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The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. There’s a Japanese proverb that perfectly captures what resilience means to me: “Fall seven times, get up eight.” Not just bouncing back after setbacks, but actually finding ways to advance despite them. Resilience has been on my mind a lot lately. Between the inevitable aging parent health concerns, making sure “the kids are all right,” and navigating the constantly shifting business landscape (seriously, there is a reason they call us the sandwich generation!) I’ve been thinking about how we build that muscle—not just to survive challenges but to grow stronger through them. I wanted to share some thoughts on building resilience across the many dimensions of our lives—because let’s face it, the only constant is change, and we all need strategies to keep moving forward. Personal resilience: Know your North Star I think resilience starts with being clear about your core values; they are your map when everything is swirling and you feel lost. I saw this with my brother recently. He’s an integrative doctor with a growing practice, helping patients with chronic conditions like Lyme disease. His practice had gotten so busy that he started burning out. He realized that if he didn’t prioritize his own self-care, he wouldn’t be able to help anyone else. (There’s a reason flight attendants remind you to put on your own oxygen mask first!) That’s the foundation of resilience right there—understanding what matters most to you and making choices that align with those values, especially when things get tough. It’s not always easy. I’ve learned this in past toxic work environments. Looking back, even painful experiences taught me important lessons. Each one made me more clear about what I didn’t want and helped me become more discerning about what was right for me. When you’re clear on your values, you can weather almost any storm because you have an internal compass guiding you. Team resilience: Create psychological safety Team resilience builds on personal resilience, but it’s about creating an environment where everyone can thrive together. At FINN, our weekly status meetings sometimes turn into emotional check-ins, especially after difficult world events. There are times when we spend the entire hour talking about how we’re feeling, supporting each other through life’s challenges. Sure, the work is critical, but we see each other as human beings first. This psychological safety is vital. It allows us to be vulnerable, to fail without fear, and to learn together. Another aspect of team resilience is embracing diverse perspectives. Our team spans nearly every generation, from boomers to millennials to Gen Z, with team members across the country and around the world. This diversity creates an incredible symbiotic learning environment where we all teach each other. Organizational resilience: Clarity in your mission What makes organizations resilient? It comes down to clarity around mission, and an almost stubborn practice of values—that North Star principle again, but at the organizational level. We’ve built a culture of communication where leadership is honest about challenges and potential risks, and are very committed to our principles. We’ve remained steady; we’re a safe harbor in the storm because we have utter clarity about who we are and what we stand for. This reminds me of companies that jumped on the DEI bandwagon without genuine commitment. When pressure started to mount, they abandoned these initiatives because they had been responding rather than operating from core values. True organizational resilience requires authenticity—knowing what you stand for and sticking to it—even when it’s hard. Another crucial element is having a brain trust—eyes and ears beyond your core team. You need people connected to your culture and customers, who can tell you what’s really happening. Are there trends or threats on the horizon? What’s the client feedback saying? What are best practices we’re missing? You can’t be resilient if you’re not willing to subject yourself to unfiltered truth. You need to see blind spots before they become bigger problems. Brand resilience: Anticipate challenges I’ve noticed that when we prepare for the worst, the worst seldom happens. Brand resilience is like that. How brands interrogate their purpose, weather storms and maintain trust through difficulties requires a huge amount of planning and soul-searching. Companies that do the hard work of anticipating challenges, examining vulnerabilities, and shoring up weaknesses are going to emerge from crises, perhaps even growing in the process. One interesting approach is to anticipate your organization’s worst-case scenarios, real monster-under-the-bed situations, and working through those potential crises before disaster hits. This proactive stance means analyzing the data and asking tough questions. How transparent should you be about vulnerabilities while still projecting strength? What resilience stories will resonate most with your stakeholders? I experienced this firsthand at a previous agency. As marketing lead, I had to stand in front of the company weekly, reporting on new business pitches we consistently lost because, despite our best marketing efforts, the executive leadership wasn’t truly committed to investing in the necessary resources to level up. I tried to put the best face on things, sharing messages of hope while knowing behind the scenes that fundamental changes weren’t happening. It taught me that transparency has its limits in leadership. You need to be transparent enough that people feel secure, but sometimes you need to carry certain burdens yourself. Finding that balance is part of resilience. The resilience mindset Resilience isn’t about never falling—we all fall. It’s about finding the lesson in each setback and using it to move forward with greater wisdom and strength. So when you face your next challenge—whether personal, professional, or somewhere in between—remember: Each time you get up again, you’re not just returning to where you were before, you’re moving toward somewhere new. Celia Jones is global chief marketing officer at FINN Partners. View the full article

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. Leaders at the McKnight Foundation, the Freedom Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation released an open letter in early April calling on the philanthropy community to stand in solidarity with each other and resist the onslaught of executive orders, funding freezes, and investigations that threaten to hobble the independence of the nonprofit sector and reduce trust in charitable institutions. Living Cities, the organization I lead, readily signed on to this pledge of solidarity, along with hundreds of others. I applaud the philanthropic sector for standing up and standing together on this important issue. But if we are to fully rebuild trust among the American people, we must go beyond solidarity calls and begin to lead the charge against the anti-establishment and anti-knowledge crusade that is attacking civic leaders, institutions, and community groups that are seeking to create an economy for all. This requires the philanthropic sector to do three things. 1. Create Inclusive Growth Our country cannot thrive if everyone does not participate in our collective economic growth. Currently, we have too many working people who feel shut out from our economy. They feel like the system is rigged against them. This has led to a groundswell of support for indiscriminate, anti-establishment efforts. We need to counter the narrative that institutions do not support the working people while also acknowledging that there are many reasons why the system is, in fact, rigged against them. We see that in many cases, race and risk are conflated and people of color have difficulty accessing the same opportunities as others. We see that geography is destiny, and the class you are born into determines your future outcomes more than anything else in your life. This is not the America we were promised, and we—as philanthropic institutions— must work to elevate the opportunity of inclusive growth. 2. Counter the Zero-Sum Narrative Many of our leaders—political, business, and otherwise—operate as if we exist within a zero-sum game: What’s good for some is bad for others. This is decidedly untrue. We see that equity remains a superior growth model. Investing in one part of a community—particularly parts of communities that are the most marginalized—benefits the whole. Equitable community reinvestment and economic development not only benefit the neighborhoods where those developments occur, but the entirety of the community through better jobs and increased dollars flowing through neighborhoods. Instead of thinking about how much smaller to slice up the pie, we need to focus on how to grow the pie for all to benefit. 3. Refuse to Back Down Now is not the time to back off. The statement of solidarity is a good first step, but it is not the end. We must find strength in this solidarity to be bold in our pronouncements and push forward on what we know this country needs. No matter how we label our economic opportunity efforts and investments, we must link them, foster connection between grantees, and show, to all parties, that shared prosperity is in the country’s best interest. There are certainly threats to this shared prosperity right now. I do not want to pretend there are not. Those of us speaking out on behalf of this goal may face threats or challenges. But because we stand together, and we know the value of shared prosperity, we can deliver the results all people in this country deserve and restore faith in the philanthropic sector. Joe Scantlebury is CEO of Living Cities. View the full article

HP Inc. has issued its latest HP Threat Insights Report, warning that cybercriminals are increasingly using fake CAPTCHA verification tests to trick users into infecting themselves with malware. The findings, announced during the company’s annual Amplify Conference, highlight how attackers are exploiting users’ growing “click tolerance” resulting from frequent multi-step authentication processes. The report, based on data from millions of endpoints running HP Wolf Security, details real-world cyberattacks observed between October and December 2024. According to HP, the “CAPTCHA Me If You Can” campaigns directed users to attacker-controlled websites, prompting them to complete fraudulent authentication challenges. Victims unknowingly ran malicious PowerShell commands that installed the Lumma Stealer remote access trojan (RAT) on their devices. HP Wolf Security researchers also identified additional threats, including attackers spreading an open source RAT known as XenoRAT. This malware features surveillance capabilities such as microphone and webcam capture. Using social engineering techniques, attackers convinced users to enable macros in Word and Excel documents, allowing them to exfiltrate data, log keystrokes, and control devices. Another campaign outlined in the report involved attackers delivering malicious JavaScript code hidden inside Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG) images. When opened in web browsers, these images deployed seven different malware payloads, including RATs and infostealers. Attackers further utilized obfuscated Python scripts to install the malware, capitalizing on Python’s growing popularity among developers, particularly in the AI and data science fields. “A common thread across these campaigns is the use of obfuscation and anti-analysis techniques to slow down investigations,” said Patrick Schläpfer, Principal Threat Researcher in the HP Security Lab. “Even simple but effective defence evasion techniques can delay the detection and response of security operations teams, making it harder to contain an intrusion. By using methods like direct system calls, attackers make it tougher for security tools to catch malicious activity, giving them more time to operate undetected – and compromise victims endpoints.” HP Wolf Security’s approach of isolating threats inside secure containers provided insights into the latest cybercriminal techniques. The company reports that HP Wolf Security customers have interacted with over 65 billion email attachments, web pages, and downloaded files without any reported breaches. The report found that at least 11% of email threats identified by HP Sure Click bypassed one or more email gateway scanners. Executables were the most common malware delivery method at 43%, followed by archive files at 32%. “Multi-step authentication is now the norm, which is increasing our ‘click tolerance.’ The research shows users will take multiple steps along an infection chain, really underscoring the shortcomings of cyber awareness training,” said Dr. Ian Pratt, Global Head of Security for Personal Systems at HP Inc. “Organizations are in an arms race with attackers—one that AI will only accelerate. To combat increasingly unpredictable threats, organizations should focus on shrinking their attack surface by isolating risky actions – such as clicking on things that could harm them. That way, they don’t need to predict the next attack; they’re already protected.” Image: Envato This article, "HP Warns Fake CAPTCHAs Are Spreading Malware in Latest Threat Report" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

