Have an amazing idea your local bank isn’t buying into? Today, those dreams don’t have to stop at the banker’s desk thanks to the trend of crowdsourcing, where an adoring public can fund your project one dollar at a time. Via BestAccountingDegrees.net. Like infographics? So do we.
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Most Topular Stories
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Crowdfunding: Where dollars and dreams meet [infographic]
Holy Kaw!18 Jun 2013 | 5:35 pm -
For God’s sake, do the first thing on your to do list first
Penelope Trunk Blog14 Jun 2013 | 9:15 amMelissa says to me, “The reason you’re not writing is because you’re hiding. And if you hide something from blog readers you can’t cope. So you don’t write.” I tell Melissa, “If you’re going to move to New York then David should put some of his huge salary in your bank account.” Melissa says, “Don’t change the subject when you can’t face reality.” I say, “You shouldn’t relocate for a boyfriend to a city where he is making a boatload and you’re not.” “You should pay me more.”… -
5 Branding Secrets to Share with Your Friends
Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel18 Jun 2013 | 10:30 amBecause you’re reading this blog, you’re probably already familiar with the importance of a personal brand. Someone who may not be as well-versed in the subject, however, is your friends. Now is as good a time as any to help your friends out by branding their career. Make sure they’re on the right track, so they can begin to build their own personal brand. Here are five personal branding secrets to share with your friends: 1. Everything you do is part of your brand. Your personal brand exists, whether you do anything about it or not. It is composed of everything you do and say. By… -
Neutralizing Change Resisters Who Are Holding Back Your Progress
Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom16 Jun 2013 | 11:00 pmChange is essential and inevitable for all organizations, but some people are better at coping with it than others. Dana Brownlee is the founder of Professionalism Matters, a national corporate consulting company that trains groups to boost team productivity in the workplace. She identifies six types of change resisters that we must battle in order to move forward with our important initiatives. 1. The “Positive” Change Resister In group settings they seem positive, but often make passive aggressive comments that are really thinly veiled jabs (I’m… -
The more you do it, you’ll get through it
Escape From Cubicle Nation13 Jun 2013 | 10:02 amMy daughter and I had an impromptu “Take your daughter to work day” today. We wanted to record a video for you, with a bit of advice to help your business along. Here goes! (Direct on YouTube here: http://youtu.be/OVKv4nInuMU Enjoy your day! -Pam and Rosie
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Holy Kaw!
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Crowdfunding: Where dollars and dreams meet [infographic]
18 Jun 2013 | 5:35 pmHave an amazing idea your local bank isn’t buying into? Today, those dreams don’t have to stop at the banker’s desk thanks to the trend of crowdsourcing, where an adoring public can fund your project one dollar at a time. Via BestAccountingDegrees.net. Like infographics? So do we. -
10 tips for maximizing your conference experience
18 Jun 2013 | 5:29 pmAttending a conference can provide opportunities to network, a chance to see what others in your field are up to, and, of course, the opportunity to see the sites of another city if you have the time, but if you play your cards right, the experience can be so much more. Allison Boyer at NMX [...] -
Not impressed by Adobe Creative Cloud’s launch features for photographers. Are you?
18 Jun 2013 | 5:19 pmToday Adobe announced Photoshop CC that is only available to cloud subscribers. Adobe should not release such lame updates to Photoshop and Lightroom to convince people that the cloud-subscription software is exciting. They should make dramatic improvements – things that photograpehrs can’t live without. Can we live without “Smart Sharpen” and “Intelligent Upsampling” with Photoshop. [...] -
The ultimate catcall killer: Hairy tights
18 Jun 2013 | 4:09 pmCan’t wait to hit the streets in that hot micro-mini, but worried about attracting the wrong kind of attention? Though you’d definitely be turning heads in this Chinese export, this accessory will probably keep those with less-than-honorable intentions at bay better than a king-size bottle of pepper spray. According to the Telegraph: They first appeared [...] -
Mexican volcano blows its top! [video]
18 Jun 2013 | 2:09 pmWhile it isn’t unusual for those near Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano to see signs of activity, Monday provided plenty of excitement for the 650,000 residents in the high-risk zone. Monday’s eruption spewed ash four kilometers in the air, as can be seen in the video below, and access has been restricted in a twelve-kilometer radius of the [...]
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Penelope Trunk Blog
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For God’s sake, do the first thing on your to do list first
14 Jun 2013 | 9:15 amMelissa says to me, “The reason you’re not writing is because you’re hiding. And if you hide something from blog readers you can’t cope. So you don’t write.” I tell Melissa, “If you’re going to move to New York then David should put some of his huge salary in your bank account.” Melissa says, “Don’t change the subject when you can’t face reality.” I say, “You shouldn’t relocate for a boyfriend to a city where he is making a boatload and you’re not.” “You should pay me more.”… -
5 Mistakes new grads should make
3 Jun 2013 | 7:20 amThe advice I’ve given to new grads in the past is to marry rich so you have more options. And don’t go to grad school to get out of difficult choices. Consider moving home with your parents to save money and don’t do what you love. This is all really good advice. You should go read those posts, but this year, my message to new grads is that you should make the mistakes I made when I graduated. They were good mistakes to make. 1. Ask for too much in the interview. The first job interview I ever had was for the number one children’s book publisher at the time, Harper… -
3 Rules high achievers never break
28 May 2013 | 1:06 pmIn case you were wondering what happened to the 20,000 bulbs I planted, here they are. But don’t worry that this is going to be a post full of happy spring cheer. That sort of post would embarrass me. First of all, these bulbs didn’t come up until after spring. Partly because it was 50 degrees in Wisconsin this spring, and partly because my bulbs probably have some sort of photosynthesis version of schizophrenia since I planted fall bulbs during a blizzard in Janurary. But even those came up. But first, look. When you plant bulbs in a blizzard, it is too cold to put the bulbs at… -
Seminar: How to make your 20s count
20 May 2013 | 11:41 pmThis seminar will show you how to make the most of your 20s so that you can set yourself up for an engaged, fulfilling life. We’ll have four days of live video sessions with chat from June 10-13 at 9pm-10pm est each evening. The cost is $195. Sign up now. The most important thing to do in your 20s is figure out where you fit. Find your place in the world, pick your friends and family. You will make 85% of the major decisions in your life by age 35. And your earning in the first ten years of your life has exponential impact on your earning throughout the rest of your life. So act like… -
Put yourself in uncomfortable situations
16 May 2013 | 7:22 pmOne of the biggest changes in the workforce in the new millennium is that we have to be information synthesizers instead of information producers. All information is available online. So we can’t add value by memorizing it. We have to add value by reframing it. I call this synthesizing. IBM conducted a survey of CEOs to find out what they thought were the most important leadership skills of the near future. And in the top five was boundary spanning, which is networking ideas and collaborating in order to synthesize information in new ways. Side note: I have a theory that this is…
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Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel
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5 Branding Secrets to Share with Your Friends
18 Jun 2013 | 10:30 amBecause you’re reading this blog, you’re probably already familiar with the importance of a personal brand. Someone who may not be as well-versed in the subject, however, is your friends. Now is as good a time as any to help your friends out by branding their career. Make sure they’re on the right track, so they can begin to build their own personal brand. Here are five personal branding secrets to share with your friends: 1. Everything you do is part of your brand. Your personal brand exists, whether you do anything about it or not. It is composed of everything you do and say. By… -
Don’t Hate Me Because I’m a Personal Brand
18 Jun 2013 | 2:30 amYou’re probably not old enough to remember the 1980’s Pantene shampoo commercial. This lovely young woman with long, thick, shiny hair looks you in the eye, and with abundant self-esteem few will ever enjoy, she purrs: “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.” She then tells the truth about her hair. It’s dry with split ends and apparently, until Pantene she never had a good hair day in her life. So don’t hate her. It’s this miracle shampoo that’s made her beautiful. Just go get some for yourself. If I could look you in the eye today, I might say something similar about last… -
Seven Ways to Drive Your Ideas Upward
17 Jun 2013 | 10:30 amBeing able to influence upwards allows your ideas to be heard and implemented. This directly enhances your value because you are the owner of that idea. Yet how do you break through the layers of bureaucracy to find advocates for your ideas? Diane McGarry, Xerox’s Chief Marketing Officer, says, Success at a big company such as Xerox requires an understanding of the many layers of office politics as well as the confidence to put your best ideas forward. You have to know which people you need to get your ideas in front of in order to get those ideas advanced… Here are the seven ways to… -
Personal Branding Weekly – 17 June 2013
17 Jun 2013 | 2:30 amToday kicks off Small Business Week! I’m grateful to have opened my business nine years ago and have always looked back. It’s been an adventure of a lifetime! So, I’ve never understood the saying “and, I’ve never looked back” except to express that you jumped into something and just fully immersed yourself in the present. As a small business owner, I always look back to grow, learn, tweak, evaluate and enjoy the journey and the challenge. It’s true that there’s “no net to catch you” as a small business owner yet there’s also… -
10 Traits of Great Leadership Figures
16 Jun 2013 | 10:30 amWhen hiring companies come to our executive recruiters in order to find them a great sales or marketing employee, leadership is always a quality that our clients ask for. Though, for the job seeker, to best be able to give the hiring company what they want, they need to be able to define leadership. Therefore, for your next interviewing gig and to help you obtain a better career, our headhunters have compiled a list of 10 traits of great 44 leadership figures: 1. Leaders know how to deal with adversity. They know that each adversity brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage. Instead…
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Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom
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Neutralizing Change Resisters Who Are Holding Back Your Progress
16 Jun 2013 | 11:00 pmChange is essential and inevitable for all organizations, but some people are better at coping with it than others. Dana Brownlee is the founder of Professionalism Matters, a national corporate consulting company that trains groups to boost team productivity in the workplace. She identifies six types of change resisters that we must battle in order to move forward with our important initiatives. 1. The “Positive” Change Resister In group settings they seem positive, but often make passive aggressive comments that are really thinly veiled jabs (I’m… -
Real Gender Differences in Communication
12 Jun 2013 | 11:00 pmRemember Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus? Romantic relationships are one thing, but no one talks much about how Mars and Venus fare at work. In fact, there are significant verbal and nonverbal differences in the way the two genders get their messages across in the office. Verbal Communication Differences In the area of verbal communication, men tend to speak more concisely while women tend to elaborate or explain their points of view. Men tend to assert their ideas as if they are fact, while women tend to phrase their ideas as questions and add disclaimers (“I might… -
Are You Reaping the Full Benefits of Social Media?
