Small Business America with Gene and John (two guys from Philly)

Small Business America with Gene and John (two guys from Philly). 04-26-2018 (Photo: ) Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica Episode 12: @GeneMarks @Batchelorshow @SmallBusinessAmerica @WashingtonPost

Small Business America with Gene and John (two guys from Philly). 04-26-2018 (Photo: ) Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica Episode 11: @GeneMarks @Batchelorshow @SmallBusinessAmerica @WashingtonPost

Small Business America with Gene and John (two guys from Philly). 04-26-2018 (Photo: ) Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica Episode 10.2 @GeneMarks @Batchelorshow @SmallBusinessAmerica @WashingtonPost

Small Business America with Gene and John (two guys from Philly). 04-26-2018 (Photo: ) Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica Episode 10: @GeneMarks @Batchelorshow @SmallBusinessAmerica @WashingtonPost

Small Business America with Gene and John (two guys from Philly). 04-26-2018 (Photo: ) Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica Episode 9: @GeneMarks @Batchelorshow @SmallBusinessAmerica @WashingtonPost

Small Business America with Gene and John (two guys from Philly). 04-26-2018 (Photo: ) Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica Episode 8: @GeneMarks @Batchelorshow @SmallBusinessAmerica @WashingtonPost

Small Business America with Gene and John (two guys from Philly). 04-26-2018 (Photo: ) Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica Episode 7: @GeneMarks @Batchelorshow @SmallBusinessAmerica @WashingtonPost

Small Business America with Gene and John (two guys from Philly). 04-26-2018 (Photo: ) Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica Episode 6: @GeneMarks @Batchelorshow @SmallBusinessAmerica @WashingtonPost

Small Business America with Gene and John (two guys from Philly). 04-26-2018 (Photo: ) Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica Episode 5: @GeneMarks @Batchelorshow @SmallBusinessAmerica @WashingtonPost

12-26-2017 (Photo:Facebook headquarters entrance sign at 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, California ) Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica Why doesn't Facebook like Likes? & other 2018 unknowns. @GeneMarks @Batchelorshow @SmallBusinessAmerica "There are more than 70 million small business pages on Facebook as well as billions of users. For many freelancers, publishers, bloggers, celebrities, small business owners and corporations, Facebook is used to not only engage a community but also to show off to others — prospective customers or clients — just how big their community is. To do that you need likes and for that reason it’s not uncommon to find many on the social media site begging for others to like their pages. Well, Facebook wants that to end. Why? Their audience tells them that for many, it’s just too much noise. “People have told us that they dislike spammy posts on Facebook that goad them into interacting with likes, shares, comments, and other actions,” two company representatives said in a company announcement. Starting this week, the company said it would begin “demoting individual posts from people and Pages that use engagement bait.”..." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-small-business/wp/2017/12/21/facebook-wants-users-who-ask-for-likes-to-stop-asking-for-likes/?utm_term=.c291f97f2ab4

12-26-2017 (Photo:President Donald J. Trump celebrates the passage of the Tax Cuts Act with Vice President Mike Pence, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan | December 20, 2017 (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian) Date 20 December 2017, 14:51 Source Photo of the Day: December 21, 2017 Author The White House from Washington, DC ) Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica Trump's tax cuts for Small Business & What we learned in 2017. @GeneMarks @Batchelorshow @SmallBusinessAmerica @WashingtonPost "During 2017 I learned a lot of things from many very smart business people reported here. These are 10 of my favorite takeaways. It’s tough for female entrepreneurs — two of them had to create a fake guy to get their calls returned. There’s no sexual harassment or abuse here, but the story — in my opinion — is just as important. Do we still live in a world where women in business have to pretend to be men just to get a response from their website developer? Apparently so. Some women are fighting back, like this Australian cafe owner who charges a “man tax.” Some women are finding their own unique ways to protest gender discrimination — what’s yours? Some businesses are more suitable for females. Want an example of a great business for women? The funeral business. Compassion. Empathy. Caring. Some businesses are better suited to women — and the same goes for men...." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-small-business/wp/2017/12/22/10-big-things-we-learned-about-small-business-in-2017/?utm_term=.0eea93742662

