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Showing posts with label June 05. Show all posts
Showing posts with label June 05. Show all posts

Monday, June 5, 2017

Sketch Guy: Ask the Sketch Guy: Should I Finally Buy Some Bitcoin?

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Carl Richards answers a reader’s question about whether he should own Bitcoin. The inquisitor’s friend says he is making big money in the cryptocurrency.

June 05, 2017 at 11:56PM

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from CARL RICHARDS

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Plug and Play to open accelerator in Tokyo

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Plug and Play said it will open its first startup accelerator program in Tokyo this fall in partnership with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s banking arm, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

The accelerator plans to source startups locally and internationally to pilot technology with Japanese corporations. Plug and Play said it has partnerships with 33 Japanese corporations, including Hitachi, Nissan, and Panasonic.

The accelerator’s 12-week programs also intend to connect startups and investors.

 

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June 05, 2017 at 11:38PM

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from Mark Boslet

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Ocado Shares Fly On First International ‘Retail Deal’ Involving Smart Platform Tech

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With retailer Ocado’s shares hitting a day high of £3.40 in London today as news surfaced that the UK operator had struck its first international deal involving its Ocado Smart Platform with an unidentified European retailer, other similar deals could be on the cards to boost its fortunes.

June 05, 2017 at 11:47PM

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from Roger Aitken, Contributor

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Stocks Flat; Why Facebook’s Chart Requires A Look – Investor’s Business Daily

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Investor’s Business Daily
Stocks Flat; Why Facebook’s Chart Requires A Look
Investor’s Business Daily
The stock market was flat in afternoon trading Monday, unable to find direction, while Facebook (FB) hit a new high and into a buy area, at least briefly. The Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 were down 0.1%. The Dow Jones industrial average was a fraction …

June 05, 2017 at 11:52PM

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SellUP Extends Reach, Acquires Leading Global Email Marketing Agency

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NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Leading US email marketing agency SellUP Inc. announces the acquisition of London-based Alchemy Worx. SellUP & Alchemy Worx bring clients world-class email marketing & retained agency services.

June 05, 2017 at 11:48PM

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Banned From the US? There’s a Robot for That

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Two telepresence robots roll into a human-computer interaction conference.

June 05, 2017 at 11:45PM

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AI Will Be Able to Beat Us at Everything by 2060, Say Experts

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There is a 50% chance that machines will outperform humans in all tasks within 45 years, according to a survey of 352 artificial intelligence (AI) researchers conducted by Yale University and the University of Oxford in the U.K.

June 05, 2017 at 11:45PM

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Productivity Growth Revised Upward to Zero

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Despite the revision, productivity in the first quarter still showed the worst performance since the second quarter of last year.

June 05, 2017 at 11:48PM

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from Matthew Heller

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Managements’ Estimate Biases Targeted by Two PCAOB Proposals

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The oversight board issues proposals on auditing fair-value estimates and the use of specialists.

June 05, 2017 at 11:48PM

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from David M. Katz

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Productivity Growth Revised Upward to Zero

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Despite the revision, productivity in the first quarter still showed the worst performance since the second quarter of last year.

June 05, 2017 at 11:48PM

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from Matthew Heller

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Apple debuted the newest version of MacOS on Monday — here’s what’s new

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Apple debuted the newest version of MacOS on Monday — here's what's newApple just debuted the next version of the operating system that runs on all Apple computers…

June 05, 2017 at 11:34PM

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Trump Risks Diplomatic Fight With U.K. After Targeting London Mayor With ‘Pathetic’ Tweet

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Trump Risks Diplomatic Fight With U.K. After Targeting London Mayor With ‘Pathetic’ TweetDonald Trump risked provoking a diplomatic row with one of the U.S.’s closest allies, and embarrassing Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of a general election, as he amplified his mockery of London Mayor …

June 05, 2017 at 11:34PM

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4 lessons small business owners can learn from Doughnut Plant’s latest innovation

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When Doughnut Plant founder Mark Isreal launched his Ripple Doughnut in late 2016, there were so many uncertainties.

Would his loyal customers take to his new creation — a doughnut within a doughnut within a doughnut? Was it a hindrance that the doughnut was only available in one of the store’s 10 locations? Would the investment be worth it?

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On that last question, at least, Isreal was pretty certain of the answer. The Ripple’s creation was funded entirely by redeeming the points he earned with his Chase Ink Business credit card, meaning the risk — financially, at least — had zero cost to Doughnut Plant’s bottom line.

The Ripple ended up being a hit for the company, both financially and from a marketing perspective. So what are the lessons to be learned from Isreal’s bold experiment? Here are four key takeaways for small business owners.

1. Redeeming points is powerful — but so is earning them

The first step to redeeming points like Isreal did is earning them. For that, you should think of rewards points like a silent revenue stream. “You’re spending the money anyway,” says Isreal, referring to his daily accounting of small business expenses. “Use your card, and the points start accumulating.”

And that accumulation can easily be multiplied. Many cards offer large sign-up bonuses and bonus points when making purchases in certain categories. With the Ink Business Preferred card, for example, earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months after account opening and earn 3X points on travel, advertising purchases made with search engines and social media sites, and in other select business categories. (Spend limitations do apply.)

Isreal accumulated 80,000 rewards points, which he admittedly thought of as being “more for airplane tickets.” When he came to understand their flexibility and purchasing power, however, their value skyrocketed. They became an asset for the company. “We took those points and we invested it in the idea of the Ripple.”

2. Take risks – but calculated ones

Launching a new product is always risky. But since Isreal funded the Ripple with points, the risk was greatly minimized — and the payoff was huge. 

“As a small business you have to invest so much into your business,” says Isreal. “Sometimes you get to a point where you have spent your limit of your budget. To have your points on top of that is such a relief to keep going.”

For Isreal, that meant using 80,000 points (the equivalent of $800) to buy the ingredients and tools needed to make a first run of 200 Ripple Doughnuts. As sales of the Ripple took off, Isreal was able to scale production. 

Every small business needs to identify its own calculated risk. It might be website redesign or a monthly event to drive store foot traffic. The goal is to find the idea that “pushes the boundaries” of your business, according to Isreal.

3. Never underestimate the power of social media

Isreal admits the Ripple Doughnut was “designed for social media” — and that strategy paid off. “When people see it in the case, they are drawn to it immediately,” he says. “Then they pull out their phone and take a picture of it.”

Those photos have generated 24.6 million impressions across media and social media. “We get inquiries from all over the world,” says Isreal. “They want to know how they can get it.”

While not every small business is poised to create a viral sensation, investing in your company’s social media presence will pay off in heightened visibility and brand loyalty.

4. Creative ideas are your secret weapons

All small business owners have these “light bulb” ideas, but many of them never get done because of things like cost and feasibility. Isreal says points can help save those ideas from the cutting room floor.

“There’s so much freedom because you don’t have to worry about the overhead,” he notes, adding that unlike investment capital, which might come with strict ROI predictions, the fact that points are “free”  inspires creativity. “Points are like money to play with. So why not explore these ideas that maybe I wouldn’t have explored otherwise?” 

That freedom to be innovative and take creative risks is crucial to stay competitive and grow your small business.  

 

Find out more about how the Chase Ink Business Preferred card offers ways to earn for your business.

This post is sponsored by Chase Ink. Real business owner compensated for use of his actual statements.

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June 05, 2017 at 11:34PM

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from Sponsor Post

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