Editor's Note: This month we kick off a new series called The Support Team to take a closer look at how manufacturers are handling support functions across the board whether it’s customer support, tech support, rep support—it all needs to come together to keep wheels turning. Read on for our first installment featuring AAMP. 9-13-2017, Mobile Electronics -- Taking care of folks, whether it’s dealers or consumers, requires some hand holding, a touch of tough love, and a sense of humor. Just take a look at AAMP’s support page on their website which reads: “WE'RE HERE FOR YOU. Drop us a line, give us a call, or send your carrier pigeon if that's how you roll.” AAMP has taken an aggressive but innovative approach to support with its Team Phantom initiative. In the middle of its two-year rollout, the program sets a new standard in retail support in the 12-volt industry. The core of Team Phantom revolves around in-field experts who provide solution consultations and leading edge customer service, sales support, and product training for AAMP’s network of retail partners. “We are the first line of defense for AAMP to the dealer and we’re also the marketing voice at consumer-based…

9-13-2017, CNET -- The brand new iPhone X -- that's pronounced "ten," by the way, not "ex" -- is Apple's iPhone zenith, the priciest, boldest iPhone the company has ever made. It already tops the iPhone 8 ($849.00 at Apple) and iPhone 8 Plus in some pretty specific ways. So far, we like the design and specs, but it also leaves us with questions. For Apple, the iPhone X is a phone of firsts. The first to have a 5.8-inch screen with ultraslim bezels. The first to use an OLED screen, a different technology than the typical LCD panels, which Apple says will make colors absolutely pop. The iPhone X is also the first iPhone to completely do away with the iconic home button -- you know, the one Apple popularized on its very first iPhone. It's the first to offer Face ID as a new way to securely unlock the phone and pay in the check-out line (Apple has no more use for your fingerprints).  Finally, the iPhone X is Apple's only new device to nab a portrait mode on the front-facing camera (despite having just one lens and not two), optical image stabilization for both rear 12-megapixel camera lenses, and -- more breezily -- a…

9-11-2017, Entrepreneur.com -- I’m a people pleaser. It’s hard for me to say "no" to people who ask for something -- despite a reluctance inside of me. This has gotten me into trouble more than a few times in life and especially in business. Time is precious and slips by quickly but there is also no lack of things that have to get done in an entrepreneur's life. For 12 years, I took life a day at a time. I had a dream but no goals for making it real. I just woke up each day hoping for something more. In 2011, I had had enough and began chasing my dream of starting a lifestyle business. This meant more work on top of a service business that took 60-80 hours of my week. It didn’t take long for me to realize that something had to give. I had to learn how to say no to open up room for the things that were important. Seeing how much time and energy was freed by saying no, I started looking at all the other areas of my life. Here are six things I said no to. Saying no helped me live a much better life and…

9-3-2017, Forbes -- A company is like a great sports team: The coach leads the way and coordinates the team with his leadership skills, and the players score the points needed to win the game. But what makes a good player better than constant training? A wise manager knows that an efficient employee needs to be adequately trained. Even the best athlete will eventually grow weak if he’s not consistently challenged in training. But training doesn’t just occur during an employee’s first few weeks; effective training is an ongoing process. However, sometimes even organizations that decide to embrace a culture of learning can fall into common misconceptions about education: The learning process is either experiential or theoretical instead of a blend of the best of both. That lack of interaction lets learners become passive and demotivated, which makes the whole training process boring — and a waste of time for your company and your employees. Brad Lea, owner and founder of LightSpeed VT, is an entrepreneur who set the benchmark for employee training. After he’d failed at becoming an actor — getting cut from a movie three days before production — Brad decided to start a business as a path to becoming a Hollywood star. Today, his…