DS Domination Products: April 2015

Thursday, April 30, 2015

New NFC Necklace Stores Immunization Records: Does it Work?

Yale college students have developed a NFC-power necklace that can store immunization records. Is it lifesaving tech or another mHealth project not ready to scale?

Your Income May Disqualify Your Child For College Aid Regardless Of Your Assets

As often is the case at most state universities, if the parent?s income is too high to qualify for need-based financial aid anyway, then moving the child?s assets or parents, into life insurance and annuities won?t help the child qualify for aid.

Use These 8 Loans To Pay For College in 2015-2016

With students having borrowed over $1 trillion to pay for college, making wise choices about how to borrow money to pay for college is extremely important for students and parents. This article provides insights and guidance on using 8 different types of loans to pay for college.

Uber Proves Going Local And Partnering Works In China

Uber makes a good case study of how to expand in China's highly competitive but opportunistic market. Going local and partnering are formulas that are working for Uber.

Collapse Of F1 Team Leaves Caterham Cars $18.7 Million In The Red

Historic British motoring marque Caterham has revealed that it is owed $18.7 million by the Formula One team which carried its name and collapsed in October last year.

Five Reasons You're Killing Yourself Working Overtime, And How To Stop

Do you believe that habitual overtime is your ticket to success and advancement? Time for a reset.

TIGTA Report On IRS Exempt Process - End Of The Beginning?

If you are weary of the interminable, never ending IRS scandal - now on Day 721 by the TaxProf count -, you may see a glimmer of hope in the report released today by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The report is titled Status of Actions Taken to Improve the Processing of Tax-Exempt Applications Involving Political Campaign Activities (downloads as a pdf).

Kiva Zip And Startup Incorporation Service Join Forces

Kiva Zip just joined forces with startup incorporation service BizFilings by CT

What Does It Mean to Be a Showrunner?

So … what exactly is a “showrunner” anyway? And what does it take to be a successful one? The Showrunner hosts Jerod Morris and Jon Nastor define the term and explain what separates successful Showrunners from all the rest. In this episode of The Showrunner, hosts Jerod Morris and Jon Nastor discuss: What essential lesson

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The Good And Evil Of Raising Lots Of Money

How much money to raise is the most difficult discussion between entrepreneurs and investors. The perspectives are different, interests can be misaligned, and the stakes are huge. Here is how the two groups think about the problem.

Passion Projects, Clarity, and the Evolution of No Sidebar

As an online entrepreneur, No Sidebar host Brian Gardner is learning just how crucial being agile is to running a successful business. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being involved in a personal project — especially when you’re passionate about it — but continually keeping your audience in mind is always a good thing. Over the

Amazon Pays $450,000 A Year To This Self-Published Writer

This dad of two quit his job to become a successful author. This is how he did it.

Deadly Conversion Busters: Building a Targeted Audience

Lots of people talk about “traffic,” but how can you attract more of the right people? How can you grow an audience of people you can help the most — people who will see success from using your products and services, and who will be long-term, loyal customers? In this episode of The Mainframe, hosts

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IRS $20 Million Response To Latest Pile of Lois Lerner Emails Is Worrisome

After all the dog ate my homework excuses from the IRS and Justice Department, 6400 more 'lost' emails are recovered. And the IRS warns us how expensive it is to reveal things, suggesting we never should ask.

5 Ways to Write a Seductive Sentence

Here’s the thing: Your sentences don’t have to say much. They just have to say the right things. When you are trying to get people to respond to your articles, subscribe to your email newsletter, buy your products, or donate to your cause … you need to write seductive sentences. And you need to do

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Success In Any Business Is All About Accountability

Most business managers preach that the key to success is holding employees accountable for actions, but I have found that successful entrepreneurs are all about holding themselves accountable. They skip the blame and complain game, and make things happen despite major obstacles. As a startup investor, I view any evidence of a victim mentality as the kiss of death.

IRS Partnership Adjustments In Millions May Produce No Tax

You would think that if a partnership was audited and there was an income adjustment in the millions, that would be really bad news for the partners, but a report just released by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) indicates that such an adjustment might have no effect at all thanks to an undisclosed "specific tolerance amount". The report recommends that the IRS come up with better measurements of the revenue generated by partnership audits. The IRS responded that resource limitation preclude implementation of some of TIGTA's recommendations. Overall the report might be a bit demoralizing to practitioners who strive to get things right in a fairly complex area. On the other hand, those inclined to play the audit lottery (a violation of AICPA ethical standards by the way) would be cheering if they read this report. Of course, the latter crowd does not include a lot of readers of arcane tax material.

Five Actions NFL Rookies Can Take To Build Their Brands

This article is by David Schwab, who founded and leads Octagon First Call, a firm that helps brands and non-profits negotiate celebrity and athlete partnerships.

Instantly Improve Your Conversion Rates With This Simple Hack

Anyone with a website craves one major thing — better conversion rates.

What to Do When You Absolutely, Positively Must Know if Your Content Will Rock

Editor’s note: This post was originally published on June 29, 2011. We’re running it again today to honor DIY media and the endless possibilities for your business when you’ve built a loyal audience. Ever had a great idea, and then started to doubt yourself? Or maybe you’ve already executed on that great idea, but you’re

Marco Rubio Would Be Another Obama On Tax Lawmaking

Marco Rubio is having a good couple of weeks. The freshman Republican senator from Florida has surged to the top of polls in the crowded GOP presidential field, outdistancing even former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

The Art of Self Deception: Airline Execs Really Believe Consumers' Travel Experience Is Improving

The data are in and it’s true - the emperors of the airline industry have no clothes.

Researchers Identify Why 'Agility' In Strategic Plans Is So Hard To Execute

If formulating an effective company strategy is tough, apparently executing that strategy is even tougher. In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, Why Strategy Execution Unravels – and What to Do About It, authors Donald Sull, Rebecca Homkes and Charles Sull examine and summarize work that Donald Sull had started almost a decade ago on how “complex organizations can execute their strategies more effectively.”

The Grandmother Who Set the EU's Digital Agenda: Neelie Kroes is Still Crusading

When she left her post last year following ten years as a European Commissioner – five of them as Vice President in charge of the EU’s digital agenda - Neelie Kroes announced she “would not be tending roses in my retirement.” Indeed, one could argue that “Nickel Neelie” or the “Internet Tsar” – as she has been called – has not at all retired at the age of 73, but is instead tending another kind of garden – cultivating fertile ground for growing companies at Start-Up Delta headquartered in Amsterdam. It’s designed to connect all the major innovation hubs in the Netherlands in order to attract new start-up tech firms to what the Dutch government calls the “West Coast of Europe.” It’s a role she was tapped to play by the Prime Minister personally.

LulzBot 3D Printers: A Glimpse Into The Future of American Manufacturing

During the 3DRV roadtrip, I had the opportunity to use and see many 3D printers in action. Over and over, one printer emerged as a favorite by the people and businesses I would meet, for not only its ease-of-use, but more so for its customer support: the LulzBot TAZ 5 and the LulzBot Mini, which is owned by Aleph Objects in Loveland, Colorado.

Facebook Has 40 Million-Plus Small Business Pages

National Small Business Week kicks off next week: May 4 through May 8. Facebook has announced its small and medium business commitment with a new program called Facebook Fit, a series of five bootcamp-style events designed to help small and medium businesses grow.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

How To Do Great Things, Starting Right Now

What you need most in order to achieve your dreams is wired into you from birth; here's how to access it.

Etsy Introduces "Open Call" for Sellers to Pitch Big Name Retailers

Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY) is known for being a creative destination for consumers to source fun finds for their homes, wardrobes and more... so it's no surprise Etsy continues to think outside the box when it comes to marketing and promoting Etsy Wholesale, Etsy's private, juried marketplace that introduces retailers and other buyers to items they can't find anywhere else.

Tell Us The Rumor Isn't True, Salesforce....

Salesforce.com's manic enthusiasm for its ever-expanding product line has created the clear impression over the years that it loves what it does and believes that no one, anywhere, could do it better.

Technology And Social Change

What will engineering look like in 10 years if kids now are being inspired to build stuff in their basements and garages today?

Five Email Habits To Steal From The World's Busiest People

If they can make it work, so can you.

Proof That Grit Is the Only Way to Reach Your Potential

In our culture, much is made of natural ability. But natural ability is nothing without grit. In fact, without grit, natural ability can actually be wasted. Recent science tells us that grit can accurately determine who will graduate from high school or West Point or even win a spelling bee. In other words, grit is

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The Hottest Startups of 2014

How to Avoid the ‘Idea of Entrepreneurship’

Today’s guest on Hack the Entrepreneur is a freelancer turned agency owner and entrepreneur. His first introduction to working for himself was doing side-work after hours. Eventually, he was able to quit his job and freelance full-time. He expanded to a physical office and had 11 full-time, salaried employees with clients all over the world.

