We all have our favorite places to get work done, but have you ever thought about why we work the best in the places that we do? Your 5 senses (sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell) have a lot to do with how your workplace becomes the productive place that it is. When deciding on where to work next, use your sense(s) to define what makes the right location for you and your business.

Size

Several studies suggest that the size of the workplace affects the way a person thinks. Tall ceilings and big tables made for more creative thought, while a small study carrel with enclosed walls are better for linear and analytical thinking. Simple changes like closing the blinds can have the effect of making a room seem smaller and help you focus on what is in front of you.

Light

Lighting can make or break a productive power session. Do you prefer natural night that changes as the day goes on, or do you need a constant light source to help you forget about the time? Also, poor lighting can cause eye fatigue and drain your ability to be productive earlier than acceptable. Additionally, colors can play a big role. For creative thought, blues, yellows, and greens can encourage big picture thinking, while red is better for focused thought. Maybe your boss won’t allow you to repaint you office, but you can always change the color of your computer screen to better suit your mood.

Sound

Whether it’s the constant hum of the espresso machine, or the drone of the television, background noise is a significant factor when you have to roll up your sleeves. A coffee shop full of people talking is better than a quite library with a single sniffly-nosed patron. While everyone has a different tolerance to sound, a great pair of headphones can take you from a loud rock show to a quiet piano recital, without disrupting those around you.

Comfort

Don’t forget other factors like the temperature, the comfort of the chairs, or lack of a table. Also, other creature comforts, like your favorite coffee (or the free refills) may influence your productivity.

When you find yourself being extra productive, take a moment to look around and find out what it is that is working for you. If you can’t seem to focus, maybe it’s an environmental influence that you can change. While your most productive location may not be your daily office, you can still control some of the elements that influence your work attitude

Every Wednesday, we’ll be highlighting a member of our MyCorporation family tree- check in with us every week to meet the team here at MyCorp!

Name: Valerie

Job title: Executive Admin.

What I do all day at work: I have tasks given to me by Debbie, Dana and Talia so I do a little bit of everything during the day or whatever needs to be done asap.

Food I can’t live without: SUSHI!

Biggest inspiration: My Grandma and Mom inspire me to be strong and taught me to be independent. They showed me that I can overcome any obstacle I have came across and will continue to come across.

5 words to describe me: independent, sarcastic, OCD, thoughtful and I don’t know just Valerie… haha!

If I were a dinosaur, I’d be: the one that can fly (pterodactyl) because who doesn’t want to feel free and fly away?

What I love about being on the MyCorp team: the atmosphere and the position I have. We work around great people have such an understanding boss, supervisors, managers and they all want the best for you.

With January slinking away behind us, and the whole new year to look forward to, we thought it would be a good idea to end the month on a high optimistic note. And we couldn’t think of a better place to look for optimism than Pixar, the plucky little animation studio that could. Business owners can already learn a lot from Pixar simply by looking at its transformation from the small group of animators that Steve Jobs bought for $5 million back in 1986 into the $7.4 billion animation powerhouse that it became. But we thought we’d take a step away from looking at the financial strengths of the company to see what its creations can teach us about the business world. Little quips from beloved characters like Carl Fredericksen and Edna Mode can go a long way for entrepreneurs to embrace and embody as a standard for their business- sometimes it’s the smallest words that make the biggest impact!

Shining a LIGHT on business! Get it?! I'll see myself out...

1. Monsters Inc. (2001) – “Laughter can produce more energy than screams.”

Also known as the “you catch more flies with honey” idiom that our mothers tutted at us when we were at our worse, the concept of being friendly over being a, well, monster is highly applicable in the business world. There are many ancient stereotypes about the manager lurking in the shadows, waiting for an employee to mess up so they can pounce and tear them to shreds. In some workplaces, employees genuinely fear the management, which is not something you want. It kills morale, and divides the office to the point that most employees will simply do the bare minimum in the hopes that no one notices them. So make sure to hire friendly managers, be a kind face in the office, and don’t be afraid to let a bit of laughter out to help empower your company.

