Tipping Point: Is It Time to Rethink Gratuity in Restaurants? | Entrepreneur

January 12, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

American diners really give it to their servers. In New York City and Los Angeles, tips at independent eateries average 22 percent of the check, a big jump from a generation ago, when 15 percent was the norm, according to restaurateurs. Waiters and bartenders often earn more than $50 an hour.

And that has to stop, say a growing number of restaurant owners. Bottom-line necessity and common sense are uniting small family-owned cafes with the country’s most expensive chef-owned dining rooms in a move to abolish tipping.

4 Unconventional Pieces of Startup Advice from Peter Thiel | Page19

January 11, 2016January 11, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

So: you have a great new idea and you’re on the verge of launching your own business? Off you go! Be warned, though: few startups last more than a few years. What gives? Peter Thiel gives us his take on what’s big when you’re small. This might be a brave new world of enterprise, but traditional business smarts still matter.

This is why it is worth listening to advice from successful founders and entrepreneurs. Certainly, one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time is Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal and now a prominent venture capitalist. He was the first outsider to invest in Facebook, and he manages Founders Fund’s $2 billion assets.

We read Peter Thiel’s bestselling book, Zero to One, and pulled out its most important tips for new startup founders.

Asking For Help Could Be The Biggest Boost Your Business Gets | Getentrepreneurial

January 11, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Running your own business can feel like it’s you against the world. Especially in the early days.

However, no one has to fly solo. Help is out there and it’s just a matter of knowing where to find it.

Cultivated properly and nurtured frequently, business mentors and friends can turn into some of the biggest assets you have, outside of your own staff. Their guidance, ideas and counsel can help your business grow and turn you into a better leader.

Here are some tips that have worked for me:

Before I go | Stanford Medicine

January 11, 2016 ~ CBPS ~ Leave a comment

Verb conjugation became muddled. Which was correct? “I am a neurosurgeon,” “I was a neurosurgeon,” “I had been a neurosurgeon before and will be again”? Graham Greene felt life was lived in the first 20 years and the remainder was just reflection. What tense was I living in?

Is Self-Insurance Right for Your Business? | Business News Daily

January 7, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

According to Healthcare.gov, self-insurance is a “type of plan … where the employer itself collects premiums from enrollees and takes on the responsibility of paying employees’ and dependents’ medical claims.” Insurance services such as enrollment, claims processing and provider networks can be handled in-house, but are more frequently managed by a third-party administrator (TPA) or an insurance company.

First Drive: Chevrolet Bolt Is A Shocker That Might Convince You To Buy An Electric Car | Forbes

January 7, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

General Motors Wednesday introduced the Chevrolet Bolt, the first long-range, plug-in electric car that real people can afford to drive.

Priced around $30,000 (after government rebates), the five-passenger Bolt has an electric range of around 200 miles, more than enough for families to use as their daily driver without fear of running out of juice. Most people would never need to recharge anywhere but home. But if you do, you can refill the battery to 80 percent of capacity in about 30 minutes.

100 Things You Absolutely Need To Know About Money Before You’re 35 | Forbes

January 6, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

That’s the weird thing about getting older. There’s no magic eight ball. There’s no manual. There’s no great big cheat sheet. You don’t generally know that you’ve gotten it right until you’ve made it through to the other side. That’s especially true when it comes to money.

The whole thing got me thinking: wouldn’t it be great if there really was a cheat sheet for getting older? One targeted to finance? What if there was a list of what you absolutely needed to know about money written by folks who have already been forced to make those tough calls?

Watch this law professor’s lecture if you love ‘Making A Murderer’ | Business Insider

January 6, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In 2008, Regent University law professor James Duane gave a lecture. The lecture gained traction online over the years (one version of the lecture video is up to five million YouTube views), but now it’s being rediscovered by fans of the hit Netflix show “Making A Murderer” on Reddit.

Much of Duane’s lecture feels particularly relevant given the relationship between the police and the suspects (innocent and otherwise) on the show.

I was Trying to Spy and Hackers Stopped Me | CNN Money

January 4, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Chris Inglis has worked in intelligence most of his adult life. He’s tall, imposing and speaks with precision.

Debates about encryption technology — like the ones that cropped up after last month’s terror attacks in Paris — are nothing new to him. Reports that ISIS is using apps with encryption tech to hide their conversations don’t surprise him. He was the deputy director of the NSA and saw dozens of times when encryption was an obstacle in pursuing a target.

He couldn’t get into specifics but explained broadly: The agency might identify an adversary through financial transactions, or by following the chain of possession for weapons. But if the target was using some form of encrypted messaging, the NSA would lose the last piece of the puzzle.

“The worst case scenario is that we fail to see a plot that essentially is on the fly … and that we only see it when it’s in execution,” Inglis said. “At that moment in time, you’re reacting to a disaster in the making as opposed to staving one off. That’s the threat, that’s the challenge.”