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Should you have set business hours
When you run a brick and mortar business like a coffee shop or a grocery store, it goes without saying that you likely have set business hours. These hours are typically posted on the door and customers know exactly when they can expect you to be available.
What happens, then, if your business is primarily online or you operate on a “by appointment only” basis? The assumption that many people seem to have about freelancers and other similar professionals is that they are always “on the clock” and, as such, they are always available to be contacted by current and prospective clients.
There are certainly both advantages and disadvantages to setting standard business hours for situations like this. By having set business hours, it is much easier to achieve a healthy life-work balance, because it is much easier to leave work at work and home at home. This balance can be further enhanced by renting office space outside the home, rather than working out of a spare bedroom. To some, set business hours can also help to legitimize your company.
On the flip side, doing away with conventional business hours can also have its perks. One of the more popular reasons why some people choose entrepreneurship in the first place is the ability to have a more flexible work schedule. Set business hours can feel restrictive by comparison.
Having a more open schedule may mean that you may have greater opportunities to capture a potential sale, both at 3am and 3pm. On the other hand, clients may expect near-instant email responses at any hour of the day and they may even call you during what you consider personal time. The lines blur considerably.
In the end, it is largely a personal decision whether or not you should have set business hours. The best way to find out would be to give both configurations a try, seeing which you favor more.
About the author: http://michaelkwan.com" target="_blank">Michael Kwan is a professional freelance writer based out of Vancouver, Canada. He can be found blogging at http://btr.michaelkwan.com" target="_blank">Beyond the Rhetoric.
Should you have set business hours
When you run a brick and mortar business like a coffee shop or a grocery store, it goes without saying that you likely have set business hours. These hours are typically posted on the door and customers know exactly when they can expect you to be available.
What happens, then, if your business is primarily online or you operate on a “by appointment only” basis? The assumption that many people seem to have about freelancers and other similar professionals is that they are always “on the clock” and, as such, they are always available to be contacted by current and prospective clients.
There are certainly both advantages and disadvantages to setting standard business hours for situations like this. By having set business hours, it is much easier to achieve a healthy life-work balance, because it is much easier to leave work at work and home at home. This balance can be further enhanced by renting office space outside the home, rather than working out of a spare bedroom. To some, set business hours can also help to legitimize your company.
On the flip side, doing away with conventional business hours can also have its perks. One of the more popular reasons why some people choose entrepreneurship in the first place is the ability to have a more flexible work schedule. Set business hours can feel restrictive by comparison.
Having a more open schedule may mean that you may have greater opportunities to capture a potential sale, both at 3am and 3pm. On the other hand, clients may expect near-instant email responses at any hour of the day and they may even call you during what you consider personal time. The lines blur considerably.
In the end, it is largely a personal decision whether or not you should have set business hours. The best way to find out would be to give both configurations a try, seeing which you favor more.
About the author: http://michaelkwan.com" target="_blank">Michael Kwan is a professional freelance writer based out of Vancouver, Canada. He can be found blogging at http://btr.michaelkwan.com" target="_blank">Beyond the Rhetoric.
Should you have set business hours
When you run a brick and mortar business like a coffee shop or a grocery store, it goes without saying that you likely have set business hours. These hours are typically posted on the door and customers know exactly when they can expect you to be available.
What happens, then, if your business is primarily online or you operate on a “by appointment only” basis? The assumption that many people seem to have about freelancers and other similar professionals is that they are always “on the clock” and, as such, they are always available to be contacted by current and prospective clients.
There are certainly both advantages and disadvantages to setting standard business hours for situations like this. By having set business hours, it is much easier to achieve a healthy life-work balance, because it is much easier to leave work at work and home at home. This balance can be further enhanced by renting office space outside the home, rather than working out of a spare bedroom. To some, set business hours can also help to legitimize your company.
On the flip side, doing away with conventional business hours can also have its perks. One of the more popular reasons why some people choose entrepreneurship in the first place is the ability to have a more flexible work schedule. Set business hours can feel restrictive by comparison.
Having a more open schedule may mean that you may have greater opportunities to capture a potential sale, both at 3am and 3pm. On the other hand, clients may expect near-instant email responses at any hour of the day and they may even call you during what you consider personal time. The lines blur considerably.
In the end, it is largely a personal decision whether or not you should have set business hours. The best way to find out would be to give both configurations a try, seeing which you favor more.
About the author: http://michaelkwan.com" target="_blank">Michael Kwan is a professional freelance writer based out of Vancouver, Canada. He can be found blogging at http://btr.michaelkwan.com" target="_blank">Beyond the Rhetoric.
Should you have set business hours
When you run a brick and mortar business like a coffee shop or a grocery store, it goes without saying that you likely have set business hours. These hours are typically posted on the door and customers know exactly when they can expect you to be available.
What happens, then, if your business is primarily online or you operate on a “by appointment only” basis? The assumption that many people seem to have about freelancers and other similar professionals is that they are always “on the clock” and, as such, they are always available to be contacted by current and prospective clients.
There are certainly both advantages and disadvantages to setting standard business hours for situations like this. By having set business hours, it is much easier to achieve a healthy life-work balance, because it is much easier to leave work at work and home at home. This balance can be further enhanced by renting office space outside the home, rather than working out of a spare bedroom. To some, set business hours can also help to legitimize your company.
On the flip side, doing away with conventional business hours can also have its perks. One of the more popular reasons why some people choose entrepreneurship in the first place is the ability to have a more flexible work schedule. Set business hours can feel restrictive by comparison.
Having a more open schedule may mean that you may have greater opportunities to capture a potential sale, both at 3am and 3pm. On the other hand, clients may expect near-instant email responses at any hour of the day and they may even call you during what you consider personal time. The lines blur considerably.
In the end, it is largely a personal decision whether or not you should have set business hours. The best way to find out would be to give both configurations a try, seeing which you favor more.
About the author: http://michaelkwan.com" target="_blank">Michael Kwan is a professional freelance writer based out of Vancouver, Canada. He can be found blogging at http://btr.michaelkwan.com" target="_blank">Beyond the Rhetoric.
Should you have set business hours
When you run a brick and mortar business like a coffee shop or a grocery store, it goes without saying that you likely have set business hours. These hours are typically posted on the door and customers know exactly when they can expect you to be available.
What happens, then, if your business is primarily online or you operate on a “by appointment only” basis? The assumption that many people seem to have about freelancers and other similar professionals is that they are always “on the clock” and, as such, they are always available to be contacted by current and prospective clients.
There are certainly both advantages and disadvantages to setting standard business hours for situations like this. By having set business hours, it is much easier to achieve a healthy life-work balance, because it is much easier to leave work at work and home at home. This balance can be further enhanced by renting office space outside the home, rather than working out of a spare bedroom. To some, set business hours can also help to legitimize your company.
On the flip side, doing away with conventional business hours can also have its perks. One of the more popular reasons why some people choose entrepreneurship in the first place is the ability to have a more flexible work schedule. Set business hours can feel restrictive by comparison.
Having a more open schedule may mean that you may have greater opportunities to capture a potential sale, both at 3am and 3pm. On the other hand, clients may expect near-instant email responses at any hour of the day and they may even call you during what you consider personal time. The lines blur considerably.
In the end, it is largely a personal decision whether or not you should have set business hours. The best way to find out would be to give both configurations a try, seeing which you favor more.
About the author: http://michaelkwan.com" target="_blank">Michael Kwan is a professional freelance writer based out of Vancouver, Canada. He can be found blogging at http://btr.michaelkwan.com" target="_blank">Beyond the Rhetoric.
Would You Give Your $22 Million Company to Charity?
Why I gave away my company to charity
2009-12-04
Two friends were at a party held at the mansion of a billionaire. One said, “Wow! Look at this place! This guy has everything!” The other said, “Yes, but I have something he'll never have: enough.”
When I decided to sell my company in 2008, I already had enough.
I live simply. I hate waste and excess. I have a good apartment, a good laptop, and a few other basics. But the less I own, the happier I am. The lack of possessions gives me the priceless freedom to live anywhere anytime.
Having too much money can be harmful. It throws off perspective. It makes people do stupid things like buy “extra” cars or houses they don't use - or upgrade to first class for “only” $10,000 so they can be a little more comfortable for a few hours.
So I didn't need or even want the money from the sale of the company. I just wanted to make sure I had enough for a simple comfortable life. The rest should go to music education, since that's what made such a difference in my life.
So I came up with a great way to do this. I created a charitable trust called the “Independent Musicians Charitable Remainder Unitrust.” When I die, all of its assets will go to music education. But while I'm alive, it pays out 5% of its value per year to me, to cover my living expenses.
A few months before the sale, I transferred the ownership of CD Baby and HostBaby, all the intellectual property like trademarks and software, into the trust.
It was irreversibly and irrevokably gone. It was no longer mine. It all belonged to the charitable trust.
Then, when Disc Makers bought it, they bought it not from me but from the trust, turning it into $22 million cash to benefit music education.
That's one way to sleep well at night, huh?
So instead of me selling the company - (getting taxed on the income, and giving what's left to charity) - that move of giving away the company to charity then having the charity sell it saved about $5 million in taxes. (That means $5 million more going to music education instead of another tank in Iraq or a banker's bailout bonus.)
Also, the move of giving it away into a trust now - instead of holding on to it until I die - means its investments get to grow and compound tax-free for life, which again means more goes to musicians in the end.
I'm writing this article because many people have asked why I gave it away, so I thought I'd write my long explanation once and for all.
It's not that I'm altruistic. I'm sacrificing nothing. I've just learned what makes me happy. And doing it this way made me the happiest.
I get the deeper happiness of knowing the lucky streak I've had in my life will benefit tons of people - not just me.
I get the pride of knowing I did something irreversibly smart before I could change my mind.
I get the safety of knowing I won't be the target of a frivolous lawsuit, since I have very little net worth.
I get the unburdened freedom of having it out of my hands so I can't do something stupid.
But most of all, I get the constant priceless reminder that I have enough.
Ain't No Rest For The Entrepreneur: Read & Relate
Whenever it happens, it happens big time. When I come across a song that I really enjoy, I listen to it over and over and over again. They call it an "ear worm" when you get a song stuck in your head. Whatever...
This song is no exception from Cage The Elephant, titled "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked" (music video below). If you're someone who pays close attention to ads (I'm guilty and a nerd for it), you'll recognize it from the commercial for a new video game out called Borderlands. Anyways, the chorus of the song really got me thinking about business owners, entrepreneurs, and just straight up people out there hustling and getting their grind on. See what I mean:"Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked,Money don't grow on trees.
I got bills to pay,
I got mouths to feed,
There ain't nothing in this world for free.
I know I can't slow down,
I can't hold back,
Though you know, I wish I could.
No there ain't no rest for the wicked,
Until we close our eyes for good".So true. What do you think?
U.S. Census data shows new and young firms are primary source of new jobs
(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation released a study showing that newly created and young companies are the primary drivers of job creation in the United States. Though perhaps showing some improvement, the Bureau of Labor Statistics update on U.S. employment due out Nov. 6 will likely still show a dismal picture for American workers. Kauffman's analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data showing that companies less than five years old created nearly two-thirds of net new jobs in 2007 could not be timelier.
"Job creation is the number one issue facing families and policymakers during this economic recession, and this study shows that new businesses and entrepreneurs are the key factor in adding new jobs," said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. "If the U.S. economy is going to have a sustained recovery, it will be up to entrepreneurs to lead the way."
The distinction of firm age, not necessarily size, as the driver of job creation has many implications, particularly for policymakers who are focusing on small business as the answer to a dire employment situation. This report shows that most net job creation is generated by firms that are one to five years old. These firms create more net new jobs than their older counterparts, as well as a higher average number of jobs per firm. In some cases, these young firms grow into large companies employing thousands of people. Importantly, these companies could still fail at some point or be acquired by older and larger companies; or they could stop growing and remain the same size indefinitely. Some of these firms, meanwhile, continue to generate positive rates of net job creation at older ages.
"During our study of Census data, we continually find that new and young firms drive economic growth and job creation," said Dane Stangler, senior analyst at the Kauffman Foundation and one of the study's authors. "Within this group of companies, moreover, there is a substantial set of rapidly growing businesses that account for a disproportionate share of net job creation."
Net job growth is marked by churn, the process by which jobs are created and destroyed by shifts in the economy. Each year new companies emerge to create lots of jobs and are succeeded in subsequent years by a new pool of firms. The net effect of this is to consistently add two million new jobs to the economy each year.
"This study sends an important message to policymakers that young firms need extra support in the early years of formation so they can grow into viable job creators," said Robert Litan, vice president of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation and one of the study's authors. "Sometimes a single barrier, such as limited access to credit for business growth, can mean the difference between survival and failure. We must create an environment that aids firm formation and growth if we are going to turn employment around."
Kauffman-funded researchers have highlighted the importance of firm age in previous unpublished papers. But this report, which can be downloaded at right, draws on a new set of data, a Special Tabulation conducted by the Census Bureau at the request of the Kauffman Foundation, calculated from the 2009 Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS). The BDS includes measures of business startups, establishment openings and closings, and establishment expansions and contractions in both the number of establishments and the number of jobs. The BDS data provide these new statistics on an annual basis, with classifications for the total U.S. private sector by broad industrial sector, firm size, firm age and state. Further information about the BDS can be found at http://www.ces.census.gov/index.php/bds/bds_home.
indonesia's young entrepreneurs @ businessweek
BusinessWeek edisi terbaru hari ini diantar ke kantor saya. Headline- nya menarik: 9 pengusaha muda dari Indonesia adalah finalis entrepreneur muda terbaik di Asia versi BusinessWeek.
Saya sudah sering membaca kisah2 mereka. Sangat inspiratif dan menarik. Ingin rasanya diri ini tertulari virus semangat dan kreativitas dari mereka.
Saya juga setia menjadi follower dua orang dari mereka di Twitter. :)
Sent from my iPhone
