Feds Shoot Down Beer Delivery by Drone

It seemed like the perfect plan. Take thirsty ice fishermen, bring them beer with a drone, and watch the profits roll in. But unfortunately for Wisconsin's Lakemaid Beer, Uncle Sam thought otherwise.

Lakemaid—a beer co-owned by a brewery and fishing-lure company—was hoping to bolster its standing with its target demographic this Saturday, dispatching a drone to a Minnesota lake to bring six-packs to ice fishermen. But then the FAA got wind of the plan.

"Yesterday and the day before we've had calls from the FAA," said Lakemaid President Jack Supple. The agency informed him the delivery operation violated its ban on using drones for commercial purposes. Though Lakemaid didn't plan to charge for its test run, the publicity garnered from the deliveries still qualifies them as commercial use.

The company hatched the plan after seeing Amazon's drone-delivery scheme late last year. And while that concept has a long way to go, Lakemaid saw frozen lakes as the best opportunity to put drones into action. "It seems to me to be the perfect place to try this as opposed to bouncing off lampposts and church steeples in the city," Supple said. "[The lake] looks like a drone airport."

An initial test used a smaller drone—not capable of carrying a full six-pack—guided only by the pilot's line of site. But after the video of that run took off on social media, the company decided to go bigger. "Our core audience is very ready for this technology," Supple said. They purchased an eight-propeller drone, able to carry a six-pack up to a half-mile and hone in on GPS coordinates provided by thirsty fishermen.

Everything was ready to go for Saturday's deliveries—until the FAA stepped in. "They were nice about it," Supple admitted. "It wasn't like they were going to put me in jail." But the thick list of drone regulations the agency provided "will be a good weekend of reading," a far cry from his initial beer-flying plans.

FAA will set new drone rules in 2015, and Supple is optimistic his operation will be legalized, especially given the positive response from consumers. But that's little consolation this year. "I might be out of the drone business for a while," he sighed. "For now, they're just going to have to go the store and get the beer."

Source: http://www.nationaljournal.com

Minimum Wage Debate Ramps Up

President Barack Obama shed a national spotlight on Minnesota Tuesday night when he praised a Minneapolis business owner during his State of the Union speech.

John Sorrano, a founder and co-owner of Punch Pizza, was noted for his decision to raise the minimum wage of his employees to $10, well above the state’s minimum.

Sorrano and kitchen worker Nick Chute attended the State of the Union address as guests of First Lady Michelle Obama.

The president called for more business leaders to follow Sorrano’s lead. On Wednesday, a panel of economic experts and a state legislator weighed in on the minimum wage debate.

Now is a critical time for weighing the pros and cons of raising Minnesota’s minimum wage. The state Legislature will be taking up the issue when it convenes for the 2014 session in February.

Right now, Minnesota’s minimum wage is below the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. It’s currently $6.15 an hour for large employers and $5.25 an hour for small business owners.

Rep. Ryan Winkler (D-Golden Valley) is the lead author of a bill in the Minnesota House to raise the minimum wage to $9.50.

“I think if you can’t get ahead through hard work, we have lost something very important in our economy,” he said. “When people can’t support a family by working full-time, we have lost something that is crucial to our identity and crucial to our values.”

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce opposes Winkler’s bill because of concern that businesses will suffer. Ben Gerber represented the chamber in Wednesday’s debate.

“Money doesn’t grow on trees,” he said. “There’s only a certain amount of actual labor costs that businesses can incur. When you artificially bump up wages, it has to come from somewhere. What the evidence shows is that comes from other people in the middle class.”

The co-owners of Punch Pizza shared their thoughts Wednesday as well, saying they spent a couple of years studying the idea of paying their workers more.

“We were confident with the way our company was growing and the way it was structured…that we would be able to do this,” Sorrano said.

King Banaian, an economics professor at St. Cloud State, says raising the minimum wage doesn’t actually improve poverty rates.

“I would point out that there is pretty good evidence that the minimum wage is a poor tool for addressing poverty, and if you want to do that, there are better tools available,” he said.

