Business, finances, forex

If a stimulating environment get’s your entrepreneurial juices flowing, the Entrepreneurs Cruise taking place from April 22-29 may be an option for you.

On your way from Florida to destinations such as Philipsburg, St. Maarten; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Labadee, Haiti you will be with professionals who will teach you the latest innovative technologies, emerging strategies, best practices and much more.

On this year’s cruise, some of the topics to be covered include digital strategy, customer engagement, data science and big data, programmatic advertising and more.

You can learn more about the cruise, including how to sign up in the Featured Events section. This list has different events geared to small business owners across a range of topics.

If you happen to have your own event, contest or award listing, you can visit the Small Business Events Calendar and let the world know about it.

Featured Events, Contests and Awards

Entrepreneurs Cruise 2018
April 22, 2018, Florida, United States of America

Are you an Entrepreneur and need to get away and take a break? Ready to recharge, rejuvenate in new surroundings and be inspired by other like minds? Then, you can’t miss the 4th annual Entrepreneurs Cruise! Entrepreneurs Cruise 2018 takes place April 22nd to 29th, 2018 onboard the Royal Caribbean ‘Oasis of the Seas’ Cruise Ship departing Orlando (Port Canaveral), Florida, sailing to Philipsburg (St. Maarten), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Labadee (Haiti). Register today!

DigiMarCon East 2018 – Digital Marketing Conference
May 10, 2018, New York, New York

DigiMarCon East 2018 Digital Marketing Conference takes place May 10th to 11th, 2018 at the luxurious New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square, New York City.
It’s the one digital marketing event you can’t afford to miss! Whether your goal is to reinforce customer loyalty, improve lead generation, increase sales, or drive stronger consumer engagement, DigiMarCon East 2018’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. Register today!

TECHSPO Houston 2018
June 06, 2018, Houston, Texas

TECHSPO Houston 2018 is a 2-day technology expo which takes place JUNE 6 – 7, 2018 at the luxurious Houston Marriott Eaton Centre Hotel in Houston, Ontario. TECHSPO Houston brings together developers, brands, marketers, technology providers, designers, innovators and evangelists looking to set the pace in our advanced world of technology. TECHSPO Houston 2018 promises to be better than ever and we’re excited to see all the amazing tech companies and talent that will join us. Register today!

Growth & Success Con
September 17, 2018, Online

This small business virtual conference is dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs at all stages who are stuck in the daily grind of building their businesses and struggle to get solid advice and guidance. An amazing panel of experts in various disciplines and business coaches will share tips & tricks on topics including Growth, Marketing, Management & Business Building for Success. Register today!

More Events

• AWIB Spring Open House
  April 03, 2018, New York, New York
• XLIVE – Event Data and Analytics Summit 2018 – Eventtech Conference Las Vegas
  April 03, 2018, Beverly Hills, United States
• Ecommerce Operations Summit 2018
  April 03, 2018, Columbus, United States
• ESG4 Summit Environmental Social Governance Conference, New York April 2018
  April 04, 2018, New York, United States
• Health and Benefits Leadership Conference
  April 04, 2018, Las Vegas, United States
• Food Business Entrepreneur Training Academy (10-Part Series)
  April 09, 2018, Dublin, CA
• Marketing for Small Business
  April 09, 2018, Toronto, Canada
• 7th International Conference on Business and Economic Development (ICBED)
  April 09, 2018, New York, United States
• Loan Documentation
  April 09, 2018, New York, United States
• Free Bradenton Networking Event powered by Rockstar Connect
  April 10, 2018, Bradenton, Florida
• OceanTech Expo
  April 10, 2018, Online
• Recurring Revenue Conference 2018
  April 12, 2018, Marina del Rey, California
• Small Business Expo 2018 – PHILADELPHIA
  April 12, 2018, Philadelphia, United States
• Doral Chamber of Commerce Business Networking Luncheon at Carnival Cruise Line
  April 13, 2018, Miami, Florida
• Time Mastery Workshop: 7 Steps to Mastering Your Time with Mark G. Richardson
  April 13, 2018, McLean, VA
• Leadership and Team Management Skills
  April 17, 2018, Ashford, United Kingdom
• SILICON VALLEY BLOCKCHAIN CONFERENCE 2018
  April 17, 2018, San Francisco, United States
• Time Management and Self-Awareness
  April 18, 2018, Ashford, United Kingdom
• Small Business Expo 2018 – WASHINGTON D.C.
  April 20, 2018, Washington, United States
• Sales Cruise 2018
  April 22, 2018, Cape Canaveral, Florida

