Joe Taylor Jr.» Articles

Busting Your Performance Bottlenecks at Work

Joe Taylor Jr. — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 02:39:33 +0000

As a boss, I sometimes have to listen to a member of my team explain why something went horribly wrong. As as a business owner, I also have to ease the concerns of clients who have been burned by vendors in the past. And as a human being, I hate being on the hot seat myself. Worrying about things that could go wrong on a project can seize your brain. Just as Steven Covey counsels professionals to get task lists out of their heads and on paper, I’m finding my head has more room for creativity if I know that I’ve got a “Plan B” for any situation.

Read the whole article on WorkAwesome.com…

Planning an Unconventional Home Office Setup

Joe Taylor Jr. — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 02:36:47 +0000

I’ve had a home office for the past ten years. During that time, my wife and I have moved four times. Besides working full time at jobs we love, Lori and I also run our own side hustles: I write, and she creates art and jewelry. Juggling all that leaves little room for a social life, especially in the suburbs. That’s why we traded a bigger space for a shorter commute.

Read the whole article on WorkAwesome.com…

Put the Sleeper Hold on Boring Meetings

Joe Taylor Jr. — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 02:34:42 +0000

Productivity gurus love to pick on lame meetings.

But let’s be realistic…even top creative professionals have to endure meetings with clients or with project teams. Taking ownership of your work means taking responsibility…

Read the whole article on WorkAwesome…

Scams, Lies, and Credit Cards: Fraud Rings’ Five Favorite Schemes

Joe Taylor Jr. — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 18:38:22 +0000

Even if you’ve become religious about shredding your credit card statements before you toss them away, criminals can still find ways to cheat you out of time and money. Investigators want you to watch for five of the fastest growing sources of identity theft and credit card forgeries…

Read the full article at CardRatings.com…

Top 5 Things You Shouldn’t Do with Your Corporate Credit Card

Joe Taylor Jr. — Wed, 19 May 2010 03:51:29 +0000

We’re having a lot of fun over at the CardRatings.com blog, posting some Top 5 lists and looking at some of the unusual credit card news that’s cropping up. I tracked down five of the wildest corporate fraud cases involving credit cards, and came up with some stories of greed, ambition, and just plain cluelessness:

Most of us have been tempted, at one time or another, to let a small purchase slip undetected on a corporate credit card. In these five cases, investigators say greed and hubris trumped ethics and common sense.

Check out the whole article on the CardRatings.com Blog:

Five Ways Credit Cards Can Save Your Marriage

Joe Taylor Jr. — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 23:32:58 +0000

Here’s another highlight from our CardRatings.com blog that I’ve been getting some great feedback about:

A slumping economy, a soft job market, and rising credit card debt can strain relationships. If you didn’t manage to stun your spouse on Valentine’s Day, you may have to call for reinforcements to save your marriage. Fortunately, credit cards offer five great ways to rekindle romance.

Read the full article on CardRatings.com…

Know Your Credit Card Foreign Transaction Fee BEFORE You Travel

Joe Taylor Jr. — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 01:20:52 +0000

Posted last week on CardRatings.com, here are some of my favorite tips for folks planning to travel outside the U.S. with a little cash and a lot of plastic:

With new credit card rules squeezing profit margins at major banks, foreign travelers have become an even easier target for special fees and surcharges. Credit card issuers have traditionally imposed foreign transaction fees to offset the cost of fraud prevention and currency exchange services. Many banks now generate profits from foreign transactions, forcing savvy visitors to hunt for the best deals among issuers.

Read the full story at CardRatings.com…

Five Steps for Social Media Marketing Using Free Web Technology

Joe Taylor Jr. — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 03:21:35 +0000

Social media have become a powerful small business marketing technology for entrepreneurs who truly understand how to network effectively. Just posting ads or special offers won’t work on systems where viewers can easily tune you out. Follow these five steps to turn your own social media marketing effort into a success.

Social Media Marketing Step #1: Be generous.

You can use tweets and Facebook status updates to do so much more than just let friends know what you’re having for dinner. Add information to the social web that opens dialogue or informs followers about your specialty. Participating in Twitter’s Follow Friday (#ff) tradition lets you call out other influential community members. Understanding your target audience can help you craft the tips, hints, and news items that impact your online presence.

Social Media Marketing Step #2: Get focused.

If you hope to build your followers list to more than a few hundred close friends, you may want to focus your updates on your area of business expertise. Facebook makes this a little simpler by allowing members to create dedicated “pages” that collect fans instead of friends. This way, your customers can be “fans” of the content and events you post, while only your “friends” see pictures of your cat.

Social Media Marketing Step #3: Be a hub for your community.

The most effective social media marketers take their online relationships into the real world. Small business marketing technology lets you geotag your posts to encourage real-world interaction while hosting live “tweetups” for your customers. using your business as a stage for your community networking can boost your foot traffic and your credibility. Participating in live events, or following along with trending hashtags on Twitter can put you at the center of your audience’s real world, as well as their virtual experience.