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce does support raising the state’s minimum wage to be in line with the federal minimum of $7.25, but no more than that.

Obama is seeking to raise the federal minimum from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour.

Last session, it looked like the minimum wage increase was going to pass, but it didn’t.

It was debated quite a bit, and was passed by the House, but never got a vote in the Senate.

However, it is expected to be top priority this session.

Source: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com

Super Bowl Date Change Possible Due to Weather

Of course, it's supposed to be next Sunday, but for the first time ever, the NFL is suggesting the date might be moved if it's too cold or snowy on Super Bowl Sunday.

Could we see a Super Bowl Friday, or Saturday, or even Monday? Believe it or not, it's possible if a major storm threatens the big day.

"We don't have a crystal ball on weather, but we're confident we'll be able to have our events," said Eric Grubman, executive VP, NFL.

On Wednesday, more than 1,000 workers shoveled out 13 inches of snow from the stands at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

"Our game is to experience the elements. It's part of what we do. It's part of football, and I believe that's part of our history," said Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner.

"If the Super Bowl is under siege because of Mother Nature, and everybody's plans are all messed up... it sounds like something right out of the movies," said Christine Brennan, USA Today.

This will be the first outdoor, cold-weather Super Bowl in the NFL's history, so officials hope fans will take the weather, giving out free hats, ear muffs, gloves, scarves, hand warmers, even a quarterback-style hand pocket.

"This is unprecedented stuff. The Super Bowl is the biggest sports event in the country," said Brennan. "And to think the date could actually move because of a snowstorm, that's possible. That's literally what we are talking about here."

Source: http://abclocal.go.com

Wisconsin Get Tougher on Marijuana Laws

Wisconsin legislators approved a bill Tuesday that gives local municipalities more power to punish marijuana use.

As it stands, municipal courts in Wisconsin have the right to prosecute first-time offenders who are found in possession of less than 25 grams. Anyone arrested more than once goes to the circuit court level.

But with Gov. Scott Walker's signature, those same courts would have the right to punish repeat offenders, so long as the district attorney in that area declines to prosecute.

In other words, Wisconsin is becoming tougher on pot while Minnesota -- and the rest of the country -- appears to be chilling out.

Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, a Republican from Fond du Lac who's sponsoring the bill, insists that it's about fixing "an odd scenario" in the law. His own municipality, he adds, would be glad to pick up more cases. There were 20 instances between August 2011 and 2013 where the Fond du Lac district attorney declined to prosecute repeat offenders, Thiesfeldt says.

Personally, Thiesfeldt subscribes to the gateway theory of pot -- that smoking it leads people to harder drugs.

"We want to be raising good citizens who aren't dabbling in that kind of thing," he says.

Thiesfeldt's opinion of marijuana runs counter to the majority of Americans'. A 2013 Gallup poll indicated that 58 percent were supportive of legalizing the drug outright. That number was only 12 percent in 1969.

"I won't deny that," Thiesfeldt says. "I'm hoping it's something that's going to run its course."

Rep. Evan Goyke, a Democrat from Milwaukee, is skeptical of the argument that this bill is actually about holding people accountable in a system with limited resources to prosecute. He points out that the significant differences between circuit and municipal courts in Wisconsin -- for example, no right to an attorney and no Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizures.

"What's this really about?" Goyke says. "It's about revenue."

Although the neighbor states have roughly the same number of people and similar demographics, Wisconsin authorities reported 16,111 arrests for possession of marijuana in 2011. Minnesota authorities reported less than half that -- 7,453.

The way Goyke sees it, Minnesota has done a better job at weighing the costs of prosecution against the social impact of people's bad behavior. Whereas in Wisconsin, he says, the prevailing ideology is, "We're doing to double down on the theory that we can arrest our way out of people smoking marijuana. And that's not gonna work."

