And the Small Business Winner of a Super Bowl Commercial is Death Wish Coffee

While I was a fan of all three finalists, my personal finalist-favorite, Death Wish Coffee of Round Lake, New York, won this year's "Small Business, Big Game" competition sponsored by Intuit QuickBooks.

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On SmallBusiness.com | Story about this year's ten finalists

On SmallBusiness.com | Story about this year's top three finalists

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The grand prize is being featured in a $5 million, 30-second commercial during the CBS telecast of Super Bowl 50 on February 7. The prize also included production of the big-budget, no-holds-barred TV commercial (below) that features a Viking ship filled with actors numbering about three-times the employee-count at Death Wish Coffee. Considering the cost of production and airtime, the value of being featured in such a spot is easily over $6 million and is likely one of the most valuable contests ever won by a small business. (Not counting being acquihired by Google.)

The guy smiling in the photo below is Mike Brown, owner of Death Wish Coffee and leader of the fun crew who works there.

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Here's the killer Super Bowl commercial

Not since the famous 1984 Apple Super Bowl commercial has there been such a dramatic portrayal of a small upstart company out to conquer the world.

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Just in case you think I was exaggerating about the number of actors being more than the number of employees at Death Wish Coffee, here is a staff photo from a few months ago. I'm sure they'll be needing to scale up production after a Super Bowl ad.

So How is the Coffee?

As I wrote in October, I conducted some personal research on Death Wish Coffee in preparation of SmallBusiness.com's coverage of the competition. I brewed a cup before my daily 6 a.m. walk with my two dogs. By 15 minutes into the walk, the dogs were begging me to slow down. Imagine brewing coffee with Red Bull to wash down a NoDoz tablet and you’ll begin to understand the magical powers of Death Wish Coffee.

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Surprisingly, the coffee has a smooth, gentle taste; the opposite of what I was expecting from a product that has a skull and crossbones as its logo.

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Within a few days, I became addicted (in a positive way) to Death Wish Coffee and had to email Teah Teriele, the manager of marketing and shipping, “Are people as surprised as I am that a coffee called Death Wish tastes pleasant? What do people think it’s going to taste like?”

“Most probably, they expect something similar to tar. We make it our mission to shock people with how good it is,” she replied.

Teah’s answer reminded me why I love small businesses.

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Photos: Death Wish Coffee, Intuit

How Voice Recognition Software is Being Used to Detect Cyber Criminals

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Pindrop Security, an Atlanta-based software company backed by several major investors including Google Capital, has developed software that analyzes the voice patterns of people calling into a company's call center or other department. The software "listens" for callers who may be attempting to trick a company's employees into providing them information that could be used later in a cyber attack. Pindrop, along with companies like Nuance (the company behind Dragon Naturally Speaking), are trying to solve the threat of the "human" hacking approach we've explored before on SmallBusiness.com, "Social Engineering," a method that is based on age-old confidence games.

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While most small business owners and managers may picture cyber criminals as computer experts who try to break into a super-secure server, one of the most common threats to a business network comes from something called by security specialists, "social engineering." (The rest of us call the method a "con game.") It's an approach that involves a bad guy convincing (conning) a victim to provide them some key bit of information they need to carry out an intended crime. Like "phishing" in email, the method tries to dupe the employee into thinking — by fake caller ID, for example — the caller is from a trusted source.

How does software detect social engineering fraud attemps?

Along with using voice recognition technology (think, Siri), voice security companies use various ways to analyze "voice biometrics" to establish or match an existing "acoustic fingerprint" of a caller. The software might also consider a wide array of variables that will lead it to "flag" or even block a caller, including:

• The origination location of the call


• If the call is coming from a trusted number


• The kind of device or application the caller is using

(In cyber crime), the weakest link is often the human. And social engineering — meaning plain old deceit and trickery — is still one of the best ways for a fraudster to get through defenses.



Vijay Balasubramaniyan, Pindrop Security founder and CEO

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Photos: ThinkStock and Pindrop.com

(via: Fortune.com)

Ways to Save On Mobile Phone Fees When Traveling Internationally | 2016

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Kiplinger.com outlines options—some new—for lowering the cost of using your mobile phone when traveling internationally. Here are their suggestions along with some tips from SmallBusiness.com users.

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Add an international plan to your phone

It may not save money on calls, but it will often save money on the time you spend setting up other ways to save. And in many cases, because they recognize the competition of some of the other suggestions below, U.S. carriers are making their international deals more appealing. (Note: Some older phones can't be used in these plans. And by the time you read this, these plans may be out of date, so be sure to check with your carrier for their most recent plan update.)