10 Jun 2013 | 5:00 amLast week, I spoke at the annual conference of the National Association of Colleges and Employers on behalf of my third-party advocacy organization, the Career Advisory Board (CAB). At the conference, CAB and NACE released recent research about college career center sentiment toward and usage of social media. Surprisingly, only 25 percent of survey respondents indicate that they have received university-sponsored training on social media. The fact that college counselors have been left to figure out social media on their own may explain why many are employing it as… -
How to Get Clear Direction from Your Boss
5 Jun 2013 | 11:00 pmYou know the feeling. Your manager gives you an assignment, and when you think you have a good handle how to proceed, you go off on your merry way. You’re independent and a great employee, so you come back a few weeks later – the project complete. You’re confident because you worked hard and developed a good product. But much to your dismay, your boss isn’t happy. She has so many problems with it, you might as well start over. You thought you understood the assignment, but apparently your approach wasn’t what your manager was looking for at… -
Q&A with Lindsey Pollak: Adapting to the Future Workplace
3 Jun 2013 | 5:00 amCompanies and employees alike are figuring out how to adapt to continued innovations and changes to the workplace. Work is no longer an office where you sit from 9 to 5 every weekday. But what do these changes to the workplace mean for employers? My friend Lindsey Pollak has partnered with The Hartford on its My Tomorrow campaign, which aims to educate workers on how they can protect their paychecks through things like disability insurance so that they can stay on track with their finances. As part of the My Tomorrow campaign, Lindsey has written a trends forecast that offers employees and…
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Escape From Cubicle Nation
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The more you do it, you’ll get through it
13 Jun 2013 | 10:02 amMy daughter and I had an impromptu “Take your daughter to work day” today. We wanted to record a video for you, with a bit of advice to help your business along. Here goes! (Direct on YouTube here: http://youtu.be/OVKv4nInuMU Enjoy your day! -Pam and Rosie -
Care to join me live for a 3-day class in San Francisco – for free?
11 Jun 2013 | 10:00 amHappy Tuesday! I have been in the throes of writing my new book, which is why you might hear some crickets chirping over here on the blog. It has been a combination of excitement, terror, exhilaration and exhaustion. Because I believe in Full Color, Full Contact Living, it is so worth it, for the satisfaction of knowing I am creating something that has great meaning in my own body of work. I will finish it the first week of July, and then take a really long nap before heading to Portland to speak at the World Domination Summit. After that, I am so excited that I will head to San Francisco to… -
Turn your questions into answers: Interview with Dan Martell
6 Jun 2013 | 10:56 amImagine that you are driving down the road and you get a call from your office that a VC is interested in talking to you about investing in your business, but the only time they have to meet with you is tomorrow at noon. You have never put together a pitch before, and feel slightly panicked. But then you open an app, say “How to make a VC pitch” and immediately get 5 names of experienced VCs. You scan the list, see that one of them is Mark Cuban, and say “call Mark” and in 2 minutes you have him on the phone, coaching you through tomorrow’s presentation (of… -
Announcing … Fantastic lineup of Spring classes from Power Teaching students
20 May 2013 | 11:54 amIn March/April, I ran another small session of my Power Teaching class. Another extremely smart and enthusiastic group joined in intensive study of effective training design and development, and worked on real, live classes that they are launching this Spring and Summer. I love teaching this class for three reasons: It is exceptionally energizing to share my passion for teaching with completely open and eager participants They really worked their hearts out to apply great design to their classes, ensuring a superior learning experience for their students They were extremely generous with each… -
Why writing your book doesn’t have to be scary
25 Apr 2013 | 10:42 amI am delighted to feature a guest post today from my friend and fellow coach, bestselling author Debbie Rieber. Debbie is in the business of helping people get the books in their heads written, sold, and out into the world. As someone who is writing a book now, I know that we authors need all the help we can get! In this post, she helps to disprove some of the myths that keep us stuck and afraid to write. Enjoy! Whether you’re an entrepreneur looking to strengthen your platform or someone with a body of research, a story, or a unique point of view you feel compelled to share, writing a book…
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Planning Startup Stories
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A Pre-written Business Plans Is As Useful As…
18 Jun 2013 | 8:10 amFrustration: People asking me (via email) “where can I find a business plan for …” some specific type of business. I get that a lot. Prewritten business plans. Sigh… Here: A pre-written business plan is about as useful as somebody else’s year-old airline and hotel reservations. A pre-written business plan is about as useful as somebody else’s exercises already done. Like used pushups. A pre-written business plan is about as useful as last month’s fresh fish. A pre-written business plan is about as useful as last year’s calendar. A pre-written… -
What’s Up in Colombia…
12 Jun 2013 | 2:29 pm… looks like growth to me. Economic growth. The result of, among other things, political and economic stability. I’m posting today from Bogota, the capital of Colombia, during a week-long work visit recording business videos in Spanish. My opinion here isn’t formal economic analysis, just what’s obvious from a few days in the country. I don’t claim any expertise on this topic. Still, if you search for “economic boom in Colombia” in any of the major web search engines, you’re going to see a lot of recent articles. And facts to back up the general… -
Decision Making is Way Easier Than Decision Doing
7 Jun 2013 | 9:56 amImagine a dark shape in the distant sky, moving towards you. Slowly. It’s white or perhaps off white, but not as clear a color as a cloud, speckled. And it seems more solid than a cloud, and it moves in ways clouds don’t. As it comes closer, maybe a mile away now, it’s as if it’s a flying giant creature. Then, as it gets closer still, you discover that it’s really an unusual flock of birds, flying very tightly together. That’s a good metaphor for a hard fact about decisions we make. Most of the important big decisions are really made up of thousands of… -
How to Hide Your Opinions as Data
3 Jun 2013 | 8:55 amHere’s an idea for you. Use this to influence politics, win fame and/or fortune, or attract the opposite sex. Push a point of view. Make your own opinions look like data. First: Invent a high-sounding name for an association or interest group in some significant topic area. Call it the Association of this or Federation of that. Make it non profit. Make sure it sounds like an official-sounding group, representing people who matter in the topic area. For example, entrepreneurs, or small business owners, voters, concerned citizens, like that. Second: Generate, publish, and curate… -
Do You Underestimate Time for Tasks You Like?
30 May 2013 | 10:30 amDamn! I just did it again. Even after 30+ years running my own business I still underestimate time for tasks I like, and overestimate time for tasks I don’t like. I like writing, and I like programming, which is definitely cool because that’s how I built a business. But when I look ahead, trying to schedule my time right, I end up consistently underestimating the time it’s going to take to post on a blog, develop an ebook, or write a column; and the time it’s going to take to redo one of my WordPress sites or work on one of my newer product development projects. …
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NYT > Small Business
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You're the Boss Blog: Nine Lessons We Learned From Andy Taylor
18 Jun 2013 | 4:00 amIt’s not about the perks. -
You're the Boss Blog: How Our Sales Process Broke Down
18 Jun 2013 | 4:00 amIn part two of a series, an owner explains how he concluded that his sales process had gone off the tracks and that he needed to do something about it. -
You're the Boss Blog: Why We Hired a Sales Consultant
17 Jun 2013 | 8:00 amIn Part One of a series, the owner of a small manufacturing company explains the process he developed to convert curious callers into committed buyers — and how it worked just fine for a long time. -
You're the Boss Blog: This Week in Small Business: Analytics and Hashtags
17 Jun 2013 | 6:06 amTwitter introduces analytics and Facebook introduces hashtags. Old Spock battles the new Spock (in a well-received new commercial). Do you think the cloud is more secure than your own environment? -
You're the Boss Blog: Not Just Talking the Talk in Washington
14 Jun 2013 | 11:36 amAt a conference about small-business financing, I thought I saw some encouraging signs.
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Small Business Trends
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How to Use Cloud Apps to Streamline Your Marketing Campaign
18 Jun 2013 | 4:00 pmRunning a successful marketing campaign is contingent upon several factors. This includes realistic goal setting, organization, communication, execution, and keeping track of metrics. In the past, there were limited tools and resources to aid in a marketing campaign. These tools were primitive and many lacked efficiency. Fortunately, cloud apps have changed the marketing landscape and are ideal for business owners looking to streamline their marketing campaigns and their progress. Let’s discuss the benefits of cloud apps and some of the best ones available for streamlining marketing… -
Apple Discusses $99 Plastic iPhone in 5 to 6 Colors
18 Jun 2013 | 1:30 pm[White iPhone 5] Apple products, including the iconic iPhone, may not be the first choice for many small business owners and entrepreneurs because of the price tag. But that could change if the legendary tech company were to offer a line of new iPhones at what even some in the industry consider the unbelievably low price of $99 MSRP. Actually, the speculation that Apple could release a cheaper version of the iPhone as early as this summer has circulated for months. Budget iPhone Could be Coming This week Reuters reported Apple is considering a budget iPhone in a plastic casing that might… -
5 Ways to Avoid BYOD Nightmares
18 Jun 2013 | 9:51 amSponsored Post Ten or 15 years ago, managing your information technology was simpler in one sense. A company decided on its computing environment -– its designated operating system, devices and software –- and that’s what employees used. Period. But then along came the BYOD trend. BYOD, which stands for “Bring Your Own (computing) Device” to work, has swept America in the past five years. Employees got used to using technology in their personal lives – so much so that that they didn’t want to give it up when at work. We all seem to want the flexibility to work… -
How Do Your Business’s Hiring Plans Stack Up?
