| Business & Technology |
| Global Hot Spots Entrepreneur | From mastering new customs to getting a grasp on an unfamiliar economy, doing business in another country can be tricky--but the risk can be worth the reward. Here's your primer on 5 hot international markets: Brazil, Russia, India, China, Mexico. Read the article at Entrepreneur.com ... |
Off-sites: I'm Stuck Inc. | When Michael Sachs, founder of the health care consulting firm Sg2, wants to hold a quick everyday meeting, he heads to the bland boardroom in his Evanston, Ill., headquarters. But when big ideas and greater collaboration are needed, Sachs takes a portion of his 80 employees to a whimsical space in downtown Chicago called Catalyst Ranch. Read the article at Inc.com ... Access full article as PDF (password-protected) ... [request password] |
The Right Time to Sell
Robb Report Worth | More family business owners are leaping into the hyperactive mergers-and-acquisitions fray, liquidating their companies at what they hope is the top of the market.
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| VOA Maps a World of Tricky Pronunciations The Washington Post | When dark-horse candidate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won Iran's presidency in June, it raised many questions. But preceding any discussion of the foreign policy implications of the election, the first question on many lips was more basic: how to say the new leader's name. The answer often comes from the Voice of America's online pronunciation guide. Although originally intended solely as an internal tool for VOA's broadcasters, the publicly accessible Web site has found a broader audience. Access full article as PDF (password-protected) ... [request password] |
Pricing: The Magic Number
BusinessWeek-SmallBiz
| If you don't have a carefully considered pricing strategy, chances are you're leaving money on the table. Here's how to figure out what your prices should be.
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Email by Snail Mail
Fast Company
| India's ePost system allows anyone with Internet access to send email to those without it and vice-versa. The logistically ambitious project is emblematic of modern India.
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Pulling in Profits
Inc. | New RSS software makes it easier to gather intelligence on clients and competitors ... From a sales perspective, the technology has two main applications. First, it allows websites to "broadcast" content to a self-selected group of people. Visitors to an online store, for example, can sign up for an RSS feed and receive notifications about special promotions and new products every time the site is updated. On the flip side, businesses can also use RSS to gather up-to-the-minute intelligence on everyone from clients to competitors.
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It's All Fun and Gaming
Go (inflight) | Known for the rat-tails in his hair, and referred to as simply "Lord British" in the gaming community, Garriott has become a star in the $25-billion industry. He largely invented the "massively multiplayer online" (MMO) games that join hundreds of thousands of people around the world in collaborative quests. The New York Times compared his personal involvement with his Ultima series to that of George Lucas with Star Wars.
Read the article at airtranmagazine.com ...
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An Equity Fund of Their Own
Entrepreneur
| As private equity heats up, a new breed of smaller funds is taking center stage in today's market.
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ESOPs: A Graceful Exit Robb Report Worth | Today there are some 11,500 companies with ESOPs in the United States, including giants such as Procter & Gamble. While these tools are effective defenses against hostile takeovers, this is the motivation for ESOPs in only a handful of cases. The vast majority are set up as exit strategies for owners of privately held businesses. Read the article at Worth.com ... Access full article as PDF (password-protected) ... [request password] |
Prescription for Success Mobile Enterprise | In an industry where it's illegal for mobile "sales" reps to actually sell anything, companies are turning to untethered solutions to cut through complexity and boost profits. Read the article at MobileEnterpriseMag.com ... Access full article as PDF (password-protected) ... [request password] |
| Virginia Metalcrafters Virginia Living | Two former shirt-and-tie investment bankers from Richmond, find themselves presiding over a 164,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in the company's original home of Waynesboro. Innes describes the lifestyle change as one motivated by seeing if they could "muster the courage" to be entrepreneurs. Access full article as PDF (password-protected) ... [request password] |
The Century Club: How to survive 100 years in business
MyBusiness
| Starting a business and seeing it endure is hardly a sure thing. The statistics of businesses fading away can be discouraging: Fewer than one-third survive the transition from the first to the second generation, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Of those that hang on, half won't survive the hand off from the second to the third generation. Yet there are inspiring stories of businesses that have survived not just a generation or two--but in excess of 100 years. It is the century mark. Read the article at MyBusinessMag.com ... Access full article as PDF (password-protected) ... [request password] |
Touch Screens Serve Up Faster Lunch Business Solutions | The restaurant business, with its sky-high failure rate, is infamous for chewing up entrepreneurs and spitting them out. But, by installing a new touch screen POS (point of sale) system, VAR Texoma Cash Register (Denison, TX) is making day-to-day operations easier to swallow for Tamolly's restaurants. Read the article at BusinessSolutionsMag.com ... Access full article as PDF (password-protected) ... [request password] |
How Now? Virginia Dairy Farms
Virginia Living
| Small dairies have largely disappeared from Virginia, casualties of the mass production realities that have revolutionized the agricultural industry. And yet, a few old-fashioned holdouts still sell milk in glass bottles and deliver it to customers’ doorsteps. Is it a niche market—or the front end of another shift in the industry?
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| Georgia's Fastest Growing Private Companies Catalyst | Meet the men and women behind Georgia's Inc. 500 companies. A collection of entrepreneurial profiles. Access full article as PDF (password-protected) ... [request password] |
| Making the Brand
OverTime | Most people think that the most celebrated athletes take home all of the endorsement contracts. But that's not always the case. In fact, there are a plethora of opportunities for athletes not named Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods or David Beckham.
Read the article at ot-magazine.com ...
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| Hire Education Men's Edge | The actions you take on the first few days of your new job will set the tone for your entire tenure there. Here's how to get off -- and stay -- on the right foot. Access full article as PDF (password-protected) ... [request password] |
| Note to Staff MyBusiness | "My company can't function without me!" It's a common sentiment among business owners and the reason why so many feel they can never leave. Read the article at MyBusinessMag.com ... Access full article as PDF (password-protected) ... [request password] |