More Contests

• Public Vote to Crown America’s Most Unique Small Business Underway
  November 08, 2018, http://www.paychex.com/vote?utm_source=contest&utm_medium=press%20release&utm_term=americas-most-unique

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

Image: …Entrepreneurs Cruise

This article, “Entrepreneur Cruise Teaches Business Skills in Paradise” was first published on Small Business Trends

Source

When it comes to running and marketing a business, there are going to be things that work for some businesses and don’t work for others. But there are also some essential elements — a logo, an email strategy, interesting content — which all small businesses will need. Here are 10 tips to consider for marketing your business more effectively from members of the online small business community.

Create a Brand Logo in Minutes

A good logo is essential to any small business branding campaign. And you don’t need to be a professional designer or spend tons of time and money on a great looking logo. In this post on the Kissmetrics blog, Neil Patel explains how you can create a logo for your brand quickly and efficiently.

Use This Intro for Email Marketing

Email has been a staple of small business marketing plans for years. But despite that staying power, rumors about the demise of email marketing persist, causing some new entrepreneurs to overlook this powerful tool. If you’ve fallen into that category, take a look at this DIY Marketers post by Ivana Taylor for a guide on getting started.

Make Your Boring Blog Interesting

Blogging is another popular marketing tactic for small businesses. But if you want your blog to actually make an impact, it has to interest people. This Blogging Tips post by Christopher Jan Benitez details how you can make blogs from boring niches interesting. And BizSugar members commented on the post here.

Keep Track of Outsourcing Benefits

Outsourcing various parts of your business operations, from marketing to shipping, can offer great opportunities for growth. There are various benefits to taking this route. And Ivan Widjaya of Biz Penguin outlines some of those benefits in this post.

Know These MarTech Facts

Technology has made massive changes to the marketing landscape in recent years. So if you want your own marketing efforts to make a splash, you need to know the facts about the technology involved. Check out this Marketing Land post by Scott Brinker for more.

Use Videos Effectively in Your Sales Process

When it comes to increasing sales for your small business, video can prove to be an effective format. In this Smallbiztechnology.com post, Ramon Ray dives into how video can make an impact on various parts of the sales funnel and shares actionable tips for entrepreneurs and sales professionals.

Learn How to Market Through Text Messages and Chatbots

Marketing ultimately is just about communicating with customers. So it makes sense for businesses to use the platforms that are most popular with their customers. That can include text messaging. For more on the subject, check out this Content Marketing Institute by Chris Frascella.

Don’t Pay Too Much Attention to Your Competition

Your competitors can certainly make an impact on the success of your business. But it can also be a detriment for businesses to pay too much attention to those outside entities, as Rachel Strella of Strella Social Media argues here.  You can also see discussion from the BizSugar community about the subject here.

Use Facebook Ads for Market Research

Market research is an essential step for any small business looking to grow and reach more customers. And Facebook can be a great platform for doing so. This Social Media Examiner post by Maria Dykstra includes some tips for using Facebook ads for market research.

Focus on These Important SEO Tasks

Search engines can be another great method for reaching the most relevant customers for your small business. To make the most of these platforms, you need to focus on the most important tasks, like the ones listed in this Search Engine Journal post by Patrick Reinhart.

If you’d like to suggest your favorite small business content to be considered for an upcoming community roundup, please send your news tips to: sbtips@gmail.com.

Photo via Shutterstock

This article, “10 Tips to Consider for Marketing Your Small Business More Effectively” was first published on Small Business Trends

Source

April Fools Day falls on a Sunday and a holiday this year. But this won’t stop people from “celebrating” this day of practical jokes anyway — perhaps in the office come Monday!