2. Ratatouille (2007) – “Anyone can cook!”

This is a concept that our business especially holds dear. In the film, our hero Alfredo Linguini, along with his furry pal Remy, realizes that “not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.” The very same can be said for the world of business – a great CEO could be hiding in anyone. All it takes is a bit of push to turn the average person into an entrepreneur and, while running a business isn’t easy, hard work and a determination to succeed can go a long way in making a successful company. Success is neither easy nor given, but for those of us who take that courageous step forward, we have to believe it can happen to us.

3. The Incredibles (2004) – “I never look back, darling! It distracts from the now.”

History should be an opportunity to learn, not a crutch or an excuse. And yet, so many people look to their past and fret about their choices, worrying over what they could have done better. That isn’t healthy! Learn from your mistakes, take experience from your past and only look back when you are trying to determine the way forward. Personal history has a nasty habit of distorting our views, so we must always remember to remain in the now and to allow our past to rest behind us.

4. UP (2009) – “I would like to award you the highest honor I can bestow, the Ellie Badge.”

UP is, in our opinion, one of the saddest movies Pixar has ever created. After 96 minutes and a box of tissues, this movie leaves its viewers dumbstruck after taking them on the emotional rollercoaster ride of their lives. Not wanting to end without causing a few more tears, the ex-curmudgeon Carl gives his personal touch to the badge Russell had been trying to earn the entire movie. While it wasn’t the assisting the elderly badge Russell originally set out to earn, the simple bottle cap Carl hands him was much more valuable. Business has a way of distancing the people involved – CEOs forget about their customers and employees become so intensely focused on their own work that they sacrifice any and all personal interaction with others. The strongest and happiest companies foster relationships, and even the most impersonal businesses can change.

5. Wall-E (2008) – “Recycle, exercise, and garden.”

Corporate might cannot run the world. That’s what we saw in Wall-E, and it’s a good lesson to end with. The human race became so concerned with consumerism that many people forgot to look up from the computer screen every once in a while and look at the stars. Use the New Year as an excuse to inject some of the natural world into your life. Try biking or walking a little more on your way to work, set up a recycling program for your business, and maybe even plant a little flowerbed behind your office. The world isn’t all about concrete, electricity and cash, though sometimes we all need a little reminder of that.

Have a good February everyone!

Consider this week’s post the MyCorp crystal ball to seeing the future of small business! Now that January is in full swing, we thought it would be a good time to take a look at what small business trends are currently developing. As we move full speed ahead into the rest of 2012, take a look at the trends below. Don’t let your small business fall behind!

Internet Search Boom

We all know how important it is to have an online presence. In 2012 your presence is more important than ever. According to physorg.com, the number of internet users worldwide in 2011 jumped to over 2 billion- wow! Take away two lessons from this number in hopping on the social bandwagon.

1) Make sure you have an online presence! Web solutions are easy and inexpensive. No website? No excuse! Consider working with our affiliates at Network Solutions to help you get started.

2) Even if your website is up and running, make sure people can find it! Working on your Google and Bing presence is extremely important, as there are likely a number of businesses that offer the same services as you do. Look into working with companies and websites that can help boost your search rating and always try to link back to your website and contact information whenever possible.

Mobile Marketing and Payment

Welcome to the era of the smart phone. Need directions? Download a Google app to use their maps. In what year was Martha Stewart born? Ask Siri. What’s the temperature in Antarctica? Ok, you get it. Smart phones aren’t just for personal use. They have transitioned over into the business world. Pretty much anything you can do with a computer can be done on a smart phone. Locating a business, finding user reviews and even paying bills and checking bank statements can now be done on a phone.

Make sure your business is prepared! Consider having a mobile website app created that is tailored to smart phone use. Monitor your reviews on sites like Yelp that have mobile apps making your businesses’ reviews accessible easily on the go.

