- Forty-three percent of cyberattacks are aimed at small businesses, but only 14% are prepared to defend themselves, according to Accenture.
- These incidents now cost small businesses $200,000 on average, reveals insurance carrier Hiscox, with 60% of them going out of business within six months of being victimized.
- More than half of all small businesses suffered a breach within the last year.
- Today it’s critical for small businesses to adopt strategies for fighting cyberthreats.

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The World Economic Forum recently uncovered something that would not have registered on the radar screen of most HR leaders even ten years ago.

One of the top 10 job skills required for workers to thrive--a skill projected to trend in the year 2022--is emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence (EQ) has embedded itself in the business lexicon as a force to be reckoned with; it is by far one of the most desired qualities for personal and professional development.

Managers are hiring workers with more right-brained skills like EQ because they know these people contribute to the workplace on a relational and interpersonal level that is unmatched.

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In other words, press coverage is priceless, but where do you start? To find out more, we asked 16 marketing experts and entrepreneurs to share interesting and cost-effective ways to get media coverage.

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Learn how the easy availability of big data can help SMBs compete with big businesses.

- Data is now easier to collect and cheaper to host, making it accessible to nearly every business.
- The availability of data helps small businesses compete against big corporations, but they may still struggle to use that data in practical ways.
- Three ways small businesses can use big data to grow include checking on credit data about your business, monitoring supply chain data, and keeping an eye on artificial intelligence and automation innovations.

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If you run a small business for a long time, you will probably need to navigate through a lot of major changes. Members of the online small business community are very familiar with these shifts. From getting started to deciding when to retire, here are some valuable insights for making big changes in your business.

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As companies like Amazon, Walmart, and Target begin to dazzle us with the growing possibility of same-day delivery, it’s becoming harder for small businesses to compete in ways that provide the same speedy delivery without relying on high-emission forms of commercial storage or transportation options like renting space in large warehouses and air delivery.

That is all now changing thanks to an organization called Ohi—a US-based warehousing and delivery service that allows small businesses to offer speedy, sustainable delivery options.

Complete Article

The first weekly roundup of 2020 starts with some motivational quotes to get you up and running for the new year.

Once you are all pumped up, an article about the economy should also get you excited. The report says all 50 states have improved their GDP since the 2016 election. And if the rally of the stock market on January 2, 2020 is an indicator of things to come you can expect even better numbers.

The optimism for the coming year is also being shared by business leaders. Over two thirds or 76% of them say they see similar or more profits in 2020. The data comes as part of a survey that polled 940 business owners in this article.

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If you have a small business, it is essential to keep up with the latest trends in technology, marketing, customer service and other areas that affect your business. Each business is unique, so every trend doesn't necessarily impact you equally. However, all major trends do influence your customers' expectations, so it is good to be up to date.

Here are some of the most significant trends I'm currently seeing that will impact small businesses in 2020 and beyond.

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One of the great things about being in business these days – whether it is having a side hustle or a retail store or an online business – is that there is just so much free help available.

To wit: Last week, I held my most popular webinar ever (almost 4,000 people registered!) for SCORE, called 7 Steps to Starting on a Shoestring. SCORE is an amazing organization; more than 10,000 business volunteers who can help and mentor you (physically or virtually) on almost any aspect of your business – marketing, sales, taxes, whatever. And, like my webinar, many of SCOREs offerings are free.

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According to a new survey, the results of which were first published by Inc. on Tuesday, odds are good that you identify more with option A, even if option B is your reality. In a poll of 620 U.S. small-business owners, conducted by online lender and small-business cash-flow platform Kabbage, 60 percent of respondents believed their revenue growth underperformed that of their peers.

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A lot of small businesses appear to be doing just that though. In fact, the National Federation of Independent Businesses found that tax compliance costs are 67 percent higher for small businesses than larger ones.  They add up to $18-$19 billion per year across the U.S small business environment.

With the complexity of filing taxes quickly each year, many small business owners miss deductions that can help lower their tax burden.

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The deadline for filing taxes in the United States is eight weeks away, but new research has shown that small businesses are already being hit by tax season–related cyber-attacks.

