AAA officially launches its car sharing startup Gig with a giant, sober dance party in Oakland

 Gig, a new car-sharing app created by the emergency roadside assistance service AAA rolled out to the Bay Area today. The startup comes out of A3 Ventures, AAA’s venture arm and the new one-way car sharing service is now active in Oakland and Berkeley, California. Gig is similar to other temporary car share services like Enterprise CarShare or Zipcar. But unlike the traditional car… Read More

You’ve Heard of Hiring Ex-Cons? This One’s an Entrepreneur!

It takes discipline to run a successful business. And if you have that discipline, you have a pretty good chance of making your idea into reality — no matter what obstacles you’ve had to overcome.

Case in point: Coss Marte, founder of ConBody. Marte originally got the idea for his business in an unlikely place — a prison cell.

The founder had some health issues while serving a seven-year prison sentence. And since he only had a small cell and his body weight to work with, he had to come up with a creative workout plan. He created one that worked for him. And now he also shares it with clients at his fitness studio on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

The Ex-Con Entrepreneur

Marte had significant obstacles to overcome in his journey to entrepreneurship. Even just making it through his sentence was an accomplishment given the health issues that he started out with. But he persevered. He made it through the sentence and then built his business from scratch after finding limited job prospects upon his release.

For other entrepreneurs, the lesson is clear. If you have the discipline and a good enough idea, you can overcome just about anything. It won’t always be easy. And it might take a different shape or path than you’d expect. But if you put your skills to good use and refuse to give up, you can accomplish really surprising things.

Image: Conbody.com

This article, "You’ve Heard of Hiring Ex-Cons? This One’s an Entrepreneur!" was first published on Small Business Trends

Do You Really Need to Give Employees Smartphones?

Smartphone have become very useful productivity tool for businesses, while at the same time they can be distraction for employees. What should businesses do?

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Wynd’s air purifier has broad ambitions and a short reach

 The Wynd smart air purifier is designed to create “bubbles” of fresh air — small, one-person respites from pollution, allergens and other detrimental particles floating in the ether. It feels almost dystopian, a world in which we’re required to arm ourselves against the air around us, but the product clearly struck a nerve. Read More

Apple is Drastically Cutting App Store Affiliate Commissions

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) this week sent an email to App Store affiliate program members telling them that it is slashing their commission rates from seven percent to 2.5 percent on May 1.

According to Brett Terpstra, an App Store affiliate who received the email, the changes only affect affiliate referrals for apps. Other iTunes and iBooks Store content like music, movies, TV shows and books will continue to receive the original seven percent rate.

“I use affiliate links on everything… and it generates a small portion of my monthly income. Not a lot, but it’s enough to notice,” wrote Terpstra in a post on his blog talking about Apple’s decision to cut affiliate commissions. While referring to the almost 65 percent commission rate reduction, Terpstra said “It’s a drastic cut to mention in passing just one week before it takes effect.”

Apparently, affiliates were only given one week of warning on the impending change.

Affiliates Not Happy Since App Store Commissions Were Cut

Federico Viticci, another App Store affiliate, and founder of Apple news and app reviews site MacStoriesNet, turned to Twitter to express his frustration, saying the move “sucks.”

Viticci posted a picture of what looks like a copy of the email affiliates received:

So, yeah, this change in affilate commissions pretty much sucks. We don’t rely on links alone (thankfully), but we’ll be affected by it. pic.twitter.com/85V94DBPqQ

— Federico Viticci (@viticci) April 24, 2017

Apple App Store Affiliate Program

The App Store affiliate program allows websites owners from the Apple community to link to App Store downloads. The link they use has a unique referral ID for each affiliate. When customers click on this link and buy apps or in-app purchases, Apple pays a small cut of the qualified sales to the affiliate. The app developer gets 70 percent of the sale, while the affiliate partner gets incentivized to refer more customers.

Now that Apple is drastically cutting this revenue stream, the tech company risks alienating its affiliate partners who are a significant source of income for developers of the apps sold on the App Store. The new commission rate cuts, however, only apply to affiliates and won’t affect app developers.

App Store Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "Apple is Drastically Cutting App Store Affiliate Commissions" was first published on Small Business Trends

Why I’m finally ready to agree a single-payer healthcare system would be better for business

(This post originally appeared on The Washington Post)

My wife is English and one of the biggest surprises she had when moving to this country was healthcare. “I don’t understand why my employer is involved in my healthcare,” she said back then–and still says today. After years of listening to that argument, I’m starting to understand what she means.