Source: http://blogs.citypages.com

Aerie's Unretouched Ads 'Challenge Supermodel Standards'

Looks like aerie is ready for its closeup -- its unretouched closeup.

aerie, American Eagle's sister store for lingerie, has launched aerie Real, a Spring 2014 ad campaign featuring all unairbrushed models. In a release on Friday, aerie announced that the ads are "challenging supermodel standards by featuring unretouched models in their latest collection of bras, undies and apparel."

Spotlighting models sans Photoshop is a powerful move that most fashion brands, not to mention fashion magazines, rarely make. (Notable exceptions, made all the more so due to their infrequency, include Marie Claire's 2010 cover with Jessica Simpson, Cate Blanchett on the cover of Intelligent Life in 2012 and Verily Magazine's total ban on all airbrushing.)

But aerie's decision to show its models in all their real, unretouched glory makes an even stronger statement because of who its customers are. The brand, founded in 2006, is aimed at the 15-21 year old demographic, meaning young women in high school and college. And it's widely held -- and proven by numerous studies and surveys -- that young women's sense of body confidence is so often influenced by the images of female beauty they see in media.

One ad campaign won't solve the complicated relationship between young women's self-esteems and images of women in media. But when a brand beloved by teen girls shows off its cute bras and undies on bodies with real rolls, lines and curves, it can certainly help.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

"Bring us your problems"

We're far more aware of our problems than our opportunities. Our problems nag at us, annoy us and paralyze us.

Every organization wrestles with its problems, and is eager to solve them.

When you generously invite people to bring you their problems, they might just do that.

Solving problems—actually solving them, not just claiming you do—solving perceived, urgent problems, is a surefire way to get the world to beat a path to your door.

Source: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

6 Places Your Customers Find You Online

The most important thing for you to do is make it easy for your customers to find you online. But how do you that? Here are six ways to ensure that your customers, or potential customers, find you and do business with you through the Internet.

• Your Website – People can find your website through a number of ways. They can search for information in your niche or be led to your site by a link in your e-mail correspondence. They might even find your website through paid ads. Whatever it takes, you need to put your brand out there and lead people to your website.
• Your Blog – Add a blog to your website and update it every day, or as often as you can publish valuable content.
• Social Media – Social media websites present a unique opportunity for online marketers. You can promote your blog posts, interact with and engage your audience, and produce valuable content for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, and other social media sites then lead them back to your website.
• Review Sites – Sites like Yelp allow your customers to rate your business so that others can see how valuable your service is and want to do business with you too.
• Online Listing Websites – These include Google Places, Bing Local, and YellowPages.com. Some listing sites are more valuable than others, but they all give you another place to connect with potential customers.
• Third-Party Niche Websites – Guest blogging and writing guest articles for other sites within your niche allow you opportunities to reach your target audience where they are already hanging out.

Don’t wait for something to happen. Get started right now. Put your brand into the blogosphere and start attracting new clients to your business.

Source: http://www.smallbusinessmavericks.com

Meet Confide, the Snapchat for Grown-ups

Confide, the disappearing-messaging app for grownups that was tabbed as one of the The Daily Beast’s hot apps for the week, has come too late for many professionals. But if you want to rag on co-workers, engage in political machinations, and swap tips about hot stocks without having to worry so much about the consequences, it’s right on time.

The media is full of stories of careers and lives laid waste by indiscreet texts, emails, and other digital communications. With electronic communication, in all its forms, having replaced face-to-face communications, and with digital technology having replaced analogue technology, our lives are documented and stored. Every off-the-cuff utterance, each whit of conspiracy, every misspoken phrase is laid down in bits and bytes, captured, stored, and easily accessed by employers, the government, authorities, and, ultimately, the public. On trading floors, every conversation is taped, and employees are often prohibited from using personal phones or emails—the better to ensure compliance.

That’s good news for law enforcement, but bad news for people trying to do things sub rosa, or even just confidentially.

