Business News
AGBeat’s top 50 industry influencers
(Business News) In an effort to expand horizons, we have listed 50 influencers that we are inspired by and learn from on a regular basis.
Marsha Collier
[dropcap style=”style1″]M[/dropcap]arsha Collier specializes in writing, social media marketing, eBay business, e-commerce, user experience, community relations and online customer service.
What is most fascinating about Collier is that she has already written over 45 books, several of which are a part of the “for Dummies” series. She sold over one million books by 2007 and now spreads her passion for social media to universities and conferences around the world and hosts #techradio.
Few people in the industry have worked as hard as Collier, and her determination and devotion are clear in her accomplishments.
Matt Hixson
[dropcap style=”style1″]C[/dropcap]o-Founder and CEO of social media prediction company, Tellagence, Matt Hixson is passionate about changing how businesses approach social media by identifying trusted relationships in social networks and predicting behaviors within specific topics of interest. Prior to Tellagence, Hixson spent over a decade delivering corporate initiatives from bringing an enterprise startup from concept to market in nine months, to pioneering social strategies, to driving strategy development at an $80 million organization. Hixson never puffs his chest, never condescends, yet is one of the smartest people in his industry and his company Tellagence, is poised to explode in 2014.
Meghan McCain
[dropcap style=”style1″]E[/dropcap]xamining important topics for Millennials on her television show, Raising McCain, Meghan McCain has offered a unique insight into a budding generation.
On her Twitter account, she is authentic, brash, cusses, and is real, just as she is in her show. She is influencing not only her own industry, but viewers and listeners who desperately seek to understand Generation Y.
With her determination and refusal to accept the status quo, watch for McCain to be a voice for her generation for years to come.
Michael McClure
[dropcap style=”style1″]C[/dropcap]EO of Verified Professionals, offering a CPA- like certification for the real estate industry, Michael McClure is also the founder of Professional One Real Estate and the co-author of the Swanepoel Technology Report.
McClure is also a CPA and worked at Price Waterhouse for a decade before entering real estate where he went on to co-found RaiseTheBar Radio and the Raise the Bar Facebook Group.
One of the perpetual good guys, McClure has devoted an unfathomable amount of unpaid hours to helping the real estate industry to suck less.
Miriam Slozberg
[dropcap style=”style1″]A[/dropcap]s a SEO and Social Media Consultant, owner of Gemini Rising, and co-owner of Social Influence University, Miriam Slozberg is highly invested and influential in social media.
Slozberg has captured our attention through her evangelism for and expertise regarding Klout, social media scoring site.
She is one of the few excellent source of information about Klout and what it means for businesses, and freely on her Twitter account, @msmir.
Keep clicking for other influencers you must meet:
Business News
How to handle an acquisition like a boss
(BUSINESS NEWS) One way to grow your company is to be acquired. Here are some tips on how to not blow an acquisition.
Acquisition
One way that a small business can become a big business is by being acquired. Maybe your business plan has always been to sell, or maybe it has never occurred to you.
But if you find yourself being wooed by a potential suitor interested in buying your business, John Warrillow at Forbes.com has some advice to make sure you don’t blow it.
No harm, no foul
He says that, whether or not you are ready to sell your business, there is no harm in meeting with a potential buyer. Even if you don’t think you’d like to sell at the moment, the meeting could be useful for gaining “competitive intelligence” that could help you negotiate later.
For the most part there’s not much too lose and much to gain from meeting with a potential buyer, but Warrillow does warn against a few rookie mistakes.
First of all, he says, like a teen hoping for a second date, it’s important not to appear too “eager.”
Even if you’re desperate to hand over the business, play it cool, and insist that your company is not for sale, but that you are willing to meet for “a strategic discussion.”
Strategery
During said discussion, “let them do 95 percent of the talking.” Warrillow suggests writing out and rehearsing a list of questions so that you can control the conversation and get more information out of your suitor than they get out of you.
Part of holding your cards close to your chest includes refusing to name a price.
No matter how much they insist, hold true to your claim that the business is not for sale, and don’t give them even an estimate of the price range you’re looking for. Wait for them to name a number first, in a formal expression of interest.
Once you’ve received the expression of interest, hire an intermediary broker to help you with the deal. And whatever you do, don’t sign a Letter of Intent that prevents you from shopping around for other competitive offers.
Business News
So you were asked an illegal question in an interview, now what?
(BUSINESS NEWS) Interviews are nerve racking enough without having to wonder if your potential employer is playing by the rules. Be aware of these tips in case you find they aren’t.
