Popular IRAs, Annuities Have Dark Downsides, 3 Experts Warn

CPA, Wealth Manager & Lawyer Share Tips for Investors

IRAs and annuities are growing in popularity as retirement investment options, according to recent surveys, but three financial experts warn they can have serious disadvantages.

“Last year, four out of 10 U.S. households had IRA accounts – that’s up from 17 percent two decades ago,” says CPA Jim Kohles, chairman of RINA accountancy corporation, (www.rina.com), citing an ICI Research survey. “But they can be bad for beneficiaries if you have a very large account.”

Investment in annuities, touted as offering a potential guaranteed income stream, alsocontinue to grow with sales up 10 percent in the second quarter of this year.

“Annuities have several dark sides, both during your lifetime and for your beneficiaries,” says wealth management advisor Haitham “Hutch” Ashoo, CEO of Pillar Wealth Management, (www.pillarwm.com). “My business partner, Chris Snyder, and I wouldn’t recommend investing in them.”

Putting large amounts of money in either annuities or IRAs can have serious tax consequences for your heirs, say Kohles, Ashoo and attorney John Hartog of Hartog & Baer Trust and Estate Law, (www.hartogbaer.com).

“If you want to ensure your beneficiaries get what you’ve saved, you need to take some precautions,” Hartog says.

The three offer these suggestions:

• Take stock of your assets – you could be worth more than you think: If your estate is worth more than $5.25 million (for couples, $10.5 million), your beneficiaries face a 40 percent estate tax and federal and state income taxes, says Kohles, the CPA. “It can substantially deplete the IRA,” he says.

To avoid that, take stock of your assets now – you may have more than you realize when you take into account such variables as inflation and rising property values. Be aware of how close to that $5/$10 million benchmark you are now, and how close you’ll be a few years from now.

“Consider vacation and rental properties, vehicles, potential inheritances,” Kohles says.

Also, take advantage of the lower tax rates you enjoy today, particularly if they’re going to skyrocket after your death. “A lot of people want to pay zero taxes now and that’s not necessarily a good idea,” he says. For instance, if you’re at that upper level, consider converting your traditional IRA to a ROTH IRA and paying the taxes on the money now so your beneficiaries won’t have to later.

• No matter what your estate’s value, avoid investing in annuities. Wealth management adviser Ashoo warns annuities, offered by insurance companies, can cost investors an inordinate amount of money during their lifetime and afterward.

“Insurance companies try to sell customers on the potential for guaranteed income, a death benefit paid to beneficiaries, or a ‘can’t lose’ minimum return, but none of thosecompensates for what you have to give up,” he says.

That includes being locked in to the annuity for five to seven years with hefty penalties for pulling out early; returns that fall far short of market investments on indexed annuities; high management fees for variable annuities; declining returns on fixed-rated annuities in their latter years; and giving up your principle in return for guaranteed income.

“If you own annuities and have a substantial estate, there are smart ways to unwind them to minimize damage,” Ashoo says.

• Consider spending down your tax-deferred IRA early. If you’re in the group with $5 million/$10 million assets, it pays to go against everything you’ve been taught and spend the IRA before other assets, says attorney Hartog.

“It’s a good vehicle for charitable gifts if you’re so inclined. And if you’re 70½ or older, this year you can direct up to $100,000 of your IRA-required minimum distribution to charity and it won’t show up as taxable income,” Hartog says. (That provision is set to expire next year.)

You might also postpone taking Social Security benefits until you’re 70½ and withdraw from your IRA instead. “That willmaximize your Social Security benefit – you’ll get 8 percent more.”

Finally, anyone who has accumulated some wealth will do best coordinating their financial planning with a team of specialists, the three say.

As a CPA, Kohles is focused on minimizing taxes; wealth management adviser Ashoo’s concern is the client’s goals and lifestyle; and lawyer Hartog minimizes estate taxes.

“We get the best results managing tax consequences and maintaining our clients’ lifestyles by working together,” Hartog says.

About Jim Kohles, Haitham “Hutch” Ashoo & John Hartog: Jim Kohles is chairman of the board of RINA accountancy corporation of Walnut Creek, Calif. He is a certified public accountant specializing in business consulting, succession and retirement planning, and insurance.Haitham “Hutch” Ashoo is the CEO of Pillar Wealth Management, LLC, in Walnut Creek, Calif., specializing in client-centered wealth management. John Hartog is a partner at Hartog & Baer Trust and Estate Law in Orinda, Calif.He is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law, and taxation law. All three advise ultra affluent families.
 

 

Taxpayers Should Act Now to Take Advantage of IRS Changes

 by Rick Rodgers, CFP

Unlike last year, tax planning for 2013 is not hampered by uncertainties over alooming fiscal cliff. Unfortunately, there is always some uncertainty and a few expiring provisions to warrant special attention by taxpayers.

Managing income taxes at year end involves techniques designed to address three issues:

• Accelerating or deferring income: If a taxpayer expects to be in the same or a lower tax bracket next year, it’s best to defer as much income as possible until after the yearend.
• Accelerating or deferring deductions: If a taxpayer’s overall tax rate is the same in both years, accelerating deductions achieves tax savings this year rather than waiting for those tax savings to materialize next year.
• Take advantage of tax provisions scheduled to expire at the end of 2013. There are several temporary tax provisions which can only be used this year.

Tax planning begins by projecting income and deductions for the year to determine your tax bracket and income thresholds that trigger higher and/or additional taxes, or limits the effectiveness of deductions.  One of the impacts ofthe American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA12)is the reintroduction of the Pease limitation, which can greatly limit itemized deductions.  Once a taxpayer knows what his or her income taxes will look like, it’s time to evaluate which techniques will help the most.