T-Mobile | Offers a bundled plan that offers texting, data and $0.20 per minute calls for travel in 145 countries.

Sprint | Similar to T-Mobile

Verizon | TravelPass is a service that lets you transfer your domestic plan's talk, text and data allowances to more than 65 countries for a small daily fee ($2 for Canada and Mexico, $10 for all others).

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Tip: Keep Your Phone in Airplane ModeThe easiest way to keep from racking up international roaming charges is by putting it in airplane mode. Even when your phone is in airplane mode, you can use WiFi.

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Use WiFi and a free app

In many countries, public WiFi is near ubiquitous—especially in hotels that cater to business travelers. (However, you need to be aware of the associated WiFi security risks and take precautions.) If your calls are primarily outgoing, you can save money on phone calls by using WiFi and the audio features of apps like Skype, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. They let you call, text and send photos and videos to other app users at no cost. Some (Skype, for instance) even let you call mobile numbers or landlines for a few cents a minute. Google's Hangouts Dialer offers most calls to the U.S. and Canada for free.

Go local with a SIM card

You may want the security of knowing you can call, text or look up directions on your phone at all times. If you're visiting a single country, you own an unlocked phone and you plan to make mostly local calls, popping out your SIM card and substituting a local SIM card upon arrival can be economical. Prices vary widely, but Dave Dean, founder of TooManyAdapters.com, a travel technology website, says you'll generally pay between $10 and $50 to get a month's allotment of calls, texts and data. (This is difficult to do in some countries, so you need to do research on your specific destination.)

Go local with cellular WiFi

If your phone is locked or you want to keep your U.S. phone number for calls and texts but avoid data roaming charges, you can buy or rent a mobile hotspot device, a pocket-size gadget that creates a personal wireless connection. Services like XCom Global charge around $14.95 per day to connect up to 10 devices. (Remember to keep your phone in airplane mode.)

Get a Free Google Voice phone

Google Voice is an amazing service, but it can be a little confusing to set up and take advantage of all its features. It provides you with a phone number that will ring all of your devices at once, transcribe voicemails, tracks missed calls, lets you dial international numbers cheaply and more. You can even set up a local phone number in a different city if you plan on being there for an extended period.

via: Kiplinger.com

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Do you have any more tips about saving money on mobile phones while traveling international? Add your comments below or email Tips@SmallBusiness.com.

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Photo: ThinkStock, Maps: Wikimedia Commons

Negotiating Tip: Use Precise Numbers, Not Round Ones

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From the Harvard Business School Working Knowledge website, comes this tip for next time you are negotiating to by a car, house or even a company.

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When making an offer, use a precise number, not a round one

Offer to buy something for $23.71, not $23 or $24. Why? In recent research conducted by two HBS professors, mergers and acquisitions investors who offered “precise” bids for company shares yielded better market outcomes than those investors who offered round-number bids. Not only were sellers more likely to accept a precise bid, they were more likely to accept it at a cheaper price.

The research is not unique to this study–it matches outcomes in similar research ranging from the use of an online game based on the TV show, The Price is Right, to negotiations involving real estate.

Why?

“A round number gives the signal that the party doesn’t really know what it’s doing,” according to Matti Keloharju, a visiting scholar at Harvard Business School and co-author, with Petri Hukkanen, of the research. "Precision indicates determination" and the kind of confidence that communicates that the bidder has done the research necessary to know exactly what the value of something is.

But don't go overboard!

Keloharju warns that a bid too precise may make the bidder look suspicious, or even ridiculous, to the recipient. "Bidding $1.03 million for a house is one thing. Bidding $1,033,235.83 is another.“If a bid is too precise, it may strike as strategic to the recipient, rather than being driven by superior information,” Keloharju says.

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via: HBS Working Knowledge

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Featured photo: ThinkStock | Photo of Mule Auction: Tanya via Flikr

President’s Budget to Propose Rule Change Allowing Multiple Small Businesses to Create Joint 401(k) Plans

(via NYTimes.com) President Obama will propose in his 2017 budget new rules that would make it easier for small businesses to join together to form 401(k) retirement plans for their workers, even if the businesses are in different industries, administration officials said Monday.

The officials said that the proposal, if accepted by the Republican-led Congress, could make retirement plans available to more people by reducing administrative costs and compliance issues, which are sometimes too great for a single small business to bear.