April Fools Day Pranks at Work

There’s a chance some pranksters at your office are already hard at work on a hilarious gag to unleash on co-workers when returning from the holiday weekend.

But according to one employment law expert, April Fools Day jokes and pranks are probably best left for outside the workplace. And as the boss of your small business, it’s your job to make sure the pranks likely to be pulled around your office don’t get out of control.

Seyfarth Shaw at Work, a legal compliance company serving small businesses, recently surveyed 400 managers and employees about April Fools Day pranks.

Online April Fools Day Pranks Most Popular

The office prank is evolving. While you’re still likely to see someone’s stapler stuck in a Jello mold, it’s more likely the pranks around your office will be online.

The company says the most popular pranks today are online or involve social media of some kind. In a survey 37% of respondents said online pranks were most popular at their office.

That’s not good, according to Seyfarth Shaw at Work President Philippe Weiss, an attorney. These pranks are “immortal” in the sense they’ll always be online to remind the recipient of the joke.

The problems start when the recipient or the butt of the prank does not appreciate it.

Class Pranks

Any fan of “The Office” will surely remember Jim pranking Dwight all the way through the series, not just on April Fools Day. At the time, online pranks were hardly possible. Well, those office hijinks are still popular, according to the company’s data.

In addition to the online jokes, 34% say “office space remodeling” is most popular at their office. Another 16% say “food-related” pranks take the cake, and 5% said “automotive alterations” were the top jest.

April Fools Advice

People seem to have reached the height of sensitivity these days so it’s always important to keep this in mind before pulling off a prank.

Weiss offers some advice for entrepreneurs dealing with the issue. If you’re the one in charge of a small business, your pranking days may be over. No matter how ripe the opportunity, “a boss pranking is offering a complete pranking license to his or her employees,” Weiss says.

Instead of participating, the boss should be more of a prank ref. Ensure the pranks being pulled by your employees don’t demean or discriminate.

And as the leader, it’s important you set up some kind of ground rules for pranks at the office. Remind employees pranks should be kept between friends, are light-hearted in nature and safe.

Before an employee pulls off a prank, they should think twice about how the recipient will take the joke.

Employees should also avoid pranking the boss and no one at your small business should consider pulling a joke on any office visitors and especially not your customers.

Photo via Shutterstock

This article, “It’s Best to Avoid April Fools Day Pranks at your Business, Expert Says” was first published on Small Business Trends

Source

With average earnings of $100,000 and up and no college degree required, a professional actuary is probably one of the highest-paying jobs — and yet one you may not have heard of. While some  have heard of the term “actuary”, very few know what these people do.

Strength in Numbers: An In-Depth Look at Actuarial Science for Math Enthusiasts clears the confusion about the actuarial field and gives aspiring college students tips for breaking into this difficult (but profitable) profession.

What is Strength in Numbers About?

Although actuaries don’t need a college degree to work, getting into the field is not expected as author Chloe Hung will tell you. Becoming an actuary is a challenging process with challenging examinations that require knowledge of statistics, probability, computer programs (Excel, SAS, etc.), and project management skills. These requirements are the reason most prospective actuaries go to college before attempting the exams.

A college degree doesn’t guarantee an actuarial student will easily pass the exams as author Chloe Hung found out. Hung experienced plenty of stops during her journey to becoming an actuary. Once a future actuary passes the initial exams, they earn “Associate” status until they pass another round of exams. At that point, they can legitimately claim the professional actuary title.

For some, going through these grueling actuarial exams and a certification process isn’t worth it.

For others, this process is a small price to pay for a high-earning and growing career. Strength in Numbers guides and motivates current and future actuarial students through this challenging career.

Hung is a formerly confused (but determined) actuarial student who persevered through the actuarial exams to become an actuary consultant, coach and mentor. Her book, Strength in Numbers represents her continued passion to improve awareness and job satisfaction in the actuarial industry.

Her mission is to help other prospective actuarial students break into the actuarial field with confidence.

