Why Personal Development Programs Fail (And What Actually Works) | LifeHack

February 3, 2026February 1, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

You’ve done the courses. Read the books. Downloaded the apps. Filled out the worksheets, journaled the gratitude, and visualized the outcomes. You have a shelf full of personal development programs, each one promising to be the one that finally changes everything.

And yet here you are.

Not that the programs were useless. They worked for a while. You felt the surge of motivation after finishing that online course. You had clarity for three weeks after that retreat. The habit tracker made perfect sense until it didn’t, and then it sat in your drawer, a monument to another abandoned attempt.

The frustrating part isn’t that you don’t know what to do. You probably know more about personal development than most people will ever learn. You understand the importance of goals. You’ve heard about atomic habits, mindset shifts, and morning routines. You could give a decent TED talk on productivity frameworks.

Best Apps for Habit Tracking: 5 Tools That Actually Work | Lifehack

February 3, 2026February 1, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

You’ve downloaded habit apps before. Set everything up on a motivated Sunday, felt that spark of possibility, then watched it all collapse by Thursday when life got in the way.

The culprit isn’t your willpower. It’s that most habit trackers obsess over streaks without addressing why you break them. A red X on a calendar doesn’t tell you what went wrong or how to recover. It just makes you feel like a failure.

The apps that actually work do something different: they build systems around your psychology, not against it. Here are five that understand this.

Should You Send a Late Account to Collections? | Business News Daily

February 2, 2026February 1, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The decision to send someone to collections is one that should be given serious consideration. Federal law governs how you and the collection agencies you hire can and cannot attempt to collect a debt.

In this guide, we explain the rules you should follow to keep your business out of hot water when pursuing unpaid debts, and we walk you through sending someone to collections while complying with the law.

How to Avoid International Marketing Mistakes | businessnewsdaily.com

February 2, 2026February 1, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Expanding your business internationally can be an exciting step for any entrepreneur, but marketing your product or service abroad requires adequate research and preparation. To succeed in foreign markets, businesses must tailor their messaging to resonate with local cultures rather than simply translating words directly.

Without the proper considerations, marketing to a foreign audience can have disastrous outcomes. Sending the wrong message can discourage consumers from buying your product and could lead them to boycott your business altogether.

Mariko Amekodommo, CEO of international marketing and consulting agency Mariko Communications, said that one of the most common marketing mistakes businesses make when taking their company international is not understanding their market and audience.

“There can be a cultural gap from one country to the next where campaigns, slogans, and initiatives don’t resonate or make sense to the end user,” Amekodommo said. “Companies can avoid basic marketing mistakes, like slogans that don’t translate appropriately, by putting in the due diligence to research and understand the new market.”

What carbon capture is and why it’s not an ideal climate solution | Fast Company

January 30, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Power plants and industrial facilities that emit carbon dioxide, the primary driver of global warming, are hopeful that Congress will keep tax credits for capturing the gas and storing it deep underground.

The process, called carbon capture and sequestration, is seen by many as an important way to reduce pollution during a transition to renewable energy.

But it faces criticism from some conservatives, who say it is expensive and unnecessary, and from environmentalists, who say it has consistently failed to capture as much pollution as promised and is simply a way for producers of fossil fuels like oil, gas, and coal to continue their use.

15 Smart Strategies for Naming Your Startup | AllBusiness.com

January 29, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Choosing the right name for your startup is one of the most important early decisions you’ll make as a founder. A compelling, clear, and memorable name can help your brand stand out, attract customers, ease marketing, and avoid legal headaches down the road. Conversely, a confusing or poorly chosen name can make growth harder, block discoverability, or even force a costly rebrand later.

Here are 15 smart naming strategies to guide you—from brainstorming to legal checks—to help you choose a name that works now and scales with your business.

1. Keep It Simple, Clear, and Easy to Spell

If people struggle to spell or pronounce your name, they may not find you online, which means lost website visits, missed word-of-mouth referrals, and lower discoverability. Avoid intentionally misspelled or overly stylized names (even if they seem cool at first).

The 6 Biggest Email Marketing Challenges and How To Fix Them | Business

January 27, 2026January 26, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Email is an effective and affordable digital marketing strategy that many businesses rely on to reach customers. Implementing email marketing is straightforward, thanks to templates and platforms that allow you to segment your lists and track results. Notably, email helps you deliver personalized content based on customer purchase history and prospect engagement, and customers can respond directly to offers.

However, like all marketing channels, email marketing has its share of obstacles. We’ll examine the most significant issues plaguing marketers and how to use email marketing best practices to address them.

Email marketing challenges and solutions

The biggest email marketing challenges include earning new subscribers, increasing open rates, retaining subscribers, improving deliverability, boosting click-through rates, and achieving a measurable return on investment (ROI). Here’s a look at these top obstacles and their solutions.

Everything You Need to Write a Marketing Plan | Business

January 27, 2026January 26, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

To have a successful business, you need a well-thought-out marketing plan to promote your products or services. Although making a few social media posts or blasting a few promotional emails may seem simple enough, disjointed marketing efforts not only confuse your target audience but can ultimately harm your business. This guide will help you create a marketing plan for your business and outline all the components necessary to achieve your goals.

What is a marketing plan?

A marketing plan is a strategic road map for how you communicate (online and offline) with your target audience to successfully promote your products or services. Depending on your goal, marketing plans can be extremely basic or highly detailed.

According to Molly Maple Bryant, vice president of marketing at Vibrent Health, a marketing plan is not simply a list of things you want to accomplish. Instead, it should list the outcomes you seek — measurable and contextual, like the pipeline you’re developing, or leads you’re generating — and it should explain the high-level strategies you will use to achieve those outcomes. Developing strategies can be complicated, but they make a major difference in keeping you on track and avoiding diversions, also called scope creep.

“Once you have an agreed-upon plan, you are able to compare any incoming requests against your strategies to determine ‘Yes, this adheres to my strategy so we can add it,’ or ‘No, this sounds good in theory, but it doesn’t adhere to our agreed-upon strategy, so we won’t adjust resources,’” Bryant told us.

How Business Owners Can Build a Safety Net Without Losing Flexibility | The Startup Magazine

January 22, 2026January 21, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Do you want to be an entrepreneur, or do you want to live the lifestyle entrepreneurs are perceived to live?

Being your own boss. Working your own hours. Taking business calls on a cruise liner.

Why can’t that lifestyle be possible?

Well, because too many aspiring business owners put the cart ahead of the horse. They go in full steam ahead, expecting to run before they walk. The idea is great, but the execution is questionable.

Switchboards Explained: The Hidden Backbone of Electrical Networks | The Startup Magazine

January 22, 2026January 21, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In modern electrical systems, the seamless operation of residential, commercial, and industrial facilities depends heavily on reliable infrastructure. Among the various components that ensure smooth power distribution, power switchboards play a critical role. Often overlooked, these electrical instruments act as the backbone of complex electrical networks, enabling safe, efficient, and controlled delivery of electricity to devices, machinery, and equipment.

At their core, switchboards for electrical networks are designed to manage and direct electrical power from incoming sources to multiple outgoing circuits. By incorporating protection mechanisms, monitoring systems, and control devices, these electrical panels ensure that equipment operates safely and efficiently. Proper deployment of such assemblies not only safeguards against electrical faults but also enhances operational performance across facilities.