I can’t believe I’m saying this. I consider myself a smaller-government, fiscally right-of-center guy. I own a small business. I want lower taxes and less regulations. And yet, after watching and studying and writing about healthcare reform for going on 10 years I think I’m finally to the point of caving in and admitting that maybe, just maybe, a single-payer system would be what’s best for businesses, including businesses like mine.

A single-payer system is one in which the government or some quasi-government entity manages the financing and the care is still supplied by the private sector. Of course, if this is anything like what we’ve already seen with the Veterans Administration, then forget about it. There’s no argument that government-run healthcare programs, like the VA and the one in the United Kingdom, are far from perfect. Read the British media and you’ll find regular reports of shoddy service, underpaid doctors, long waiting periods for surgery, out-of-date equipment, huge budget issues and a number of other challenges. Moving to a system like the ones in the U.K., Canada, Sweden or France will likely just replace many of the problems we have in our system with new problems.

But I know from first-hand experience that the system in the U.K. does work. My in-laws have relied on the country’s National Health plan for their basic medical needs. But here’s the twist: they are fortunate enough to be able to afford additional insurance (called BUPA, an acronym for British United Provident Association) so that they could avoid waits and go to better hospitals for their healthcare. In the U.K., those that can afford it can get better care. But everyone is still able to get healthcare, regardless of their income. Is that the best solution? Probably not. But it does seem to work. There is no perfect healthcare solution. Not everyone will be happy.

Which is why I think a single-payer system could be better for businesses here.

Every year I speak and work with thousands of business owners and managers and each and every one of them are terrified come summertime when healthcare rates for the next year are announced. Every year–and I mean every year–my clients have suffered with double-digit increases in their healthcare costs. Sure, they are pushing more of these costs down to their employees. But most are still covering a large part of the health insurance offered to their people. Those that aren’t make up for it by contributing to corporate Health Savings or Healthcare Reimbursement accounts. In addition to the cost of premiums, even companies with as little as five or 10 people wind up paying for the time a manager has to spend internally dealing with the administrative headaches of their health plans.

We spend too much time trying to figure out ways to reduce our healthcare insurance–which, to many represents a significant line item on our income statements. This time distracts us from ways to grow our businesses. But we have to do this because we have to offer a healthcare benefit. Our employees expect it. Our competitors are offering theirs. The labor pool is tight. My wife asks “why?” So do I.

According to the Kaiser Foundation, the typical U.S. company paid about $5,000 per employee for health insurance in 2016, net of employee contributions. So a business owner with 25 full-time employees paid about $125,000 last year. This cost is deductible, but the remainder comes right out of his pocket for this employee benefit. Business owners in the U.K., Canada and other countries with single-payer systems don’t have this cost, or the cost of administration.

No question people who live in these countries pay a lot more in taxes. In the U.K, for example, tax rates range from between 20 to 45 percent and then there’s an additional 12 percent to pay for national health. In the U.S., we have slightly lower individual federal rates but then again we pay local and state taxes. Even though we already pay a Medicare tax, adding another 10 to 12 percent on top of that for a national healthcare system would be burdensome on individuals. But wouldn’t it be a relief for businesses like mine?

“If we choose to have a single-payer system, big government will make a mess of it like they always do,” people say. More than the mess we already have? More than the mess of Obamacare or what Congress is currently proposing? All I see in the eyes of my clients is fear and uncertainty and more dollar signs when the topic of healthcare is brought up.

Everybody has their opinions, but no one really knows the answers to these questions. One thing, however, is for sure: healthcare is a mess, Congress isn’t solving the problem and few business owners I know believe it ever will. We’re at the point where many of my clients –and many who are fiscally right-of-center like me–would seriously consider an individual tax increase and all the risks of a single-payer system just to take this headache away from our businesses so we can focus on…well…our businesses.

2.5 Million Small Businesses Are Owned by American Military Vets (Report)

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy recently released an encouraging report on veteran-owned businesses. The report, which is based on the latest available data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 Survey of Small Business Owners (released December 2015 and February 2016), shows about 2.52 million businesses in the U.S. majority-owned by veterans.