Under pressure
Interviews are universally nerve-wracking. You’ve got the resume, the references, the outfit – but you never know what your interviewer(s) are going to throw at you.
You expect questions relating to your skills and your ability to do the job, but sometimes a question comes out of left field and you’ve got to scramble for a coherent answer.
Interview questions
“If you were a pizza delivery man, how would you benefit from scissors,” asks Apple. And Gallup wants to know, “What was the last gift you gave someone?”
Well, when I ordered a pizza last night, I tipped the delivery person with scissors . . .
Unfortunately, some questions that seem just wacky, or harmless and friendly, are not just inappropriate to ask in an interview, but are actually illegal.
Illegal questions are generally those that request information irrelevant to the job description. Here are the most common categories of illegal questions, shared across all states:
- Race
- Color
- Sex/Gender/Orientation
- Military discharge
- Religion
- National origin
- Birthplace
- Age
- Disability/Health status
- Marital/family status
Watch out for tricks
Any of this personal information could be used, intentionally or not, to discriminate against them. A direct inquiry regarding any of these topics is obviously off-limits, but sometimes the question might come from a tricky angle.
“When did you graduate college?” = “How old are you?”
With this information, employers could decide you’re too young or old for the role, no matter how qualified you may be.
“Orizaga is an interesting surname – is it Spanish?” = “Are you Spanish?” A biased interviewer could use this information to determine that you are or aren’t a “good fit.” Similarly, “Is English your native language?” = “Are you from an English-speaking country or not?”
“Is that your maiden name?” = “Are you married?” And so on.
These questions are often asked innocently, by untrained interviewers looking to make conversation. Nonetheless, you don’t have to answer them, and your best bet is to tactfully avoid the question without demanding your constitutional rights in the middle of the interview.
Handle the heat
Tone is everything, but if you respond to an illegal question with something along the lines of, “Is that relevant to this role?” in a calm, mild voice, most interviewers will take the hint and move on.
If the situation allows for it, you can keep your answer nice and vague without avoiding the question.
For example, if you’re asked about your college graduation date, you could say, “It’s been a while, but I still view college as one of the best experiences of my life.”
Asking isn’t the most illegal part
It’s important to note that asking an illegal question is not equivalent to committing a crime. The information must be used in a discriminatory manner, as determined by a court.
If you believe that an act of discrimination has been committed, you should contact a labor attorney, or file a charge with your local Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) office. Then order yourself a pizza and ask the delivery person about their scissors.
#Interview
Business News
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Linda Bernstein
January 2, 2014 at 2:22 pm
So many terrific people here! I love this list.
Christopher S. Penn
January 2, 2014 at 2:40 pm
Thanks for including me! Much appreciated.
Ted Rubin
January 2, 2014 at 3:50 pm
Honored to be included 🙂
Miriam Slozberg
January 2, 2014 at 4:05 pm
Very honored to be included! Thank you.
Amber Osborne
January 2, 2014 at 4:27 pm
Honored to be included among those who inspired me to get into this industry. Thank you!
annhandley
January 2, 2014 at 4:45 pm
This list is stuffed full of people I’m lucky enough to call friends, as well as many who have influenced *me*. Thanks for adding my name to the roundup.
Charles E Gaudet II
January 2, 2014 at 5:51 pm
Thank you for the honor! I’m both humbled and grateful to be included among this least of extraordinary people.
AmyVernon
January 2, 2014 at 7:09 pm
Thanks so much for the honor folks. I’m fortunate to have met many of these folks, and now have a whole list of others I want to make sure I catch up with!
AmyVernon
January 2, 2014 at 7:09 pm
Thanks so much for the honor folks. I’m fortunate to have met many of these folks, and now have a whole list of others I want to make sure I catch up with!
AmyVernon
January 2, 2014 at 7:09 pm
Thanks so much for the honor folks. I’m fortunate to have met many of these folks, and now have a whole list of others I want to make sure I catch up with!
AmyVernon
January 2, 2014 at 7:09 pm
Thanks so much for the honor folks. I’m fortunate to have met many of these folks, and now have a whole list of others I want to make sure I catch up with!
AmyVernon
January 2, 2014 at 7:09 pm
Thanks so much for the honor folks. I’m fortunate to have met many of these folks, and now have a whole list of others I want to make sure I catch up with!
AmyVernon
January 2, 2014 at 7:09 pm
Thanks so much for the honor folks. I’m fortunate to have met many of these folks, and now have a whole list of others I want to make sure I catch up with!