Social Media Marketing Step #4: Be enjoyable.

Nobody wants to see a pocket of sludge in their river of news. Social media sites, since their origin, have been a little snarky and fun. Yes, it’s right to call out controversy when that’s a part of your role in the community. Just remember that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Posting about the music you’re playing in your business or playing along with trending gags can take the edge off a serious persona while managing your company’s online presence.

Social Media Marketing Step #5: Be authentic.

Of course, none of these steps will actually work if you don’t project your authentic self through social media networks. Looking at yourself through Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace may feel like trying to project your shadow through a thick gauze. You may even have to exaggerate elements of your personality to get your point across. But if the updates, pictures, and videos you post don’t connect back to your real self, your audience will see right through you. When that happens, your business suffers.

Thanks to social media, marketing small business products and services has become easier than ever. Twitter, Facebook, and personal blogs come with few rules, but plenty of opportunities to turn off potential customers. Stay honest and engaged if you want to build the kind of relationships that will sustain your business.

Five Decades of American News Radio History

Joe Taylor Jr. — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:20:00 +0000

It's been about ten years since I wrote for AOL's content team, and I'm excited to be back on their roster. Here's the first piece I did for the AOL Radio Blog:

Although news reporting had been a regular component of American broadcast radio since its invention, the "news radio" format didn't emerge until the end of the 1950s. Experiments in California and New York helped station owners combat an overall audience shift from radio to television for entertainment programming.

Read the full piece on the AOL Radio Blog…

The Secret History of Used Cars

Joe Taylor Jr. — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 13:42:54 +0000

When we lived in Athens, Lori and I had fun times with a couple of used cars: a Honda Civic that my mechanic declared "an impossible perversion of Japanese engineering," and a Pontiac Sunfire that ran great and was almost absolutely a salvage vehicle. I liked the Sunfire, but had to give it up when we moved from Georgia to North Carolina since it wouldn't pass state inspection. (That's when I got my Scion xB, my most favorite car, ever.)

I channeled those experiences into the research for a new article on Insure.com about "the secret history of used cars." Dealers across the country have been selling salvage vehicles (like Cash for Clunkers and Katrina Cars), and the ramifications on your credit and your car insurance can be huge. Some of these cars may be totally sound and safe, but there's often little way of knowing, especially if the dealer has tried to cover things up.

A "gray market" exists for vehicles with flood titles or salvage titles. Safety experts warn that cars with salvage titles could easily buckle in a crash if repaired incorrectly. Flood titled cars could fail or rust quickly, according to consumer advocates. Some buyers and sellers, especially in states with no formal inspection program, knowingly trade used cars with such titles because they're cheap.

Read the full article on Insure.com…

CRM Systems Thrive with Five Kinds of Data

Joe Taylor Jr. — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:06:00 +0000

First-time buyers of CRM systems often wonder what makes customer relationship management software tick. Effective CRM tools go beyond lists of names and addresses. They collect and help teams interpret five critical types of data…

CRM Software Helps Drive Customer Loyalty

Joe Taylor Jr. — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:03:00 +0000

A third of consumers make purchasing decisions based on the level of customer service offered by companies with effective CRM applications. Recent results from a British consumer survey suggest that retailers must do more than institute reward programs to maintain customer loyalty during a recession. Although the latest generation of customer relationship management software makes it easy for companies to track purchases, research indicates that the overall experience matters more than just the accumulation of points or perks.

Read the full article on VendorGuru…

Social CRM Software Helps Companies Evolve Customer Contact

Joe Taylor Jr. — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:01:00 +0000

While business leaders grapple with Twitter and Facebook interactions, experts advise companies to master the art of the direct message in under 140 characters. CIOs and other company leaders with questions about their investment in social CRM applications can review previous innovations to understand the importance of communicating with customers using their favored systems.

Read the full article on VendorGuru…

Ten Reasons to Get Out of Debt: Dirty Collector Tricks

Joe Taylor Jr. — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:59:51 +0000

While many debt collection agencies perform legitimate work for credit card issuers, banks, and other lenders, some rogue collectors have drawn the attention of law enforcement officials for their dishonest and illegal behavior. If you need some inspiration to get out of debt faster, learn about these ten extreme cases of collector misconduct:

Read the whole article on Rebuild.org…

Higher Minimum Credit Card Payments Offer Fast Track Out of Debt

Joe Taylor Jr. — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 08:15:07 +0000

In a recent column for the NY Times, Freakonomics authors Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt explained the genius behind the concept of low credit card minimum payments. When studied by academics, test subjects who selected their own minimum payments often paid far more than monthly bank statements required.

Read the full article on the CardRatings.com Blog…

Can Spotify Satisfy American Copyright Laws?

Joe Taylor Jr. — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 08:38:00 +0000

As we hear more about Spotify, especially involving mobile apps and in-car services, I fear we might be getting ahead of ourselves. Specifically, I worry that users’ fervor for the system overlooks the core reason why similar concepts have failed in the U.S.: the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.