Small businesses are often on the cutting edge because they have to be. With smaller foundations and limited budgets, small-business owners have to think on their feet every day, developing strategies that boost productivity and the bottom line. Because a small business can not afford to embrace strategies that do not provide quick, measurable results, the trends that spring up among them are likely to make a positive difference in any company.

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Fifty-four percent of U.S. small businesses have either closed or expect to close temporarily over the next 14 days, according to a new Chamber of Commerce survey.

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We are in the midst of a difficult time in history. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing a health crisis, and both the economy and jobs are suffering as a result.

While many of us can work from home, others cannot. But if a silver lining exists, perhaps it’s this: Now is the perfect time to learn a skill or launch a new career. Affiliate marketing gives you that opportunity.

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Chances are good, few habits need more of an overhaul right now than your sleep routine. You probably picked up a few bad sleep habits during the cold, dark winter and any additional stress you're facing is helping the situation, says Brown University associate professor and medical doctor Katherine Sharkey.

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When it comes to turning business challenges into opportunities, small business owners are quick, nimble, and creative. With state governments around the country shuttering all non-essential businesses to combat COVID-19 still in full swing, this is truer than ever.

But, unlike years past, where such an unprecedented closure would have put many small businesses out of business permanently, today they’re turning to mobility and connectivity in large numbers to keep their doors open—if only virtually.

Email marketing continues to be one of the most powerful tools for growing your business. (Need proof? Check out stat #1 below.)

And although email marketing has been around for decades, it’s everchanging.

New email marketing tools — like AMP for Email — pop up all of the time. Marketers are taking innovative approaches to email marketing. And email marketing benchmarks change every year.

Want to see how your own email marketing strategy compares and what other businesses are doing to innovate?

Check out this ultimate list of email marketing statistics to find out how you stack up and see email marketing benchmarks to compare your results.

General email marketing statistics and usage
79% of small businesses say email marketing is important to their business strategy. [AWeber]

60% of small businesses say their email marketing strategy is effective or very effective. [AWeber]

64% of B2B marketers use a dedicated email marketing platform. [Content Marketing Institute]

40% of B2B marketers claim that email newsletters are the most important tactic in their content marketing strategy. [Content Marketing Institute]

43% of small businesses have 500 or less email subscribers. [AWeber]

42% of small businesses with over 500 subscribers have effective or very effective email marketing strategies. [AWeber]

46% of emails are opened on mobile devices. [Litmus]

61% of consumers prefer to be contacted by brands through email. [Statista]

On average, consumers spend 2.5 hours checking email on a typical weekday. [Adobe]

Practice Your On-Camera Speaking Skills
Nothing is worse than having a boring presenter be it in person or on camera. Just like public speaking, presenting on camera is a learned skill anyone can achieve if they have the right guidance. Here are 10 tips to speaking on camera

Dress to Impress
Even though no one can see what you are wearing below the computer desk, you want to suit up.

Use the 8% Rule
As Michael, the CEO of Teambuilding explains Any Zoom meeting should have at least 8% of its time dedicated to non-meetings activities.

Businesses now can negotiate for perks and concessions that were unheard of in the commercial real estate market just a few months ago.

Asking rent prices have yet to fall, which is typical in a down cycle as landlords try to hold out as long as possible, says CBRE chief economist Richard Barkham. At the same time, Barkham says, landlords are eager to fill space, so they're willing to offer a bevy of concessions to the right tenants, including rent-free periods, build-out expenses, and flexible lease terms.

Recovery is slow: In fact, more than half (56%) have experienced a slower recovery than expected after shelter-in-place orders began to expire, with nearly half of small business owners fearing they may need to shutter their business within six months if pandemic restrictions are not lifted or if shelter-in-place orders resume in the near-term.
    
Survival requires adaptability: Yet despite fear of survival, owners are demonstrating resiliency and adaptability, with about a third (30%) creating products/services to meet new needs and half (50%) of those with an online presence increasing their digital footprint to meet the moment. And, they’re looking for help in making those changes – nearly 70 percent of female and 60 percent of male small business owners say they need one-to-one small business advice.

They depend on their community: While small businesses continue to be important facets of communities, many small business owners have noted changes in their customers and worry that people will not be able to afford doing business with them. However, half of small business owners believe that there seems to be a renewed interest in shopping locally in their area.