Almost all of these veteran-owned businesses at the time (99.9 percent) were small businesses.

U.S Veteran Owned Business Statistics

According to the SBA report entitled “Veteran-Owned Businesses and Their Owners (PDF),” small business firms owned by veterans employed 5.03 million people, had an annual payroll of $195 billion and receipts of $1.14 trillion. The veteran-owned firms represented 9.1 percent of all U.S. businesses.

California, Texas and Florida had the most veteran-owned businesses respectively, while the highest percent of veteran-owned businesses in their populations were found in South Carolina, New Hampshire and Virginia. Other highlights from the study include:

• Nearly 30 percent of all veteran-owned firms were in two industry groups: construction and the professional, scientific and technical services group.
• The industry with the largest share of veteran-owned firms was finance and insurance (13.2 percent), followed by transportation and warehousing (12.1 percent), and construction (11.4 percent).
• Five industry groups accounted for 71.5 percent of all veteran-owned firm sales: wholesale trade (22.9 percent), retail trade (19.5 percent), manufacturing (12.3 percent), construction (10.1 percent), and professional, scientific, and technical services (7.0 percent).

Also, a bigger percentage of veteran-owned businesses were home-based (57.0 percent) compared with other businesses (52.2 percent) in the rest of the population. And the most common method for veterans to become business owners was to start their own businesses themselves.

Support for U.S. Military Veterans Entrepreneurship

It’s encouraging to see military veterans take advantage of entrepreneurship opportunities available to them, and to continue to display many of the same qualities and resilience of civilian entrepreneurs.

If you are a military veteran who owns a small business or you know some vets, there are many sources of support for veterans, including the SBA’s “Boots to Business” Program. These resources offer varied resources from franchise opportunities to business loans that help combat unemployment among returning veterans, and also demonstrate appreciation to our veterans for their service.

“Entrepreneurship is a choice made by many of our men and women in uniform when they move into civilian life,” said Dr. Winslow Sargeant, former Chief Counsel for Advocacy for the SBA, in a previous statement about a similar SBA study. “Knowing more about the factors behind veterans’ self-employment offers opportunities to lay the groundwork for successful ventures.”

Memorial Day Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "2.5 Million Small Businesses Are Owned by American Military Vets (Report)" was first published on Small Business Trends

Organize Your Business Contacts with These Tips and Apps

Managing business contacts has become easier with the rise of technology. Use these tips to find best solutions and get the most out of business contacts.

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48 Hour Start-up: Can You Really Launch a Business in Just 2 days?

As the business world encounters technology, the barriers keeping many entrepreneurs out are slowly disappearing. Previously, you needed a huge investment of cash, good connections, a 50-page business plan, and a prayer. Now you just need a laptop and seven days. Actually, with 48 Hour Start-up: From Idea to Launch in 1 Weekend you might only need two.

What is 48 Hour Start-Up About?

The book 48 Hour Start-up is actually what it sounds like. Serial entrepreneur Fraser Doherty MBE wants to help prospective entrepreneurs discover and refine a launchable idea in just two days. Doherty’s reasoning behind his 48-hour deadline is simple. He argues that prospective entrepreneurs (aka wantrepreneurs) spend too much time and energy obsessing over the “perfect idea”. The time they waste waiting for the “perfect idea” is time that could be used refining and adapting that business idea for the customers who will actually use it.

48 Hour Start-up was designed to be a hacked version of the business-creating method developed since the start of Doherty’s first business. As Doherty readily admits, he had no idea what he was doing.He just knew that he liked money, liked selling things and liked connecting with people. That business is still running to this day, in part, because of the principles Doherty learned through either a mentor, experience (one of his first positions was “bacon boy” in Scotland), or by stumbling across it. In 48 Hour Start-up, he shares advice on how to find and shape a viable business idea that is ready to launch in two days.

Doherty is an entrepreneur, business owner and author from Scotland. Doherty’s first business as a teenager, SuperJam, featured an all-fruit jam that was inspired by his grandmother’s recipes. The incredible success of SuperJam earned Doherty the honor of becoming the youngest ever supplier to work with a retail chain and a spot in the National Museum of Scotland. Doherty is also the co-founder of Beer 52, a craft beer subscription service. In 2014, he became a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

What Was Best About 48 Hour Start-Up?