For this reason, Snapchat caught on like wildfire. The idea, and promise, of the popular app is that the information you send—a photo, and anything you want to write on it—disappears after 10 seconds or so. Teens who had been embarassed by Facebook postings and texts, easily captured and shared an infinitum, quickly glommed onto it. Snapchat offers all the exhibitionism and daring without the threat of public disclosure.

But one can see how it could easily be used for other purposes. Let’s say you had a hot, possibly illegal, tip on a stock and wanted to communicate it to somebody without leaving a trail. Take a selfie, write “Blue Star Air is in play” on it, and Snapchat it to your buddy. The crucial information is imparted, but it disappears, theoretically unretrievable. Last summer, Jim Cramer of CNBC told Preet Bharara at an event that Snapchat could be used by traders for illicit activity. Bharara, at the time, said he had never heard of Snapchat.

Alas, Snapchat is an imperfect vehicle for anonymous communications. The authorities certainly know about it now. Worse, Snapchat stores the messages sent and hackers have demonstrated the ability to bust into its system. The messages swapped on Snapchat, it turn out, don’t really disappear.

And so some savvy digital media folks have come up with an older, more professional, more discreet version of Snapchat: Confide.

The company’s founders include Howard Lerman, the current CEO of geodata firm Yext, and former AOL executive Jon Brod.

Grownups, it turns out, have just as much to gain from disappearing texts as teenagers. “Off-the-record conversations happen all the time in the offline world,” the company notes. “They allow you to be honest and genuine without worrying that every word is being archived.” Or—and here’s how I would put it—non-documented talk is liberating. There are plenty of legitimate professional purposes for which it would be advantageous to communicate orally, as if it were a non-recorded conversation, rather than through email or texts. You want to complain about a co-worker, speak confidentially about compensation or a job offer, propose a hush-hush meeting with a counterpart, hatch a takeover bid, or hatch a political payback scheme. But you don’t want to create a paper trail that could get you in trouble, or get you in hot water with HR.

Confide says it has learned from Snapchat’s gawky adolescence. The texts are sent via email rather than through phones. It uses powerful encryption technology. The messages appears as blocks instead of letters, and don’t reveal themselves until the user swipes over them. The service alerts you if somebody tries to take a screenshot of a Confide message, and provides receipts that document when your counterpart has read the text. And, most importantly, Confide promises that the messages sent aren’t stored on the company’s internal servers.

But there is good reason to be skeptical. If we have learned anything in recent years, it is that anything that can be created digitally can be captured, stored, and shared digitally, that the government will try to access it at some point, and that most companies will help the government do so. What’s more, all sorts of companies that have really big incentives to guard data fiercely get hacked all the time. Internet security works really well—until the moment it doesn’t. Also, once messaging applications gain critical mass, they’ll become takeover targets of truly massive companies for whom privacy and anonymity aren’t necessarily first-order concerns (Facebook has already unsuccessfully bid $3 billion for Snapchat). Finally, consumers should always remember that when they use free communication services, they are providing data for companies to mine on behalf of themselves, or marketers and advertisers.

While I appreciate innovation as much as the next guy, it’s clear that neither Snapchat nor Confide marks a significant improvement on a foolproof disappearing-message application from the 1960s: those Mission: Impossible tapes.

Source: http://www.thedailybeast.com

Why Online Reputation Management Matters

You may have heard the recent story of Posh Bagel. According to a Yelp one-star review, Posh Bagel allegedly denied service to a man dressed in a military uniform, and it caused an online uproar for obvious reasons. If you haven’t heard the story of Posh Bagel, perhaps you have heard that United breaks guitars. Regardless of whether or not either of these stories is true, these companies both experienced what it’s like to lose customers over viral Internet content produced by unhappy individuals who are out to destroy the company’s reputation. These two simple examples just go to show how important online reputation management really is.

Since all of your customers have resources like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, online reviews, personal blogs, websites, and more to spread the word (good or bad), it’s important to have an online reputation management strategy in place. After all, you don’t want to be the next Posh Bagel or United Airlines. If you are, you want a strategy to play ball fairly. Here are just a few ideas to help you build a strong reputation online.