Strategies to accelerate or defer income:

• Adjust your elective deferral plans at work: Taxpayers who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, or in the Thrift Savings Plan can defer up to $17,500 this year.  Taxpayers age 50 and older can defer up to $23,000.
• Harvest capital gains or losses: Long-term capital gains are taxed at 0 percent for taxpayers in the 15 percent bracket.  Capital losses can be used to offset capital gains and reduce other income up to $3,000.
• Use the IRA. Taxpayers age 59 ½ and older can accelerate IRA distributions in 2013.  Contributions may be deductible depending on your income level and whether you’re covered by a retirement plan through work. Taxpayers under age 59½ can convert traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs to accelerate income.
• Health-care assistance: People with health savings accounts – available with some high-deductible health insurance policies — can save up to $3,250 tax-deferred for an individual and $6,450 for a family.Those who are55 and older can save an additional $1,000.  Flex spending contribution limits are capped at $2,500 this year.

Strategies to accelerate or defer deductions:

• Medical expenses: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) raises the income threshold this year to 10 percent of adjusted gross income for taxpayers under age 65.  The threshold remains at 7.5 percent for those 65 and older.  Taxpayers may need to prepare or defer medical bills to lump expenses in a single year to get the deduction.
• Gifts to charities: Use a donor advised fund (DAF) to maximize the tax savings from charitable giving.   A DAF makes gifting appreciated securities easier.  The DAF can be funded in tax years when the deduction will have the most impact.  Distribution to charities can be made at any time without tax consideration.
• Qualified Charitable Distribution: This year only, taxpayers age 70½ or older can choose to direct up to $100,000 of their IRA-required minimum distribution to charity.  By doing so, the distribution does not show up as taxable income, which can lower taxation of Social Security benefits and help reduce other threshold levels to further minimize taxes.

ATRA12 extended—but did not make permanent—several tax incentives for individuals.Taxpayers should consider whether they can benefit from these incentives this year and plan accordingly.  The following provisions are set to expire on Dec. 31 unless extended again:

• State and local sales taxes deduction.  Taxpayer can choose between deducting state and local income taxes or the sales taxes they’ve paid through the year.
• Deduction for teacher expenses. Eligible educators can deduct up to $250 of any unreimbursed expenses.
• Deduction of mortgage insurance premiums. Payments of Private Mortgage Insurance premiums can be treated as deductible home mortgage interest in 2013.
• Discharge of principal residence indebtedness. This can be excluded from gross income this year.
• Qualified Charitable Distribution. Taxpayers can make tax-free charitable donations from their required IRA distributions.

2013 is certainly an exciting year for tax planning. Start now in order to minimize your tax bill in April.

About Rick Rodgers: Certified Financial Planner® Rick Rodgers is president of Rodgers & Associates, “The Retirement Specialists,” in Lancaster, Pa., and author of “The New Three-Legged Stool: A Tax Efficient Approach to Retirement Planning.” He’s a Certified Retirement Counselor and member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisers. Rodgers has been featured on national radio and TV shows, including “FOX Business News” and “The 700 Club,” and is available to speak at conferences and corporate events (www.RodgersSpeaks.com).
 

 

T-Mobile’s new plan to entice customers: free 4G LTE for tablets

by Emily Parkhurst –

T-Mobile held a press conference on Twitter with streaming audio from its website Wednesday to announce the company will offer customers 200 MB of free data if they purchase a tablet through T-Mobile.

Beginning Nov. 1, T-Mobile US will sell thenewly announced Apple iPad Air (16 GB) for no down payment and $26.25 per month for 24 months, and the iPad mini for $17.91 per month for 24 months. The Retina screen version of the iPad mini will be available in November and will cost $22.08 per month for 24 months.

After the devices are paid off, the free 200 MB per month of 4G LTE data continues for the life of the tablet. T-Mobile will also have the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 and the Google Nexus 7 available through the program.

“This is where the world is going,” said T-Mobile CEO John Legere during the audio part of the press conference. “The growth here (in tablets) is huge and we want it to be affordable for everyone.”

The free 200mb will be applied automatically to existing T-Mobile customers’ accounts if they have tablets registered with the company. New customers can sign up for a $20-per-month Mobile Internet account, and then be eligible for the deal, Legere said.

Legere said that if a customer runs out of free data, T-Mobile won’t slow down the connection (called throttling) or charge overage fees. Instead, a screen will pop up prompting the customer to either buy a $5 unlimited day pass or sign up for a monthly 500 MB plan for $10 per month.

Wall Street appears to be less than impressed by the announcement, though. T-Mobile’s stock price dropped slightly as the press conference began, from $27.47 to $27.12. Overall, however, the company’s share price is up since it began its “Un-carrier” campaign.

The free wireless tablet service is a clever new tactic to try to draw more customers to T-Mobile’s network, something T-Mobile has been focusing on as part of the new “Un-carrier” strategy. The company now offers free international calls and cheap roaming plans for international travelers as well.

The program appears to be paying off: T-Mobile added 1.1 million customers last quarter, the most growth its seen in four years.

The Bellevue-based carrier is the fourth largest mobile network in the country after Verizon,AT&T and Sprint, and has not been a big carrier for tablets.

This announcement was clearly aimed at changing that.

“We’ll prove we have the lowest cost of ownership for tablets,” Legere said.

He said T-Mobile’s future announcements will be driven by consumer demands.

“You keep telling us exactly what to do to be successful and we’ll keep doing it,” he said.

