Smartwatches Are Saving Lives, But Don’t Call Them Doctor (Yet) | Live Science

June 14, 2018June 13, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

James T. Green thought he was having a panic attack.

He took a break from work to walk around the block during a stressful day, and noticed he felt out of breath strolling up a slight incline. This isn’t normal, Green thought. He had become an avid cycler in recent months and wasn’t exactly out of shape. He sat down at his desk, and looked at the Apple Watch on his wrist.

His heart rate was through the roof, and the HeartWatch app he was using to check his pulse was flashing warnings. Maybe it was something more serious, he thought.

Why Companies Are Taking It Upon Themselves to Help Workers Learn New Skills | Entrepreneur

June 13, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ 1 Comment

In May, Walmart announced that it would begin offering to cover U.S. workers’ college expenses — tuition, fees and books — leaving the recipient of the program responsible for only $1 per day toward an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in business or supply chain management from one of three universities.

“Walmart is just the beginning of the education and upscaling that’s going to be happening in the workplace, sponsored by employers who are realizing they’re not going to be able to hire and fire their way out of this problem,” Maggioncalda says. “It has now become mission-critical, existential.”

3 Simple Strategies to Get New Clients Over the Next 30 Days | Getentrepreneurial.com

June 13, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you’re struggling to get more clients, there are three simple strategies that you can implement that will help.

But, more importantly, taking consistent, daily action is the real answer to getting more clients..

I’ve had many conversations with business owners these past few months who are, quite frankly, really struggling with their businesses:

Beer For Beauty? How Two Lawyers Traded In High-Paying Jobs To Create Broo, A Natural Beer-Based Shampoo | Forbes

June 12, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When Sarah Pearsall moved to Asheville, North Carolina, from Florida in 2009, she viewed it as a fresh start for her family to lead a healthier lifestyle. Moving to one of the healthiest and greenest U.S. cities meant incorporating more organic foods and toxin-free products into their household. Her husband, Brad, found it easy to forgo fast food, but changing his grooming routine was tough, especially when it came to using all-natural shampoos. “There was no lather—my hair felt like straw,” he said. “It was like I was using dog shampoo.” Brad’s mother had a unique solution on tap: an old-fashioned beer-rinse.

18 Gmail settings that will change how you think about your inbox | Fast Company

June 12, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When it comes to managing email, you need every advantage you can get.

Google recognizes this. The company has packed Gmail with dozens of advanced options that can save you time and add powerful possibilities into your inbox. The only problem is that there are so many of them—scattered across so many places—that it’s all too easy to overlook something useful.

How to Prevent a Cash Flow Crisis in Your Business | AllBusiness.com

June 11, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Cash flow from operations is still the number-one way that U.S. small and midsize businesses finance growth. But just about every small business runs into situations where the cash just isn’t flowing. When that happens, where do you turn?

Some 37% of U.S. small and midsize businesses in the C2FO Working Capital Outlook Survey 2017 say their need for liquidity increased significantly last year compared to the previous year, while 34% say it increased slightly. All told, nearly three-fourths of small and midsize businesses in the survey have greater need of liquidity than they did in 2016.

What Everyone Ought to Know About Followup with Clients | Small Business Trends

June 11, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Knowing how to follow up with prospects correctly and avoid annoying them at the same time is key. You don’t want your follow-ups to run people away and lead to a missed opportunity so keep these tips in mind.

Include a Time-Sensitive Offer in Your Initial Pitch

I don’t know a single person who loves sending follow-ups. Thus, it’s safe to assume that everyone’s initial intention is to get an answer on the first try and avoid the whole follow up process altogether.

This should always be your goal – to send a thorough, specific, and valuable pitch that prompts the recipient to respond as soon as humanly possible.

To achieve this, consider including a deadline in your initial pitch to create a sense of urgency. If you’re freelance hoping to land a new client, mention that your calendar is filling up quickly and you’re offering a limited time trial discount.

Filled With Blood And Drugs, These Delivery Drones Are Saving Lives In Africa | Fast Company

August 24, 2017August 24, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Inside a drone delivery center in Rwanda–the first in the world to make medical deliveries at a national scale–staff answered an emergency call in July. A hospital needed blood for a 24-year-old woman who had just given birth by caesarian section. The hospital had transfused her with two units of blood. But she bled out of those units in 10 minutes.

“In that case, that mom is likely to lose her life–not just in the developing world, but even in the U.S. that mom is in a really difficult, dangerous position,” says Keller Rinaudo, CEO of Zipline, the startup that developed and runs the drone network for the Rwandan government, which supplies it with blood and other medical necessities to deliver to its far-flung clinics. “But in this case, the doctors called Zipline, started placing emergency orders, and Zipline basically instantly did delivery after delivery.”

Tax the Rich and the Robots? California’s Thinking About It | WIRED

August 24, 2017August 24, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

DEPENDING ON WHOM you ask, robots and artificial intelligence are either coming to take your job, or you’re perfectly safe, at least for the near future. Truth is, automation always has and always will put people out of work. It’s just that this time around, even highly skilled jobs may be imperiled. And that has some folks dreading a time in which robots and AI upend the human workforce.

Included among those folks is San Francisco supervisor Jane Kim, who Wednesday launched a campaign called the Jobs of the Future Fund to study a statewide “payroll” tax on job-stealing machines. Proceeds from the tax would bankroll things like job retraining, free community college, or perhaps a universal basic income―countermeasures Kim thinks might make a robotic future more bearable for humans.

Outdated Tech Is Costing You More Than You Think | Forbes

August 23, 2017August 23, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been on a tear of work travel for the last month and I really enjoy the opportunity to break up long stretches of flying with a movie to help pass the time. Trouble is, I’m terrible about finding the time to download said movie prior to my trip.

Thankfully, technology has advanced significantly in recent years, making it far easier (and faster) for me to download my movie prior to boarding. Yet, I still seem to find myself in an entertainment pinch because I have become accustomed to technology on-demand and access to high-speed internet wherever I happen to be. I inevitably end up scrambling to find an internet connection at the gate and hoping it’s fast enough for my movie to download before I have to board the plane.