Hiring

As we’ve mentioned before, hiring usually picks up in the first quarter. Many businesses create new business plans and need extra man power to implement new ideas. Consequently, unemployment rates usually drop in the first months of the year. Get on the hiring bandwagon. If you haven’t already done so, meet with leaders of your company and discuss a new business plan or brainstorm new ideas. There is a wealth of talent out there and they could be beneficial to your company! Consider hiring a social media manager to strengthen your online presence, or advertising interns to help out in your marketing department. These positions are vital in the age of social media and they won’t cost you an arm and a leg to implement. Look into part-time internships for college students. They will gain experience by helping you, and you will boost your business presence by hiring them!

2012: Year of the Female Business Owner?

Sure, we might be a little bias due to the fact that our awesome CEO is a woman. However, women owned businesses are popping up all over the place! One trend we are seeing involves former stay at home moms starting new businesses. Marketing, cake decorating and design consulting are all great examples of popular woman owned businesses that can be successful working from home.

Many resources are available to female small business owners such as the National Women’s Business Counsel and the SBA Office of Women’s Business Ownership. Once you’ve figured out your business plan, let MyCorporation help. We can help you through the entire process of incorporating your business including creating a website and printing business cards.

Keep an eye on the small business trends of 2012 to make sure you are one step ahead of the game. As we said, focus on your web presence, mobile applications and consider hiring a few extra hands. Need help? Give us a call! Happy 2012!!

This special Thursday post comes courtesy of our friends at OneMoreCustomer in prepartation for their live kickoff event tonight. Read on to find out more!

Did You Say FREE?

Yep, we said it!

OneMoreCustomer.tv Small Business Coaching starts today and you can be a part of this special kickoff event absolutely free! Join Fran Tarkenton and Scott Miller for the live kickoff event at 6 p.m. ET!

What does Small Business Coaching from OneMoreCustomer include?
-Live weekly coaching webcasts
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-Unlimited access to consultants
-Exclusive entrepreneur interviews
-Daily ‘What We’re Reading’ features
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MyCorporation.com customers, start your FREE 14-day trial with coupon code MYCORP, and be a part of the best thinking in business!

Don’t miss this special event! Click here to start your free trial now!

• what cloud email is
• benefits of cloud email for small businesses and nonprofits
• drawbacks to cloud email, such as changing providers
• cloud email providers, with particular focus on Google and Microsoft
• costs (obvious and hidden) and savings

The webinar takes place Tuesday, January 31, 2012 2-3pm ET. REGISTER HERE!

We aren’t really sure how business pundits come up with the prophecies they espouse on prime time cable news shows. Perhaps it has something to do with tracking the stars, seeking out the fortune teller at the local Roma encampment, and gazing misty-eyed into a magical crystal ball. Or maybe it has more to do with tracking current trends and hoping that they are applicable to a wider array of companies than currently being affected.

Of course, there is always the old “throw a dart at a piece of paper and read out the results” trick. While this method may not be quite as accurate, it seems to the go-to plan for some corporate prophets.

How else would we have gotten the following four failed business predictions over the years?

Groupon’s Hype

Groupon was a nice idea that got way, way, way too much publicity. Normally, marketability is something that should be striven for. The more people hear about your product or service, the more people send a nice chunk of money your way, and everyone involved is happy.

Not with Groupon. Many small retailers have quickly discovered that signing up with Groupon can cost them money. And customers. It turns out that businesses are getting absolutely swamped by these daily deals. Even GAP, a national brand, had trouble keeping up with demand. It seems that Groupon has also grown too big for its britches, rejecting seven out of eight offers that came its way back in 2010.

Analysts were calling Groupon the next big thing, and they made a strong showing when they opened themselves to public trading. Sadly for Groupon, their stock price fell below the IPO at the end of last year, and as of this post the price is hovering .89 above the twenty-dollar mark, its original offering.

Now the likes of BusinessWeek are discussing what Groupon can do to grow the industry to the level so many believed it would be. Merchants don’t seem too happy with their service, so unless something is done Groupon could be headed for an early grave.