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EquityEats Tries to Apply Crowdfunding to Restaurants in D.C.

Crowdfunding meets equity. For years now, there’s been chatter about crowdfunding taking a leap further, offering not just donations, but investments. Like a design on Kickstarter? You can invest in the company -- not just offer a one-time contribution for a freebie. That’s yet to happen, largely because of regulations prohibiting everyday folks (with salaries less than $200,000) to invest in companies. To be an investor, one must be an “accredited investor” according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. DC-based EquityEats tried to pilot this concept last year. Johann Moonesinghe and his co-founders, Jason Pinto, Andrew Harris, and Steve Lucas, launched a crowdfunding site devoted to helping food entrepreneurs.

How Not to Be a Dirty, Rotten Spammer

Email is an incredibly effective way to nurture prospects and leads, and pave the path for those folks to make a purchase. But so much marketing email goes horribly, horribly wrong. If there’s one thing nearly everybody hates, it’s spam. It wastes our time, it insults our intelligence, and sometimes it can even trick or

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New Aussie Designed Coffee Cup That's Reusable and Pays with a Tap

A new Aussie coffee cup eliminates two problems with your daily coffee run: wasting all those paper (or heaven forbid, Styrofoam) cups and a sluggish line to the cashier. Frank green, a Melbourne-based company, has designed a reusable coffee cup (that doesn’t spill) and lets you pay with a tap -- a tap with the cap of the cup. A number of startups have tackled one problem, either the environmental damage or cashless pay. This one aspires to target both. SmartCup is not the company’s first product. Established in 2011 by Benjamin Young, a local entrepreneur, the design-centered company produced a water bottle with a coconut-husk filter. Of course, it had all the other perks: BPA-free, transportable, reusable. It’s sold in over 300 countries today and manufactured completely in Australia. In fact, Young focuses on keeping the design and production process completely within the country to push for local jobs.

How to Be Smart in a World of Dumb Verbs

Sentences are pretty simple little things. Noun and predicate. So why do we screw them up with lame verbs? Good question. Even in the complex sentence, we still depend upon the noun, we still depend upon the verb. So those constructions better rock. And because the difference between a brilliant sentence and a bad sentence

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Real-World Economics For Boomers

I’m just one Baby Boomer….trying to understand real world economics. I do this for a living, but I’m also developing a keen interest in real money. Not Samuelson’s “Economics”….but the real dollar in my pocket. Real effects on innovative companies and workers I see worldwide.

PennantPark, A BDC, To Buy Assets Of Struggling Rival Lender MCG Capital

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital, a business-development company, announced plans today to expand its portfolio through the acquisition of MCG Capital, a struggling lender to middle-market companies that had taken steps to wind down its portfolio.

Why Do Sites Rank High on Google When They Aren’t Optimized?

Have you ever wondered why some sites rank high on Google when they aren’t optimized for search engines? Or even worse, when they barely have any backlinks? I’ve been asked this question a lot over the last few months, so I thought I would write a blog post explaining why that happens. Here’s why some [click to continue...]

New York Begins Accepting Medical Marijuana Applications

New York State begins accepting medical marijuana applications and expects to announce the approved applicants in July.

Bush Nomination Would Be Bad News For Tax Reformers

This is the story of how Jeb Bush killed tax reform when he was governor of Florida.

Here’s How Henry Rollins Writes (Slightly NSFW)

Prolific is a weak word to describe Authority Rainmaker 2015 keynote speaker Henry Rollins. In fact, most words fail to capture his many dimensions. In August of 1981, young Henry got his start, joining the seminal punk band Black Flag. Following the band’s breakup in 1986, he started 2.13.61, a record label and publishing company.

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How Online Courses Changed My Business

I’ve been teaching online courses for the last three or four years. When I started out, it was because Julien Smith told me that I ought to teach people how to create their own blog topics. That evolved into Blog Topics: The Master Class, and since then, I’ve launched a dozen or so more. Continue […]

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A New Perspective on Leadership Training: From the Outside In

Before you sign up for one more intensive, introspective “know yourself” leadership training course, take a look at the new trend in leadership development.

Solar Energy – A Brief History in the United States

The technology to derive substantial electricity using sunlight has existed since mid-1950, when the first solar cell was created by Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson at Bell Labs – developed the first solar cell capable of generating enough power sun to run everyday electrical equipment. A silicon solar cell which was produced was ...

How Boards And Management Best Create Value Together

At their core, Boards of Directors make strategic decisions and provide oversight, while Management makes recommendations and manages implementation

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Two NFL Entities Dropping Exempt Status - Details Maybe Never

Details of NFL dropping exempt status missing in other coverage.

A Radio Station about Food Reports from a Recycled Shipping Container in Brooklyn

You may have heard them on iTunes: a group of food reporters, commentators, constantly talking about all things food.

Introducing A Blog About How Entrepreneurs Raise Capital And Manage Money (From An Entrepreneur)

Real-life stories of entrepreneurs who built businesses with other people’s money and those who failed. The language of investors, how to pick the right ones for your company, and what second-time entrepreneurs know about money and investors that first-time entrepreneurs don’t.

My New Blendtec Designer 725

The folks at Blendtec sent me a Designer 725 super duper high tech smart blender. As a fitness and health guy, it’s a pretty cool thing to own. My parents own a competing brand of blender, and I’ve owned a much less expensive blender that I used to use to make smoothies until it died […]

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Will Local Governments Squelch Another City-Based App?

A new app called ParkAmigo could be the thing that makes driveway-sharing mainstream. But first, it must get past regulators in Syracuse.

How Neuroscientist Michael Grybko Defines Creativity

Have you ever wondered how prolific writers summon vast stores of creativity without seemingly breaking a sweat? The Writer Files host, Kelton Reid, would like to introduce you to a guest segment where he enlists the help of a neuroscientist to give us a tour of The Writer’s Brain. He has invited research scientist Michael

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Savings and Spending Possibilities for Retirements Beginning Today

An ongoing theme in my research about retirement income planning is just how big of an effect that sequence of returns risk has for both pre-retirees and post retirees. We are really vulnerable to the sequence of market returns experienced in the years in which we are saving for retirement, as well as the years in which we are retired. Though it is common to look at illustrations about retirement planning using an average market return that might be appropriate over a long time horizon like 30 or 40 years, the reality is that it is a much shorter period of returns that has a disproportionate impact on our overall retirement outcomes. And for these shorter periods, actual outcomes will surely differ quite materially from the expected average. We have no control over the returns that the market will provide in these pivotal years.

How to Generate a Never-Ending Flow of Blog Post Ideas

Ever find yourself scratching your head, trying to figure out what to write about on your blog? We’ve all been there. It’s tough to come up with blog post topics week after week, and it’s not easy to keep all those ideas organized, either. This week on Hit Publish, host Pamela Wilson invited three Copyblogger

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Five Ways the Internet Hasn't Changed Public Relations

Everyone knows the Internet has transformed the media. It altered the news delivery system, zapped our eyeballs with blinking lights and radiation, and ushered audiences from print to online to social media on the way to mobile. Without the Internet, we wouldn't know the real-time movements of D-list reality stars (thanks a lot, TMZ) or see the opinions of our many friends, enemies and strangers via tweets, message boards, vines and posts.

Dennis Goedegebuure on the Holistic Practice of SEO and Content Marketing

Listen to Search & Deploy host Loren Baker and Dennis Goedegebuure discuss content for marketplaces, the power of community and audience, and how that content helps attract links and interaction around e-commerce sites. In this 38-minute episode of Search & Deploy, Loren and Dennis talk about: Content for communities and content that is user-generated Tapping

From Thongs To Briefs, This Self-Made Woman Sells Panties To Empower Women

"We’re using women in lingerie as tools for seduction. But what if we use the power of lingerie and fashion to empower women?" Renata Black, the founder of Empowered By You, shows women how their panties can help other women build and grow businesses.

How the Perfect Article Is Framed by White Space

White space sounds like a design issue. So why should you, dear web writer, care? Because words matter. Imagine a statue. An aged bronze sculpture of a young girl, possibly eight years old, in a long dress. She stands about 50 inches … roughly four feet tall. Her head is cocked to the left, a

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In The U.S., Private Equity Investors Find Rich Opportunities And Fierce Competition

Discriminating private equity (PE) investors have a long list of attributes they look for when deciding where they will put money to work. At a time when political, economic and social uncertainties are running high—as they are in most markets around the world today—PE investors are reflexively taking steps to reduce their risk exposure. As we explain in Bain & Company’s Global Private Equity Report 2015, a flight to quality has made the U.S. a renewed focus of investors’ interest, with PE investors prominent among them.

