Dispatches From The Front

What Is Opportunity Cost And How to Calculate It? | LifeHack

Posted on March 15, 2023 by knjohn | Leave a comment

In our modern world, there are endless alternatives. Therefore, it’s difficult to choose an opportunity that is right for you. Have you ever found yourself wondering whether you should quit or stay in your job, accept an offer or give it up for another, or purchase or survive without? Do you know the cost or opportunity you can gain when you choose one from another other?

There is a simple and practical method that solves this problem. It’s about finding out the opportunity cost. When you understand opportunity cost, you have the power to measure every alternative with precision and make the right decisions.

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Tagged endless alternatives, make the right decisions, Opportunity Cost

Find Out What Kind of Entrepreneur You Are | AllBusiness.com

Posted on March 15, 2023 by knjohn | Leave a comment

Despite how they’re often treated, entrepreneurs are not a monolith. Instead, they’re driven by various motivations and approach business differently. This is illustrated by the annual Small Business Growth Trends report from Keap, which reveals four unique types of small business owners. To get more insight into these entrepreneurial types, I talked to Clate Mask, the CEO of Keap.

Rieva Lesonsky: What were the unique types of business owners identified in your Small Business Growth Trends report?

Clate Mask: Our survey found that entrepreneurs fall into four different segments:

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Tagged different approaches to business, entrepreneurship, What Kind of Entrepreneur You Are

Entenmann’s Brings Back Classic Packaging After Rampant Customer Complaints | Small Biz Trends

Posted on March 14, 2023 by knjohn | Leave a comment

Entenmann’s, a baked goods company based in New Jersey, has brought back their iconic “window packaging” after receiving customer complaints about a change in their packaging design. The company had switched to a new packaging design that did not feature the clear window, according to a Fox report, which allowed customers to see the product inside.

Entenmann’s, which is owned by Bimbo Bakeries USA, had made the change to the packaging in order to reduce plastic waste. However, the new design was met with criticism from customers who claimed that the lack of a window made it difficult to see what was inside the package.

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Posted in News and Views

Tagged Classic Packaging, Entenmann, window packaging

How to Minimize Your Startup Costs | Business.com

Posted on March 14, 2023 by knjohn | Leave a comment

Here are several ways to save money when you’re first starting out.

Startup history abounds with stories of entrepreneurs who made it big on shoestring budgets. Spanx founder Sara Blakely began her shapewear business in the 1990s with just $5,000 in savings, and Nike co-founder Phil Knight famously paid just $35 to the graphic designer who came up with the company’s iconic swoosh logo. Many big business owners became successful by keeping costs low and staying frugal.

Today, there are more ways than ever to save money as a new entrepreneur. Here are five strategies for startups to keep their finances healthy as they grow.

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Tagged How to keep startups finances healthy, keep start up costs low and frugal, Startup Costs for a new business

I used two of the year’s oddest tech gadgets so you don’t have to | Digital Trends

Posted on March 13, 2023 by knjohn | Leave a comment

If you’re intent on not keeping your true wireless earbuds in a normal charging case, and want to hide them inside a different gadget, now is your time. The Huawei Watch Buds is a smartwatch with a pair of true wireless headphones inside, and the Nokia 5710 XpressAudio is a 4G phone that stores a pair of earbuds in the back.

It’s a bizarre niche that I’m surprised contains two products. I’ve used them, so it’s my duty to report that both are a bit silly — and I don’t want to use any more of them, thank you very much. However, for the few people out there thinking they want to buy one, this is what they’re like. For everyone else, you get to marvel at two of the oddest tech products seen in a while.

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Tagged 4G phone, Huawei Watch Buds, Nokia 5710 XpressAudio

Unveiling The Mystery Of Effective Selling | Duct Tape Marketing

Posted on March 13, 2023 by knjohn | Leave a comment

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview David Newman. He’s the founder of the Do It! MBA mentoring program and the host of The Selling Show, a top-rated business podcast. He is the author of the business bestseller Do It! Marketing, and his new book, Do It! Selling, where David helps professional services sellers land better clients, bigger deals, and higher fees.

Key Takeaway:

Successful selling requires reframing sales as an invitation, and a conversation with an approach to authenticity, curiosity, and service. David Newman joins me to talk about the frameworks needed to generate more effective selling. This requires developing skills of being strategically dumb and perpetually curious, digging deeper into the problem. David emphasizes the importance of focusing on the prospect’s needs and cultivating a mindset of curiosity.

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Posted in Marketing

Tagged David Newman, developing selling skills, Effective Selling

Effective Management Techniques to Reduce Employee Turnover | The Startup Magazine

Posted on March 10, 2023 by knjohn | Leave a comment

Perhaps it won’t be wrong to say these staggering numbers are a wake-up call for organizations to take employee retention seriously. Otherwise, they will (sooner or later) experience the resource drain, high overhead costs & low employee productivity.

Now, the question is- how can organizations address these issues and reduce employee turnover for a more stable and positive work environment?

That’s the question we’ll be answering in this article. We’ll explore the latest and most effective management techniques and strategies managers can use to retain their best employees and build a stronger, more engaged workforce. So, let’s get started.

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Tagged Effective Management Techniques, employee productivity, Reduce Employee Turnover

Foxconn: iPhone maker sees revenue slump as demand weakens | BBC News

Posted on March 10, 2023 by knjohn | Leave a comment

Apple’s biggest supplier Foxconn says its revenue last month fell by 11.65% compared to the same period in 2022 due to weaker demand for electronics.

However, February revenue was more than $13bn (£10.8bn), the second highest figure on record for the month.

Foxconn added that operations at the world’s biggest iPhone factory in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou are recovering from Covid disruptions.

Also over the weekend the firm said it was exploring opportunities in India.

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Posted in News and Views

Tagged demands weakens for iPhone, Foxconn, iPhone maker

Relativity scrubs first Terran 1 launch attempt | TechCrunch

Posted on March 9, 2023 by knjohn | Leave a comment

Relativity Space called off the first launch attempt of the Terran 1 rocket a little over a half hour before the close of the launch window, joining every other space company in history in not launching their vehicle on the first attempt.

The company has a backup launch window tomorrow, though it’s unclear if they’ll attempt the launch again. (Update: Shortly after concluding the launch livestream, the company said on Twitter that the next launch attempt will be “a few days from now.”) Relativity ended their livestream without disclosing further details as to the cause of the scrub. (Update 2: Relativity later said the launch was called off due to exceeding criteria limits for the thermal conditions of propellant on the second stage.)

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Posted in News and Views

Tagged Relativity, Relativity scrubs first Terran 1 launch attempt, Terran 1

Why the Floppy Disk Just Won’t Die | WIRED

Posted on March 9, 2023 by knjohn | Leave a comment

WHEN MARK NECAISE got down to his last four floppy disks at a rodeo in Mississippi in February, he started to worry.

Necaise travels to horse shows around the state, offering custom embroidery on jackets and vests: “All of the winners would get a jacket and we’d put the name of the farm or the name of the horse or whatever on it,” he says.

Five years ago, he paid $18,000 for a second-hand machine, manufactured in 2004 by the Japanese embroidery equipment specialist Tajima. The only way to transfer the designs from his computer to the machine was via floppy disk.

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Tagged floppy disk, industries still using floppy disk