4 Funding Myths to Stop Believing Now | Entrepreneur

September 28, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Fundraising can be a tricky business, with many factors influencing the outcome. Avoid these funding myths and make sure you have the information and strategies you need to keep your company thriving.

Myth: Funding is synonomous with success.

Reality: Not every successful company seeks funds and not every company that does becomes successful in the long term. Don’t look for outside dollars because you think it’s impressive or could get you press attention. Funds from VCs or angel investors often come with management strings and pressure to perform. Ask yourself if you need money at all and if you’ve exhausted bootstrapping, loans from banks, friends or family, or even funding through revenue.

5 Habits That Cause Entrepreneurs To Fail | Business Tips

September 25, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Fortunately, as the former U.S. Small Business Administration’s Entrepreneur of the Year (and recovering jackass), I get asked to help grow businesses in nearly every industry. Unfortunately, and sadly as a business owner who once practiced the dark art of “Jackassery,” I can empathize with nearly every poor decision they are making because I used to make the same poor decisions as well. My friend, when banks refer me to a business to help them grow or to “turn the ship around” I often see businesses that are crashing and burning firsthand.

Because I’ve personally witnessed these implosions and explosions so many times, I’ve identified five reasons that can account for every failure I’ve witnessed. In the spirit of full disclosure, I must say that I haven’t had the chance to work with an entrepreneur in the clay pigeon or petting zoo industries, so I cannot speak to these industries from experience. Thus, if you are in those two industries, these five habits that cause entrepreneurs to fail, don’t apply to you. However, for everybody else, as you read these habits and false beliefs, ask yourself which one sounds most like you. What are you going to do to begin improving upon yourself and your mindset today?

This Adjustable Standing Desk Is So Simple, It Doesn’t Need Nuts Or Bolts | Fast Company

September 25, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

As many people are starting to realize, sitting is the new smoking—it’ll kill you faster than a bowlful of trans fats. But standing still in front of your computer all day isn’t so great either. What you need is a combo sit-stand desk, preferably one that’s easy to adjust, and that doesn’t use a motor.

That’s the Perch. It’s a super-adjustable desk that sits on top of your regular desk, raising your keyboard, mouse computer and even a secondary screen to the correct level.

The design came about after Nick Salisbury got fidgety at his 9-5 desk job. “[I] found myself slipping away from this active lifestyle I loved and falling helplessly into a life of sitting,” he says. Research showed him that existing desks were either too expensive or not easily adjustable, so he got together with friends and set up Perch.

A Few Pointers to Stand Out at The Next Networking Event | Get Entrepreneurial

September 24, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If your company is going to be the next big thing then you’re going to need to get out there in the business world and mingle. Networking events are the perfect platforms to showcase your professionalism and let everyone know about your company brand. You get to mix and mingle with like minded individuals and create serious connections.

If you’ve ever been to a networking event before, then you know full well that there are hundreds of companies being represented in one location. That means in order to get your brand out there, you have to stand out from the crowd. To do this, a bit of research and preparation are necessary. It never hurts to be prepared so that you can rise to the occasion when it’s necessary. Here are some tips that will hopefully help you make a lasting impression:

Do a Bit of Research on the Attendees

Are there certain business connections you intend to meet while at your networking event? If so, then you’re going to want to make sure you know your facts about the individual and their business ahead of time. A little bit of research goes a long way in making a good impression.

Let’s say you’re going into the retail industry for women’s fashion and you’re looking to start your own boutique. You might want to do some research on various companies who sell their products through retailers. For instance, if you’re looking for footwear, you might check out shoes from Marc Fisher to see how profitable the business is and how it might complement your brand.

Is Writing Your Own Book a Good Idea? | Inc.com

September 22, 2015September 21, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When corporate philanthropy consultant Susan Hyatt wrote a book, Strategy for Good: Business Giving Strategies for the 21st Century, it went on to win four publishing awards and got testimonials from top execs at Pfizer, Timberland, and Starbucks. Most important, it caught the attention of potential clients. “It does open doors,” she says. “The credibility is big. If people know you’ve written a book, they do take notice. It’s attracted new business for me, for sure.” Yet it sold just 1,000 copies. Books by or about entrepreneurs rarely sell well (unless they include the name Musk, Gates, Jobs, or Buffett), so if you’re considering writing a book, know that you most likely won’t make a dime. In fact, if you self-publish instead of working through a traditional publisher, you could spend tens of thousands of dollars. That’s why you should treat your book like a marketing investment that you can use to boost your company’s bottom line.

How dangerous is teeth whitening? | BBC News

September 22, 2015September 21, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Some beauty salons are continuing to provide illegal teeth whitening despite being prosecuted by regulators, an investigation by 5 Live Investigates has found.

Undercover reporters were offered treatment by one therapist who had been fined thousands of pounds just months earlier.

The General Dental Council has already prosecuted 24 people this year – more than the whole of last year. But with the popularity of teeth whitening soaring, who is allowed to do it and what are the dangers if you are treated by someone who isn’t properly qualified?

What is teeth whitening?

Celebrity culture and reality shows such as The Only Way is Essex have made teeth whitening one of the most popular cosmetic treatments in the UK. According to Mintel research, more than a third of adults are considering having it done. It involves bleaching your teeth using a whitening product usually containing hydrogen peroxide.

Is it dangerous?

Quality Matters: How We Do Content Audits at Page19 and Why You Should Do Them, Too | Page19

September 22, 2015September 21, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Page 19 was born in October of last year from the fingers and brains of approximately two-point-five people. When in February we finally came up for air, leaving our little tunnels of writing, design tweaking, reading, research, and publishing, and my editor said, “Maybe you should start thinking about doing a content audit,” I froze. I balked. I was not pleased.

Audit is a horrible word.

Audit summons visions of taxes and suits and paperwork for days, to say nothing of the swirling sense of dread and guilt. So sue me: as a lady of letters, I’m sensitive to the word “audit,”—which may be one of the reasons we never use it when we talk about our review process at Page19.

Personal preferences aside, the more important reason that “audit” is inadequate has much more to do with its rigidity. Audit feels passive and stringent. It implies fact-checking and excavation, but not much in the way of rebuilding a foundation. In an age of scrums and iterative processes galore (including our publishing and writing process), “audit” didn’t quite get the job done for Page19. Befitting an age of emojis and acronyms, we passed on the vast descriptive role of an entire word to two very adequate letters: QA.

Stacy Sanchez: Senior Community Loan Officer

September 21, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Google’s New Logo Marks a Trend of Friendlier Fonts | Bloomberg Business

September 21, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Google updated its logo earlier this month. You’ve surely seen it by now, but let’s take a closer look: It retains the primary colors and playfully tilted “e” but introduces a new typeface. Called Product Sans, the update disposes of serifs, those flicks on the ends of letters, and uses fatter strokes reminiscent of kindergarten lesson books. The spaces within the two “g”s and two “o”s are near-perfect circles. “We think we’ve taken the best of Google (simple, uncluttered, colorful, friendly) and recast it not just for the Google of today, but for the Google of the future,” brand executives wrote in a launch announcement.