Best iPhone Apps to Manage Business Contacts | Business News Daily

December 3, 2024December 2, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When you attend a conference or client meeting, you likely collect several business cards from all the new people you meet. But what happens next? In the old days, such cards were meticulously filed or placed in a handy Rolodex. Today, even more efficiently, automated contact managers readily available through the App Store can import and organize all your contacts directly on your iPhone. Below is our list of the best iPhone apps for storing and managing your business contacts.

What are contact management apps?

A contact management app is a program on your mobile device that stores, filters, categorizes and updates contact information for the people in your life. Although iPhones come with a built-in contact app, a third-party vendor’s downloadable contact management app can provide you with many more features than you’d get with the default application.

How meat alternatives mimic the real thing, according to a scientist | Fast Company

December 2, 2024December 1, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When you bite into a juicy hamburger, slice into the perfect medium-rare steak, or gobble down a plateful of chicken nuggets, your senses are most likely responding to the food’s smell, taste, texture, and color. For a long time, these four attributes set meat apart from other food groups.

But in recent years, food companies have started to focus on the development of meat alternatives. Many people believe that transitioning away from meat-heavy diets can help with environmental sustainability as well as improve their own health.

The two main focuses of research have been on plant-based meat alternatives and lab-grown meat. Both have interesting challenges. Lab-grown meat requires growing animal cells and generating a meat product. Plant-based meat alternatives use plant materials to re-create animal-like structures and flavors.

Coffee prices raise to 47-year high with Brazil’s supply concerns | Fast Company

December 2, 2024December 1, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Coffee prices rose on Friday to their highest in nearly half a century, buoyed by tightening supplies as next year’s crop in top grower Brazil struggles to recover fully from this year’s drought.

Dealers also said some Brazilian farmers have delayed deliveries of this year’s crop in the hope of securing even higher prices, leading to short-term supply tightness and large financial losses for traders who had been expecting to receive the coffee.

How to Increase Team Productivity: 5 Concrete Tips | All Business

November 22, 2024November 21, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Increasingly we are operating in complex workplaces where individual and collaborative work share blurred boundaries, and there is a constant barrage of emails and reminders pinging at us throughout the day. Sometimes it can become a bit too much, leading to frustration, loss of productivity, low morale, and even a complete burnout.

As a business owner, you strive hard to create the perfect plan supported by a strategic vision. But if your employees are constantly feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated, the whole business could come crumbling down. That’s why addressing employee productivity is one of the key components of a business plan. In this article we share ways in which you can boost your team’s productivity, while increasing their happiness and creating a more successful business.

5 ways to increase your team’s productivity

1. Lead by example

Coworking vs. Home Office: Why You Should Consider Renting Office Space | All Business

November 22, 2024November 21, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

You, like me, may work from home. Maybe you’ve been doing it for decades (18 years over here!) or maybe COVID afforded you the opportunity to stop your daily commute. While there are a lot of benefits to working from home, it doesn’t bring guaranteed happiness on the job.

It recently occurred to me that I didn’t have to work from home. I’m fortunate in that I live in the south of Italy, where property is cheap. And so I’ve begun my hunt for office space outside of my home. Here’s why you might want to do the same.

6 reasons to rent an office or coworking space

1. Your home office is often sacrificed for home life

Maybe you’re fortunate enough to have a room completely dedicated to being your home office. Or maybe you work on a folding table shoved in your closet underneath your wife’s dresses. Homes weren’t designed to be offices, and that means that they often take second priority to all the things we need in our homes.

Snapchat Introduces New AR Lenses, Platform Features, and Spectacles Capabilities | Small Business Trends

November 20, 2024November 19, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Snapchat has unveiled a series of new Lenses, platform features, and tools aimed at enhancing augmented reality (AR) experiences for developers and users alike. The updates are part of the Snap OS v5.58 release, which introduces innovative capabilities for Spectacles, Snap’s AR-enabled smart glasses, along with expanded tools for developers to create and experiment with AR applications.

New Lenses: Piano Tutor and Ball Game

Snapchat’s new Lenses demonstrate the power of the Spectacles camera and SnapML, Snap’s machine learning technology.

Piano Tutor Lens: Designed to bring a personal piano instructor to users, this Lens uses custom machine learning models to identify and track a variety of pianos. It overlays notes onto the keys in real-time, helping users familiarize themselves with the keyboard layout and practice coordination. The Lens also evaluates performance, providing real-time feedback for continuous improvement.

SBA Encourages Shoppers to Support Local Businesses on Small Business Saturday with “Gift Big, Shop Local” Campaign | Small Business Trends

November 20, 2024November 19, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the kickoff of its Season of Small Business holiday campaign, beginning with the 15th annual Small Business Saturday on November 30, 2024. The event, founded by American Express, encourages consumers to support local small businesses during the holiday season. This year’s theme, “Gift Big, Shop Local,” emphasizes the importance of shopping small and supporting entrepreneurs nationwide.

“Small Business Saturday has become America’s call to action to support the backbone of our economy and heart of our communities – our small businesses,” said SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman. “America’s incredible entrepreneurs create jobs, drive innovation, and strengthen our communities, shaping the unique character of neighborhoods across America. This year, as we continue to enjoy an unprecedented Small Business Boom, I encourage everyone to Gift Big and Shop Local by supporting local businesses and the millions of hardworking Americans behind them.”

Watch this stunning aurora captured from space | Digital Trends

November 19, 2024November 18, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Stunning footage from the International Space Station (ISS) shows a glorious-looking aurora shimmering above our planet.

Captured last month and shared by the ISS on X over the weekend, the footage (below) begins with a faint green tinge on Earth’s horizon as seen from the space station some 257 miles up. But as the video continues, the green tinge develops into something far more spectacular, all against a gorgeous star-filled backdrop.

“The International Space Station soars above an aurora blanketing the Earth underneath a starry sky before orbiting into a sunrise 257 miles above Quebec, Canada, on October 30, 2024,” NASA said in a message accompanying the 60-second video.

Michael Polk Shares How Smaller Companies Can Offer Big Leadership Development Opportunities | The Startup Magazine

November 18, 2024November 17, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

For experienced large company executive Michael Polk, the decision to serve as an executive of a smaller private company was a significant choice. Polk has decades of experience driving change and transformation at large public companies, with an illustrious career working at Procter & Gamble, Kraft Foods, Unilever, and Newell Brands, where he was CEO from 2011 to 2019.

While Polk believes he grew tremendously as a leader and executive in his over 35 years in large public companies, he believes the growth one can get in smaller, private companies can be equally rewarding and the challenges test leaders in different ways earlier in one’s career.

Polk came out of retirement in 2020 to lead the transformation of Private Equity firm Berkshire Partners’ portfolio company, Implus LLC. Implus is a leading Fitness Accessories Portfolio company with 16 brands in the portfolio and a multi-national footprint.