HP Inc. has issued its latest HP Threat Insights Report, warning that cybercriminals are increasingly using fake CAPTCHA verification tests to trick users into infecting themselves with malware. The findings, announced during the company’s annual Amplify Conference, highlight how attackers are exploiting users’ growing “click tolerance” resulting from frequent multi-step authentication processes. The report, based on data from millions of endpoints running HP Wolf Security, details real-world cyberattacks observed between October and December 2024. According to HP, the “CAPTCHA Me If You Can” campaigns directed users to attacker-controlled websites, prompting them to complete fraudulent authentication challenges. Victims unknowingly ran malicious PowerShell commands that installed the Lumma Stealer remote access trojan (RAT) on their devices. HP Wolf Security researchers also identified additional threats, including attackers spreading an open source RAT known as XenoRAT. This malware features surveillance capabilities such as microphone and webcam capture. Using social engineering techniques, attackers convinced users to enable macros in Word and Excel documents, allowing them to exfiltrate data, log keystrokes, and control devices. Another campaign outlined in the report involved attackers delivering malicious JavaScript code hidden inside Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG) images. When opened in web browsers, these images deployed seven different malware payloads, including RATs and infostealers. Attackers further utilized obfuscated Python scripts to install the malware, capitalizing on Python’s growing popularity among developers, particularly in the AI and data science fields. “A common thread across these campaigns is the use of obfuscation and anti-analysis techniques to slow down investigations,” said Patrick Schläpfer, Principal Threat Researcher in the HP Security Lab. “Even simple but effective defence evasion techniques can delay the detection and response of security operations teams, making it harder to contain an intrusion. By using methods like direct system calls, attackers make it tougher for security tools to catch malicious activity, giving them more time to operate undetected – and compromise victims endpoints.” HP Wolf Security’s approach of isolating threats inside secure containers provided insights into the latest cybercriminal techniques. The company reports that HP Wolf Security customers have interacted with over 65 billion email attachments, web pages, and downloaded files without any reported breaches. The report found that at least 11% of email threats identified by HP Sure Click bypassed one or more email gateway scanners. Executables were the most common malware delivery method at 43%, followed by archive files at 32%. “Multi-step authentication is now the norm, which is increasing our ‘click tolerance.’ The research shows users will take multiple steps along an infection chain, really underscoring the shortcomings of cyber awareness training,” said Dr. Ian Pratt, Global Head of Security for Personal Systems at HP Inc. “Organizations are in an arms race with attackers—one that AI will only accelerate. To combat increasingly unpredictable threats, organizations should focus on shrinking their attack surface by isolating risky actions – such as clicking on things that could harm them. That way, they don’t need to predict the next attack; they’re already protected.” Image: Envato This article, "HP Warns Fake CAPTCHAs Are Spreading Malware in Latest Threat Report" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Key Takeaways Definition and Purpose: Sales coaching is targeted training aimed at improving sales skills and strategies, empowering teams to achieve their sales targets and drive revenue growth.Key Benefits: Effective sales coaching enhances negotiation techniques, increases conversion rates, strengthens customer relationships, and promotes consistency in sales practices.Components of Coaching: Focus on goal setting, skill development, and performance feedback to optimize your sales team’s effectiveness and alignment with business objectives.Coaching Techniques: Utilize one-on-one and group coaching sessions to provide personalized support and foster collaborative learning, enhancing overall team performance.Measuring Success: Track key performance indicators (KPIs) like conversion rates, average deal size, and sales cycle length to evaluate the impact of coaching efforts and make necessary adjustments. In today’s competitive market, mastering the art of sales is more crucial than ever. You might have a great product, but without effective sales strategies, it’s tough to stand out. That’s where sales coaching comes in. It’s not just about closing deals; it’s about empowering your sales team to reach their full potential. Sales coaching provides the tools and techniques needed to enhance performance and boost confidence. By focusing on individual strengths and areas for improvement, you can transform your sales process. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, understanding the importance of sales coaching can lead to remarkable results for you and your team. Understanding Sales Coaching Sales coaching focuses on developing your sales team’s skills and improving overall performance. Effective coaching empowers team members to reach their sales targets, enhances customer engagement, and drives revenue growth. Definition of Sales Coaching Sales coaching involves targeted training and support aimed at improving specific sales skills and strategies. It includes personalized feedback, role-playing scenarios, and ongoing mentorship, addressing various aspects of the sales process. Common elements include navigating the sales funnel, mastering cold calling techniques, and refining sales pitches. Importance of Sales Coaching Sales coaching is crucial for small businesses aiming to boost sales performance and achieve long-term growth. Here are key benefits: Enhances Sales Skills: Coaching helps refine negotiation techniques, closing sales strategies, and objection handling methods. Increases Sales Conversion: Improved training can lead to higher sales metrics, resulting in a more efficient sales pipeline. Strengthens Customer Relationships: Effective coaching fosters relationship building, leading to repeat business and referral sales. Promotes Consistency: Regular coaching ensures your team adheres to sales tactics and follows a structured sales process, increasing overall success. Supports Goal Achievement: Aligning coaching with your sales goals ensures your team focuses on meeting quotas and hitting sales targets. Implementing a robust sales coaching program empowers your team to excel in business development and increases your company’s revenue potential. Key Components of Effective Sales Coaching Effective sales coaching enhances your sales team’s performance and develops essential sales skills. Focus on three key components: goal setting, skill development, and performance feedback. Goal Setting Setting SMART goals—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—helps your sales team concentrate on maximizing performance. Ensure that your sales goals align with broader business objectives to create a clear direction. Aligning sales targets with your sales strategy encourages individuals to pursue meaningful progress, whether in lead generation or closing sales. Skill Development Skill development enhances your team’s ability to engage customers and navigate the sales process. Implement targeted sales training focused on areas like customer needs assessment, objection handling, and closing techniques. Utilize role-playing scenarios and product demonstrations to practice real-life situations. Investing in skill improvement helps your team refine their sales tactics, ultimately boosting customer acquisition and sales conversion rates. Performance Feedback Providing ongoing performance feedback is crucial for continuous improvement. Regularly review sales metrics and performance reporting to identify areas for growth. Offer constructive criticism and celebrate successes to motivate your team. Implementing a structured feedback loop fosters growth through accountability and helps sharpen your team’s negotiation skills, territory management, and sales presentations. Sales Coaching Techniques Sales coaching techniques empower small businesses to enhance their sales team’s effectiveness and drive revenue growth. Effective coaching strategies lead to improved sales performance and increased customer acquisition rates. One-on-One Coaching One-on-one coaching focuses on individual sales professionals within your team. It uses tailored sessions to identify strengths and areas for growth. You can analyze recorded calls and sales metrics, highlighting specific challenges like objection handling or closing techniques. This personalized approach unlocks potential by addressing each individual’s unique sales process, making interactions more effective. Regular feedback helps refine skills, ensuring that each team member meets their sales targets and achieves personal goals. Group Coaching Sessions Group coaching sessions foster a collaborative learning environment among your sales team. These sessions encourage sharing of best practices, allowing team members to learn from each other’s experiences. You can implement role-playing exercises that simulate real-life scenarios like product demonstrations or cold calling. Group coaching not only strengthens team dynamics but also enhances collective skills in areas such as negotiation and relationship building. Leveraging diverse perspectives improves overall sales tactics and aligns your team toward common sales goals. Measuring the Success of Sales Coaching Measuring the success of sales coaching involves establishing clear goals and analyzing specific metrics. This approach helps you gauge the effectiveness of your training initiatives and adjust strategies as needed. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Identify KPIs that align with your sales goals. Relevant KPIs for small businesses include: Conversion Rates: Track the percentage of sales leads that convert into customers. Average Deal Size: Measure the average value of each closed sale. Sales Cycle Length: Assess the duration from the initial contact to closing the sale. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Determine the expenses incurred in acquiring a new customer. Focusing on these KPIs provides insights into your sales team’s performance and the impact of coaching efforts. Sales Metrics Analysis Analyze sales metrics regularly to evaluate the effectiveness of your coaching program. Key metrics include: Sales Performance: Review the number of sales made against targets or quotas. Lead Generation: Assess the volume and quality of leads generated through various channels like networking and cold calling. Follow-up Rates: Monitor how effectively your sales team engages with prospects after initial contact. Customer Engagement: Evaluate customer feedback and interaction levels during the sales process. By analyzing these metrics, you can identify trends and areas for improvement, ultimately enhancing your sales strategies and boosting revenue growth for your small business. Conclusion Investing in sales coaching can be a game changer for your business. By focusing on individual strengths and providing targeted training you can enhance your team’s skills and confidence. This not only leads to improved sales performance but also fosters a positive team environment where collaboration thrives. As you implement a coaching program remember to set clear goals and regularly assess your team’s progress. By tracking key performance indicators you’ll gain valuable insights that guide your coaching efforts. Embrace the power of sales coaching to unlock your team’s full potential and drive sustainable revenue growth. Frequently Asked Questions What is the key focus of the article on sales strategies? The article emphasizes that having a great product isn’t enough for success in a competitive market. It highlights the importance of mastering sales strategies and using sales coaching to empower sales teams, enhance performance, and boost confidence. How does sales coaching benefit businesses? Sales coaching improves specific sales skills, boosts team morale, and enhances customer engagement. It helps businesses refine negotiation techniques, increase conversion rates, and strengthen customer relationships, ultimately driving revenue growth. What are key components of effective sales coaching? Key components include goal setting, skill development, and ongoing performance feedback. Setting SMART goals aligns sales efforts with business objectives and guides effective coaching practices. How can individual and group coaching sessions differ? One-on-one coaching focuses on personal strengths and growth areas for individual sales professionals, while group coaching fosters collaboration and encourages sharing best practices among team members to improve overall performance. What metrics should businesses analyze to measure sales coaching success? Businesses should focus on key performance indicators like conversion rates, average deal size, sales cycle length, and customer acquisition cost (CAC) to assess the effectiveness of their sales coaching initiatives. Why are ongoing performance reviews important in sales coaching? Ongoing performance reviews help identify areas for growth, motivate teams, and provide constructive feedback. Regular analysis of sales metrics ensures that coaching efforts lead to improved sales strategies and business outcomes. What types of training techniques are recommended in sales coaching? Effective sales coaching includes targeted training methods such as personalized feedback, role-playing scenarios, and mentorship. These techniques help improve sales skills, enhance customer interactions, and promote consistency in sales tactics. Image Via Envato This article, "Unlocking Sales Success: The Power of Effective Sales Coaching for Your Team" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Key Takeaways Definition and Purpose: Sales coaching is targeted training aimed at improving sales skills and strategies, empowering teams to achieve their sales targets and drive revenue growth.Key Benefits: Effective sales coaching enhances negotiation techniques, increases conversion rates, strengthens customer relationships, and promotes consistency in sales practices.Components of Coaching: Focus on goal setting, skill development, and performance feedback to optimize your sales team’s effectiveness and alignment with business objectives.Coaching Techniques: Utilize one-on-one and group coaching sessions to provide personalized support and foster collaborative learning, enhancing overall team performance.Measuring Success: Track key performance indicators (KPIs) like conversion rates, average deal size, and sales cycle length to evaluate the impact of coaching efforts and make necessary adjustments. In today’s competitive market, mastering the art of sales is more crucial than ever. You might have a great product, but without effective sales strategies, it’s tough to stand out. That’s where sales coaching comes in. It’s not just about closing deals; it’s about empowering your sales team to reach their full potential. Sales coaching provides the tools and techniques needed to enhance performance and boost confidence. By focusing on individual strengths and areas for improvement, you can transform your sales process. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, understanding the importance of sales coaching can lead to remarkable results for you and your team. Understanding Sales Coaching Sales coaching focuses on developing your sales team’s skills and improving overall performance. Effective coaching empowers team members to reach their sales targets, enhances customer engagement, and drives revenue growth. Definition of Sales Coaching Sales coaching involves targeted training and support aimed at improving specific sales skills and strategies. It includes personalized feedback, role-playing scenarios, and ongoing mentorship, addressing various aspects of the sales process. Common elements include navigating the sales funnel, mastering cold calling techniques, and refining sales pitches. Importance of Sales Coaching Sales coaching is crucial for small businesses aiming to boost sales performance and achieve long-term growth. Here are key benefits: Enhances Sales Skills: Coaching helps refine negotiation techniques, closing sales strategies, and objection handling methods. Increases Sales Conversion: Improved training can lead to higher sales metrics, resulting in a more efficient sales pipeline. Strengthens Customer Relationships: Effective coaching fosters relationship building, leading to repeat business and referral sales. Promotes Consistency: Regular coaching ensures your team adheres to sales tactics and follows a structured sales process, increasing overall success. Supports Goal Achievement: Aligning coaching with your sales goals ensures your team focuses on meeting quotas and hitting sales targets. Implementing a robust sales coaching program empowers your team to excel in business development and increases your company’s revenue potential. Key Components of Effective Sales Coaching Effective sales coaching enhances your sales team’s performance and develops essential sales skills. Focus on three key components: goal setting, skill development, and performance feedback. Goal Setting Setting SMART goals—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—helps your sales team concentrate on maximizing performance. Ensure that your sales goals align with broader business objectives to create a clear direction. Aligning sales targets with your sales strategy encourages individuals to pursue meaningful progress, whether in lead generation or closing sales. Skill Development Skill development enhances your team’s ability to engage customers and navigate the sales process. Implement targeted sales training focused on areas like customer needs assessment, objection handling, and closing techniques. Utilize role-playing scenarios and product demonstrations to practice real-life situations. Investing in skill improvement helps your team refine their sales tactics, ultimately boosting customer acquisition and sales conversion rates. Performance Feedback Providing ongoing performance feedback is crucial for continuous improvement. Regularly review sales metrics and performance reporting to identify areas for growth. Offer constructive criticism and celebrate successes to motivate your team. Implementing a structured feedback loop fosters growth through accountability and helps sharpen your team’s negotiation skills, territory management, and sales presentations. Sales Coaching Techniques Sales coaching techniques empower small businesses to enhance their sales team’s effectiveness and drive revenue growth. Effective coaching strategies lead to improved sales performance and increased customer acquisition rates. One-on-One Coaching One-on-one coaching focuses on individual sales professionals within your team. It uses tailored sessions to identify strengths and areas for growth. You can analyze recorded calls and sales metrics, highlighting specific challenges like objection handling or closing techniques. This personalized approach unlocks potential by addressing each individual’s unique sales process, making interactions more effective. Regular feedback helps refine skills, ensuring that each team member meets their sales targets and achieves personal goals. Group Coaching Sessions Group coaching sessions foster a collaborative learning environment among your sales team. These sessions encourage sharing of best practices, allowing team members to learn from each other’s experiences. You can implement role-playing exercises that simulate real-life scenarios like product demonstrations or cold calling. Group coaching not only strengthens team dynamics but also enhances collective skills in areas such as negotiation and relationship building. Leveraging diverse perspectives improves overall sales tactics and aligns your team toward common sales goals. Measuring the Success of Sales Coaching Measuring the success of sales coaching involves establishing clear goals and analyzing specific metrics. This approach helps you gauge the effectiveness of your training initiatives and adjust strategies as needed. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Identify KPIs that align with your sales goals. Relevant KPIs for small businesses include: Conversion Rates: Track the percentage of sales leads that convert into customers. Average Deal Size: Measure the average value of each closed sale. Sales Cycle Length: Assess the duration from the initial contact to closing the sale. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Determine the expenses incurred in acquiring a new customer. Focusing on these KPIs provides insights into your sales team’s performance and the impact of coaching efforts. Sales Metrics Analysis Analyze sales metrics regularly to evaluate the effectiveness of your coaching program. Key metrics include: Sales Performance: Review the number of sales made against targets or quotas. Lead Generation: Assess the volume and quality of leads generated through various channels like networking and cold calling. Follow-up Rates: Monitor how effectively your sales team engages with prospects after initial contact. Customer Engagement: Evaluate customer feedback and interaction levels during the sales process. By analyzing these metrics, you can identify trends and areas for improvement, ultimately enhancing your sales strategies and boosting revenue growth for your small business. Conclusion Investing in sales coaching can be a game changer for your business. By focusing on individual strengths and providing targeted training you can enhance your team’s skills and confidence. This not only leads to improved sales performance but also fosters a positive team environment where collaboration thrives. As you implement a coaching program remember to set clear goals and regularly assess your team’s progress. By tracking key performance indicators you’ll gain valuable insights that guide your coaching efforts. Embrace the power of sales coaching to unlock your team’s full potential and drive sustainable revenue growth. Frequently Asked Questions What is the key focus of the article on sales strategies? The article emphasizes that having a great product isn’t enough for success in a competitive market. It highlights the importance of mastering sales strategies and using sales coaching to empower sales teams, enhance performance, and boost confidence. How does sales coaching benefit businesses? Sales coaching improves specific sales skills, boosts team morale, and enhances customer engagement. It helps businesses refine negotiation techniques, increase conversion rates, and strengthen customer relationships, ultimately driving revenue growth. What are key components of effective sales coaching? Key components include goal setting, skill development, and ongoing performance feedback. Setting SMART goals aligns sales efforts with business objectives and guides effective coaching practices. How can individual and group coaching sessions differ? One-on-one coaching focuses on personal strengths and growth areas for individual sales professionals, while group coaching fosters collaboration and encourages sharing best practices among team members to improve overall performance. What metrics should businesses analyze to measure sales coaching success? Businesses should focus on key performance indicators like conversion rates, average deal size, sales cycle length, and customer acquisition cost (CAC) to assess the effectiveness of their sales coaching initiatives. Why are ongoing performance reviews important in sales coaching? Ongoing performance reviews help identify areas for growth, motivate teams, and provide constructive feedback. Regular analysis of sales metrics ensures that coaching efforts lead to improved sales strategies and business outcomes. What types of training techniques are recommended in sales coaching? Effective sales coaching includes targeted training methods such as personalized feedback, role-playing scenarios, and mentorship. These techniques help improve sales skills, enhance customer interactions, and promote consistency in sales tactics. Image Via Envato This article, "Unlocking Sales Success: The Power of Effective Sales Coaching for Your Team" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