Research conducted by Proofpoint indicates that attackers are aggressively jumping into tax season, with the deployment of two main attack strategies.

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Insiders say the ability to appeal to the emotional side of the SBO will become more important, as so-called Millennials – those born between the years 1980-2000 – are the fastest-growing segment of SBOs and may be more inclined to own a small business than members of older age groups. A study released in 2017 found, among other favorable statistics, that Millennials have more experience with small business and greater desire to start businesses than previous generations.

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Millions of small business owners will be turning to the government, seeking help for an individual and nationwide cataclysm, the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

The government says it will begin disbursing loan money to company owners and freelancers Friday under the Paycheck Protection Program, part of the $2 trillion relief package signed into law last week. For many companies, it may be the quickest way to rebuild the lifeblood of any business: the cash flow that enables a company to pay its bills.

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There is a strategy to maximizing all the benefits of Congress recent $2 trillion stimulus package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not just applying for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or tapping into your 401k. In fact, there are actually eight key pieces to the legislation that can assist business owners in one form or another.

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Small businesses could soon see a rollback of several universally loathed measures attached to the original Paycheck Protection Program, the $669 billion loan and grant initiative aimed at helping small businesses keep employees on the payroll.

When the House convenes next Wednesday, it is expected to vote on the Paycheck Protection Flexibility Act, a standalone bill that would, among other things, lengthen the time businesses may spend the funds from their PPP loans. The bill would also eliminate the requirement that 75 percent of a loan's proceeds must be spent on employee pay and benefits. The measure was originally proposed on May 15 in the House by representatives Dean Phillips (D., Minn.) and Chip Roy (R., Texas).  

One of the primary appeals of the contemporary small business, in my opinion, is the family-centric culture that comes from a close-knit team. While in modern America, many may feel swallowed by corporations, the notoriety of the small business proves that people still find value in the intimate workplace.

Every industry across the globe has felt the staggering impacts of Covid-19, but small businesses were put under specific strain. Based on what I've seen, however, they have proved their undeniable resilience.

As a proud member of a small business myself, I have felt the social deprivation of working from home firsthand. Similar to my own experience, members of thousands of other small businesses who have worked alongside each other for lifetimes have had to adjust to maintaining an office culture from the comfort (or discomfort) of their home. While online interactions can never compare to the in-person experience, many small businesses, like my own, found that being apart actually meant working closer together than ever before.

Businesses now can negotiate for perks and concessions that were unheard of in the commercial real estate market just a few months ago.

Asking rent prices have yet to fall, which is typical in a down cycle as landlords try to hold out as long as possible, says CBRE chief economist Richard Barkham. At the same time, Barkham says, landlords are eager to fill space, so they're willing to offer a bevy of concessions to the right tenants, including rent-free periods, build-out expenses, and flexible lease terms.

Working from home has accelerated innovative team-building trends. How to make traits like agility, collaboration, and candor a permanent part of our management process.

The future of work arrived out of nowhere, on the back of a once-in-a-century pandemic. Team dynamics got challenged as members dealt with illness, trauma, and crisis. We've all been forced to rapidly and radically adapt to new working norms. The Ferrazzi Greenlight Research Institute has spent more than 15 years studying high-performing teams, but I've never seen entrepreneurs rise to the occasion as they have this year. When the crisis subsides, the temptation will be to turn back that progress and retreat into old behaviors.

This week the Wall Street Journal reported that nearly 300 companies that had received loans through the Paycheck Protection Program had filed for bankruptcy. The very next day, the Journal highlighted Americans using the Covid-19 pandemic to take their first steps on the entrepreneurial journey.

Existing small businesses continue to struggle. New entrepreneurs are seeking opportunities. That is what the data appears to be saying about the state of small business and entrepreneurship amidst the third Covid-19 wave.

Small Businesses Suffering, See Rough Road Ahead

In early November, Goldman Sachs surveyed nearly 900 small businesses. They found that four in 10 had laid off employees or cut compensation. If further government relief were not forthcoming, another 38% said they would need to do the same. Half of small business owners had stopped paying themselves.