 

 

Technology Backlash: Good Old-fashioned Business Success Comes with the Personal Touch

Hello? Is anybody there? 

One of the biggest problems sales people face with social media and technology is the lack of real, meaningful contact and communication.  Sure, it’s quick and easy. But when it comes to closing deals, does it really produce the results you need?
Joanne S. Black, author of the new book Pick Up the Damn Phone! , How People, Not Technology, Seal the Deal, is on a mission to help people learn the importance of personal contact.  Her manifesto is simple – to make a real connection and achieve true, meaningful communication, you have to make a personal and even in-person contact. Her goal is to get people to tweet less and talk more to the customers and contacts who really matter.

“It’s easy to get sucked into technology,” she says. “But the personal touch is the best deal maker there is.  Relationships matter more than anything else. The digital world—as great as it is—threatens personal connections. Humans need personal contact with others. Email, texting, social networking—these certainly have a place in business today, but none of them replaces the power of a personal connection.”

Based on years of research and experience, her book describes what she sees are the critical elements for success, particularly in business, where the creation of the powerful personal trust with executives and clients is necessary to produce immediate and long-term mutual economic benefits. Here they are:

1. Stop Typing. Stop Texting. Get Personal Right Now. Pick up the phone and call. Go down the hall, take a walk, get in your car, take a train, get on a plane, hop on a bus, take the metro, and GO AND SEE THE RIGHT PERSON OR PEOPLE RIGHT NOW.  Make arrangements to see the people you work with face-to face. Go and meet your prospects and clients in-person. Thrash your competition. They are still tapping away on the keyboard. Even in our technology-driven world, nothing replaces a handshake and in-person interaction for both building and maintaining business relationships. Face-to-face meetings aren’t luxuries.

2. Our Smart Phones Are Not So Smart Everyone looks down at their phones–bumping into people on the street, at networking events, on muni, at restaurants, in bed, at home. Our addiction to technology is bleeding into our personal lives. There’s no conversation. Kids are ignored. When you used to go into a public place, you assumed everyone was in that place with you. Now everyone is somewhere else. No one is talking. No one is connecting.

3. Are You Spammed? Salespeople think that technology can do their job. They are under the mistaken beliefs, that if they do some research, identify specific trigger events and mutual connections that they can now spam away. It’s like digital snake oil. Executives don’t have “Meet with Salesperson” on the top of their list. They will always take a meeting with a personal introduction from someone they know and trust.

4. We’re Smarter Than Our Buyers The digital buyer, Buyer 2.0 learns all about us with a click of the mouse. Salespeople are armed with the same tools. Even though buyers may know a lot about us, we know just as much or more about them. Clients don’t usually recognize exactly what they need. We do. Because so much information can be found online, the standard is now higher for sales to add value. Information isn’t knowledge. Knowledge comes from wisdom and experience. Just being tech savvy doesn’t mean you’re smarter than your buyer.

5. Message to Marketing:  Keep Your Hands Off My Clients It’s up to salespeople to nurture their own relationships—not just with marketing automation, but with one-on-one conversations. Marketing should not be qualifying leads. That’s our job. Not only is generating leads our responsibility, it’s a task you don’t want marketing (or anyone else) doing for you. These are your clients, and you must continue to cultivate these relationships. These are the people who can send you the best, hottest referrals. So marketing–keep your hands off my clients.

6. Bring In Your Team! Don’t be a lone ranger. If you are the manager, bring your technology experts with you. If you are the technology expert, bring your manager with you! Knock people’s socks off by giving them access to the right people that matter to the solution of their problem.. Show clients that you trust your teammates and that they can trust you. When we share data, strategies, best practices and even people, you make the best impression and win loyalty that lasts for a long time.

7. There’s No Such Thing as a “Warm” Call.  If you don’t have a referral introduction, your lead is freezing cold—even though you mistakenly think you’ve been able to avoid sounding like a pesky telemarketer. Walk straight into meetings with your ideal prospects—without cold calling or trying to figure out how to bypass the gatekeeper. If you’ve been introduced by a trusted source, these gatekeepers will welcome your call. The secret isn’t duping them (trust me, they’re onto you). Make referral selling your primary sales driver and convert more than 50% of prospects to clients.

8. Shine the Light! Prove that Live and in Person is the Best! Social networking isn’t the next big thing. You are! It’s not technology, but rather the person using the technology, that sets people apart. Social selling is a great way to expedite the first few important steps in prospecting; researching potential clients and identifying referral sources. Beyond that, it’s not social intelligence we need; it’s relationship intelligence that seals the deal.

It’s people, not technology, that seal the deal. It’s the real thing.

About the Author

Joanne Black is an expert on referral selling—the only business-development strategy proven to convert prospects into clients more than 50 percent of the time. She is the author of the book No More Cold Calling, and a popular speaker who teaches people how to build their referral networks so they can quickly attract more business, decrease operating costs, and ace out the competition every time. Her clients include Autodesk, KPMG, Bank of Marin, California State Automobile Association, Colliers International, Sage Software, and many other companies. She is a member of the National Speakers Association.

She has a Bachelors Degree in English from the University of California at Berkeley and a Certificate in Training and Human Resource Development, with Honors, from the University of California Extension.  Joanne lives in San Francisco, California.

 

Foursquare Ads Now Open to All Small Businesses Worldwide

by Anita Campbell

Back in June we reported that Foursquare was offering a paid promotions program to New York City based businesses in a limited pilot.

