The least surprising breaking news of the year

Groupon is entering a new era.

CNNMoney is reporting that CEO Andrew Mason is out at the company that he founded.

I wrote in November that it was likely that Mason was going to get fired. He survived that quarterly earnings period, but couldn't survive the most recent results.

It's not much of a surprise because of two things. First, they should have taken Google's offer to buyout for some $6 billion. Upon passing on that, they needed to diversify and earn revenue from that diversification fast.

Groupon started to diversify, including such things as a new credit card processing service (a highly watered down market as it is), but it was basically too little, too late.

So where does the company go from here? They will name an interim CEO, but from there the company has a few options.

They are now a major target for a takeover at a huge discount to what Google offered. They may also keep trying to further diversify their offerings and basically 'restart' the company. Third, they may end up going private.

It's a bit too early to say which way the company will go, but we will likely know by the end of the year.

Martha Stewart is a horrible person to work for

Who would wan't to work for Martha Stewart? I know I certainly would not.

Business Insider has compiled a list of stories from sources close to her, detailing how difficult she is to work for.

Such stories include her canceling a deal with Macy's hours before it was announced, and she instead went with J.C. Penney, needing to be personally involved with every item that bears her name and invoicing her former best friend for her expenses on a trip to Europe.

She has also created what can only be described as a hostile work environment with those who work closest to her.

I could understand if a handful of the antidotes were true, as I'm sure there have been challenging times dealing with any CEO. But just the wide nature of the stories and the sources they come from, tell me there is a terrible culture associated with Stewart.

Most people that work close to her must be doing it for other reasons. Perhaps the pay is good, or they are using it as a stepping stone to another position within another company. Maybe they have become accustomed to her outbursts and have just learned how to roll with the punches.

But I would be pissed if I worked for someone, who after a significant amount of work, came in and blew the whole project up at the last second because it was slightly the wrong shade of green. However, knowing what I know about her, I would never apply to work for her. Plain and simple, she is a bully. There are many companies out there who's CEOs know how to treat their employees well. Those are the companies I want to work for.

Advice from a jobseeker on keeping spirits up

If you have spent any time unemployed over the last several years, you know how difficult the job market has become. The tables have been tilted in favor of the employer and the longer your unemployment drags on, the more frustrated you are.

I'm not going to give you tips on how to improve your job search (ok, maybe one), or give you tips and secrets on how to get that job. There are a million people on the Internet, and in your personal life who are more than happy to do  that.

Instead, I'm going to give you tips to keep your spirits up, coming from someone who has been unemployed now for a significant stretch of time.

1. Get out of your house/apartment every single day. Go for a walk around the neighborhood at a bare minimum. Or to the park. Become a mall walker. Especially if it is winter, cabin fever will get to you. Counter that by just getting outside and out of your home environment.

2. Don't hide. Similar to the first item, you want to be out front with your job search. Let others know of your predicament and you never know what they may be able to offer in support.

3. Set small goals. Obviously the main goal is to get a new job. But you also want to set small daily, and weekly goals. Perhaps it's to apply to five jobs each calendar week. Or to make two new LinkedIn connections per day. It is much easier to reach and obtain these goals if you keep them small and reasonable. Plus, it will help keep your motivation up.

4. Speaking of LinkedIn, the one improvement to your job search that I highly recommend make involves you and your LinkedIn profile. Complete it and then do what you can to get to over 500 connections. Concentrate on people in your field, or desired field and connect with those at your desired companies. Also, connect with those in your current or desired geographic location. Finally, make sure that you include as many people who have 500+ connections as possible. LinkedIn only works based on three degrees of separation, so you want to get as many people as possible to be within those three degrees.

None of this is guaranteed to help you get a job within the next week, but it can help you cope. Yes, you will have down days, and perhaps down weeks. But maintaining a positive attitude can, and will help you find your next job!

Marissa Mayer is out of her league

Marissa Mayer has a problem. A big problem.

She is out of her league.

I get that Yahoo! has had a lot of problems for quite a long time. But she is going about fixing things in all the wrong ways.

First, she took a two-week maternity leave. While that may be all she needs, she is sending a message to her employees that they better not ask for a lengthy maternity leave. Hopefully no employees have pregnancy complications that require significant time off.

