
This is the first of a four-part series called "Big Ideas Small Business." This new editorial series spotlights the best practices for small business leaders working to grow their companies. "Big Ideas, Small Business" is sponsored by The UPS Store.
At small businesses and startups, there can be a clear division between what the founder knows and what his employees do, even if they spend all day working in close quarters. Often, there's not a leadership team, but just a leader, someone who unilaterally makes decisions about hiring, salary, and the direction of the business.That can create problems, like when people start comparing salaries,?and even reduce employee motivation because they feel undervalued and disconnected from the company.
One big idea that a number of companies are trying is going in the opposite direction entirely, becoming completely, radically transparent.
One example is Boulder, Colorado based Namaste Solar, a solar panel installation company, which keeps all salary information transparent and available to employees.
"Usually, salary is an emotional and sticky situation," co-founder and CEO Blake Jones says. "They have an emotional impact on all of us and in the end, people actually waste more time and energy wondering how much Bob or Jill is making and thinking the worst."
Every employee at the company has the opportunity to become a co-owner, to buy stock and a voting right. Changes to company policies, including compensation, have to be approved by a unanimous vote of the whole board, which consists of almost every employee.
"We're all employee owners, and we love it," Jones says. "We wanted to have an elite team that's going to contribute. When you have different people weighing in with different decisions, you create this team-oriented, open environment."?
New York based startup SumAll, which provides data analytics for small businesses, does something similar.?
They also reveal everybody's salaries, and take it a step further, revealing the company's entire capital structure. Everybody knows how much of the company is owned by each employee, and how much is owned by investors.
"When you hide your cap table, it's one of the easiest evils to do in your life," Atkinson says. "You can?tell an employee that they have a huge amount of value and options but you don?t tell them the total allocation of the company ... and it hurts somebody else."
It means you have to explain salaries and equity stakes, and collaborate on those decisions. But once you explain it, it's over. You don't run into situations where somebody finds out a peer has a higher salary, is angry or confused, but has no open way to communicate about it.
Founder and CEO Dane Atkinson told Business Insider that transparency and shared decision making have helped him hold on to top talent.
"Most of our team has refused offers from?Google?and?Facebook?and whatnot in the last few months," Atkinson says. "They are unshakable because once they get that sense of?being part of a family and that openness in a company, it's really hard to go away from it."?
"We just want to be the counterpoint to the corporate culture that?s out there. We want to help people understand that there are other ways to build successful organizations," Atkinson says. "You don?t have to fight over information and be overly protective. If you are open and you do take this route, it can work and it?s been working very well for us."
It's an idea that can apply to pretty much any decision or strategy, and saves a great deal of time. When people know why something's happening, and have all the information they could possibly want or need, they don't waste time repeatedly going back to their boss with questions that they could have answered for themselves at a more transparent company.?
In The Collaboration Imperative, Ron Ricci and Carl Wiese write:?
When you?re open and transparent about the answers to three questions ? who made the decision, who is accountable for the outcomes of the decision, and is that accountability real ? people in organizations spend far less time questioning how or why a decision was made. Think of how much time is wasted ferreting out details when a decision is made and communicated because the people who are affected don?t know who made the decision or who is accountable for its consequences.
People that know why something's being done perform better than people simply told to carry out a task.
That doesn't mean this is easy, or that transparency's like a switch you can flip on and instantly motivate employees. When new information's revealed, there's going to be a flurry of questions and a lot of necessary explanation. When decision making is collaborative, it sometimes takes longer.
"It's very, very different than anything else. I have to spend a lot more time selling things to people," SumAll CEO Dane Atkinson told us.?"I have to explain things because it's not just me making the decisions. So sometimes it takes a bit longer for me to get things off the ground. That's especially true for things like cap tables, accretion and dilution, the sort of venture capital stuff I usually would have handled on my own."
