Today’s roundup starts with Amazon.com’s plan to spy on small businesses and includes an article about how the health care law will affect your business and the top 10 food business trends for 2012.
Amazon to pay customers to spy on small businesses
Get ready for a new level of evil. As Brian Proffitt of allBusines writes, beginning Saturday Amazon.com will offer a five percent discount (up to $5) to customers who check prices of competiting items sold at local businesses. The promotion, titled Price Check, will only run from 9 p.m. on Dec. 9 to 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 10, but the idea is to have customers walk into small businesses, scan prices on their phones and then report back to Amazon. Not only will this hurt small businesses that can’t compete with big box prices, but it will also add to Amazon’s growing level of intelligence on what their customers want to buy.
What the new health care law will mean for your small business
Small business owners everywhere are confused about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (i.e. the new health care law that goes into effect in 2014). To make it easier to digest, The Wall Street Journal’s Emily Maltby writes about what one-person business owners need to know (insurance will be mandated), the future of tax credits going forward (they will likely increase) and just how much small business owners will be responsible for (a lot). This article is a keeper—print it off and post in your office for reference.
The restaurant of the future will change flavors mid-meal and produce it’s own food
Chicagoans are food-obsessed, so its no surprise that two of the country’s most innovative restaurants, iNG and moto, reside within the city limits. What is surprising is how mind-blowing each eatery is. As Chef Homaro Cantu explains in a five -minute video on CNNMoney, customers at iNG eat a berry in the middle of their meals that changes the flavor of the food. Over at moto, customers can literally eat their menus and Cantu is building an indoor farm next to the kitchen.
10 food business trends for 2012
Take this post as a forecast of how to make money next year. As Rieva Lesonsky of Small Business Trends writes, business owners in the food industry will be smart to offer breakfast all the time, consider opening a juice stand, incorporating gluten-free food into menus and adding Mediterranean selections to their stock.
Female entrepreneurs need to ‘sell their vision’ to get funded
It’s no secret that the world needs more female entrepreneurs. But how do they get through to venture capitalists? As Jean Brittingham of Co.Exist writes, they need to build a wide network of relationships, sell their vision of their company, listen (not just talk) when pitching, and leverage their strengths.
How to clean up your body language
These days it’s incredibly common to communicate with clients only online or by phone. But what happens when you finally meet in person? As Christine K. Jahkne, author of The Well-Spoken Woman, tells Forbes in a four-minute video, it’s important to maintain eye contact, lead with a firm (but not too lengthy) handshake and keep your shoulders back.
If you’re reading this, you are probably sick of the 9-5 office slog and would love to make money in your pajamas. As written on Financial Highway, you could try app development, tutoring, online teaching, pet care, transcription, virtual assisting, and life coaching.