Pay attention to the opening speech. You’ll find this same language in business plan templates and the ones you can get for $395. A lot of flowery words backed up by ‘seven red line’ logic.
6 Entrepreneurs Anonymously Share Their Secret Fears | Inc.com
Launching a business is not for the faint of heart. Even those who have been at it for years and appear to be “successful” are plagued with anxiety and fear. Some of their fears may seem irrational to you, while others are ones you may experience yourself.
Is it possible that the secret ingredient to becoming a successful entrepreneur is to never let go of your fear? Maybe. But one thing for certain, it isn’t always easy to share your fears with others.
Many entrepreneurs feel it’s their job to exude confidence to instill trust in their customers, employees and investors. As a result, they hide their feelings and their fears become secrets. We asked six entrepreneurs to share their secrets with us:
1. “I worry that I’ll work so tirelessly that I’ll miss out on living or enjoying my life. That includes spending time with my family. I have twin toddlers and don’t want them to grow up feeling like they’re competing with the back of my iPhone or laptop. I want to be present and undistracted when we are together. I want those times to be often and enduring, not cut short by an incoming email or call. I want to be able to have free time to just think or read or take a leisurely walk just without a looming pressure that I’m neglecting someone or something. When I first started my company, being busy made me feel important. Now, having free time I work on vacation, nights and weekends feels like the ultimate sign of success.”
5 Simple Sales Lessons for Non-Salespeople | Entrepreneur.com
Garrett Buhl Robinson is not your stereotypical salesperson. But he is one of the most effective salespeople I have ever come across.Robinson is the author of three self-published books and, as any author will tell you, writing a book is much easier than selling a book.
My wife Karen and I caught a glimpse of Robinson as we leisurely strolled through New York City’s Bryant Park. I watched with growing curiosity from a distance as he initiated contact with scores of park-goers. And if you stop to chat with Garrett Buhl Robinson — trust me on this — you will buy a book.Robinson delivers a rock-solid presentation in his own very simple sales format.
The World’s Largest Indoor Farm Produces 10,000 Heads of Lettuce a Day in Japan | Inhabitat
A former Sony Corporation semiconductor factory in Japan has been converted into the world’s largest indoor farm. Japanese plant physiologist Shigeharu Shimamura, CEO of Mirai Co., partnered with GE Japan to make his dream of a water, space and energy efficient indoor farming system a reality. Despite having only started production a year ago, the farm is already shipping out 10,000 heads of lettuce per day.
The farm is located in Miyagi Prefecture in eastern Japan, the area that was badly hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 2011. At 25,000 square feet, it is nearly half the size of a football field, and 17,500 LED lights spread over 18 cultivation racks reaching 15 levels high are a key to the farm’s success. The LEDs were developed for the project by GE and emit light at wavelengths optimal for plant growth, allowing Shimamura to control the night-and-day cycle and accelerate production.
What’s Up With That: Why Does Sleeping In Just Make Me More Tired? | WIRED
We’ve all been there: It’s been a long week at work, so Friday night, you reward yourself by going to bed early and sleeping in. But when you wake up the next morning or afternoon, light scathes your eyes, and your limbs feel like they’re filled with sand. Your brain is still lying down and you even have faint headache. If too little sleep is a problem, then why is extra sleep a terrible solution?
Oversleeping feels so much like a hangover that scientists call it sleep drunkenness. But, unlike the brute force neurological damage caused by alcohol, your misguided attempt to stock up on rest makes you feel sluggish by confusing the part of your brain that controls your body’s daily cycle.
Split decisions on Obamacare subsidies: The impact on 4.7 million Americans | CnnMoney
Two opposing court rulings issued Tuesday sowed confusion about whether 4.7 million Americans can keep their Obamacare subsidies.
A federal appeals court panel in Washington, D.C., ruled Tuesday morning that individuals cannot use tax credits or subsidies to buy health insurance on the federal exchange, healthcare.gov.
A few hours later, another set of appeal judges in Richmond, Va., unanimously upheld the ability for people applying for coverage on the federal exchange to receive subsidies.
The Obama administration said it plans to appeal the D.C. court ruling.