Today Foursquare announced that its paid ads program now is open to all small businesses.  The company says it has 1.5 million claimed-business users.  The expanded ad program would give business access to consumers in the pool of 40 million consumers that use Foursquare.  An update on the company’s blog notes:

“Here is a problem that all local business owners know: They want to get more customers, but tons of people walk by their storefront without coming in. We created Foursquare Ads to solve this problem. We can connect great local businesses with the people nearby that are most likely to become customers.

Today, we’re opening Foursquare Ads to all small businesses around the world. We’re moving past the days when business owners have to figure out if a “like” or a “click” has any meaning in the real world; now they can tell if someone who saw their ad actually walks into their store.”

Ads appear at the top of the user’s list, in a different color along with the word “Promoted” next to them (see image above next to the arrow).

Businesses can create an ad using the Foursquare ad platform online or via mobile.  Businesses will only be charged for a consumer who actually ”acts on your ad – either by tapping to see your business details or by checking in at your business.”

The ads will be shown to those consumers who are near your business and who Foursquare says are likely to become customers.  Foursquare will evaluate the consumer based on whether they’ve checked in previously at similar places or searching for something similar to your business.  Foursquare says it will never show your ad to someone who is already at your business — thus you won’t be giving up discounts to those who are already customers.

Right now American Express is offering a $50 ad credit to U.S. based small businesses to try the new Foursquare ads.

Nothing else about how you use Foursquare as a business appears to have changed.  It remains to be seen whether this will result in less activity unless you pay for it.

 

 

How to Get More Positive Customer Reviews, Using Get Five Stars

By Vedran Tomic –

Online reviews have become important — and positive reviews are crucial for businesses.  Two customer review trends are important to know.  First, prospective customers are increasingly relying on online reviews to make purchasing decisions.  Second, there’s been an explosion in fake reviews online.  It’s gotten so bad, that sites like Yelp and the New York  Attorney General have been cracking down on fake reviews.

Where does this leave small businesses?

Businesses have an increasing need to get positive customer reviews. At the same time, small businesses also have to keep things ethical, even in the face of competitors who may be playing dirty.  A product called “Get Five Stars” can help satisfy both of these needs.

What is Get Five Stars?

Get Five Stars is an online app or tool that guides you through the process of how to get positive customer reviews.  It helps you:

• request testimonials and reviews from legitimate customers;
• identify which customers are less than happy or giving negative reviews, so you can attempt to turn them back to positive;
• encourage customers to share their positive reviews online at major review sites;
• place reviews and testimonials on your own website in a Google-friendly way, leading to greater visibility in search; and
• monitor new reviews on public review sites as an ongoing reputation management process, so you can stay informed and be proactive.

After all, if a customer is willing to recommend your business, don’t you want to show that review off?  And don’t you want as many other prospective customers to see it as possible?

Plus, the proactive nature of Get Five Stars helps you catch negative reviews.  That way, you can attempt to resolve any issues before they cause lasting harm.

In essence, Get Five Stars gives you a process and shows you how to get positive customer reviews.  It helps you organize and streamline the process of requesting and displaying customer reviews, and increasing their visibility online. That way you can make the most of them for online visibility and to convince new shoppers to buy from you.

How to Get Positive Customer Reviews – Getting Started

The process to request reviews from your existing customers is straight forward.  Right in the dashboard, business owners can insert customer names and email addresses.  You could add customer data from your invoicing system, a Contacts app, or a CRM database — or insert it manually.

Then, of course, you are going to want to communicate with customers.  To do that, you call up pre-built email templates (see image below).

Customize your email message, and then send it to your customer requesting feedback.

It’s a two-step process with customers. As part of the process, you:

• Ask them to rate your business privately first.
• Then after you have a chance to review the feedback, if it’s positive you can ask the customer to go to a public review site to leave feedback there, too. If it’s not so positive, you have a chance to fix it.

The process is kicked off when the customer receives an email that looks like the image below, with an invitation to leave a review by clicking a big button “Provide Feedback”:

Simple Review Process Based on Net Promoter Score

Customers are busy.  Most don’t have the time to spend writing a long review or filling out a lengthy survey.  The beauty of Get Five Stars is that the review system is easy peasy.

Get Five Stars uses the Net Promoter approach to customer feedback.  There are just two short text fields to fill in — the title of the review,  and a brief comment with a maximum of 250 characters.

Customers then are asked one question, “How likely is it that you would recommend our company to a friend or colleague?”  Customers then rate the business from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best (i.e., most likely to recommend).  The customer simply moves a sliding scale button to rate (see below).

If a customer answers by giving a rating below a 7, then the small business gets the information and can follow up. In this way, potentially negative reviews can be addressed proactively.

Some small business owners and managers may not be familiar with the Net Promoter feedback scoring system.  The app gives the business owner a little tutorial on Net Promoter scores in a popup window.

Once the customer feedback is returned, you have a place in the dashboard where you can see all your feedback.  Then from there, you can send out another followup communication to customers that left positive feedback, asking them to leave the review on various public review sites such as Google, Yahoo Local, Citysearch, Facebook and other places.  On the app’s dashboard you choose which review sites you want to request the customer to leave a review on.  Remember, you can’t place the review on the site for them — but the app makes it easy for you to request and assist the customer to do so.

Interestingly, co-founder Don Campbell downplayed Yelp when we spoke with him.  He said seeking out Yelp reviews may not help you. “Unless the reviewer is an avid Yelper the review is often filtered out and doesn’t show up publicly on Yelp,” due to Yelp’s algorithms.  Also, he points out, the app’s language does not actually request leaving a Yelp review. It is against Yelp’s guidelines to ask for reviews.  Therefore, the app simply includes a small message in the email asking customers to visit the business’s page on Yelp.

