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mkinnan

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FOOD - I eat stuff all day long and it is the one thing I find to be the best as far as perks. Above all, keep it all free or have some kind of 'honor code' pay container where you have a bunch of snacks, drinks, etc and employees could give 50 cents for a soda, juice drink, or whatever. There are other things like bringing fruit or vegetable platters for afternoon snacks when it might be a longer day than most.

PERSONAL PARKING SPACE - I know this is really not doable in most circumstances, but I HATE coming to work a few minutes late and not having any place to park.

FLEX TIME - Some companies have flex time where you can work lots of extra hours this week and next so that you could take a few days of next month.

Whatever you do for perks, I think it is vital to make your employees feel appreciated. Sometimes just telling them 'great job' on stuff can go a long way.

Just another thought, how about asking your employees what perks (within reason) they would like. Ask what would make them excited to come to work and not want to leave.

I completely understand the point the author is trying to make, but I would disagree with the author's meaning of 'passionate'. People can be passionate about their ideas, but that doesn't necessarily mean they have taken that 'next' step to 'show you' a product. I think what the author really wants to see from people that claim they are 'passionate' about their ideas is pro-activeness in building something tangible.

Wow! This article certainly gives you a different perspective on how companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft really are small as compared to giants like GE, Exxon, etc.

What blows me away is that Wal-Mart has 2 million+ employees! A piece of information that would be interesting as a comparison is the number of government employees there are in different countries ...

My advice ... continue to freelance. As every student knows, some weeks are just busier than others and leave you with zero free time. If you were running a business, how would you handle those busy weeks? Would you sacrifice studying or writing reports for your business?

The great thing about freelance is that you can do it whenever YOU choose! If you decide to take a few weeks off from freelancing to study for final exams, you can do it. Running a business will not necessarily give you that flexibility.

Best of luck!

If they are serious about buying and you are serious about selling, it might behoove you to find a broker or 3rd party with experience in these types of deals.

... this is what I would do if I was in your shoes.

Never undervalue the value of college. It's not just about the academics.

My thoughts ... is there a community college or university near where you 'could' be working full time? If so, maybe you could figure something out where you could work part/full time and go to school at the same time. Sometimes companies offer special deals that pay some or all of your tuition for 1 class per semester.

If you decide to work and go to school at the same time, get your AA first. That way if you decide you want to go to a different university, you can usually transfer the AA degree.

Keep us updated :)

Unfortunately for myself and everyone else that isn't a premium subscriber, we can't read the article:

"The content you have requested requires a premium subscription."

Maybe I am missing something on how to read the article???

I really don't know what to think of this ... this is the first I have heard of ICANN opening up domain name suffixes. The example .music that was described in the article makes for a good case, but it seems it will be a complicated mess. Having to get 'approved' to buy domain names with specific suffixes is surely to become a big hassle.

This is a fantastic device in environments where you take lots of notes. As others have pointed out, the 'digital' aspect of this device makes it much easier to take notes and share them. No more scanning your notes!!

Besides, I would rather have an SD card of notes than a 1" binder full of notes!! I could always print the notes later.

My comment is a little off-topic with the main article, but emphases the opening paragraph:

I will never understand why people seem so intent and boasting about the number of hours they work each week. Sure, we can all work high number of hours each week but at what cost? Family? Friends? Personal down time?

It is one thing to put in extra hours for deadlines, but not each and everywhere week!

How long can most people go before they eventually burn out? I have seen this and experienced this in graduate school. At some point everyone just crashes and needs a significant amount of vacation time to recover. Then you have to question whether working long hour weeks is worth.

Back on-topic ... I believe it is KEY to keep your employees informed about how their work is contributing to the overall big picture of the company.

As many people have commented, the implementation of an idea is key. For anyone with a startup idea, first think about how you would implement the idea. Dwell on the implementation for weeks or months all the while trying to think outside the box. Once you think you got something golden, pitch the idea (just the idea and nothing more) to friends and family you trust to get feedback. THEN ask them how they would implement the idea! Take their thoughts and mold them with your own.