1. A question that delves into past experiences within working cultures and extrapolates where future environments may/may not align. For example: Creating the right culture is important for our company. Can you share details on a time you were in a toxic work environment, and how did management handle the situation? Describe when you were in a wonderful work environment and what management did correctly.

2. Deciphering how the candidates prefer to be managed as a key to ensuring management-style alignment. For example: Taking guidance from leaders is a critical part of any working arrangement. Describe how you like to be managed and how would you describe the ideal leader for your personality style?

3. Understanding motivations and expectations for long-term engagement. For example: We believe in long-term retention, and so we are cautious on the type of candidate we onboard. If you were going to commit to helping build this company long-term, what would it take for you to be happy and motivated?

4. Perspectives on their self-awareness of personal growth objectives and needs. For example: We all have challenges we are working to overcome. If you had to assess your challenges, where would be areas that you would focus to develop and look for support to improve?


5. Communication competence and tolerance for different interaction styles. For example: We all have different communication and coordination styles. What is the method you most effectively consolidate new information to inform your work, and what is your preferred communication style to align with your leadership and stakeholders?

News of the vaccine also raises questions for business owners: Can you require employees to be vaccinated, and if so, how do you go about it?

Employment lawyers and HR professionals say that policies regarding the flu vaccine are a good place to start. Many states mandate that hospital workers and other health care professionals, as well as school children and preschoolers in daycare, get flu shots and other vaccines. But it's not required for most professions. Generally, employers can require a flu vaccination, but an employee may be entitled to an exemption if he or she has a particular disability that needs to be accommodated, or a sincerely-held religious objection to taking the vaccine, says Michael Schmidt, a New York-based employment lawyer for Cozen O'Connor.

In both cases, the employer may have to pay for the vaccine or reasonable accommodation. If you refuse to make accommodations for an anti-vaxxer, it's possible to face a claim for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Civil Rights Act, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's whistleblower protection program. Most of the time, Schmidt says, the advice is for employers to encourage employees to get a flu shot rather than try to create a policy that demands it. However, he notes, many would argue that the Covid-19 situation is far more threatening than the flu is at this point, meaning a vaccine may be more crucial to the overall health of a workplace.

With the Corona virus not far from everyone's minds and the precautions that individuals took to protect their health. It is not a far stretch to consider the possible germs and bacteria that have potentially taken up residence on our cell phones. Mobile devices are never far from most individuals. They are constantly being touched, placed down, picked up and placed near the face. A study published in 2017 found that cell phone screens were host to multiple viruses and bacteria including: E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus.  Depending on the temperature and relative humidity, cold and flu viruses can survive from a few hours to up to 9 days.

You should make an effort to keep their cell phones clean, germ-free and "safe". You do not need harsh chemicals or abrasive scrubs to properly clean your cell phone. Prior to beginning the cleaning regiment be sure to turn the cell phone off. If you are using a 3rd party protective case or housing, remove the case from the phone and clean it separately.

In order to clean the surface of a touchscreen, use a soft lint free or micro fiber cloth, similar to those used to clean eyeglasses or camera lenses. A micro fiber cloth will remove the oil from fingers and smudges from the screen. Do not attempt to use any type of abrasive or patterned cloth or towel, as they could potentially scratch the cell phone's screen. Most cell phones have an oleophobic coating on the surface of the screen that repels the oils from hands. The effectiveness of the coating will degrade and lessen over time, using harsh chemicals or abrasive chemicals will hasten the degradation of the oleophobic coating.  

Be sure to never apply sprays or cleaners directly to the cell phone or touchscreen.  Cotton swabs are fantastic for reaching corners and crevices.

How to Clean Cell Phone Screens?

1. Have an adaptable business model
2. Diversify supply chain operations
3. Create an omnichannel customer experience

The Covid-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented financial ripple effect in nearly every industry but hit the small businesses that define America the hardest. Throughout the first six months of the pandemic, more than 60 million Americans filed for unemployment insurance. That’s 23 million more than the 37 million who filed claims during the 18-month Great Recession.

By now, many small-business owners who made the difficult decision to shrink or temporarily pause are rebuilding. As they have already learned, though, rebuilding your business is not as easy as flipping a switch and watching your business rebound to its pre-Covid-19 state. As a small-business owner, your plan to rebuild should focus on rehiring employees who can fulfill your immediate needs while simultaneously paving the groundwork for growth in the new norm.