David Cameron's Small Business Humiliation

An attempt by David Cameron's Conservative Party to paint itself as the small businessman's choice has backfired badly

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Signpost Raises $20.5 Million To Take The Marketing Burden Off Brick-And-Mortar Stores

Any business today worth its salt has a need for software to manage inventory, payroll and a customer email list. What store operators don’t have is extra time. So as a wave of companies rush to offer solutions to make that office management easier, one New York startup’s raising millions to tackle one problem only: pain-free marketing.

Man Gets $58,000 Speeding Ticket For Going 14 mph Above Limit

A $58,000 speeding ticket would be annoying no matter what, but if you can claim it on your taxes, it would be at least somewhat less annoying.

What’s the Difference Between a Professional Writer and a Content Marketer?

I’ve been a writer for a long, long time. I’ve written something every day for around 30 years now. (Okay, I took about a week off when I had a C-section.) I’ve been a content marketer since 2004, even though we didn’t call it that back then. These days, I’m a Chief Content Officer —

Can Facebook Overtake YouTube As No. 1 For Video Views And Advertisers?

Remember Myspace? Launched in Beverley Hills in 2003 by Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, in 2005 the pioneering social networking site was acquired by News Corporation for $580m, and for the next 3 years it was the most popular social networking site in the world.

NY Times Links Asia's Richest Man to Families of Senior Chinese Leaders

Thanks to his company's $3.7 billion IPO last December, Wang Jianlin, the chairman of Chinese real estate developer Dalian Wanda, is by many counts Asia's richest man.

Solar Power Battery – The Answer To Our Energy Needs

All solutions solar battery real needs rather little power. With the change of solar energy quickly in the future trend, many people are excited about safe source of energy for the environment always efficient have many concerns. How solar panels and how much you need? What is the cost of making the use of solar ...

Top Tips From '10x' Expert Dan Sullivan (And His Biggest Mistakes)

What’s the biggest secret in business? According to Dan Sullivan, founder of Strategic Coach, Inc., it’s the ability to ask great questions.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Political Risk, Price Freezes and Dumb Economics To Hammer UK Energy Inc

The UK is well and truly marching towards the most uncertain general election outcome in its post-war history, with neither of the two main leading parties – i.e. Conservatives or Labour – being able to land a decisive blow against the other.

Is The Gap Between Business And Technology Executives Finally Closing?

Listen to enough conference speakers, peruse enough analyst reports, and read enough trade press articles, and one can be forgiven for thinking that business and IT people aren't even aware of each others' existence. However, a new survey series suggests that they aren't as far apart as it seems. Both groups recognize the power that new technologies bring to their businesses, and that there's a pressing need to modernize as much as possible.

Is IRS Targeting Drunkards?

Private Letter Ruling 201515035 might not seem to have anything to do with the interminable IRS scandal (According to the TaxProf we are on Day 716 as I write this. And look who is featured on Day 716). It's not as if there are people accusing the IRS of targeting drunkards, although the status of drunkards would probably rise in some circles if they were to start such a campaign, much as Churchill indicated that he would have a favorable remark about the devil, if Hitler ever invaded hell. The connection to the scandal comes from its reflection of our overreliance on the IRS for determining matters that have nothing to do with federal taxation.

Book Review: David Goldblatt's "The Game of Our Lives" Navigates The Complexities Of English Soccer

For Americans trying to come to grips with international soccer, the first hurdle to overcome is its sheer scale. For your average Englishman, Italian or Brazilian, the place of soccer in daily life is roughly equivalent to the media saturation in the United States of professional baseball, football and basketball combined with the intense rivalries of college football and basketball.

Sexism And The Media: As Election Heats Up, Are We Nearer To Tipping Point For Equality?

At the start of what is likely to be the most important feminist election cycle in American history, the role of women in the media has become a constant topic - yet the percentage of female voices remains small relative to their male counterparts in public life.

College For The Masses? (So Say The Upper Classes)

College For The Masses? (So Says The Upper Classes)

At Yale Law School, while students who were serious about a career in the law pursued positions at the Law Review, I got involved with the Law Revue – the end-of-year show that was a send-up of the faculty and the year’s major’s events. As a 1L, I wrote a parody of Welcome Back Kotter called Welcome Back Carter, starring my brother, who did a pretty good Stephen Carter impression, suddenly responsible for teaching intellectual property to Vinny Barbarino and the Sweathogs. It was stupid and funny enough that the next year’s show was handed to me.

How a Persian Entrepreneur Beat The Odds And Changed The Game In Nairobi's Hotel Sector

Sham Ehsani is a Persian Entrepreneur who, together with his family, beat the odds and changed the game in Nairobi’s hotel sector. The Ehsani’s left Iran before the 1979 revolution and came to Kenya en route to Australia. They stopped in Nairobi to visit a relative, an architect lured to Kenya to establish the architecture program at the University of Nairobi, and never left. That was 25 years ago. The family bought up real estate, and developed one of the city’s first shopping centres, Village Market. In 2008, joined by another family, the Ehsani’s opened Tribe, the country’s first design-driven property and boutique hotel. The name, with its traditionally divisive connotations, given there are an estimated 42 tribes in Kenya, alone, was a huge risk. Consultants warned the name could single-handedly bring failure. But, the name stuck, and rather than flop, Tribe has become a haven for hip, successful Kenyans and expats as well as guests from the tech sector, and NGOs, with UN offices nearby. A perfect storm of a rising middle class, and an increasing return of the Diaspora, has created demand for French-style bistros, in the form of an Israeli-owned chain called Art Café, and more boutique-style hotels. Demand is so great; Ehsani has plans for a second hotel just down the road. Meanwhile, he’s disrupted the hotel industry in Kenya with “best available” rates, based on occupancy levels.

The Power of Teamwork and Collaboration

The Pilot launch of The Showrunner Podcasting Course went live on Friday, April 24. On the eve of the launch, weary-eyed but still enthusiastic at 10:30 p.m., The Showrunner hosts, Jerod Morris and Jon Nastor, took a short break from course prep to hop on Skype and share a few thoughts about the power of

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Shareholders Rein In Golden Parachutes

Turnover of CEOs accelerated almost 16 percent between January 2013 and 2014—the highest level in four years, according to outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

How Online Courses Accelerate Any Business Model

The online education industry will rake in $107 billion in 2015. And with the sale of Lynda.com to LinkedIn for $1.5 billion, the commercial sector is leading and pulling away from traditional institutions in the “just in time” education market. People want online courses, and they’ll clearly pay for them. And if great content marketing

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A New Inning For Impact Investing

For years, a nascent movement led by passionate pioneers out to change the world has been slowly but surely taking shape. Quietly, these early fearless leaders have been championing the idea that businesses can be a tool for social good, beyond the jobs that they create. Specifically, they’ve been building the movement for a new class of investors and entrepreneurs to lock arms and build companies that provide products and services that address daunting social challenges, and generate a financial return for investors. These companies are found in many sectors, including large markets such as education, energy, transportation and health care that are ripe for disruption.

One Simple Step to Attracting More Business Opportunities

In 2009, today’s guest on Hack the Entrepreneur co-founded Loudpixel, a successful social analytics company, where she was also Director of Analytics. After many successful years, she realized it wasn’t quite what she wanted to be doing, so she made a change. Currently, she is an independent wedding and lifestyle photographer. In a market that

Tweets, Foursquare Check-Ins, Merge With City Data To Enhance Santa Monica's Wellbeing Index

The beachfront city is one of the first municipalities trying to assess the level of satisfaction of its inhabitants in a scientific way. Findings of its Wellbeing Index are published today.

‘Try It from a Different Angle’ and 2 Other Game-Changing Editing Lessons from a Shoddy Vacuum

What are you refraining from doing that could dramatically change your content? For your online business to produce your desired results, you may need rethink your strategy to provide the best experience for your target audience. If you think a task is too difficult, this might be the time to try it anyway. In this

5 Ways Google Search Results Will Change By 2016

Search engine results pages (SERPs), much to the irritation of search marketers who count on them, change constantly. Google is constantly making tiny, hardly-noticeable tweaks to the familiar layout of its signature creation, leading to gradual changes in user behavior and disrupting the expectations of optimizers who were counting on previous information.

Charlie Munger's 2015 Daily Journal Annual Meeting - Part 4

"The one thing that has surprised me all my life is how many people with high IQs do massively stupid things." - Charlie Munger

How to Grow Your Blog Traffic by 20,000 Visitors a Month

Around eight months ago, I started a new blog in the marketing realm. When I first started out, my traffic was flat. But around four months ago, I figured out a process that has allowed me to grow my traffic consistently—a process I could replicate. I am now at a point where I am adding about [click to continue...]