In addition, she doesn't respect anyone's time but her own. It doesn't matter if you are the guy working in the mail room or the CEO. If you can't show up to things on time, it's time to reassess what you are doing. Nobody is going to respect her. It's going to be impossible to get anything done otherwise.

Then she showed off the new homepage on Today, while Yahoo! is a major partner of Good Morning America. Plain and simple, there was a lack of thought to that decision and shows out out of touch Meyer is with what is going on with who the company deals with.

Now, she is not allowing anyone to work remotely. I get that people slack off when they work from home. Guess what? People slack off when they work in the office too. In addition, if people aren't getting work done at home, they aren't being managed properly. Get rid of the problem managers. Don't punish all of those that work remotely because managers don't manage.

While Mayer is making missteps, it is possible she will be able to right the sinking ship that is Yahoo! However, she is showing a trend that shows she is out of touch, disrespectful and not able to make decisions that address the actual problem. She is certainly not someone that I would want to work for, and I am sure there are many people at Yahoo! who are thinking the same.

Herbalife is a pyramid scheme

The business world is full of buzz today with Bill Ackman's accusations that Herbalife is nothing but a pyramid scheme.

I agree with him.

The similarities to what Herbalife promotes to what Quixtar/Amway promote is just way too similar to be a coincidence. Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) companies are just nothing but a scam except for those at the top

I've never dealt with Herbalife, but I did have a brief encounter with Quixtar right when Amway was trying to convert their business model to the Internet.

Anytime a business has it's focus on developing a 'downline' or has their focus on developing a network below you, red flags need to be flying and 'bells and whistles' need to be going off in your mind. Or if the only way to obtain their products require you contacting an 'independent distributor' should provide some pause.

That last part is the only way to obtain Herbalife products. Doing so requires you to fill out a lengthly form to get any information. You can't see any current products. You can't talk to anyone. You just fill out a form and go from there.

The same thing was how my experience with Quixtar was. I was a young and dumb kid in the very early 2000s and was sucked in by their promise of developing a network with people below me who's commissions would flow up to me. I was 18 at the time and of course the $200 or so I blew over a six month period only went to people above and I saw nothing of it. It was virtually impossible to get people below me and I quickly lost interest, saw the whole situation for what it was and chalked it up to a semi-expensive lesson at the time.

So Herbalife is just another one of those MLMs that promise riches for everyone involved, but any money that is generated by those at the bottom just flow upwards to the top. Do yourself a favor and don't get sucked into Herbalife, Amway or any others that are bound to pop up in the future!

An end of world prediction you can take to the bank

Look, the world is not going to end tomorrow (December 21, 2012).

The Mayans never predicted the world would end. At the heart of the matter is that all that happens is the end of the 13th b'ak'tun and the start of the 14th based on the Long Count calendar.

However, people get fired up over stuff like this and since the news media has to fill airtime with stuff - nonsense such as this gets a ton of exposure. It causes people to develop some form of hysteria and begin doing nonsense such as prepping. Their time and effort could be better utilized doing just about anything else.

So tomorrow is going to come and go without incident. I promise The sun will come up on Saturday and life will go on and we can all start watching more college football bowl games.

But here is a second promise that I can guarantee will happen. Someone somewhere will come up with another 'end of days' prediction. People will freak out. Nothing will happen.

It could be some crazy guy like Harold Camping. Or some unknown person who will make an 'interpretation' of some obscure ancient text. It will get picked up by the Internet or some news reporter looking for a story and become a big deal.

The best thing you can do is ignore it. Don't propagate the madness and nonsense. You will save yourself and your fellow humans the embarrassment of the inevitable failure.

You are not changing the world

This really gets me fired up.

People who claim they are changing the world without doing anything that changes the world.

I see this all the time. Frequently it's people who introduce something on their website as the latest-and-greatest business technique. Or networking plan. Or social media campaign/tool/platform. Or whatever. It's usually something that's already been done before that's been repackaged or made cumbersome and nobody really wants anything to do with.

It might be the latest start-up that is introducing some new program or product that makes the claim they are changing the world. Of course, it's the last time I hear about that company and what they have to offer - and they end up going away once they blow through their start-up money.

You change the world by doing something for someone that needs help. Dig water wells in Africa. Work to end hunger in your home town. Tutor underprivileged kids in the afternoons.