European and Arab powers push for resolution to crisis caused by Hamas-Israel war as UN conference nearsView the full article

Potential deal comes after studio’s owner Shari Redstone grew frustrated with ‘balance’ of coverageView the full article

Thanks to some smart (and aggressive) marketing, Duolingo has cemented itself as one of the most popular language learning apps in the world. That said, it isn't without competition: There are plenty of alternatives to consider, and if you're peeved about Duolingo's plans to phase out its contract workers in favor of using AI, you might be looking into them. There's now a new competitor for Duo's crown, but it certainly isn't a replacement for the AI-averse. It's also far from an underdog, considering the service comes from none other than Google. Yesterday, the company announced a new AI-powered language learning experience it calls Little Language Lessons. It isn't an app, rather an experiment in Google Labs that offers small doses of lessons and immersion for a handful of different languages. Here's how Google's Little Language Lessons currently work. Using Google's Duolingo alternative To start, head to Google Labs' Little Language Lessons site, and sign in with your Google Account. You'll need to agree to a pop-up that warns you that the feature is an early experiment that uses generative AI, and might not always be accurate—a hallmark flaw of AI tools in general. Google is offering 22 language options (including regional dialects for specific languages). Those include: Arabic Chinese (China) Chinese (Hong Kong) Chinese (Taiwan) English (AU) English (UK) English (US) French (Canada) French (France) German Greek Hebrew Hindi Italian Japanese Korean Portuguese (Brazil) Portuguese (Portugal) Russian Spanish (Latin America) Spanish (Spain) Turkish Once you're in, there are three different types of lessons to try—or "experiments," as Google calls them. "Experiment no. 001" is "Tiny Lesson," which assists you with words, phrases, and grammar for any situation you can dream up. You choose the language, then type a "purpose or theme" into the provided text field. If you can't think of anything, you can use one of the auto-generated themes Google provides, like "taking a taxi," "scuba diving" or "going on a first date." (Or taking a taxi to scuba dive on your first date.) I went with Portuguese (Portugal) and "taking a taxi." I hit Generate, and Tiny Lesson offered me three categories to work from: Vocabulary, which lists different words I might use ("o táxi" for "the taxi" or "o taxista" for "the taxi driver"); Phrases, such as "Pode chamar um táxi, por favor?" for "Can you call a taxi, please?"; and Tips, like explaining how to use "ter que" to express that I need to go somewhere. Any Portuguese words and phrases have a speaker option to click to hear the proper pronunciation. "Experiment no. 002" is "Slang Hang," which aims to teach you slang and expressions from the regions that speak the language you're learning. For fun, I asked it to run with U.S. English for this one. Slang Hang generates a story between two people, and, following a short premise, generates a conversation between them to demonstrate how they might naturally speak to one another. Expressions and slang are underlined, and, again, you can click the speaker icon to hear them spoken out loud. One side of the conversation is generated at a time, and you press the space bar to move on to the next person's sentence. If you want a new story altogether, you can hit the refresh icon, or click the X to exit entirely. (Slang Hang is currently missing support for Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Portugal), and Turkish.) Credit: Lifehacker Finally, there's "Experiment no. 003," or "Word Cam." This feature lets you take and share a photo with the web app to learn how to talk about your surroundings. This works best on a smartphone or tablet, since otherwise you'll only have your computer's front-facing camera to work with. Once you grant access to your camera, snap a photo of your surroundings. Word Cam then analyzes the image, highlights specific elements, and labels them with words in the target language. For example, I took a photo of the street corner, and Word Cam labeled the car as "o carro," the grass as "a relva," and the bush as "arbusto." You can tap each word to pull up a full page about the word in question, as well as examples of how you might use it in different sentences and scenarios. Can Little Language Lessons compete with Duolingo?Little Language Lessons is a neat idea, and I'm looking forward to experimenting with it further. Will this take a bite out of Duolingo? I doubt it. But it does offer a more casual and personal approach to language learning, as opposed to Duolingo's more structured lessons. I like that I can choose what I want to learn more about, especially as, in my view, language acquisition is most effective when you're learning words and phrases you actively use on a daily basis. The main concern is learning the wrong words, which could be an issue if the AI decides to hallucinate an incorrect translation. That's where human intervention would come in handy: If lessons were generated by people and fact-checkers, you'd feel a bit more at ease with accepting the information at face value. With these lessons, however, I feel I have to double-check everything it tells me. View the full article