Finding and keeping the best talent has never been easy. It became the top concern for HR professionals this past year, with more than two-thirds reporting struggles with their recruitment and retention efforts. While the reasons for those struggles run the gamut, they often relate to attracting qualified candidates (49%), retaining star employees (49%) and issues with the talent-culture fit (42%).

For small and midsize businesses (SMBs), any difficulties with finding talented hires end up wasting precious resources. Worse yet, the cost of a bad hire is equal to 30% of the hires first-year salary – without factoring in the potential losses in revenue and time associated with onboarding the wrong person for a job.

Pivoting has become one of those hot topics in mainstream business media. When an economic crisis arises, countless think pieces are written about how to pivot your business to respond to the external environment. But pivoting is a huge gamble, requiring deep resources and the ability to fail with minimal consequences (hence why the term is often associated with venture-backed startups). And, one must ask oneself if there’s even a solid reason to pivot.

As a small business owner, while you might feel pressure to look anywhere and everywhere to increase your top line, resist the urge to pivot. Instead, focus on your mission.  

Define your mission
In the college admissions space, disruption is something we are used to. While high-profile recruiting scandals and a renewed focus on racial inequities have dominated headlines recently, a larger cultural shift was quietly occurring.

A business owner who spent nearly $46 million over the years on Facebook ads said he got booted from the platform without warning.

Jordan Nabigon, the CEO of the Ottawa, Ontario, content-curation site Shared, said Facebook deleted his companys main Facebook page without warning in October, and without providing an explanation. He shared a Medium post detailing his experience, which has received more than 400 claps from readers.

Nabigon spent $45,870,181 on Facebook advertising between 2006 and 2020 for Shared and his other company Freebies, according to expense reports reviewed by Business Insider. Shared employees three people full-time and 12 contract writers, Nabigon said.

Facebook increased its use of artificial intelligence to oversee advertising and other content during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Nabigon is among hundreds of business owners who said they suffered from Facebook's crackdown on ad policies.

The United States has seen an increase in new businesses formed this year. According to the United State Census Bureau, in week 50, there were over 86,000 new business applications nationwide — representing a 38% increase over filings during the same week in 2019. The challenges small businesses have experienced in 2020 have led to some core lessons that those in the business community need to apply — whether they own an established small business or a newly formed one.

With the tax filing deadline approaching, make sure your company is getting all the assistance available from government programs. For instance, that means checking that you've fully utilized the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), the refundable tax credit designed to make it easier for businesses to keep employees on the payroll.

The credit is getting extended as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, the $1.9 trillion relief package just signed by President Biden. Originally scheduled to end on June 30, ERC will continue through year end, giving business owners access to as much as $33,000 per employee in incentives.

How the credit works, depending on the time frame
First half of 2021:

Eligible employers can claim a refundable credit against the employer share of Social Security tax equal to 70 percent of a full-time employee's qualified wages paid--including certain health plan expenses--from January 1 through June 30, 2021. The maximum ERC amount available is $7,000 per employee per quarter or $14,000 for eligible wages paid in the first half of 2021.

Title: Cancer-Fighting Foods: Resveratrol, Green Tea, and More
Category: Slideshows
Created: 5/19/2010 3:06:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 8/26/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Psychosis Risk Rises When People Abuse 'Speed'
Category: Health News
Created: 2/15/2022 12:00:00 AM
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Compulsive purchases are so often wrong that I nearly put this one back on the shelf. I'm glad I didn't....

If you know what South by Southwest (SXSW for those in the know) is and if you continually wish you...

Amazon will Freevee in den kommenden Wochen abschalten und in Prime Video integrieren.

I don't like any of the names for people who create technology solutions for use in the real world. In no particular order:

