It’s amazing what a scientific anomaly can do to our culture and our businesses. It was a pleasant surprise to pull up my social media profiles and not see endless Trump posts, for or against.  Everyone around the U.S. dropped everything and acknowledged an event much larger than a personal opinion or celebrity story. So just how big of an effect did the eclipse have on the US?

In our nation’s 241 year history there have only been 20 total eclipse occurrences. While total eclipses are somewhat of a rarity, what’s even more rare is the fact that it could be seen from coast to coast in the US.

With a rough estimate of between 3 million and 4 million americans taking part in the festivities, it was dubbed “The Great American Eclipse”. In my quarter century of being alive, I can honestly say it was a unique experience to watch millions Americans put their differences aside and enjoy the beautiful world that we live in.

People took work off all around the country to travel and get the best experience possible. Granted, the eclipse was far more beautiful in some areas than in others. I wasn’t blown away by the eclipse itself, but the reaction and the experience as a whole.

While I’m sure that there are many managers and owners who would have been much happier if their employees had remained at work and been productive, the effect on work morale will surely outweigh the few hours missing from the timesheets. At least I know ours was.

My final thoughts: Whether you thought the eclipse was stupid, amazing or underwhelming, you must have found some solitude in seeing the country focus on something much larger than politics and social issues.

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Have you ever went into a sales pitch and started using old techniques to try and close the deal like the age-old SPIN selling tactic? I can remember growing up and watching all those old movies from the 80s that featured "go getters" in suits and screaming out to each other "Always Be Closing!". 

Back in 2011, the Georgia Legislature started an initiative that would encourage the growth of small and medium businesses through crowdfunding investments. The new rule change, which is was officially in effect since last month, will allow for SMB’s to get around the previous restrictions of crowdfunding in the state. 

In the perfect scenario, it would be great to have a talented team in-house to take care of all of your business processes. However, we have seen a trend to outsource certain capabilities. This isn’t because they can’t find the resources for it, it’s actually due to the quality of work. We see it with all of our clients, people are spread thin, working on too many projects..so what’s the fallout of this?

It almost seems unreal that we are already more than halfway through 2017. Being in sales, I understand August can be a slower month. But I’m a glass half full kind of guy. So I think this month should be used to catch up on some things you’ve been pushing off for the last half of the year. Living in Atlanta definitely has its perks. But, one thing everyone is familiar with is the traffic. So instead of watching the guy in front of me pick his nose all the way from Peachtree to Lenox, I’m going to be learning about history, business, and geeking out on the best podcasts that are out now. 

In 2003, Nick Carr wrote an eye-catching article for the Havard Business Review titled “IT Doesn’t Matter”. This obviously had a lot of headline readers furious. With a worldwide IT spend of $2.6 trillion dollars, it’s no wonder why Nick Carr was labeled a heretic and blasphemer. It seems we live in a day and age where assumptions about IT run rampant. Ever since a young Intel engineer named Ted Hoff, back in 1968, found a way to put the circuits necessary for computer processing onto a tiny piece of silicon, the business world has dubbed IT as the backbone of commerce. And there’s no doubt that this assertion rings true in many ways since it spurred a series of technological breakthroughs—desktop computers, local and wide area networks, enterprise software, and the Internet. 

Working out of the Atlanta Tech Village, I have ran into loads of companies that are operating off of a shoestring budget with limited capital to spend on marketing efforts. Sometimes, even the thought of using paid advertising makes a small business owner shutter. Mainly because owners aren’t necessarily marketers, and there’s a lot of uncertainty around the return on investment. However, there’s a number of ways that a small business can leverage digital marketing by spending very little and targeting exactly who their customers are. 

Atlanta is more well-known for city icons like Coca Cola, the Braves, the airport, and Southern cookin’. But did you know Atlanta is also known for Trap music? 

Atlanta based rapper, 2 Chainz, has said in a recent Instagram post that he “Gave my city an unforgettable experience that the whole world took notice to… that will be carved down in history!!”

So can Atlanta actually add a new landmark to its books? Or did they already?

How many times do you receive LinkedIn messages that are a mile long with tons of links and generic language that you know was just copied and pasted? 

Probably a lot, am I right?