March 31st, 2010 by admin
By Daniel Ionescu Facebook wants to know “What’s on your mind?” Twitter asks “What’s happening?” But that’s getting old already. The burning question for the next wave of social networking is “Where are you?”–and services like Foursquare, Gowalla, Brightkite, and Loopt want you to use your smartphone to answer it.The technology at the heart of this trend is called geolocation; and with a GPS-enabled smartphone such as the Apple iPhone, Google Nexus One, or RIM BlackBerry, you can use it to let your friends know where you are, or to find places recommended by people you know, or to check in remotely at clubs, bars, and restaurants. Regardless of privacy concerns (which I’ll look at later in this article), it looks as though nothing will stop geolocation.
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March 31st, 2010 by john
By Randy MyersSmart business owners wouldn’t think of extending credit to new customers without checking into their finances and learning a little bit about their bill-paying histories.Really smart business owners are just as careful about vetting their suppliers. A vendor who fails to deliver the goods or services you need to satisfy your own clients can be just as detrimental to your business as a customer who fails to pay you. Content Continues Below Englewood Construction Inc., a commercial contractor based in Schiller Park, Illinois, has spent the past few years honing its vetting protocol for vendors after learning firsthand the cost of getting burned by those who aren’t able to hold up their end of a contractual bargain.Founded in 2001, Englewood builds shopping malls, restaurants and commercial and industrial buildings across the country.
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March 31st, 2010 by admin
The road to success is filled with obstacles. Finding your way around them predicts winning and losing.
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March 31st, 2010 by john
Rudy Mendoza makes no bones about his strong aversion to computers. “I don’t enjoy them,” he states flatly.So what’s a cyberphobic jewelry maker from West Covina, Calif., doing on the vanguard of online marketing, intrepidly–and, some would argue, unwisely–testing a strategy to build his company”s web presence that is nothing if not unconventional?What’s unusual about Mendoza’s approach is that it involves abandoning the website his company, Jewelry Sales & Design, launched close to a decade ago in favor of a simple third-party-hosted landing page
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March 31st, 2010 by john
When Vanessa Troyer and Chris Farentinos launched MailBoxes4Less.com in 2000, they didn’t give much thought to how they’d exit the online mailbox distribution company. All that changed in 2006. Recognizing the huge growth potential in manufacturing high-end mailboxes for builders and retailers, the Los Angeles couple decided to channel all their efforts into a second business, Architectural Mailboxes.
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March 31st, 2010 by john
I am often asked in interviews if I have a role model who inspires me as a mompreneur. While there are many women who inspire me, I’ve never found the one special person who fits the bill–until now
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March 30th, 2010 by john
You hear a lot of talk these days about the commercial real estate bubble, and how it’ll be the next to burst. While there is some truth to this, it’s not an absolute in all segments of the commercial real estate spectrum
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March 30th, 2010 by admin
Small-business owners offer health benefits for a variety of reasons: they’re genuinely concerned about their employees being taken care of, it’s mandated in their state or they want to be more competitive to attract top talent (a large majority of employees consider a health plan to be the most important benefit they can be offered, according to a survey by the National Business of Group on Health).A robust health benefits package can attract, retain and motivate talented people to work for you and help your company grow. According to the 2009 Mercer National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, health benefits make up about 14 percent of the payroll for small businesses that currently offer health benefits; a skyrocketing expense making it more difficult to keep offering those benefits. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation study states that 59 percent of small companies are offering health care coverage, down from 65 percent 10 years ago.If you do offer health benefits, it’s a safe guess that you only tend to think about these plans once a year, when open enrollment season comes around
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March 30th, 2010 by john
The great Shakespearian actor, Sir Laurence Olivier, reached the peak of his career playing King Lear. After a phenomenal performance, the audience gave him a standing ovation that went on for more than half an hour. Sir Laurence took his bows again and again, left the stage, went to his dressing room, slammed the door and wouldn’t come out.The stage manager said through the door, “Sir Laurence, you don’t understand
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March 27th, 2010 by john
Spring is a time of renewal for yourself, your home, your lawn and garden–and your business marketing, too. Could your newsletters use a little spring cleaning? You bet.Here are seven ways to re-evaluate, refresh and revitalize your e-mail marketing communications
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