So you’ve been approved and you are now scouring the boards looking for great errands to run. Here are some important tips to keep in mind as you work your way toward becoming a 5 Star Runner.

THE TOP 5 TIPS ON BECOMING A 5 STAR RUNNER

5. Be Polite and Personable. The first thing we hear from Senders regarding our 5 Star Runners is he/she was just so NICE! Senders have never met you before and it makes everything just a little easier and more comfortable when you show up on their doorstep with a smile and a handshake.

4. Be Punctual. Seems like a no brainer, right? But being on time is vital to running many of these errands and Senders want a Runner they can depend on. Then by the time we add in the “choose your favorite Runner to run this errand” function, you’ll have hordes of Senders who had a great experience with you and you’ll be more popular than oxygen.

3. Communication is Key. Before you jump in the car/T/on your bike to run that errand, reach out to your Sender and collect all pertinent information from them. Get a contact number, time, place and complete description of what needs to be done. No one will penalize you for asking too many questions, but not gathering all of the necessary info about an errand will nearly always lead to roadblocks. Be thorough.

2. If the errand don’t fit, don’t accept it. If you are not absolutely, 100%, without a doubt certain that you can run this errand, do NOT bid on it. We understand that things happen and in the case of extenuating circumstances sometimes a Runner can’t run an errand they have been approved for. However, this is a tedious process on our end to get errands and Runners switched around and Senders often get frustrated when this happens. So in the spirit of keeping things simple and running smoothly for all parties, please don’t accept an errand unless you are certain you can handle that errand.

1. Stay Connected! We give the Runners three different ways to stay connected with up to the second errand postings. You can check the RunMyErrand.com site for errand listings, you can sign up to have a text message sent to your phone with errand listing updates or you can follow us on Twitter @RMERunners. We also post fun updates and news about the website @RunMyErrand and of course we have a cool Facebook Fan Page where we post our favorite errands and success stories. If you run a great errand, you’ll be featured on the Facebook page! We also announce all of our contests and winners here, so fan us today!

And of course if you need help along the way I am here to help! I’m just a live chat or an email away should you have questions.

Amanda@RunMyErrand.com HAPPY RUNNING!

Kobe - CIO and Mascot

MARTHA COUGHLIN!

Congratulations Martha! We are thrilled to have you as a New Runner with RunMyErrand and we hope you enjoy your night out at Chez Henri. (side note: Restaurant Week is coming up soon. Might I suggest going to Chez Henri during that time?)

The Runner Rally last night was SO fun! We had 50 attendees and got new Runners signed up and got to hang out and eat cupcakes with our Varsity Runners. We even got to hang out with our Chief Inspiration Officer, Kobe!

We also got loads of great ideas and suggestions from our Brainstorm Board. Thanks to everyone who added to the board. We will be hard at work today getting all of your suggestions and ideas up and running.

Thanks to everyone who turned out and if you didn’t make it to our First Runner Rally, no worries! We will be hosting these monthly! So keep an eye out for our next Runner Rally Evite!

Swag Bags are Fun!

Reow reow reow reow WOO! (for the Wayne’s World fans out there.)

Today is the day of our AWESOME RUNNER RALLY which will be held at our office at 2 Canal Park right next to the Cambridgeside Galleria (5th floor). The party will be from 5:30-7:30pm today and yes, there will be cupcakes and beer! Huzzah!

We will be entertaining both our new Runner applicants and our established Runners. This is a great chance for new Runners to get set up and to get outfitted with some awesome RME swag and for our established Runners to share their ideas and feedback on RME with the RME Team.

EVERYONE gets a Swag Bag and EVERYONE gets entered into our sweet Raffle! Come one and all and boogie down with the RME Team!

We’d like to thank our sponsors – Cakeology Cupcakes and Liquor World – for supplying the yummy nom noms for tonight’s party.

We look forward to seeing you tonight!

*For those attending, just go to the front desk at 2 Canal Park and ask them to point you in the direction of the RunMyErrand Party. Once you get to the 5th floor, just follow the signs to the party!

**We are located just a few feet from the Lechmere T Stop.

Each week we choose either a random Sender or a random Runner to receive a super cool prize as a thanks for working with RunMyErrand!

This weeks winner is Tara Feld, a Sender who hired a Runner to help her sell her wedding dress. Tara won a box of

Winter Truffles from Hotel Chocolat Fine Chocolates.

Tara will have these chocolates delivered right to her doorstep by a Runner this week. Yum!

Everyone likes a little sunshine in their day. Will you be next weeks random lucky winner? If you have posted an errand or run an errand in the past week, you are eligible. It’s as easy as that. And you like prizes, doncha? Sure ya do.

Happy Fun Party Time with Runners!

Who? You!

When? Thursday night – 5-7pm.

Where? 2 Canal Park (right next to the Cambridgeside Galleria, near Sears) 5th Floor Party Room.

What for? To celebrate our existing Runners, to meet and get new Runners set up and to enjoy cupcakes and beer!

Come celebrate happy hour with the RunMyErrand crew and get approved on the spot to be a Runner with RunMyErrand. No more waiting! We will be serving light food and beverages, giving out swag and holding a Raffle for all attendees!

Of course you can still be a Runner if you don’t/can’t attend. This will just be the “fast track” party!