Stop acting all high, mighty and arrogant. Having confidence is a good thing. Pretending you are changing the world when you aren't is a waste of everyone's time.

I hate ATSs

It's true. I hate ATSs.

An ATS, for those that don't know, is shorthand for Applicant Tracking Software that most companies use for their hiring process.

On the surface, they are very well intentioned. Companies set them up to announce to the world what their openings are, give descriptions about those openings and provide a generally uniform way for applicants to apply.

Unfortunately, for the applicant, the process of using these systems to apply for jobs are often unwieldy, cumbersome and occasionally a pain in the ass to navigate.

Oh, and sometimes, they just straight don't work.

Here are my top four issues with ATSs and what can be done to improve them:

1. While it is annoying to spend 45 minutes to an hour entering all of my general information into one while applying - I shouldn't have to repeat this if there are multiple positions that interest me or I'm qualified for. I don't mind customizing a cover letter for every position, but my work history, education and contact information isn't going to change! There are a lot of companies that make you go through this every time and after doing this once, it's going to take an amazing position to make me do this again at the same company. A simple fix is to save all of this information with a profile and it automatically populates this information with an opportunity to edit information as necessary.
2. ATSs that only work in Microsoft Windows and with Internet Explorer. This is 2012, not 1997. Coding your ATS so that it only works with those parameters is lazy and your company misses out on a ton of potential candidates. See here for more information.
3. The resume black hole. Just as it is simple for companies to collect information from applicants using ATSs, I am amazed by the amount of companies who don't send any information to the applicant regarding their application. No confirmation of receipt of the application. No update as to where you stand in the application process, even after a candidate has been selected. I don't expect a call from a real human being telling me they won't be interviewing me or have selected someone else (although that would be awesome and amazing if it were done). At the least, send an automated email explaining where the applicant is in the process! It's not hard!
4. Instead of dealing with an ATS, just go to my LinkedIn profile. All of the information a firm wants is there. Are you hiring? You can find me here!

Happy job hunting!

Failed promotions are not Darden's problem

Darden Restaurants is citing failed promotions and a backlash to their response to the new health care law as a result of a projected decline in revenues for next year.

Darden isn't the first company to make moronic statements regarding the minimal changes they will face due to the health care law, but that's not their problem.

Failed promotions is also another scapegoat for projections for decreased revenues.

Their real problem is cutting corners in ways that are painfully obvious to their customers.

I used to frequent their main restaurants, such as Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse each a few times per year. Certainly not all of the time, but enough to have a good feel for how things go from a customer's perspective.

The changes were most pronounced at Olive Garden, but still noticeable at the other two restaurants. What was going on? A sharp decline in the quality of the food while also increasing their prices. Reduced skill in the staff. A tiresome atmosphere and less attention paid to cleanliness throughout the establishments.

I'm not a food expert by any means, but if these problems are noticeable to me, I'm sure there are others that notice these things too and have taken their dining dollars elsewhere.

These problems are easy to fix and don't cost much money. Hopefully Darden is smart enough to notice these issues and takes the necessary steps to correct. Otherwise, their decline may continue and keep getting worse.

Corporations can't horde all of the cash forever

CNN is reporting that corporate earnings are at the highest share of GDP ever. Conversely, wages for workers are at the lowest share of GDP ever.

None of this is a surprise. Companies have been hoarding cash, slashing their workforce and being stingy with pay raises (maybe a few percent per year, instituting no pay raises or even cutting salaries) for years, frequently using the 'down economy' as an excuse.

Combine that with companies spending millions on lobbying to get billions in tax breaks and it's easy to see how they have ended up with so much positive profits on their balance sheets.

But I suspect that will be changing in the future. First, it's just not at an equilibrium. Shareholders will demand something to be done with all of that cash and profits. Return it to the shareholders in the form of dividends or increase investments.

Secondly, the federal government is in need of revenue. They will raise the corporate tax rates, cut loopholes or some combination of the two.

Plus, as the economy continues to improve, companies will have to increase their hiring as demand for their services or products increase. With an increased demand for employees, wages will rise.

So both of these situations will change. Earnings in relation to GDP will fall while wages will rise. Will it start in 2013? Most likely, but we most likely won't see a dramatic shift until there is a sustained hiring boom.