The dot-com Bubble

While it is easy to pick on the ’90s as a failed decade, we cannot forget the disastrous effect the internet boom had on the American economy. The internet was shiny and brand new – no one knew what the dang thing was going to be used for, but they all knew it was going to be big.

And investors wanted a piece of it.

Had early Venture Capitalists realized that internet users wanted videos of cats doing funny things, the economy may not have been so badly damaged. But the early sites of the internet operated of on a maxim of Go Big or Go Home. They spent huge amounts of money trying to increase user base, and no one had any idea how to begin valuing these new entities. A lot of money was sunk into a lot of companies that had no plan beyond the initial growth stage.

As it turned out, many of these companies folded. Lavish spending, unchecked investment and a desperate attempt by American cities to secure the fledgling technology industry all spelled disaster. Amazon and Google weathered the storm fairly well, while around half of the major dot-coms were liquidated. Investing firms were given a slap on the wrist for misleading their clients, and they never stupidly invested in an over-inflated market again.

Just kidding.

Pepsi and the Cola Wars

Letters of Note just ran a very nostalgic little piece about the huge marketing gaff Coca-Cola pulled with its release of New Coke. In it then Pepsi CEO Roger Enrico declares a holiday on Friday in celebration of Coke’s newest attempt to be like Pepsi.

And he was right – New Coke was reviled. Pepsi was able to stir skepticism among journalists, and any attempt to market the soft-drink was met with ridicule and failure. It seemed that Pepsi had won.

Unfortunately for them, that was not the case. Coca-Cola, apparently hearing the anguished calls of its loving community, made the decision to re-introduce Coca-Cola Classic; it’s normal, slightly less sweet, formula. The entire scene was farcical, but Coca-Cola somehow made it seem like they were doing their customers a favor by bringing back the formula they had used for nearly a century. Plus it worked – people were buying twice as much Coca-Cola Classic as they were Pepsi Cola.

It seems that Roger Enrico spoke just a tad too soon.

BusinessWeek and the Automotive Industry

We’d like to round this post off with a blast from the past. In 1968 BusinessWeek, an otherwise excellent publication, made the not-so-excellent prediction that Japanese cars wouldn’t make a dent (figuratively) in the American car market, saying “with over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn’t likely to carve out a big slice of the U.S. market.”

Sadly for Detroit Motor City, this didn’t quite work out the way BusinessWeek predicted. The oil crisis, increase in gasoline prices, and perceived shoddiness of American cars seriously hurt the American automotive industry. Japan’s small, sporty designs rocketed past the lumbering beasts of General Motors and Toyota, the country’s top vehicle manufacturer, now holds the number one spot in the world.

Hindsight is always 20/20, so it is easy to poke fun at the failed predictions of decades past. However, we would hope that something could be learned from the business failures of yesteryear, mainly in regard to over-valuation. Business analysts love speaking in absolutes, as though the world worked in such a way; the reality is that things are never that black and white.

After all, what goes up must always come down.

What inspires big business leaders and entrepreneurs? How do the best leaders at the top, the Donald Trumps of the business world get their drive and motivation? The beginning of a new year is a great time to get your inspiration on and grow your business. How do you do it and not lose sight of what you started along the way? These 4 tried and true tips are the ultimate to keep in mind that successful entrepreneurs everywhere use to get to the top!

1. Set Football Field Goals

Picture a football field. The goal is to run the ball to into the end zone and score, right? Along the way you hit different field markers, 5 yards, 10 yards, 15 yards and so on. You can’t get to the end without passing these markers. The same rings true with goals. What about a Hail Mary you ask? The receiver must run past and the ball must fly over each yard before they reach their destination.

There really are no short cuts when creating goals. Consider making smaller goals, or check points, you can reach on the way to your bigger goal. Many successful entrepreneurs do the same. Take sales, for example. If Apple hopes to do 2 billion more dollars in sales in 2012 than in 2011, you can be sure sales numbers will be monitored by quarter. Create a sub plan for your large business plan so that you can monitor your success. This way, if things aren’t working, you can fix it quickly and stay on track to achieving your bigger goals.

