Tips for Moving Your Startup From Home to an Office | Getentrepreneurial.com

July 3, 2015July 2, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When you started your company you had dreams of growth, but couldn’t actually picture them coming true. Then, they did. You experienced growth, and you brought on a few team members. You experienced more growth and saw profits start to grow. Soon, you were excited; you realized that this was it: Your startup was becoming a legitimate company.

Along with that growth and opportunity came another potentially exciting – yet stressful – endeavor: the need for office space. Suddenly your home office wasn’t cutting it; you needed a physical location with a sign out front to announce that you’ve made it. If you’re at that point, congratulations; you’ve accomplished something great. Follow the tips below to move your startup from your home to an office.

This Amazing Story of Courage and Leadership Stayed Secret for 50 Years | Inc

July 2, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Early in his career, Sir Nicholas Winton was a stockbroker; in later years, he worked for international relief organizations and other charities. But for 50 years, nobody knew his greatest achievement and contribution to humanity.

We often celebrate entrepreneurs for being dynamic business leaders. That’s a good thing, but entrepreneurship itself doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with making money. A professor at Harvard Business School put it best: it’s about the “pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.”

That’s why I’ve insisted that the best book about entrepreneurship has absolutely nothing to do with making money, and it’s why we can look at people who start nonprofits, or who assemble teams to accomplish amazing goals that have nothing to do with business–and call them great entrepreneurs.

Nicholas Winton was a truly great entrepreneur.

Missing comma gets grammar nerd out of parking ticket | Mashable

July 2, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The Associated Press reports that Andrea Cammelleri received a parking citation for leaving her pickup truck parked in an area for longer than 24 hours. According to a law in the village of West Jefferson, vehicles cannot be parked longer than 24 hours, including a “motor vehicle camper.”

Cammerelli argued that her truck does not fit that description because of the missing comma between “vehicle” and “camper”.

How to Create an Effective Business Marketing Plan | Business News Daily

July 2, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A marketing plan may not be at the top of every new business owner’s to-do list, but it should be. While a business plan helps map the direction for your company, a marketing plan helps your company understand how to get there by detailing important steps on the road to creating customer relationships.

“The single most important thing for a small business to include in its marketing plan is a very clear understanding of its customers and its competitors,” said Robert Thomas, professor of marketing at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

Though a marketing plan can be formal or informal, at a minimum it describes who your customers are, where they get information, and how you are going to reach them. Thomas said the development of a marketing plan requires four specific tasks:

Macy’s cuts ties with Donald Trump over Mexico comments | BBC News

July 1, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

US retailer Macy’s has ended its relationship with Donald Trump after the businessman and presidential candidate made controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants.

The retailer has sold Trump-branded clothes since 2004 and Mr Trump has appeared in the company’s commercials.

Macy’s is the latest company to distance itself from the businessman.

TV networks NBC and Univision said they would not air the Miss USA pageant, which is co-owned by Mr Trump.

“We have no tolerance for discrimination in any form,” Macy’s said in a statement. “We welcome all customers, and respect for the dignity of all people is a cornerstone of our culture.”

In response, Mr Trump said his principles were more valuable than the clothing line, which he called a “small business in terms of dollar volume”.

This Desktop Farm Is Like A 3-D Printer For Fresh, Natural Food | Co.Exist

July 1, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

You could mistake Caleb Harper’s Personal Food Computer for a 3-D printer. The desktop-sized plastic box is a cut down version of his CityFarm, and designed to grow fresh vegetables anywhere, without soil.

The Personal Food Computer is a tiny aeroponics system, a miniature farm that creates its own weather, and supplies nutrients to the plants’ roots by misting them with water. Coupled with monitors that track things like CO2, light levels and humidity, the box can be dropped anywhere, and grow fresh food, regardless of surrounding conditions.

The water-sipping properties of aeroponics seem especially relevant in these times of drought, but this decentralization also means less long-distance transport, and — in a possible future — less environmental pressure from large farms.

Weekly Economic Update | LAEDC

July 1, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

v.19 n. 27 – Released July 1, 2015

This Week’s Headlines:

A More Diverse America
California Home Sales and Median Prices in May
The American Consumer – Alive and Well in May
California Tax Revenues Increase by 6.5% in 1Q15
Events of Interest
- Stayed Tuned for Upcoming Events

Use Stay Interviews to Keep Your Best People on Board | Payroll Link

June 30, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

What Exactly is a Stay Interview?

It’s the opposite of an exit interview, in which you try to determine the factors that led to a worker’s decision to leave your employ. Ideally this type of preemptive measure will cut down on the number of talented employees lost.

A stay interview, conducted periodically, is distinct from a performance review. Its basic goal is to determine why the employee continues to work for you, so that you can, within reason, keep those factors alive.

France Is Right to Mistrust Uber | Bloomberg View

June 30, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

At first glance, Uber’s most recent troubles in France look like an especially violent case of a hidebound country’s reaction to technological disruption. I, too, was once tempted to see Uber’s legal problems in Europe in that light.

Now, I think there’s a valid reason for the French government to resist the spread of Uber. The company is not doing enough to convince governments or the European public that it isn’t a scam.

Uber’s troubles have been particularly acute in France. Last week, licensed taxi drivers blocked roads and airports, burned tires and trashed cars. Previously, President Francois Hollande demanded that the company’s UberPop service be “dissolved” and its vehicles seized. On Monday, police detained two of Uber’s top executives in the country for questioning. Thibaud Simphal, the company’s director general for France, and Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, its director for Western Europe, will have to appear in court in September to answer charges of fraud and illegal activity.

Panel Says It’s Time Fast-Food Employees in New York Receive a Major Pay Increase | Entrepreneur

June 30, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Fast-food restaurants in New York may soon be increasing employee pay – even if the statewide minimum wage doesn’t increase.

On Monday, a panel organized by the New York state government to study fast-food wages revealed plans to recommend a substantial increase in worker pay to the state’s Department of Labor.

The three members of the panel said research and public meetings led them to conclude that a change is necessary, though they are not yet prepared to make a full recommendation to the State Labor Department. Possible ideas suggested include raising minimum wage for fast-food workers to $15 an hour and creating a higher minimum wage for part-time workers to incentivize the hiring of full-time employees, reports the New York Daily News.