1. Have a website

One of the best ways to manage your reputation online is to make sure you have an Internet presence long before anything can go wrong. If you build a strong website, you are in control of what messages you send to the people. Make sure your website content is current and tells the story of your brand. In order to do this, don’t take content writing lightly. Hire a professional writer to help you get the job done correctly, and make sure your marketing team reviews each message.

2. Create blog content

One way to control the message you spread is to write consistent blog content. Even if you just post three times a week, that kind of regular posting will bring return readers. Quality blog posts are a good way to become an industry expert and tell your brand’s story effectively.

3. Get involved in social networking

Keep up with the game by staying current on social media sites like Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and Twitter. The more positive content people see from your brand, the better off you will be.

4. Respond

If a customer has gone through the trouble of leaving an online review, make sure you take the time to respond. This could include thanking someone for the review and offering him or her additional information about your company or conducting damage control.







Source: http://www.orangesoda.com

A huge change on your taxes is coming

Right now, most taxpayers earning less than $75,000 per year and a third earning up to $100,000 still do not itemize their deductions on their federal tax returns. That's because to itemize, you must first have eligible expenses that exceed $6,200 (or $12,400 for married households) which is the standard deduction we're allowed to take in lieu of itemizing. For many taxpayers, the standard deduction, even when considering mortgage payments and state taxes and medical expenses (which have to now be more than 10% of your adjusted gross income to be eligible for a deduction) was higher (and easier) to deduct than itemizing individual expenses. But not anymore.

That's because we are now in a new era of health care. And in the next few years health plans are going to change. If health-care insurance costs increase as many experts predict, employers will be able to absorb only so much. Business owners will look to save money while still being in compliance with the law. So what will likely happen to your company's benefits? Your future health-insurance plan will almost certainly have higher deductibles for both you and your employees. And more out of pocket expenses. Brace yourself.

Employers like me will have a choice of offering platinum, gold, silver and bronze plans for ourselves and our employees. All of these plans will be in compliance with the new health-care law. Most of my clients' current plans are probably somewhere in the silver range. The lowest-cost one will be the bronze plan. It will offer the minimum essential benefits required by law. But it will come with higher deductibles and more out-of-pocket costs. Most employers like me will do our best to help our employees with this cost. But the reality is that more employees will likely have to bear the burden as health-care premiums continue to rise, which many experts predict.

Employers will likely give employees a choice in the future. We will explain that they can stick with their current plan and pay higher premiums. Or, they may find themselves opting to take a lower-priced bronze plan but exposing themselves to higher deductibles and out-of-pocket costs that were once covered. Have a soccer kid in the family? A cheerleader? Weekend-warrior spouse? One broken leg, one torn ligament, one hip replacement and you'll find yourself easily out-of-pocket for thousands. The good news is that the Affordable Care Act will ultimately limit your out-of-pocket expenses to a maximum of $6,350 ($12,700 for families). The bad news is that you're going to start getting familiar with that maximum.

So now think about your future tax returns. Whether you're a business owner or an employee, that medical-expense deduction will be looking pretty attractive right? If you're making $50,000 or $75,000 a year and you've got a bronze plan, you could find yourself spending more than 10% of your income on medical expenses and premiums. And when you combine that with your mortgage and state and local taxes you will probably exceed the standard deduction amount.

Which means that you'll want to itemize. Things are changing. So prepare. Keep good records to back up your itemized expenses. And if you're an employer, like me, you want to make sure that your people know that the silver lining to increased medical expenses is the potential to realize a bigger tax deduction in the future. It isn't a lot of comfort. But it's something.

Source: http://www.newschannel5.com

Meet Your Local Business: Norwex

Norwex
Shakopee, MN
952-496-9237
scploof@comcast.net
www.christineploof.norwex.biz
www.facebook.com/GoGreenChristine

 Can one person change the world?

At Norwex – they think one person can.  Imagine cleaning your entire home with Antibacterial Microfiber Cloths and just water.   NO CHEMICALS!