18 Jun 2013 | 8:00 amIs your small business ready to hire or does it have any immediate hiring plans? If not, you’re in line with the majority of small and midsized companies in the U.S., according to the latest Sage SMB Hiring Outlook Survey from Sage North America. According to Sage, 25 percent of SMBs overall say they either have hired or will hire in 2013, while 47 percent expect staffing to stay the same. Only 7 percent have cut or plan to cut staff this year. The rest still weren’t sure of their hiring plans. The survey polled businesses with 99 or fewer employees. Companies with more than 20 employees… -
Review of Hootsuite: Manage Social Media From A Single Dashboard
18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 amLast year we published a list of 20 Social Media Monitoring Tools. One of the more popular tools on that list is Hootsuite. Today we give you a deep dive into Hootsuite: what it is and how it can make you more productive with social media. If you are looking for a tool that lets you manage all of your social media accounts and presence in a single place, and collaborate as a team on them, then Hootsuite should be at the top of your list to investigate. Hootsuite is a Web-based tool (although it also can be used on popular mobile devices- see screenshot above). You take a few minutes to…
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Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect
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The confrontation waiting to happen
18 Jun 2013 | 2:00 amIt's not between you and your boss, your critics, your editor, your competition, your spouse or some other outsider. The essential confrontation, of course, is with yourself. You are your own biggest critic. And your own biggest competitor. Now that it's easier than ever to pick yourself, the question is, "why haven't you?" And now that it's easier to ignore the competition and become a category of one, the question is the same. Our instinct is to externalize the forces that are holding us back, but in fact, that's not the problem, is it? -
The thermostat and the frying pan
17 Jun 2013 | 2:45 amIf you want to cool your house to 68 degrees fahrenheit quickly, setting the thermostat to 62 degrees isn't going to get it temperate any faster than if you set it to 68. It blows full cold until it hits the number, then it stops. (For those down under where it is winter, the opposite is also true--extreme thermostat settings won't warm you up any faster). Frying pans don't work that way. Turning the temperature on the burner all the way up will certainly heat up that pan faster. Ah, an analogy! There is significant pressure on marketers to get it done fast. And so the inclination to spend a… -
"I get it"
16 Jun 2013 | 2:28 amNo need to read the whole book, I can just glance over the Cliffs Notes... I get it. I don't need to hear your whole pitch, just show me the summary slide... got it. No, I already heard about your vacation... remember, I saw the Instagram feed. Him, why would I go out with him? I read his match.com profile. You're probably smart enough to 'get it' merely by reading the 140 character summary of just about anything. But of course, that doesn't mean you understand it, or that it changed you. All it means is that you were quickly able to sort it into an appropriate category, to make a decision… -
Angry is a habit
15 Jun 2013 | 2:13 amIt's easy to imagine habits like a scotch after dinner, biting your nails or saying, "you know" after every sentence. An event or a time of day triggers us, and we go with the habit. It's easier than exploring new territory--it's merely a thoughtless response to an incoming trigger. But emotions can become habits as well. Distrustful is a habit. Lonely is a habit. Generous is a habit. When that stranger doesn't do what you expect, is your response to assume that she's out to get you, trying to make an extra buck, looking for a shortcut? Or do you default to the habit of giving that new person… -
Ping me when it's broken
14 Jun 2013 | 2:50 amHere's how a storekeeper makes sure the store is working: She sits at the register and watches. If the line is twenty people long and folks start walking out, she hires another cashier. If too many people pick up a new product and then put it back on the shelf, she asks for new packaging, or drops it from the inventory. If there's a line outside in the morning, she opens earlier. Alas, the same feedback cycle doesn't happen automatically online. You have to build it into your website--if you don't, the silence may confuse you. If you have no idea if people are walking away in frustration, you…
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Inc.com
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Silicon Valley's Hottest Matchmaker
18 Jun 2013 | 3:42 pmWhat began as a social gathering for like-minded entrepreneurs and VCs has evolved into one of the Valley's most dynamic accelerators. Meet the man with the connections, Saeed Amidi.When international entrepreneurs want a shot at Silicon Valley stardom, they call on Saeed Amidi.The angel investor is the son of Amir Amidi, who owned the Medallion Rug Gallery where fellow VC Pejman Nozad famously built up his contacts. And his ties to the tech hub span 35 years. As co-founder of the investment firm Amidzad Investments, Amidi has the expertise and deep pockets to show for it. Since 2006, Amidi's… -
Making Sense of Yahoo's Puzzling Acquisition Strategy
18 Jun 2013 | 3:08 pmMarissa Mayer is on the verge of completing 14 Yahoo acquisitions in just six months. Will she reinvent Yahoo?With Marissa Mayer at the helm, Yahoo is on an acquisition tear. One month after the company's $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr, AllThingsD reported yesterday that Yahoo is in talks to purchase Xobni, an address book app, for $30 million to $40 million. And today, news surfaced that the company is also about to acquire Qwiki, a popular video sharing app, for close to $50 million. If the two deals go through, Yahoo will have publicly acquired 14 companies in 2013; by comparison, last… -
'Always Be Explaining': Your Sales Team's New Mantra
18 Jun 2013 | 2:52 pmThe one thing your sales team needs to improve? Explaining, says Lee LeFever, founder of Common Craft. Here's how.People rarely buy products they don't understand, so it's a salesman's job to explain them. But what if your explanation is so organic it's pointless?Perhaps you suffer from the curse of knowledge--knowing so much you explain things in ways no one grasps. Revisiting the basics of explaining can help, writes Lee LeFever, founder of Common Craft, in The Harvard Business Review. Here's an overview: Focus on why.Make sure your team knows exactly what your product or service does for… -
Web Tools to Blur Your Digital Footprint
18 Jun 2013 | 2:25 pmThe NSA won't stop snooping on you, but you can throw them off your trail. Here are some tools to help you go private.Revelations of NSA surveillance have shaken the nation, but while many of us would love nothing more than to toss our phones out the window and avoid well-trafficked search engines like Yahoo and Google altogether, the government seems intent snopping on Americans whether they like it or not. Sometimes that's not a bad thing--but often it is. As blogger Sarah Downey writes, one of three things can happen when your data falls into a corporation's lap: Your privacy may be… -
NSA Surveillance: What to Know So Far
18 Jun 2013 | 2:23 pmFacebook is just one Internet giant that has released its NSA stats to reassure users. Here's a round-up of the others, and their numbers.Consumers haven't been able to look at Silicon Valley the same way ever since news broke of a long-running government program called PRISM. Of course, the nine Internet companies implicated in the leak aren't the only ones handing over customer data. Apparently thousands of companies do this, writes Inc. reporter Eric Markowitz. However as news continues trickling out, Internet giants feel pressed to step forward and disclose the total number of legal…
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Small Business Marketing Blog from Duct Tape Marketing
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Why Bing May Become Your Search Engine of Choice
18 Jun 2013 | 7:35 amIt’s been a big week at Facebook. Hashtags rolled out to most users causing quite a stir in the marketing world. (It’s yet to be seen how much utility they actually bring to the everyday user.) And, Graph Search finally got turned on for my account. Graph Search is the long-awaited jump by Facebook into the world of search engines powered by Microsoft’s Bing. The official announcement came several months ago but roll out has been slow. The first thing I noted was that I had to relearn a bit of navigation as things aren’t where they were and don’t always do what… -
What If How You Sold Was as Important as What You Sold?