It's a hard decision for a business, and one that requires a lot of sacrifice and effort from those at the top. But there are few things more effective at making people feel like part of a company and able to talk about concerns and frustrations, rather than keeping them secret. ? ??
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/radical-transparency-in-small-business-2013-1
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For those who haven't yet found a reason to check out the three-month old PlayStation Mobile store, Sony's got a rather compelling one for ya: freebies. Starting today, one game will be available gratis every seven days as part of a "New Year giveaway," which will last six weeks in total. To obtain the complimentary titles, you'll need either a Vita, or a device that's been PS-Certified -- an honor currently bestowed upon several Sony slates, a bunch of Xperia and Sharp handsets, and HTC's One series Android phones. Samurai Beatdown is the first cross-platform game to lose its price tag, so if you've got rhythm, hack and slash your way over to the PlayStation Mobile store to get downloading.
Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Tablets, Mobile, Sony, HTC
Source: Sony PlayStation Blog
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/16/playstation-mobile-new-year-giveaway/
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Franchising is becoming more popular because franchisors offer a tried and true path to success, with people turning to trusted brands to start their businesses. The Coverall Franchise System leads the franchise industry in minority representation.
The Coverall Franchise System leads the franchise industry in minority representation at 86%. The average in the industry is only 15% with African Americans making up 4%, per Eric Stites, CEO and Managing Director of Franchise Business Review, an independent franchise market research firm. Why so few? ?Mostly due to a lack of awareness and capital; however, opportunities are plentiful if you know where to look.?
As Black Enterprise states, Coverall is ?within one of the hottest sectors poised to flourish within the industry,? and franchisors like Coverall offer alternative financing to help entrepreneurs access capital.
Coverall Health-Based Cleaning System? is proud to have been named to Black Enterprise magazine?s ?25 Great Franchising Opportunities for African Americans.?
Coverall was chosen as one of the best business opportunities based on its high growth potential and low-to-medium cost of entry, minority participation, veteran incentives, and Franchise Owner satisfaction.
Franchising is becoming more popular because franchisors offer a tried and true path to success, with people turning to trusted brands to start their businesses.
Read the full article here or find out more about the benefits of owning a Coverall Franchise here.
This entry was posted on 15/01/2013 (Tuesday) at 11:48 am and is filed under Franchising, General, Small Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. Printed from: http://blog.coverall.com/black-enterprise-magazine%e2%80%99s-names-coverall-to-%e2%80%9c25-great-franchise-opportunities-for-african-americans%e2%80%9d-list/ .
? Your Name Here 2013.
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By Pritika Nair
If you are a woman entrepreneur looking for more success and better results, here's a secret tool that will help you get there. Meditation - one of the key management skills today. Here are a few quick mantras to help you.
Women today are independent, confident, exude strength and have the potential to carry out every task at its best. And proving equal ability as their male counterpart, they have now ventured out into running successful businesses. However, being a woman entrepreneur has its own set of challenges. Some quick meditation mantras can guide women in this challenging journey. At times when you feel overwhelmed with responsibilities or feel all alone amidst difficult situations, a few minutes of sitting alone with yourself can recharge and rejuvenate you more than you can ever imagine.?
Besides, meditation adds many more skills to women entrepreneurs' kitty.
#1: Juggling home and work becomes easy
Sometimes, juggling home and work can be taxing, especially for business women who don?t always work in 9-5 shifts. A few minutes of meditation during the day can hone the skill to multi- task effortlessly. You will feel fresh and energized to carry out both the duties equally well and also find more time for yourself!
#2: Meditation makes you a natural leader
As a business woman leader, you are a role model for your employees, so it becomes key for you to act with a cool head in all situations as well as remain approachable to your team. Meditation helps polish the intrinsic qualities of a leader ? inner confidence, strength, foresight, clarity and unbiased approach to act in the larger interest of the organization.
#3: Right decisions at the right time
When you meditate regularly, see how your intuition becomes so strong that you naturally start making the right decisions that benefit people and organizations in the long run.
