How to Use These 4 Side Hustles to Passive Wealth | Entrepreneur

January 18, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

No longer just a weekend passion project, side hustles have become a way of life for many. In fact, as of the beginning of 2023, nearly 50% of Americans have a side hustle — even if they’re making $100k annually at their traditional 9- 5 jobs.

So why has it become such a critical aspect of life for such a large population?

One of the important reasons people tend to gravitate towards side hustles is the freedom they offer; the opportunity to be our own bosses and choose our own business path is just too good to pass up. However, according to Bankrate, 41% of those with a side hustle are doing it to make ends meet.

For most, what comes to mind at the mention of “side gigs” are driving for Uber or Lyft, delivering for Door Dash, GrubHub and Instacart, or running errands for TaskRabbit. While these are all viable options, the truth is that there’s actually a wide variety of different side business paths you could pursue. Let’s take a look at four passive streams of income that make great side businesses.

How To Understand the Reality of Paid Advertising vs. Referred Business | Getentrepreneurial.com

January 17, 2024January 16, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In the words of Henry Ford, “I know half my advertising doesn’t work; I just don’t know which half.”

As small business owners, we face an overwhelming array of marketing options, with paid advertising being a common go-to method. However, the truth is that paid advertising can be a hit-or-miss approach, lacking guaranteed success. Fortunately, there is an alternative that can bring long-term value to your business: building high-quality referral relationships.

The Benefits of Referred Business

While I may be biased, there are several advantages that referred business holds over paid advertising. The foremost benefit is the level of trust that referred customers have in your business even before they meet you.

3 Tips for Buying Concert Tickets on a Budget | Cool Business Ideas

January 17, 2024January 16, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

3 Tips for Buying Concert Tickets on a Budget

Do you love attending live concerts but struggle to afford ticket prices? You’re not alone. With the ever-rising price of tickets and the rising cost of daily necessities like groceries and services from confidentcomfort.net, it can be difficult for music fans everywhere to make their favorite performances happen on a budget – and nobody should miss out! But never fear; we’ve got tips that can help you purchase concert tickets while also helping keep your wallet happy. Read on for all our best advice about buying bargain concert tickets and experiencing great live music without breaking the bank!

1. Look for deals on sites like Groupon or LivingSocial Everyone loves a good deal; luckily, finding one has never been easier with sites like Groupon and LivingSocial. These websites offer discounts on various products and services, from spa treatments to travel packages. Be sure to check back frequently, as new deals are added daily. Whether you’re trying to save money or just looking for a fun new experience, there’s sure to be a deal on one of these sites that catches your eye.

Samsung Galaxy S24 to come with a new Google AI feature, report says | Mashable

January 16, 2024January 15, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

It’s no secret that Samsung’s upcoming S-series smartphone flagships will heavily lean on AI smarts. Samsung calls the S24 phones, likely to be unveiled on January 17 during Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event, the “AI phones.”

Now, however, thanks to a series of what appear to be leaked marketing materials from Samsung (Evan Blass via 9to5Google), we know a little bit more about the phones’ specs, and one particularly interesting feature.

The feature, called “Circle to Search,” appears to be powered by Google’s artificial intelligence smarts. The leaked description says “search any image, video, or text on your screen. Circle, highlight, scribble, or tap to pinpoint what you’re curious about, no screenshots necessary.” We’d have to try it out to see how it works, but it sounds like a cool upgrade to Google Lens, which is a Google app that allows you to search with your phone’s camera.

YouTube will be slower if you’re using an ad blocker | Mashable

January 16, 2024January 15, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

YouTube is furthering its crusade against ad blockers by slowing down load times, our friends at PCMag report.

This is a continuation of a crackdown that started last fall. In October, YouTube warned users of their ad blocker usage with a prompt, “Ad blockers are not allowed on YouTube,” and options to either allow ads or subscribe to YouTube Premium ($13.99/month).

This move upset users, who scrambled to find alternatives to YouTube’s rules. As Mashable’s Alex Perry stated at the time, however, “The problem with this is that YouTube will almost certainly weed out working alternatives over time, so some degree of adaptability may be required here on the user end.”

Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, shrank last year | CNN Business

January 15, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Germany’s economy shrank last year for the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, official data showed Monday, increasing the risk of an economic contraction in the wider euro area.

Gross domestic product was 0.3% lower in 2023 than in the previous year, according to Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

“Overall economic development faltered in Germany in 2023 in an environment that continues to be marked by multiple crises,” Destatis president Ruth Brand said in a statement.

Although inflation has eased, prices remain high throughout the economy and have put a damper on economic growth, she added. “Rising interest rates and weaker domestic and foreign demand also took their toll.”

Uber is shutting down alcohol delivery app Drizly | CNN Business

January 15, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Uber is shutting down its alcohol delivery app, Drizly, just three years after acquiring it for $1.1 billion.

Buoyed by the pandemic-era at-home delivery boom, Drizly had grown to become the largest online marketplace for alcohol in North America, but it will officially shut down at the end of March 2024, according to Uber.

The alcohol delivery service operated as a standalone app, and its technology was integrated into Uber’s delivery app, Uber Eats.

In a statement, Pierre Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber’s senior vice president of delivery, said Uber had decided to focus on its “core Uber Eats strategy of helping consumers get almost anything – from food to groceries to alcohol – all on a single app.”

Why do we procrastinate? | Live Science

January 12, 2024January 11, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The dawn of a new year marks a fresh start and motivates many people to break bad habits. Some are easier to shake than others, however, and the tendency to procrastinate is among the stickiest.

Whether it’s finishing a piece of work, sending an email or going for a run, some tasks can feel insurmountable. The easiest way to avoid these tasks is to put them off until later or to never complete them at all. But why do people procrastinate, and is there anything we can do to reduce this tendency?

“At its heart, procrastination is about avoidance,” Fuschia Sirois, a professor of psychology at the University of Durham in the U.K., told Live Science. Rather than the task itself, however, it’s often the emotions attached to an activity that cause people to recoil, she said.

Tackling the first lines of a college essay may bring up feelings of self-doubt, for example. When you’re faced with a broad question or topic to write about, the lack of clear instructions can trigger a fear of not getting it right or of what might happen if you get it wrong, Sirois said.

Best budget exercise bikes 2024 | Live Science

January 12, 2024January 11, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you love home workouts, the best budget exercise bikes can help you get fitter and stronger without breaking the bank. And with so many different models available on the market, you can easily pick a bike that ticks all your boxes.

Whether you are training for a cycling event, want to lose weight, or improve your cardiovascular endurance, the best budget exercise bikes are a good investment as they are low impact, suitable for all fitness levels, and don’t take up too much space. They are also very beginner-friendly, and useful for those returning to exercise after a break or injury.

Cycling has a ton of health benefits – as well as torching calories and boosting heart health, a study published in the journal Aging Cell found regular riding could hold back the effects of aging and keep your immune system young.

Working Overtime Won’t Make You More Productive | Business News Daily

January 11, 2024January 10, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Working overtime or long hours does not necessarily equate to increased productivity, according to 2023 research from the business-to-business marketplace Expert Market.

Researchers came to their conclusions after examining the workforces of 40 countries worldwide. Specifically, they determined each country’s productivity level by dividing the annual gross domestic product (GDP) ― the value of all the goods and services produced within each country over a year ― by the average number of hours full-time and part-time employees worked over a year.