  What started with a miraculous cloth, a little water and bugs on a windshield in 1994 has become one of the most respected cleaning and personal care companies in the world.  From their humble beginnings in Norway, focused on “cleaning without chemicals” to a world-wide expansion, Norwex remains dedicated to their mission of improving quality of life by radically reducing the use of chemicals in household and personal care products.

Chirstine Ploof is a prime example of one person’s ability to effect change.  Being a professional cleaning person, Christine knows first hand the dangers of using harsh chemicals and toxic cleaning products and the effects it had on her body.  She experienced many health issues that included headaches, nausea, burning lungs, just feeling sick all over which ultimately she ended up developing Raynauds Syndrome. This affected the nerves in my hands. My fingers turned white and would feel tingly and numb. I knew I had to change something - both for myself and my family. When I put Norwex to the test, the benefits became clear right from the start.  My daughter is no longer on steroids for her allergies and my husband’s skin sensitivities and rashes have gone away since I started using UPP Laundry Detergent instead of the harsh detergents I had used in the past.

 Norwex passed the test.  It was the answer for my family and I knew this was something that I am so passionate about that I want to share it with others.

 Norwex products make cleaning faster and more cost effective than traditional cleaning products. With their Microfiber System, you will not breathe, touch or ingest chemicals – you simply create a cleaner, healthier indoor environment. They also offer a Marine Organics and Naturally Timeless personal care product line that uses cutting-edge technology coupled with organic and natural ingredients – all without harmful parabens or preservatives.  “You save both time and money with Norwex,” Christine added. “You SAVE Time because the Norwex Cleaning System decreases cleaning time by 75% or more. Plus, you SAVE Money. An average household spends $600-$800 a year on chemical cleaning products and supplies. By using Norwex products you can realize up to a 90% savings!”  Norwex helps make cleaning safe, simple, fast and fun while teaching your family how to improve their health and environment!

You can also save money by hosting a Norwex party. Christine can help with all the details and you will get great, free products just for inviting your family and friends. You can sample all the products and see what an amazing job the Norwex line does. All the products are backed by a full 60 day, 100% satisfaction guarantee so you never have to worry about recommending Norwex. What do you have to lose - besides all the toxic chemicals?

Call Christine today to find out more. 952-496-9237

MacPhail opening set for Jan. 12

MacPhail Center for Music will have a grand opening of its new site in downtown Chanhassen from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 12.

The facility is located at 470 78th Street W.

Throughout the day visitors can tour the new facility, take sample lessons, try out a favorite instrument, and stay for the live music and treats.

A ribbon cutting ceremony with Chanhassen Mayor Tom Furlong is planned at 1 p.m.

MacPhail, a nonprofit based out of its downtown Minneapolis facility, provides instruction in more than 35 instruments and a variety of musical styles including jazz, classical, pop, rock, hip hop and world music.

MacPhail offers Suzuki Talent Education and Early Childhood Music (ECM) programs, and also has developed a music therapy department to offer music education and therapy opportunities to individuals with physical and developmental disabilities.

MacPhail opened satellite locations in Apple Valley and White Bear Lake in 2005 and 2006 and has been looking to expand to the southwest suburbs.

Source: http://www.chanvillager.com

The First 7 Weeks Of 2014 Could Change Your Life - The Choice Is Yours

It’s a brand-new year and now is the time when everyone is resolving to improve something about themselves. Rather than making a big resolution with no concrete plan on how to make it happen, why not start taking steps to change your heart instead? If you can change your way of thinking, you’ll be more likely to make big changes in your life that will actually stick instead of being forgotten by the spring.

Spend the next seven weeks changing your attitude and I promise this year will be filled with opportunities you never noticed in previous years. Focus on one new attribute each week:

Week 1: Gratitude:  Write seven things you are grateful for. Demonstrate your gratitude for at least one item on the list each day.

Week 2: Courage:  Write seven things that cause you fear or stress. Work each day to remove the illusion of fear from at least one item on the list.