The Daily's flawed business model

It is being widely reported today that The Daily is being shut down. It's pretty apparent why that is the case.

The business model was not sustainable.

Now to be clear, I think they were on the right track with how they were structured, but just didn't execute correctly.

The Daily was structured originally as an iPad only app that was closed off from the rest of the Internet world. No other devices could access the stories. No sharing stories with friends via social media.

Eventually they opened it up to the iPhone, then Android Tablet and Kindle Fire, but it wasn't enough.

Too high of costs ($30 million per year) plus too few paying customers equaled a demise.

I only read The Daily once on a relative's iPad, a few months after it came out, and I actually enjoyed it. There were plenty of good stories and good information. I don't remember if they had any in-app advertising, but they either needed some or a better way to increase revenues.

In addition, aside from the initial announcement and surrounding buzz, plus the one time I used it, I don't recall hearing anything else about it. It was an 'out of sight, out of mind' type situation. They needed to get some kind of advertising out there about themselves, or better yet, make previews of articles widely available. I'm sure that if I saw enough previews for good reading, I'd find a way to subscribe.

Also, make it available everywhere! I know they were trying to be exclusively on mobile devices, but I just don't think we are there yet. Being able to log into my account through their website so I could view stories would be great!

But alas, it is not to be. Great concept. Poorly executed. Hopefully, whoever follows, learns from The Daily's failures and is a success!

Cities are getting smart about getting scammed

The Economist has a commentary about how the Atlanta Falcons are looking for a taxpayer subsidy in the neighborhood of $300 million to build a new stadium.

Now, that $300 million won't pay for the entire stadium. Just 30 percent, as plans are to spend $1 billion to build the new stadium.

I don't begrudge NFL team owners for trying to get money from their local area for new stadiums or renovations of their current stadiums. It's never a bad idea in business to get someone else to pay you for something you want.

But local cities are starting to catch on. It used to be, that teams would threaten to relocate if they didn't get a new stadium paid in part by the local governments. But economists are also putting out reports about the lack of economic benefit that new stadiums bring to cities, considering the large amount of funds governments put into the stadiums.

That threat of relocation is still there, as teams such as St. Louis, San Diego and to a lesser extent, Jacksonville, are threatening to  move if they don't get their ways. But the problem, is that there are view viable markets for the team to move.

Los Angeles is really the only place a team could move to - with a new stadium. San Antonio has a dome that is waiting for a team, but it likely will need well over $100 million in renovations to make a new owner happy.

So where does that leave Atlanta? I don't think they go anywhere. I don't think they get a new stadium with any public money, especially with their stadium being just 20 years old. If Arthur Blank wants a new stadium, he is going to just have to scrounge around in his pockets for more money to cover the costs himself.

Oh Groupon!

It is being reported by Yahoo! that Groupon CEO Andrew Mason is about to get canned by his own company.

Getting fired sucks. I can't imagine what it would be like to be fired by a company that I founded. If the reports end up being true, it certainly wouldn't be the first time this happened, and it certainly won't be the last time it happens.

However, if it hasn't been made clear by anyone who has a clue about the 'daily deals' industry, their time is over - at least how the industry is currently structured.

Do a quick Google search on the experience that companies have had when they utilize these deals. Sure, it may be great for a particular business or a one time, small deal but most businesses have had a negative experience.

Even when I had my own business, there was a short time where I was hounded on a daily basis by Groupon, LivingSocial and the others, to sign up and have a deal. However, I had done my homework and there was zero upside and it would have been nothing but a money loser for me. I think most businesses have experienced that and I was smart enough to apply those lessons to my business.

Speaking of LivingSocial, when was the last time you saw a commercial for them? It used to be every commercial break (sometimes more than once a break) on nearly every channel. I think now, it has been six months or more since I last saw their commercials aired.

That being said, I see only two ways forward with this particular industry. First, if there is going to be a national model, there can only be one or two companies - and they can't take 50 percent of the revenue from the merchant right off the top (after the discount is applied). They must take a smaller cut from the merchants to even have a chance of getting some of those companies back.