2. Think Outside the Box

Sometimes doing what you love isn’t enough to be successful. Consider taking your business to the next level. Think about ice cream makers, Ben and Jerry. According to businesspundit.com, the now-legendary duo decided to open a business after taking a correspondence course on the art of ice cream making. They discovered that just about the only college town without an ice cream shop was Burlington, Vermont. With $8,000 in savings and a $4,000 loan, they leased an old gas station in Burlington, purchased equipment, and began coming up with ideas for “unique” flavors. Twenty years later, the company was taking in $237 million in annual revenue.

What is unique about your business? What information, software, or recipes do you have that could make your business even better? Take a step back and try to look at your business from a different angle. Consider asking friends or customers for ideas or feedback. Business introspection combined with thinking outside the box will help you join the ranks of successful entrepreneurs.

3. Become an Athlete-Visionary

It might sound corny, but we believe that actually picturing success can work. Sometimes we have to step away from business in order to help our business. Many successful business owners attribute mind and body focus to their success. Our own CEO, Deborah Sweeney, is a spinning queen. She believes in a healthy lifestyle which therefore transfers over into a healthy business attitude. A healthy body leads to a healthy mind, therefore giving you a clear and focused head with which to make good business decisions. Focus on your goals, visualize success and make sure your body is in line with these thoughts and goals so that you can truly achieve success!

4. Listen, Don’t Hear

We are sure you know the difference between listening and hearing. Regardless of how long your business has been around or what type of business you have, there are businesses that have been around longer and that are far more established. When you turn on the morning news and hear information about Microsoft, Kraft, or even a successful mom and pop deli in New York, listen! You never know what tips you may pick up. Keeping your ear to the ground is crucial in terms of both staying current and continuing to be successful. Remember when your parents used to tell you to listen to your elders? The same lesson applies in business!

Creating a healthy and profitable business is no easy task. Take these tips to heart when it comes to taking your business to the top!

Stand with us against this gross abuse of power.

We at MyCorporation wanted to express solidarity with the Internet-wide blackouts against the SOPA and the PIPA. Our CEO Deborah Sweeney has already written on this particular issue over at MO.COM, but we wanted to once again affirm our strong stance against this ill-advised and poorly planned legislation.

While we understand the need to curb piracy, these acts are not the answer. Rather than having the desired effect, if passed these acts would do little to actually halt the spread of content theft. But they will increase the barriers of entry for small businesses looking to open an online store front, and they will stifle high-tech entrepreneurship.

We implore everyone reading to contact your representative and senators asking that they take a good, hard look at this legislation and demand a better bill. A bill that has airtight, technically sound definitions, heavy input from the technology sector, checks and balances ensuring that due-process can be invoked before, during, and after any action is taken, and clear repercussions for entities utilizing the legislation in an abusive manner.* You can see where your senators and congressional representative stand on these bills at ProPublica.

MyCorporation will always stand on the side of the small business owner, and both the SOPA and the PIPA would do them nothing but harm. Please take the time to read these bills (SOPA and PIPA) for yourself and stand with us against this harmful legislation.

As always, we thank all of you for your support and look forward to continue helping all small businesses get a strong start.

*A special thanks to Reddit Systems Administrator Jason Harvey for both his succinct write-up on this issue and the clearly defined demands seen here.*

Remember Peter Shankman- one of our favorites from Blog World? Well now’s your chance to collect some of the copious amounts of wisdom pearls he’s sure to drop at next week’s Ventureneer Webinar, The Next Revolution is in Your Pocket.

The FREE webinar takes place Wednesday January 25, 2012 2 – 3pm ET and will cover the importance of:

• customer service, first and foremost
• branding and messaging, in second place
• marketing and social media, a distant third.
• among other points of interest

Register here!