What Was Best About Strength in Numbers?

Strength in Numbers is an inspiring career guide for aspiring actuaries written from the perspective of a former college student who has survived the process. Because of Hung’s background, she is able to tailor her advice to her target student, the hopeful (but nervous) college student who wants to determine if an actuarial field is a realistic possibility for him or her.

What Could Have Been Done Differently?

Although the subtitle of Strength in Numbers describes this book as comprehensive, it’s really more of an overview. The book outlines the key steps and struggles in becoming an actuary but lacks enough detail. For example, “Strength in Numbers” fails to share specific information about the content or format of the actuarial exams.

Strength in Numbers also lacks a comprehensive description of the actuary field. While the book gives hints. more information is needed on the different industries and their day-to-day responsibilities. This would further help the book reach its goal of reaching future actuaries.

Why Read Strength in Numbers?

Strength in Numbers is the next book any aspiring student should consider after getting introduced to the actuarial field. The actuarial field doesn’t get a lot of press but offers many high-paying careers.

Hung does students a huge service by profiling this career and demonstrating it is possible to break into it with the proper training. Hung doesn’t sugarcoat the entry process. She simultaneously shares the obstacles of the field and also how to go about overcoming them. That possibility is what carried Hung through her actuarial journey and what inspired her to write Strength in Numbers.

This article, “Strength in Numbers is a Guide for the Actuary Student Who Wants to Build a $100,000 Business” was first published on Small Business Trends

Source

The relations between the State Security and the world-renowned philosopher and writer Julia Kristeva appear to be just like a cat and mouse game in the 1970s, according to documents released yesterday by the Dossier Commission.

On Tuesday, the Commission announced that Kristeva was recruited as an agent of the former State Security. She has worked for foreign intelligence with the nickname “Sabina”.

However, the documents published yesterday show that she has not written any records of intel, she contacted the State Security officers but did not follow the instructions for conspiracy, did not appear in many of the meetings and according to one of the agents she attempted to legalize this relationship. In the declassified materials there are no documents written by Julia Krusteva herself.

Kristeva, who since 1965 works and lives in France and is a well-known name in the intellectual circles, has asked the State Security not to push her to write information “because she would not be able to expose the essentials.”

The declassified documents show that the State Security has followed her every step since 1963, the files include characteristics written about her, copies of her letters to her relatives in Bulgaria. The assessment is that she has “good opportunities for work in our favour among French cultural figures”.

According to one of the reports, Vladimir Kostov had psychologically prepared Julia Krusteva in 1966 for the upcoming recruitment. In 1967, agent Ivanov wrote about her: “It can be certain that Julia has left Bulgaria for good and remains in Paris.”

In her dossier there is a document from December 1970 about a recruitment, “The recruitment of Y. Kristeva can be considered as completed successfully, proposed alias Sabina,” Lyubomirov writes.

In subsequent reports of his encounters with her, he states that she misses meetings, the explanations are usually that she forgot, she was very busy, or her mother-in-law got sick and she had to take care of her. From the reports on the conversations of Kristeva with Lyubomirov, it is present that that she is talking about her work, vacations with her relatives and is looking for assistance to continue the validity of her sister’s passport, who was studying abroad.

Her main task is about finding centers that work against Bulgaria but she says she could not find anything specific, the agent wrote in June 1971.

“On May 4, 1973, when considering the work of the resident agent in the presence of Lyubomirov, it was decided to end the operational contact with Sabina because she did not want to work, did not come regularly to the meetings, deviated from her tasks and had an open pursuit to legalize their relationship”, is noted in a document in the dossier.

Through all that the time, the State Security is interested in the positions of Kristeva and her husband Philippe Sollers. According to intelligence, the two had some sympathy for China – “something that is now trendy among avant-garde French intellectuals.” Later, in 1973, it was claimed that Kristeva and her husband adopted certain Maoist positions.

“From the questions she put to me it became clear that she was susceptible to the anti-Soviet propaganda led here, and despite my justified explanations and arguments, she was not firmly convinced of our just cause,” another agent wrote.