17 Jun 2013 | 7:03 amSo, for starters, the title to this post poses a bit of a trick question because significant research suggests it is in fact a fact. photo credit: dragonanswers via photopin cc Buyers have become so adept at doing initial purchase research that they no longer need or have the patience for a sales presentation on the benefits of your widget. Ironically, this applies doubly for B2B, big ticket items where you might think a little face time would be a good thing. A CEB study of more than 1,400 B2B customers across industries revealed that 57% of a typical purchase decision is made before a… -
Weekend Favs June Fifteen
15 Jun 2013 | 5:42 amMy weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week. I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is a favorite for the week from Flickr or one that I took out there on the road. This is how they roll at Oddly Correct Coffee in Kansas City Good stuff I found this week: theSkimm – daily newsletter that simplifies the headlines for the educated professional who knows enough to know she needs more. Webinar tools – Nice list of tools to… -
How to Work on Purpose and Why You Must
14 Jun 2013 | 9:53 amMarketing podcast with Tom Asacker A few months ago I started a series of posts I’m calling Recover You. The series is focused on practices and habits that I believe lead to a healthier mind, body and spirit, a healthier business and ultimately a healthier economy. This is the final post in the series. You can catch the entire Recover You series here. photo credit: JeremyMP via photopin cc I have spent a great deal of time over the last decade or two trying to understand and sort out the role of purpose as it relates to work. And you know what? – it’s a lot easier to consider in… -
The 10-Step Road Map To Promoting Webinars
13 Jun 2013 | 9:18 amThursday is guest post day here at Duct Tape Marketing and today’s guest is Samuel Faith – Enjoy! When it comes to content marketing, nothing is better than a good webinar. You can educate, inform, engage and convert your target market – all at once. Independent reports from inbound marketing experts indicate that webinars can significantly boost your expert status, build meaningful and engaging relationships with your customers, and turn your audience into high converting prospects. But creating webinars is just one part of the equation. Promoting them is equally important…
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Andy Sernovitz | Damn, I Wish I'd Thought of That!
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5 real-life examples of how to convert almost any situation into positive word of mouth
18 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amHere’s a guest post Jeff Frank, owner of Simplicity Sofas — a company that designs and manufactures furniture for small rooms and narrow entranceways, wrote for our WordofMouth.org project. Check it out for more great word of mouth marketing tips like this every day. Simplicity Sofas is a furniture manufacturer who sells products direct to consumers through our website. Our marketing program relies heavily on word of mouth. We routinely convert problems, mistakes, unreasonable demands, surprise gifts, routine procedures, and anything else that happens into opportunities to amaze… -
How a 2-star Amazon review makes thousands of sales
17 Jun 2013 | 7:15 amCheck this out: Someone posted a two-star review for the EatSmart scale. And the company handled it so well that it’s now the best reason to buy the product. Here’s the play-by-play: 1. Here’s the full review, where a customer complained about bad batteries. 2. The company saw the complaint and immediately replaced the product. This is important: They acted proactively to fix the problem, not just apologize. 3. The customer re-wrote the review. You’re not allowed to change the 2-star rating, but the customer told the story and changed the headline to “Great… -
Cheese — Important Data!
16 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amPlease enjoy this vital information about my favorite thing: Cheese. Click here for original close-up. -
The gas pump didn’t have the anti-fume flap
15 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amNo biggie. But it was smelly. So I’ll go somewhere else next time. What “no biggie” is sending your customer to a competitor? -
How to get $48 in 15 seconds
14 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amThe Dollar Shave Club is famous for building a business selling discount razors based on one fantastic viral video. But their real secret? It’s easy, easy, easy to buy from them. So when they launched a new product — butt wipes for men — I clicked the link. It took less than 15 seconds to add a $4 monthly item to my order. An amazingly easy buying process is the single most important element in selling an optional item online. If you’re considering buying it, but it’s a hassle to buy, you’re going to forget it. But five clicks to collect $48 from a customer…
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Signal vs. Noise
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The Starter League launches Starter School
18 Jun 2013 | 1:43 pmAbout two years ago, The Starter League set out to teach absolute beginners how to code. Since then, they’ve expanded their offerings to include HTML, CSS, and design. To date they’ve graduated over 600 students from all over the world. A true success story on so many levels. One thing they’ve noticed along the way is that their best students return back to take additional classes in different disciplines. They may start learning Rails, but then they want to learn advanced HTML/CSS. And then they want to learn visual design. Further, these students seem to want more than… -
Building Know Your Company
17 Jun 2013 | 1:10 pmToday our first five customers started using Know Your Company, our newest product. We’re hoping to roll out around five new customers every Monday for the foreseeable future. I thought this was a great time to talk a bit about how we’re building Know Your Company. Not the tech, specifically, but the approach. From the start, I wanted to approach the development of Know Your Company as if we were starting a separate company inside 37signals, not just building another product at 37signals. So I went back to 2003. That’s when we originally built Basecamp. Basecamp was… -
VIDEO: Steve Jobs: The Most Important Thing (via…
17 Jun 2013 | 12:23 pmSteve Jobs: The Most Important Thing (via Farnam Street). A simple reminder that each of us has the ability to shape life into whatever we can dream up. -
INSIGHT: The first exception should be the hardest…
14 Jun 2013 | 10:18 amThe first exception should be the hardest one to make. Once you’ve made one, each additional exception gets exponentially easier. Beware that first exception. -
Apple: The organizational Rorschach
13 Jun 2013 | 7:09 amAs we watched Apple unveil iOS7, the 37signals Campfire room quickly turned to awe of what they had achieved. A redesign so shocking and deep bestowed upon a product so popular left many mouths agape. Whether you happened to like the final product wasn’t as relevant as marveling at the vision, drive, and sheer determination to pull it off. Apple has a way of making people feel like that. But what followed next is at least as interesting: We all sought to explain just how they did it. Is it all Ive’s eye? Is it that they explore more ideas than anyone else? Is it never accepting…
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Business Blogs
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Communicate for Business Success
13 Jun 2013 | 7:38 amAre You Communicating? You have a great idea for an upcoming, marketing campaign and pitch it to your client. Silence. You need information to finish a project and send out an email, call and text. Silence. You call your client and leave a message to get some information for a looming deadline. Silence. Do any of these sound familiar? I’ve heard this one too many times in the last few months from fellow, small business owners. They start out with great relationships with their clients, and the communications are open. Things are going great. The client is making money, and customers are… -
InventionHome Product Spotlight – Tipsy Tower
12 Jun 2013 | 6:02 amMemorial Day has come and gone. The holiday signifies many things…a time to remember those who sacrificed their lives for our country, as well as a time to visit the gravesites of our loved ones to pay respects. In a much less ‘official’ manner, this day also marks a changeover in the season making it permissible to wear white shoes and also, since the weather is becoming more consistently warm it’s the perfect time to plant annual flowers. Inventors Gordon and Carri B. of Jensen Beach, Florida developed a charming product to help create whimsical vertical displays of flowers very… -
Remote Work: 3 Reasons I Am Not Bullish
6 Jun 2013 | 2:38 pmAt StartupNation, one of the topics we are obsessed with is business communication. How businesses communicate with clients or their employees, what technology they use, strategies that work or don’t work… the topic is broad but exceptionally important. This blog post is the beginning of a series that we will be doing on business communication, so stay tuned. It has been a very chic business concept for companies to release their employees from the supposed chains of their offices. Work from home, work from the road, work from the top of a mountain – technology makes it… -
Spring Into New SEO, Sales and PR
5 Jun 2013 | 3:08 pmSpring is here, and that means it’s the perfect time to start new projects and reach out to potential new clients, media-members and advertisers. Whether you are looking to get a story in the news or boost sales, here are a few tips to help you get things going: 1. Find Your Unique Benefits. What do you have to offer that no one else does? If you haven’t reviewed your products and services lately, it’s time to figure out why you are unique. Why would new customers, potential partners or media-members, be interested in what you have to sell? 2. Make a List. Check it Twice. Who are your… -
Hey Used Video Game Sellers: The XBOX One Just Pooped In Your Sandbox
3 Jun 2013 | 9:26 amHi gang, Happy early summer to you wherever you are. Here in Charlotte, we celebrate 5 seasons: Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring, and Pollen. I am very happy that Pollen season is over because it was a bad one this year. This is no lie - there has been more pollen on my car and back deck than snow for 2 years straight. My car looked ridiculous - it was like a bucket of Peeps had exploded all over my windshield. So I would get in my car and turn on the wipers and that didn’t clear it off, so I would hit it with wiper fluid and now there was this wet yellow mess all over my car.
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Small business news - CNNMoney.com
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10 most entrepreneurial states
18 Jun 2013 | 4:15 pmThinking about starting a business? These 10 states saw more startup activity than anywhere else nationwide, according to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity. -
The man who sells celebrity hair
17 Jun 2013 | 3:20 pmRead full story for latest details. -
What I gave up to start my business
12 Jun 2013 | 6:35 amFrom dream cars to family time, these entrepreneurs have sacrificed a lot. -
What I gave up to start my business
12 Jun 2013 | 6:24 amFrom dream cars to family time, these entrepreneurs have sacrificed a lot. -
Why hire? Small businesses are doing more with less
12 Jun 2013 | 6:19 amSmall businesses are hiring -- just not at the same pace as they once did. One reason: They're more efficient and don't need as many workers.