• Developer - Sorry, that's for photographic film (and who uses that anymore?) not software - my second least-favorite on this list.
• Programmer - probably the one I use the most, but the mechanistic connotations: a glorified typist of code; and the implication is that someone else does the thinking, bothers many - leading to...
• Architect - Horrible. Borrowed from physical construction, it brings in notions of rigidity of thinking and solution; my least favorite, often used by those who use 'Developer' to describe "those who do the thinking around here."
• Coder - Probably my favorite; however implies that software is the focus instead of the problem to be solved.
• Hacker - I don't mind this one, but it feels forced sometimes and of course carries negative connotations due to it's use in a security context; It does however, put the problem solving front-and-center and I like that;
• Software Engineer - Part of my current title; pros: sounds professional and captures the applied science nature of the work; cons: again the implication is writing code, not general problem solving and often - though not in my case - is indicative of a very rigid, bureaucratic culture
• Software Craftsman - En Vogue with those who see (as I do) that there is more to this work than just slinging code, I have several problems with it: software focus again, the lack of gender neutrality, and a certain pretentiousness (that might just be because some people sound that way when they talk about the movement - which I am positively disposed to, but not a part of)
• Technologist - This one is popular with the start-up crowd; This is one of the few on this list that recognizes the holistic integrated nature of the work from the solution side; on the other hand, lacks action, professionalism and anything related to the problem (not a coincidence that the startup world likes it, because those that use it are often seeing the project as separating problem and solution too)
• Sys Admin, DBA, network engineer, etc, etc - I.e. every other technology-related role that isn't primarily about writing software. This is my biggest concern of all as I believe this distinction (writing software and everything else) is horribly misguided, artificial and needs to go (that's another entry)

Am I just being pedantic? I'd say yes, except that I believe these terms all devolve from not seeing the holistic nature of solving problems with programmable machines and since I do see it that way, I want a term that encompasses all of it.

Thus Logic Engineer. Physicists have Mechanical Engineers to apply their ideas, why don't Logicians have Logic Engineers? Currently, we conflate this practical science with Computer Science which is also a pure science - or would be if we stopped doing that. I know that Engineer has professional accreditation connotations in many disciplines - and I'm mixed on what that would mean given the current state of technological practice today - but I believe this most closely maps to what we are doing:

Logician: figure out the rules and limits of valid reasoning.

Logic Engineer: figure out the rules and limits of applying logic to real-world problems. We are Logic Engineers.

Further, if we stopped slicing the world up into hardware and software practitioners, and started seeing that software is just liquid hardware (and vice versa); maybe we'd have something worth accrediting (though I don't think for a long while yet).

So, I'm gonna try it for a while... at least in my head.

 It's a beautiful day in mid-Autumn on Skye and I'm not sure where the year went. This house came with an enormous walled meadow, which my neighbours use to keep their sheep in, and an ancient orchard. About seven years ago the orchard was flooded, and we lost all the redcurrants and gooseberries and rhubarb and such, but most of the trees survived, and there are apples and plums and pears still growing on them.

I'm very aware that on Skye, beautiful weather can be replaced by weeks of rain and gale-force winds, so I went down to the orchard and clambered up a ladder, and picked all the pears I could reach, disturbing a tawny owl, who flapped off somewhere it wouldn't bothered by people randomly climbing its trees.

And now I'm sitting and writing this outside. It's too chilly really to write outside, but it's possible, and it won't be possible soon, and that means a lot.

There are two new books out -- one came out last week, one comes out this week.

PIRATE STEW was published first, illustrated by the genius Chris Riddell. Here's me reading the opening and talking about how the book came into existence...

It took a lot of work, but I'm happy to say that, after 9 months of missing each other, Ash and I are reunited. Lots of happy tears. I'm humbled and grateful to be here.  Photo by Amanda Palmer

Title: See How Your Life Affects Your Skin
Category: Slideshows
Created: 5/30/2012 12:00:00 AM
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In diesem interaktivem Movie kann man einem "Evil Sheep" dabei zusehen, wie es ein unschuldiges Lamm tötet.

Title: Oral Health: 19 Habits That Cause Bad Teeth
Category: Slideshows
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(EMAILWIRE.COM, October 31, 2024 ) The global Big Data and Data Engineering Services market is experiencing significant growth, driven by the increasing volume of unstructured data and the need for advanced analytics. Key factors driving this growth include the rise of IoT devices, social media,...

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Remarkably solid machine, and great fun to drive and own

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Title: Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT, Blood Clot in the Legs)
Category: Diseases and Conditions
Created: 2/15/2000 12:00:00 AM
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Keep the Party Going – A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett featuring The Coral Reefer Band. Thrilled to be able to announce that the The Coral Reefer Band will be playing at the Hard Rock Hotel’s …

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What a week. I can’t capture the totality of the current moment. In times like this I appreciate being able to read the thoughts of Mark Evanier. He’s a reliable attendee of San Diego Comic-Con. I remember seeing him host panels back when SDCC was held at the San Diego Civic Center at First and...