Kristeva shared her political analyzes about the positions of the French Communist Party in France in July 1976 in talks with State Security agents, and even predicted Jimmy Carter’s chances of winning US presidential elections, which came true several months later.

“I do not think putting pressure on her parents or sister is a good strategy as it may have an adverse effect, Antonov writes.

Again, in April 1976, he wrote: “She obviously wants her parents to come here, but she tries to act in a way that is typical of her – to get something from us without giving anything in return.”

Julia Kristeva’s case also includes a note from Lukas Draganov, Deputy Chief of Consuls, about a conversation with Kristeva about a letter in which she is complaining that her parents are not allowed to visit her family and see their baby son.

“I told Kristeva that Bulgaria would not kneel before her husband and the threat that he will write an article against our country, and that it was not a worthy behaviour by a Bulgarian woman. I added that we have a chance to retaliate because her sister is pursuing higher education with a scholarship in the USSR In response, Krasteva explained that they had no intention of harming Bulgaria’s reputation, and she simply told our employees the dispute with her husband who could not understand how it was possible, after all, in Helsinki, that to two elderly parents are not allowed to go and see their grandchild in an irritated state said he deserved to describe the situation in Le Monde, the note writes.

In the end Draganov proposes, noting that this is also the opinion of the ambassador, to allow the parents of Julia Kristeva to visit her.

Source: Vesti,bg

Source

A bus driver, his colleague and more than 20 passengers have been injured in a crash between a bus and a truck in the German province of Bavaria last night, the police said, quoted by the DPA.
 
The bus driver and the reserve driver were seriously injured and the passengers were lightly injured. Police and emergency services are at the site of the crash near the town of Waldaschaff. An air ambulance helicopter was also sent.
 
The A3 motorway is closed in one direction. 

Source

Russian Foreign Ministry announced that a plane on the national air carrier “Aeroflot” was searched by British police at an airport in London, the Associated Press reported.
 
Office spokeswoman Maria Zaharova said the British authorities did not give reason for the search which she called “another provocation.” She did not specify at which airport was the plane.

The tension between London and Moscow is high because of the dispute over the poisoning of a former Russian double agent and his daughter on British territory. Britain blames Russia for the assault, and it denies to have anything to do with it, AP notes.
 
Each of the two parties ordered the expulsion of 23 diplomats. Russia has ordered Britain to reduce the number of its diplomats in Moscow to that of Russia in London.

Source

Germany is set to create its first federal migrant repatriation centre over the summer, reports EUobserver. 

State secretary Stephan Mayer told the newspaper that the centre was a top priority for the new government. The centre is likely to be built in Bavaria or in Hessen. The aim is to speed up returns of people whose asylum requests have been rejected.

Source

Turkey has started preparations to clear northern Syria’s Ayn al-Arab, Ras al-Ain and Tel Abyad regions from militants up to the Iraqi border, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday, adding that it would also clear militants from Iraq.

Erdogan said Turkey has no intention of harming soldiers of allied nations positioned in the region, but that it could not allow militants to roam free, Reuters reported.

United States troops are positioned alongside Kurdish YPG militants in Syria’s Manbij. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday it had assured the YPG of its support to stabilize northern Syria.

Source

Today, on March 31^th  the Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrates the traditional St. Lazar’s Day, known here as Lazarovden.

 The holiday is celebrated each year on the eight day (last Saturday) before Easter with typical ceremonies called Lazaruvane. The day is a festival devoted to young girls, pastures, fields and woods.

In the past on Lazarovden the young girls could demonstrate to the village community that they had already grown to be maidens. The girls would gather in groups of about ten at the house of the prettiest one, and start from there with their songs to make a round of the village.

The songs sung on St Lazar’s Day praise the beauty of the maiden and her lover, the labor of the farmer, the purity of maternal love, and also express wishes for happiness and prosperity.

The Orthodox Church connects that day to the resurrection of Lazarus (brother of Martha and Maria), whom Jesus raised from the dead. Lazarus, who lived for 30 years more, was an ardent follower of Christian faith and died as a bishop of the town of Ketonia (in Cyprus).

Source