Here’s America’s New Minimum Wage Map | Bloomberg Business

April 1, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Seattle’s new minimum wage law takes effect today, the first stage of an extended ramp-up that will see all business in the city paying $15 an hour by 2021. Workers at large businesses will see an increase today to $11, from Washington’s state minimum wage of $9.47, already the highest in the nation.

This map shows the up-to-date status of the minimum wage across the country.

See Map.

Paving Your Own Path to Success | BusinessTips.com

April 1, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When something amazing happens to someone, one of the first things we want to say is, “You’re so lucky.” This is an appropriate reaction to someone finding $20 on the floor or winning concert tickets, but when it comes to operating a business, is success really a result of luck? It may seem that way when your business is struggling despite all of the hours of hard work you’ve invested in it, but there are strategies you can implement that will slowly but surely help you pave your own path to great success.

Paying Yourself Too Much? Too Little? Be Ready for an IRS Challenge | Biz Action

March 31, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

It is generally more tax-efficient to be paid a salary than to receive dividends, given that salary expense is deductible and dividends are paid on an after-tax basis. If the IRS thinks some portion of your salary really should be treated as a distribution of profit, that portion would be added to the pool of corporate revenue subject to tax.

It all comes down to the meaning of the word “reasonable.”

It all comes down to the IRS definition of “reasonable.”

“Whether the pay is reasonable depends on the circumstances that existed when you contracted for the services, not those that exist when the reasonableness is questioned,” according to the IRS.

Suppose, for example, you paid yourself a $250,000 salary at a time when your company was small, with gross revenue of $500,000, two employees besides yourself, and you were not working around the clock. Suppose further that after five years your business has tripled in size and you are still paying yourself $250,000.

Buying a home at auction vs. regular sale | Mashable

March 30, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

For first-time home buyers, sticking to a budget is crucial. Though it’s tempting to splurge on a dream house, eager buyers need to remember that much more goes into a housing budget than a home’s asking price. Buyers also need to consider mortgage payments, property taxes, maintenance costs and even optional projects such as renovations and landscaping.

Because budgeting and saving for the future are central components of home ownership, greenhorn buyers should examine a variety of home acquisition methods to see which one best fits their budget and goals.

One option that appeals to many buyers with pinched pockets is buying a home — foreclosed or non-distressed — at auction, where bidders decide how much the home is worth and can leave with a title the day of the auction.

Mobile Payments: Which Businesses Need Them? | Business News Daily

March 30, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In October 2014, Apple launched its highly anticipated mobile wallet solution, Apple Pay. Although the ability to make purchases through a smartphone app was not a brand-new concept, the business world viewed Apple Pay as the product that would finally push near-field communication (NFC) and contactless payment technology to the forefront of retail.

“Apple raised visibility [of payments as] something you can and should be able to do with a mobile device,” said Gregory Mann, chief marketing officer of mobile wallet solution LoopPay. “It took the conversation out of B2B partners … and brought it to consumers’ dining room tables. The average person out there [now knows] this is something you can do with your phone.”

This is the One Bad Habit Keeping You from Achieving Your Goals | Page19

March 27, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Winter is almost over. How many of your resolutions did you keep? Gretchen Rubin’s Better than Before presents a framework to help readers to understand their habits and to change them for good.

Thanks to the notorious fallibility of New Year’s Resolutions, if you’re like most people, chances are you’re not quite where you hoped you would be this time of year. Maybe you’ve held on. But statistics show that you probably haven’t.

Forming new habits is hard. We humans spend a lot of time trying to change ourselves, indeed, there are entire industries dedicated to selling self-improvement. But we rarely succeed. Why is this? According to Gretchen Rubin, this might be because we’re conceptualizing the whole thing wrong.

Save Yourself Time With A Time Audit | Forbes

March 27, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Do you need more time? For most people, the answer is a resounding yes.

Yet many of us waste time every day, or spend it on things that don’t make us satisfied. Time is a precious resource, so it is worth checking up on our spending now and again.

Do you know exactly where your time goes?

By doing a time audit we can boost our productivity. It’s a way we can improve our time management skills, and make sure that we are using our time for the things we want to spend it on.

Often, time management is a case of redistributing our time. After all, we know that we’ll get 24 hours a day, every day; no more, no less. Some people tend to somehow be able to do a lot more with that same amount of time. How do they manage it?

Have a look at where your time is going:

Top 10 Happiest Countries Are All in Latin America | Live Science

March 26, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

For the first time in a decade, the top 10 happiest countries in the world are all in Latin America, according to the 2014 Gallup Positive Experience Index.

Paraguay placed first out of 143 countries, with its people reporting the most positive emotions on a daily basis, according to the survey. Gallup researchers released the results for the United Nations’ third annual International Day of Happiness today (March 20).

To gauge happiness levels around the world, researchers interviewed about 1,000 people in each country, either in person or over the phone. All of the participants were age 15 or older, and answered questions about how happy they felt the day before.

4 Qualities of Dogs That You Also Want in Your Customers | All Business

March 26, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

You might think dogs are an unlikely source of inspiration for your customers, but you’d be surprised how similar they can be. I don’t mean to denigrate your customers! Quite the contrary. I think if customers were more like dogs in the following four ways, we’d all have more business than we could handle.

1. Loyalty

What’s the first quality you think of when it comes to dogs? Loyalty! They’re there with wagging tails, whether we feed them, walk them, or ignore them. And when we treat them well? That loyalty skyrockets.

You already know that having loyal customers is great for business. It’s easier—and cheaper—to get past customers to come back than to find new ones. So consider ways you can build loyalty with your customer base.