Author: knjohn

New To Instagram Live? Here’s How To Show Up Like A Pro | Entrepreneur

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From the entertainment sector to the health and fitness industry, stay-at-home orders have forced many entrepreneurs to improvise and share their skills virtually. Instagram Live has emerged as an outlet of choice for enterprising business owners. Hop on Instagram right now, and you’ll likely see dozens of users and brands either going live or advertising an upcoming live stream.

Though it’s becoming more popular in recent months, live-streaming has largely been underestimated. But it won’t stay that way for long: Instagram’s algorithm rewards live-streaming with additional push notifications and a position at the front of the line in users’ Stories feed, so it’s only a matter of time before brands and businesses catch on. Streamers can also see and respond to comments in real time, which opens up the potential to directly communicate with and engage your audience.

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Basics of Franchising | Getentrepreneurial.com

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When entrepreneurs dream about their future, franchising is rarely the starting place for their fantasy. While it’s not always choice No. 1, the benefits of franchising make it an enticing career opportunity for entrepreneurs. With an established brand and support system, franchises offer franchisees a chance to taste running a business while also giving them significant help.

“A franchise is a business with training wheels,” said Tom Scarda, founder of The Franchise Academy, a podcast dedicated to franchising. “For a majority of franchisees, franchising has proven to be a viable way to become a business owner. For the most part, it offers the lowest risks and the highest level of support. Because a franchiser doesn’t succeed until the franchisees do, you’ll find a team of dedicated professionals willing and able to help you every step of the way, from site selection to employee hiring to grand opening.”

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Boost your productivity with a second screen that attaches to your laptop | New Atlas

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Working with two screens can save you precious resources, like time and money. If you have two monitors at your place of work, but can’t access them for the time being, then your productivity may be stunted. Rather than pick up a desktop monitor that takes up a lot of space, it’s better to get a more versatile tech solution that lets you work productively anywhere. The Mobile Pixels DUEX Pro Portable Dual Monitor gives your laptop a second screen.

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Google Assistant can now use your voice to verify purchases | Mashable

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Making purchases with your voice is convenient, but it’s far from secure. Google is attempting to change that when using Assistant by introducing an optional voice verification test.

As The Verge reports, the new security feature relies on Google Assistant’s Voice Match and it’s being rolled out slowly as part of a limited pilot program to test how well it works with smart speakers and smart displays. The Voice Match training feature was updated recently to include phrases so that Assistant could more accurately determine who is issuing commands.

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Facebook and Twitter clash over fact-checking as Trump threats intensify | CNN

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For years, Twitter (TWTR) and Facebook (FB) have enjoyed a healthy rivalry: They’ve competed for acquisitions, talent and advertising dollars, and sometimes gone so far as to copy each others’ features in the never-ending pursuit to grow their audiences.

But the clash between the two tech companies appeared to take on new life this week after Twitter’s decision to place fact-check labels on some of President Donald Trump’s tweets sparked a series of threats, including an imminent executive order regulating social media companies.

The CEOs of the two companies traded criticisms in public. Former employees posted their own jabs on social media. And some legislators were quick to highlight the differences between the approach Twitter and Facebook took, potentially only adding to the tensions.

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Popular Alternatives to Direct Deposit | Business News Daily

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For many years, the only people who needed an alternative to direct deposit were those who had limited access to traditional banking services. This is no longer the case. The demand for alternatives to direct deposit is on the rise across all sectors of the economy. Many businesses are now expected to offer various methods of payment to their workers.

If you’re a business owner searching for checking account alternatives for your employees, you’re not alone. Here are a few solutions we’ve seen gain the most traction recently.

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10 Ways to Find Your Focus When You’re Stressed Out | Life Hack

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How do you focus when you’re stressed? The truth is, you don’t.

You know what anxiety is like: Your mind can’t stick to any one topic for more than a few seconds. You shift restlessly, as if settling your body might also settle your thoughts.

Stress short-circuits the mind in all sorts of ways. Before you can learn how to focus when stressed, you need to understand what’s going on in your brain.

Why We Lose Focus When Stressed

When you experience stress — whether the cause is a tiger chasing you or a snarky comment by a co-worker — a chain reaction happens in your brain. Harvard Medical School lays this out in detail, but what’s important is understanding how an emotion can trigger a fight-or-flight response[1].

Changes begin in the amygdala, a brain area that is responsible for processing emotions. The amygdala then contacts the hypothalamus, which acts as the brain’s command center. From there, the hypothalamus spreads stress signals throughout the nervous system.

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HBO Max vs. HBO Now: What if you use an unsupported device? | Fast Company

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Streaming TV, once heralded as a high-tech liberator that would save us from the headaches of big cable bundles, just got another big cable-like bundle yesterday with the launch of HBO Max.

WarnerMedia’s long-awaited rival to heavy hitters like Netflix and Disney Plus includes a broad mix of movies and TV shows from the Warner and HBO libraries, along with exclusive offerings you can find only on Max. It costs $14.99 a month and you can cancel it at any time.

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Boeing Slashes Over 12,000 Jobs, With More Cuts Coming | Forbes

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Boeing announced Wednesday that the company is cutting over 12,000 jobs—most of those in the Seattle area—as the beleaguered air manufacturer deals with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic that’s at times seen air travel drop over 90% compared to 2019.

The company plans to lay off 6,770 U.S. workers this week, with another 5,520 workers being asked to take buyouts in coming weeks.

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