6 Ways You Should Be Preparing for the Holiday Season Now

It’s too early to prepare for the ecommerce holiday season, right?

How To Survive Your New Boss

One of the biggest risks to your career is when you get a new boss. Gone is the understanding of your performance and contribution and the good working relationship you had with your previous manager.

The Print Magazine Hoax: 10 Overlooked Lessons on Writing Great Content

Fans of the Internet love to mock print magazines. They love to gloat and preen as the gate to Big Media’s kingdom has been thrown open — and the gatekeepers are torn from their thrones and tossed in the moat (the pockets of their blazers stuffed with rocks). We watch from a distance as the

In Searching For Big Data Answers, State Street Queries Academia

When I was growing up, I lived close enough to Hewlett-Packard headquarters that I could ride my bicycle there. So I’m more than familiar with the idea of the private sector partnering with academia. It was Frederick Terman, engineering professor to the HP founders, who suggested back in 1939 that they establish their company in Palo Alto in order to benefit from the proximity of Stanford University.

How Business Coaches Can Become Very Wealthy

There are a variety of different types of coaching services such as life coaching, executive coaching, and personal financial coaching. However, business coaching – defined here as the art and science of assisting business owners excel – is potentially the most lucrative.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Why People Should Want To Work At Your Company Instead Of Need To Work There

Companies as we know them today were largely started from and based on two entities. The Hudson's Bay Company was into the business of fur trading and was founded in 1602, it grew to around 1,500 employees. The Dutch East India Company was into trade and was also founded in 1602 but grew to a massive size of around 50,000 employees and was the richest private company in the world. But whether we look at companies from a few hundreds years ago or today there is one thing that always remained, one assumption that up until now has remained unchallenged and untested. That assumption is that employees NEED to work at these organizations. In other words people have expenses, bills to pay, families to take care of, and purchases they want to make. The relationships between employees and companies has always been symbiotic and essential. People cannot survive without getting paid from the companies they work for and the companies cannot exist without having employees there to do the jobs required. However organizations always had the upper hand because if an employee didn't want to do a job, someone else would . And so, this assumption that employees NEED to work at organizations has been the rule since the very first business was established.

Three Iconic American Companies Ready To Rise Again On Wall Street

IBM, McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) and Coca-Cola are in different lines of business. But they have one thing in common: they’re all fallen iconic American companies. On Wall Street, that is. In the last twelve months, IBM’s stock is down 10.90%, McDonald’s down 4.04%, and Coke is flat, compared to a 12.96% gain of the S&P500. There is a good reason for the lagging performance of all three stocks -- sluggish revenue and earnings growth. IBM’s revenues, for instance, has been falling for twelve quarters in a row. McDonald’s and Coca-Cola have been reporting their own sluggish sales, including the most recent quarter reported this week. McDonald’s, Coca-Cola’s, and IBM’s Key Financial Metrics

Why Israel Needs And Wants To Support Hispanic Entrepreneurs

As many of you know, I have been spending quite a bit of time these days chronicling my recent travels to Israel as part of a delegation. This is article number seventeen in the series, and it’s the last one for now. I’ve covered a wide range of topics – the role that government, NGOs, and big business are playing in the Israel tech miracle; the demographic, geographic, and infrastructural gaps that Israel must close to evolve its status on the international stage; some of the start-ups that are coming out of Start-up Nation that deserve our attention. But until now, I have not written on the subject that inspired my journey to Israel in the first place: the opportunity for Israeli entrepreneurs to collaborate – to share, mentor, and learn from – their peers in the Hispanic entrepreneur community.

In Defense Of The Clinton Foundation: Why Disclosure Matters

When a former President creates a sprawling global charity, and spends his considerable political capital cutting deals to increase funding for major social causes around the world, it's bound to stir up some dust. But when the former Secretary of State (his spouse) joins the foundation to continue her lifelong pursuit of civil and economic rights for women and girls - before announcing her own bid for the Presidency - that dust storm is almost guaranteed to become a political gale.

Adaptive Insights: Plunging A Stake Into Microsoft Excel

The killer app that propelled the PC revolution in the 1980s was the spreadsheet. It revolutionized the business world because it ended the laborious need for managers and analysts to use pen and paper. As a testament to the power of the spreadsheet, the technology is still thriving today — and is a lucrative cash generator for Microsoft.

Mixed VC Scene For Europe's Entrepreneurs, But 'Great Startups Can Come From Anywhere'

'The Weirder The Better' the ideal startup for Mango Capital Partners

Saturday, April 25, 2015

How To Improve Customer Service, Customer Success At Your SaaS Company

In a SaaS or subscription environment, there’s nothing more important than customer service (or “customer success,” or “the customer experience”–I have no dog in the fight over which of these terms you should use). And customer service in SaaS is exactly what I want to talk with you about today. But I’m going to start by telling you about my dear, departed 1996 Audi. The two topics–I promise–are intimately related.

Can Artists Be Entrepreneurs? Absolutely

According to many business authorities, morphing your personal talent and passionate interest into a full-time business is a terrible plan. But a growing number of artists and “creative entrepreneurs” disagree.

Tax Savings To Clear Path For Josh Hamilton's Return To Texas Rangers

When running a business, it's best to pay employees for what you anticipate they will do in the future, rather than what they have done in the past. The effects of this basic tenant become magnified when the annual salaries you're handing out are in the tens of millions, a lesson the front office of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim has been slow to learn.

CVS Health Prepares its Business for the Cultural Demographic Shift

Lou Mercado has more than twenty years of experience in turnaround, start-up and fast-paced environments, where he has driven organizational improvements and implemented best practices in a diverse number of areas: supply chain, retail, logistics, inventory management and operations. Today, as the Vice President of Inventory Management at CVS Health, the scope of his role and his organization impacts the company?s entire retail business ? 7,800 CVS/pharmacy stores and 18 distribution centers in the U.S. ? making them responsible for tens of billions of dollars. When you think about purchasing of that magnitude, the importance of making the right decisions cannot be underestimated.

Build Your Own Solar Panel System

The failure of the North 2003 affected 45 million people in eight US states. Those who use alternative energy sources like solar panels have been able to benefit from its independence from the network. No food is spoiled in refrigerators, not sitting in the dark for them. The Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank, ...

Hong Kong Startups Soon To Get $6M More Thanks To Science Park Fund

Hong Kong startups are getting a boost from a new $6 million government-backed investment fund run by the science park and the launch of Beijing's TusPark incubator space near Kowloon Bay.

Friday, April 24, 2015

One Thing Missing From Sears Stores

Anyone who has visited a Sears store recently will probably have noticed that the shop floor is well stocked with the right stuff? Covington shirts, Levi?s jeans, and Dockers footwear? and with inviting yellow clearance signs for the bargain hunters. But there is one thing notably missing from the store floor. Customers. Yes,

Nevada Dynasty Trusts Strike Gold In Perpetuities in Bullion Monarch

Perpetuity (noun) ~

How Mormons Use The Internet To Spread The Good Word

Whether or not you believe in the religion itself, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (aka "Mormons") are masters of digital marketing, and businesses can learn important lessons from the religion's success.

GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL EMAIL MARKETING

Do you recall listening to that? It’s one of those fabulous bits of Web history shaped when the street was all the while being cleared and we were scavenging some way or another through the wild of what was the first Internet.In spite of the fact that things are different now and AOL no more sends Cd’s on the way, we can at present express gratitude toward them for acquainting us with email and our dependence on it.

Nowadays, we’ve supplanted that message with Tweets, preferences, and announcements, however that doesn’t imply that our natural inclination for email is any less. Actually, in light of the commotion that is online networking, one could contend that the inbox has turned into our virtual dojo, our spot of isolation amongst the disorder.This is the reason, as a business person, I accept that building fruitful email marketing battles has never been more essential than it is currently. Be that as it may, there’s an issue; the vast majority don’t know how to do it right. So in light of a legitimate concern for promoting best practices and helping you succeed as an entrepreneur, how about we get a fresh start and discuss how an extraordinary email crusade is fabricated, starting from the earliest stage.

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Big Oil Gazing at Alternative Energy, Utilities' IT-driven Efficiencies

The oil price decline is prompting a rethink in terms of process efficiencies and adoption of IT services management across the energy spectrum, including the slower movers at big oil firms.

The Number One Thing That Can Kill Your Business

Knowing when to make a graceful exit is one of the last ultimate jobs of a leader and there are several tips to make it easier. Read the advice of some of advertisings' top executives to see how they handled each experience.