Finding and keeping the best talent has never been easy. It became the top concern for HR professionals this past year, with more than two-thirds reporting struggles with their recruitment and retention efforts. While the reasons for those struggles run the gamut, they often relate to attracting qualified candidates (49%), retaining star employees (49%) and issues with the talent-culture fit (42%).

For small and midsize businesses (SMBs), any difficulties with finding talented hires end up wasting precious resources. Worse yet, the cost of a bad hire is equal to 30% of the hires first-year salary – without factoring in the potential losses in revenue and time associated with onboarding the wrong person for a job.

Minimum wage is a complex issue for small businesses, says the Small Business Development Center in Binghamton.

The SBDC adds that, typically, small businesses have a close relationship with their employees and if they could pay them more originally, they would.

They add that they believe some business owners may have to pick up the slack in order to keep costs low.

With the ongoing move of smart phones towards near-ubiquity, much of society has come to take these do-all devices for granted. In overcoming the novelty of smart phones, many of us have lost our one-time sense of awe at this technology, and have ceased marveling at the effect it has had on the world around us. However, it is undeniable that smart phones have exerted a huge and multi-faceted impact on society, and continue to do so to this day.

How Smart Phones Have Changed the World

A survey of small businesses conducted by Appalachian State University in coordination with Selective found that cybersecurity and technology issues were growing concerns for 44% of survey respondents due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, only 20% of survey respondents have cyber insurance coverage.

The findings highlight an awareness gap among small businesses about the risks they face from cybercrime. Twenty-eight percent of data breaches impact small businesses, and phishing attacks account for over 30% of breaches, making them the biggest cyber threat for small organizations.1 Cyber coverage from Selective can help small businesses manage and mitigate risks with comprehensive coverage options and cyber threat education.

Title: What Are the 3 Stages of Psychosis?
Category: Diseases and Conditions
Created: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 1/4/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Can You Get Yourself Back to Normal After Psychosis?
Category: Diseases and Conditions
Created: 7/5/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 7/5/2022 12:00:00 AM

I had been leaning toward supporting the firing of Ward Churchill for his writing and comments concerning 9/11. The more...

Compulsive purchases are so often wrong that I nearly put this one back on the shelf. I'm glad I didn't....

...I'd just like to note three things: The new site is pretty much done. The CSS needs adjusting to make...

The Python Challenge is a nifty site that presents you with a series of puzzles that it asks you to solve using python; getting each answer allows you to move on to the next puzzle.

Python is a cool language and it's a good tool for this job¹ However, I'm learning clojure right now, so I thought it would be fun to try and solve a few of them in clojure. Here's my answers for challenges 0 thru 4 (warning: if you want to do these puzzles yourself, reading further now might ruin the fun)

Challenge #0 (the "Warmup")

Asks you to solve 2 to the 38th power:

(clojure.contrib.math/expt 2 38)

i.e. just use the exponent function in clojure contrib.

Challenge #1

This one throws some scrambled text at you and a clue on what the key is (ROT 2):

(defn translate [text]
  (let [lookup (vec (map char (range 97 123)))]
    (letfn [(letter? [c] (and (>= (int c) 97) (<= (int c) 122)))
            (shift-2 [c] (mod (+ 2 (- (int c) 97)) 26))]
      (apply str (map #(if (letter? %) (get lookup (shift-2 %)) %) text)))))

Create a lookup table of the chars, a predicate to test if a char is a letter. & a function to get the index of 2nd to next letter (the index loops, essentially making lookup as a ring buffer), then map across the given text, shifting by 2 if its a letter or just returning the char if its not.

Challenge #2

This one throws a big hunk of random data at you and suggests you pick out the 'rare' characters:

(defn filter-file [path]
  (let [fs (line-seq (clojure.contrib.io/reader path))
        lookup (set (map char (range 97 123)))]
    (apply str (mapcat #(filter lookup %) fs))))

A quick visual scan of the text led me to a strong hunch the "rare"² characters were lowercase alpha, so:

Re-use our lookup table from the last challenge; this time make it a set, then use the set to filter each line of the file denoted by 'path' (I first saved the text to a file to make it easier to work with); use mapcat to flatten the lines out (this has the effect of stripping empty lines altogether); apply str to the resulting sequence to get the answer.