For Americans receiving subsidies, nothing will change until the legal court battle ends. People in the 14 states and Washington D.C. that run their own exchanges would not be affected by these rulings.
Subsidies are key to the Affordable Care Act’s success: About 87% of those who signed up for Obamacare plans on healthcare.gov received them.
Malaysia Airlines Disaster Could Be Setback for AIDS Research | Live Science
The HIV/AIDS research community expressed sadness today over the loss of prominent AIDS researchers and activists who were aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, saying that the tragedy could also be a setback for research in the field.
The flight, which was carrying nearly 300 passengers from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was brought down yesterday July 17 by a surface-to-air missile while flying over an area of conflict between Ukraine and Russia, according to U.S. government officials. At least several of the passengers on the flight were believed to be headed to the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia.
I Hate Mandatory Comments | Peter Mehit
I just renewed four domains with GoDaddy. It was a perfectly forgettable transaction, just the way I want all transactions on the internet to be. But a day later, a survey arrived. Begging for just five minutes, I caved in and answered their questions.
The very first question violated my unspoken rule about surveys: Do not make it mandatory to explain why I gave you a rating.
I rated them a 7. I didn’t really want to go into it. A 7 says, “You know, you’re just good enough. But I’d better deal you if something better came along.” I think both GoDaddy and I understand that. Conversation will only make things worse. When I discovered the comment was mandatory, I wrote:
I gave you a rating. Accept it. I hate mandatory comments. They make me dislike the survey company for doing it, and GoDaddy by extension.
There were a few more questions. It was really a three minute survey. I liked them for that. The final question asked me what GoDaddy could do to improve my customer experience. Now if they had followed my rule and not forced me to have a comment, I would have ended the survey the way I end all surveys, with white space. But to not leave a comment after having been forced to leave one, that’s just not symmetrical. So this is what I asked GoDaddy for:
1. Provide winning PowerBall numbers. Any size jackpot will do.
2. Arrange a date with Angelina Jolie. Brad can come.
3. Use ‘No One to Know’ by Path of Least Resistance as your theme song.
4. Get all the idiots in Washington D.C. to remember they’re supposed to be focused on us. You can do it. You lobby.
5. Stop objectifying women in your advertising.
6. Tell people when they rehearse a vine, it defeats the purpose.
7. Magically release all the domain names I really want.
8. Feature my company in your advertising.
9. (It’s Custom Business Planning and Solutions)
10. Get my upstairs neighbor to walk lighter.
I pressed ‘Submit’. I was greeted with thanks from Blake Irving, CEO of GoDaddy:
We’ll see if they are really serious about improving my customer experience.
California’s Manufacturing Industries: Employment and Competitiveness in the 21st Century | LAEDC
Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation’s Institute for Applied Economics has produced a detailed report of where the California manufacturing sector is and where they think it’s headed. A great read for those looking to understand the future of this crucial part of our economy.
RISE of the Criminals | Peter Mehit
If you happened to have had a bad day during the Great Recession, the odds are you’re rebuilding your credit. If your credit score took a major hit, or if you’ve filed bankruptcy, it’s quite possible that you’ll get an offer in the mail from a company that wants to help you on your financial ‘comeback’. The company will tell you they “think a loan should be convenient and on your terms”, and they’ve “changed the way you borrow money”. Rocky Balboa’s face, strong and determined, is prominently displayed in the advertising copy.
You can start your comeback by filling out a simple application for a pre-approved $3,500 loan. This money will be deposited directly to your bank account. The rate may be steep in the beginning, but it will decrease as you show your ability to make payments. After all, there is a risk to providing you credit, but the company wants to help restore you as a respected member of the financial community.
The company dying to help you is RISE, a brand of Think Finance, who packages itself as an ‘emergency non-bank lender’. This is just double speak for a sophisticated form of predatory lending. The APR on their loans range from 36 to over 360%. A recent offer carried an interest rate of 199%. For the privilege of receiving $3,500, you’ll pay back $10,800 in payments of $289 made every two weeks. Instead of Rocky Balboa, their promotional icon should be Tony Soprano.
