Brazil economic activity January | Business Insider

March 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Brazil is in a free fall.

Data released on Monday showed that economic activity in the world’s seventh-largest economy fell 8% this January from a year before. That makes it the 11th month in a row that activity has fallen.

This is going to be a difficult problem to solve because Brazil’s government is a complete mess right now.

Millions of Brazilians took to the streets over the weekend, peacefully protesting corruption that has reached the highest levels of the country’s government. It all stems from a 2014 corruption sting called “Operation Car Wash,” which showed the ruling party was engaged in widespread corruption of Petrobras, the country’s massive quasi-state oil company.

Infographic: The Video Sites Millennials Can’t Live Without (and the Ads They Can Live With) | Adweek

March 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Media consumption habits of the younger generation are increasingly relevant to marketers as Gen Zers begin to overtake millennials as the demo du jour. In its annual Acumen Report, Defy Media studies how Gen Z and millennials consume media.

“While last year’s report revealed YouTube’s clear reign over TV and the rising influence of digital stars, this year we expand the view to their full video diet and preferred ad formats,” said Defy Media marketing evp Andy Tu. “The results prove younger audiences’ increasing appetite for video that’s satisfying a diverse set of needs, and the importance of understanding preferences or risk being easily tuned out.”

7 Reasons Desperation Hiring is a Bad Idea | BusinessTips.com

March 14, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

I have the honor of working with dozens of Colorado’s most creative entrepreneurs and smartest business leaders every day. One of the hardest things to tackle when you are a small, fast growing company is hiring. I’m not talking about the mechanics of employment, but rather the timing of each new person so that you maintain the customer services levels and delivery schedules necessary to do good work. In this highly active labor market it may take you some time to find the right combination of skill, character and experience. When faced with impending deadlines or an unexpected resignation, many hiring managers feel like their backs are against a wall, and will resort to desperation hiring – making an offer to a less than ideal candidate and hoping they will be a shining star.

Here are 7 of the many reasons why this is a bad idea:

OMG Mom: The Tech Rules Kids Wish Their Parents Would Follow | Live Science

March 11, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Children really, really don’t like when their parents share personal details about them on Facebook. And, they wish parents would put down their smartphones and just look at their little darlings once in a while. Oh, and kids also wish their parents would trust them to use technology more independently.

Those are some of the findings from a recent survey of parents and children about their rules and expectations about technology use, and what makes those rules tricky to follow.

Sprint is trying to fix its biggest problem | Money CNN

March 11, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Marcelo Claure took over as Sprint’s CEO and president in August of 2014.

At the time, Sprint had the slowest 4G network compared to the other major carriers, was losing customers, and had just been rated the worst carrier in the country.

To turn Sprint around, Claure said he would make the company more “cost efficient” and “aggressive in the marketplace.”

But even after thousands of layoffs, significant investments to improve its network, and deep price discounts to woo new customers, the carrier still hasn’t addressed its biggest problem — its lack of identity.

Your Body On Sleep (Infographic) | Lifehack

March 11, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

We all need to sleep — it’s something every human has in common. From a two-month-old child to an 85-year-old man, sleep is completely necessary.

The one thing that does differ is the amount of sleep a particular person needs. Scientists have argued for years about the “correct” amount of sleep that a single human needs each night.

Many doctors and scientists draw closely towards a solid 8 hours a night for the average adult, but if you asked 10 random people what they think their optimal sleep schedule looked like, you’d likely get widely differing answers.

Some people prefer 5-6 hours a night and can function at their full capacity on this, while others need 9-10 hours to feel normal the next morning.

Regardless of how much sleep each person needs, I think we can all agree that sleep is hugely important, and thanks to MyBedFrames, we can easily understand and digest this importance in the form of an infographic titled Your Body on Sleep.

See infographic

Structuring Creativity: How to Really Get Things Done | Page19

March 10, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Between attempting to balance career and personal life, you may not have the luxury of waiting for the muses to find you in a hotbed of chaos. What you can do instead is set the stage by tidying up your creative habits. David Allen, productivity consultant and author of Getting Things Done and Ready for Anything, has plenty of advice on how to get organized on the job, but the same principles apply to creative work, too.

If you’ve been waiting around to find time for that big project you care about, or wondering how to figure out what your creative calling actually is, tune in. You’ll discover a new way of thinking about creativity and unearthing your own through the art and science of note-taking, time-keeping, and scheduling.

15 Experts On What It Means to Be an Entrepreneur | Business News Daily

March 10, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Most people would agree that an entrepreneur is a person who has started his or her own business. But that basic definition barely scratches the surface. It does little to capture the true essence of what it means to be a risk-taker, innovator and individual willing to carve his or her own path in a world that doesn’t always take kindly to people who fail to follow the status quo.

Are you itching to venture out on your own, but you wonder if you have what it takes to choose the road less traveled? Check out what 15 company founders and business leaders told Business News Daily about what they think makes a truly successful entrepreneur.

The Difference Between Marketing and Advertising | Small Biz Trends

March 10, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you ask the person next to you about the difference between marketing and advertising, there’s a strong possibility you won’t get a clear answer. That’s because for many people, there’s only a subtle difference between marketing and advertising that’s often difficult to explain.

To be honest, advertising and marketing are closely related disciplines that have much in common. Yet they differ in many ways too. To see the differences and how each can benefit you as a small business owner, you must first understand the basics of both.

Should You Start a Business with your Friend? | Getentrepreneurial

March 9, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Starting a business is an exciting, yet stressful, experience. Businesses are formed in many ways, some of which are joint ventures. These business partnerships can occur for a number of reasons, including a lack of skill sets, poor connections within the industry or not enough financial resources. Many times, the people who form a business partnerships already have a personal relationship, such as a friendship. Although this can be rewarding, it can also be challenging at times. Businesses built between friends are most successful when emotions do not get in the way, which is done by keeping business practices as impersonal as possible.

This article will explain some of those challenges and how to avoid many of them by planning ahead through successful business practices and reasoning. First and foremost, it is essential to make all decisions with the company’s best interests in mind. This can be done by establishing ground rules so that when a problem arises, common issues and negative outcomes can be avoided.