Quote:

In addition to the 401(k) proposal, Mr. Obama’s budget will include other modest retirement initiatives, including one that would require businesses with more than 10 employees to automatically enroll their workers in an individual retirement account, known as an I.R.A., if the businesses do not offer a separate retirement savings program.

President Obama has made similar proposals in previous budgets but they have failed to gain the necessary bipartisan support necessary to be enacted.

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(Continue reading at NYTimes.com: "Obama to Urge Easing 401(k) Rules for Small Businesses")

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Photo: ThinkStock

Government Services for Small Business: USDA Rural Development

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When most people think about U.S. government programs that were created by Congress and the President to support the creation and on-going operation of small businesses, the first agency that comes to mind is likely the Small Business Administration. However, in nearly every agency of the U.S. government, there are small-business focused programs, contract "set-asides," research grants, loan guarantee programs and more. In the coming weeks, we will be introducing these agencies and programs to the users of SmallBusiness.com. Today, we've small town and rural small business expert Becky McCray to provide use with an overview of the Rural Development program of the U.S. Department Agriculture. (Learn more about Becky in this article's by-line info-box.)

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The USDA's Rural Development program was created to improve the economy and quality of life in rural America. It is a huge, wide-ranging program with a big challenge. As more and more of America's youth have migrated to its urban centers, it has become more-and-more apparent  to economists and lawmakers that encouraging economic development in rural areas and small towns is vital to all Americans who rely on the food, fuel and goods these communities produce. And that would be all of us.

The program offer loans, grants and loan guarantees to support essential services such as housing, economic development, health care, first responder services and equipment, and water, electric and communications infrastructure. It promotes economic development by supporting loans to businesses through banks, credit unions and community-managed lending pools and offers technical assistance and information to help agricultural producers and cooperatives get started and improve the effectiveness of their operations.

Finding ways to connect market needs with products produced, grown or manufactured in rural areas is the challenge for the USDA's Rural Development team. Working with state, academic and regional agencies,  they fund through grants and loans programs to strengthen utilities, encourage home ownership, improve community facilities which can include any facility you might think a small town needs: fire departments, libraries, community centers, health care facilities, and on and on.

I've personally been involved in some projects with Rural Development teams and found them quite a positive force for rural places. Of course, with any large organization, some of them can be hampered by "stuck in their ways" thinking, but  that's the exception, not the rule.

Some specific objectives of the USDA Rural Development program

• Assist in helping people find affordable housing


• Help people become first-time homeowners


• Connect America's remote towns with medical providers and business customers via technology and communications


• Improve critical water and other community facilities


• Through energy efficiency, lower utility costs for residents and businesses through energy efficiency


• Bolster local and regional food systems


• Support the creation and growth of small businesses

Rural development programs for businesses

• Business Industry Loan Guarantees


• Intermediary Relending Program


• Rural Business Development Grants


• Rural Business Investment Program


• Rural Economic Development Loan, Grant Program


• Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program


• Value Added Producer Grants


• Rural Cooperative Development Grants


• Advanced Biofuel Payment Program


• Repowering Assistance Program


• Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program


• Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Energy Audits, Renewable Energy Development Grants


• Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency Loans, Grants


• Strategic Economic and Community Development

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By the numbers: 2015 USDA Rural Development activities that support business development

1.1 million | # of loans, guaranteed loans, and grants to support housing

150,000 | Families helped to buy, refinance or repair their homes

11,931 | Loans and grants to support community facilities

10,623 | Loans and grants to support rural water and wastewater services

2,491 | projects to support broadband and rural electric services



$1.8 Billion | Funds provided for services such as schools, hospitals, day care centers, first-responder vehicles and equipment and other needs.

24,000 | projects to support rural businesses and entrepreneurship.

12,500 | new rural businesses started with some form or backing or guarantee

$1.5 billion |  in loans, loan guarantees and grants to small businesses

Small Business Information and Resources for Extreme Winter Weather

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At SmallBusiness.com, we know how the weather can impact small businesses in many ways. For instance, the day we shared this, a huge section of the eastern U.S. is covered (or about to be) in a major blanket of snow. Here are some places to find answers to snow and winter weather questions — and resources for when that weather turns into a disaster for businesses — thanks to the U.S. National Weather Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Homeland Security.

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National Weather Service Winter Resources

A helpful landing page that leads to a wide range of information about winter weather, including answers to basic questions like, "What's a blizzard?" Here's a list of other snow-related phenomena:

• Blizzard: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with snow and blowing snow frequently reducing visibility to less than a quarter mile for 3 hours or more.