#4: Creative solutions to challenges
As a woman entrepreneur, you are sure to come across challenges at every step, but it is important to be able to find appropriate solutions, again in the larger interest of the whole company. This spontaneity is a skill which meditation helps develop. Meditation instills enthusiasm and zeal in women so that you don?t look at challenges as roadblocks and are prepared to tackle them with an open mind and fresh perspective.
#5: Learning mind management
Management forms an essential part of every organization ? be it health (ensuring that employees are healthy and productive), financial, or employee management. But the mantra for the smooth functioning of day-to-day operations is Mind Management - that is extremely important for a cordial work environment. As a woman entrepreneur, meditation teaches you how to keep your mind calm, relaxed and centered, which reflects in your behavior with others too. Only then can you inspire people to work together with you.
#6: Being assertive rather than aggressive
Being a woman entrepreneur, you may sometimes find yourself getting aggressive with your employees to get work done or make them listen to you. Meditation can teach business women the skill to be polite yet assertive. You will see an innate strength develop in yourself, to bring a diverse bunch of people together and move ahead as a team. You are able to give your team a pleasant, organized and satisfying working experience.
#7: Conflict resolution
Conflicts are natural to every organization and you have a great responsibility to resolve them. How do you negotiate win-win terms in such situations? How do you make people listen to you who are set in their own ideas of right and wrong? This requires a combination of skill and presence. Both these qualities develop naturally in women with meditation. When you meditate, you also develop the patience to listen to all parties with an open mind and make unbiased decisions.
#8: Creating a harmonious, progressive society
As women, we are born compassionate and so women entrepreneurs should use this innate quality ? to create a harmonious and progressive society where people are happy, prosperous and contented. Meditation helps us develop this intent and work towards it. As Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says, ?The role of women today is of utmost importance. In fact, it is the only thing that determines whether a society is strong and harmonious, or otherwise. Women are the backbone of society.?
Inspired by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's wisdom talks.?
Based on inputs by Bharathy Harish, Sahaj Samadhi Meditation Teacher
For more articles on how yoga can help you live a healthy life, click here:?Art of Living
*Image courtesy?ArtofLiving.org?
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President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks during the last news conference of his first term in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks during the last news conference of his first term in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Legislators listen as members explain their vote on New York's Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act in the Assembly Chamber at the Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. New York's Assembly passed the toughest gun control law in the nation and the first since the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, calling for a tougher assault weapons ban and provisions to try to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill who make threats. The measure passed, 104-43. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signs New York's Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act into law during a ceremony in the Red Room at the Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. Jumping out ahead of Washington, New York enacted the nation's toughest gun restrictions Tuesday and the first since the Connecticut school shooting, including an expanded assault-weapon ban and mandatory background checks for buying ammunition. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
A sign lists legislators' names and how they voted on New York's Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act in the Assembly Chamber at the Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. The measure passed, 104-43. New York's Assembly passed the toughest gun control law in the nation and the first since the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, calling for a tougher assault weapons ban and provisions to try to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill who make threats. The measure passed, 104-43. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
Map shows states with mandatory or partial background checks at gun shows
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama is launching the nation's most sweeping effort to curb gun violence in nearly two decades, urging a reluctant Congress to ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like those used in last month's massacre of 20 elementary school children in Newtown, Conn.
The broad package Obama will announce Wednesday is expected to include more than a dozen steps the president can take on his own through executive action. Those measures will provide a pathway for skirting opposing lawmakers, but they will be limited in scope, and in some cases, focused simply on enforcing existing laws.
But Congress would have to approve the bans on assault weapons and ammunition magazines holding more than 10 bullets, along with a requirement for universal background checks on gun buyers. Some gun control advocates worry that opposition from Republicans and conservative Democrats, as well as the National Rifle Association, will be too great to overcome.
"We're not going to get an outright ban," Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., said of limits on assault weapons. Still, McCarthy, a leading voice in Congress in favor of gun control, said she would keep pushing for a ban and hoped Obama would as well.
