India’s coal demand is rising—even as it pushes hard for solar | Fast Company

August 8, 2024August 7, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS 4 MINUTE READ India Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the midst of a months-long reelection campaign this April when he took to social media to trumpet a “remarkable feat!” and a “historic milestone” for his country: crossing 1 billion metric tons of coal and lignite production. It was proof, Modi said, of India’s “commitment to ensuring a vibrant coal sector.”

A month later, for the third year in a row, his government ordered some coal plants to run at full capacity to meet high electricity demand during the increasingly hot summer months.

Even though India has been significantly increasing its renewable energy capacity in recent years, when demand for electricity surges, it still goes back to its most trusted source of power: coal.

United Airlines kicks off labor contract negotiations with Teamsters union | Fast Company

August 8, 2024August 7, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

United Airlines has begun negotiations with the Teamsters union, which is pushing for a new contract covering 10,000 aviation maintenance and related workers in the United States, the labor union said on Tuesday.

The Teamsters National Negotiating Committee is seeking industry-leading wages, a faster timeline for reaching the top pay rate, improved healthcare benefits and higher safety standards.

The negotiations — which have begun four months before the current contract is set to become amendable — come at a time when thousands of maintenance staff members and flight attendants across airlines are demanding higher wages and more benefits after carriers posted record profits helped by a rebound in travel demand post-pandemic.

Successful Baby Boomer Entrepreneurs Are Thriving—Here’s Why | All Business

August 7, 2024August 6, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

According to one study, 40% of small business owners are baby boomers. There’s also evidence that many baby boomers are delaying retirement, either because they feel they can’t afford it or because they enjoy working and want to stay busy.

While the prospect of baby boomers embracing self-employment and entrepreneurship is exciting, the shift does not come without its set of challenges. Boomer entrepreneurs will still need to adapt bits and pieces of their personality to the changing world to stay relevant and successful. Luckily, most “boomerpreneurs” possess great traits that prime them for entrepreneurial success—and these traits can be emulated by other generations as well.

How to Deny a Vacation Request Gracefully | AllBusiness.com

August 7, 2024August 6, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Summer is here and people want to take time off. However, sometimes it’s just not possible to accommodate every employee’s preferred vacation dates. How can an employer gracefully deny a vacation request from an employee while not hurting employee morale? Five members of YEC weigh in.

Q. What’s the best way to deny a vacation request from an employee?

1. Lead with empathy

Meta Launches AI Studio for Custom AI Creation |Small Business Trends

August 6, 2024August 5, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Meta has announced the rollout of AI Studio, a new platform that allows users to create, share, and discover AI characters without the need for technical skills. AI Studio, built with Llama 3.1, offers users the opportunity to design AI characters that can entertain, provide advice, generate memes, and much more.

Create AI Characters Based on Your Interests

With AI Studio, anyone can create AI characters at ai.meta.com/ai-studio or within the Instagram app. Users can utilize a variety of prompt templates or start from scratch to design AIs tailored to their interests, whether it’s cooking, generating Instagram captions, or making friends laugh with memes. These AI characters can be kept private or shared with followers and friends, and can also be made available for discovery and interaction on Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and the web.

Accounting Mistakes Your Small Business Should Avoid | business.com

August 5, 2024August 4, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When you’re growing your business, few tasks matter as much as tracking your company’s finances. In the beginning, many small business owners try to manage their books independently instead of using an in-house accountant or bookkeeper.

For many business owners, going it alone leads to easily avoidable mistakes. Here are some of the biggest accounting mistakes that can derail small businesses, along with some tips for avoiding them.

7 accounting mistakes to watch out for

Stay aware of the following avoidable accounting mistakes:

1. Failing to hire an experienced finance professional Even experienced accountants and bookkeepers make mistakes — but they’re finance professionals, and you probably aren’t. Even if you are, is it really worth the extra time investment to manage your business’s books on your own? Hiring a professional minimizes the potential for errors in areas such as tracking expenses, paying vendors promptly, balancing bank accounts and running payroll.

2024 Guide to Business Investment: Get the Best Investor Offer | Business.com

August 5, 2024August 4, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Every business needs funding to launch and grow. Often, that funding comes directly from the founder or a business loan. For some businesses, though, getting to that next level requires the help of a business investor. That avenue can be rewarding but carries unique challenges, such as finding the right investors and successfully courting them. Whether you court venture capitalists, angel investors or crowdfund your investments, you must recognize a good deal from a bad one to avoid getting burned.

Everything leaving Netflix in August 2024 | Digital Trends

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

Sometimes, there are months when Netflix barely loses anything of note. Unfortunately, August is not one of those months. Everything Everywhere All At Once, the first five Spider-Man live-action films, Paddington, The Woman King, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, and more will be heading out the door by the time August 31 rolls around.

Most of these films have been on loan to Netflix by Sony as part of a larger agreement between the streamer and the movie studio. But even acclaimed indie movies like Marcel the Shell with Shoes On are running out of time on Netflix this month. As a subscriber, there’s only one thing to do if you want to catch these films before they depart: Make your viewing plans now. August is one of the longest months of the year, so use that extra day to your advantage. In the meantime, check out our roundup of everything leaving Netflix in August 2024. As always, our picks for the month are in bold.

Samsung Galaxy Ring vs. Oura Ring: Which ring is better for you? | Digital Trends

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

Competition in the smart ring market is heating up, and Oura’s long period of dominance is finally being challenged. Samsung, one of the world’s biggest companies, has stepped up to the plate with the Samsung Galaxy Ring — its own stab at wearable tech that slips onto a finger.

The Galaxy Ring is smaller and lighter than the Oura Ring, but does it have the features to compete? Does the Galaxy Ring’s higher price mean it’s not worth buying? Or does the Oura Ring’s insistence on a subscription mean it’s hard-pressed to hold up to Samsung’s onslaught?