Challenge #3

This one's a big hunk of text too, so a quick refactoring of our last solution results in a more abstract (and higher-order) function that takes a filter function as an additional parameter:

(defn filter-file [filter-fn path]
    (apply str (mapcat filter-fn (line-seq (io/reader path)))))

the filter from challenge #2 thus becomes an argument; partial works nicely here:

(filter-file (partial filter (set (map char (range 97 123)))) "path/to/file")

Now we can make a new filter for challenge #3. This one will need to find character patterns that look like this: ABCxDEF. We'll need grab x. This one just screamed regex at me, so here's a filter that gives us the answer:

#(second (re-find #"[^A-Z][A-Z]{3}([a-z])[A-Z]{3}[^A-Z]" %)))

An anonymous function³ that uses re-find to match: "not-cap followed by 3 CAPS followed by not-cap followed by 3 CAPS followed by not-cap"; the second element of the resulting vector (because we use parens to create a group) produces x; mapcat et al do the rest.

Two big assumptions/limitations here: assumes each target is on its own line, and that the target pattern wasn't on the beginning or end of the line (which was good enough to get the answer).

Challenge #4

This challenge requires one to follow a url call chain, passing a different number as the argument to a 'nothing' parameter each time. The resulting page text provides the next number to follow (and/or some noise to keep you on your toes) until eventually we get the answer.

This one gets kinda ugly.

This is the kind of problem scripting languages are made for (e.g. perl, python & ruby coders would all make short work of this problem). Still, it's possible to write procedural code in clojure, and it's still reasonably straightforward.

One decision I had to make is how to GET the url's - my weapon of choice for this sort of thing is clj-http:

(require '[clj-http.client :as client])
(require '[clojure.contrib.string :as string]

(defn follow-chain [base-url number]
  (let [result (:body (client/get (str base-url number)))
        idx (.indexOf result "and the next")]
    (cond
      (re-find #"^Yes" result) (do
                                 (println result)
                                 (follow-chain base-url (/ (Integer/parseInt number) 2)))
      (= -1 idx)               result
      :else                    (let [result-vec (string/split (subs result idx) #" ")
                                     next-number (last result-vec)]
                                 (println result)
                                 (recur base-url next-number)))))

Take the url as a base & the first number to follow; use client-http/get to grab the page; extract the body of the page; get the index of the phrase "and the next" using the java "indexOf" method - we'll use the index later to parse out the end of the text and get the next number...

...unless of course, we get text that tells us something else (like a message saying "Yes" and then instructing us to divide the last number by two and continue on as before) so...

...we set up a switch using the cond macro: If the result starts with "Yes" make a recursive call dividing the last number by two; if indexOf otherwise came up empty, that's our answer, so return it; else pick the next number out of the result by splitting the end of the string into a vector (using clojure.contrib.string/split) and recur (tail recursively call the function again).

The println's could be removed, although they were essential when figuring out what the code needed to do.

Conclusion

This was a fun exercise; clojure's holding up pretty well so far, though clojure would not be my weapon of choice for that last one; if I choose to do the next five, I'll post them in a future article.

Footnotes

April 25th. DEAD BOY DETECTIVES. It's really good -- it's funny, it's smart, it's scary, and it even has a few familiar faces...

I'm starting to hear that the money that came in from the Heritage Auction is going out to people and doing what I hoped it would do, which is make life easier for artists and writers.

Pierre Coffin hat ein paar super 3D Videos erstellt. Die Filme sind größtenteils Englisch und der Download lohnt sich wirklich!

Fliege zum Unfallort, sammle die Verletzten ein und fliege sie zum Krankenhaus. Auch für bekennende Hasser der RTL-Serie unterhaltsam ;)

Title: Do Tongue Scrapers Damage Taste Buds?
Category: Diseases and Conditions
Created: 5/11/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/11/2022 12:00:00 AM

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