12-26-2017 (Photo: English: Stormy weather over Bagworth Road. It started to hail a few minutes later 1201948 Date 8 March 2009 Source From geograph.org.uk Author Mat Fascione Camera location 52° 38′ 58.69″ N, 1° 20′ 30.85″ W Heading=0° Kartographer map based on OpenStreetMap.) Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica Storm clouds to worry about in 2018. @GeneMarks @Batchelorshow @SmallBusinessAmerica @WashingtonPost "...Finally, there’s tight labor. Workers have dropped out of the workforce at an alarming rate over the past decade, immigrants who fill lower-wage jobs may be restricted entry into our country and those workers who are left are in short supply. A rising tide of increasing minimum wage, demands for more paid time off and better health insurance (see above) and more discrimination and harassment accusations have forced many companies to invest in technologies to automate processes and eliminate people. Can small companies keep up with this trend? There are always challenges and despite the ones I list above, Sullivan remains confident in his small businesses, mainly because he believes that small businesses are feeling better able to navigate their companies on their own. “It’s the wind at the back optimism,” he says. “There is this growing delta between the confidence that small business owners have in what they can control and know, and what is outside of that control.” That’s good news because the more control we have over out destinies, the better we’ll able to determine those destinies. In the meantime, I can’t help but remember what my dad always told me when he was alive. “Son,” he would say. “Things are never as good as they seem.” It’s not a rosy point of view. But it’s certainly the right one nowadays." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-small-business/wp/2017/12/12/small-business-owners-are-certainly-optimistic-about-2018-but-i-see-clouds-on-the-horizon/?utm_term=.e4e8b2ff0b31

Small Business America with Gene and John (two guys from Philly). 09-20-2017 (Photo: English: Theatrical poster for the film Forbidden Planet and featuring Robby the Robot. Date 1956 (US copyright notice) Source http://wrongsideoftheart.com/wp-content/gallery/posters-f/forbiddenplanetposter_01.jpg Author Copyrighted by Loew's International. Artists(s) not known. Permission (Reusing this file) )  Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica The March of the Small Business Robots. @GeneMarks @BatchelorShow @smallbusinessAmerica @WashingtonPost "…According to a report this week in TechCrunch, a fast-casual restaurant chain headquartered in Southern California called Caliburger is installing robotic hamburger-flipping chefs in its Pasadena location and then plans to roll them out to its other 49 outlets around the world over the next few years. Caliburger’s Pasadena location is conveniently located in the same town as Miso Robotics, a start-up that’s developed its hamburger flipping, “robotic kitchen assistant” called–not unsurprisingly–Flippy. Flippy is a robot, or more specifically a very specialized industrial 6-axis robotic arm that is bolted to the kitchen floor in front of a grill or fryer and has a “spinning spatula” that cooks the food. The unit receives data from thermal and 3D sensors as well as cameras and takes its orders through a digital ticketing system. It is capable of grabbing and unwrapping food, keeping track of cooking time and temperature and then plating the food so that a human chef can add garnishes…." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-small-business/wp/2017/12/21/facebook-wants-users-who-ask-for-likes-to-stop-asking-for-likes/?utm_term=.c291f97f2ab4

Small Business America with Gene and John (two guys from Philly). 09-20-2017 (Photo:  File:Georgetown cupcakes potomac st.jpg) ) Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica The Business of America is doing very well for Small Business America. @GeneMarks @Batchelorshow @SmallBusinessAmerica @WashingtonPost "…Is it the Trump effect? It appears partly so. “Small business attitudes toward government policies have transformed,” the report says. “A year ago, a net 1 percent of U.S. respondents said ‘no’ when asked whether their government’s policies were supportive of entrepreneurs (35 percent saying ‘no’ compared with 34 percent saying ‘yes’). This year, there is a net balance of 18 percent who consider government policies are supportive (46 percent versus 28 percent).” That’s a “huuuuge” difference, yes? A loosening of regulations and the hope for lower taxes is likely behind this…." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-small-business/wp/2017/09/13/survey-small-business-revenue-investments-and-profits-looking-sunny/?utm_term=.af798d3d467f

Small Business America with Gene and John (two guys from Philly). 09-20-2017 (Photo: English: Samuel Luke Fildes - The Empty Chair, engraving of a water color (The Graphic, 1870) Date 1870 http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/fildes/drawings/7.htm)) Twitter: @SmallBusinessAmerica The Start-up Partner Named Keith Who Doesn't Exist. @GeneMarks @Batchelorshow @SmallBusinessAmerica @WashingtonPost "Keith is the co-founder of Los Angeles-based start-up Witchsy — a cool and quirky online store for illustrations, pins and patches made by artisans and craft makers. Keith’s kind of a dude’s dude. You know what I mean — the guy who played football in college and is now devoted to his wife of five years and can’t wait to be a dad. A real good guy. Except Keith doesn’t exist. He’s just a guy made up by the two real and female co-founders of Witchsy, Penelope Gazin and Kate Dwyer. Why would these two women create a fake guy to be their “co-founder?” To get people to respond to their calls and emails — and to get some respect. “It was very clear no one took us seriously and everybody thought we were just idiots,” Gazin told Quartz. But when “Keith” contacted collaborators, Gazin says, “they’d be like ‘Okay, bro, yeah, let’s brainstorm!’ ”…" https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-small-business/wp/2017/09/01/these-two-female-entrepreneurs-created-a-fake-man-so-people-would-return-their-messages/?utm_term=.795b217ab712