McDonald’s Worldwide Sales Rise

In the third quarter, McDonald’s reported that worldwide increased by 4% due to the recoveries in the U.S. and China. McDonald’s is currently in a plan that was implemented to encourage year-long sales by introducing breakfast all day. McDonald’s, which recently introduced a new reporting structure, said same-store sales for its “high growth markets” increased 8.9%, driven by “very strong” sales performance in China and positive sales in most other markets. In assessing its sudden strength in China, where it has had trouble winning back customers since since a food safety scandal with a meat supplier over a year ago, McDonald’s pointed to its emphasis on value and breakfast offerings during the quarter. McDonald’s numbers have surpassed market analysts at the ceiling and floor. Revenue was reported at 6.62billon dollars, which is a 5% drop, but beat the 6.41 billion dollar for estimated high.

Seven Things That Make Great Bosses Unforgettable

With no surprise, Google has ranked #1 in Fortune Magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For,” for the second year in a row. Many pair their success with the superb benefits and perks that come with working at google. However, Google says it has to do with their bosses. They say that people leave their bosses, not the company. Therefore, Google “builds each Googler the boss of their dreams.” It started with simple research about what makes a great manager, then those skills and qualities were turned into a training program. Once the Googler has completed the course, Google measures behavior to improve and develop that person into a great manager. Google came up with seven great qualities that great managers need:

1. Great bosses are passionate. They need to care, so everyone else and make it fun in order to get others to join.
2. They stand in front of the bus. Instead of throwing you under the bus, a great boss encourage and teach you how to overcome obstacles. Sometimes they even may need to clean up your mess.
3. They play chess not checkers. Great bosses realizes not everyone is the same and delegate jobs and responsibilities based on each person’s unique attributes, strengths, and weaknesses to ensure the most efficiency from the individual and team.
4. They are who they are, all the time. Basically, a great boss does not lie or hide information and leave their team in the dark.
5. They are a port in a storm. In the most high pressure of situations,  great boss remains calm and keeps the team focused and ready for the next move.
6. They are human. They express emotion and are relatable as a human being not just a superior. But they are able to control those emotions as necessary.
7. They are humble. Great bosses do not carry themselves as if they are better or superior to their team.

All in all, to be a great boss, you need to be a human, treat your team as an equal, and be the pillar to balance and hold your team up when they need it.

Article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2015/10/15/7-things-that-make-great-bosses-unforgettable/

Why Can’t I Buy Video-Streaming Devices on Amazon?

Amazon has recently announced that they will no longer be selling any media-streaming devices from Google and Apple that are incompatible with Amazon’s video service. This is one of their recent efforts to implement their own retailing strategy.

Actions have been taken, and Amazon has already sent out emails to its sellers that it will stop all sales of Apple TV and Google’s ChromeCast as of October 29, 2015. The email went on to explain the reason behind this ban , “Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime,” Amazon said in the e-mail. The ban was created because these devices do not play Amazon Prime very well, a complication with software. However, they are a few companies that are safe from this ban including; Microsoft’s XBox, Sony’s Playstation, Roku Inc.’s set-top device. The amazon equivalent to the ban is the Amazon firestick, which is a jump drive that connects to television with the streaming services that include netflix and prime video.

This move was strategically implemented weeks before the holiday season in hopes in boost the amazon media-streaming devices. Although Google and Apple devices are among the top sellers, Amazon is confident that this the best move for their retailing strategy. This ban does not violate any laws  because consumers still have the option to purchase these products in other places.

Although Amazon feels very confident about this ban, but they are skeptics that base their side on facts. Fewer than 20 percent of amazon customers are amazon prime members, so it is clear to see where the other 80 percent stands.

Article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-01/amazon-will-ban-sale-of-apple-google-video-streaming-devices

Vloggers, the Golden Ticket to Marketers

Today, our society is very immersed in the media culture, videos, pictures, blogs, and vlogs. It has become something that is considered to be a “norm.” Vloggers, or people who make videos for a living, are contesting that they have become marketers best friends. Last year, Felix Khellberg, aka PewDiePie who makes a living by uploading videos of himself playing video games, reported to have earned $7.4 million in 2014. However, in one of his recent videos, he proclaims that he was not in for the money. He goes on to say that money is not really that important to anyone.

Many are very skeptical is extreme success through making a videos of him playing games. Our society always constantly putting time, attention, and money into these industries, but are so quick to judge when success is seen. If Khellberg was a successful investor in Wall Street, he would not receive the amount of criticism he is now. Making a living being a vlogger is not as easy as many portray it to be. There are millions of other vloggers out there, what makes you special and make a vast audience loyal to your page? And then it becomes more complicated when you sign contracts with other companies who want to put their advertisements on your blog. There are types of revenues that are being made, but with that, there are multiple companies and vendors within this chain that are taking their cut of the profit.

From a marketer’s prospective, vloggers are the golden ticket. There are videos for every type of market. They are compared to the popular kid in school, everyone wants to be that person and live the life they do. With this, companies have an effective way to place their products based on the following of that blog. This has become an effective and easy way of reaching out to a wide array of customer because they are all in one place.

Article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/edmundingham/2015/09/25/the-worlds-most-successful-vloggers-the-fees-they-command-and-why-they-are-marketers-best-friends/5/

5 Worst Cash-Flow Mistakes

Success is only relevant if a company can withstand and survive throughout the years. Many companies have success through revenues, but have a difficult time managing their cash flows. According to the financial services sector of the U.S. Bank, approximately 82 percent of small business, including start-ups, crash due to poor cash flow management. A recent study discovered that there are five common problems that contribute to poor cash flow management.

The first problem being the overestimating of future sales. Although optimism is always needed when starting and running a business, the optimism needs to be realistic. There are two types of forecasting that should be used for cash flow projection, quantitative forecasting and revenue forecasting.  In order to make realistic forecast, a company should use real numbers from historical data from their business or its competition, which is called the quantitative method. It is important to keep track of one’s competitors because you will be able to compare numbers and more easily see the market and industry trends. Revenue forecasting is not a method that is suggested for the first few years. Despite what method is chosen, it is key to use objective facts and figures rather than hopeful dreams.

A second problem that is recognized is mostly seen in the beginning phases of the business, impulsive and excessive spending for startup phase. It is true “to make money, you need to spend it,” but it’s important to spend and allocate the money wisely. To prevent your company from frivolous spending, a realistic budget should be drawn up prior to actually spending. This budget should at least allow your company costs to breakeven, and add a little cushion for unforeseeable obstacles and expense.

Being passive about past-due receivables has also proven to be a problem. Most small companies do not have a strict collection timeline or procedure. It is important to set distinctive and concrete policies that all customers must abide by. Within these procedures, be sure to add in penalties and consequences for late payments. Another suggestion is also adding incentives such as discounts for those customers that keep up with timely payments.

The last two problems are not using a cash flow budget and not having cushion for unexpected events. These problems can be solved by implementing the suggestions that were given in the first three solutions. All in all, businesses need to spend money to earn money, but the objective is be smart and plan your spending. If you are able to foresee where and how you will spend your money, the easier it will be when unplanned challenges occur.

article: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/249020