October 5, 2023

Top Stories This Week:

Cyber Security – Protect Your Small Business Today:

A few weeks ago, we attended a lunchtime webinar with the New Jersey Department of State to learn more about the state of cybersecurity in our state, as well as tips for avoiding falling victim to these crimes. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, New Jersey is home to over 953,000 small businesses, which represents 99.6% of all businesses in the state. Because of this, being able to spot cybersecurity scams like phishing and smishing (getting victims to reveal personal information through text messages) is so important to keeping your personal and business information private. The webinar talked about sending around common phishing examples so employees can spot it easier and pick up on key terms scammers use. Make sure you are paying special attention to the sender address (is it a weird or unrecognizable email address?).  Analyze the greeting of the email (does it say sir or madam; how personal or generic is it?).  What is the tone of the email (is it urgent and asking for money or information?). You can also establish a multifactor authentication system where simply entering a password isn’t enough, and the user must answer questions as well to gain access to information. Employers should also evaluate if and how often they are backing up their data. The longer you hold off on establishing safeguards to protect your information, the more vulnerable you and your business are. Not sure how to get started protecting your business? Start by contacting our MBP Dan Goff at Able-Tech Information Management and ask how you can improve your cybersecurity. If you would like to listen to the webinar, click HERE. 

UST Operators: FREE Educational Event:

Last call to sign up for a FREE educational event for those of you with USTs in your business. On October 12th, NJDEP together with NJ Weights & Measures and the Department of Community Affairs Division of Fire Safety will cohost an in-person event in Hamilton on overall compliance requirements for underground storage tank systems, including the fuel dispensing systems, and other requirements for permitting, equipment, testing and site inspections. Additional topics will cover commonly found violations and how to avoid them. This seminar will be an ideal opportunity for facility owners, operators, and compliance managers to learn (or review) the NJ requirements and ask questions to any, or all of the three regulatory groups. Someone from NJGCA will be there too if you have any questions, or feel free to ask the departments any questions directly. For more event information and to register, click HERE. 

Reminder: Voter Registration

Another reminder as we move closer to election day, if you’re not registered to vote at your current address, we wanted to remind you that the voter registration deadline is October 17th -- That’s less than two weeks away! This is an important election year in New Jersey, as all 120 seats in the legislature are on the ballot. Voter turnout is only expected to be about 25% so your vote is more important than ever in this election. As always, we will be mailing out our Voter Guide very soon, so check your mailbox for that important issue! You can use this link to check your registration status or update your info: https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/voter-registration.shtml

Donate to our PAC:

With how close Phil Murphy’s reelection was two years ago, and a new legislative map redrawn in a bipartisan deal, there is a very real chance Republicans will be able to take control of one or both houses of the Legislature in a few weeks. How concerned are legislators over this election? Well, a few months ago they rewrote the state’s campaign finance rules to double contribution limits. NJGCA has already been invited to attend about 400 different political fundraisers this year. The average event that we are invited to has a ticket price of $400 per person, with some of the most powerful legislators asking for over $1,000. If you can donate just $400 from your business to our PAC it will sponsor one ticket to an event in support of a legislator who currently supports your business, or can be convinced to support your issues. When you contribute to the NJGCA PAC, you enable us to show support and say Thank You to those legislators who have championed our efforts and stood by our side. Our contributions are small compared to those of our opponents, but legislators understand that our small contributions represent a giant effort to do our part to support them. 

On the Road Update: We Need Your Feedback!

We are thrilled to announce that we're in the process of potentially expanding our On The Road magazine (the official publication of the NJGCA) to a monthly publication! NJGCA is working with Thomas Greco Publishing (TGP, producers of AASP/NJ's New Jersey Automotive magazine) in our research efforts, and we need your help as well. Please take the next few minutes to complete a brief online survey of the vendors you do business with. TGP will use this information to contact these vendors and encourage their support of NJGCA through advertising in On The Road. This outreach will include a VERY SHORT (5 minutes or less) introductory call with you and the vendor, unless you opt out. You have the opportunity to address your suppliers and leverage the business you do with them by increasing publicity in our magazine. Click here for the vendor survey, and feel free to contact Joe Ocello with any questions you have at joe@njgca.org.

Member Benefit Partner Spotlight: Price Easy

Incredibly Powerful yet Simple Fuel Pricing Software with POS Integration. 

What fuel pricing software solutions do you provide?: PriceEasy™ offers two different fuel pricing software solutions. We offer a powerful mobile app and a browser based desktop solution to help you determine your optimal fuel pricing. We can integrate with your POS and push pricing directly to your station. 

How does your fuel pricing software work?: We include your competitors’ gas prices so you can see exactly how they are pricing their fuel. This data is updated every 4 hours and is more accurate than any fuel pricing available. Our software will geographically locate your site and help you to identify the top 10 competitors for each of your site locations. You can then finely adjust your fuel pricing to make sure you are within range of your competitors. You can set fuel pricing rules based on your margins and your competitors’ gas prices to always be a penny or two under. Our app will also suggest to you an optimal fuel price based on these settings. 

Do I get updates when my competitors change their fuel pricing?: Our mobile app will send you alert notifications when your competitors update their fuel prices. This is to ensure that you are always aware of their pricing strategies. You can then push the pricing right to your POS with POS integration remotely from our app. 

What is the average increase in revenue using your fuel pricing software?: We have seen an increase in 2-5% in additional profits per site location. 

What is the cost for your fuel pricing software solution? As little as $15 per month per site. 

Is there a trial version for the PriceEasy™ Mobile App? Yes. Download the mobile app from the app store and use the code “SELLMOREFUEL1” to get a 30-day free trial of the mobile application. You can cancel at any time. Or contact us directly to see what we can do for NJGCA members

For more information on PriceEasy, check out our webinar introducing them to our membership. 

Top Industry News:

Available Real Estate

Cape Harbor Shell

795 Route 109

Unit B

Lower Township, NJ, 08204

CLICK HERE to view the listing

Our Road Warrior newsletter is brought to you by the following Member Benefit Partners: