By now you probably seen more masks than at any point since Halloween. You’ve seen practical masks, homemade masks and scarves and bandanas converted into masks. Some of them are brilliantly designed, a tribute to the creativity and resourcefulness of their wearers. Others look like they were cobbled together out of leftover pieces from Doctor Frankenstein’s laboratory. Whatever their construction, they’re all intended for the same purpose: to keep someone from getting infected and to prevent their passing on that infection to others.

We all know the importance of hygiene in personal interactions. Since you want to put your best foot forward in any professional situation, hygiene is even more important when you’re running a business. You want to be neat, clean and presentable, and your surroundings such as your office should also reflect a professional image. It goes without saying that hygiene just makes good business sense. 

In this age of the coronavirus, there’s another, more fundamental, reason for good hygiene. You don’t want to get sick, and you don’t want your customers getting sick. Good hygiene may not completely prevent coronavirus, but it can go a long way to making sure both you and your customers are safe. 

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It seems crazy to think, but there are plenty of millionaires out there who are still under 25. Some of them are musicians and athletes, of course, but a great many of them are just successful businesspeople with drive and some great ideas.

Many child entrepreneurs start businesses to help others, whether it’s to provide money for charities, or to provide a product or service where they see a need. For example, Brandon and Sebastian Martinez are two typical brothers, except for the fact that they’re passionate about socks. Yes, socks- the thing most kids groan about when they get them for Christmas. The Martinez brothers founded Are You Kidding Socks and use colorful and fun sock designs to generate money and raise awareness for local and national charities including Stand Up To Cancer, JDRF, Autism Speaks and others. 

Social distancing has been essential in slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus, allowing our health system to keep up with the influx of patients and increased need of life-saving medical supplies. That’s good news, right? What we’re doing is working. We’re accomplishing what we set out to do.

However, there are many unfortunate consequences that come along with social distancing; including increased feelings of isolation, loss of income, economic turmoil, and a higher rate of depression and anxiety. Luckily for us though, living in the 21^st century provides us with tools to soften the blow of some of these issues. 

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We live in a world of technological marvels that would have astounded our ancestors. It’s pretty amazing when you think about. We have access to more information on our phones that the ancients of Alexandria had in their entire library. Videos, news, sports and more are just a click away. We’re connected to our world in more ways than we ever thought possible. 

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While male entrepreneurs may have some advantages other their female counterparts, it doesn’t mean that success is assured. To start a successful business, you have to come up with a great idea; that’s Entrepreneurship 101, right?  As you might guess, it’s often easier said than done. What do you do if you can’t come up with something original?  What if someone else already had the great idea you wish YOU had?  One way is to make that great idea better. 

Being an entrepreneur means you have to adapt. In Dan Hermann’s case it meant taking an existing idea out for a new spin. Hermann and his friend Sean McGrail helped turn paint night, or Paint Nite, into a national phenomenon. They weren’t the first to come up with organized painting and drinking parties. Far from it. But instead of using the franchise models that others used, they instead licensed artists. For a cut of the ticket price, artists would book the venues, create the pictures and oversee the events. By 2015 Paint Nite was operating in 115 cities around the world. 

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Of course, anyone who says that probably hasn’t spent too much time around old dogs. You’d be surprised what new tricks their canine brains are capable of. The same might have been said of Anna Mary Robertson Moses, later known by her famous nickname of Grandma Moses. She had spent her life working as a housekeeper and on farms. While she always had an appreciation for art, it wasn’t until the age of 78 that she began painting in earnest. Since then her work has been shown and sold in the U.S. and elsewhere. In fact, in 2006, one of her paintings sold for over a million dollars. You’re never too old to try something new.

“Believe in yourself and own your own success.”

          ~ Sheryl Sandberg

Things are looking up for female entrepreneurs. In 2017, more than 11 million U.S. firms were owned by women, employing 9 million people and generating over $1.7 trillion in sales. That’s according to the National Association of Women Business Owners. The organization estimates that nearly one in four businesses are owned by women. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows though. Women entrepreneurs still face a steep barrier, especially when they’re first starting out. The challenges these women face are varied. It might be overcoming self-doubt or struggling to be taken seriously. More practically, women face greater challenges generating the start-up capital they need to succeed. 

We’ve all heard the slogans about how we need to do more with less. We’re supposed to work smarter not harder these days. It may sound trite, but it is actually possible. And if we can get more done in less time, that frees us up to concentrate on other challenges, or, believe it or not, to achieve a better work-life balance. Here are some ways to do that.

Remember your first date with your current partner? Maybe it was a great experience that makes you wistfully smile when you think back on it. Maybe it was an epic disaster straight out of a sitcom. However it worked out, it was interesting and fun (or at least memorable enough for a second try.) With that in mind, how long has it been since you had that sort of excitement? If you’re like many of us, you can probably think of a long list of work projects that are more recent than your last date. If we’re going to keep our lives balanced, it’s important to remember the excitement of that first date and try to recapture it once in a while. And what better way than a date night? 

According to a study by Asurion, Americans check their phones 96 times per day—or at least once every 10 minutes. So, it’s no surprise that text message open rates are at 98 percent. 

That’s right, 98 percent!

Compare that to email marketing’s 20 percent open rate…

If you’re not already using text message marketing, you’re considering it now, right?