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jillkonrath.com
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Get a Sales Leadership MBA in One Day
18 Jun 2013 | 7:30 amJoin me at the Inside Sales Virtual Sales Summit on June 20th. I’m joining forces with some of the world’s top sales experts to put on this FREE conference. Here is a sampling of the topics that will be covered: Create Predictable, Scalable Sales Revenue Best Practices of Sales Analytics Winning the Changing Sales Game (me) Building a Social Selling Culture The Path to a Killer Marketing Strategy It’s shaping up to be the biggest online event of the year for the sales industry. And you can attend all of the value-packed sessions at no cost. Find out more and register online… -
Perceived Business Risks Quickly Become Sales Objections
17 Jun 2013 | 12:08 pmI'll never forget my meeting with the VP of Sales for a hot telecom company. They'd loved my proposal, so I figured we were getting together to kick off the project. "I'm afraid I have bad news for you," the VP said. "We think your training program is superior to the other ones we've looked at. Your pricing is fair. And your ability to tie it in with our new product launch is unsurpassed. However, we've decided to go with your competitor." My jaw dropped. I stared at him in shock. Then he continued, "If you get hit by a Mack truck, our entire training investment is gonzo. We just can't do… -
Three Ways to Make Repeat Sales
14 Jun 2013 | 8:01 amToday's post from the Chamber of Commerce features business-growth advice for small companies. Making a sale is always a challenge. Whether a cold call or a follow up on a referral, closing a deal takes strategy and intuition to client needs. When that is rewarded with success, a sales high takes over – if only momentarily. Once the endorphins wear off, there is still work to be done. After you’ve made that first sale, how do you turn a one-time buyer into a long-term client? Or in the case of a contract agreement, how do you ensure a renewal when the original term ends? While every… -
[Video] Do These Things Before Your Online Business Meeting
12 Jun 2013 | 7:51 amIf you're not doing online business meetings yet, you will be shortly. They're great for initial meetings, in-depth discussions, demos, presentations and more. Here are some things to consider to make sure you come across as a real pro. Let’s start with what to do before the business meeting. First, make sure that what people see on the screen looks decent. Clean up your desk, eliminate any clutter and turn up the lights. Also, think about what you’re going to wear. Seriously. Dress as if you’re actually meeting in person. But make sure to avoid bright colors or gaudy patters. Then,… -
[Video] 4 Tips for a Successful Video Business Meeting
10 Jun 2013 | 8:02 amIt’s often a lot easier to set up a video business meeting than an in-person one. Your prospects often prefer them because it gives them an opportunity to determine if it’s worth taking their valuable time to continue the conversation. That’s why it’s important to make sure that it goes really well. Here are a 4 tips to ensure you have a successful video business meeting. Eliminate distractions. The first thing you need to do is eliminate any potential distractions. That means you need to shut down email and text messaging. Put a sign on your door that says, “Do Not Interrupt”.
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About.com Entrepreneurs
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Customer Acquisition Lessons From Men's Underwear and Razor Blades
9 Jun 2013 | 2:59 pmThe latest video from quirky razor blade company Dollar Shave Club has been the talk of the Internet last week. If you haven't seen it, take a look (it's already racked up almost a million views as I'm writing this post)....Read Full Post -
Welcome to June and Customer Acquisition
2 Jun 2013 | 2:16 pmHow did you find your first customer? I keenly remember setting up my first course on Skillshare. I thought I had a surefire hit on my hands. You know how many tickets I sold? Just one. Oh, the humanity!...Read Full Post -
A Kickstarter Success With Much to Teach Entrepreneurs
31 May 2013 | 4:12 pmI've long been a follower of the influential marketing voice Joseph Jaffe on Twitter (if you're not following now, you should!) but when I heard about his Kickstarter for his new book Z.E.R.O. - Zero paid media as the new marketing model, I knew I needed the inside story....Read Full Post -
Marketing Tips for Micro Budgets
23 May 2013 | 4:49 amA lot of people make the mistake of thinking marketing is only to be done when you have a little extra money to burn. Not at all -- you can't get customers without getting the word out about your products or services, and if you don't have cash, there's still plenty you can do....Read Full Post -
Could Tumblr Work for Your Business?
22 May 2013 | 10:21 amTumblr a good marketing vehicle for your business? Until recently, I was rather skeptical myself. But I've gone to a few presentations and gotten to see the unstoppable power of the burgeoning social network/blogging platform up close and my feelings have changed a bit....Read Full Post
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Tom Asacker
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Is your brand broken?
14 Jun 2013 | 11:31 amTwo researchers once argued that rampant crime in a city is the inevitable result of disorder. If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares. And that no one is in charge.... -
Who controls your brand?
4 Jun 2013 | 3:44 pmJoe Frazier was the first prize fighter to defeat "The Greatest." But he did more than beat Muhammad Ali. He was instrumental in the creation of Ali's brand. Through their epic trilogy of bouts in the 1970s. And likewise, Ali... -
One way out.
1 Jun 2013 | 9:54 amI'm always wondering why people do what they do. I think it's in my DNA. My mind was recently roused by a young guy at the gym. He was punishing his body with a tortuous exercise. So I asked him... -
Stories "R" Us
23 May 2013 | 11:58 amElevator pitches, 30-second spots, viral videos, strategic PR, the brand called "you." Today's conventional wisdom is that great brands are great at telling us their interesting stories. And that may be true. But it's a superficial view. In reality, we... -
Is perfection the enemy?
19 May 2013 | 11:37 amMany people argue that the pursuit of perfection is akin to paralysis by analysis. Or increasing effort resulting in diminishing returns. And what aphorism do they invariably cite to prop up their argument? "Perfection is the enemy of the good."...
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The Engaging Brand
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Introducing the New Social Media Slot Machine
18 Jun 2013 | 4:19 amListening to 99% Invisible podcast with the wonderfully engaging Roman Mars I was intrigued by the story that was told about the gambling industry.....how they moved from one line on their slot machines to 3 lines....to encourage further play. Seeing how they 'almost won' encouraged them to try again...Now forget the right and wrongs of gambling it made me think about social media and how social marketing follows a similar marketing plan. Using social media is like that stray top line lemon.....it is an encouragement that the more they engage with your content marketing, the more they will… -
How Smart Marketing is about Help Not Hype
17 Jun 2013 | 7:04 amThis weeks Engaging Brand podcast saw me talking with the wonderful Jay Baer who discussed with me the 'Baer necessities' of smart marketing. I know how listeners love it when Bob put's pen to paper and captures the essence of the podcast interviews so here is a Bob-o-graphic on the elements of smart marketing - and what makes content marketing useful. -
Show 439 - Smart Marketing is about Help not Hype
15 Jun 2013 | 10:09 amThe Engaging Brand podcast covering social marketing, business ideas and brand marketing tips has a new episode but first... The listener winning an Engaging Brand goodie bag - picked from all the people who share, like, tweet about the show to say a BIG thank you from me! - is Christina Lattimer who wins some Harvard Business Gifts as well! Anna Farmery discusses with Jay Baer - "a hype-free social media and marketing keynote speaker, author, and consultant" about how social marketing is all about Youtility the concept that Smart Marketing is About Help not Hype Stop trying… -
Engagement Starts with the Why not the How
15 Jun 2013 | 6:09 amRemember as a child how you asked "But why?" and how as we grow up and learn that it can irritate people we change to "What do you want to do?"So for this weeks Bab's Booster we explore the power of why and how it creates both personal growth and brand engagement The fact that we change our words doesn't mean that we change our feelings....the why always stays critical to us. If we explain why... we provide the inspiration for the 'how' and the 'what'. If you read any books from prisoners or war survivors then they say it is hope that kept them alive...when you lost hope you lost the will to… -
The Digital Marketing Streams Of 2013
13 Jun 2013 | 6:54 pmOver the past couple years there’s been a huge increase in the amount of buzz surrounding certain types digital marketing. Companies are spending more money now on key digital marketing streams than ever before and it’s clear that this is only the beginning. 3 of those key components are as follows... Social Media Marketing For those of you who aren’t familiar with social media, it’s simply a way of sharing, communicating, and networking via specific online outlets. A few examples of these outlets include websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. As a business owner, social…
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Church of the Customer Blog
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Word-of-mouth marketing: control is futile
4 Jun 2013 | 9:22 amEven today, marketers are still trying to control the conversation customers have about their brand. Give it up. With social media acting as a word-of-mouth jetstream, it's impossible to make sure people are on "brand message" when they talk about you to friends and family. We can only hope to create products and brands that people want to evangelize and then join in the conversation. I love this cartoon from my friend and "marketoonist" Tom Fishburne. Click here for his post on what happened when the Kentucky Department of Tourism tried to control the message about their brand. Tweet -
The best customer service is invisible
20 May 2013 | 2:47 pmI am huge fan of Nordstrom. They have famed customer service and that is one of the reasons why I shop there. But even I was surprised by this. Last week I was shopping at Nordstrom and bought merchadise at a few departments. The strip on my Nordstrom VISA card had apparently stopped working because each cashier had trouble swiping the card and had to resort to typing in the numbers into the register. I made an offhand comment to one of the cashieres that I would have to call in to the card customer service later and request a new card. Of course that became just one more thing on my to-do… -
#MonsterLoyalty book tour and other speaking events
7 May 2013 | 10:37 pmHi there! Here's my speaking schedule including book tour events. If you live in one these cities, I looking forward to seeing you!! May 8: Austin - book tour event (private) May 10: Orlando - book tour event (private) May 21: Chicago - WOMMA WOMM-U Conference. Use my discount code WUSpeak50 to get $50 off registration. Jun 2: Orlando - book tour event (private) Jun 12: Milan, Italy - private event Jun 20: Salt Lake City - book tour event (public) sponsored by SoulSalt. Get tickets here. Jun 27: Las Vegas - Confirmit Conference Jul 11: Chicago - book tour event… -
The winners of the Monster Loyalty pre-order giveaway are....
2 May 2013 | 4:24 pmThanks to all who participated in the Monster Loyalty pre-order giveaway by purchasing a book before launch. The winners are: 1st PRIZE: Joey Coleman, Chief Experience Composer at Design Symphony 5 copies of Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics 2 Lady Gaga art prints by rock and roll pop artist Kii Arens, signed and numbered 2nd PRIZE: Shep Hyken, New York Times and WSJ best selling author of The Amazement Revolution: Seven Customer Service Strategies to Create an Amazing Customer Experience 5 copies of Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers… -
Monster Loyalty is now available!