Jimmy Fallon has done plenty of commercials and branded segments on his late-night show. Last year, he partnered with Beats by Dre for a signature set of headphones and put them head-to-head against Kim Kardashian’s design. Now, The Tonight Show host is taking his business interests to a new level by becoming a brand partner and investor in tortilla chips and salsa brand Xochitl. His first challenge is pretty basic: teach people how to pronounce the brand name. (It’s so-cheel.) “It’s like so-chill. Or so-cheel media. So-cheel network. So-cheel distortion,” says Fallon. “It gets easier the more you practice it. So that’s my first job. And then once I get that out there, they’ll probably give me other assignments.” Xochitl is America’s largest independent tortilla chip brand, but it is still far lesser known than your grocery store staples on the tortilla chip shelf, and lacks full national distribution. It’s looking to Fallon for a mainstream boost. Founded in 1995, the Irving, Texas-based brand is aiming to take a bigger bite out of the $11 billion North American tortilla chip market. It’s a growing category, with Frito-Lay’s Tostitos brand dominating, and Utz’s On the Border also a major player. Last May, private equity firm Forward Consumer Partners took a 50% stake in Xochitl. Chairman Matt Leeds says the goal here is to drive brand awareness and grow distribution. Who better to do that than a guy with 32.4 million YouTube subscribers and 27.4 million Instagram followers? “We believe that his involvement will create a lot of excitement, which can open distribution opportunities and retail partnerships,” Leeds says. “As a brand looking to emphasize warmth, authenticity, and shared experiences, Jimmy’s funny, approachable, and family-friendly persona aligns well with us and our brand strategy.” Now just say the name. Right chip, right time At times it can seem like you can’t swing an empty booze bottle without hitting a celebrity tequila or whiskey. And yes, even beer. Fallon says he’s been offered similar opportunities in the past, but none really fit. “I’ve been offered my own whiskey, my own tequila, and all that stuff, and I just don’t want to be out there boozing it up at the golf course, selling bottles of stuff,” Fallon says. “What am I doing? I didn’t know anything about that. But this? Tortilla chips, I can get behind. It’s on brand for me, and I have no problem selling this and standing behind it.” For Xochitl, the strategy is as simple as it gets: Ask a very famous guy who seems fun to not only promote but be involved in the brand. “The partnership with Jimmy grew out of a simple insight: Xochitl is hard to pronounce but easy to love,” Leeds says. “We started with a blank sheet of paper, and Jimmy was literally our first and best idea for someone who could help teach people the Xochitl name in a way that’s fun, unique, and memorable.” Leeds called. Fallon answered. And just so happened to have been eating Xochitl chips that weekend. “He called me up, and I said, ‘Wait, I actually know what you’re talking about!’ ” Fallon says. “I had no clue how it’s pronounced, though. He gave me this kind of rundown of where the business is, and I thought this sounded like a fun opportunity. I love business stories, I love marketing stuff, and I’d love to help see something grow and become giant.” Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Marching orders For Fallon, this is a unique opportunity to work with a brand that has very clear and ambitious objectives in mind. “This has the chance and opportunity to really grow,” Fallon says. “When a brand is already massive, then I’m just doing a commercial or something. It’s a paid gig. It’s all good. You do the commercial, and you hope it’s funny. But with this? I’m a partner and an investor, so if it works out, I might actually see some dividends. I’ve got some skin in the game.” Before announcing the Fallon partnership, Xochitl had fewer than 5,000 Instagram followers. So there’s plenty of room to grow. Fallon is a self-described ad nerd and just wrapped production on a new advertising-based reality show for NBC that’s set to launch later this year. Now it’s just a matter of taking everything he’s ever learned about advertising and marketing, and putting it to work. “They’re in select stores and some participating Walmarts, but they’re not in Whole Foods or Target,” Fallon says. “That’s the challenge. I know my marching orders, and I want to see if I can get them there. I want to see if I can get them in every store in the country. It’ll be fun.” This week, Xochitl is dropping its first-ever flavor collaboration with McCormick & Company’s Cholula hot sauce brand, exclusively at more than 2,000 Walmart stores, and it will roll out on Amazon and at grocers nationwide in the coming months. Between Late Night and The Tonight Show, Fallon has spent the last 16 years helping his celebrity guests plug their latest movies, TV, music, and more. Now he’s excited to really be selling his own brand. “One of my jobs at The Tonight Show is to always be selling everyone else’s stuff, which is great. I love it. It’s my favorite job,” he says. “So now I’m, like, ‘Why not do it for myself?’ ” One more time, it’s so-cheel. View the full article

Tech group reports better than expected results, but net income slips from three months earlierView the full article