AmyVernon
January 2, 2014 at 7:09 pm
Thanks so much for the honor folks. I’m fortunate to have met many of these folks, and now have a whole list of others I want to make sure I catch up with!
AmyVernon
January 2, 2014 at 7:09 pm
Thanks so much for the honor folks. I’m fortunate to have met many of these folks, and now have a whole list of others I want to make sure I catch up with!
AmyVernon
January 2, 2014 at 7:09 pm
Thanks so much for the honor folks. I’m fortunate to have met many of these folks, and now have a whole list of others I want to make sure I catch up with!
Liz Strauss
January 2, 2014 at 7:31 pm
Thank you, AGBeat, for the thought and work that went into writing about all of us. You captured the people who have influence not just their resumes, making this fun to read. I’m honored that you included me.
Michelle Poccia
January 2, 2014 at 8:34 pm
This list is chock full of GENIUS! Congrats to all who are on it! And thanks AGBeat for my 2014 Stalker List!
Danny Brown
January 2, 2014 at 8:56 pm
Nice to see such a diverse group, and appreciate the fact you took the time to share reasons why people might want to connect, versus a generic “OMG, these guys are just awesome, y’all!!”
Cheers for the kind inclusion, and Happy New Year!
J Philip Faranda
January 2, 2014 at 9:33 pm
I hope to meet Michael McClure in person someday! He is remarkable.
Belinda Summers
January 2, 2014 at 11:00 pm
Gee! A bunch of people I look up to. 🙂 How I wish to be one of them someday.
Matt Hixson
January 2, 2014 at 11:38 pm
This was a great way to start the year. Thanks for including me.
Belinda Summers
January 3, 2014 at 1:00 am
Gee! A bunch of people I look up to. 🙂 How I wish to be one of them someday.
Lucretia M Pruitt
January 3, 2014 at 3:02 am
Some of my favorite people on here… Glad to see AGBeat and I agree on so many awesome people as influences!! Congrats for a solid list and kudos to some awesome folks.
Lucretia M Pruitt
January 3, 2014 at 3:02 am
Some of my favorite people on here… Glad to see AGBeat and I agree on so many awesome people as influences!! Congrats for a solid list and kudos to some awesome folks.
Michael Q Todd
January 3, 2014 at 6:37 am
Great list and especially great endorsements well done for taking the time and effort have subscribed to you
S. Anthony Iannarino
January 3, 2014 at 10:39 am
Thanks so much for including me on this all-star list! I am honored!
Heather MacLean
January 3, 2014 at 11:34 am
Great list. Nice to see some really familiar faces as well as some new ones.
agbenn
January 3, 2014 at 1:36 pm
As the Founder and Publisher of The American Genius, I certainly do not want to sound callous, and text can be so impersonal. We hear your feedback, and have noted it for future reference. When we see people, we see human beings, whatever their race or gender.
In saying that, our pick if we were considering race or gender ie. a particular Hispanic Influencer, it would have undoubtedly been His Holiness, Pope Francis. However, because we’ve covered His Holiness, several times in the past month, it gave way to another open spot out of hundreds of thousands of potential people we considered one by one. To be quite honest, I actually had to go back and look and read every entry to see if anyone was or wasn’t Hispanic.
For the record, I am Hispanic, and I am honored to have our team present this list as it is, and with innocent hearts. We do know several of the persons you’ve mentioned and do hold them in very high regard.
So thank you so much for your thoughtful feedback and encouragement, and we look forward to meeting and getting to know a few on your list. 🙂
Brian Hansford
January 3, 2014 at 1:47 pm
So nice to see some new faces in a list. It gets old seeing lists with the same names over and over just to get SEO juice.
agbenn
January 3, 2014 at 2:01 pm
Maya, bless your heart for sharing your kind thoughts and ideas with us. We agree with your sentiments profoundly, and thank you for recoginizing the complexity of what we’re presenting through our lists. We’ll take your idea and have the team bounce it around and see if we can’t do something as meaningful more often. As you know, things become passe when over done, even when done well. For the record, you influence me in thought provoking ways, and that’s not easy to do with a guy like me.
Happy New Year, and kick 2014’s ass!
tracysestili
January 3, 2014 at 5:19 pm
I love listening to Brian Carter speak. He’s not only funny, but real. Plus he presents data in a way that you didn’t think of. Glad to see he made the list and a few of my other faves. 🙂
Eve Mayer
January 4, 2014 at 5:47 pm
Whoa, I’m so lucky to be on this list! Thank you very much for thinking I’m somewhat as cool as all those respected peeps!
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