What is a Franchise Fee and How Much Will I Owe? | Small Business Trends

August 20, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A franchise fee is what a prospective franchisee owes to the franchisor for the rights to use the franchise brand and franchise system. Typically the franchise fee refers to a one-time payment paid in the beginning of the relationship. But there are also ongoing franchise fees.

When you buy into a franchise opportunity, you gain valuable rights by contract. But you also have legal responsibilities. You must run the business according to the operations manual and the franchise agreement. You must also pay all required fees to the franchisor. Therefore, it’s very important to understand all fees.

Business Grants vs. Business Loans | business.com

August 19, 2020August 18, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Learn whether a business grant or business loan is better for your business.

Running a business is expensive – plain and simple. At some point, there is a good chance you will need to seek additional funding from an outside source. One way to do that is through a business grant or loan. Although the two may seem similar, there are a few key differences that will make one type the better option for your business.

What are PEOs and ASOs? | business.com

August 19, 2020August 18, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ 1 Comment

If you’re considering outsourcing your HR responsibilities, there are several options to consider, such as PEOs and ASOs.

As a small business owner, your expertise is likely in the industry your company is in and not necessarily in some of the tasks that go into running any business, like running payroll, managing tax compliance, and researching benefit options. That’s why, depending on the size of your business, it may be in your best interest to outsource these responsibilities. Among the options you may want to consider are using a professional employer organization (PEO) or administrative services organization (ASO) to manage all, or some, of your human resources responsibilities.

Meet Real-World Iron Man Who Defies Gravity in DIY Jetpack | Digital Trends

August 18, 2020August 17, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Richard Browning’s teenage sons don’t think that what their dad does is especially cool. That’s okay. Most teenagers feel the same way about their parents. But most teenagers don’t have a dad whose homemade, Guinness Record-breaking jetpack suit makes him perhaps the closest thing the world has to a real-life Iron Man.

“I used to drag [my sons] out at weekends to mess around with the latest prototype,” Browning told Digital Trends. “Often, [these demos] weren’t particularly spectacular. Sometimes they wouldn’t even get off the ground.”

Amazon Fire TV Launches Text Banner for Visually Impaired | Digital Trends

August 18, 2020August 17, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Amazon rolled out Text Banner, a feature designed to help visually impaired viewers enjoy the content on the Fire TV platform.

Text Banner is an assistive technology for people with a narrow field of vision, including eye conditions such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, and retinitis pigmentosa, Amazon told Digital Trends. The feature consolidates the onscreen text in a fixed location, within a compact space.

7 Reasons Your Business Needs an Emergency Backup Generator | The Startup Magazine

August 17, 2020August 16, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Don’t get caught in the dark or power outage. Check out these seven reasons your business needs an emergency backup generator. As a kid, a power outage is an exciting time to play with flashlights and light candles. As a business, a power outage means disaster. Without power, you don’t have a business. After all, if you can’t keep working, you can’t keep making money, meaning you aren’t making a profit.

So what’s the best way to protect yourself from this type of problem? An emergency backup generator is the key. We’ve put together this guide to show you how one of these generators can benefit your business when the rest of the power goes out (and why you should install one as soon as possible).

Prevents Downtime

Without a backup generator, your business shuts down when the power goes out. This can cost you a lot of money. In fact, 98% of businesses reported that a single hour of downtime caused them to lose over $100,000. You can’t afford to throw away that kind of money. Installing an emergency backup generator gives your business an extra power source. When the electricity goes out, your generator will boot up, meaning your business can keep running.

Debunking the 6 Biggest Misconceptions About Brand Monitoring | The Startup Magazine

August 17, 2020August 16, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In this article, we are going to discuss some of those misconceptions that need to be debunked. We have also segregated the facts from the most common false notions about brand monitoring that circulate the internet.

Analytical Tools of Social Media Platforms Provide Adequate Data

Even though Google Analytics and other analytical/insightful tools provided by social media platforms give some information, they are not nearly enough to monitor a brand effectively on the internet.

These tools have a lot of limitations. For example, these tools would only show you the mentions of your business profile on the platform, which is searching. They cannot scan mentions on other platforms, especially those about your digital marketing. That is why you need professional brand monitoring services offered by experts.

Shopify: The Canadian tech champion taking on Amazon | BBC News

August 14, 2020August 13, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When the pandemic forced Pizza Pilgrims to close its 13 stores in London and Oxford in March, the business went from making 30,000 pizzas every week to zero. Of the 276 staff, 270 had to be furloughed.

While they opened one store in April to manage delivery, founder Thom Elliot still needed to find another way to make up for the lost revenue. “I tried to think of something that would serve our customers, who kept calling us, and also keep us relevant during these times,” he says in an interview.

Mr Elliot and his team decided to create pizza kits featuring all the raw ingredients you need to make your own pizza at home, but to do that he needed to upgrade his website. That’s where Shopify came in.

‘I started a fashion business from two suitcases’ | BBC News

August 14, 2020August 13, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The BBC’s weekly The Boss series profiles different business leaders from around the world. This week we speak to Rwandan fashion designer Joselyne Umutoniwase.

In 2010, Joselyne Umutoniwase took a bold decision. She had been working as a film editor for five years but decided to follow her dream of becoming a fashion designer.

She made her first fashion collection and when she travelled from her home in Rwanda to Germany for a film scholarship, she took two suitcases stuffed with tops, skirts and dresses.

Meet the Inc. 5000 2020: Even In Tough Times, These Companies Are Set on Reinvention | Inc.com

August 13, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Building a fast-growth business is like charging up Heartbreak Hill. At some point on the incline, founders make the Inc. 5000, our annual ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies, and pause to cry, “Yes!” Then they’re off and running again.

Only this year, the road ahead looks very different. Picture K2, only with more avalanches and less oxygen.

From 2016 to 2019, the Inc. 5000 achieved a median revenue of $10.2 million and a median compound growth rate of 165.3 percent. These founders were buoyed by smarts and gumption, sure, but also by a lift-all-boats economy. That era is worlds away from the economic decline that hit the U.S. alongside the pandemic in March.