Place Testimonials on Your Website

The reviews you get back can also be embedded on a page on your company’s website (see below) using a small embedded bit of  javascript code.  There’s also a WordPress plugin to put the testimonials into WordPress sites.

The embedded testimonials also appear as HTML on your website page. The reason that’s important is that when they are in HTML format, the reviews can get indexed by search engines.  Reviews are structured using the Schema.org format, a markup language that Google understands.  That means they can under certain circumstances show up in the snippet of text presented in Google search result pages.  When you have gold review stars appearing near your website name on a search page, it helps your brand stand out.

Getting too many reviews too quickly can be almost as bad or worse than too few reviews. To a search engine or review site getting too many too fast may seem suspicious. So let’s say you start using the product and do a one-time communication to all your recent customers asking for reviews.  You’re going to get a lot of reviews back.  You may not want to display them all or encourage all those customers to leave public reviews, at one time.   The business owner or manager has control over the timing.

Monitor Reviews at Public Review Websites

Get Five Stars also monitors key review sites, as part of an ongoing reputation management process. You get a dashboard that is regularly updated, to see how many reviews you have and the average rating (below).

This way you don’t have to visit each of the review sites separately.  The Get Five Stars system will also send you an email when a new review appears.

According to co-founder Don Campbell, by being proactive you can have a big impact on how your company is presented to the world.  He described the case study of an optometrist that had just one review showing on Yelp and it was a very bad “1 star” review.  The optometrist knew this customer.  His frames had broken, but that incident had been fixed.   The optometrist KNEW the customer had been made happy.  In that case the optometrist was able to contact the customer.

The monitoring dashboard would help to let you know so that you could contact the reviewer and ask him to update the review if you know the issue has been resolved. Or you could leave a message yourself clarifying inaccurate information in the review, such as a restaurant review that gives a bad rating for a dish your establishment does not even offer.

Using Get Five Stars just as a review management platform would mean only scratching the surface of what this tool has to offer. Get Five Stars is capable of serving as a proactive reputation management mechanism.  If you use the tool to its full potential, it can pay for itself many times over.

Who “Get Five Stars” is Best For

Get Five Stars is ideal for B2C businesses with large customer bases as well as service businesses, especially professional service businesses.  If you are serious about using data to improve your systems to grow sales and increase customer loyalty, then Get Five Stars can make the end-to-end process efficient and manageable.

The Get Five Stars system is a cloud software service.  You access it and use it online.  It is designed to review a business, not review individual products.

It’s priced at $29.95 per month (discounted to $24 per month if you pay annually).  There a 15-day free trial offer, too.  No credit card is required for the trial.

This app is designed to be used by a single business, a business with multiple locations, or an agency (such as a marketing agency) managing a number of  businesses.  The individual business can also manage their reviews directly even if they get access through an agency.  Discounts are available for agencies. Even small marketing agencies managing four businesses will find it cost effective and a time saver.

The Get Five Stars system was developed by Mike Blumenthal, an expert in local search, and Don Campbell and Thomas Hasch from Expand2Web.  The company is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay area.

 

 

The Case For Deleting All Your Apps

I beg you. It will change your life.

by Charlie Warzel –

You are a hoarder, and it’s a problem.

You probably hide it well — there are no rooms with old newspapers stacked to the ceilings, and no freezers full of dead cats — but your phone’s home screen, which is quickly and eerily becoming one of the most telling expressions of one’s true personality, gives you away. It’s a mess, and so are you. I know because I was one, too.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, there’s an easy trick that can improve your smartphone enormously. It’s easy to do and remarkably painless: delete your apps. All of them. Every last one that you’re allowed to delete.

This sounds crazier than it actually is, so hear me out. A few weeks ago, I was running a developer version of iOS 7 that expired, causing my phone (as well as many others across the country) to deactivate without warning. Impatiently — ever the hoarder, a true addict — I decided to wipe my phone, start from scratch and restore my apps and contacts from a previous backup, a month or so old.

But before I restored my phone I glanced down at my clean default home screen. No Twitter. No email. No contacts. So I delayed. A few hours passed without a single push notification or alert. It was, for lack of a better word, kind of tranquil.

My current home screen.

Then reality set in. Not only do I not have the luxury of ignoring my email, or the news, it’s not something I want to completely distance myself from. So instead of restoring, I started to rebuild.

Twitter is, without question, the most-used app on my phone, followed by Gmail. So I went to the App Store and downloaded both. A few hours later, I had to go meet some friends at a place I’d never been to. I downloaded Google Maps. I wanted to listen to some music on the way, so I picked up Spotify, a service I pay $10 a month to use offline. A couple hours after that I got the urge to post some dumb picture to Instagram so I caved and downloaded that as well.

At first this felt like a useful, but temporary, exercise — I could see, at least, which apps are truly most important to me. But as I lived with my new, lean homescreen for a while, something started to change. Fewer apps meant fewer distractions; I found myself checking my phone less frequently.

That’s not to say it turned my phone into a brick. By downloading only the apps I use regularly or rely on the most (Pocket for ‘read it later’ things, Simplenote for interview transcription and to-do lists, and Chromecast to watch videos on my TV) I felt like I wasn’t shutting out technology, but maximizing efficiency. More importantly, I was enjoying using my phone more.

This past Sunday, while watching football with a group of friends, I found myself more engrossed in the actual games. I was looking at my phone far less than anyone in the room, and I wasn’t jealous.

Of course there’s no right or wrong way to use your phone, which you bought and you spend hundreds of dollars to maintain. But I hope my case can be instructive. Before deleting my apps, I would listlessly swipe and unlock and tap and lock, mostly out of habit and with no real intent or purpose, whenever I felt the slightest onset of boredom. Notifications from apps I’d opened once, months ago, would routinely distract me from something I was doing.

