Study: Men who own luxury cars are often jerks | Fast Company

January 29, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Yes, the drivers of those luxury cars that cut you off really do suck. A new study in the Journal of International Psychology finds that many owners of high-status luxury cars are actually assholes. “The answers were unambiguous: self-centered men who are argumentative, stubborn, disagreeable and unempathetic are much more likely to own a high-status car such as an Audi, BMW or Mercedes,” say the researchers in a press release.

The study surveyed 1,892 Finnish car owners and also analyzed their personality types, an idea inspired by lead researcher Jan-Erik Lönnqvist’s observation that the drivers “most likely to run a red light, not give way to pedestrians and generally drive recklessly and too fast were often the ones driving fast German cars” such as BMWs, Mercedes, and Audis. He knew that previous studies found luxury car drivers more likely to ignore traffic rules and drive “unethically,” but it was unclear why: Was wealth corrupting their behavior?

How to Pick the Cheapest Payroll Service | business.com

January 28, 2020January 27, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you’re a budding business owner, you may need an affordable payroll service, but is it wise to choose the cheapest one you can find?

39% of U.S. companies – that’s more than 10 million businesses – outsource their payroll processing.

43% of U.S. companies outsource their payroll tax responsibilities.

Payroll processing companies have security features in place, including backup systems and multiple servers, to keep your company’s information safe.

Operating a business comes with many costly expenses, but hiring a payroll service doesn’t have to be one of them. There are many affordable payroll services, in addition to software, for small businesses to choose from.

The Top Dropshipping Trends in 2020 | The Startup Magazine

January 23, 2020January 21, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Dropshipping has completely revolutionized the world of online businesses. It’s quite straightforward, flexible, and relatively cheap to launch – so overall, it’s an ace for many online entrepreneurs out there.

But with dropshipping turning so many people into online entrepreneurs almost overnight, how can one find success in it? With dropshipping as a largely trend-based landscape, the answer is also in continuously keeping up with the latest dropshipping trends. So, what’s in store for you in the e-commerce arena this year? In this article, we’ve listed down the top dropshipping trends in 2020 that will shape this quickly growing industry. Let’s get started!

A 6-year-old has raised over $240,000 for Australia’s bushfires making adorable clay koalas | Mashable

January 20, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

More proof that you’re never too small to make a difference: Six-year-old Owen Colley from Hingham, Massachusetts, is making clay koalas to help animals affected by the Australian bushfires, and has already raised over $240,000 Australian dollars.

Owen’s mother Caitlin told CNN her son had been upset when he learned of Australia’s bushfires, and particularly their impact upon the country’s wildlife. Owen’s father Simon grew up in Sydney, and he himself spent a few months there as a toddler, so he felt “a pull to Australia.”

10 Practical Ways Less Is More | Life Hack

January 16, 2020January 15, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

One productivity issue I come across more frequently than other is a belief that doing more work is good and doing less is bad. However, the reality is a bit more complex than judging effectiveness based on the amount of work a person or organization produces.

In a factory setting, it is a good thing if you can increase the number of units produced while at the same time either reducing costs or, at the very least, not increasing costs. The less is more principle at work — less input to produce more output.

And we can create the same idea for our productivity. Leveraging our skills, know-how and creativity to produce excellent volumes of work by inputting less and producing more.

So, here are 10 ways less is more

Couple Loses $7,000+ Tax Refund From Being Two Days Late | Forbes

January 15, 2020January 14, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

I hate it when people lose out by barely missing a deadline. A recent decision in the Western District of Wisconsin has an important lesson about deadlines. The lesson is that if you are going to rely on special rules to cut things close, you better understand how the rules apply. The couple in the decision, whom I will refer to as John and Jane Toolate – you can read the decision if you want their real names- lost a $7,386.48 refund by being two days late.

Customer Appreciation: 10 Ways Businesses Can Show Their Gratitude | AllBusiness.com

January 15, 2020January 14, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

With so many different options available for customers, it’s important to recognize and acknowledge the consumers and clients who choose to do business with you. Showing some customer appreciation not only helps people feel valued, but also engages your employees, as it strengthens the relationships between customers and your staff.

There are countless ways your company can show gratitude to its customers, and many of these ways cost little more than your time. To find out what works best, we asked a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members the following:

Leaders Discuss Some of the Worst Business Advice They’ve Ever Heard | Small Business Trends

January 14, 2020January 13, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The biggest problem with receiving advice from peers or mentors is that you never know what will work and what won’t. While a lot of successful businesses are born out of the intelligence and ability of their owners, sometimes, people pass on advice they’ve heard — or misheard — without any personal experience to add perspective. As a result, the advice they offer is based on a gut feeling, which may or may not be a boon to your own business: In some cases, the advice they share can be downright terrible for a budding entrepreneur.

To help identify some of the bad advice out there, we asked 15 members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following:

“What is the worst piece of business advice you’ve ever heard? Why is it so harmful?”

2020: Forget the Resolutions Build Your Confidence Instead | Management Consulting Connection

January 14, 2020January 13, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

January is traditionally a time of looking forward and looking back. A time to consider the challenges – and failures – of the year before. To set resolutions and plan for a better year ahead. Full of good intentions, these resolutions are usually broken by the end of the month.I have never been a fan of the new year’s resolution. They seem a tad arbitrary – with a fixed deadline 12 months away, made on a whim after too much indulgence over the December weeks. Resolution means ‘a firm decision to do or not to do something’. And that is the issue – they are too firm.

The problem with resolutions is they don’t give you the chance to change things when a change in circumstances happen; meaning you are more than likely going to fail. As a result, you feel like a failure. For example: you may have decided 2020 was the year to get fit, to run 10K, to be your best self. But then a health problem arises, or a family care issue – and you no longer have the ability or time to dedicate to your resolution. It feels like a failure.

What Are Standard PEO Services? | business.com

January 13, 2020 ~ knjohn ~ 1 Comment

A professional employer organization, or PEO, is an organization that provides human resources and payroll services to businesses of all sizes. Through co-employment, a PEO becomes the manager of record for tax purposes and provides employee benefits packages under its own tax identification numbers.

Generally, PEOs offer several HR and administrative services designed to support the needs of a business. Don’t mistake a PEO for an HRO, also known as human resources outsourcing, though. HROs are independent companies that may provide a portion of a business’s HR needs, but they don’t operate under the co-employment model that PEOs use.
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