• Blowing Snow: Wind-driven snow that reduces visibility. Blowing snow may be falling snow and/or snow on the ground picked up by the wind.


• Snow Squalls: Brief, intense snow showers accompanied by strong, gusty winds. Accumulation may be significant.


• Snow Showers: Snow falling at varying intensities for brief periods of time. Some accumulation is possible.


• Flurries: Light snow falling for short durations with little or no accumulation.


• Avalanche: A mass of tumbling snow. More than 80 percent of midwinter avalanches are triggered by a rapid accumulation of snow and 90 percent of those avalanches occur within 24 hours of snowfall. An avalanche may reach a mass of a million tons and travel at speeds up to 200 mph.

National Weather Service Snow Analysis

Serious data for those who are really into snow. Of course, there are lots of small businesses that depend on such snow analysis for their work, so understanding snow is a major issue for lots of businesses in agriculture, recreation, construction and many other fields.

Winter weather emergency preparedness

The National Weather Service refers to winter storms as the Deceptive Killers because most deaths are indirectly related to the storm. Instead, people die in traffic accidents on icy roads and of hypothermia from prolonged exposure to cold. From Ready.gov, here are resources for how to prepare your family, yourself and your business for winter weather before it strikes.

Weather Prediction Center

While there are unlimited sources for weather predictions, the vast majority of data used to make those predictions comes from the National Weather Service. Here is a landing page that can point you to dozens of different ways that will help you talk about the weather, but none that allows anyone to change it. (Yet.)

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Photos, maps: NOAA, NWS

Video via YouTube

How to Apologize for Being Late for a Meeting (and How Not to)

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There's a right way and a wrong way to tell people you are sorry for being late for a meeting. According to Peter Bregman, author of Four Seconds: All the Time You Need to Stop Counter-Productive Habits and Get the Results You Want, here are the wrong and right ways.

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Wrong way to apologize for being late | Append it with an excuse: "My meeting ran long."
Why it doesn't work | Adds insult to injury: "My time is more important than your's."

Right way to apologize for being late | Focus your apology on the impact you’ve made or the problems you’ve caused. “Sorry for keeping you waiting” or “I’m so sorry for taking up more of your time” or even “Thank you for your flexibility.”
Why it works | If you show everyone that you’re sorry for using up their valuable time, your apology will sound much more sincere.

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Peak Work Performance Summit via BusinessInsider.com, LifeHacker.

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Photo: ThinkStock

How to Fill up 1,000 Concert Seats the Midtown Men Way

Christian Hoff at my rooftop
Photo credit: Michael Hull of VictoriaGlobal.co

In late June 2015, I had a chance to interview Christian Hoff, a Tony Award winner and one of the four members of the Midtown Men band. Hoff, along with his three multi-talented band members, were previously part of the the original Jersey Boys. Today, the Midtown Men band can fill a 750 to 1,000 seater venue with fans of old school music, from all age groups. In their fifth season now, Hoff, Daniel Reichard, Michael Longoria and Tony Award nominee J. Robert Spencer revitalize their audiences with live musical performances from the 60s. Apart from performing in select cities, The Midtown Men occasionally offer a symphonic interpretation of shows that they host with re-known ensembles such as Philly POPs.



From left to right: Pat Palumbo, Hoff's manager, Christian Hoff and Judy Sahagian
Photo credit: Will Fang of VictoriaGlobal.co

Growing naturally
The quartet ran the Jersey Boys band back in 2005, a band which, nowadays, runs globally with different crew members. When they were still touring the country as the Jersey Boys, band member Michael Longoria took up double roles as Frankie Valli and Joe Pesci. And now the Midtown Men continue to bring the 60s music to life the same way they did when they were part of the Jersey Boys, the major difference is that they are not playing characters. The four Midtown Men portray themselves, bringing the 60s music through their perspectives with a mix of chemistry and personal flair. It has been 5 years now since The Midtown Men have come into existence, and since then, they have experienced an organic growth like no other. Today, the band does 80-100 shows a year in different cities as they travel across the country. In 2006, The Midtown Men received a Tony Award for best show, while Christian Hoff received a Tony Award for best supporting actor.



The Midtown Men at Kennedy Center in a performance with
National Symphony Orchestra
Photo credit: wpengine.netdna-cdn.com

The band I saw perform in New York City's Beacon Theater this past June was a band that was having the time of their lives on stage while singing 60s music renditions. They are popular for their "jump to your feet" performances that feature top hits by The Beatles, The Temptations, The Jackson 5, The Beach Boys, and The Four Seasons. The latter is especially close to the hearts of The Midtown Men because during their days as the original Jersey Boys, they brought the story of The Four Seasons to life each single night.