Key Takeaways Convenience and Speed: Cashless payments streamline checkout processes, reducing wait times and enhancing the shopping experience for customers, with 75% valuing speed in transactions. Enhanced Security: Digital payments minimize cash handling risks and utilize advanced encryption technologies, fostering trust and ensuring better accountability through electronic records. Technological Integration: Embracing digital wallets, contactless cards, and mobile payment apps modernizes retail operations, making them more efficient and appealing to tech-savvy consumers. Consumer Behavior Shift: As customers prioritize convenience, adopting cashless solutions meets evolving expectations, helping businesses attract and retain a loyal customer base. Future Trends: Cryptocurrency acceptance and advancements in contactless payment technology are key trends that can enhance customer engagement and position small businesses as innovative leaders in the retail space. Challenges: Awareness of potential hurdles, such as the digital divide and fraud concerns, is crucial for businesses transitioning to cashless systems, allowing for a smoother adoption process and improved customer experience. Imagine a world where your wallet is lighter, and transactions happen in the blink of an eye. The cashless payment revolution is reshaping how you shop, dine, and manage your finances. With the rise of digital wallets, contactless cards, and mobile payment apps, you’re stepping into a new era of convenience and security. As technology advances, the shift from cash to digital transactions is not just a trend; it’s becoming the norm. You’re now able to make purchases without fumbling for change or waiting in long lines. This transformation is not only about speed but also about enhancing your overall experience. Join the movement and discover how embracing cashless payments can simplify your life while offering a glimpse into the future of finance. Overview Of The Cashless Payment Revolution The cashless payment revolution reshapes how businesses, especially small businesses, engage with customers. Digital wallets, contactless cards, and mobile payment apps create a seamless transaction experience and enhance security. Retailers are seeing the immediate benefits of adopting cashless systems in their storefronts. You may notice that cashless payments increase consumer convenience. Customers prefer quick and hassle-free checkout processes. In fact, studies show that 75% of shoppers appreciate the speed of cashless transactions. Your small business can enhance customer satisfaction by offering diverse cashless options. Cashless payments also enable better financial management. You gain immediate insights into sales patterns, allowing informed decisions. Tracking sales becomes easier with digital records instead of handling cash. Embracing this payment shift not only accelerates transactions but also improves your overall customer experience. Your storefront becomes more modern and appealing to tech-savvy consumers who expect cashless solutions. Adapting now can position your small business for future growth in the evolving financial landscape. The Rise Of Cashless Payments Cashless payments are gaining ground rapidly, reshaping how you conduct retail transactions. Embracing these options enhances customer convenience while streamlining your business operations. Technological Innovations Technological advancements drive the cashless payment transformation. Digital wallets, contactless cards, and mobile payment solutions integrate easily into your retail storefront. These innovations facilitate instant transactions, promoting efficiency. Many systems support diverse payment methods, allowing you to cater to various customer preferences. Implementing these technologies not only modernizes your business but also improves security, reducing risks associated with cash handling. Changing Consumer Behavior Consumer behavior shifts towards favoring convenience and speed. Today’s customers prefer quick payment options that enhance their shopping experience. Studies show that 75% of shoppers prioritize the speed of transactions, leading to quicker checkouts and increased sales. As a small business, adopting cashless payment methods positions you to meet these evolving expectations. By streamlining your payment process, you not only attract tech-savvy consumers but also improve customer satisfaction, positioning your business for sustainable growth. Benefits Of Cashless Transactions Cashless transactions offer significant advantages for businesses, particularly in the retail sector. Small businesses adopting these methods can streamline operations, enhance customer satisfaction, and secure financial processes. Convenience And Speed Cashless payments speed up checkout processes, reducing wait times for customers in your storefront. Digital wallets, contactless cards, and mobile payment apps allow quick transactions, improving the shopping experience. When you provide efficient payment options, 75% of shoppers appreciate the convenience, enhancing overall satisfaction and promoting repeat business. With immediate payment confirmations, managing cash flow becomes simpler, enabling better financial organization. Enhanced Security Features Cashless transactions improve security for both your business and customers. Digital payments minimize cash handling risks, which can lead to theft or loss. Advanced encryption technologies protect sensitive customer data, fostering trust in your brand. With electronic records of transactions, tracking sales and managing disputes becomes easier, offering greater accountability. By embracing cashless systems, you not only improve security but also position your small business as modern and reliable in the eyes of tech-savvy consumers. Challenges Facing Cashless Payments Transitioning to a cashless payment system presents challenges that your small business must navigate. Understanding these hurdles ensures a smoother adoption process and better customer experience. Digital Divide Digital literacy impacts access to cashless payment systems. Customers without technical skills may struggle with mobile wallets or contactless cards. Your business must consider varying customer comfort levels with technology. Providing clear instructions or alternatives might enhance the experience for those less tech-savvy. Fostering an inclusive environment can help bridge this digital divide and retain potential customers who prefer traditional payment methods. Fraud And Privacy Concerns Fraud and privacy issues represent significant challenges in the cashless payment landscape. As transaction volumes increase, so does the risk of cybercrime. Customers may worry about data breaches and the misuse of their financial information. Implementing advanced security measures, such as encryption technology or two-factor authentication, can build trust with your clientele. Educating customers on protecting their data also instills confidence in using cashless methods. By addressing these concerns, your small business strengthens customer relationships and positions itself as a secure choice in retail. Future Trends In Cashless Payments The cashless payment landscape continues to evolve, introducing new trends that can significantly impact your small business. Cryptocurrency Integration Cryptocurrency integration presents a new frontier for cashless payments. As more retail establishments accept cryptocurrencies, you can attract a tech-savvy clientele eager to use digital currencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Adopting this payment method not only enhances your storefront’s appeal but also positions your business as innovative and forward-thinking. Adopting secure and efficient cryptocurrency payment platforms can streamline transactions and expand your customer base. Contactless Payment Advancements Contactless payment advancements provide faster and more convenient methods for transactions. Technologies like Near Field Communication (NFC) enable quick payments with smartphones and contactless cards. Implementing these solutions in your retail space can reduce checkout times, improving customer satisfaction and potentially increasing sales. By embracing these advancements, you create a seamless shopping experience that meets the demands of modern consumers, positioning your small business favorably in an increasingly cashless society. Conclusion Embracing the cashless payment revolution is essential for both consumers and businesses. As you adapt to these new payment methods, you’ll find that they not only simplify transactions but also enhance your overall experience. For small businesses, adopting cashless payments can lead to improved customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. By integrating advanced technologies and staying attuned to trends like cryptocurrency, you can position yourself for future growth. Navigating the challenges of this shift requires awareness and education, but the benefits far outweigh the hurdles. As you embrace this change, you’ll be part of a transformative movement that’s shaping the future of finance. Frequently Asked Questions What are cashless payments? Cashless payments refer to transactions made without physical cash, utilizing methods like digital wallets, contactless cards, and mobile payment apps. These options provide convenience, speed, and security, transforming how people shop and handle finances. Why are cashless payments becoming popular? Cashless payments are gaining popularity due to their efficiency and convenience. Studies show that 75% of shoppers prefer the speed of cashless transactions, which can enhance the overall shopping experience and attract more customers to businesses. How do cashless payments benefit small businesses? Cashless payments improve small businesses by speeding up checkouts, reducing wait times, and enhancing customer satisfaction. They also offer better financial management insights, helping businesses streamline sales tracking and modernize their storefronts. What challenges do cashless payments present? Cashless payments can pose challenges like the digital divide, affecting access for less tech-savvy customers. Additionally, concerns around fraud and privacy exist, highlighting the need for businesses to implement robust security measures and educate customers on data protection. What future trends are emerging in cashless payments? Emerging trends in cashless payments include integrating cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and advancements in contactless payment technologies, such as Near Field Communication (NFC). These innovations can enhance a business’s reputation and attract a tech-savvy clientele. Image Via Envato This article, "Embrace the Cashless Payment Revolution for a Seamless Shopping Experience" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Key Takeaways Convenience and Speed: Cashless payments streamline checkout processes, reducing wait times and enhancing the shopping experience for customers, with 75% valuing speed in transactions. Enhanced Security: Digital payments minimize cash handling risks and utilize advanced encryption technologies, fostering trust and ensuring better accountability through electronic records. Technological Integration: Embracing digital wallets, contactless cards, and mobile payment apps modernizes retail operations, making them more efficient and appealing to tech-savvy consumers. Consumer Behavior Shift: As customers prioritize convenience, adopting cashless solutions meets evolving expectations, helping businesses attract and retain a loyal customer base. Future Trends: Cryptocurrency acceptance and advancements in contactless payment technology are key trends that can enhance customer engagement and position small businesses as innovative leaders in the retail space. Challenges: Awareness of potential hurdles, such as the digital divide and fraud concerns, is crucial for businesses transitioning to cashless systems, allowing for a smoother adoption process and improved customer experience. Imagine a world where your wallet is lighter, and transactions happen in the blink of an eye. The cashless payment revolution is reshaping how you shop, dine, and manage your finances. With the rise of digital wallets, contactless cards, and mobile payment apps, you’re stepping into a new era of convenience and security. As technology advances, the shift from cash to digital transactions is not just a trend; it’s becoming the norm. You’re now able to make purchases without fumbling for change or waiting in long lines. This transformation is not only about speed but also about enhancing your overall experience. Join the movement and discover how embracing cashless payments can simplify your life while offering a glimpse into the future of finance. Overview Of The Cashless Payment Revolution The cashless payment revolution reshapes how businesses, especially small businesses, engage with customers. Digital wallets, contactless cards, and mobile payment apps create a seamless transaction experience and enhance security. Retailers are seeing the immediate benefits of adopting cashless systems in their storefronts. You may notice that cashless payments increase consumer convenience. Customers prefer quick and hassle-free checkout processes. In fact, studies show that 75% of shoppers appreciate the speed of cashless transactions. Your small business can enhance customer satisfaction by offering diverse cashless options. Cashless payments also enable better financial management. You gain immediate insights into sales patterns, allowing informed decisions. Tracking sales becomes easier with digital records instead of handling cash. Embracing this payment shift not only accelerates transactions but also improves your overall customer experience. Your storefront becomes more modern and appealing to tech-savvy consumers who expect cashless solutions. Adapting now can position your small business for future growth in the evolving financial landscape. The Rise Of Cashless Payments Cashless payments are gaining ground rapidly, reshaping how you conduct retail transactions. Embracing these options enhances customer convenience while streamlining your business operations. Technological Innovations Technological advancements drive the cashless payment transformation. Digital wallets, contactless cards, and mobile payment solutions integrate easily into your retail storefront. These innovations facilitate instant transactions, promoting efficiency. Many systems support diverse payment methods, allowing you to cater to various customer preferences. Implementing these technologies not only modernizes your business but also improves security, reducing risks associated with cash handling. Changing Consumer Behavior Consumer behavior shifts towards favoring convenience and speed. Today’s customers prefer quick payment options that enhance their shopping experience. Studies show that 75% of shoppers prioritize the speed of transactions, leading to quicker checkouts and increased sales. As a small business, adopting cashless payment methods positions you to meet these evolving expectations. By streamlining your payment process, you not only attract tech-savvy consumers but also improve customer satisfaction, positioning your business for sustainable growth. Benefits Of Cashless Transactions Cashless transactions offer significant advantages for businesses, particularly in the retail sector. Small businesses adopting these methods can streamline operations, enhance customer satisfaction, and secure financial processes. Convenience And Speed Cashless payments speed up checkout processes, reducing wait times for customers in your storefront. Digital wallets, contactless cards, and mobile payment apps allow quick transactions, improving the shopping experience. When you provide efficient payment options, 75% of shoppers appreciate the convenience, enhancing overall satisfaction and promoting repeat business. With immediate payment confirmations, managing cash flow becomes simpler, enabling better financial organization. Enhanced Security Features Cashless transactions improve security for both your business and customers. Digital payments minimize cash handling risks, which can lead to theft or loss. Advanced encryption technologies protect sensitive customer data, fostering trust in your brand. With electronic records of transactions, tracking sales and managing disputes becomes easier, offering greater accountability. By embracing cashless systems, you not only improve security but also position your small business as modern and reliable in the eyes of tech-savvy consumers. Challenges Facing Cashless Payments Transitioning to a cashless payment system presents challenges that your small business must navigate. Understanding these hurdles ensures a smoother adoption process and better customer experience. Digital Divide Digital literacy impacts access to cashless payment systems. Customers without technical skills may struggle with mobile wallets or contactless cards. Your business must consider varying customer comfort levels with technology. Providing clear instructions or alternatives might enhance the experience for those less tech-savvy. Fostering an inclusive environment can help bridge this digital divide and retain potential customers who prefer traditional payment methods. Fraud And Privacy Concerns Fraud and privacy issues represent significant challenges in the cashless payment landscape. As transaction volumes increase, so does the risk of cybercrime. Customers may worry about data breaches and the misuse of their financial information. Implementing advanced security measures, such as encryption technology or two-factor authentication, can build trust with your clientele. Educating customers on protecting their data also instills confidence in using cashless methods. By addressing these concerns, your small business strengthens customer relationships and positions itself as a secure choice in retail. Future Trends In Cashless Payments The cashless payment landscape continues to evolve, introducing new trends that can significantly impact your small business. Cryptocurrency Integration Cryptocurrency integration presents a new frontier for cashless payments. As more retail establishments accept cryptocurrencies, you can attract a tech-savvy clientele eager to use digital currencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Adopting this payment method not only enhances your storefront’s appeal but also positions your business as innovative and forward-thinking. Adopting secure and efficient cryptocurrency payment platforms can streamline transactions and expand your customer base. Contactless Payment Advancements Contactless payment advancements provide faster and more convenient methods for transactions. Technologies like Near Field Communication (NFC) enable quick payments with smartphones and contactless cards. Implementing these solutions in your retail space can reduce checkout times, improving customer satisfaction and potentially increasing sales. By embracing these advancements, you create a seamless shopping experience that meets the demands of modern consumers, positioning your small business favorably in an increasingly cashless society. Conclusion Embracing the cashless payment revolution is essential for both consumers and businesses. As you adapt to these new payment methods, you’ll find that they not only simplify transactions but also enhance your overall experience. For small businesses, adopting cashless payments can lead to improved customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. By integrating advanced technologies and staying attuned to trends like cryptocurrency, you can position yourself for future growth. Navigating the challenges of this shift requires awareness and education, but the benefits far outweigh the hurdles. As you embrace this change, you’ll be part of a transformative movement that’s shaping the future of finance. Frequently Asked Questions What are cashless payments? Cashless payments refer to transactions made without physical cash, utilizing methods like digital wallets, contactless cards, and mobile payment apps. These options provide convenience, speed, and security, transforming how people shop and handle finances. Why are cashless payments becoming popular? Cashless payments are gaining popularity due to their efficiency and convenience. Studies show that 75% of shoppers prefer the speed of cashless transactions, which can enhance the overall shopping experience and attract more customers to businesses. How do cashless payments benefit small businesses? Cashless payments improve small businesses by speeding up checkouts, reducing wait times, and enhancing customer satisfaction. They also offer better financial management insights, helping businesses streamline sales tracking and modernize their storefronts. What challenges do cashless payments present? Cashless payments can pose challenges like the digital divide, affecting access for less tech-savvy customers. Additionally, concerns around fraud and privacy exist, highlighting the need for businesses to implement robust security measures and educate customers on data protection. What future trends are emerging in cashless payments? Emerging trends in cashless payments include integrating cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and advancements in contactless payment technologies, such as Near Field Communication (NFC). These innovations can enhance a business’s reputation and attract a tech-savvy clientele. Image Via Envato This article, "Embrace the Cashless Payment Revolution for a Seamless Shopping Experience" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Microsoft reported its third quarter 2025 earnings and it showed that its search and advertising revenue was up 21%, again. The previous quarter it was up 21% as well, then the quarter before that was up 18%, then 19% but before than it was 12% and 8%.View the full article

Profits rise nearly 20% in March quarter sending stock up nearly 6% after-hoursView the full article