Otherwise, it's going to just be some local model that is run by a local business. I've primarily seen local newspapers and TV stations getting in on this business. They likely do this because they are able to take a smaller cut of the revenue from the merchant because it includes something along the lines of advertising - so it's more of a win/win for the media company and the merchant.

I'm sure the 'daily deals' industry isn't going anywhere, but unless the firms such as Groupon and LivingSocial change, folks like Mr. Mason are not going to find themselves in the industry much longer.

Where to go

I've spent the last several weeks assessing myself and what I want to do with myself going forward. I've attempted to network with anyone I can, in order to solicit help in that - and I've been able to find some answers.

Utilizing my experiences and expertise, I feel best suited to do something with business operations. I've had a knack of seeing what is going on in a company I have been involved with and finding better ways of doing things, while saving money at the same time. There have been times I've been successful - such as fixing the cafeteria system when I was on the school board or overhauling the operations of the store I was most recently at (to the most my boss would allow).

However, as basic as this sounds, I want to be able to do the job that I was hired to do! I don't mind being given direction, tasks or other things in order to accomplish my goals, but don't stand in my way. Don't ask for my input and then blatantly ignore what I have to say. Don't prohibit me from doing things that make a positive difference! You hired me to make the change! Stopping me from doing that only reflects negatively on yourself.

Along those lines, I also want to work for and with others that know what they are doing! I'm not saying that myself or anyone else has to be the smartest person in the room - but at least know what's going on. Know your strengths and weaknesses. I want to work with others that know when to step back and let others handle situations. Is that asking too much? Probably - but it's something to strive for.

That being said, where do I end up? Middle management for a company? Seems like a logical place, but I also want a path for advancement. Consulting appears to be a good path as well - but I need some contacts there.

I'm also willing to travel and work remotely. Living in Pensacola yields few opportunities locally (let me know if you know of any!), but we have good air service here and I have a great Internet connection, so there are no problems there.

I'm networking pretty much non-stop now, so feel free to contact me! Let me know not only if you are able to help me, but if I am able to help you! Spread the word and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

What happened?

I've been spending the past day and a half trying to figure out what exactly happened. Why was I let go?

I was not given a reason when my former boss said they were moving on. The CFO of the company was there as well and briefly explained some benefits I would receive, but her body language and tone of her voice told me that she was not pleased with what was going on (I did not get the chance to get to know her too well, but we were friendly and she helped me out when I needed her assistance).

In addition, I was too blindsided to even ask why I was being let go. I turned over my keys, indicated where a couple of things were, and that was it. Halfway on the drive home, I just said to myself 'What the hell just happened there?' I've been thinking the same thing ever since.

Were there performance issues? None that I can think of. Had there been any, I would have expected my former boss to say something like 'Hey, I really need you to work on X' or 'You are struggling with Y, let's figure out a plan to get better in that area.' But there was none of that.

I spent about four months there, but those four months were spent cleaning up tens of thousands of square feet of indoor and outdoor space, rearranging floor space and improving the pricing strategies all in order to make things better for the staff and customers.

I'm just trying to figure out what to do going forward. Do I try to contact my former boss and obtain an explanation? One of my former staff members called me yesterday to see what happened, and I told him I didn't know. He indicated to me that my former boss gave them 'some politically correct answer that didn't make any sense' and that 'everyone was wondering who was next' and 'morale was terrible.'

How do I also frame this in cover letters and resumes? It's one thing if there was a reason given and I could explain that I learned from Z event or A reason and so forth. But there is none of that. If anyone has any tips, I'd love to hear from you!

What's next?

It's been a tough two years for me professionally.

I left my corporate job to focus solely on my business.

My business failed shortly thereafter.

After that, I found a great volunteer gig for a local affiliate of a well known non-profit. It even turned into a part time paid position! But it was short lived, as my wife and I had decided to relocate.

However, I turned that part time position into a management position with the same non-profit, just a different affiliate where we moved to. Awesome! Things are looking great!

Yesterday, I was informed they would be moving on without me. I wasn't given a reason why. I was too blindsided to even ask.

I've learned a ton about business and myself along the way, but I just don't know where to go from here. I know there are brighter days ahead.

Don't kick the can down the road

CNNMoney has an article out today regarding businesses trying to figure out who they are and what they do during down economic times.