During the Beacon Theater show, the incomparable Petula Clark and, former member of the girl group Crystals, Lala Brooks joined The Midtown Men on stage for cameo guest performances. Other monumental stars who accompanied them were Shirley Alston Reeves of The Shirelles and Gene Corniche, lead guitarist and founding member of the rock band The Rascals. This added excitement to what was already an amazing show, making it a night to remember. And to add to the excitement, an interactive video wall was placed on stage behind the artists showing images of the original singers. This interactive media concept was brilliant as it helped us, people of a younger generation, understand and appreciate the singing legends and their songs even more.



From left to right: Daniel Reichard, Christian Hoff, Petula Clark, Michael Longoria
and J. Robert Spencer at the Beacon Theater show
Photo credit: broadwayworld.com

What makes this band unique?

One might wonder what makes The Midtown Men different from the average 1960s music band. According to Hoff, what gets people to fill seats in concert halls is the fact that The Midtown Men do songs from the 60s with a fresh touch of classical music. The band brings life to old school classics that is not simply a tribute or nostalgia. They understand these classics and their roots in ways that not even cover bands of the time do. Hoff says members of the band are also actors who love dramaturgy, this enhances the beauty of their live theater, live music, and live performances. These are the factors that, when combined, get people on their feet, moving and grooving.





Christian and me
Photo credit: Mike Hull of VictoriaGlobal.co

But how did the quartet get such a strong grasp of that music from long ago? Hoff explained he and the other three members of the band spent some two weeks in Broadway learning about the music of the time. They studied the music business, the socioeconomics and politics during the 60s, the instrumentation, the dance styles and other aspects concerning the decade. When they founded the Jersey Boys, they needed to be aware of the politics and the way the music business was at the time. In addition, they also studied their competition, the Four Seasons who were signed on by Motown Records in 1971, and were instrumental in shaping the sounds of the 60s. This is why it would be an amazing experience if Berry Gordy, Jr., founder of Motown Records, would record the Midtown Men one day.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

How to Avoid a New Cyber Attack Attempting to Access Small Business Bank Funds

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Research released today from the security firm, Symantec, found that criminals are using a new attack against hundreds of small business employees in the U.S., U.K. and India. The emails contained publically available "remote access trojans" (RATs) – malware that allowed the criminals to use infected computers to steal money from the bank accounts of the small businesses. As we shared last September, banks are not required to refund money stolen from small business accounts, making the attack an especially dangerous if successful.

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How the attackers do it

• The attackers rely on social engineering (see glossary, below)
• Attackers send legitimate-looking, but malicious, emails to small business employees responsible for accounts and fund transfers.
• The email appears to be from someone the email user knows.
• The emails include archive file attachments, usually with the .zip extensions.
• If the employee opens the file, their computer is infected with either Backdoor.Breut or Trojan.Nancrat.
• Through these infections, the attackers can access the webcam and microphone, log keystrokes, steal files and passwords, and more.
• The attackers have been observed using the targeted employee’s privileged access to transfer money to an account under their control.
• Once a computer is compromised, the attackers spend time assessing it to find out how to steal the money.
• In some cases, attackers have been known to even download manuals to figure out how to use certain financial software.
• After they are finished with the computer, they return to sending emails to other targets.

Social Engineering | Attackers attempt to "con" an individual to share information or click-on buttons rather than attempting a technical breach of data
Spoofing | An email can appear to come an address of someone you know
RATs | "Remote access trojans" once inside your computer, allows the attacker access to sensitive data
Bacdoor.Breut | A trojan horse that opens a back door on the compromised computer. It then records keystrokes and may download more files on to the compromised computer.
Trojan.Nancrat | A trojan horse that opens a back door and steals information from the compromised computer.

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Examples of subject lines of the email used by the attackers

• Re:Invoice
• PO
• Remittance Advice
• Payment Advise
• Quotation Required
• Transfer Copy
• TT Payment
• PAYMENT REMITTANCE
• INQUIRY
• Qoutation
• QUOTATION
• Request for Quotation

Huge impact with few resources

• While advanced attack groups attract a lot of attention in the news, it’s important to remember that less skilled attackers can still cause major damages to a targeted company.
• Even though the attackers in this case have limited resources, they can use Backdoor.Breut and Trojan.Nacrat to gain total access to a computer.
• By focusing their RAT infections on specific employees, the attackers can potentially steal a substantial amount of money and sensitive information from affected businesses.