Week 3: Commitment: Write seven things that have taken root in you as a result of walking in gratitude and releasing fear. Commit to creating a new path at work based on these discoveries.

Week 4: Loyalty: Write seven things you are willing to sacrifice to show your loyalty to support and uplift others. Discover and implement at least one item each day.

Week 5: Trust:  Write seven areas where your trust for yourself and others has developed and grown. Nurture each item one day at a time.

Week 6: Belief: Write seven new things you have found to believe in about yourself. Strive to increase your belief in at least one of these areas each day.

Week 7: Respect: Write the names of seven people you respect more than anyone else. Pattern your behaviors and attitudes after theirs to see what happens, focusing on one person each day.

What Can You Expect When You Reach the End of Week 7?:  You will likely lose the desire to judge others harshly and instead discover significant changes that need to occur within your heart and mind. You will no longer need to demand credit for everything you do in order to demonstrate your value to others.

This journey isn’t about beating yourself up. It’s about making small improvements day by day until you are surprised to find yourself standing far above where you used to be. By doing this, we discovered that we focused less on changing others and organizations and lived less in judgment and more in discovery mode.

Source: http://www.forbes.com

2014 Small Business Marketing Trends

#3 Social Media

A couple years ago this was #1. For a variety of reasons, however, the shine of social media has lost a bit of its luster.

This past year both Forbes and USAToday reported how social media isn’t working for small businesses in pieces titled, “Why Small Businesses Are Losing On Social Media” and “Study: Social Media a Bust for Small Businesses.”

Both were in response to a 2013 survey released from Manta research revealing that over 60% of small businesses reported they don’t see any ROI (return on investment) on their social-media activities.

That’s a big number and a strong indication that while many may have been partying with social media these past couple years, a lot of those folks are now feeling a hangover. It seems that the people making the most measurable money on social media are the folks charging you to tell you how to do it.

That said, social media certainly isn’t going away and it will continue to be an important element of a business marketing plan. In 2014, it just won’t have the lure it’s had in past few years.

#2 Mobile

While everyone has a cell phone, not everyone has a smart phone. And, certainly, not everyone has a tablet. But in 2014 more people will have both. Which is why more businesses will be conforming to a mobile market in 2014. It’s also the reason web designers are experiencing their biggest spike in business since 1997.

It’s called responsive web design which means that the site design will look as good on a mobile device as it does on a desktop or laptop. At this point, most don’t. In 2014, they’d better. Also, more and more business is being done remotely and virtually requiring more and better mobile devices.

Lastly, mobile towers are expanding and networks are getting better and faster every day.

#1 Online Video

You’d think that something that’s been around forever would be fading away. The opposite has happened with video. There are multiple reasons for this, The continuing serge in video-friendly mobile devises, the fact the Google has made video much more search friendly, and the simple fact that video is the most engaging of all media.

The explosion of Web video has spawned new monikers like “Explainer video.” That term didn’t even exist a couple years ago and it’s now one of the fastest growing searches on Google.

You’ve heard the saying, “You can never be too thin or too rich.” For 2014, add, “or have too much video.”

Source: http://smallbiztrends.com

Top 10 Tweet About Arctic Vortex Freezes Minnesota

The cold snap is all fun and games -- as long as you're inside and/or your fingers aren't frozen, at least. Below are the 10 wittiest 140-character wisecracks we've seen about being in the grasp of an Arctic Vortex. (You can thank us for the fantasy football team name later.)

10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

 5.

 4.

 3.

2.

1.

Source: http://blogs.citypages.com

What’s In For Ecommerce In 2014

After all the Holiday shopping is done, what’s there left for Ecommerce websites? Preparing for the year ahead, of course! There’s nothing like setting the stage for the upcoming big waves. Although it’s said that the future is uncertain, the year 2013 has started some trends which are likely to hit it big come 2014.

A few things are bound to to stay the same though; but webmasters, developers, and business owners should expect more challenges in the year to come. Here’s a sneak peek of Ecommerce website developments to watch out for.

