Mobile Electronics March Issue, 3-1-2016 -- Everything starts small. Children grow into adults. Small seeds blossom into giant redwood trees. And small businesses that wish to learn and improve come together to form internationally recognized trade shows. SEMA, for example, started in 1963 with a group of small automotive manufacturers who supplied performance equipment for early hot rods. After 40 years, it became what it is: an industry giant, featuring thousands of companies and hundreds of show cars, all having joined over time, despite several name changes and makeovers to the event over the years. KnowledgeFest, now in its 23rd year, has grown and changed in similar ways with a name change (formerly referred to by many retailers as MERA), growing attendance from both manufacturers and retailers, adding activities (like the Industry Awards) and changing venues over the years. Now, held in Dallas at a luxurious hotel and including more seminars and events than ever before, it's outgrown being just an annual event. After last year's highly successful first-time effort, KnowledgeFest Spring Training is back to offer an alternative for some and an expansion for others looking to improve their businesses. Located at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana,…

3-18-2016, NY Times -- THE ROAD TAKENThe History and Future of America’s InfrastructureBy Henry PetroskiIllustrated. 322 pp. Bloomsbury. $28. Henry Petroski’s “The Road Taken: The History and Future of America’s Infrastructure” is really two books in one. It is, first, a history of infrastructure from the Appian Way to the present. It also promises to be a guide for the present, helping us “better understand what is involved in making key choices that we are faced with today.” The book intermittently succeeds in both guises, though it takes some detours along the way. Petroski, a professor of both engineering and history at Duke and the author of such books as “The Pencil” and “The Evolution of Useful Things,” brings an eye for the little things: what kinds of guardrails are best, how roads can be made safer through better signage, which paving materials last longest. One of his key lessons is that small thinking can be a virtue, because the history of infrastructure is a series of experimental and incremental improvements. Local governments tried endless variations of asphalt and concrete before developing paving surfaces that didn’t produce excess dust or deteriorate quickly under rain and snow. They gradually built longer bridges, learning…

3/21/2016, Entrepreneur -- Want to have more customers, opt-ins on your website and clicks on your “Buy Now” button? Do what Hollywood does -- use stories to sell your products and services. This makes sense: At some point, you've probably gone to a meeting featuring a PowerPoint presentation with charts and graphs . . . and wanted to poke your eyes out with a pencil. The reason: Stories, not data, are what inspire people. Stories, not bullet points, create customer loyalty, build social media platforms and increase sales. Stories create an emotional bond between your business and your customers. And today's technology helps us tell those stories in the many different ways it's given us to offer our message to millions of potential customers -- instantly. Yet, many businesses are losing customers because their methods of reaching them are outdated. Want to get people to buy your product? Then get them to listen. Here are three essential stories you need on your website to do just that: 1: Your customer’s story In my book, The Message Of You, I call this your “credibility story.” It goes like this: Customer X came to you with a huge mess (describe it). Customer X took advantage of your products or services. Now, Customer X's life is so much better! He or she can now…

March Issue Feature: Retail Acid Test - Improving Store Efficiency Words by Rosa Sophia 3/16/2016 -- How does a business become more efficient? The first step is organization. Benjamin Franklin once said, “A place for everything, everything in its place.” Retailers can take this advice to heart and remember that disorganization in the workplace leads to time and money lost. Carlos Ramirez of NVS Audio in Linden, N.J. noted that this kind of problem is something he will not abide by. “If a tech spends half an hour looking for something, I just lost 50 dollars,” he said. Efficiency and organization is important in any business. Retailers who work to increase efficiency in their shops will begin to see benefits and positive change, resulting in higher sales and improved success. So how can 12-volt retailers become more efficient, thereby avoiding unfortunate mishaps? “It’s all trial and error,” Ramirez said. “It takes a long time to find out what works. Whatever doesn’t work, you have to change it. So then the other problem is once you get a system that works really well, as you make more money and start changing lines, you change customers, and then your efficiency changes again.”…