155: Christian Bjelland - Club Alfred

# Episode 155 **Summary:** In Episode #155 Ari speaks with Christian Bjelland of [Club Alfred](https://www.helloalfred.com/), the new task take-down service that’s revolutionizing the way people approach getting chores, errands and other odd jobs done. During the interview, Christian explains how Alfred got started and why he feels it will change the way people run their homes. **Special Announcements:** # [Less Doing Does Europe!](https://www.gazelles.com/summits/EGS-2015/Barcelona/index.html) Watch Ari bring the lessons of Less Doing to some of Europe’s most famous cities including Barcelona, Munich, Amsterdam and Budapest for the 2015 European Growth Summit. Ari will be joined by fellow masters of entrepreneurship Steve Martin, Director of _Influence at Work_ in the UK, and Verne Harnish, founder and CEO of Gazelles. ## EO Vancouver On June 18th, join Ari at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in b-e-a-utiful Vancouver, B.C. as he takes the microphone for _EO Vancouver_. Enjoy this unique opportunity to watch Ari candidly discuss life as an Author, Speaker, Teacher and – most importantly – Achievement Architect. **Time Stamped Show Notes:** - 19:41 – Introduction of Christian Bjelland of [Club Alfred](https://www.helloalfred.com/) - 19:55 – Christian defines [Alfred](https://www.helloalfred.com/) as a single-point to create and manage daily/weekly routines - 20:08 – The service costs $25 a week - 20:21 – The essential goal of the service is to allow users to improve their time and energy usage by eliminating tasks from “to-do” lists (like buying groceries) - 20:50 – Think of Alfred as a home or project manager - 21:50 – Unlike other on-demand services, Alfred employs automation and a white-glove approach - 23:18 – Are there any issues with trust? Security? - 24:18 – Many people refer to Alfred as “hotel service in your own home” - 24:50 – Client managers come from a variety of backgrounds and are required to have a college degree or relevant experience - 25:35 – Client managers have ownership of their clients and are encouraged to go above and beyond - 26:55 – For $25 you receive a primary visit and a complementary return day if necessary - 27:30 – Thus far, the service is only available in NYC and Boston - 28:29 – Does Alfred conduct any data-capture? - 29:55 – The primary method of communication when using Alfred is text message base - 30:22 – There is an app under development - 30:35 – Quick, conversational communication is important to success - 31:15 – Christian is originally from Norway and his background is in investment banking - 32:40 – The success of Alfred is heavily dependent upon the client managers, for this reason all client managers are W-2 employees, not contractors - 33:22 – Christian’s _Top 3 Tips to be More Effective_ - 33:33 – Start using Alfred - 34:15 – Spend a little time every week to plan things out - 34:52 – Find a place where you can be in complete isolation - 35:58 – [www.helloalfred.com](http://www.helloalfred.com) **7 Key Points:** 1. Don’t feel professionally limited by your background. 2. Keep communication concise and clear. 3. Know how to not only price your product but price it well. 4. The new UX is no UX. 5. Take the time to plan out your day, week, month and year. 6. When you need to work, isolate yourself and eliminate distractions. 7. Treat your employees well, and they’ll treat your customers well. **Resources Mentioned:** - [Vit](http://www.vit.fitness/) – A new meal-replacement service - [Hello](https://hello.is/) – Makers of Sense, the smart alarm clock that helps you improve your sleep - [Women and Chemicals](http://abcnews.go.com/Health/women-put-average-168-chemicals-bodies-day-consumer/story?id=30615324) – The average woman puts 168 chemicals into her body every day - [Text Hotel](https://www.texthotel.co/?ref=producthunt&utm_content=bufferd5653&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_