White House officials, seeking to avoid setting the president up for failure, have emphasized that no single measure ? even an assault weapons ban ? would solve a scourge of gun violence across the country. But without such a ban, or other sweeping Congress-approved measures, it's unclear whether executive actions alone can make any noticeable difference.
"It is a simple fact that there are limits to what can be done within existing law," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday. "Congress has to act on the kinds of measures we've already mentioned because the power to do that is reserved by Congress."
New York's Assembly on Tuesday easily passed the toughest gun control law in the nation and the first since the Connecticut school shootings. The statewide measure includes a tougher assault weapons ban and provisions to try to keep guns out of the hands of mentally ill people who make threats.
Obama will announce his proposals in a midday event at the White House, flanked by children who wrote to him about gun violence following the massacre of 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Law enforcement officials, mayors from across the country and supportive congressional lawmakers are also expected to attend.
Obama has pledged urgent action to prevent future mass shootings, and his plan ? coming just one month after the Newtown attacks ? is swift by Washington standards.
The president's framework is based on recommendations from Vice President Joe Biden, who led a wide-ranging task force on gun violence. Beyond the gun control measures, Biden also gave Obama suggestions for improving mental health care and addressing violent images in video games, movies and television.
The vice president's proposals included 19 steps that could be achieved through executive action.
Obama may order the Justice Department to crack down on people who lie on background checks; only a tiny number are now prosecuted. Such a step has support from the National Rifle Association, which has consistently argued that existing laws must be enforced before new ones are considered.
He also could take steps ordering federal agencies to make more data on gun crimes available and conduct more research on the issue, something Republican congressional majorities have limited through language in budget bills. And he may order tougher penalties against gun trafficking and give schools flexibility to use grant money to improve safety.
Gun control proponent Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., who met with Biden on Monday, said the president is also likely to take executive action to ensure better state reporting of mental health and other records that go into the federal background check database. But he, too, acknowledged there were clear limits to what Obama can do without Congress' say-so.
"You can't change the law through executive order," Scott said.
White House officials signaled that Obama would seek to rally public support for the measures he puts forward, perhaps holding events around the country or relying on Organizing for America, his still-operational presidential campaign.
"The president's success in using this strategy, I think, is pretty notable," Carney said of Obama's efforts to engage the public in previous legislative fights. "He'll absolutely continue to engage with the American people on the policy proposals he's putting forward."
Still, it's unclear how much political capital Obama will exert in pressing for congressional action.
The White House and Capitol Hill will soon be consumed by three looming fiscal deadlines, each of which is expected to be contentious. And the president has also pledged to tackle comprehensive immigration reform early this year, another effort that will require Republicans' support and one in which Obama may be more likely to get their backing.
Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the chamber's top Republican, has warned the White House that it will be at least three months before the Senate considers gun legislation. And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said it is immigration, not gun control, that is at the top of his priority list after the fiscal fights.
House Republican leaders are expected to wait for any action by the Senate before deciding how ? or whether ? to proceed with any gun measure. Publicly, House GOP leaders are being careful not to rule anything out ahead of Obama's announcement.
"I can't respond to any particulars because I haven't even looked at the Biden recommendations, but I can tell you we're all very concerned about the deaths that occurred and the innocent lives lost, and if we bear that in mind, the kinds of things we can do to help make that not happen again," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said Tuesday.
Privately, House Republicans voice skepticism that the debate will even get to the point of Senate action that would require a response by the House.
___
Associated Press writers Josh Lederman in Washington and Michael Virtanen in Albany, N.Y., contributed to this report.