Taken individually these are not serious problems — more like occasional nuisances and inefficiencies. But they add up. My less cluttered phone feels both essential and less demanding.

The best case scenario is that you delete your apps and feel relief, increase your efficiency, and de-clutter the most important device in your life. Worst case, you merely come to think more clearly about how you use technology. And it’s no major inconvenience — this isn’t some digital detox fad diet, and you’re not really giving up anything but a few minutes of your time. It’s as simple as this: an app that you might only idly check isn’t necessarily an app that you’d re-download.

It’s also changed how I see iOS. For example, I’ve come to realize that Apple’s expanded folders are, it turns out, just a somewhat convenient way to solve one of iOS’s biggest problems, by allowing you to quarantine all of Apple’s terrible stock apps into their own trash bin folder. I call mine ‘Apple Crap.’

Any risk is both mild and avoidable: If you back up your phone you can always get your apps back. They’ll be free to re-download in the App Store and Google Play, and both Apple and Android are pretty good about saving your settings — still, be careful and make sure important data and media is backed up.

Anyway, do this. The cost is nil and the potential payoff is huge. Nuke your homescreen. Cleanse your phone. Save yourself. It’s worth it.

 

Is Your Work At Home Policy Spurring Jealousy?

By Rieva Lesonsky –

Do you let your employees work from home at least some of the time? That’s great. Dozens of studies have shown that the ability to work remotely is one of the biggest perks employees of all ages desire. But is your work at home policy inciting jealousy and resentment in the ranks?

That’s not so great. But chances are, according to a recent survey by Kona, that’s what’s happening.

Seven in 10 workers in the Kona survey say they would rather telecommute than work in the office. Among those between the ages of 35 and 44, the number is even higher at 81 percent.

But the majority of employees (57 percent) in offices that allow remote work say the policy spurs jealousy among those who don’t get to work at home.

How can you make sure working at home makes your employees more productive, not more resentful?

Your Work at Home Policy

Set a Work At Home Policy

You should write a work at home policy as part of your employee manual. Every employee should read and acknowledge it.

The work at home policy should cover issues such as hours to be worked per day or week, how the person will protect the business’s confidential information, liability issues, what equipment will be provided and how the employee will be monitored when working at home.

Be Sure Your Policy Can’t be Construed as Discriminatory

Clearly, not all jobs can be done at home. For instance, your accounting clerk might be able to work from home, while your retail sales clerk can’t. What’s important is that you treat all employees in the same job classification or with the same duties the same when it comes to working at home.

If you let one accounting clerk work from home because she has children and don’t allow a childless accounting clerk to do the same, you could be at risk of a lawsuit. And you’re likely causing gossip and resentment.

The only reason to treat employees in the same job differently is if one has a legitimate reason for needing to work at home that is not discriminatory. For instance, if one worker has a disability that requires working from home. As you can see, this area can be tricky, so it’s best to consult an attorney to review your work at home policy.

Communicate Clearly

Communication is key for businesses with virtual workers. When employees who work in the office feel they can never reach the work at home staff, or don’t understand why certain people are working at home, resentment grows.

Everyone on your team should know the expectations for work at home employees, including what hours they are supposed to be available, multiple ways to reach them (email, phone, IM, etc.) and what tasks they are working on.

Emphasize to work at home employees the importance of keeping a high profile so others on the team see that they’re working.

Monitor Work At Home Employees

There are many ways to do this, from having them check in with status reports every few hours to using time-tracking software like Toggl to using software that monitorswhat they’re doing on their computers.

Assess Results

Resentment occurs when employees feel that others are taking advantage of your work at home policy. To ensure employees aren’t abusing the privilege of working at home, it’s crucial to regularly review their productivity, progress and results. This can be done differently depending on the job and the person, but you might want to set daily or weekly goals or quotas.

Check in with remote employees quarterly or even monthly to make sure that everything is still working out. Remind workers that telecommuting is a privilege that must be earned, not a right, and you’ll get better results.

Reserve the Right to End the Work At Home Policy

Speaking of privileges, your work at home policy should state that you have the right to forbid telecommuting at any time. Otherwise, you may find yourself in legal hot water if you want to pull a Marissa Mayer (or Tony Hsieh) and have everyone work in the office.

Address Jealousy Openly

Despite your best efforts, it’s inevitable that people will get jealous—they’re only human.

When these issues arise don’t push them aside. Be alert for resentments that are brewing. Address these issues with the person who’s expressing jealousy. You may find the root cause is something completely different than someone else working at home – and that you can nip it in the bud to create a much happier employee.

Jealous Photo via Shutterstock

 

The Mindset of 10 Successful Entrepreneurs

By Shawn Hessinger

Entrepreneurs are all different. They all have a different entrepreneur mindset that contributes to their success. Their entrepreneur mindset might have to do with their personality or even the field in which they have chosen to work.

When figuring out your own approach to the challenges of entrepreneurship, it can help to learn from the experiences of others.

We’ve selected the experiences and entrepreneur mindset of 10 well-known entrepreneurs from a variety of different fields. It is our hope that you will find something in each of their stories that will help you in your own entrepreneurial adventures.

1. Reach Out to Customers First

[Image: Stevens Institute]

Though it may seem to many like product development should come first, master bootstrapper Greg Gianforte insists that’s the wrong approach. After moving to Montana with his wife and children after selling a previous company, Gianforte grew restless and decided to start again.

He focused on the tech sector where his experience was strongest. But instead of starting with a prototype for a product or service and then seeking funding, he started by getting on the phone with potential customers. That led to conversations about what kind of product they would buy.

