Business

Note: This page will be continually updated as new episodes of Inc.‘s Book Smart podcast are released. Launching a startup is hard. Building a growing–and self-sustaining–company might be even harder.  Keith Schroeder knows this struggle well. In 2010, he founded Atlanta-based ice cream company High Road Craft Brands–and the first year, he says, was like a honeymoon. His early-stage excitement …

Bill Gates is a true master of the diplomatic putdown. For example, when Donald Trump asked Gates, twice, if there were a different between HIV and HPV, Gates neatly skewered the POTUS by responding that “those are rarely confused with each other.” Translated into everyday language, that would be “[forehead slap].” Earlier today, Gates similarly gob-slapped Elon Musk. While Musk, …

In a lot of ways, the announcement Monday, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, that Google would allow its employees to work remotely until next July isn’t all that surprising. Other companies, Twitter, in particular, have gone further to say that its employees could work from home forever if they want. Except, this is a little different. See, as far …

Before I begin to break this case study down, here are a few quick disclaimers: 1. As click-baity as this title is, this is not a clickbait article. My plan is to be as transparent as possible to show you how much (or little) creating content on YouTube is worth if you put in the effort, and how to optimize …

With a chaotic and largely unsuccessful spring semester behind it, the country is getting ready for a school year unlike any other–and teachers, staff, and parents will need all the help they can get. Many of the country’s largest school districts, including New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, are starting the year remotely or with a “hybrid” model, and even those …

I was recently involved in a high-level job search at my company — to replace myself.  After 12 years as founder and CEO, I had decided to move to chairman of the board and hand the operational reins over to a successor. Then, Covid-19 happened. The prospect of finding and vetting a new CEO — without ever meeting them in …

Small business owners are living through the greatest economic challenge they may ever face. The Covid-19 pandemic won’t play out like an ordinary recession–there are no models that can account for the near-infinite variables affecting the United States’ ability to contain the pandemic and get the economy back to normal.  While some industries are thriving during the pandemic, many other …

Tim Cook gets up at 3.45 a.m. Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi gets up at 4 a.m. Disney CEO Bob Iger is a 4.30 kind of guy.  Jack Dorsey sleeps in until 5.30. So does my buddy Richard Branson. Rarely do night owls get good press. Because hey: Successful people wake up early. Well, at least some of them do. As Adam …

Inc.com columnist Alison Green answers questions about workplace and management issues–everything from how to deal with a micromanaging boss to how to talk to someone on your team about body odor. Here’s a roundup of answers to five questions from readers. 1. A terrible employee asked me for a reference I have received a reference request for one of our …

As a young entrepreneur, Michael Acton Smith had big ideas for his business.  Communicating that vision to investors was the challenge for Smith, the co-founder and co-CEO of mindfulness and meditation app Calm. The app launched in 2012, and finally found significant traction after being named Apple’s App of the Year in 2017. Now, it’s valued at more than $1 billion. Looking back, Smith …