2 May 2013 | 8:52 amI am excited to announce that Monster Loyalty is now available! This is a book that I am extremely excited about because it argues that Lady Gaga didn’t become the success she is today based solely on her talent. She did so by engendering immense loyalty from her fans – not just through her music – but through the message she embodies and the community she has built around that message. In four short years, Lady Gaga has built an army of passionate fans that numbers in the tens of millions around the globe. My book explores how she did it, uncovering seven loyalty…
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The Tom Peters Weblog
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Time to Revamp Leadership Training?!Start With a Quick Self-Assessment Test
30 May 2013 | 10:26 amLeaders should develop a vision for their enterprise, or the part thereof for which they are responsible. Fine. Leaders should get people excited about their work. Fine. Leaders should be masterful problem solvers. Fine. Leaders should have the highest integrity. Fine. Yes, all fine. But, I contend, that's not close to being enough. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that those items, collectively miss the boat. In fact, they're not even at the right dock. What do leaders ... DO? First and foremost they assemble and then develop a topflight team of people. Here's the way I like to put it, which… -
Best of the Cool FriendsMarti Barletta
22 May 2013 | 6:50 amOne of Tom's favorite topics is the Women's Market, so who better than Marti Barletta to be included in the best of the Cool Friends? Her first book was Marketing to Women, and we talked to her about it in 2004. Her second book was PrimeTime Women, a label she gave to women aged 50 to 70, who needed a better descriptor than "Mature Market." That 2007 interview begins with a discussion of marketers' problem getting their ads onto the screens that people are actually looking at. That discussion continues to this day. -
"1/47"
13 May 2013 | 7:10 amI frequently say, "I've only learned one thing 'for sure' in the 47 years since I started doing 'this stuff.'" (The 1966 staring point goes back to my U.S. Navy Seabee days in Vietnam.) The term "for sure" is meaningful; as a scientist by disposition, I don't believe as a matter of course in "for sures." So this exception is a big deal—to me. And that one for-sure thing is ... WTTMSW. Or, to clarify ... Whoever Tries The Most Stuff Wins. In Search of Excellence was constructed around "eight basics." And the first was "A Bias for Action." As we said then, and it's become more true over… -
Piggy Sue!
8 May 2013 | 4:57 amThe two great folks who are doing sustainable farming at our place have become parents. Well, not really. But their productive porker mom, Piggy Sue, just produced (about 72 hours ago) a litter of 15. Some of the newcomers below ... -
Jabil, Saint Pete Beach
2 May 2013 | 1:25 pmEarlier today Tom was in St Petersburg Beach, Florida, speaking to Jabil. Their website states they have "Global Expertise in Intelligent Supply Chain Design." Jabil, St Petersburg, FL Jabil, Long Version
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PRNewser
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Lil Wayne Stirs Controversy by Dancing on American Flag in New Video
18 Jun 2013 | 8:50 amOf all the ways in which an artist can garner attention for a new song, stirring up controversy seems to be a method with which rapper Lil Wayne is quite familiar. His song “Georgia…Bush” stirred the political pot back in 2006 by heavily criticizing the Bush administration’s actions both overseas and in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. More recently, Wayne lost his PepsiCo endorsement after the lyrics of his remixed song “Karate Chop” considered insensitive towards civil rights icon Emmett till. Now, the rapper is taking heat for what many feel is an… -
Angry Moms Give Kraft Some Free Publicity
18 Jun 2013 | 8:45 amWhen not exaggerating its own membership, claiming responsibility for the cancellation of The New Normal (it was a bad show, guys), or failing to recognize Twitter‘s 140-character limit, the non-profit outrage organization One Million Moms searches pop culture high and low for the latest and greatest threats to its members’ conservative Christian sensibilities. In the past, these easily offended mother hens wagged their fingers at everyone from the Boy Scouts to The Cleveland Show and Dancing with the Stars. While we share the group’s distaste for any show featuring Tucker… -
PR Jobs: UCLA, Moda Operandi, HarperCollins
18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 amThis week, UCLA is hiring a director of communications for the Fielding School of Public Health, while Moda Operandi needs a vice president of marketing. HarperCollins is seeking a marketing manager, and GolinHarris is on the hunt for a director of consumer PR. Get the scoop on these openings and more below, and find additional just-posted gigs on Mediabistro. Director of Communications UCLA Fielding School of Public Health (Los Angeles, CA) VP, Marketing Moda Operandi (New York, NY) Marketing Manager HarperCollins (New York, NY) Director – Consumer GolinHarris (New York, NY) Account… -
‘The Next Big Thing’: Samsung’s Partnership with Jay-Z Demonstrates Shifting Marketing Rules
18 Jun 2013 | 3:21 amBy now you’ve likely seen the musical, pseudo-philosophical, and now-viral three-minute video announcing Samsung‘s new partnership with Jay-Z, which first aired during the 2013 NBA Finals Game 5. The deal, which cost Samsung $5 million, allows the first million Galaxy and Note mobile device-users who download the corresponding app to access the rapper’s latest album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, for free, three days before the record drops on July 4. At first glance, the $5 million price tag may seem like a major marketing risk, especially considering that promotions like this… -
Citigroup Is In The Bike Sharing Business, Is It Now Responsible For Any Of The Program’s Shortcomings?
17 Jun 2013 | 9:10 amIn many ways, New York’s Citi Bike bicycle sharing program has been a success. In the weeks that the program has been in place, the Department of Transportation says more than a quarter of a million rides have been taken. There’s no doubt that, just looking around the city and seeing people pedaling about on their blue bikes, the program has been largely embraced. Quibbles about bike stands and parking aside, there have been other issues with the bike program that are now being aired publicly. And ultimately, there’s the question of whether the program will ultimately be…
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Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect
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The confrontation waiting to happen
18 Jun 2013 | 2:00 amIt's not between you and your boss, your critics, your editor, your competition, your spouse or some other outsider. The essential confrontation, of course, is with yourself. You are your own biggest critic. And your own biggest competitor. Now that it's easier than ever to pick yourself, the question is, "why haven't you?" And now that it's easier to ignore the competition and become a category of one, the question is the same. Our instinct is to externalize the forces that are holding us back, but in fact, that's not the problem, is it? -
The thermostat and the frying pan
17 Jun 2013 | 2:45 amIf you want to cool your house to 68 degrees fahrenheit quickly, setting the thermostat to 62 degrees isn't going to get it temperate any faster than if you set it to 68. It blows full cold until it hits the number, then it stops. (For those down under where it is winter, the opposite is also true--extreme thermostat settings won't warm you up any faster). Frying pans don't work that way. Turning the temperature on the burner all the way up will certainly heat up that pan faster. Ah, an analogy! There is significant pressure on marketers to get it done fast. And so the inclination to spend a… -
"I get it"
16 Jun 2013 | 2:28 amNo need to read the whole book, I can just glance over the Cliffs Notes... I get it. I don't need to hear your whole pitch, just show me the summary slide... got it. No, I already heard about your vacation... remember, I saw the Instagram feed. Him, why would I go out with him? I read his match.com profile. You're probably smart enough to 'get it' merely by reading the 140 character summary of just about anything. But of course, that doesn't mean you understand it, or that it changed you. All it means is that you were quickly able to sort it into an appropriate category, to make a decision… -
Angry is a habit
15 Jun 2013 | 2:13 amIt's easy to imagine habits like a scotch after dinner, biting your nails or saying, "you know" after every sentence. An event or a time of day triggers us, and we go with the habit. It's easier than exploring new territory--it's merely a thoughtless response to an incoming trigger. But emotions can become habits as well. Distrustful is a habit. Lonely is a habit. Generous is a habit. When that stranger doesn't do what you expect, is your response to assume that she's out to get you, trying to make an extra buck, looking for a shortcut? Or do you default to the habit of giving that new person… -
Ping me when it's broken
14 Jun 2013 | 2:50 amHere's how a storekeeper makes sure the store is working: She sits at the register and watches. If the line is twenty people long and folks start walking out, she hires another cashier. If too many people pick up a new product and then put it back on the shelf, she asks for new packaging, or drops it from the inventory. If there's a line outside in the morning, she opens earlier. Alas, the same feedback cycle doesn't happen automatically online. You have to build it into your website--if you don't, the silence may confuse you. If you have no idea if people are walking away in frustration, you…
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Damn, I Wish I'd Thought of That!
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5 real-life examples of how to convert almost any situation into positive word of mouth
18 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amHere’s a guest post Jeff Frank, owner of Simplicity Sofas — a company that designs and manufactures furniture for small rooms and narrow entranceways, wrote for our WordofMouth.org project. Check it out for more great word of mouth marketing tips like this every day. Simplicity Sofas is a furniture manufacturer who sells products direct to consumers through our website. Our marketing program relies heavily on word of mouth. We routinely convert problems, mistakes, unreasonable demands, surprise gifts, routine procedures, and anything else that happens into opportunities to amaze… -
How a 2-star Amazon review makes thousands of sales
17 Jun 2013 | 7:15 amCheck this out: Someone posted a two-star review for the EatSmart scale. And the company handled it so well that it’s now the best reason to buy the product. Here’s the play-by-play: 1. Here’s the full review, where a customer complained about bad batteries. 2. The company saw the complaint and immediately replaced the product. This is important: They acted proactively to fix the problem, not just apologize. 3. The customer re-wrote the review. You’re not allowed to change the 2-star rating, but the customer told the story and changed the headline to “Great… -
Cheese — Important Data!
