Why You Should Take a Break from Your Business (and How to Do It)

May 3, 2019April 28, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A sabbatical can work wonders to restore your mindset and motivation.

It doesn’t help you or your customers if you work all the time and never take a break to recharge. Entrepreneur motivation requires time for new ideas, restoring energy, and creative thinking.

I decided to take a break from my business in 2018. I took seven months off and hiked 1800 miles of the Appalachian Trail. It was both the most difficult and most amazing thing I’ve ever done.

Not everybody can take seven months away from their business, but even if you can take a shorter break, you’ll reap amazing benefits. You’ll recharge your batteries and come back feeling more inspired, more creative, and with a more positive mindset than you’ve ever had before.

How to Assemble a Team for Selling Your Business | Business

May 2, 2019April 28, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

After years of running your business, you’ve decided to sell. Maybe the “next generation” doesn’t want to take over the business, or you’ve decided to retire or start a new business; maybe you just feel the time is right. If you’ve never sold a business before, you’re probably wondering what you need to do to get from “I’ve decided to sell” to “congratulations on the closing.” Putting together the right team should be your first step.

Your best chance of having a smooth and successful transaction is to put the right team together, which will consist of an accountant, a lawyer, selected key employees and in all likelihood, an investment banker. Yes, the outside members of the team are an added expense, but it will be money well spent. Let’s take them in order.

Best New Crowdfunding Projects on Kickstarter and Indiegogo this Week | Digital Trends

May 2, 2019April 28, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

At any given moment, there are approximately a zillion different crowdfunding campaigns happening on the web. Take a stroll through Kickstarter or Indiegogo and you’ll find no shortage of weird, useless, and downright stupid projects out there — alongside some real gems. We’ve cut through the fidget spinners and janky iPhone cases to round up the most unusual, ambitious, and exciting new crowdfunding projects out there this week. Keep in mind that any crowdfunding project — even those with the best intentions — can fail, so do your homework before cutting a check for the gadget of your dreams.

How POS Systems Help Improve Customer Experience | The Startup Magazine

May 1, 2019April 28, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you own a retail business, customer experience needs to be one of your primary concerns. With more and more consumers turning to the Internet for many of their shopping needs, creating a positive experience is one of the most important things you can do to keep customers coming to your location instead of shopping online. While often thought of as solutions for accepting payments, POS systems are powerful tools that can help with nearly every aspect of your business – including improving customer experience. From streamlining the checkout process to providing an opportunity for shoppers to share their experiences, there are several ways that POS systems can help improve customer experience.

Nine Signs It’s Time to Drop Your Insurance Company | The Simple Dollar

April 30, 2019April 28, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

While it’s far easier to simply renew an insurance policy year after to year rather than shop around for a new provider, it should go without saying that inertia can be costly.

Most industry experts suggest obtaining quotes from competitors every six months to one year, because the reality is that many insurance companies change their rates regularly and doing a little bit of research can save you quite a bit of money.

Cutting costs however, isn’t the only reason to leave one insurance company behind for another. We asked insurance industry experts to share some of the top signs it may be time to part ways with your insurance provider, whether it’s life insurance, home insurance, car insurance, or any other type of policy. Here are some reasons to cut ties.

Transparent Wood Now Stores & Releases Heat | CoolBusinessIdeas.com

April 25, 2019April 24, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Three years ago, we heard how scientists from Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology had created transparent wood – it could serve as a cheaper alternative to the silica-based glass currently used in windows and solar cells. Now, the material is additionally able to store heat and later release it.

In order to produce the initial version of the transparent wood, a KTH team led by Prof. Lars Berglund started by chemically removing light-absorbing lignin from natural balsa wood fibers – lignin is one component of wood cell walls.

Bluetooth Metal Detector | CoolBusinessIdeas.com

April 24, 2019April 21, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Although smartphones can perform many tasks on their own, they’re also able to make devices such as drones, robots and cameras cheaper and/or more capable by acting as their “brains.” One of the latest gadgets to receive such a treatment is the humble – and potentially treasure-finding – metal detector.

Presently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the Ukrainian/American-designed Air Metal Detector features a 9.5-inch (241-mm) submersible electromagnetic coil that is reportedly able to detect small metallic objects located up to 12 inches (305 mm) beneath the ground, or larger objects as far down as four feet (1.2 m). When such an item is detected, the Air Metal transmits a Bluetooth signal to the user’s Apple or Android smartphone, which is mounted on the handle.

How Is Decaf Coffee Made? | Live Science

April 23, 2019April 21, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The story of decaf coffee starts, improbably, with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Goethe, who wrote the tragedy “Faust,” was one of Germany’s most famous authors, but he also dabbled in natural science. In 1819, Goethe saw the chemist Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge demonstrate how deadly nightshade extract could dilate a cat’s pupils. Impressed, Goethe gave Runge a small box of coffee beans from Greece and tasked the chemist with figuring out why the stuff kept him up at night.