Take these measures to prevent the attack

• If you do not have in-house tech support, retain the services of a tech support service
• Keep security software up to date
• Do not open attachments or click on links in suspicious email messages
• Avoid providing any personal information when answering an email
• Never enter personal information in a pop-up web page
• If you’re uncertain about an email’s legitimacy, contact your computer consultant

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Photo: Warner Bros (promotional)

U.S. Trade & Export Resources for Small Businesses

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According to the Small Business Administration, nearly 96% of the world's consumers live outside of the United States, and two-thirds of the world’s purchasing power is in countries other than the U.S. In other words, if you’re not yet exporting, you're potentially missing out on a lot. Even if you're not sure where to start–or do know, but need some more guidance–fear not: Your business may be small by definition, but with the help of these four resources, you can be well on the way to international success.

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Export Assistance Centers

There are assistance centers across the United States that were set up exclusively to help small businesses  with exporting topics. United States Exporting Assistance Centers (USEACs) are staffed by professionals from the SBA, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Export-Import Bank and other public and private organizations. USEACs can help you understand the global marketplace and get you organized to join in and succeed. Some USEACs also have SBA representatives who are available to help you with your SBA export financing needs.

Export Business Planner

The SBA Export Business Planner (PDF) is a downloadable tool that provides you with an introduction to exporting and helps you determine your export readiness. It then walks you through training and counseling information; marketing plan and financial materials; transportation and documentation details and more. The Planner also provides practical worksheets, templates and forms, in addition to a glossary of industry terms and even more helpful resources.

Export.gov’s FAQ

If you have any questions about exporting, this is the place to go. Browse its frequently asked questions page with ease, as they’ve organized responses by categories. From exporting basics to trade agreements and regulations, this is a good place to start if you’re looking to learn more but aren’t quite sure where to start.

USTDA Consultant Database

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) maintains a database of companies and individuals who provide fee-based consulting services to small businesses interested in importing and exporting. Best of all: Almost all contracts with USTDA are reserved for small businesses, specifically small businesses dedicated to technical experts qualified in the areas of energy and power; project finance; health; manufacturing; mining; natural resources; telecommunications and information technology; transportation; and water and the environment.

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(Featured photo: ThinkStock.com)

New Small Businesses Are Emerging From the On-Demand Economy

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Background: For the past year, SmallBusiness.com has been exploring the topic of the emerging "on-demand" economy, a term coined to describe an app-enabled marketplace that instantly matches those who need a product or service with providers of such products and services. The largest and most visible example of a real-time, on-demand marketplace is the ride-sharing company Uber. So many start-up companies are modeled after Uber (for markets other than ride-sharing) that tech and finance pundits refer to them as “Uber for X” businesses. Other terms used to describe the on-demand economy, or facets of it, include the “sharing economy,” the “access economy,” the “gig economy,” the “1099 economy” and others.

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Some of the biggest brands serving the small business market—like Intuit—are recognizing that the on-demand business model is growing what is already the largest segment of small businesses,  "sole proprietorships" or a "single employee" businesses. (See our description of the Four Categories of Small Business.)

New products are being developed for on-demand service providers

According to Intuit CEO Brad Smith, the on-demand economy "reduces the friction and risk associated with starting a business." This is leading Intuit to "re-imagine" its financial products to serve these new entrepreneurs. Their first product developed for this on-demand economy category is a QuickBooks Self-Employed product. "The new product helps users untangle their income streams and get a handle on their tax situation," Smith says. "It's saving self-employed customers $3,800 on average in tax savings annually." According to Smith, QuickBooks Self-Employed "is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we and others—in both the private and public sectors—can do to support these new entrepreneurs."

The emerging policy debate: Employees or sole proprietors?

As we've reported (see a list of other stories appearing at the top of this page), there are many regulatory and legal threats by city, state and federal agencies that seek to classify on-demand providers as employees, not self-employed. However, the future of on-demand economy opportunities for independent workers hinges on a policy environment that is flexible for service providers. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and President of Purdue University and former Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN) are advocating that local, state and federal lawmakers create the type of regulatory environment that supports the on-demand economy's roles in business creation.

How does the on-demand economy help develop "companies of one"?

