Arons Blog - Latest Comments

Re: You Are Who You Are Perceived To Be – Managing Your Reputation in the Age of Social Media

inm — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:13:15 -0000

A lot of reputation issues online are caused by people screwing themselves over - they post their drunk party pics on Facebook - forget to use any privacy settings - and are shocked months later when they have a great job interview and end up losing it because of some nonsensical internet post being evaluated by some stodgy old business guy that didn't grow up in this environment. Most online reputation issues can be prevented by common sense. Particularly problematic for many people is seeing how they post personal information on social media, neglect to use privacy settings, and are surprised when their personal information is public later on. That should be obvious. And while you can be careful about what you post about yourself, you can't prevent other people from posting about you. Also problematic for people is how there are sites like http://www.dirtyphonebook.com where people post personal information about each that can't be removed. With Google making all of this information widely available, being vigilant about seeing what people can find out you is critical to maintaining your online reputation. Facebook can do a bit more to prevent people from accidentally messing up their own lives by encouraging more sensible defaults, but in the end people have to be smart about what they post about themselves online, and this doesn't solve all potential problems.

Re: Interns for Startups: A guide on how to use them without abusing them

Arina — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:31:18 -0000

Good article. It is important to remember that interns must be students. Here is a link to my blog where I list criteria for distinguishing interns from employees. Employers should be careful to follow these rules if they are not paying their interns.
http://www.businesslawpost.com...

Best,

Arina arina@shulgalaw.com

Re: Interns for Startups: A guide on how to use them without abusing them

stefandoering — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:59:54 -0000

Did some quick digging and did not find any tax ramifications for hiring an unpaid intern. Here is a good, short, link on 5 things to consider (legally) first: http://smallbusiness.aol.com/2...

Re: Interns for Startups: A guide on how to use them without abusing them

AronSchoenfeld — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:41:13 -0000

I'm not an accountant but don't think there are.

Re: Interns for Startups: A guide on how to use them without abusing them

stefandoering — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:38:13 -0000

Thanks Aaron. Just hired an intern and your ideas and comments are well-timed!

Question: what are the tax obligations for unpaid interns?

Re: How To Hire and Build A Team For Your Startup

Nilyma Roy — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:55:50 -0000

Companies to better understand their business, and it really will be a 180-degree view with. I think the last few years, we have the budget and layoffs and the company is a bit more in rent, but there was no way to only essential personnel. I think this is a lean and mean company, and the tendency to use non-seasonal workers or outsource this function instead of just for the sake of hiring needs. A good CEO knows what their function is essential for the company, or they will be ready to fail. A credit card processor that requires them to work from the terminal, the payment will be required and the data needs to be protected. Those who need to be focused and keep house. Marketing, social media, such as a dteh is great, but someone who can.

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Re: Interns for Startups: A guide on how to use them without abusing them

Nilyma Roy — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 09:50:48 -0000

Nice post. I like it. Thank you.

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Re: Interns for Startups: A guide on how to use them without abusing them

Chelsea Ann Merget — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:23:46 -0000

These are all fantastic tools for both interns and employers. As a graduating college student, the job search has been rough. But knowing that there are employers out there like this is comforting. I have worked with start ups both remotely and in-office and my experiences were completely different, but not because of the location of my work space. My employers were polar opposites.

When working with a boutique PR firm in Los Angeles, I was definitely treated as a slave. "Drive this there." "Pick this up." "Draft this out." I was performing at the same level as the full time employees, but because I was just an intern, I wasn't worth a second glance. My experience with a start up website for inbound college students was the experience everyone should have as an intern. I was able to shape my job description and make my own opportunities. This was an infinitely better intern experience and I still speak with my former employer pretty regularly.

At the end of the day, if you treat your interns how you would treat any employee, they are going to notice and greatly appreciate it. And as a result, their work will reflect it. In my opinion, the key to success in any company is internal balance. If your employees are happy, the company will thrive. They are the driving force behind your success.

Re: How To Hire and Build A Team For Your Startup

Oliver Bremer — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 04:21:14 -0000

Great article on an important topic! I think there is also an increasing amount of technical people looking to bring marketing and sales expertise on board. This usually happens when people realize the 'build it and they will come' is not quite as true ;)

I'd also add founder2be.com as a pure online play to widen your circle of potential co-founder candidates. Kind of like match.com for finding a co-founder.

Good work!

Re: How To Hire and Build A Team For Your Startup

AronSchoenfeld — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:43:23 -0000

I agree it is for any company, but this blog is more about startups and small businesses. Larger companies have HR teams that are devoted to this.

Companies need to understand their business better and really look at it with a 360 degree view. I think in the last few years, we have seen this a bit more because of the budget cuts and layoffs and companies had no choice but to only hire essential employees. I think companies need to keep a lean and mean mentality and use seasonal workers or outsource non-essential functions instead of just hiring for the sake of it. A good CEO should know the essential functions for their company or they are preparing to fail. A credit card processor knows that their terminals need to work, payments need to be made and the data needs to be secure. Those need to be the focus and kept in house. Marketing, social media an dteh like are great, but anyone can do them.

Re: How To Hire and Build A Team For Your Startup

robbyslaughter — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:05:57 -0000

This seems like sound advice, but it seems like it applies to ANY company, not just a startup.

Practically speaking: companies hire all the time with no money. It's called "commission sales" or "deferred compensation."

But more importantly, as you write "the first step in the process is identifying your essential needs as a company." This seems like the hardest part of all, and most companies of all sizes seem to be terrible at doing it.

What are your thoughts on this issue?