Valve's Steam Deck has quickly become my go-to gaming handheld. I've clocked—oh god—500 hours just in Hades II on the Steam Deck. Yet I spent full weeks of my life using this device without diving into its most powerful feature: its customizable controls. Here's why you should be using them, even if you think you don't need to. At first, I avoided customizing my controls because I usually like to play the way the developer intended. That ended when I sprained my left wrist while in the middle of replaying Chrono Trigger. I wanted to keep playing, but I needed to rest my wrist. What could I do? That's correct: Obviously, I should remap the in-game controls so I could access almost every function in the game with just one hand, prop up the Steam Deck, and keep playing. Once I'd done that successfully, though, I started experimenting with every game to see what I could do. Get started by trying out community layoutsAlmost every game that's playable on the Steam Deck has its own controller layout ready to go, but you can always edit it. Simply press the Steam button while playing the game, then scroll to Controller Settings. You'll see a layout that shows which inputs each of the Steam Deck's buttons, control sticks, and touchpads are mapped to. At the bottom, you'll see a button labeled Controller Settings. Click that to start editing. Your first option is to change your entire layout. If you click "Edit Layout," you'll create a copy of the existing layout with your own changes (which you can always reset), but you can also browse community-made layouts to see if someone made something that's more comfortable for you. If you try a community layout and don't like it, your original layout will always be available to swap back. Make games designed for a mouse feel more naturalOne of the most slept-on superpowers of the Steam Deck—and what, in my opinion, makes it superior to most Windows-based handhelds—is its dual trackpads. These small squares just under each joystick work similarly to your laptop's trackpad. They have haptic feedback, and you can even click them. The Steam Deck has a touchscreen for entering text, but for my money, the trackpads are a better analog for mouse input. For example, Stardew Valley is a game that was initially designed for PC, and while its controller support is stellar, there are still a few menus where it would be handy to have a mouse. The default controller input maps the right trackpad to be seen as a joystick input. However, I swapped mine so that it reads like a mouse instead. This lets me quickly click on menus, or hover over items more easily than I would with controller inputs. You can change this behavior under the Trackpads section while editing your controller layout. You can pick from a few types of behavior (the nuance between "Joystick" and "As Joystick" can be, uh, confusing) so experiment with what works best for you. You can also add custom inputs for just touching the pad, and for clicking it. Boost your ergonomics with rear grip buttonsThe four back grip buttons (labeled L4, L5, R4, and R5) are quickly becoming my best friends. Depending on your hand size, they might be a little tough to reach, but they're what let me play Chrono Trigger with just one hand while the other was wrapped in a cold compress. These are so simple to enable, you don't even need to customize the controller layout. Each back grip button can be assigned to any existing input, but you can take it further by tweaking their settings. Click the gear icon next to each input and you can set each button to register as a single press, double press, long press, or a range of other options. You can even set one rear button to register as starting to press a key, then a different rear button to register as releasing that key. So, for example, if I want to buy thousands of pieces of wood from Robin's shop in Stardew Valley, I could start hitting the buy button, then walk away to get a snack while the numbers tick up. (Or I could install a bulk buy with gamepads mod, but still.) There's also a robust Turbo mode settings menu, though it's worth mentioning you should probably be wary of using this in any multiplayer games if you don't want your account banned. You can set a button to rapidly repeat an input while holding it down, adjust the interval between inputs, or even set it as a toggle. Create your own input menu overlaysBy far, one of the coolest tools on the Steam Deck is the ability to create your own input menus. My favorite is the Radial Menu. This creates an overlay on top of your game that lets you assign different inputs to a wheel for easy access. While editing your layout, go to Trackpads and from the behavior dropdown, choose Create Radial Menu. This will let you generate a radial overlay that appears whenever you touch this touchpad. This has been a lifesaver for me in games like Stardew Valley, where cycling through the toolbar is more cumbersome than on a desktop. The default configuration has you press the left and right triggers to move through the toolbar one step at a time. Nah; my custom radial menu lets me jump to the slot I want quickly with a single gesture. You can create radial menu layouts and apply them to the touchpads, joysticks, or even gyro controls (more on that below). It's one of the best ways to augment your game inputs, especially for games that aren't purposely designed with gamepad controls in mind. The Radial Menu creation interface Credit: Eric Ravenscraft Get precision aiming with gyro controlsIt gets overlooked a lot, but the Steam Deck has built-in gyro capabilities, and you can turn them on for any game in your library. Sort of. The Steam Deck will try to map gyro movements to inputs the game can comprehend, which usually works pretty well, but might be finicky depending on the game. Expect to do a little experimentation here. By default, Gyro controls will be off, but you can enable them with a simple toggle in the controller settings. After that, you can activate gyro movement by placing your thumb on the right control stick. The top of this stick is touch sensitive, so you don't need to move it, just come in contact with it. It also works by touching the right touchpad, but you can change this behavior in the controller settings. While you're activating gyro controls, tilting the Steam Deck will send corresponding mouse inputs to your game. In my experience, this worked great in first-person games like Doom Eternal, where you use the right control stick to point your camera. The gyro movements will give you a little extra precision control while tilting your Deck, while your thumb is where it would normally be on the control stick anyway. The amount of effort that's already gone into making sure most Steam games play well on the Steam Deck is already pretty incredible. Before it came out, I was skeptical it would work, and I've never been more happy to be proven wrong. Between official developer support and community layouts, almost every game I've played on the Steam Deck felt like it was made to be there. But that doesn't mean the customization has to stop. Even if you've never had a problem with any of the controls on your Steam Deck, it's worth diving into the customization tools to see if you can make your games feel more comfortable for you. View the full article

Florida is poised to become the second state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, over the concerns of dentists and public health advocates who say the mineral is a safe, effective way to protect people of all ages from developing cavities. Florida lawmakers gave final approval to the bill Tuesday after Utah became the first state to pass a ban last month. The Republican-led states are following a push led by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is setting the gears of government in motion to stop fluoridating water. The Florida measure now goes to the desk of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose administration has advocated against the fluoridation of community water systems, arguing high levels could pose a risk to children’s intellectual development. Fluoride strengthens teeth by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water is considered among the greatest public health achievements of the last century. “As dentists, we see the direct consequences fluoride removal has on our patients and it’s a real tragedy when policymakers’ decisions hurt vulnerable kids and adults in the long term,” Brett Kessler, president of the American Dental Association, said in a statement earlier this month. “Blindly calling for a ban on fluoridated water hurts people, costs money, and will ultimately harm our economy.” While Florida’s bill doesn’t specifically reference fluoride, it will require the mineral and some other additives be removed from water sources across the state, said bill sponsor Republican state Rep. Kaylee Tuck. “Anything that relates to water quality, removing contaminants, things like that, we’re not touching that,” Tuck said. “It’s anything that has to do with health. So fluoride, vitamins, whatever else it is.” Some local officials in Florida have already voted to remove the mineral from their community water systems, ahead of state lawmakers’ push to ban fluoride. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Tuesday she is “deeply disappointed” by the passage of the bill, adding that it disregards “the overwhelming consensus of dentists, doctors and medical experts and will end a practice that has been in place for decades to protect our health.” Levine Cava said that ending fluoridation, which is a safe and cost-effective way to prevent tooth decay, will have “long-lasting health consequences, especially for our most vulnerable families.” The mayor said the decision should be left to local communities. About one-third of community water systems, serving more than 60% of the U.S. population, fluoridated their water, according to a 2022 analysis by the CDC. — Kate Payne, Associated Press/Report for America Associated Press writer Freida Frisaro contributed to this report. View the full article

Google's recently updated Search Quality Raters Guidelines reflect Google's search ranking priorities The post Google’s Updated Raters Guidelines Refines Concept Of Low Quality appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Wrangling tasks, timelines, and teams can get overwhelming fast, especially if you're bouncing between spreadsheets and browser tabs to keep everything straight. Microsoft Project 2021 Professional is built to make that juggling act easier, and right now, it's available for just $19.97 on StackSocial. That’s a significant drop from its regular $249.99 price. This deal gives you a lifetime license for one Windows PC, no subscription required. Just keep in mind that it’s a one-use code for new users only, and you’ll need to redeem it within 30 days of purchase. Microsoft Project is a professional-grade project management tool that doesn’t overcomplicate things. It has features like automated scheduling that adjusts timelines based on task dependencies, built-in templates to get your planning started faster, and tools for tracking time, resources, and budgets in one place. There's also a what-if scenario builder that can help you course-correct before things go off the rails. And because it syncs with Project Online and Server (though those tools are sold separately), it's flexible enough to fit into larger enterprise systems too. That said, it’s Windows-only (no Mac compatibility here), and you’ll need at least 4GB of RAM and a DirectX 10 graphics card to run it smoothly. Installation is straightforward, with the download and license code arriving instantly via email. While this isn’t subscription-based, meaning no recurring fees, you do need to redeem your license within 30 days. It's also not built for collaborative real-time work like some modern cloud tools, but it’s still a powerful solution for users who prefer full control and local access. If you’ve been meaning to get more organized in your project management, this is a low-cost way to step things up. View the full article

Mortgage servicing rights owners making their plans for 2025 are dealing with additional stress beyond the normal opaque nature of the business, SitusAMC said. View the full article