Feel free to send any and all questions to Amanda(at)RunMyErrand.com. We hope to see you all there!

RunMyErrand.com is very proud to announce that we will be offering Bridal Planning assistance to area brides! Whether you are a DIY bride who doesn’t shy away from a glue gun, or a busy bee bride who doesn’t have enough time in her day to troll the wedding websites and retailers, we can help you.

From picking up BM dresses at Priscilla of Boston to compiling planning timelines to just offering ideas and support, RunMyErrand has a team of bridal planning specialists and errand Runners available at all hours. No need to hire a bridal planner (save that thousand bucks and put it toward the honeymoon!) when you’ve got RunMyErrand here to help.

You can pick and choose which planning tasks you need help with along the way without any commitment- or – You can choose from a package of 10 services that we will be compiling (like today, that’s on my to-do list) for a flat fee.

No car? Hire a Runner to take car of those wedding errands that you can’t do on foot.

No time? Hire a Runner to help you prioritize and work through the mountain of details.

Small budget? No worries. Most wedding errands cost $10-$15 (and you get your first errand free, up to $15.)

Bridal Planning packages should not cost you an arm and a leg. We can make great vendor recommendations and get you well on your way to having the most perfect wedding day ever. Take it from me. I’m a wedding planner myself, and I, along with the other planner Runners, are at the helm of this crazy bridal planning ship ready to help!

Save time, spend it with your family!

RunMyErrand can save you time in a million different ways. Here are some ideas:

4. PARTY PLANNING - Let an RME Party Planner plan your child’s next birthday party, bar/bat miztvah or any fun event. We have loads of party planners on board who are ready to help. Try using us for a birthday party or sleepover (we’ll do the invites, food prep, even transportation.)

3. NUTRITIONAL MEAL PLANNING – You’ve got so much to do, meal planning is tough!  Let a Runner do your grocery shopping & make smart nutritional choices based on your specifications.  THEN, have your Runner create a custom menu for your family for the week! No more running around.  We’ll do that for you & deliver wholesome food right to your door!

2. TRANSPORTATION – How much time do you spend shuttling the kids around? Our Runners are background and safety checked and many are parents themselves! Why not hire a Runner to take Timmy and Susie to piano practice, soccer practice and tutoring twice a week so you can enjoy a little down time?

1. DAILY TO-DO’s – Pick up the dry cleaning, take the dog to the vet, return those shirts to the mall, buy diapers, drop off the donations and take the car in for an oil change. What do these chores have in common? They all take lots of time!  So why not give your to-do list to an expert Runner while you enjoy down time with your family?

RunMyErrand is so easy to use. Just sign in, post your errand and put your feet up while someone else handles the chores! It’s as easy as pie (that you and the kids baked together and took pictures of to send to the grandparents!)

My life has changed a lot since that cold February evening in 2008.  I remember it vividly, because I was starving and my parents were buzzing around the house getting ready to go somewhere.  I’m not sure where, but the frantic running around is common in my house.  All I wanted was my kibble and bits (and bits and bits), so I sat there staring at them with a stoic demeanor … that always grabs their attention.  Finally, papa went to fill my bowl, but something was wrong … there were no more bits in the bag.  Panic.  Attack.  I mean, seriously guys, I can’t go without two hearty meals a day … I’m not some little chihuahua.

As the parents tried to figure out how they were going to feed me, the idea for RunMyErrand was born.  I actually never got my dog food that night (sad face), BUT I did get a bowl full of dog treats.  That was a sweet score.

One of my favorite places on earth is Polka Dog Bakery.  I’ve been in a few times to sniff around, and they’ve got some fancy stuff.  Their homemade treats are just the thing to satisfy my complex pallette.  Okay, I lie, I’ll eat anything you put in front of me, but man do those treats always looks SO GOOD.  One of the best things that has come out of RunMyErrand is a partnership with Polka Dog Bakery, so I get my dog food automagically delivered to our door every 6 weeks (you can chose the right amount of time for you).  No need to rely on the parents anymore to remember (because they won’t), it just shows up and I get fed.  No interruptions.  No mess (except for the one I make with my nom-noms).  It’s brilliant!

ps – I dig new technology, you can follow me on twitter here: @kobebusque

Making new friends is fun!

Did you visit our Cupid Street Team yesterday?

We held our RunMyErrand Street Team event yesterday at Downtown Crossing with Zipcar and The Boston Ballet and are thrilled to announce that of the hundreds of entries we received, we randomly picked 4 winners to receive our Hotel Chocolat Taste of Winter Gift Box and our Grand Prize Winner who will receive a $200 Chocolate Tasting at Aroa Fine Chocolate in the South End of Boston.

Our Hotel Chocolat WINNERS are:

Mike Testa

Natalie Sunakaura

Jennifer Rogers

Rosemarie Boardman

And our GRAND PRIZE Aroa Fine Chocolate Tasting winner is:

Alexis Katramados

Congratulations to everyone who found our Cupids at Downtown Crossing! Each person who found us received a FREE ERRAND and a box of SweetTarts to keep or to share with their sweetheart. <3

Don’t forget, it’s not too late to hire one of our 200+ Cupids to deliver some Valentine’s Day love to your Shmoopy! Have you checked out all of the AWESOME Valentine’s Day Specials we are running?