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Hundreds of researchers have been offering free access to their work in tribute to internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide on Friday
Shrapnel and bullets can set off huge explosions if they hit weapons stores. But microchip-based detonators could help keep them safe
Far from being passive hangers-on, symbiotic microbes may shape the evolution of the plants and animals that play host to them
The White House has politely declined to build a version of the planet-destroying space station from Star Wars but took the opportunity to promote science
Grey wolves are an evolutionary success story, giving rise to the domestic dog 10,000 years ago and now rebounding from centuries of persecution
The artist's new exhibition tethers human history to the life of the entire cosmos
Geoscientist Martin Siegert says that drilling through 3 kilometres of ice to reveal the secrets of an entombed lake was never going to be easy
Traditional fans will turn their noses up at e-sports, but they risk missing some compelling action
Even rapid action now to curb emissions will bring only modest results this century, but the earlier we act, the greater the eventual rewards
Professional gaming has been huge in Asia for years, and improved technology means it is now going global

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?Robert Spencer incarnates intellectual courage when, all over the world, governments, intellectuals, churches, universities and media crawl under a hegemonic Universal Caliphate?s New Order. His achievement in the battle for the survival of free speech and dignity of man will remain as a fundamental monument to the love of, and the self-sacrifice for, liberty.?
? Bat Ye?or
?Robert Spencer is indefatigable. He is keeping up the good fight long after many have already given up. I do not know what we would do without him. I appreciate all the intelligence and courage it takes to keep going despite the appeasement of the West.?
? Ibn Warraq
?America's most informed, fearless, and compelling voice on modern jihadism.?
? Andrew C. McCarthy, Senior Fellow at National Review Institute
?Robert Spencer is the leading voice of scholarship and reason in a world gone mad. If the West is to be saved, we will owe Robert Spencer an incalculable debt.?
? Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs
"The consummate Islam critic and expert." ? Bruce Bawer
?Over the years, we have become friends, and I have received his assistance on several pieces of legislation I proposed.?
? Former Congressman Tom Tancredo
?Few people are capable of applying scholarship, analytical reasoning, and objectivity to their topic -- while simultaneously being readable and witty -- as can Robert Spencer.?
? Raymond Ibrahim
?A national treasure...The acclaimed scholar of Islam.?
? Frank Gaffney, Center for Security Policy
?I am indeed honored to call him my friend.?
? Brad Thor, novelist
?A top American analyst of Islam....A serious scholar...I learn from him.?
? Daniel Pipes
?A brilliant scholar and writer.?
? Douglas Murray
"One of my best teachers."
? Ashraf Ramelah, Voice of the Copts
?Thank God there?s at least one man with balls left in the West.?
? Kathy Shaidle, Five Feet of Fury
?I read people like [Mark Steyn] and Bob Spencer and the rest of them, and I say, ?Boortz, you?re pretending you?re an author. These people really are. They really write some entertaining, some standup stuff.??
? Neal Boortz
?Robert Spencer is the Stephen King of Jihad.?
? Chris Gaubatz, Muslim Mafia
?Armed with facts and fearlessness, Spencer stands up for Western civilization.?
? Michelle Malkin
?Widely read in conservative foreign policy circles.?
? New York Times
?Widely read in many quarters in Washington.?
? Washington Post
?A canny operative who likely has the inside track on the State Department?s Middle East affairs desk should the tea party win the White House.?
? New York Magazine
?A hero of the American right.?
? Karen Armstrong
"The leading anti-Islamic intellectual in the United States....The go-to Islam expert for the right wing."
? Salon Magazine
?Robert Spencer is an Edward Said turned upside down.?
? Stephen Suleyman Schwartz
?One of the nation's most notorious Islamophobes.?
? Hamas-linked CAIR
"Geller and Spencer are probably the most important propagandizing Islamophobes in the world. These people's voices speak very loudly ? not just here in the United States but overseas."
? Heidi Beirach, Southern Poverty Law Center
?Satanic ignoramus.?
? Khaleel Mohammed
?The Likud anti-Christ.?
? Dar al-Hayat newspaper (Saudi Arabia)
?Zionist Crusader, missionary of hate, counter-Islam consultant.?
? Al-Qaeda?s Adam Gadahn, ?Azzam the American?
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