“We’ve had many, many threats against our nation,” President The President said in the Oval Office in November 2018, as he announced the creation of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Now “we’re putting people that are the best in the world in charge,” he said, “and I think we’re going to have a whole different ball game.” Eight years later, his second administration is ripping up parts of the country’s cyber playbook and taking many of its best players off the field, from threat hunters and election defenders at CISA to the leader of the NSA and Cyber Command. Amid a barrage of severe attacks like Volt Typhoon and rising trade tensions, lawmakers, former officials, and cyber professionals say that sweeping and confusing cuts are making the country more vulnerable and emboldening its adversaries. “There are intrusions happening now that we either will never know about or won’t see for years because our adversaries are undoubtedly stepping up their activity, and we have a shrinking, distracted workforce,” says Jeff Greene, a cybersecurity expert who has held top roles at CISA and the White House. The dismissals and budget cuts have eliminated hundreds of workers and jeopardized dozens of initiatives that help protect machines, networks, and individuals across the U.S. Most of the cuts are at CISA, which sits under the Department of Homeland Security and partners with the public and private sectors to defend grids, banks, networks, and other critical industries. It’s also responsible for protecting elections from hackers and foreign influence campaigns, efforts the President and Republicans have long accused of political censorship. Around 400 positions at CISA have been cut so far. In total, 1,300 jobs could be cut, or over a third of CISA’s workforce. Some of the earliest cuts hit contractors and probationary employees at CISA, eliminating an elite slate of experts recently hired through a new program geared toward attracting more talent from the private sector. (After a judge ordered the probationary workers to be rehired, the agency immediately placed them on administrative leave.) “They got rid of some of our best cyber talent,” says another veteran federal cyber official, speaking anonymously to avoid retribution. “It’s fucking ridiculous.” Many anticipated CISA would face heavy scrutiny under The President 2.0, especially for its election security work. During her confirmation hearing, DHS chief Kristi Noem said the agency had gone “off-mission” with its work on elections and disinformation, and that she intends to make CISA “smaller and more nimble.” (Project 2025 called for closing the agency and moving what remains to the Dept. of Transportation.) But the cuts at CISA have extended to programs beyond election integrity, impacting much of what sits outside of the agency’s most basic mission of protecting .gov networks. More broadly, the cuts align with a February executive order that seeks to delegate the bulk of responsibility for disaster preparedness and response, “including cyber attacks, wildfires, hurricanes, and space weather,” to state and local governments. At the same time, the cuts are targeting programs that help cash-strapped states, small businesses and infrastructure operators defend their growing networks. The White House has cut resources around a key cybersecurity grant program that states have been clamoring for, and curtailed support for threat-advisory groups that assist states with network vulnerabilities, critical infrastructure, and election security. State and local cyber officials are worried the cuts will impact their ongoing efforts to fend off cyberattacks. According to a report published Tuesday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, some government agencies say they will be unable to sustain their cybersecurity initiatives without the federal funding, which is up for reauthorization by Congress this year. “While I can understand [shifting more responsibility to states] in theory, it is a little concerning because we don’t really know what the plan is,” says Alex Whitaker, director of government affairs for the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. “States and localities are already on the front lines, and these are services they rely on.” Also shut down are CISA’s advisory boards focused on safety, AI, and telecommunications, which were conducting investigations into the China-linked hacking group Salt Typhoon and other ongoing threats. These were abruptly disbanded as part of an effort “ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security,” as an administrator wrote in an internal memo. Last week, two senior CISA officials who were leading its “Secure by Design” effort—aimed at making security core to the way our software is built—left the agency, adding to a number of other departures, and putting the initiative in jeopardy. “We’re undoing a lot of really good work that frankly was started under The President 1,” says a former federal cyber official. Enter revenge politics Amid the wave of efficiency-related cuts to cybersecurity, other decisions have cast a partisan shadow over a set of threats that are stubbornly indifferent to politics. In an April 9 memo, The President called for an investigation into CISA’s founding director, Chris Krebs, who earned the president’s ire in 2020 when he declared that the election was secure. The memo also demanded “a comprehensive evaluation of all of CISA’s activities over the last 6 years.” On Monday, a public statement signed by hundreds of prominent cybersecurity professionals and academics condemned what they described as political retaliation. “Chris did the best he could in a difficult time, and he deserves our thanks not our anger,” says Greene. “Right now, to see what’s happening to the cybersecurity community inside the federal government, we should be outraged,” Krebs, a lifelong Republican, said at the RSA Conference this week. “Absolutely outraged.” Earlier in the month, The President shocked the national security world when he abruptly fired Gen. Timothy Haugh, director of the National Security Agency and Cyber Command, and reassigned his deputy, without explanation. Some experts speculated the move could be part of a larger plan to split the leadership of NSA and Cyber Command, which are responsible for intelligence and military missions respectively. The right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, who visited the White House the day before, said the dismissals were related to questions about “loyalty.” “Russia and China are laughing at us because we just fired the absolute best leaders,” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, a member of the Armed Services Committee, told Face the Nation. The firing of Gen. Haugh—an experienced four-star general with decades of experience in cyberspace—“really caught me off-guard,” one former CISA official says. “Those things have a morale impact that’s really hard to quantify.” CISA, too, lacks a permanent leader. This month Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore, announced he was blocking the confirmation of The President’s nominee to lead the agency, Sean Plankey, a veteran of the Pentagon and DHS, over CISA’s years-long refusal to release information regarding a vulnerability in global telecom networks. In a statement, Wyden, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, blamed the White House for weakening CISA and the country’s defenses. “The President is kneecapping our country’s ability to defend itself against cyberattacks by disarming our country’s cybersecurity defenses and purging experienced professionals,” he said. “From firing General Haugh, disbanding the Cyber Safety Review Board and preparing to slash the cybersecurity workforce at CISA, The President is rolling out a digital red carpet to hackers from China and other adversary nations,” he added. Some of the cyber decisions may reflect a push by The President White House cyber officials toward a more offensive, deterrent posture. But former officials have worried the strategy could come at the expense of defense, and that its emphasis appears to be focused more heavily on China than on Russia. One signal came in early March, when the Defense Secretary ordered Gen. Haugh at Cyber Command to temporarily pause offensive operations against Russia, amid negotiations with the Kremlin over Ukraine, as The Record and other outlets reported. Some experts at CISA were also directed to focus on adversaries other than Russia, sources told the Washington Post. The Pentagon later denied it had halted its cyber operations, according to Bloomberg, but the reports still chilled security experts, who say Russia remains a major cyberthreat to the U.S. “If we’re dialing it back on hacking Russia, I think we have a high likelihood of seeing ransomware incidents go up against American companies and everybody else,” says one former White House cyber official. In response to questions about specific cuts and the country’s cyber posture, a CISA spokesperson says in an email that the agency “was designed to work across public and private sectors to improve the nation’s cybersecurity, which demands more agility, flexibility, and innovation than traditional government organizations have allowed.” “CISA continuously evaluates how we work with partners and takes decisive action to maximize impact while being good stewards of taxpayer dollars and aligning with Administration priorities and our authorities,” they added. Even CISA’s defenders acknowledge bureaucratic inefficiencies that hamper cyber defense. But they say The President’s cuts are reckless and tainted by politics. Apart from upsetting cyber readiness, the upheaval and anxiety inside CISA could make it harder for the government to attract and retain top cyber talent, especially amid a severe talent shortage. “It’s not good for bringing the best and the brightest into government, if you’re creating this environment of fear,” says the former White House official. “People that we know will only respond to us on personal Signal, and they won’t even talk to anybody outside of government, because they’re so terrified of what the The President people are doing,” they added. The administration’s handling of sensitive data has raised a separate set of cyber alarms. Even before Signalgate and a slew of personal phones exposed military plans, the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) handling of government data, including on millions of Americans, prompted a slew of lawsuits. Meanwhile, one of two DOGE employees detailed to CISA is Edward Coristine, a college student who has been linked with a cybercrime gang and was suspected by an employer, cybersecurity firm Path Network, of leaking proprietary information to a competitor. Coristine did not respond to a request for comment. Impacts at the local level For years, CISA has offered free services and consultations to states and municipalities that struggle to hire their own IT and cyber experts. State and local governments, K-12 schools, and critical infrastructure facilities are often short on resources and have limited tolerance for downtime, making them a top target for cyberattackers. Officials from every party have also expressed gratitude for CISA’s help protecting elections, adopted the agency’s recommendations, and sought out its services. “Your IT person is a city council member; he or she is mowing the lawn and they’re also doing all the IT stuff,” says Whitaker. “There’s never enough resources.” But soon, layoffs are expected to decimate the units at CISA primarily responsible for much of this work. Cuts are expected at the Integrated Operations Division, which coordinates CISA operations at the regional level and helps respond to incidents that impact critical infrastructure, and at the Stakeholder Engagement Division, which helps coordinate national and global information sharing and helps local governments, companies, and other organizations protect critical infrastructure. The National Risk Management Center (NRMC), which coordinates risk analysis for cyber and critical infrastructure, is also expected to see significant cuts. In March the administration also eliminated an inter-state threat-advisory organization focused on election threats, and placed on leave dozens of personnel who work on combating foreign election disinformation. At the FBI, Attorney General Pam Bondi also dissolved a task force focused on foreign influence around U.S. elections. And the State Department has put dozens of employees who tracked global disinformation on leave, closing the operation that had publicized the spread of Chinese and Russian propaganda. Cuts have also impacted a separate threat sharing program, the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC). Some of its work will continue, including support for an intrusion detection system geared toward government networks. But other services have been decimated, including stakeholder engagement, cyber threat intelligence, and cyber incident response. Cuts to the MS-ISAC are “very concerning,” Whitaker says. MS-ISAC is considered “one of the best tools that states have to figure out where the threats are coming from.” The New York-based nonprofit that runs the program has said it will continue its efforts with more limited funding in the short-term. The group recently issued two advisories about vulnerabilities and patches, which was the first time it had done so in more than a month. States also stand to lose millions in vital cyber funds. In 2021, Congress created a four-year, $1 billion cybersecurity grant program for state and local governments. Since then, every state but one has taken advantage of the funds to back initiatives like deploying intrusion-monitoring software, securing websites, and teaching cyber hygiene, with states required to direct at least 80% of their grant awards to cash-strapped local governments. In Connecticut in 2022, more than 100 communities requested a combined $12 million, far more than the state’s $2.7 million allotment from Washington, its CIO told the House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection at a March hearing. “The federal funding is not big,” says Whitaker, “but it’s essential.” The grant program expires next September, however, leaving its fate in the hands of a GOP-controlled Congress, and Kristi Noem, whose state was the only one in the country not to take the federal cyber funds. And the funding is already in jeopardy. The White House recently cut staff at CISA and FEMA who manage the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, and an Office of Management and Budget memo that went into effect in January directs federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance,” including dozens of cybersecurity-specific federal grant programs and other federal grants that can help bolster cyber defenses. A federal judge temporarily halted the order the same day. The prospect of state governments shouldering more responsibility for cybersecurity has rattled some state officials, who operate on often razor-thin budgets, and are already eyeing cuts to technical and fiscal support. ”States have tools, but states need the federal government to lead on coordination, unification and major incident response,” adds Colin Ahern, the chief cyber officer for New York State. “We think that one of the things that only the feds can really do is this information sharing and operational collaboration.” A retreat by Washington is also prompting companies to reevaluate their own defenses, according to Danny Rogers, CEO of iVerify, which partnered with CISA last year on a security toolkit for communities at higher risk of cyberattack. The cuts, he said, suggest “that you’re really not going to be able to rely on the government to have your back anymore.” The effects won’t be immediately evident. “It’s a boil the frog thing,” he added, “where we’re going to wake up one day and realize there’s a lot more catastrophe and a lot less capacity to deal with it.” View the full article