There are two key aspects of 48 Hour Start-up, the author’s transparency and his approach. In many startup advice books, authors are afraid to share their mistakes. In his book Doherty is very transparent about the trials he faced as an entrepreneur. These anecdotes are brief. They show his thinking process at the time, which is a theme throughout the entire book. Following its own philosophy that entrepreneurs need to leverage speed, the book doesn’t get stalled with fancy charts (there aren’t any) or financial projections, For those readers wanting a down-to-Earth business advice book, 48 Hour Start-up might be a welcome read.

What Could Have Been Done Differently?

48 Hour Start-up is extremely helpful when it comes to the initial decisions for entrepreneurs to consider when starting a business. The book continually reinforces the theme that entrepreneurship doesn’t have to involve complicated financial projections, elaborate presentations or extraordinary innovation. It is just a simple idea executed well. One area that could use more attention, though, concerns strategy and market research. The book doesn’t provide a lot of focus or direction on what strategies to consider after the 48-hour experiment is over or how to conduct more detailed research to maintain a business in the future.

Why Read 48 Hour Start-Up?

48 Hour Start-up is designed for entrepreneurs who have gone through a couple of business ideas but haven’t made that initial step to get started. It is also for serial entrepreneurs seeking to improve their thinking process in preparation for a new venture. For beginners, the book is a chance to brainstorm a business idea within the book’s deadline of two days. For serial entrepreneurs, the book is a jargon-free guide to refining the principles of business idea creation. If a serial entrepreneur can’t think of a good business idea, 48 Hour Start-up will provide practical advice with the inspirational real-life story of a businessman who started an empire right from his grandmother’s kitchen.

This article, "48 Hour Start-up: Can You Really Launch a Business in Just 2 days?" was first published on Small Business Trends

4 Benefits Businesses Can Get from SD-WAN Adoption

Software Defined Network (SD-WAN) provide some significant benefits compared to traditional WAN. Business owners can benefit by adopting SD-WAN in their network.

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How this Uber driver made $700 for just one ride

(This post originally appeared on The Washington Post)

Uber – and some of its drivers – has been getting a lot of bad press lately. But few can deny that the ride sharing service is usually a great experience (I’m a fan) and has provided a livelihood for tens of thousands of entrepreneurial drivers around the world who rely on the company for extra income.

Harpal Kang is one such entrepreneur. He managed to rake in more than $700 for just one ride the other week.

The story as reported in New Zealand’s Otago Daily Times goes like this. An American couple, Matt and Lisa Kottke, arrived in Auckland from Minneapolis for a very important sales meeting that was to take place the next day in Wellington, a meeting that could only be held within a specific three-hour window due to everyone’s schedules. Unfortunately, there was a problem. Clouds and rain from the enormous Cyclone Debbie caused all flights out of the Auckland airport to be cancelled, including the Kottke’s. All other options – from buses, trains and taxis – proved fruitless.

What to do at midnight? Hey…why not Uber?

“I was just shocked,” Uber driver Kang said upon receiving the request.” “I thought I would take one last job. But when I talked to them, they said, “We need to go to Wellington, can you drive all night?’ ”

Smelling adventure, the chance to help out someone in need and – let’s admit it – the prospect of a thousand bucks, Kang accepted the job. He drove all night, through high winds, heavy rain, flooding and road closures. It took more than 400 miles and nine and a half hours, but Kang delivered his grateful passengers to their all-important sales meeting with 30 minutes to spare.

“I don’t even know if I can have words for how grateful I was,” Lisa Kottke said.

Are you an Uber-hater? Don’t forget the many entrepreneurs who drive for them who, like Harpal Kang, frequently go the extra mile – or in this case 400 miles and through a cyclone – for their customers.

Join This Twitter Chat During National #SmallBusinessWeek

National Small Business Week is just around the corner. That means there are plenty of different events and opportunities for small businesses to network and grow.

One such opportunity is an upcoming Twitter chat hosted by SCORE. The #SmallBusinessWeek Twitter chat takes place on May 2 and will feature a small business-focused discussion encompassing a variety of relevant topics.

And that’s not the only upcoming event that might be of interest to your small business. You can check out the Featured Events section for more information on the National #SmallBusinessWeek Twitter chat and more.

Then check out the list below for even more upcoming small business events.

To see a full list or to submit your own event, contest or award listing, visit the Small Business Events Calendar.

