The US Refuses to Fall in Love With Electric Cars | WIRED

January 24, 2022January 23, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

IN DECEMBER 2021, sales of electric vehicles overtook sales of diesel cars for the first time in Europe, as 176,000 EVs rolled out of car dealerships across the continent. At the same time in China, the country’s automotive industry announced that EV sales for the year had ballooned by 158 percent compared with 2020, as more than 3.5 million vehicles took to the roads.

These sales figures were not a blip. In Europe, EVs made up an estimated 14 percent of all new vehicles sold in 2021, according to the banking and financial services company ING. In China, it was 9 percent.

3 Cold-Calling Secrets From Sara Blakely, Founder of Spanx | Entrepreneur

January 24, 2022January 23, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

There’s a reason why Spanx founder Sara Blakely can teach us so much about cold calling, and it has nothing to do with how great she is at creating inventions. Before becoming an entrepreneur herself, she sold fax machines in Florida for seven years, where her insight into this specific skill set became invaluable when starting up.

It was her knowledge of cold calling that turned out to be pivotal in landing her first sale of Spanx, as she cold-called the buyer for Neiman Marcus and landed her first large order of Spanx. She also used cold calling to find her patent lawyer and apparel manufacturer, which were both critical to her ultimate success as an entrepreneur.

Here are three specific cold-calling lessons we can glean from her experiences on her entrepreneurial journey.

No, It’s Not Too Late to Start an E-commerce Business in 2022 | Cool Business Ideas

January 21, 2022January 20, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you’ve been searching for ways to make money online, you’ve probably come across a few people telling you about starting an e-commerce business. While it’s a lucrative job that you can do from home to create an additional income stream, you may be thinking it’s a very saturated industry already. Is it too late to start an e-commerce business in 2022?

The answer is no!

As the general population becomes more comfortable with purchasing items online, especially after staying home during the pandemic, now is a great time to get into the e-commerce game. Below are four steps to take to help you get started.

A film station may be launching in space by 2024 | Mashable

January 21, 2022January 20, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Space may soon house a full-fledged TV and film studio, thanks to Space Entertainment Enterprise (S.E.E.).

According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), the company that is co-producing Tom Cruise’s upcoming space movie (which is set to be filmed in space), is intending to launch the studio by 2024, in addition to a streaming studio and sports arena.

The microgravity production broadcast module, named SEE-1, will be fitted to the Axiom Station, a commercial space station being made by Axiom Space and that will be attached to the International Space station prior to orbit.

Amazon bets you’re tired of just buying clothes off Amazon | CNN

January 20, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Amazon has a new venture outside of e-commerce, cloud computing, content streaming, smart devices, Whole Foods, cashier-less technology or anything else you’ve come to associate with one of the most successful companies in American history.

It’s a physical clothing store. Like, you know, a real brick-and-mortar space where you go try on stuff, buy it and then bring it home. An IRL store. Google it if you’ve never been to one.

Starbucks scraps vaccine requirement following Supreme Court decision | CNN

January 20, 2022January 20, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Starbucks is no longer requiring employees to get vaccinated or submit to weekly testing, following the US Supreme Court’s rejection last week of President Joe Biden’s vaccine and testing requirement for large businesses.

In a letter published on January 4, the coffee company recommended that its workers get vaccinated by February 9, in accordance with guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Those who remained unvaccinated past that deadline would have had to submit to weekly testing, according to that early January note.

Huge Tonga underwater volcano eruption captured in stunning satellite video | Live Science

January 19, 2022January 18, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A powerful underwater volcano eruption in Tonga on Saturday (Jan. 15) was captured as it happened in stunning images from an Earth-watching satellite, showing the sheer power for the explosive event in the South Pacific.

The volcano eruption on the island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai is visible as a spectacular explosion in views from the GOES West Earth-observing satellite operated by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). A video of the eruption shows a vast plume from the volcano rising high into the atmosphere like a giant mushroom during the eruption as a shockwave extends outward from Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, one of the 170 islands that make up the South Pacific kingdom of Tonga.

Confusing Things About Accepting Credit Cards | businessnewsdaily.com

January 19, 2022January 18, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Credit card processing rates and service contracts don’t have to leave your head spinning.

Credit card processors offer a wide range of fee structures and contract terms.
Depending on the type of business you have, some pricing structures are better than others.
You should review all the details of your payment processor’s terms and fees before you sign a contract.
This article is for small business owners who are looking for a credit card processor.

The fine print on personal credit cards can drive anyone crazy, and the terms for accepting credit cards at your business aren’t any different. You don’t need to be a contract lawyer to understand the terms and conditions from your credit card processor, but you do need to thoroughly read the contract so you understand how it will affect your business’s bottom line.

5 Ways to Manage Conflict in a Team Effectively | Lifehack

January 18, 2022January 17, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Conflicts are unavoidable when working as part of a team. We all have different points of view, opinions, and ways of doing things. This is not necessarily a bad thing.

Many times it can be beneficial and helps us broaden our points of view and ways of completing the same task or project. During the actual process of working together, though, sometimes our differences can lead to heated discussions, hurt feelings, roadblocks, and could even potentially jeopardize a project.

There’s a lot of ways you can choose to deal with conflict in a team setting. You can ignore it, be passive-aggressive about it, get angry and upset about it, etc. Maybe you like to point fingers and blame others. Perhaps you’re like me and have little patience in general and get easily frustrated at someone’s pace of work.

While there are many ways to handle conflict, some of them can help us resolve things quicker than others and lead to better outcomes. Let’s take a look at five ways to manage conflict in a team effectively.

To Sell To Customers This Year, Keep It Simple | AllBusiness.com

January 18, 2022January 17, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

You are probably “Covided” out. It’s exhausting keeping up with the reports on the ever-changing restrictions and recommendations. Hopefully you, your family, and your friends haven’t gotten sick, and if you have, it was with mild symptoms. Either way, right now you might be craving some simplicity in your life. To sell to customers this year, my advice is to keep it simple.

3 simplicity tips to sell to customers this year