How to Deal With Difficult Customers: Practical Strategies for Small Business Owners | All Business

February 5, 2025February 4, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Dealing with difficult customers is an inevitable part of running a business. However, learning how to handle challenging interactions with professionalism and empathy can turn potential conflicts into opportunities to strengthen customer relationships and build trust. This article will provide practical advice and strategies to diffuse angry encounters.

Understanding Difficult Customers

To effectively manage difficult customers, it’s essential first to understand the challenges they present and the underlying reasons for their behavior. Types of difficult customers you may encounter include:

The Complainer

These people often express their displeasure over little problems. They want recognition and peace of mind knowing that their issues are being given weight. They may declare, for instance, “This is unacceptable,” or “I always have this issue here.”

X Introduces Video Tab, Expanding Platform’s Video Capabilities | Small Business Trends

February 4, 2025February 3, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

X has launched its new Video Tab. It’s a feature designed to enhance video discovery and engagement for users in the U.S. The update introduces a full-screen, immersive video experience, allowing audiences to explore trending content, top creators, and live events in a centralized feed.

The new Video Tab, accessible through the play button icon in the navigation bar, offers users a curated selection of recommended videos covering sports, entertainment, news, and viral trends. The feature aims to integrate seamlessly with X’s real-time content model, making video more accessible and engaging.

“The Video Tab makes it easy for the best creators to tap into the hottest platform in the world,” said Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X. “X is where the cultural conversation is happening. If you’re not on X, you’re out of the loop.”

This is what OnePlus still needs to solve with its phones | Digital Trends

February 3, 2025February 2, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you’re looking to buy one of the best phones right now, you need to consider the latest flagship from OnePlus. Dubbed the OnePlus 13, it launched three weeks ago and after spending more than a month with it, it’s become clear that it’s my favorite Android smartphone.

Yet, there’s a clear problem with the OnePlus 13 and it’s a long-standing problem that OnePlus has never really tried to resolve. Well, that’s not entirely true but internal strife between former co-founders and the complex issue of its relationship with sibling Oppo have made it a challenge for OnePlus to solve this.

What’s the problem? That’s easy: carrier relationships. Most customers in the U.S. buy their phones from their carrier, but despite a brief foray, OnePlus has strayed away from striking carrier partnerships. For the OnePlus 13, this is to its detriment; here’s why carrier partnerships are the final boss frontier that OnePlus must solve.

How Technology is Revolutionizing Contractor Workflows | The Startup Magazine

January 31, 2025January 30, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Technology has been a game-changer for industries worldwide, and the construction sector is no exception. For contractors, this means tighter deadlines, higher costs, and constant pressure to improve efficiency. Add to this the daily challenges of managing teams, tracking resources, and ensuring safety, and it becomes clear why many contractors are turning to technology for solutions.

With the right tools, contractors can streamline their workflows, reduce errors, and improve communication. Let’s explore how specific technologies are transforming contractor workflows and addressing common pain points.

Streamlining Project Planning and Scheduling

Efficient project planning is one of the most significant challenges contractors face. Traditional methods, like spreadsheets or pen-and-paper schedules, are time-consuming and prone to errors. This is where construction management software comes in. These tools allow contractors to map out every aspect of a project, from timelines to budgets.

3 Features That Could Be Missing From Your Eco Friendly House | The Startup Magazine

January 31, 2025January 30, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Do you live in an eco-friendly home? A lot of people like to think they do, what with their energy-efficient appliances and the recycling system they abide by. But in reality, a lot of these homes end up far less environmentally focused than they aim to.

And this is a common problem. It’s good to have smart home devices in your house, such as a meter that keeps you in the loop on the amount of energy you’re using, but it might not be enough. You may have to extend your efforts further and start incorporating some more eco friendly design ideas into your space.

That’s the kind of thing we want to tackle in this post. If you’re keen to live in a truly eco-friendly property and you’re willing to make some changes around the house, we’ve got a few things for you to look into.

Bill Gates Is Still Doing Product Reviews at Microsoft | Entrepreneur

January 28, 2025January 27, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When Bill Gates stepped down from Microsoft’s board in 2020, it seemed to be the end of the entrepreneur’s almost four decades at the tech giant he co-founded in 1975. Though on his Gates Notes blog, he states he is still a “technical advisor,” it wasn’t clear how much time he was actually spending at the company.

Gates spent 25 years as CEO and transitioned into a part-time role at Microsoft in June 2008. And despite officially stepping down in 2020, it looks like Gates never actually retired.

In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Gates said that he is still doing “product reviews” at Microsoft, and it takes up “maybe 15%” of the 69-year-old’s time.

Developing Trust: Utilising Your Ultimate Business Asset | Getentrepreneurial.com

January 27, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In today’s blog post, we’re going to explore the ultimate business resource: trust. If I were to ask you what the most valuable asset in your business is, what would you say? Over the years, I’ve posed this question to numerous business professionals, and while the answers vary, the common thread that emerges is trust.

Consider this: if you responded with “my product or service,” what ultimately drives people to choose and consume it? No matter how impressive or innovative your offering may be, if customers don’t trust that it will deliver on its promises, its value diminishes significantly. Likewise, if your answer revolves around yourself, your skills, or your knowledge, trust plays a crucial role. Without trust in you as an individual, regardless of your capabilities, people will hesitate to engage with you.

How To Understand the Reality of Paid Advertising vs. Referred Business | Getentrepreneurial.com

January 27, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In the words of Henry Ford, “I know half my advertising doesn’t work; I just don’t know which half.”

As small business owners, we face an overwhelming array of marketing options, with paid advertising being a common go-to method. However, the truth is that paid advertising can be a hit-or-miss approach, lacking guaranteed success. Fortunately, there is an alternative that can bring long-term value to your business: building high-quality referral relationships.

The Benefits of Referred Business

While I may be biased, there are several advantages that referred business holds over paid advertising. The foremost benefit is the level of trust that referred customers have in your business even before they meet you.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs S24: Comparing price, specs and features | Mashable

January 24, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Samsung Galaxy S25 has arrived, and now you have a decision to make.

Samsung showed off its latest flagship phones at its Galaxy Unpacked event on Wednesday, which means people with older Samsung phones might be wondering whether or not it’s worth upgrading. Specifically, if you have last year’s Galaxy S24 model, there are some difference between the S25 and S24 that are worth noting.

No more wasting time. Here are the differences between Galaxy S25 and S24.

Samsung Galaxy S25 vs. 24: Price

This one’s easy. Last year, the Galaxy S24 started at $799. This year, the Galaxy S25 starts at…$799. It’s a wash, in other words. That said, it’s possible that Samsung drops the price of the S24 after the launch of the S25, but until that happens, these two phones cost the same amount of money.

‘Marsquakes’ may solve 50-year-old mystery about the Red Planet | Live Science

January 22, 2025January 21, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Recordings of Martian earthquakes, or “marsquakes,” collected by a robot on the Red Planet may have finally solved a 50-year-old mystery: why one half of Mars is so drastically different from the other.

Since the 1970s, researchers have known that Mars is split into two main areas. The northern lowlands cover around two-thirds of the planet’s northern hemisphere, while the southern highlands cover the rest of the planet and have an average elevation roughly 3 miles (5 kilometers) higher than that of the northern lowlands. Mars’ crust, which sits on top of a mantle of molten rock similar to the one inside Earth, is also thicker in the southern highlands. This planetary imbalance is known as the “Martian dichotomy.”