The Blog - Where Business Collides with Human Nature

How Handwriting Can Make You Smarter and More Productive

It turns out that if you want your child to learn to speak better, you don't want to sit them in front of a TV to watch Sesame Street or other educational TV shows. I have verified this to be true after spending many hours interviewing a Speech Language Pathologist. She remains emphatic that parents can do harm by using Sesame Street as a long term babysitter and she often hears these parents ask "Why doesn't my child know how to talk?"

There is some logic that says 'get smarter by watching' but in reality... we improve our skills and knowledge by doing. 

Writing vs typing - which helps you get smarter?  If you are a highly skilled typist, you can almost do two things at once. Your fingers have memorized the keyboard and they fly on their own, even when having a conversation.

When you sit down with a pencil (or pen) and paper and begin to turn your thoughts into new concepts to conquer the world or change the community, your brain works differently.

Topics: Writing Self-Improvement

15 Questions to Ask Before Launching Your Startup

Is your business idea the next unicorn waiting to be launched? Or is it just another also-ran with no growth potential?

These questions can lead to sleepless nights for any aspiring entrepreneur. Luckily, there is a way to know if your idea will be successful or not, by validating it before you begin.

Here are 15 questions to ask before building your startup and commit significant time, money & resources. 

Topics: Start a Business Startup

Business Writing: Tips to Improve This Essential Leadership Skill

To gain more understanding and cooperation from others, using clear writing is one of the most important skills that you can develop in business. Effective communication and writing are key factors in career success. Writing is already a part of your daily activities and you may be unknowingly doing more harm than good.

Topics: Business Blogging Personal Development Content Writing

Mobile Recruiting: Improving the Candidate Experience

In a 2013 survey by Glassdoor, 89% of jobseekers said that their mobile device is an important tool and resource for their job search. Today, this number is undoubtedly higher. In today's candidate-driven job market, you need to focus on the candidate experience if you want to attract top talent. We'll show you how you can improve your candidate experience and get the most qualified candidates to apply to your jobs.

Topics: Mobile Recruiting HR Staffing

How to Launch a Successful SaaS Startup

Even though software as a service (SaaS) is a well-known business niche for several decades, the interest to this product distribution model remains on the verge of its popularity. 

Topics: Start a Business Startup SaaS

10 Apps and Tools for Entrepreneurs to Write a Winning Business Plan

You are highly motivated; you hear others say ‘you are a genius, and you just had a million-dollar idea. Even with a genius idea for a new business, you know the importance of getting your idea down in a well thought out plan. It is no secret that a majority of business startups fail in the first four years.

Topics: Start a Business Startup Business Planning Entrepreneurship

5 Ways Successful Entrepreneurs Stay Motivated

The bravest souls quit their jobs to pursue a dream of turning their passion into profit. Considering the time it takes to achieve success, passion can easily fizzle. There is a point of no return when it is too late to stop because so much has been invested.

We are not going to give up on a dream just because we are feeling tired; we have to find a way to bring back the energy and commitment we originally had for this endeavor.

Topics: Productivity Entrepreneurship Personal Development Motivation

One of the Best Motivational Videos You Will Ever Watch

In 1961 a band auditioned for a Decca Records deal. Decca Records rejected them , saying "guitar groups are on the way out" and "The band would have no future in show business,". That band was the The Beatles.

In 2003 a group of friends came together to start a gaming company. They made 51 games with no luck. Their 52nd game was Angry Birds.

Failed at business eight times, Milton Hershey founded the Hershey's which is now one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the U.S.

He was rejected by Eddie Bond when the 18-year old Elvis Presley auditioned for his band. Eddie Bond 'advised' Presley to stick with driving trucks 'because you're never going to make it as a singer'. Shortly after, Presley recorded his first single.  The rest is history.

What does it take to overcome failure? Hope, faith, belief... these are important, especially when failure feels imminent. This video might inspire you to have a little more faith in yourself and fuel your inspiration:

Topics: Success Inspiration Motivation

3 Tips on How to be a Self-Starter

Now that we are well into the second month of the New Year, many of us are already thinking, “what have I accomplished this year?” If your answer is somewhere between “nothing” or “not much,” this quick get-up-and-get-working guide is for you.

When creating a plan to achieve long-term goals, people often become overwhelmed or intimidated by what appears to be a mountain of obstacles. To make the necessary changes, start small and keep it simple.

Topics: Success Personal Development Motivation Habit

How to Develop a Blog Outreach Plan & Execute With Style

What is blogger outreach?  

It’s the process of developing a communication strategy that helps you reach out to bloggers with strong influence online for the purpose of promoting your content to their target audience.

Outreach programs can be tedious and some say "take too much time". As a result, software tools such as Ninja Outreach, BuzzStream and BuzzSummo that help to reduce the amount of time to research may help.

Topics: Link Building SEO Business Blogging Inbound Marketing

Essential Merchant Services for Online E-Commerce Stores

In the news was another headline announcing a new record for online sales during the Christmas season. Each year their online revenue grows and its not too late for you to "open a store" online to take advantage of the shopping trends. A top priority is to get paid, but how? Let's review the basics of merchant services.

Topics: Cash Management Ecommerce

The Truth is Out There

If you believe in something enough, you will risk your very reputation to hit the mark, accomplish a goal and achieve success.  You may believe your idea is worth a million dollars or possibly believe that "everyone" is out to get you.  Your may believe that you can sell 10 million widgets... though you have not yet sold even one.

The truth is out there and you want to believe... 

But first, human beings typically learn what to do next by following the crowd.

Topics: Paradigm Business Success Deep Thoughts Personal Development