According to Steve King* of Emergent Research and a regular contributor to SmallBusiness.com, here are some reasons why the on-demand economy provides a solid framework for the creation of single-employee businesses (sole proprietorships):

• There is less time, effort and money associated with getting a typical one-employee business up and running
• On-demand jobs can be arranged in a matter of hours or even minutes via the internet
• (In most cases) schedules are completely under the control of the worker and workers can stop or start their work whenever they want.
• On-demand platforms provide access to customers, one of the biggest challenges associated with starting any business

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"We’re early in the game, but the potential to fuel a whole new wave of innovation and support an expanding entrepreneurial population is before us. We must lean in and find ways to help this new breed of entrepreneurs truly thrive." – Brad Smith, CEO, Intuit

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*Disclosure: Steve King and Emergent Research have conducted research for Intuit.

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Photo: Uber Australia

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, January 18, 2016

There is a sort of poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance…

The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually. We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The Quest for Peace and Justice"
December 11, 1964

For more information about MLK Day of Service activities in your community, visit NationalService.gov/mlkday.

(Featured Photo: Scott Ableman via Flickr.)

Celine Dion's Brother Daniel Dead At 59 After Battle With Cancer

Daniel Dion, brother to Celine Dion, has died at age 59 of cancer. The news comes just two days after Celine Dion lost her husband, René Angélil, to throat cancer at the age of 73.

A tribute for Daniel Dion will take place on Saturday, Jan. 23 at Salon Charles Rajotte in Repentigny. There will also be a religious funeral at at St-Simon-et-Jude, in Charlemagne Québec.

"Battling cancer for a few years, it's in the uttermost discretion and surrounded by his family that Daniel Dion, 59, died today, January 16," reads a statement about his death, printed in full by People. "He was the eighth child of Thérèse and Adhémar Dion, brother of Céline."

"His last days were in the wonderful care of the doctors and personnel at Maison Adhémar-Dion, a palliative care center in Terrebonne Québec. For those wishing to send flowers, a donation to that organization would be very much appreciated."

On January 14, Celine Dion's team shared news of her husband's death on her Facebook page.

"It is with deep sadness that we announce that René Angélil, aged 73, died this morning at her residence in Las Vegas after a long and courageous fight against cancer," the post read. "The family wishes to live the mourning in privacy. Other information you will be provided in the next few days."

To read the full statement about Daniel Dion, head over to People.

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Small Business Gadget: Oristand, The Best Industrial Cardboard Stand Up Desk Ever

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Follow SmallBusiness.com's board Standing Desks / Stand Up Desks on Pinterest.

The Pinterest.com/SmallBusiness board above, devoted to examples of standing desks, should convince you that we're obsessed fascinated with the merits and long, proud history of standing desks. We're always seeking the better mousetraps of stand up desks—especially those that come up with a new twist to the preferred desk of great thinkers and writers like Jefferson and Hemingway. Also, it's great if the new idea makes having a standing desk more affordable and easy to store.

We think we've now seen the most creative, affordable and easy to transport-and-store-away standing desk idea ever, the Oristand.

According to Vancitybuzz.com, Ryan Holmes, the founder of Hootsuite, created the Oristand with Steve Suchy and Nathan Martell. Holmes decided to create an inexpensive, simple option after experiencing back pain.

Features and specifications

Material | made from industrial-weight cardboard
2 lbs. | Total weight
Sturdy | Can support weight of laptop and keyboard
5′ to 6′ | Works for people between five and six feet tall
Easy Assembly | Easy to set up or take down
Portable | Made to move around
Inexpensive | One for $25, 5 for $100)

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“Many companies want to provide stand up desks as an option to enhance the work environment and promote the overall health and well-being of employees, however cost is a big barrier. The investment is simply not feasible for many small-to-medium sized businesses. We wanted to create a product that would solve this problem for both companies and employees.” – Ryan Holmes

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Suggestion: To understand the clever design of the Oristand, watch this short video.

Oristand on Vimeo.

via: VancityBuzz

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(Images via Oristand.com)

How to Update Your Google Business Listing Directly on the Search Results Page

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Earlier this week, Google rolled out a feature that allows a business to directly edit their business information via the desktop and mobile versions of Knowledge Panels and the Local Finder (those information "preview boxes" Google uses on its search-results page) without visiting the Google My Business Dashboard. When you are logged into Google with an account that has the ownership or management of the listing, the information made on the search-results page listing will flow, in what seems like real time, back to the dashboard and out to the listing wherever it might show. 

Here's how it works.*

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1 | Click "Suggest an Edit"

Make sure you are logged into Google with an account that you've verified for editing  your business listing.