Golden Parachutes Revisited

Turnover for chief executives accelerated almost 16 percent between January 2013 and 2014—the highest level in four years, according to outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Sports, Pop Culture And Branding Oh My

Ok I know, I know... the whole three-word grouping followed immediately by the Wizard of Oz reference is more than likely getting quite old by now and I should be ashamed of myself for using it in my title.

On The RiskMap Radar: Mr. Abe Comes To Washington, Elections In UK And Kazakhstan

LONDON – When Barack Obama and Shinzo Abe—the leaders of the world’s first- and third-largest economies—meet in Washington next week, the economic stakes will be high. On their agenda will be the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); a proposed international trade treaty between 12 Pacific Rim nations that has been under negotiation for the last decade. Abe’s visit signals that “we are finally nearing the endgame of discussions on the TPP,” explains Oxford Economics’ Jonathan Buss in a new podcast.

Startup Cooking: 5 Ways to Manage Like Joe Torre, Former New York Yankees Manager

Joe Torre's coaching tenets are directly applicable to managing a startup team successfully.

Tidal's Woes Echoes Those of Beats Music

Cries declaring Jay Z's Tidal as a "flop" may be premature. Here's why.

Why You Need a Social Media Calendar and How to Create One

You’ve heard of social media calendars before, but do you know what they are and how to use one? Chances are you don’t. And that’s okay… I didn’t either when I entered the realm of social media marketing. But once I learned about it and how to use it, it change how I marketed my businesses [click to continue...]

Startup Disruptors Drive Digital Investing Revolution

When the financial industry crumbled in 2008, people’s perception of banking was forever changed. Investors lost trillions of dollars in net worth. People learned the hard way that banks were fallible, with too much power, not enough transparency and an unfair profit margin. The resulting “Great Recession” confirmed for many the

6 Beautiful Ways Artificial Constraints Can Improve Your Creativity and Life

Like accumulating capital, hard work has its own momentum. If you want to master digital media, then produce it often. Maria Popova, the woman behind Brain Pickings, publishes three substantial blog posts every weekday, typically about substantial books she reads. Each post is an elegant display of her ornate knowledge and polished creativity. And when

IRS Paid $3 Billion In Tax Credit Mistakes Plus $5.8 Billion In Erroneous Refunds

A government report reveals more errors at the IRS. This time, IRS paid out $3 billion in erroneous tax credits to companies that didn't earn them.

My Ideal Buyer Partner

The people who work best with me are trying to grow their business. They may or may not be employees of some other company, but they want to grow their business, their part of the story. They are looking for next-level advantages. Continue Reading

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How Ironic: America's Rent-Controlled Cities Are Its Least Affordable

The handful of major U.S. cities with rent control are also the most expensive. A closer look shows that this is no accident.

You Are Being Physically Tracked When You Shop, The FTC Reveals -- Here's What You Need To Know

You are being physically tracked when you shop, and an announcement from the Federal Trade Commission today revealed scary details as to the extent to which this practice occurs. The FTC announcement, which represents its first action against a company engaged in retail tracking (that is the physical tracking of users

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Wells Fargo CMO Jamie Moldafsky Makes The Case For Diversity As Business Driver In New Campaign

Wells Fargo next week unveils a new brand campaign, the first from BBDO, the agency it selected last May. TV spots pull at heartstrings, such as one featuring a real-life same-sex couple—another first for the bank—who diligently work on learning sign language before meeting their hearing-impaired adopted daughter. In another spot, a long-haul truck driver greets his aspiring-geologist daughter after a job on the road, a gift of rocks from his travels in hand.

How to Discover Your A-Ha Moment

One day while living in Nairobi, Kenya, Kenton Lee found himself walking to church next to a young girl. He noticed that, despite their lengthy walk, her shoes were far too small for her little, but growing, feet. He felt sorry for her and wondered why such injustice existed. To him, shoes seemed like such an obvious thing, such a basic commodity item that hadn’t ever given him a moment’s contemplation. And yet here, for this child, shoes were once given to her, but that was in a distant past and that same pair no longer sufficed for her present needs.

Sick of Your Job? You Have More Control Than You May Think

More than two-thirds of Americans hate their job. At least that’s what the Gallup poll reports.

Earth Day, Everyday... 3 Ways Businesses Can Be "Green" Year Round

Earth Day may be behind us already, having taken place April 22, 2015... but that doesn't mean businesses can't aim to deliver Earth Day approved actions everyday of the year. Whether it's changing your existing shipping habits or offering digital receipts versus paper, there are countless ways small business owners and large business owners alike can achieve more Earth friendly business success.

How To Plan And Budget For SEO

The phrase "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail," applies just as well to SEO as anything else in life. Here's how to make sure you're planning and budgeting for SEO starts out on the right foot.

Why You Shouldn't Celebrate The Collapse Of Comcast's Bid For Time Warner Cable

Those in fear of a cable monopoly or oligopoly will claim victory when Comcast abandons its Time Warner Cable bid in the face of un-winnable regulatory hurdles. But, they'll then have to hope service and pricing improves at a time when the finances of the cable industry are becoming far more stretched.

Worst Bosses

What's Stopping Your Team Going The Extra Mile?

'My kids have just thrown up and three planes have broken. We've now been delayed two days. This is a nightmare. The worst thing is the airline staff don't seem to care.'

5 Easily Avoidable Mistakes That Cause Most Podcasts to Fail

Most podcasts fail. It’s unfortunate, but true. That might psyche out some potential showrunners before they even start. But savvy showrunners will recognize an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others. Obviously, there are many possible mistakes that can lead to podcasts failing. But there are some common ones that The Showrunner hosts, Jerod

How Our Obsession With Greatness Kills the Ability to Do Good Work

The pressure to be great — well, so great that it cripples us — injects us with expectations that are typically unrealistic. We spin our wheels trying to write that epic post. But we have a tendency to measure ourselves up so inadequately to those we admire — so much so that, in the end,

Body Language Secrets For People (Like Me) Who Hate Networking

Here are six changes I made in my body language that morphed my networking experience from frightening to fun. Maybe they will do the same for you . . .

Deadly Conversion Busters: How a Lack of Goodwill Could Be Hurting Your Authority

Goodwill can be the difference between a happy, growing community and a declining audience where you get more unsubscribes than opt-ins. Join The Mainframe hosts Tony Clark and Chris Garrett as they discuss how goodwill works in your digital business, what you can do to generate more goodwill, and how to nurture it with your

Price Check: Instacart Highlights Grocer Markup

Forbes recently named grocery delivery app Instacart as America's Most Promising Company. But the startup still has a long road ahead of it.

The Anatomy of a Hyperlink That Woos Readers

Links are hugely important for the web. In a macro, 30,000-foot way, links are the currency that help search engines evaluate the essence and quality of content. They help search engines determine the authority behind a web page. On a micro level, though, from the reader’s perspective, links also serve as one more of these

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A Former New York Investment Banker Takes On Financial Inclusion In India

The female entrepreneur who is opening up access to financial services for all Indians.

5 Things To Stop Doing For Better Speeches

If you have any significant responsibility, you sometimes make speeches. They may be to employees or customers or community groups, but it’s inevitable that an executive has to give speeches. However, it’s not inevitable that they be bad speeches. For a quick fix, here are five common things to stop doing to make your speeches more engaging.

Minority Shareholders Liable For Part Of Corporate Income Tax

The Tax Court decision in the case of William Kardash and Charles Robb is one of those where the back story is quite a bit more interesting than the decision. The problems of Mr. Kardash and Mr. Robb are collateral damage in the collapse of Florida Engineered Construction Products Corp (FECP). Their former boss John D. Stanton currently resides at a low security federal correctional institution in Sumterville FL having been sentenced to 10 years and payment of $37,816,875 in 2013. According to the DOJ news release

According to evidence presented at trial, Stanton was the former president of Florida Engineered Construction Products Corporation ("FECP"), more commonly known as Cast Crete Corporation. FECP/Cast Crete manufactured and sold concrete construction products. As president of the company, Stanton interfered with the administration of the tax laws by impeding an Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") audit of the company, creating and backdating two fraudulent demand promissory notes totaling $500,000,000, causing false Forms 1099 to be filed with the IRS, failing to file corporate tax returns on behalf of the company, and other acts of obstruction and concealment. During approximately 2004 through 2008, the company made well over $100 million and failed to file a single corporate income tax return.

And then there's the bigamy. Wow.

