Every day is not a crisis. Yes, there may be a few times — a big important project, a looming deadline, an actual emergency — when it's necessary to check email round the clock. But other than that, do you really need to check your email constantly? Of course not. Everyone seems to agree on that much. Research shows that fixating on your email can be stressful and counterproductive. A new study by the University of California, Irvine, found that "those with no email reported feeling better able to do their jobs and stay on task, with fewer stressful and time-wasting interruptions." People who take a break from email were more productive and better able to concentrate than their email-obsessed peers, according to UCI Professor ... Continue reading →
Do Typos Matter? In an age of tiny keyboards and emoticons, you may think typos don't matter. Not so, according to someone who's been addressed as Mr. Renay Seagull. shutterstock images In the era of tiny keyboards and social media, flying thumbs and emoticons, English majors everywhere are having conniption fits. Typos are inevitable, but do they really matter? For business leaders and entrepreneurs, the answer is Yes. Hell yes. Bad grammar and typos might be amusing on signs and restaurant menus, but they’re an entirely different matter coming from a business professional like you. Leaders need to communicate with clarity and authority, regardless of industry or keyboard size. Sloppy typing skills dilute your message, and, at worst, seriously diminish your credibility. Any personal communication ... Continue reading →
Matthew Ryan Williams for The New York Times EXAMS Direct primary care providers allow unlimited visits to doctors like Erika Bliss. On the road 50 hours a week, the drivers who work for Becker Trucking, headquartered in Seattle, have little trouble finding cheap eats at the all-night diners lining the interstates of the Pacific Northwest. But many drivers were struggling with chronic poor health, and the company’s health costs were rising fast. What his employees really needed, the company president realized, was better access to doctors. So he turned to a novel solution. Becker pays $54 per employee per month to a primary care provider called Qliance. Employees get unlimited doctor visits, 24-hour e-mail access to the medical staff, and same-day or next-day appointments. There ... Continue reading →
Twitter uses the t.co domain as part of a service to protect users from harmful activity, to provide value for the developer ecosystem, and as a quality signal for surfacing relevant, interesting Tweets. Back to Twitter Learn more Continue reading →
How to Survive Your Start-up's First Year Your first year as an entrepreneur can be terrifying. Here's how to make it less so. Getty The bottom line about a startup's first year is that it's very scary. There are two aspects of fear that will trail you the whole year. The first is fear of failure. What if you tell everyone you're starting a company and then you can't and you feel stupid for years afterward? The other aspect of fear is financial: What if you run out of money and have to work at McDonald's? These are extreme versions of fear, of course, but they still make the first year of a startup very difficult pyschologically. Here are ways to make those worries less ... Continue reading →
How to Get Acquired for Tons of Money Some companies are bought for huge sums, while other similar ones never get much notice. How to get on the road to the big acquisition. shutterstock images Getting acquired for a huge price is the dream of virtually every start-up I see. So why are some companies acquired for eye-popping valuations while very similar ones never attract much interest? The difference often comes from smart exit planning. One of the most important factors is getting on the radar of potential acquirers. “You would think that we have a market map with every company in our space and a priority list of the companies we would most like to acquire,” said the former head of business development for ... Continue reading →