After a month of phone calls, Gianforte spent about 60 days coding the product his customers said they wanted. He claims his company, RightNow Technologies, was cash positive from the beginning.

The business makes cloud-based software for large consumer businesses and was sold to Oracle in 2011.

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2. Find a New Market for an Existing Product

[Image: Wikipedia]

Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Records, did not invent Rock ‘n Roll, but his small Memphis label will forever be linked to its beginnings.

Phillips established his recording studio and eventually his record label as a way to capture the interaction of country and blues music he was already familiar with as a DJ. There was a wealth of talent he believed most of the country was unfamiliar with and had never heard. He created a relaxed studio environment with unique acoustics to capture and immortalize that talent.

Phillips would eventually discover stars like Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash and he became an icon and a wealthy entrepreneur as a result.

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3. Use Networking to Build Your Business

[Image: DocStoc]

Many entrepreneurs talk about the importance of networking, but few are as specific about how and why networking is important as Jason Nazar, co-founder and CEO of Docstock.com.

In an interview on the MyTreat Blog, Nazar says he owes his success — particularly the founding and growth of his current company — to his networking efforts. He says he used networking to raise $4 million in startup funds. He says he also used it to locate a co-founder and build the majority of his organization.

Nazar gives some important advice to other entrepeneurs when using networking in business. First,  measure the return on investment you are getting from your networking efforts.

Second, make sure you give something of value first when making connections instead of beginning by asking for something.

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4. Give Without Expecting a Return

[Image: SocialTriggers]

This may seem like a contradiction to our last point. But author, former hedge fund manager and tech entrepreneur James Altucher stands by the belief that great opportunities come your way when you offer something without looking for payback.

Altucher says he regularly sends out ideas to people with whom he would like to do business or those he admires and would like to meet and asks for nothing in return. Often he does not receive so much as a response, he says, but sometimes the results are magical.

In one instance, Altucher sent investment expert Jim Cramer, co-founder of TheStreet.com, a list of suggested article topics. As a result, Altucher received an invitation to become a contributing writer.

TheStreet.com would later invest in one of his websites, Stockpickr.com – then buy it from him.

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5. Keep Control of Your Vision

[Image: Wikipedia]

Jack Ma, also known as Ma Yun, is the founder and guiding hand behind Alibaba, a giant Hong Kong-based wholesale eCommerce site. Despite its popularity and financial success, Alibaba’s road to acceptance outside China has not been easy.

Complaints about counterfeit or fake items sold on the site as name brands abound. And, of course, the problem is exacerbated as Alibaba attempts to position itself as a site other businesses use as a source of wholesale merchandise.

As Alibaba considers going public with an IPO, another challenge looms. Ma wants tokeep tight control of his company and of the team of executives he already has in place. This can be hard to do once investors enter the picture. Many want to have a say in how the company is run after investing their hard earned money.

But Ma believes in his vision for his company and in the culture he has created to get the job done.

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6. Understand the Power of Brand

[Image: Wikipedia]

When the first series of Star Wars movies was released in the late 70′s and early 80′s, most people saw only a pop culture phenomenon. The string of successful films created a whole new market for science fiction and fantasy.

But creator and filmmaker George Lucas saw so much more. To him, the first trilogy of films and the three additional movies that followed became a powerful brand. That brand became a spring board to lucrative licensing deals for everything from toys, to video games, to memorabilia and live attractions.

In 2012, Lucas sold Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise that went with it to Disney for $4.05 billion.

In the meantime, Lucas clearly hasn’t lost his interest in powerful and profitable brands. He recently invested $10 million in the successful Starbucks cafe chain.

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7. Focus Your Energy on What’s Good for Your Business

[Image: Wikipedia]

From best selling albums to a nightclub, a clothing line, a sports franchise and more, rapper Jay Z is known not just for his music but also for his business acumen.

His success is based in part on his focus. It includes a refusal to spend his time on anything that does not expand his entrepreneurial ventures. Forbes staff writer Zack O’Malley Greenburg says this focus caused Jay Z to decline involvement in a book Greenburg was writing about him.

Instead, Jay Z decided to put out his own book and profit directly from his own story and image.

While some might consider this outlook shortsighted, the question remains. How often have we allowed someone else to drag our focus and energy away from our businesses – and what has it cost us?

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8. Always Maintain Quality Control

[Image: Wikipedia]

From the age of fourteen when he began his apprenticeship in his family bakery until his death in 2002, Lionel Puoilâne was obsessed. And that obsession was with the quality of bread that bore his family’s name.

Puoilâne became world famous for artisan crafted bread baked in wood fired ovens.

As international demand for his bread grew, he still refused to mass produce his product. Instead, he insisted that each loaf still be hand crafted by a baker personally trained in his techniques.

Even as he experimented with more modern techniques and expanded his bakery operations, Puoilâne’s interest in maintaining quality control in his business never wavered.

His daughter, Apollonia, continues that tradition to this day.

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9. Set Your Product Apart

[Image: Wikipedia]

The desire to create a product that stands alone is nothing new. Way back in 1783, the Primrose brothers (George and William) promised to produce crystal as fine as any in Europe – and the Waterford brand was born.

The brothers’ secret technique of combining glass and minerals to produce crystal that actually “sings” when tapped with the finger became renowned. The crystal is also known for the deep and ornate carvings created by skilled artisans that give it a distinctive appearance.

So beloved and valued was the Waterford brand that even when the factory closed in the 1850′s due to economic hard times, the unrivaled quality of Waterford Crystal was never forgotten.