8 Tips for Running Wildly Successful In-Person Events

As soon as I walked in the room, I could feel the energy of the audience. There was a palpable buzz of anticipation and excitement in the air. We were all waiting for Seth Godin to deliver the opening keynote at Copyblogger Media’s first-ever live event, Authority Intensive. Everyone was excited about Seth, but as

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What You Need to Know Before Hiring a Solar System Installer

With non-renewable sky rising energy costs each year, people are turning to solar energy. As you can see, the trend now is to focus on going green and most companies and private owners are on the lookout for green energy production. Now you can create, either of their own solar panels or hire a solar ...

2015 30 Under 30: Art & Style

What Would It Take To Improve Your Work-Life Balance?

Are you happy with your current work-life balance, or is the balance tipped too far to one side? Questions of work-life balance are particularly important to ask ourselves in the digital world, because it’s easy to slip in to the pattern of always being on call.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

A Tech Company Seeks To Ease Employers' Immigration Hassles

A company uses software and a network of legal and other professionals to help tech startups hire and manage their international employees.

When The SEC Pays Your Lawyer For Informing On You, Is That A Good Thing?

The SEC pays its second big bounty to an employee in the compliance department of a company, raising questions about whether that's a good incentive to root out wrongdoing.

Expectation Rules For Publicly Listed Businesses

It is not just that Tesco plc has reported the worst results in its history and the UK's biggest retail loss, at £6.4 billion ($9.6bn). Or that there were many warning signs, all ignored. No, there is more to it - and it is about what we expect from publicly listed businesses.

What Role Does Culture Play in Brand Building?

The role culture plays in building a sound brand strategy is more important than ever. Think beyond demo and psychographic insights. While those elements still play an important role, savvy brand builders are layering in the measurable impact consumer’s culture has on what brands they support. Communicating effectively with the New Heartland culture doesn’t require a change in the message. However, it may require a change in the channels used and way it’s delivered.

Pros and Cons of Employing Solar Powered Lighting

Solar landscape lighting is an excellent choice to decorate and brighten up your home garden and pathways of the night. Like other types of outdoor lighting, solar lights also have their own strengths and limitations. The advantages and disadvantages of using solar garden lights: Benefits He uses renewable energy Solar garden lights allow us to ...

Impact Investing - How To Get A Return While Doing Good

Imagine your investments generate both financial returns and measurable social and/or environmental impact. That's the premise behind "impact investing," an area that's quickly gaining traction among angel investors.

Do We Celebrate Failure Too Much?

The only people who don’t fail are people who don’t try anything outside of their comfort zones, which is no way to grow. So a certain amount of failure is not only okay, it’s desirable. But have we reached a point where we are now over-glorifying failure? The Lede hosts Jerod Morris and Demian Farnworth

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Jeff Goins on Creating Amidst Chaos

Today’s guest on Hack the Entrepreneur is a communicator, consultant, creator, and an entrepreneur. He is also a writer, speaker, and master audience builder. Originally from Chicago, he then moved to Nashville after graduating from college and spending a year traveling with his band. He has written four books, including his latest The Art of

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4 Deep Marketing Questions (with Answers!)

Once again, Confessions of a Pink-Haired Marketer host Sonia Simone is jazzed to have four great questions from the audience about marketing and business. How do you move forward when you’ve made a big change with your business? How do you get the confidence to launch your product? And just what is Sonia’s evil ulterior

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The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Bullet Points That Work

Why bullet points? Like it or not, they keep people reading your blog posts, pages, articles, and copy like nothing else … In the online attention economy, studies show us that readers behave in very predictable ways. They’ll read the headline, the first sentence, they’ll scan the page, particularly the left-hand side of the page,

REIT Activist Scores Win In Associated Estates $2.5B Sale To Brookfield

Land and Buildings, the activist real estate investment trust (REIT) investor run by former Citigroup stock analyst Jonathan Litt claimed a major victory on Wednesday in Associated Estates Realty Corporation's $2.5 billion sale to industry giant Brookfield Asset Management.

The Developer Opportunity That Exists In The Small Business World

A number of technology vendors started off as small business offerings but eventually tried to move up the food chain - file sharing vendor Box and enterprise social network Yammer are two examples. The orthodox view is that the more lucrative opportunity that exists when creating enterprise products is an easier win. Box is a good example of a company that started off with a direct sales approach but now looks very much like a traditional enterprise IT vendor - sales staff in flash cars included.

Does Your Blog Need a Sidebar?

Have you ever wondered if your blog really needs a sidebar? And if you need a sidebar, should it be on the left or right side? Sadly, the answer isn’t a simple yes or no. But with some testing, I’ve figured out the optimal layout for a sidebar on a blog. So, should you be [click to continue...]

Jaeger-LeCoultre, UNESCO Unveil Glacier Bay National Park Video, Photo Exhibit to Honor Ecosystem

When watch brands give back to the environment, special things happen in time. Today, in honor of Earth Day, Jaeger-LeCoultre unveils a new video of Glacier Bay National Park and the ecosystem it works with UNESCO to protect.

Teva/Mylan/Perrigo - Merger Mania In Pursuit Of Generic Margins

There are very few assurances in life, but in the field of generic pharmaceuticals, there are three certainties we are about to witness:

A Simple Content Marketing Strategy for Creative Folks

I promoted my business the wrong way for a long time. Just like many designers and artists, I focused on building my portfolio, posting my work around the web, and waiting for feedback. I quickly realized this approach wouldn’t take me very far. Why? Because that’s what everyone else does. And you’re assuming people who

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Three Smart Ways To Regain Your Focus

Working in a focused way can greatly boost our productivity. It also helps us stay calm, as we tackle tasks with our full attention rather than flitting from thing to thing. Here are some ways to regain your focus and combat distractions.

Americas Electric Grid Left Unprotected!

Red electric left unprotected against EMP and solar flares; It would take the US $ 2 billion to fix … -Opinion- We here in America do not realize how old our infrastructure. See were the first in a number of areas. It was good, it gave us a great advantage over the rest of the ...

Are M&A Replacing R&D in Pharma?

A $15.8 billion dollar bidding war for Salix Pharmaceuticals just came to a dramatic end as Valeant Pharmaceuticals beat Endo International with an all-cash offer for the company. While some sectors would view this as game changing, the pharmaceutical industry is beginning to see this as status quo. In 2015, pharma deals have, “reached $59.3 billion, a 94% increase over that same period a year ago, and the highest value for this stage in any year since 2009,” according to Thompson Reuters. Given the flurry of merger and acquisition activity in the life science space over the past few years, this is not surprising to many pharmaceutical regulatory and compliance attorneys. After having lived through three acquisitions in 18 months, a California lawyer recently joked that the same company has laid her off twice without her ever having worked for it.

Why A Brain Tumor Was the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Indie Lee

Indie Lee's brain tumor taught her what she was passionate about and changed her life for the better.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Sales in 2015: Why Yesterday's Sales Strategies Are Obsolete

Selling to the modern day buyer requires that you enter the world of the modern day buyer.

How The Most Effective Executives Avoid Getting Mired In The Small Stuff

Despite perpetual complaints about never having enough time in the day to do crucial work, many executives waste precious hours doing jobs that an executive assistant (EA) could do better, and for a fraction of the cost. Leaders who don’t delegate such tasks visibly show everyone around them they aren’t focused on leading. That erodes morale rapidly, especially when a company is in crisis. It also slows down executive career advancements. In contrast, the most effective executives use EAs wisely. That lets them devote every precious minute to leadership, team-building, and making important decisions that no one else can make.

Crazy Facts About China's Stock Market That Will Make You Think Twice Before Investing

A common saying is you can tell a bull market has run it's course when your taxi driver starts recommending which stocks to buy. In China, everybody seems to be an expert today.

Gurbaksh Chahal And Gravity4 Hit With Gender Discrimination, Illegal Surveillance Lawsuit

Gurbaksh Chahal, the 32-year-old embattled and often self-aggrandizing CEO who was convicted of domestic violence last year and fired from his ad-tech company RadiumOne, hoped that his new startup, Gravity4, would give him a clean, more woman-friendly slate. He was wrong.

DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman's Big Test Will Come After Her Battle With Trian

DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman's big test will start in the second half of 2015, a time when proxy battles and sharp currency moves have likely cooled.

Mobile Fashion Marketplace Poshmark Raises $25 Million More, Straps on Apple Watch

Last December, I wrote about Poshmark adding luxury authentication to their already-addictive mobile fashion marketplace. Investors must have liked that effort—plus the fact that the company is set to double its revenue in just six months this quarter with a $200 million run rate in annual sales. Today, the company announced it has raised $25 million in new funding.

Selling Your Business Is A Risky Affair

You need to know how your business size fits into the world of business transfers. If your business does less than two million dollars buyers are likely to want you to hold paper either through a buyers note or an earn out.

Women: The Next Wave of Angel Investors?

