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Down a pint, close a deal
Heading south to do business, and figuring a little lubrication might help ease the way?
Entrepreneur offers its second annual picks of the "best business bars" in the United States for a variety of situations, whether to rub elbows with possible investors, impress a client, celebrate a victory or drown your sorrows.
The dozen top picks include the best bar to get the business scoop from a bartender (that would be the Elixir in San Francisco) to the place to go to celebrate a big win (the Chandelier in Las Vegas).
Want to rub elbows with a venture capitalist? Head to Tom & Jerry's (AKA 288) bar in New York. To get some work done, you might try the Bookstore Bar in Seattle.
And when you want to hide out when business goes bad, the place to hit is Holland House Bar and Refuge in Nashville, Entrepreneur suggests.
"Entrepreneurs are judged on the selections they make, and the bar they choose to conduct business is no exception," said Entrepreneur magazine's editor-in-chief Amy Cosper in a release.
How to run a startup while paying the bills
Trying to run your own business while still working at a full-time job can be trying, to say the least. It's a struggle that Edmund Cohen knows well.
By day, he's a British city worker, and also runs his own tourism-related business, Landed Houses. In SmartA, he shares his own top 10 tips for making it all work out.
His advice ranges from accepting compromises to setting priorities to having friends lend a helping hand. The toughest call, he says, is whether to tell your employer about your own business. Whether you do or not, he says, keep the two separate, including turning off your cellphone at work. "Resist the urge and you will be more productive in the daytime and sleep easier after you have done the evening job."
Lessons from Lady Gaga
Not sure Charlie Sheen would be my pick of a model, but he's among the hottest celebrities from whom your small business can learn lessons, writes Carol Roth in The Huffington Post, noting the celebs are not only entertainers but also brands and businesses.
From Lady Gaga, learn that if you love your customers, they will love you. Justin Bieber teaches the power of finding a niche. As for Charlie Sheen: well, the lesson to take away from him (and Lindsay Lohan and many others) is that even a good brand can become tarnished.
EDITOR'S PICKS FROM REPORT ON SMALL BUSINESS
Building a business on Bezos time
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is bankrolling the 10,000 Year Clock project to get people to think long-term about things. He has history of taking the long view, and, if you look at some of the greatest companies, many got off to a slow start, writes John Warrillow in his current column. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you take the long view, he writes.
FROM THE ROSB ARCHIVES
Should you be an entrepreneur?
Carol Roth has lots to say about entrepreneurship as an investment banker, business strategist and frequent media commentator on the topic.
Back in April, we ran an excerpt from her book, The Entrepreneur Equation, in which she said there has never been a worst time in history to start a new business. Her views garnered much reaction: Many thought she was being discouraging and defeatist. See how she responded when she also joined us for an on-line discussion.
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