Zoho Corporation has announced the launch of ten new features and services within Zoho Creator, its low-code application development platform, aimed at simplifying and speeding up business app creation. The latest additions include an AI-powered assistant, CoCreator, and a suite of contextual AI tools designed to streamline every phase of the app development lifecycle. These updates are now available to all users at no additional cost. The enhancements reflect Zoho’s broader commitment to incorporating artificial intelligence in practical, privacy-respecting ways that drive real-time value for business users. CoCreator, powered by Zoho’s AI assistant Zia, allows users to build applications using voice and written prompts, process diagrams, and business specification documents. “Since Creator’s introduction in 2006, the focus has been on simplifying and speeding up the app development process without sacrificing functionality. This enabled our users to launch millions of apps successfully,” said Raju Vegesna, Zoho’s Chief Evangelist. “AI allows us to take it to another level, shortening the time from an idea to an app. Today’s announcement raises the baseline on speed of quality app creation with deep capabilities, without adding costs.” Key AI-Powered Features Now Available in Zoho Creator The update includes the following: Idea-to-App Generation: Using either ZohoAI or OpenAI, users can convert text, voice prompts, flow diagrams, or SRS documents into full applications. These include contextual integrations, automations, dashboards, and permission sets. Component Generation with AI: Creator now supports AI-assisted form building, where Zia suggests contextual fields, enhancing existing apps without manual form configuration. Code Generation and Optimization: Developers can use prompts to generate or enhance code blocks automatically, allowing for performance improvements and clear annotations. Data Cleansing and Modelling: AI-powered data prep tools allow users to transform unstructured data from various formats into structured, application-ready datasets. AI Skills: Currently in Early Access, this feature allows apps to interpret natural language instructions and automate complex workflows using Deluge and specialized AI models. General availability is expected in June 2025. Custom AI Models: Businesses can now deploy custom models using their own datasets for tasks such as OCR, object detection, and prediction. Zoho’s Approach to AI and Privacy Zoho reiterated its commitment to developing AI guided by customer privacy and utility. The company states that its AI tools are not trained on consumer data and do not retain customer information. Its approach balances performance with cost efficiency, ensuring that advanced AI capabilities remain accessible. Zia, which has been part of Zoho’s platform since 2015, plays a central role in delivering AI across the company’s software suite. With Zoho’s full tech stack under its control, the company emphasizes that it can deliver highly contextualized and integrated AI experiences across its product portfolio. This article, "Zoho Integrates Advanced AI Tools into Creator Platform to Accelerate Business App Development" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Zoho Corporation has announced the launch of ten new features and services within Zoho Creator, its low-code application development platform, aimed at simplifying and speeding up business app creation. The latest additions include an AI-powered assistant, CoCreator, and a suite of contextual AI tools designed to streamline every phase of the app development lifecycle. These updates are now available to all users at no additional cost. The enhancements reflect Zoho’s broader commitment to incorporating artificial intelligence in practical, privacy-respecting ways that drive real-time value for business users. CoCreator, powered by Zoho’s AI assistant Zia, allows users to build applications using voice and written prompts, process diagrams, and business specification documents. “Since Creator’s introduction in 2006, the focus has been on simplifying and speeding up the app development process without sacrificing functionality. This enabled our users to launch millions of apps successfully,” said Raju Vegesna, Zoho’s Chief Evangelist. “AI allows us to take it to another level, shortening the time from an idea to an app. Today’s announcement raises the baseline on speed of quality app creation with deep capabilities, without adding costs.” Key AI-Powered Features Now Available in Zoho Creator The update includes the following: Idea-to-App Generation: Using either ZohoAI or OpenAI, users can convert text, voice prompts, flow diagrams, or SRS documents into full applications. These include contextual integrations, automations, dashboards, and permission sets. Component Generation with AI: Creator now supports AI-assisted form building, where Zia suggests contextual fields, enhancing existing apps without manual form configuration. Code Generation and Optimization: Developers can use prompts to generate or enhance code blocks automatically, allowing for performance improvements and clear annotations. Data Cleansing and Modelling: AI-powered data prep tools allow users to transform unstructured data from various formats into structured, application-ready datasets. AI Skills: Currently in Early Access, this feature allows apps to interpret natural language instructions and automate complex workflows using Deluge and specialized AI models. General availability is expected in June 2025. Custom AI Models: Businesses can now deploy custom models using their own datasets for tasks such as OCR, object detection, and prediction. Zoho’s Approach to AI and Privacy Zoho reiterated its commitment to developing AI guided by customer privacy and utility. The company states that its AI tools are not trained on consumer data and do not retain customer information. Its approach balances performance with cost efficiency, ensuring that advanced AI capabilities remain accessible. Zia, which has been part of Zoho’s platform since 2015, plays a central role in delivering AI across the company’s software suite. With Zoho’s full tech stack under its control, the company emphasizes that it can deliver highly contextualized and integrated AI experiences across its product portfolio. This article, "Zoho Integrates Advanced AI Tools into Creator Platform to Accelerate Business App Development" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

4.5 billion years ago the Sun was formed in a swirling cloud of dust and gas called the Solar Nebula. In a paper published by Nature Astronomy journal on April 28th, a team of internationally collaborating scientists proved that another giant molecular cloud hangs only 300 light-years away—making it the closest cloud to Earth. The cloud, named Eos after the Greek goddess of dawn, is so massive that its width would measure about 40 moons side-by-side and its mass is 3,400 times that of the Sun. “This thing was pretty much in our cosmic backyard, and we’ve just missed it,” says astrophysicist and study coauthor Thomas Haworth in an interview with CNN. Why has it taken scientists so long to detect Eos? Molecular clouds are usually detected by tracking light emitted by their carbon monoxide content. For example, the Orion Nebula, which was previously thought to be the closest star forming cloud to Earth, is so bright that it’s visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy smudge under Orion’s Belt. However, this only really works for clouds that have already produced stars. Clouds like Eos that have not yet created any stars do not contain much carbon monoxide. Eos is mostly hydrogen, so it does not emit the signature that scientists typically look for. Because of this, the researchers found Eos by tracking ultraviolet emissions from the hydrogen using data from the Korean STSAT-1 satellite. A spectrograph on the satellite split the ultraviolet light into a spectrum of wavelength components that the researchers were able to analyze. “This is the first-ever molecular cloud discovered by looking for far ultraviolet emission of molecular hydrogen directly,” says lead study author Dr. Blakesley Burkhart in a news release. “The data showed glowing hydrogen molecules detected via fluorescence in the far ultraviolet. This cloud is literally glowing in the dark.” Could Eos make new stars? Stars are formed when clumps of gas and dust in molecular clouds reach a critical mass and then collapse into their own gravity, sucking in more nearby material. Large molecular clouds can birth thousands of protostars. But Eos might be dispersing too quickly to ever produce its own stars. The researchers calculated that the cloud will be destroyed in 5.7 million years’ time. They also calculated the cloud’s photodissociation rate to be around three times the region’s star-formation rate. Even if Eos may never birth a new star, it will provide researchers much deeper insight into the ways that molecular clouds form and dissociate. “When we look through our telescopes, we catch whole solar systems in the act of forming, but we don’t know in detail how that happens,” says Burkhart. “Our discovery of Eos is exciting because we can now directly measure how molecular clouds are forming and dissociating, and how a galaxy begins to transform interstellar gas and dust into stars and planets.” Not to mention, that using the new far-ultraviolet fluorescence emission technique could allow scientists to uncover previously hidden clouds across the galaxy. View the full article

A long-delayed project promising nonstop rail service between San Francisco and Los Angeles in under three hours may be able to secure the private funding it desperately needs if California agrees to pay the investors back, its chief executive told The Associated Press. Ian Choudri, who was appointed CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority in August, is tasked with reinvigorating the nation’s largest infrastructure project amid skyrocketing costs and new fears that the The President administration could pull $4 billion in federal funding. “We started this one, and we are not succeeding,” Choudri said, describing what drew him to the job after work on high-speed systems in Europe. “That was the main reason for me to say, let’s go in, completely turn it around, and put it back to where it should have been. Fix all the issues, get the funding stabilized, and demonstrate to the rest of the world that when we decide that we want to do it, we actually will do it.” Voters first approved $10 billion in bond money in 2008 to cover about a third of the estimated cost with a promise the train would be up and running by 2020. Five years past that deadline, no tracks have been laid and Choudri acknowledges it may take nearly two more decades to complete most of the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles segment, even if funding is secured. Funding woes The project’s price tag now exceeds $100 billion, more than triple the initial estimate. It has mostly been funded by the state through the voter-approved bond and money from the state’s cap-and-trade program. A little less than a quarter of the money has come from the federal government. The authority has already spent about $13 billion. The state is now out of bond money, and officials need to come up with a financing plan for the Central Valley segment by mid-2026, according to the inspector general’s office overseeing the project. “The managers of the project were in trouble from the very beginning because they never had the financing – certainly not stable and predicting financing — that they would have needed to manage the project efficiently,” said Lou Thompson, who led a peer review group that analyzes the state’s high-speed rail plans. Losing money from the federal government “would require a real hard rethinking of what do we do to survive the next four years,” he said. Rail leaders are in talks with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and state lawmakers on what will be needed to secure private investment, Choudri said, adding that without the private sector money the state may have to take out federal loans or issue new bonds. At an industry forum in January, private investors expressed interest in the project but need some form of security, he said. Choudri is pushing Newsom and lawmakers to consider a program that would eventually commit the state to paying back private investors, possibly with interest. That would give the state more time to cover the cost. Legislative Democrats say they remain hopeful for the project’s future. But they haven’t unveiled any proposals yet this year in the state Legislature to set aside additional funding and have resisted spending more money on the project in the past. Choudri plans to provide lawmakers this summer with an updated timeline and price tag. An ambitious vision Choudri aims to fulfill the original vision of building a pioneering system — already common in Europe and Asia — that spurs economic growth, curbs planet-warming emissions from cars and planes, and saves drivers hours on the road. At speeds up to 220 miles (354 kilometers) per hour, it would be the nation’s fastest way to travel by ground. Amtrak’s Acela train transports passengers at speeds up to 150 miles (241 kilometers) per hour to major cities including New York, Boston and Philadelphia. Another rail line in Florida operating at speeds up to 125 miles (201 kilometers) per hour shuttles people from Orlando to Miami. Construction is underway for a mostly privately funded high-speed system to carry riders from Las Vegas to Southern California. California’s construction is far from completion. Of the 119 miles (192 kilometers) of construction underway in the Central Valley, only a 22-mile (35-kilometer) stretch is ready for the track-laying phase, which isn’t set to start until next year. Finishing the line in the Valley is just the first step. Next, the train has to extend north toward the San Francisco Bay Area and south toward Los Angeles. Choudri’s goal within the next 20 years is to build to Gilroy, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco. Under current public transit, it would then take at least one more train transfer to get into the city. Southward, he envisions building to Palmdale, 37 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles. From there, it takes more than one hour to drive or two hours on an existing train line to reach Los Angeles. “In the ideal world, you can take the 500 miles, build it in your warehouse and then just drop it and everybody’s happy,” Choudri said. “But the programs are never built like that. You build incrementally and that’s what we’re doing right now.” Doubts for the future Critics say the project will never be completed and may leave towering and unusable infrastructure stretching through the state’s agricultural heartland. More than 50 structures have already been built, including underpasses, viaducts and bridges to separate the rail line from existing roadways for safety. “We’ve now spent billions of dollars and really no tracks have been laid,” said Republican state Sen. Tony Strickland, who is vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. Doug Verboon, chair of the Kings County Board of Supervisors, who has fought the High-Speed Rail Authority in court over farmers’ loss of land due to the project, said the people who should be most upset by delays are its longtime supporters. “It doesn’t seem to me like the state government is in a hurry to finish it,” he said. —Sophie Austin, Associated Press/Report for America View the full article