always increases business. Provided they sell good quality BBQ, which