What’s affecting me, my clients and other small-business owners today.
Must-Read
- Scott Weiss, a partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, says “a perfect storm of three distinct disruptive forces” is brewing that will change the software business: “In particular, there will be at least 30 new enterprise franchises that will go the distance and resist high acquisition offers, as they either supply or ride this trio of disrupters to dominance.”
The Economy
- Some economists say interest rates are not too low.
- Real-time tax data indicates the United States economy is rapidly losing steam.
- The housing affordability index is below 2007 levels.
Management
- Ilya Pozin explains why being a manager doesn’t make you a leader: “Managers give answers, leaders ask questions.”
- A venture capitalist explains what he looks for in a start-up chief executive: “I think what we really look for is overall leadership ability. People should want to follow this person.”
- Rachel Adnyana wonders if sitting at our desks eight hours a day is the optimal solution.
- Book stores turn to crowdsourced donations to survive.
Taxes
- A new Internal Revenue Service program is after small businesses to address what the agency says is a “widespread problem: failure by businesses, including mom-and-pops, to report all cash sales in order to minimize tax bills.”
Entrepreneurs
- These five movies have been inspiring entrepreneurs for years.
Social Media
- Here are 17 Pinterest metrics every brand should track.
Growth Strategies
- If you’re thinking of selling to the defense industry, James Fearon warns that it’s an industry in decline: “Why the long-run declines? Many factors, surely, but on the international side, it’s plausible to credit the disappearance of intense conflict among the militarily strongest states, which completely dominated international politics before 1946.”
Around the Country
- A Boise, Idaho, company pays its employees better than Walmart pays its employees — and has lower prices.
- An Indiana jewelry store owner explains how he’s adapting.
- Nearly 100 small-business owners met in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday and gained new tools to help their companies survive in their tight economy.
- An entrepreneur wants to pay Chicago to party.
Around the World
- Tel Aviv is the No. 2 city for tech start-ups.
Marketing
- Amanda Maksymiw lists five data sources to inform your content marketing strategy.
- There’s a conference that’s exclusively about conference panels.
Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. You can follow him on Twitter.
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