16 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amPlease enjoy this vital information about my favorite thing: Cheese. Click here for original close-up. -
The gas pump didn’t have the anti-fume flap
15 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amNo biggie. But it was smelly. So I’ll go somewhere else next time. What “no biggie” is sending your customer to a competitor? -
How to get $48 in 15 seconds
14 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amThe Dollar Shave Club is famous for building a business selling discount razors based on one fantastic viral video. But their real secret? It’s easy, easy, easy to buy from them. So when they launched a new product — butt wipes for men — I clicked the link. It took less than 15 seconds to add a $4 monthly item to my order. An amazingly easy buying process is the single most important element in selling an optional item online. If you’re considering buying it, but it’s a hassle to buy, you’re going to forget it. But five clicks to collect $48 from a customer…
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Fast Company
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A Gorgeous Screen That’s Also An Elaborate Cityscape
18 Jun 2013 | 3:00 pmInstalled at the Centraal Museum, Rietveld Landscape’s screen is a wire-cut mirror image of the city they designed in 2010. When Utrecht’s Centraal Museum commissioned a new installation from Amsterdam-based design and research office Rietveld Landscape, they gave the studio two directives. First, they asked Rietveld to create something that referred back to Vacant NL, an expansive model city they created for the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2010. The monochromatic cityscape proposed re-purposing unoccupied government-owned buildings into multi-use hotbeds of creative and… -
This Guy Lives Moneyless, Stateless, And Proud
18 Jun 2013 | 2:00 pmThis man exemplifies a pure idea of the sharing economy. Can he change how you think about money? elf Pavlik (that’s his name, with the lowercase) has been living the last four years without money. He doesn’t have it, use it, or believe in it. He’d rather share his time and skills, exchanging what he can for food and lodging, wherever he can get it. He’s also "stateless." Born in Poland, he now goes where his imagination takes him--to friends, events, and creative adventures. Pavlik is the antithesis to how most of us live, always worrying about money, and he’s… -
A Tape Dispenser Designed For One-Handed Use
18 Jun 2013 | 1:30 pmNow you can make shipping packages and moving day way less of a pain. Clenched teeth and curse words usually accompany the act of holding an overstuffed cardboard box together with one hand while futzing around with a roll of packing tape with the other. The folks at Black + Blum--a brand that has, since 1998, brought a playful perspective to households basics--want to help make packing less of a hassle. On a Roll makes the one-handed tape maneuver far less tricky, thanks to a cleverly cantilevered design that tips to the side just so. The other key element is in the sheer weight of the damn… -
The Best In Outdoor Creativity: IBM Wins Grand Prix At Cannes
18 Jun 2013 | 12:30 pmIBM’s useful outdoor ads wins the top prize in the Outdoor Lions. When we wrote about them recently, IBM’s “Ads With Purpose”--a series of outdoor ads that were designed to be useful--seemed to strike a nerve with our audience, generating a healthy amount of views and "Likes." Now, they’ve generated the ad world’s biggest prize: a Grand Prix at Cannes. The campaign, from Ogilvy France, consists of a series of three colorful outdoor boards with a design twist that makes them double as useful urban installations--a rain shelter, a bench and a bike ramp.Read… -
A Live Bike Counter Shows A City How Many People Are Riding
18 Jun 2013 | 12:00 pmThis device in San Francisco creates up-to-the-minute stats for all to see about how popular the bike lane is. Just glance at the steady flow of cyclists cruising along downtown San Francisco’s major thoroughfare Market Street at rush hour, and you’ll get the sense that the bike lanes are being well utilized. But observations aren’t the same as cold, hard data, and the city has installed a new bike counter that visualizes just how much the number of bikers has grown, joining cities like Seattle and Copenhagen who have taken on similar awareness-raising projects. In recent…
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Entrepreneur
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China's Huawei Unveils the World's Slimmest Smartphone
18 Jun 2013 | 2:15 pmThe company reveals its flagship smartphone, the Ascend P6, aiming to compete with Apple and Samsung. -
Fran Tarkenton on Winning As a Self-Taught Entrepreneur
18 Jun 2013 | 11:40 amThe football-pro and serial entrepreneur will speak in Washington, D.C., at National Small Business Week. Here he reflects on what he learned along his entrepreneurial journey. -
Tech Can Make Immortality a Reality, Says Head Google Engineer
18 Jun 2013 | 11:00 amRapidly evolving technology is making immortality more realistic, Google's engineering director told the Global Future 2045 World Conference. -
5 Ways to Use Twitter Beyond the Basics
18 Jun 2013 | 10:30 amThere's so much more to Twitter than tweeting out your latest new promotions or sales. Here are five key ways to energize your Twitter strategy on a budget. -
From Facebook to Foot Traffic: Building a Bakery's Social Network
18 Jun 2013 | 10:00 amGiveaways and user-submitted photos helped this Michigan cupcake shop increase its Facebook engagement.
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Forbes - Entrepreneurs
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What Miss Utah Should've Said About The Pay Gap
18 Jun 2013 | 5:59 pmBy now, you’ve probably heard or seen the garbled answer Miss Utah, Marissa Powell, gave to this question during Sunday’s the Miss USA pageant: A recent report shows that in 40 percent of American families with children, women are the primary earners yet they continue to earn less than men. What does this say about society? Powell’s response (which you can watch on YouTube): I think we can relate this back to education ... and how we are continuing to try to strive ... to figure out how to create jobs right now. That is the biggest problem. I think especially the men are seen as… -
Digital Health Meets Moneyball: Biomarkers And The 'Quantified Athlete'
18 Jun 2013 | 5:49 pmMost of us have heard about the quantified self--the personification of the digital health revolution. -
The Six Rules of Intelligent Investing
18 Jun 2013 | 4:01 pmWhat does it take to manage money? How do you know which assets to buy and sell? How do you know which stocks to buy and sell? What should you do in a market correction? When you should adjust your portfolio? How can you avoid costly mistakes? -
Best Ways To Give Your Heirs Money While You're Alive
18 Jun 2013 | 3:32 pmBy Lynn Ballou, Next Avenue Contributor -
Major Mid-Year Correction Necessary
18 Jun 2013 | 3:19 pmBy Andrea Simon, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Simon Associates Management Consultants
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Up and Running
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7 Creative Ways to Engage With Your Customers Online
18 Jun 2013 | 12:00 pmTechnology today affords us the opportunity to initiate contact with a lot of potential customers online, but many businesses fall short of actually converting these customers because they fail to truly engage them. The days when large companies could just blanket the airwaves with their sales pitches and actually expect a return from such advertising are gone. People are tired of being sold to. They want companies to listen to them and slowly gain their trust over time before they’ll open their wallet to them. Once initial contact is made with a potential customer online, someone has to… -
Daily News Round-up
18 Jun 2013 | 10:11 amCongratulations! This week marks the 50th anniversary of National Small Business Week. The U.S. Small Business Administration will be hosting workshops and mentoring match-ups today in Dallas/Ft. Worth and later this week in St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., and events (featuring entrepreneurs like Jack Dorsey of Square and Twitter and Angie Hicks of Angie’s List) will stream live here. Growing confidence: In the UK small business confidence is at a three-year high, and in the U.S., six out of ten small business owners say they expect their businesses to be… -
Your financial health snapshot: the key metrics you need
18 Jun 2013 | 3:20 amImagine piloting an airplane: you taxi to the runway, prepare for takeoff, and as you’re rapidly speeding up to get airborne you notice a construction crew frantically working to build out the rest of the runway. This just about sums up the financial stress of being an entrepreneur. While a certain amount of discomfort is just part of the lifestyle, being able to answer these key questions should help you sleep soundly at night. (We’ll be using LivePlan to display these metrics. LivePlan’s cloud-based Scoreboard feature enables you to track your finances on the go. You can take LivePlan… -
Logging Time: The Ambitious Entrepreneur’s Savior
17 Jun 2013 | 10:15 amEntrepreneurs are a funny lot. As the most passionate, energetic people in the room, they are attracted to big ideas and often pursue businesses because they like to build. This desire to chase ideas and build is a requirement of getting a business off the ground. But, once that business is up and running, the same instincts that built it can become a hindrance. Now, the entrepreneur has to focus, forgoing lots of “good” ideas to stabilize and grow the one he has already invested in. A college friend of mine was considered the guy most likely to succeed in business. He was way ahead of… -
Investors: Don’t believe your ROI projections
17 Jun 2013 | 8:00 amNews Flash: investors don’t believe your ROI projections. News at 11. Why is this news? It shouldn’t be. But recently I joined two other angel investor members of our local group in a conference call giving companies feedback on why they didn’t make the final rounds in our annual event. As the session got into open-ended questions, I was surprised, and even shocked, by a frustration shared by several of the entrepreneurs. Several of them seemed to think that we were comparing different plans, and making decisions, based on what the entrepreneurs projected as our return on…
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Lifehacker
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The Basics of Music Production: The Complete Guide
18 Jun 2013 | 5:00 pmOver the last month we've learned all about the basics of music production, posting new lessons on a weekly basics. With the lessons finished, now you can get the complete guide and find out how you can learn more.Read more... -
Generate a Monthly Calendar from the Command Line
18 Jun 2013 | 4:00 pmOS X and Linux: Need to quickly check calendar dates and don't have an app at the ready? You can generate calendar data for any month in an instant with a quick terminal command.Read more... -
Why would I want wireless charging for my gadgets?