By Alicia Robb, Senior Fellow, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

How Award-Winning Journalist Adam Skolnick Writes

Sometimes word nerds just need a place to talk shop, and that’s the intention of today’s episode of The Writer Files. Host Kelton Reid asked award-winning journalist Adam Skolnick to join him for a guest segment called “writer porn.” Adam is an award-winning, globetrotting travel journalist, which is kind of a rare thing these days.

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What Are Solar Homes?

Cooling and heating a house requires a lot of energy, and for most of us, this means huge utility bills and a lot of stress. However, for homeowners who live in solar houses, things are a little different. But it is a solar house, you may ask? Well, it’s a modern using green house solar ...

Executive Onboarding From A Subordinate's Perspective

Everyone is watching and everyone has the same question, “What does this mean for me?”

About Pages: How to Fascinate and Engage with Just One Look

If you want your website’s About page to work, you have to answer one crucial question. And no, the question isn’t, “How many years have you been in business?” It’s the one question that’s at the top of your site visitor’s mind. And if you answer it to her satisfaction, there’s a good chance she’ll

As Governor, Jeb Bush Catered Tax Cuts to the Wealthy

When it comes to tax policy, the Bush family has one thing in common: They like to cut taxes on investors.

How to Create Exquisite Subheadlines

The purpose of the subheadline is two-fold. Standing out to a reader is its first purpose. The second purpose is a little more complex. Imagine your average reader. She has fallen in love with your headline. It’s a good one. It’s a humdinger. And now she is scrolling down the page, evaluating whether or not

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Mexico's Drugwar Violence Continues Despite Arrests Of Senior Cartel Leaders

Over the last few days Mexican authorities have detained the leaders of both the Juarez Cartel and the Gulf Cartel, groups that have historically controlled drug trafficking in Ciudad Juarez and eastern Mexico. Mexican agents captured the Juarez Cartel’s alleged leader Jesús Salas Aguayo and the Gulf Cartel’s boss José Tiburcio Hernández Fuentes on April 17. The arrests continue a pattern of top-level narco arrests during the presidency of Enrique Peña Nieto, a strategy that echoes the “kingpin” takedown tactics implemented by his predecessor, Felipe Calderon. As cartel leadership structures have crumbled, security has improved in former turf war zones such as Ciudad Juarez, Monterrey, and Acapulco. Narco violence has been largely pushed to urban peripheries and into the mountains far away from cities.

Millennials Are The Worst...Unless They're The Best

image thumbnail - see full story for attributions

I used to think that Millennials got a bad rap when it came to their performance in the workplace. To me, people who complained about young workers were just relics from another time, painfully stuck in their antiquated ways. As a Millennial myself, I found accusations of our sensitivity, narcissism,

5 Surprising Reasons Why Good Podcasts Fail to Get Noticed

All businesses are in the media business, whether or not they acknowledge it (or like it). The Internet has rapidly changed how customers discover, research, and interact with companies. You are no longer in business to sell products or services; you are in business to find your audience, create useful content that draws them to

Energy Efficiency: The Impact Of Renewable Power

For most of the past decade, the term “global warming” has been tossed around, but just what does that mean exactly? Simply place the global warming is the gradual increase of the temperature of the atmosphere of the earth. Due to the greenhouse effect global warming is attributed to carbon dioxide and other harmful pollutants ...

Monday, April 20, 2015

An Ebook on Authority

I was asked by Lee Odden to contribute to an ebook that relates to the upcoming Authority Rainmaker conference. I would’ve said yes anyway, but they added to the story that Henry Rollins was going to be in this same ebook. Having read most of Henry’s books, to actually be on some other page in […]

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The Hipster’s Dilemma

Join host Robert Bruce for the second episode of Allegorical … A simple story about one of the greatest hipsters who ever lived … and the reality behind the facade of his particular brand of cool. Listen to Allegorical No. 2 … Click Here to Listen toAllegorical on iTunes Click Here to Listen on Rainmaker.FM

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How to Escape the Social Media Swindle

One day we’ll look back at this period in history as the big swindle known as social media marketing. But on the upside, we’ll also view these times as the point when companies big and small realized the importance of owning their own home base and enticing prospects not only to visit, but to experience.

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Retailers' Slower-Moving Inventory Is Tying Up Cash Longer

After several years of turning over inventory more quickly, U.S. retailers are experiencing slower-moving stock, according to preliminary data from Sageworks, a financial information company.

How to Find a Multiplier Effect for Your Income

Today’s guest on Hack the Entrepreneur is an entrepreneur and an inventor who consistently earns millions of dollars licensing his ideas to companies like Disney, Nestlé, and Coca-Cola. He is not high-tech, but he knows how to take an idea and make it a global sensation very quickly. Before becoming a savvy inventor, he spent

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Kenya's Entrepreneurial Eco System Thrives Despite Terror Attacks

Kenya’s entrepreneurial eco system is thriving, despite a spate of terror attacks over the last few years, including one earlier this month which left hundreds dead and injured. Overseas hotel bookings have been hit hard with last-minute cancellations, but along the country’s well-travelled coastline, on a white, powder sand beach near Mombasa, there is evidence of Kenya’s new, and growing domestic market: the small, but significantly rising Kenyan middle class. A Kenyan family of four occupies the entire main house of Almanara, a small, luxury resort. Each villa is equipped with no fewer than three bedrooms and a staff of chef, waiter, and housekeeper. And all cost a minimum of $300 per person, per night.

4 Safe Ways to Find Your Writing Voice (and One Dangerous One)

One of the hardest things for a writer to uncover is her voice, her style, her flair. Writers start to peel away from the crowd when they find their voice. That strong, distinctive voice that people easily recognize. But finding your writing voice is no easy task. Your voice is something that emerges over time

Reasons Why Solar Energy Is The Answer

Now, if you do not know or have not heard of solar energy and its potential, then you must be living under a rock somewhere. Our long-standing provider of heat and light, the sun, where solar energy is coming from. This seemingly endless power source was considered by past civilizations and worshiped as a God ...

A ‘Media, Not Marketing’ Case Study: The Rise of Chef Tim Anderson

How does a reality television competition help launch your career if the winner doesn’t receive a monetary prize? Today’s guest on Editor-in-Chief is an American who won the British television program MasterChef in 2011. Tim Anderson is now an entrepreneur and author whose first book, Nanban: Japanese Soul Food, is available from SquarePeg in the

Non-Verbal Cues: The 2 Things Never To Be Left Unspoken

What are you really communicating to the people around you?

Charlie Munger's 2015 Daily Journal Annual Meeting - Part 3

"There should be more willingness to take the blows of life as they fall. That's what manhood is: taking life as it falls. Not whining all the time and trying to fix it by whining." - Charlie Munger

10 Marketing Techniques I Learned from Instagram Models

Do you use Instagram? If you do, you probably notice a ton of pictures of half-naked models. Most people react negatively to these images; for example, they think that these models have nothing going for them other than their looks. Or even worse, most people assume these models aren’t intelligent. I’ve known a handful of these [click to continue...]

A King Of Viral Media Shares His Secrets

Emerson Spartz started his first company at the age of 12, when he founded MuggleNet, which became the number one Harry Potter fan site. In his early teens, he managed a team that grew into the hundreds. He wrote best selling books, hosted the most listened to podcast, and dreamed of additional businesses to develop. To make his schedule more flexible, he suggested to his parents that he be home-schooled.

Can Box Remain Independent?

Box -- it lets people store and retrieve data on the cloud -- loses enormous amounts of money and its growth rate is slowing down. Can Box survive as an independent company? Probably not.

The Cure for Impostor Syndrome and Other Crises of Confidence

Ever suffer from Impostor Syndrome? This is the feeling that no matter what external results you see, no matter how “expert” you become, you constantly doubt your own authority and ability. It’s funny, because the people I know who have the worst time with it are often the ones who are the best qualified. (While

Morgan Stanley Profits Surge 60% On Trading And Wealth Management Performance

Morgan Stanley reported a better-than-forecast 60% surge in first quarter earnings, bolstered by strong trading results, particularly in equities, and improving margins at its wealth management division.

Make Your Business Ready for an Electricity Blackout

30 years ago, everyone hopes the world are increasingly sophisticated and politically stable. Today it seems that there have been many technological advances, but the power supply is uncertain. This is partly due to the dynamics of the world have presented us with an oil supply much more destabilized and governments have an interest in ...

Make Media that Serves

I was the keynote speaker at Perry Drake’s UMSL digital marketing event last week. The room was a mix of agency people, business owners, and students. With that in mind, I asked them if they wanted to see what I speak about with businesses who are asking about how to use media and community to […]

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Wall Street's B.S. About Bernanke's New Job

Former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke announced last week that he had accepted an offer to become a senior advisor to a hedge fund.

