Wise Bread (Jonathan Bender)

Money-saving travel hacks from your own home

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 12:20:03 +0000

Your flight is leaving in less than an hour. Your bag is less than packed. And you're less than thrilled about the day's developments. But, you can still look like you planned ahead, thanks to a few household items in your kitchen. And the good news is you don't have to spend a dime.

Your best, last-minute packing friends have been cleverly disguised as everyday kitchen products.

Behold the power of cleaning wipes!

Discover the magical wardrobe saving power of cleaning wipes- the canister of wipes under your sink have hidden powers. Scuffed shoes shed years with this shoe polish in a sponge technique. Just throw a few wipes in a plastic bag so they retain their moisture and you've got the ability to spot polish your shoes whenever you need a quick shine.

Don't ever buy travel shampoo

Your brand of shampoo is like your own pillow- your head just won't feel right without it. And now you don't have to leave your shampoo behind or drop a $1 or $2 on a travel bottle. While you have the ziploc bags out, you can fill one with shampoo. When you get to your hotel, you can either snip off a corner and squeeze it like a tube of icing or just scoop a bit out. If you have plastic wrap or press n' seal, you can also make your own shampoo and soap containers. Just lay the plastic wrap flat, squeeze in a dollop of shampoo and then lift and twist the ends of the wrapping to form a tight seal. Throw a second layer of wrap around the shampoo, just to make sure it doesn't leak.

Best of all, you've got all your liquids in a TSA-approved ziploc bag.

Permalink | 7 comments | Jonathan Bender's blog | Channel: Life Hacks

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The three secrets to a successful family business

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 12:21:22 +0000

By Jonathan Bender

Everyone sees the family business as a safety net. If you fail in the corporate world, you can always put your talents to work at your dad's shop or snag a few hours at your uncle's place. But if your family doesn't prepare, that safety net likely won't be around for the next generation.

Family businesses are at the heart of corporate America. While you might think of a neighborhood bakery or restaurant, family shops are not just mom and pop shops. You might have heard of the Maloofs with the Palm Casino and Sacramento Kings, the Heinz family, or the Blocks of H&R Block- families are the foundation of billion-dollar businesses. Most of us are likely a long way from a global empire, but if you want to be the one of the three businesses which will survive to the second generation (from the Family Firm Institute), you should focus on the following three areas: individualization, Internet marketing, and succession planning.

To each his own

You may work in your father or mother's business, but that doesn't mean you share their talents. They might love numbers or be a junk dealer in Los Angeles, but odds are you're going to be good at something different than your parents. And that means, it's your job to carve out your niche in the business. Find your talent or passion and discover how to apply it to the family business. Maybe it's drawing menus for the Greek restaurant your family runs or launching a financial services add-on service to your family's sales company.

The key here is that you have a personal goal that you can achieve and the freedom to pursue your own dreams within your family's business. That goal will make you work harder and feel even more invested in setting things up for the next generation. So, establish your place and carve out your own niche.

Take your message online

People want to work with family businesses. They like knowing that a person will answer the phone and a name is attached to a service. So, it's your job to do everything in your power to help them find you and your family's business. There are template websites available for free and you can get online within a week. You should consider maintaining a corporate blog to help establish your family's brand and allow people to connect with your family. Tell your family's story, the history of the company. People want to hear about you, in your own words. Often, families are unwilling to sell their best asset- themselves. Tell people why they should do business with you. Guess what? They probably will...

The children are your future

According to a study from Oregon State University, fewer than 30 percent of business owners have put a succession plan in place. And that can lead to a difficult situation when a family member retires or passes away. Who will take over as head of the business? Who knows the right contacts and has the insitutional knowledge stored inside the brain of your father or mother? You have to ask these questions and get the answers in place well before the first generation is ready to step down.

When you start looking at the future of your business, then you're thinking like the Heinz family and the Blocks- and you're one generation closer to a billion-dollar business.

Got any other tips? How has your family found success or just the patience to work together?

Permalink | 3 comments | Jonathan Bender's blog | Channel: Career and Income

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Quit wasting your lunch hour on lunch (or how you can change your life in just 45 minutes a day)

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:57:27 +0000

By Jonathan Bender

Lunch hour has become recess, a chance to unwind and play a little bit. But it doesn't have to be. Those 45 minutes every day can be the reason you go to work and just the time you need to make some major changes in your life. Get ready to give a whole new meaning to the term lunch money.

Make money on your time

You have 45 minutes of scheduled free time every day. You can watch videos online, get trapped behind your desk, or you can do something useful- like launch your own business. By having time set aside every day, you no longer have an excuse not to launch your dream career. So, tap into your entrepreneurial side and start selling wine on your lunchbreak.

So, you're not the Coppola winery, what do you want to do? Get started on your business plan, website, or corporate logo. Even with just a few minutes a day, you'd be suprised how much you can accomplish in a week.

Back to school

As long as you're thinking about school recess, you might as well head back to the classroom. With online courses offering everything from certificate to master's degrees, your lunch time might be the right time to pursue an advanced degree. According to the U.S. Commerce Department's Census Bureau, an average working person can expect to earn $2.1 million over the course of their lifetime if they have a bachelor's degree. That number bumps up to $2.5 million if the have a master's degree. Think your lunch hour is worth $400,000? It is now.

For those of you with MBAs in the crowd, take this step to the next level. Approach your local adult education cetner about teaching a series of business seminars or classes over lunch. Take your industry expertise or just best general business practices and structure a curriculum. Your rationale for offering the course can be that not everybody has time for classes, but everyone has time to eat. Say hello to a new profit center.

At work-out

Not a gym rat? Not a problem. With the new Nintendo Wii Fit being launched soon, you'll be ready to get in shape with a video game. A wireless board serves as a base for the series of low-impact, core-centric workout programs. In many ways, this is the evolution of the Dance, Dance Revolution Workout - where video games are masquerading as exercise routines.

The challenge will be convincing your human resources department to purchase the game for corporate use as opposed to a stody corporate gym membership. That should be somewhat easier thanks to Michael Moore's documentary, Sicko.

But perhaps the best way to approach HR is to pitch the idea as part of an employee fitness challenge that you would run. The goal would be to encourage your entire company to get in shape together. The beauty of this plan is that you'd be playing video games at work, improving your physical health, and getting noticed by management. Who is the creative genius in accounting with this great idea? That's you. Don't forget your fast track pants.

Now that's a lunch hour that's truly satisfying.

Permalink | 6 comments | Jonathan Bender's blog | Channel: Entrepreneurship

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