Almost a century later, the Waterford Crystal tradition was revived, returning the crystal and the town in Ireland for which it was named, to their former glory.

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10. Take Ownership

[Image: Wikipedia]

Oprah Winfrey had experienced plenty of success as a broadcaster and even in the entertainment industry before ever launching the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986.

After some initial radio and TV jobs, she would host a successful chat show in Baltimore and later a show in Chicago that beat Phil Donahue in local ratings.

She would even star in a movie, “The Color Purple” with Whoopi Goldberg, directed by Steven Spielberg. But it wasn’t until after taking ownership of her syndicated talk show from ABC that Winfrey’s entrepreneurial skills began coming into focus. Her production company would eventually produce other TV and film projects.

Winfrey’s entrepreneur mindset eventually led her to launch a magazine and even her own TV network.

 

 

Can Angela and Tim Create Apple 3.0 — Or Not?

by Steve Tappin –

 

 

Since the sad passing of the visionary Steve Jobs, Apple seems to be losing its magic. Today it made a bold and eye-catching appointment by poaching Angela Ahrendts, the CEO of Burberry.

For me this raises three fundamental questions:

• Can she really make an impact?
• What does this mean for CEO Tim Cook and can they work successfully together?
• What does this mean for the future of Apple?

From my work as a CEO confidant and author of ‘The Secrets of CEOs’, I have met with thousands of different business leaders. I realized that there was not one way of being a CEO but seven different types in the Western world. Each typically has different motives, strengths and challenges.

Steve Jobs was a corporate entrepreneur. He was driven by the obsession and love that he had for his products, and his personal mission to put a dent in the universe. He achieved this through relentless determination, and the support of his trusted lieutenants.

Angela Ahrendts and Tim Cook are both very different characters from both Steve Jobs and each other, and have different CEO types. It is important to understand these types and that Angela and Tim will have different ways of working:

Tim Cook

Tim came from a logistics background and is a professional manager operator:

 

Angela Ahrendts

Angela is a combination of two types of CEO, which we typically don’t see in one individual leader:

Angela is unique in drawing on her strengths to put both customers and people at the heart of a business. At Burberry she was able to create value on a global basis, by focusing the Burberry brand in on the millennials and creating a connected culture that also joined employees together.

In addition to her CEO type, she has a reputation for being an outstanding personal leader with strong values and beliefs. She is global in outlook and able to blend well with different cultures. Her experience of harnessing beauty and style from the fashion industry could be invaluable.

In some ways Angela and Tim can complement each other. She is likely to bring a fresh customer, brand and leadership focus to Apple, assuming they can work well together. An obvious tension is that she is clearly a potential CEO succession candidate and is likely to have strong views that will challenge traditional Apple conventions. So it will be critical for them to build trust – which is a strength of hers – and for Tim to work with her to harness her contribution rather than exert his authority.

How Could They Best Work Together?

 

 

 

They have the potential to build a close partnership. However the technological breakthroughs and new product categories that Apple fans crave are not likely to be their particular strength. They’ll need to rely on harnessing the guardians of innovation, especially Jony Ive, to invent the pioneering products and technology thatTim can mass-produce and Angela can market.

The key will be to create a close-knit fellowship where each of them can harness their strengths. This will give them the best chance of adding value together as they find the key to positioning Apple within a global multi-channel customer world.

What Could Be The Future For Apple?

I can see three scenarios for Apple.

Dream Scenario: Apple 3.0

“Apple 2.0” saw the return of Steve Jobs and the amazing home run of the iPod, iPhone & iPad. It became the most valuable company in the world because it created breakthrough innovative products which were simply and beautifully designed, operating within connected ecosystems that positively impacted many of our lives. Apple also created flagship cool retail environments where we could get a physical taste of the Apple experience.

In Apple 3.0, Tim, Angela and Jony work in fellowship and rediscover the old Apple cool and excitement. They find breakthroughs in products and services, with new categories such as TVs and watches, and again dream up things we never even knew we needed… not just cheap plastic color iPhones. Together they innovate the next generation of cool customer experiences, with Angela helping to bridge the digital and technological world with the latest real-world developments in music and fashion. As the Apple brand evolves, it finds a way to be both aspirational and accessible in the emerging markets. Apple goes on to be the outstanding company of the next decade and create the most value by far again.

Second Scenario: Apple The Customer Experience Company

Steve Jobs’s “reality distortion field” fades and Apple stops being the product-breakthrough company that its diehard fans fell in love with. Instead, we see decent products and services, that are then beautifully packaged and styled and integrated into great customer experiences.

A bit like a Virgin, the company takes a solid product offering that is the same or slightly better than the competition, and then adds sizzle.

In this situation, Angela is best placed to be the CEO who makes this future real. Maybe most of the value of the company is sustained. However, in the long-term, the risk is that Apple fans see this aas too much style and not enough substance.

Third Scenario: Apple Becomes Just Another Company

Not my preference but we see slippage and erosion of the brand. Management isn’t able to work together and there are boardroom battles and churn at the top. The leadership team is never able to recapture or reinvent the Jobs gene and magic. Apple gradually gets incremental while Samsung, Google, Tencent et al gradually overtake them.

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People are so emotionally attached to Apple that nothing but the dream scenario will do for most investors and fans of the company. However, the arrival of Angela Ahrendts increases the chances of that dream scenario Apple 3.0 happening, as well as other valuable futures for Apple too.

Steve Jobs is a tough act to follow for any CEO, and Tim and Angela have their work cut out. However, I believe that this appointment is one of Tim Cook’s best decisions so far, and definitely increases the chances of success.

Good luck Angela.