Posted in News and Views
Tagged business, economic crisis, economy, entrepreneurs, ethics, financial crisis, financial institutions, funding, internet, jobs, meltdown, money, Recession, sba, sbdc, small business
Learn how to get a better night’s sleep with these 3 tips to beat insomnia.
Relaxation techniques, like deep breathing, getting into a “bedtime routine” of winding down, even journaling those stressful thoughts that keep your mind jumping. These tips can all help you sleep but as the associate nutrition editor at EatingWell Magazine and a registered dietitian, I’m also interested in how to use food to beat insomnia.
Posted in Tools and Information
Tagged food tips, how to beat insomnia, insomina, sleep better
Nearly half of all adults have worked in the restaurant industry at some point, and 46 percent of restaurant employees say they would like to own a restaurant someday.
Clearly many people dream of owning a restaurant. No one dreams of owning a failed restaurant, though.
That’s why I asked Tyson Cole, one of the Food &Wine magazine’s 2005 Best New Chefs, 2011 James Beard Foundation Best Chef Southwest, and co-owner of the Japanese restaurants Uchi and Uchiko in Austin, Texas, for tips for would-be restaurateurs.
Just keep in mind Cole’s background is varied, extensive–and unusual.He quit one job after he was told he couldn’t make sushi because he was white; he was rehired two days later but told he had to work in the back where guests couldn’t see him. He was also fired for giving a guest a free dessert; he was rehired when the manager found out the guest was Denzel Washington.
Heres what he says, in his own words, about how to start a successful restaurant:
Posted in News and Views
Tagged restaurant startup, small business, start up, startup advice
Driving Green
Buying green is just the first step in reducing the environmental impacts of automobile use. Your choice of vehicle is most important, but how you drive and how well you maintain your car, van, or light truck will also make a difference.
“Shoot the shit?” Does this mean that he uses a shotgun instead of a snake or a plunger to clear the jam? I wonder if he smells good. – Ed.
Gillette sits as #18 on Forbes’ Most Powerful Brands list. How does a company that sells disposable razorblades for mere pennies on the dollar have a value of $16.8 billion dollars?
It’s because they leveraged what we now know as the razorblade model of business.
The business came about due to the creation of a disposable safety razor which coincidentally required the use of the blades made by whom? Gillette.
The basic principle of the razorblade model is to leverage a lower priced item (often labeled as a loss leader) in hopes that the customer comes back to your business which offers a premium component to said item. The lower-tiered item should, in theory, be valuable in its own sense but having access to the premium product increases its value and longevity, for the consumer.
These types of businesses have become commonplace.
Take a look at the printing industry which has a stronghold on printing supplies. Keurig, too, has a dominant share on the single cup brewing industry thanks to the inexpensive machine but premium priced K-cups.
The truth is that every business has an opportunity to uncover and leverage the razorblade model.
The following will provide a few tips (and examples) to do so.
We are coming up on a decade in our own business. We have worked with thousands of clients and many times that number of prospects. As independent business people, our survival depends on our ability to forecast and close work. We have a very high close rate once we’re presenting, especially in person. This has been achieved through careful study of human nature and at a high cost.
As a consultant, you need to make the prospecting cycle as tight as possible so you are not chasing leads that won’t go anywhere. We began to experience greater success when we understood the following principle: Most people can’t say no.
I don’t mean this in the sense that they will buy from you if you overcome objections or demonstrate value. Most prospects know very quickly if they see value in what you’re doing and will buy. Our experience has been the best engagements result from connections that form quickly or, if there are delays because of a competitive procurement process, you are continually building a tighter relationship as it goes on. Absent this, you are likely waiting for a ‘no’.
The reason for this, my partner and I believe, is that most people hate the idea of rejection and hence are hesitant to do it to other people. I, for one, appreciate having my attention and effort liberated by a firm ‘no’. I am now free to begin the hunt for a new client, sometimes with lessons learned. But the slow ‘no’, or worse, the ‘we’re thinking about it’ just takes up mental and emotional cycles that are better spent elsewhere.
Posted in Peter Mehit
Tagged business, clients, consultants, customers, entrepreneurs, marketing, most people can't say no, start ups
Temperatures in New York are increasing, and after 2047 they won’t return to the historical average of the past one and half centuries, according to a study today in the journal Nature.
“Climate departure,” when the average temperature for each year is expected to exceed historical averages from 1860 through 2005, will occur in Jakarta and Lagos in 2029, Beijing in 2046 and London in 2056, according to the study. New York will match the global departure 34 years from now and tropical areas will get there sooner.
The research highlights the urgency of cutting greenhouse-gas emissions because the warming climate may drive some species to extinction, threaten food supplies and spread disease, according to the study. By 2050, 5 billion people may face extreme climates, and migration and heightened competition for natural resources may trigger violence and instability.
“The results shocked us: regardless of the scenario, changes will be coming soon,” Camilo Mora, a geographer at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and lead author of the study, said in a statement. “Within my generation, whatever climate we were used to will be a thing of the past.”
Posted in News and Views
Tagged average temperature, climate change, global warming, greenhouse gas emissions, New York
Dispatches From The Front 