More Customers Going Mobile

The handheld device mania has only seen the beginning in smarter phones and tablets. With huge companies such as Apple and Samsung leading the way toward the smartphone revolution, expect more traffic coming from the mobile end. Business owners should really think about investing in a responsive web design to cater to this trend.

Responsive websites appear more crisp and clear on smartphones as compared to non-responsive designs. Navigation would also be different and thus affect a user’s overall experience. Loading times as well as image resolutions are also something to consider when contemplating about this concept. But ultimately, the decision to go mobile will depend on the company and its specific objectives.

Personalized Marketing and Upsell Strategies

In the long forgotten days, many Ecommerce websites simply targeted their market by way of standardized email subscriptions or brochures. In recent years, it’s become more and more important to tailor sales strategies to individual customers. This is mainly due to the many emerging businesses offering the same products and/or services.

Oftentimes, it’s no longer a competition between the merchandise themselves but rather, between the quality of service provided. To better capture a fussy market, tactics like instant chat help and 24-hour customer assistance would certainly add a few positive points to the cart. Another great way of personalizing the user experience is through the power of simple pop-ups. May websites use this up-sell method of offering the customer related content or up-sells based on what he has purchased or viewed before.

Source: http://tweakyourbiz.com

Ways Your Seasonal Business Can Manage Financial Peaks and Valleys

Whether your register doesn’t stop during December or your lawn mower is going in circles in July, you may experience times where your seasonal business is faced with the challenge of generating revenue.  Luckily, there are endless seasonal business marketing ideas to help you keep the money flowing every day of the year.
In the U.S., there are about 10,000 lawn care service providers according to the Professional Landcare Network.  How do these companies, and others that face seasonal obstacles, keep cash coming in, even after the busy season has come to a close?  To manage fluctuating income, it’s essential to think outside of the box, learn about your customers’ needs, try out new ideas and plan with care.  Here are six tips that can help you give your seasonal business an off-season boost:

Extend Your Season

Make sure you’re maximizing your season.  Oftentimes, seasonal businesses cut themselves short of selling time by a month or two.  Double check and see when people are interested in the services you offer and focus on selling a few weeks prior – and continue a few weeks after –  what you believe to be the prime season.  You may find customers who want to beat the rush or those who are willing to wait until after the end of the season, especially if they are given a discount.  Do some research – you may find your marketing opportunities are even longer than you thought.

Add Complementary Products and Services

A seamless way to move to the next season and keep revenue coming in is to add products and services that serve other seasonal needs of your customers. If your company specializes in snow removal, add some de-icing products to your sales list.

Generate Excitement, Even in Your Off-Season.

During your slower months, hold events to engage and excite your customers.  Don’t hesitate to offer deals in months you would not normally view as prime selling time.  You’ll likely find people who are thrilled for great deals during the off-months and who will take advantage of the specials you offer.

Go Where the Season Is

If your product is aimed towards the summer months, change your marketing approach during the cooler seasons. Reach out to people in other parts of the country or world that still have higher temperatures and could benefit from what you have to offer.  Cultivate new markets and you may see exponential growth and gain a whole new world of customers.

Seek Out Niche Markets

A way to find successful income is to serve niche markets.  If you run a bakery, you can find success during all months through offering products that hit home with a smaller audience, such as sugar or gluten-free muffins or cookies.  Lots of profitable businesses serve thriving niches and experience great success.

Use Your Off Season Well

Oftentimes seasonal businesses have a few months of intense activity, then the routine changes.  Make sure to look ahead at what your next busy season holds, or before you know it that time will be here again.  Regularly review seasonal demands and seek ways to streamline operations.  Of course, work ahead when possible.
Look at your business as one that is not solely seasonal.  Your customers have needs all year long – your challenge is to find ways to serve those needs in a manner that lines up with your existing business.  You can do it!
How do you increase your business during the slower months? Take advantage of off-season marketing by automating season-appropriate messages for your customers!

Source: http://bigideasblog.com