Up Market

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• Young Entrepreneurs Should Take the Stairs
• Don’t Miss These Warning Signs of Fraud
• What Your Business Can Learn from a Kids Story Book
• How to Increase Your Ebay Sales

Young Entrepreneurs Should Take the Stairs Posted: 16 Jan 2012 08:30 AM PST The next generation of entrepreneurs has a very important mission. They have to annihilate the term "elevator pitch". The idea of getting in an elevator and taking it to the top floor with the one decision maker that can change your future is a great one. And its time has come AND GONE. When people talk about their elevator pitch does it make people want to listen and learn more? Young entrepreneurs must come up with a new way to market their uniqueness and talent. New and vibrant companies use video, social media and even virtual reality to tell their entrepreneurial story. Using the term "elevator pitch" makes a business person seem like their email address might end with "aol.com". Young entrepreneurs should pursue ways to communicate their ideas through innovations that match their generational monikers: millenials, gen X, Net generation, etc. They need to sell their ideas to decision makers through tools like simulated holography. Young entrepreneurs, please accept this challenge: Get rid of the elevator pitch. Replace it with something worthy of the technological savvy you bring to the marketplace. Otherwise it may come to this…Escalator toss anyone? Photo Credit: svenwerk

Don’t Miss These Warning Signs of Fraud Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:00 AM PST Most of us want to believe our colleagues are good, honest people. But the facts seem to indicate that we may be a little too trusting: According to the Association of Fraud Examiners 2010 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, the typical organization loses five percent of its annual revenues to fraud. Frauds last a median of 18 months before being detected. There are, however, several warning signs that can help you identify fraud and prevent or minimize losses. A recent press release from New York accounting firm Marks Paneth & Shron LLP shares a few of the common red flags that may help you detect fraud early: Shrinking inventories. Bank deposits that don't match cash receipt records. Checks made payable to employees, an unknown person, an unapproved vendor, or "cash". Payroll fluctuations or poorly documented employees on the payroll. Changes or unusual patters in employees' expenses. The press release further suggests that organizations who detect fraud should take the following immediate steps: Contact an attorney or prosecutor. Notify the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee. Consult with your attorney about notifying the Attorney General's office if your organization is nonprofit. Review insurance policies. If you are an officer or board member, notify your own insurer. Seek injunctive relief. Develop a corrective plan. For more details on all of these items, visit MarketWatch.com. Do you have any experience with fraud in your company? Share your tips for identifying it and minimizing the damage done in the comments. Photo Credit:  EricGjerde

What Your Business Can Learn from a Kids Story Book Posted: 15 Jan 2012 04:00 PM PST Ever read a company website that says, “We started our office supply business 20 years ago.  We want you to be happy with your office supplies and guarantee that our products will satisfy your office needs.” How about one that says, “It all started when I lost my job at the file folder manufacturing plant.  For years, I’d had this idea knocking around in my head for a bathroom-cleaning robot.  I decided to actually build the thing and start selling it.  Three years ago, I was broke.  Yesterday, I walked into the bank with a check for $160,000 and paid off my mortgage.” The first one is boring.  The second one (entirely fictional) is interesting.  Why? Because it tells a story (with a plot, a hero, and a happy ending, just like a children’s story). Here are some businesses and people with great stories. Becky Blanton was abused and homeless. Three years later, she spoke at a TED conference, where she turned her own pain into a triumph. Go look at her testimonials page.  The acclaim ranges from a Hasidic rabbi to a Saudi  professor with a keffiyah.  Not many people could bring those two together on the same page. Christina Ciani is a single mom.  Her old jobs waiting tables and tending bar meant working long hours, and not enough time with her kids. So, she invented personalized Internet Address Books. Use them to keep track of all your passwords, favorite URLs, and passwords.  The personalized part?  You can add your own instagram photos. Each book is uniquely yours.  And no more long nights of waiting tables either. Adriana Beal was recognized by the US government as an “alien of extraordinary ability.” They weren’t kidding.  Originally from Brazil, Adriana decided she wanted to do something about the terrible poverty there.  She set up Projeto100.org to do something about it.  100% of the donations go to charity.  No overhead, no administration fees and donors decide how to invest.   She says she has a magic wand (10 3/4 inches, with a unicorn hair core).  I believe her. Oh, and if anyone actually invents a bathroom-cleaning robot, I want one! Photo Credit: Lori Greig

How to Increase Your Ebay Sales Posted: 15 Jan 2012 12:00 PM PST Learn how to take advantage of slow times on eBay.

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