Now, if a business has to spend any amount of time trying to figure out who or what they are during any economic condition, they have to be concerned. But let's disregard that just for the sake of argument.

When businesses find themselves in a challenging time, among one of the things they do is cut research and development. The first item in the article discusses this, and it is very true. It's low hanging fruit and the immediate results of that research is not to be reaped. But the problem is that when the down turn ends, there are a reduced number of products in the pipeline to be rolled out.

Plus, it opens the door to your competition catching up and passing you. If you need to trim the budget in tough times, R&D is not the place to do so. All you do is kick the can down the road a bit without solving the initial problem.

If you do need to cut costs, find where the fat is. Before you do layoffs, can you discover if your people  are not focusing on the right things? Can their time and efforts be directed elsewhere to increase revenues or decrease costs?

Can your manufacturing costs be reduced just by improving the process your products are produced or assembled? Can it be done quicker and with fewer steps? Don't just cut corners by reducing the quality of your inputs (your customers can always tell).

At the end of the day, don't take the easy way out when trying to get through challenging times. Keep up the R&D expenses. Don't lay people off, instead better utilize their talents to get more for your bottom line. Find other ways to reduce costs other than just the quality of the inputs.

These won't guarantee your businesses survival, but when the downturn ends, you will find your business in a much better position moving forward.

Why your small business no longer needs a website

There is no need for you to create or maintain a traditional website for your small business anymore.

Now, that does not mean to eliminate all presence of your business from the Internet. That would be suicide. But there are a couple of  reasons why you should ditch the traditional website and fully embrace social media.

Those reasons would be time and money.

If you have ever set up, or tried to set up a website, you know how time consuming that can be to get the perfect look and to get everything working properly. Sure, a lot of hosting sites provide templates, and even let you customize basic layouts, but that still takes a lot of time.

Then you have to pay for hosting. Depending on what your needs are, it could cost a few dollars a month or a few hundred dollars a month.

The simple and easy way to avoid all of this would be to get your business all over social media.

Facebook, Twitter and blogging are all excellent ways to get and keep your name out there. It takes very little time to set up a Facebook page, Twitter account and blog (Blogger and Word Press are the easiest ways to go).

Plus, all of those are free. It takes 15 seconds to compose a tweet or Facebook post. Perhaps a bit longer for your blog if you have more information you want to put together and share.

When I had my small business, I never even had any of my customers asking me for what my webpage was. I connected with them via my Twitter account and Facebook page. That way I could keep my customers informed and directly answer any questions they had or address any of their concerns. They never had to find me...just contact me through Facebook or Twitter and I could get back to them very quick.

So do yourself a favor. Ditch the time consuming and expensive webpage. Fully embrace social media. You will have much more time and money to focus on your business.

Why you should not buy Facebook stock...yet.

Facebook officially goes public tomorrow, with an initial price of $38 per share. That price has largely been set due to initial demand and absolutely nothing to do with any form of rational thinking.

Yes, there are going to be some very wealthy people tomorrow both on paper and in their pockets. Those that are wealthy on paper are those that have a lot of Facebook shares and those that have their pockets overflowing with money are those that sell some or all of their shares tomorrow.

Here is the problem. Facebook pulled in only about $1 billion in revenue last year. That is no number to sneeze at, but with their IPO price of $38 per share, that values the company at about $104 billion dollars. Is their P/E ratio really worth being at 104?

Google's P/E ratio is 18.9. Apple's is 12.9. Even non-tech giants Johnson & Johnson and General Electric hang out at 17.4 and 15.3 respectfully. Sure, those companies have been public companies for much longer, and have even had significantly higher P/E ratios then they do now (especially Google and Apple).

So yes, Facebook's stock price will probably even rise tomorrow and perhaps into the next week as people trip over themselves just to get a piece of the action.

But the price will fall. It has to. Unless Facebook comes up with an amazing new revenue stream over the next several quarters. Once the P/E comes under 25 or so, it would be worth looking into owning.

That is, unless the company is one of so many other tech companies who were the hottest thing going and is no more - and is beginning to be passed by some new kid on the block.

Come tomorrow, take a pass on Facebook. Wait until their revenues come up, or the stock price falls then jump in. One or both of those will happen, and that, you can take to the bank.

A post about procrastination

I'll get to it tomorrow...