Why Should SMEs Care About Equal Pay? | The Startup Magazine

July 15, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Equality, Diversity, Women on Boards, Gender Wage Gap, and Wage Gap Reporting – Its safe to say that that gender equality is high on the agenda. Actually, all equality and diversity issues are being addressed in a huge way, right across the globe.

And rightly so, its 2016 and to be politically correct, and as a society we are being pushed to acknowledge that ‘All Lives Matter’. This ethos has been creeping into the world of business for some time now. So surely, if all lives matter than we would all be treated entirely as equals? Especially in Great Britain; one of the most advanced countries in the world, with some of the globes most prestigious schools and an education system that is much sought after. A country that will now see its 2nd female prime minister in power.

The fact we have a female running the country shows just how far we have come in the last 100 years, The Parliamentary Qualification of Women Act was only passed in 1918, the same year that women were given the right to vote – previous to that we didn’t have a voice to speak of.

Pokémon Go continues its worldwide march, now live in the UK | TechCrunch

July 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

One of the more interesting side effects from the explosion of new mobile AR game Pokémon Go is physical movement: a lot of people are finding themselves walking miles and miles (and miles) more than they normally would as they search for PokéStops, load up on PokéBalls, and (of course) track down more Pokémon. Now the game itself — which originally launched in Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. — is doing a bit of travelling of its own: as of this morning, Pokémon Go is now live in the UK both on iOS and Android.

Apple Leak Reveals Massive iPhone 7 Upgrade | Forbes

July 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

How does Apple head off accusations that the iPhone 7 will look dull and alienate people? Perhaps by giving prospective owners the one thing they all crave…

Continuing his prolific run, the ever reliable Steve Hemmerstoffer (aka @OnLeaks) of Nowhereelse.fr took to Twitter last night to announce a source close to him has revealed the iPhone 7 will receive the largest iPhone battery upgrade in the line’s history.

Hemmerstoffer says the iPhone 7’s battery capacity will jump over 14% compared to the iPhone 6S, an increase from 1715 mAh to 1960 mAh in real terms.

Entrepreneur Salaries: How Much Should You Pay Yourself? | Business News Daily

July 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When you’re thinking about your business expenses, one of the easiest items to overlook is your own salary.

According to the 2016 American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor, just over half (51 percent) of business owners pay themselves a salary. But Alice Bredin, a B2B marketing entrepreneur and small business adviser for OPEN, emphasized the importance of including your own pay in the budget as soon as you can afford to do so.

Tesla reveals ‘cheaper’ Model X SUV | Money CNN

July 13, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Tesla just put a cheaper version of its Model X SUV on the market. Don’t get too excited, though. The Model X is a luxury SUV and it still costs like one. Prices for the new Model X 60D start at $74,000.

That would be $66,500 after a $7,500 federal tax credit, which is how Tesla usually prefers to talk about its prices.

Tesla (TSLA) boasts on its website that it comes to just $768 a month after “estimated savings,” including the much lower cost of electricity compared to gasoline.

The 60D has a 60 kilowatt hour battery for an estimated driving range, on a full charge, of 200 miles. That’s compared to 237 miles for the $83,000 Model X 75D or 257 miles in the $95,500 90D.

8 Tips For Converting Blog Readers Into Customers | Getentrepreneurial

July 13, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When it comes to content marketing, getting visitors to your website is hailed as the ultimate goal.

So, what happens when you reach that goal? What happens when you publish a blog post for your business which goes viral overnight or your blog becomes a huge hit, reaching millions of people who then click and land on your website?

Do your phones starting ringing off the hook? Are you bombarded with sales, leads, orders, sign ups? Does your brand become a household name? Is your business front-page news?

Having created ‘viral content’ for businesses on a number of occasions, I can categorically (and unfortunately) say that the answer to all of those questions is no.

Private spaceflight trade group rebrands itself to look more like NASA | Mashable

July 13, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Space is sexy and badass — and it doesn’t necessarily take a government agency to get you there.

That’s the central theme of a brand overhaul unveiled this week at the Commercial Spaceflight Foundation, a trade group for the dozens of startups in the nascent private space travel industry.

The group is hoping that the new look and a more active approach to promoting itself will attract more public attention and allow it to tap into the same awestruck regard that people tend to have for NASA.

“We want to make that that sexy, badass persona that NASA has established in the government space exploration realm is carried forward into the private commercial space industry,” says David Moritz, founder and CEO of Viceroy Creative, the ad agency behind the rebrand.

These Shoes Are Knit From Recycled Water Bottles | Co.Exist

July 11, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Two weeks ago, this new shoe was three plastic water bottles. After ground-up bottles are turned into recycled filament fiber and delivered to a factory, a San Francisco-based startup uses a proprietary process to 3D-knit the fiber into a seamless, essentially waste-free shoe. The knitting process takes just six minutes.

Rothy’s, the startup making the shoe, wanted to make better footwear than they saw on the market. But as they tried to figure out how to also make the shoe more sustainable, they realized that they could dramatically reduce the materials that are normally thrown out in construction.

Theresa May is next British prime minister; Leadsom quits Conservative race | Business Insider

July 11, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Theresa May will become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom on Wednesday evening.

Current Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Monday afternoon that he intends to resign by Wednesday evening, paving the way for the Home Secretary to take over much earlier than initially expected.

Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, Cameron said he was “delighted” May was going to be his successor and lauded her as a “strong” politician.

Conservative party official Graham Brady confirmed earlier in the day that he was set to formally appoint May as the party’s new leader after her only challenger, Andrea Leadsom, pulled out at about noon in the UK.

What You Must Know About New Overtime Rules: 9 Point Checklist | Small Biz Trends

July 11, 2016July 11, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

On May 18, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced final updates to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s “white collar” overtime exemptions.

The new overtime rules (known as the “final rule”) increase the salary threshold needed to qualify for overtime exemption from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $913 per week ($47,476 per year.) and affect 4.2 million workers.

Also, the total annual compensation requirement needed to meet the highly compensated employee (HCE) exemption will increase from $100,000 per year to $134,004.

Any business that employs workers with salaries under the new threshold will need to consider their best course of action or face paying thousands in higher wages. They could also be subject to employee lawsuits for failure to comply with the rule. No business is exempt, regardless of size.