2 | Click the pencil-icon to edit information

3 | After editing, click "Send"

4 |  Google My Business Dashboard

Because you are the verified user, your edits will show up automatically on the Google My Business Dashboard and other places the listing is used.

5 | You can edit through the mobile browser

6 | When finished, you'll receive an email like this.

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More information about the new feature can be found on Mike's blog,

*Early-adopter glitch-watch from Mike: Currently (1.14.2016), if there are no current hours of operation, you apparently cannot enter them from this location; you have to go to the Dashboard to do that. Entering simple changes, such as changing the default phone number to the toll-free number, is simple. Changing hours is not always as straightforward. If there are currently different times for different days, you will see as many lines as necessary, with the days and times shown.  Simply change the hours as needed and click Send.

How-to Add a Clever Index System to Your Business Notebooks

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If you are a note-taker and fill notebooks with information about various topics, Makezine.com offers this clever idea for adding an index at the end of your notebook that will later make it easy to find the information you're seeking. These steps for creating the index are from Adam of the blog, HighFiveHQ, who, in this example, is keeping notes for a cookbook.  

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Step 1 | Create an index page and add topics each time you write about something new. While index pages are typically found at the back of a book, you can make the front page your index if you want.

Step 2 | When you write in your notebook, determine the topic(s) that you think will serve as helpful tags later when you want to track down what you wrote.

Step 3 | Add a mark to the edge of the page that corresponds to the position where the topic appears on the index page.

Step 4 | Need to see everything you've written on a specific topic? You can find those notes immediately.

(via:  Makezine.com and HighFiveHQ; photos via: HighFiveHQ)

How to Save Tax and Personal Financial Data Without Having Your Identity Stolen

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The IRS recommends you keep tax forms and supporting documents a minimum of three years to a maximum of seven years. However, in an era of digital records and identity theft, the IRS, in cooperation with state revenue departments, has recognized the need to better educate individuals and small businesses about ways to securely save these records, whether digitally or in print.

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How long you should save records, and why

3 Years | Timeframe that allows you to file amended returns, or if questions arise on your tax return

7 Years | Timeframe that allows filing a claim for adjustment in a case of bad debt deduction or a loss from worthless securities

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Saving records digitally

As the IRS requires businesses to file their tax return form via its free eFile system, saving forms and supporting documents you provide the IRS is becoming more-and-more a digital practice. However, the documents you use in preparing taxes (or provide to your preparer) can often be on paper. Whether you are saving tax-related material on paper or digitally, you need to be aware that many of these forms and documents contain the Social Security numbers of you, your spouse and dependents, employees and include income and bank account information. Because of the sensitive data, the loss or theft of these documents could lead to identity theft and have an economic impact.

Follow these steps to better protect tax records you save

• If you retain paper records, you should keep them in a secure location, preferably under lock and key, such as a secure desk drawer or a safe.
• If you retain your records electronically on your computer, you should always have an electronic back-up, in case your hard drive crashes.
• You should encrypt any tax-related files both on your computer and any back-up drives you use.
• You may have to purchase encryption software to ensure security.

Dispose of old tax records properly

• Never toss paper tax returns and supporting documents into the trash.
• Any financial or health records should be shredded before disposal.
  • If you ever dispose of an old computer or back-up hard drive, don't forget there's sensitive data on them.
  • Wipe the drives of any electronic product you trash or sell, including tablets and mobile phones, to ensure you remove all personal data. (This may require special disk utility software.)

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Additional IRS Resources

• Security Awareness for Taxpayers (PDF)
• Taxpayer Bill of Rights
• Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft
• Publication 5027: Identity Theft Information for Taxpayers
• Identity Protection: Prevention, Detection and Victim Assistance (PDF)
• Fact Sheet 2015-23, IRS, States and Industry Partners Provide Update on Collaborative Fight Against Tax-Related Identity Theft

IRS YouTube Videos

• Taxes. Security. Together. – English

IRS Podcasts

• IRS Efforts on Identity Theft (MP3) – English | Spanish

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And remember: As we always remind you when providing information (even information from the IRS) about taxes, you need to seek the advice of your trusted advisors (like your CPA or tax attorney). Everyone's situation is unique (for example, state requirements may vary).

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(Photos: ThinkStock)

Woman Climbs Into A Storm Drain To Rescue A Tiny Kitten

There's nothing worse than hearing an animal in distress and having no way to help. Usually, you have to call the local authorities to get a lost pup or kitten out of a sticky situation, but by the time they get there? It could be too late for the little one.

 

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.