How SMEs Can Internationalize

Taking a proactive approach to internationalization makes companies more robust and potentially more successful, with a far greater client base and more scope to expand. While internationalization typically denotes big business carried out on a global scale, even the smallest companies can internationalize successfully with limited resources if they play their cards right.

China's Fosun To Set Up Online Small Loan Provider

Following a vibrant year of overseas investment, the Fosun Group conglomerate is setting up an online small loan provider for China's small- and micro-sized enterprises as well as personal borrowers. Five affiliates of Fosun, the licensing partner for Forbes China, will pump $32 million into the Guangzhou-based lender Fosun Yuntong Small Loan.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

5 Ways To Make Your Employees Proud to Represent Your Brand

Customer experience is similar to a tip. It's not guaranteed but it's expected.

The One Skill No MBA Can Survive Without

Imagine bringing electricity to remote parts of Africa via solar panels that people can pay for in tiny increments--say $1--until they own them outright. That is the concept behind Just Solar, conceived by students at HEC Paris, a leading business school.

Death By Sea In Lampedusa: Trying To Ease The Toll With Patrolling Drones

So many lives to save, so little resources. Around 700 people are believed to have drowned last night after a large boat capsized off the tiny island of Lampedusa. In the previous weekedn, the Italian coastguard had rescued nearly 6,000 migrants that were trying to reach the coast of Sicily, coming from north Africa.

Dead By Sea In Lampedusa: Trying To Ease The Toll With Patrolling Drones

10 Notorious Tax Cheats

The Strongest Entrepreneurs Do These 8 Things Every Day

While a great business plan, marketing strategy and team are essential components of a winning company, the best entrepreneurs are masters of their inner beings as well, according to health and spiritual expert Ron Williams.

Ways To Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

Keep your energy bills can be a challenge, especially in the winter months. However, there are many things you can do to make your home more energy efficient, reduce costs and help the environment in the process. Some of these tips require initial capital, but reducing your energy bills will more than make up for ...

America's Fittest Cities

Why Aaron Hernandez's Conviction Does Little To Support The Need For An NFL Personal Conduct Policy

Last week, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison for the 2013 murder of Lloyd Odin, Meanwhile, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was reinstated into the NFL after a year-long suspension for pleading "no contest" to reckless endangerment of his son.

Profits, a Prophet and World Peace through Health IT (Maybe)

The makers of missiles and of farm products, of attack planes and baby strollers all want a part of the health IT action. Profits, not a prophet, as motivation -- but maybe "world peace," anyway.

Types Of Personal Wealth Creation Programs

A specialty practice in the field of what is generally considered executive coaching is personal wealth creation. Here, methodologies such as Millionaire Intelligence form the foundation of the efforts.

The Basics and Benefits of Solar Pool Heating

Solar pool heater can help reduce the cost of maintaining a backyard pool. Instead of using the traditional mechanical system, you can harness energy from the sun to keep the comfortable water for her family. How Does It Work To increase the temperatureof H2O with a swimming pool solar heating system, equipment pump water through ...

Saturday, April 18, 2015

5 Secrets Of Selling And Serving 80 Million Millennial Customers

Listen up: Here are five key things you need to know about what the millennial generation of consumers is looking for in terms of customer service and customer experience that. Getting a grasp on this information is crucial because the millennial generation of customers is about to take your businesses by storm--if it hasn't already. These young customers will soon be spending with you (or choosing not to) on an unparalleled scale because this is a generation that's even larger than the baby boom at its height.

5 Secrets To Wooing And Serving Millennial Customers -- All 80 Million Of Them

It’s All Regarding Solar Power Info

Solar panels are the most dominant manifestation of renewable energy available in the market today. You can use them to generate heat, electricity and indoor and outdoor lighting. Solar energy has been tested for human use for centuries. Due to space exploration and urgency of process energy, technology has progressed beyond all expectations in a ...

IRS Seeks Record $2 Billion In Back Taxes From Prominent Businessman And Philanthropist Sam Wyly

They say you don't get rich by writing a lot of checks. And if you believe the IRS, failing to pay billions in federal taxes may explain how two brothers and Texas businessmen amassed a fortune worthy of landing them among the Forbes 400 Richest Americans.

Did You Ever Wonder What LEGO Does When They're Not Building Bricks?

Each year, the LEGO Foundation holds its “LEGO Idea Conference.” It is an invitation-only event and I am fortunate to be on the guest list. The LEGO Foundation hosted me, along with about 300 leaders in the field of play, education, learning, and international development for three days in the LEGOLAND Hotel and Conference Center in Billund, Denmark. In playful all-day working sessions—often with bricks and mini-figures in our hands—we concentrated on identifying barriers to systemic problems in global education and on imagining playful solutions.

Cuomo's START-UP NY Highlights Failures Of The Empire State Development Corporation

The slow start of Governor Andrew Cuomo's Start-Up NY speak to broader failures in the state's economic development corporation.

What Are 3 Advantages Of Solar Energy?

Solar energy is the energy of the sun exploited. Solar thin “sun” in Latin. The sun’s energy is very powerful and once operated by the use of modern tools can support life. Solar energy is rich, long lasting and, above all, 100% free. Benefits Solar energy does not cause pollution to the ecosystem. The main ...

Friday, April 17, 2015

Celebrate Earth Day With Amour Vert

Fashion that has a commitment to environmental responsibility is the foundation of Amour Vert. It’s definitely not a novel concept, as many other lines have taken more of an initiative on becoming greener. However, not all look as good or strive as hard as this San Francisco-based label. “The brand was born out of desire to transform our future,” says Christoph Frehsee, Amour Vert’s CEO. Though such an endeavor may appear daunting for most, Frehsee and his wife and co-founder, Linda Balti, have certainly taken steps in the right direction.

Present Like a Challenger

How to build a presentation for commercial teaching

Keys to Building Customer Trust for Your New Business

As a new business owner, one of your most immediate goals may be expanding awareness of your product or service. Advertising and marketing initiatives can help in this regard, but even the best promotion may not secure the loyalty of a customer who is hesitant about trusting your company. Building consumer trust is a challenge for any new business, and it is a process that requires deliberate and consistent action. With each new city that Varsity Tutors has entered, we have found that the three strategies below are excellent ways to begin building customer trust from day one.

Ford's F-150 Strategy Gets Another Big Endorsement; Stock Still A Bargain

Disclosure: I own Ford shares Ford’s (NYSE:F) 2015 F-150 SuperCrew model received the highest 5-Star score endorsement for Overall Safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). That’s certainly good news for Ford, as it tries to transition from heavier steel tracks to lighter aluminum trucks, to improve fuel efficiency without compromising safety. The F-150 safety endorsement comes three months after Ford’s new series received a strong market endorsement-- Ford Motor Company couldn’t make enough F-150s to keep up with consumer demand. New F-150s raced out of the lot in 9-12 days, much faster than the typical truck. In recent years, Ford has developed a reputation for quality and innovation, churning out new products, strengthening its brand, and market position. In 2015, the F-150 was named top truck in the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. In 2013, Ford was America’s best-selling vehicle brand for the fourth consecutive year, and Ford F-Series continued as the country’s best-selling truck for the 37th year in a row and best-selling vehicle for the 32nd consecutive year, according to the company’s 2013 annual report. F-150’s strong performance sales should be good news for Ford’s shareholders, as pickup trucks are a major driver for the company’s profit margins. Ford’s stock has been weak in a strong market, due to investor anxiety about the company’s plant closures in Europe, where a prolonged stagnation and competition from European carmakers have taken its toll on the company’s sales. But the stock has recovered nicely from yearly lows last November. Still a good bargain at 8.5 times next year’s earnings and 3.80% dividend. Ford’s Financials as of 4/16/2015

Why Switch to Full Potential of Solar Power?

The numerous benefits of using solar power to fascinate everyone to try to start using this energy in their homes. People who rely primarily on the use of commercial electricity always would throw the question “Why Go Solar?” Here is the important point. Choosing a solar energy system will allow you to reduce your monthly ...

The IPO Class Of 2015

The Top 10 Employers For Veterans

What To Do When The Job Interviewer Doesn’t Ask The Right Questions

A Startup Aims To Unglue Kids From Their Phones

A new app from the startup ParentsWare aims to help parents control the amount of time their kids spend playing games online and surfing the Internet.

How to Be a Successful Marketer if You’re not Super Smart

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I’m not that smart, and yet I’m a pretty good online marketer. I am actually probably one of the better ones out there. So, how’s that possible? Well, you don’t have to be smart to be the best marketer. Instead, you need to be creative, execute well, [click to continue...]