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Featured Events, Contests and Awards

National #SmallBusinessWeek Twitter Chat, Hosted by SCORE
May 02, 2017, Online, Twitter

Join SCORE as they host a National Small Business Week Twitter Chat on Tuesday, May 2 from 12:30-1:30 pm EST. Please follow SCORE’s Twitter @SCOREMentors ?and use the chat hashtag #SmallBusinessWeek to participate in the discussion. See you there!

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TECHSPO Toronto 2017
May 18, 2017, Toronto, Ontario

TECHSPO Toronto 2017 is a 2-day technology expo which takes place at the Toronto Marriott Eaton Centre Hotel in Toronto, Ontario. TECHSPO Toronto brings together developers, brands, marketers, technology providers, designers, innovators and evangelists looking to set the pace in our advanced world of technology. TECHSPO Toronto 2017 promises to be better than ever and we’re excited to see all the amazing tech companies and talent that will be joining.

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Secret Knock
May 22, 2017, Los Angeles, Calif.

Secret Knock is going to be the single greatest event for the top entrepreneurs and action-takers in the world to connect, share ideas, and help take each other to the next level. Each of the attendees have believed in themselves enough to get to where they are, and they are not stopping now. Secure your application for one of the few spots left at the Secret Knock.

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Sales World 2017
November 08, 2017, Online

Sales World 2017 takes place November 8th to 9th, 2017, Online; Live and On Demand. It is the largest Sales Industry Event in the World and will be attended by over 10,000 Sales Professionals. It’s the one sales event you can’t afford to miss!

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DIGIMARCON WORLD 2017 – Digital Marketing Conference
November 14, 2017, Online

DIGIMARCON WORLD 2017 Digital Marketing Conference takes place November 14th to 16th, 2017. Whether your goal is to reinforce customer loyalty, improve lead generation, increase sales, or drive stronger consumer engagement, DIGIMARCON WORLD 2017’s agenda will help attendees enhance their marketing efforts. Sessions will focus on building traffic, expanding brand awareness, improving customer service and gaining insight into today’s latest digital tools.

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More Events

• Chief Analytics Officer Spring 2017
  May 02, 2017, Scottsdale, Ariz.
• Connecting Everything While Everything is in Motion
  May 02, 2017, Santa Clara, Calif.
• Microsoft Negotiations and Licensing Workshop
  May 02, 2017, Seattle, Wash.
• Spark To Shine: Marketing That Works (A National Small Business Event)
  May 02, 2017, New York, N.Y.
• At the Epicenter’s 3rd Annual Women Leading Green
  May 02, 2017, Boulder, Colo.
• Ex Awards 2017
  May 03, 2017, Chicago, Ill.
• Experiential Marketing Summit 2017
  May 03, 2017, Chicago, Ill.
• Get $10k Free / Month for Nonprofit Marketing – Google Grants Webinar
  May 04, 2017, Online
• BizBash Live: Florida
  May 04, 2017, Online
• The Product Group May 2017
  May 04, 2017, New York, N.Y.
• NYU $300K Entrepreneurs Challenge: Final Pitch Off
  May 05, 2017, New York, N.Y.
• EntreLeadership 1-Day
  May 10, 2017, Dallas, Texas
• SEO Bootcamp OKC
  May 10, 2017, Oklahoma City, Okla.
• Second Women Empowered: A Panel Discussion with Successful Women Entrepreneurs
  May 10, 2017, San Jose, Calif.
• Microsofts’ Accelerate Your Business Minneapolis
  May 10, 2017, Minneapolis, Minn.
• Excel – How to Become a Power User
  May 10, 2017, Online
• Small Business Expo 2017 – New York
  May 11, 2017, New York, N.Y.
• SEJ Summit 2017
  May 11, 2017, Chicago, Ill.
• Benzinga FinTech Awards
  May 11, 2017, New York, N.Y.
• Small Business Expo 2017 – New York City
  May 11, 2017, New York, N.Y.

More Contests

• America’s Main Streets Contest
  June 05, 2017, Online
• Small Business Expo 2017 – Houston
  October 19, 2017, Online
• Sustainable Brands’17
  November 30, 2017, Multiple Cities

This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends and SmallBizTechnology.

Twitter chat photo via Shutterstock

This article, "Join This Twitter Chat During National #SmallBusinessWeek" was first published on Small Business Trends