Author: knjohn

Government Grants for Small Businesses | businessnewsdaily.com

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A small business grant is essentially free money given to a small business owner to help them launch, develop or expand their organization. Grants, unlike a loan, do not have to be paid back, but they often come with restrictions on how the money can be spent.

Just because a grant is free money, doesn’t mean it is easy to get. It takes a lot of time and preparation to apply for a grant, and they are highly competitive, so small businesses should only apply for grants they are eligible for.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners can seek a variety of grants, like private grants from corporations and government grants from federal, state, and local governments. Grants are also available for specific industries and demographics; for example, if you are a minority business owner, there are several minority-owned business grants specifically geared toward you.

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7 Ways To Get Back Up After A Major Failure | Life Hack

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Every one of us knows how devastating failure can be—seeing your business go belly up, missing the pass mark that would have gotten you that coveted scholarship, getting fired from your job, not making the cut into the team after training all year, and so on.

Experiencing a major failure comes with a lot of pain. Failure crushes you, messes up your self-esteem, and leaves you demoralized and feeling like you are not worth anything.

What’s even worse is the fact that moving forward after a major failure is not any easier. However, if you want to go on and have a fulfilling life, you cannot let failure hold you back. The important thing is that you move on from failure and learn how to get back up.

Question is, how do you do it?

Here are 7 ways you can get back up after a major failure.

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How to get HBO Max on Fire TV devices | Fast Company

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Amazon has buried the hatchet with AT&T’s WarnerMedia and will bring HBO Max to Fire TV devices on Tuesday, November 17. Fire TV users can find the app by saying “Alexa, open HBO Max.”

HBO Max launched in late May, with an expanded catalog of movies and shows for the same $15 per month price as HBO alone. But until now, the service hasn’t been available on Fire TV devices. As Variety reported in July, a main point of contention was Amazon’s Prime Video Channels store, which already distributes HBO to roughly five million subscribers. WarnerMedia wanted Amazon to stop selling those subscriptions, while Amazon wanted its existing subscribers to get the broader Max catalog.

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Overcome Cold-Calling Jitters | AllBusiness.com

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I can remember this moment as if it were yesterday, yet it was over 30 years ago. I sat in my car, parked in front of a prospect where I was planning to make a cold call. But instead of opening the car door and walking to the lobby, I sat there immobilized by my fear of cold calling.

Was I in danger? Of course not! But I was too scared to move. And that’s what sales call reluctance, also known as sales call jitters, can do to you.

If you are just starting out in your new career in sales, or if you’ve been selling for a while but still suffer from cold-calling jitters now and then, here’s how you can overcome sales call reluctance and get the sale.

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5 Ways to Stand Out in a Saturated Market | Small Business Trends

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Fit in? Or stand out? Most startups and small businesses would opt for the latter. Nonetheless, it’s notoriously tough to avoid blending into the crowd in saturated markets.

That’s not to say being distinctive is a unicorn dream. Plenty of companies have solved the riddle of how to attract attention in a crowded field. Take Amazon. It’s certainly not the first online retailer; it’s just the one that broke the mold by being totally different.

Stand Out in a Saturated Market

If you want your brand to be memorable, consider applying the following strategies to your everyday workflow. Each idea can help your organization woo attention from the competition in genuine, and often clever, ways.

1. Give away your industry knowledge.

You’re an expert in what you do. In fact, your whole team’s backed by years of expertise. Don’t hide what you know: Flaunt it, “humble brag” style.

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What Is a Credit Line? | business.com

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Learn what a business credit line is, what type of business credit lines are available and when you should use each option.

Lack of capital and cash flow remains a major concern for most small businesses. In fact, it ranked first on the list of top challenges faced by small business owners in Guidant Financial’s 2020 Small Business Trends survey. Many small business owners are turning to a business credit line to address their funding needs.

What is a line of credit?

A line of credit is a way for businesses and individuals to borrow the funds they need to make purchases and pay bills or other expenses, such as employee salaries. The line of credit on a business credit card can also be used as a cash advance.

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Amazon Fire TV Stick/Lite Review: Best Budget Streamers | Digital Trends

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For some folks, nothing less than the best will do. In the streaming device world, that means an Apple TV 4K, a Roku Ultra, or an Nvidia Shield TV. These set-top boxes run anywhere from $100 to $200, and they’re packed with leading-edge tech to help you get the most out of your 4K HDR TV and home theater sound system.

But what if you’re just looking for an affordable way to add streaming capabilities to your older TV, or maybe you want a device for a second TV in your home?

Does this quest to save some money mean giving up on all of the cool features of the more expensive devices?

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Staying Above Water as a Startup | The Startup Magazine

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Learn From Those Who Came Before You

Let’s talk about some lessons and strategies that brought hardship and success for businesses we’ve known over the years. Sears, for example, was very successful in the first decades of its establishment. In 1893, Sears was a retail store that set the standard in its industry. The use of the country’s growing railway system at the time gave Sears the leverage needed to one of the best. When cars were becoming more accessible to the American people, Sears had more stores built near major cross streets to be there for its customers.

Be Proactive

Today we are aware that Sears didn’t make the cut, but at the start of its journey, this company was forward-thinking and proactive about being accessible to its consumers. Over time, the leadership of Sears lost sight of its need to be ahead of the game and make decisions that keep them relevant in the industry.

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CEO Secrets: The dads getting entrepreneurial in lockdown | BBC News

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As part of our CEO Secrets series, which invites business leaders to share their advice, we are focusing on start-ups that have launched during lockdown. Each week we will look at a different type of entrepreneur. This week, we hear from fathers balancing a new business with childcare.

A consignment of 300kg of chocolate in an industrial container arrives at the house of Keith Tiplady, 35, in Leicester.

He moves hundreds of packs of pure chocolate pellets to a dedicated room in his house, where he also stores 1.5km of ribbon.

This is the “new normal” for Keith, who is now a chocolatier

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