18 Jun 2013 | 3:00 pmGreat discussions are par for the course here on Lifehacker. Each day, we highlight a discussion that is particularly helpful or insightful, along with other great discussions and reader questions you may have missed. Check out these discussions and add your own thoughts to make them even more wonderful!Read more... -
Deadspin Serena Williams On Steubenville: "I'm Not Blaming The Girl But ..." | io9 Did the Higgs bos
18 Jun 2013 | 2:31 pmDeadspin Serena Williams On Steubenville: "I'm Not Blaming The Girl But ..." | io9 Did the Higgs boson discovery reveal that the universe is unnatural? | Jalopnik Has Red Bull Figured Out How To Cheat F1's Traction Control Ban? | Lifehacker How to Deal with Six of the Most Awkward Money MomentsRead more... -
CareerSonar Finds You Jobs Through Your Friends' Connections
18 Jun 2013 | 2:30 pmA friend on social media is often more of a friendly acquaintance, but you can use that to your benefit when seeking out a new job. CareerSonar uses your connections to others to help you find work at companies where your contacts can assist.Read more...
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Dumb Little Man - Tips for Life
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5 Tips to Make Friends as an Adult (by Acting Like a 5 Year Old)
18 Jun 2013 | 7:59 amCan you really make new friends as an adult? I mean, there’s plenty advice out there on how to help kids make friends. But if you don’t have friends by the time you’re an adult, it seems the world hands you a dunce cap and shows you to the corner.After all, many adults have all the friends they need or want, right? People get married, have kids and have little time for others outside their family. Doesn’t that make it harder to meet new people after a certain age?Well, yes and no. Depending on your geographic location, yes, many people “settle down” after a certain age. But not… -
Ask Yourself These Seven Empowering Questions to Help You Break Through Resentment and Get On with Your Life
17 Jun 2013 | 8:04 amAre you holding onto resentment that you just can't shake?Sometimes it's on the surface; other times it's buried deep. But you can always feel it, gnawing away at you.Resentment can stem from something another person said or did. Or from a life situation that's outside your control. But whatever the source, the resulting sense of unease can fester for months or even years.And however hard you try to ignore or just let go of resentment, it stubbornly imprisons you in its grip, triggering all sorts of uncomfortable emotions at unexpected times. Any number of things can spark… -
With Hackers and Big Brother Watching Here's How to Keep Your Personal Information Private
16 Jun 2013 | 7:53 amDoes the recent news of the NSA and other government agencies tracking your information have you worried? It should, and this guide will offer some tips on how to protect your privacy.Several reports have come out recently that are rather terrifying. We’ve heard that the National Security Agency, or NSA, has been snooping into data of U.S. citizens. The IRS is supposedly looking to follow suit as well with the hopes of delving into the social media profiles, bank accounts, credit card transactions and more.Read more » -
17 Ways To Remove Stress From Your Life Once And For All
15 Jun 2013 | 8:50 amModern life can be stressful but there are some key things you can stop doing that will remove stress from your life and give you back your sense of calm.1. Stop being so hard on yourself. You will mess up sometimes. Learn from it, and let it go. You’re never going to be perfect and get everything right. Stop expecting yourself to. Instead, notice the things you are good at, that do go right, that don’t mess up. Notice your funny quirks, little talents and goofy features. Love them for their own sake. Notice all of the ways you’re pretty cool and stop sweating the other stuff you’re… -
Increase Productivity and Reach Your Goals. Why You Should Not Eat the Elephant One Bite at a Time.
14 Jun 2013 | 7:34 amIs everything taking forever to get done? Does your boss come up to you and ask, “What is taking so long with the project?” Or if you work for yourself, do your business goals never seem to get accomplished. Are you struggling to finish things?I bet when you start out on a goal or project you have a lot of excitement. It might be the dream project you have always wanted. Your enthusiasm is probably overflowing and you are convinced you are going to rock whatever you have on your plate. After time passes though, do you slowly lose interest, forget why you started in the first, and finally…
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zenhabits
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The Futility of Comparing Yourself to Others
17 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amBy Leo Babauta One of the biggest reasons we’re not content with ourselves and our lives is that we compare ourselves to other people. Picture it: you see photos of what someone else is doing on Facebook and think your life isn’t exciting enough. You see someone else who has a cool job and think you’re not doing that great in your career. You see someone with a hotter body, and feel bad about yours. You see someone who has created an awesome business, and think you’re not doing enough. You read about people who are traveling the world, learning languages, going to… -
A Secret to Dad Greatness
16 Jun 2013 | 6:00 amBy Leo Babauta I have six kids, ages ranging at the moment from 7 to 20. And while I’m not perfect as a father, I have learned a thing or two from my 20 years of service. I’ve learned to pay attention, to give them space, to accept them for who they are, to be a guide and not a director, to help them through teachable moments, to love reading a book with them, to walk and talk when we have problems, to give hugs when they are in pain and hugs when they experience a triumph, to set limits and then remove the limits when they’re excited about something. It’s a lot to… -
Habits: A Simple Change in Mindset Changes Everything
13 Jun 2013 | 7:00 amBy Leo Babauta One of the best tricks I’ve learned to improve my likelihood of sticking to a habit is so simple it’s sinful. Stop thinking of a new habit as something you have to do, but as something you are allowed to do. Let’s say you’re starting a workout. Many people think, “OK, I gotta do this. It’s good for me, I’m way too lazy, I need to burn off my fat, if I do this I’ll feel better about myself.” This is wrong, because then the workout is a chore you have to get through to get the benefits, and so you struggle through this boring,… -
The Worry That You’re Doing the Wrong Thing Right Now
10 Jun 2013 | 7:48 amBy Leo Babauta It’s first thing in your workday, and you open up your email. There’s a host of messages, old and new, asking for your attention. You also open up other inboxes in social media and the like. You quickly go through them and get a picture of what you need to get done right now. But where do you start? You begin one task from an email, but then quickly have the urge to see if there’s something else more important you should be doing. And this problem repeats itself — every time you sit down with one thing, the dozens of others on your mind (and the many… -
6 Steps To Being More Creative
7 Jun 2013 | 8:00 amEditor’s note: This is a guest post from Marc Lesser, CEO of SIYLI, Zen priest, and author of Know Yourself, Forget Yourself. For most of my life I did not think of myself as creative at all. Then, many years ago, I started a greeting card company, despite that I had rarely purchased or sent greetings cards. My motivation was combining business with taking care of the environment, by making products from recycled paper. I found myself in a role where I needed to be very creative – in developing new products as well as how to distribute products. I also found that the act of leadership…
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The Happiness Project
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Story: Be Polite, and Be Fair.
18 Jun 2013 | 1:24 pmFor the weekly videos, I now tell a story. I’ve realized that for me, and I think for many people, a story is what holds my attention and makes a point most powerfully. This week’s story: Be polite, and be fair. Can’t see the video? Click here. I love short mantras that cover a lot of situations. Do you have a mantra or catchphrase that helps you remember how you want to behave? My favorite personal mantra is Be Gretchen. (Other people should substitute their own names, of course.) Find the archives of videos here. More than 1.5 MILLION views. Don’t forget to subscribe! If… -
Secret of Adulthood: Burn Energy To Create Energy
17 Jun 2013 | 3:18 pmFurther Secrets of Adulthood: I’m surprised by how true this Secret of Adulthood proves to be. Research shows that when people move faster, their metabolism speeds up. Also, because the way we act influences the way we feel (to an almost uncanny degree), acting with energy will make you feel more energetic. Standing up while talking on the phone, walking more quickly, speaking with more animation. In fact, I’ve found that a slightly goofy–but highly effective–way to boost my energy is to jump up and down a few times. I do jumping-jacks by my desk, I run down the… -
“The Attar from the Rose Be Not Expressed by Suns — Alone — It Is the Gift of Screws.”
15 Jun 2013 | 3:38 amEssential Oils — are wrung – The Attar from the Rose Be not expressed by Suns — alone – It is the gift of Screws – The General Rose — decay But this — in Lady’s Drawer Make Summer — When the Lady lie In Ceaseless Rosemary – – Emily Dickinson, The Complete Poems -
How Will You Make Your Own Summer? I Plan To Read for Pleasure.
14 Jun 2013 | 2:07 pmYesterday was the last day of school for my two daughters. They wore special outfits, I took pictures, lots of excitement. The last day of school is always bittersweet to me; it’s fun to head into the summer, but it’s always a little sad that another year is over. I’m always reminded that “The days are long, but the years are short.” (The one-minute video I made about this feeling is probably the thing, of everything I’ve ever written, that resonates most with people.) The end of the school year is also significant to me because I still measure my own… -
“Bed, of Course. Bed with Books, Children, Dogs.”
13 Jun 2013 | 6:44 amHappiness interview: Lea Carpenter. I met Lea Carpenter many years ago, because we were both involved in the New York Public Library (one of my favorite New York City institutions). She’s always been an ardent lover of libraries, literature, and books of all sorts–so I was thrilled when I heard that she was writing her first novel. I’m so happy for her, because her debut novel, Eleven Days, is just about to hit the shelves, and just today got a great review by Michiko Kakutani in the New York Times. Who called her “an extraordinarily gifted writer.” Zoikes!
