Inc. Magazine November 2016

Inc.com 1 KNOWING YOUR INSECURITIES We often dislike in others what we possess ourselves. Look inward before reacting. 2 MEDITATING Meditation can put you in a more objective and detached mindset, and help you find good in those you dislike. 3 DOING THINGS FOR OTHERS You may like someone better after doing that person a favor, as you can cheer yourself up by smiling. 4 SHARING AN AWFUL MEMORY When you make yourself vulnerable, you create the possibility for mutual trust and respect. “Don’t worry about pleasing other people. You have to make sure you’re confident in yourself.” TOP VIDEOS Cathy Rose Salit Author of Performance Breakthrough “We convey who we are— we convey what we want to say—with our bodies.” Jessica Herrin Founder of Stella & Dot “I had a lot of fear. But I had a lot of passion, and ultimately passion won.” Stacey Bendet…

WHEN, IN 2001, A YOUNG SECURITIES analyst named Danae Ringelmann became upset about how fundamentally unfair she felt the system of financing was, she called her mother. Ringelmann was specifically exercised about the inability of a particular film project to find funding, but her indictment of capital was as true for entrepreneurs as for indie filmmakers. “If you’re that upset about it,” said her mother (who happened to be an entrepreneur), “go do something about it.” Then she said goodbye and hung up. That act of maternal tough love led Ringelmann a few years later to launch, with two male partners, the crowdfunding pioneer Indiegogo. At a recent Inc. and CNBC conference, she shouted out some of the many entrepreneurs who’ve funded projects on her platform, praising them as doers who,…

UPSIDE DOWN Lim, at rest and at work in her flying yoga studio. While she adores how it clears her head, she’s not immune to the charms of its other benefits. “My legs look skinnier,” she confides, “because I’m squeezing the hell out of them so much.” “I just feel lifted and lighter afterward.” —SEUN LIM, co-founder, James Jeans WHEN SEUN LIM, the cofounder of James Jeans, moved from New York City to Los Angeles in 2004, she experienced a common side effect. “I started building up some unnecessary extra whatever around my waist,” she says. “When I was in New York, I didn’t have to work out much. I walked, I sweated it out in my daily life. In L.A., everybody drives.” Lim, who’s 41, started getting into Pilates and hot yoga when she…

FINTENTS / • noun. Mobile banking that combines “financial services” with “content ranging from fashion to culture.” This lets you know the joy of checking out the latest handbags while discovering the true, horrific extent of your overdraft. Source: The Korea Herald FESTECH / • noun. Hi-tech wristbands delivering “data-driven marketing for festival advertisers.” Now, throw your hands in the air like you just don’t care (that your every move is tracked, cached, and monetized). Source: AdExchanger INSECURE STABILITY / • noun. A false sense of investment security provided by “massive quantitative easing, negative or zero interest rates and emerging economies.” We’re all Wile E. Coyote—confidently running in midair, until we look down. Source: News. Markets CONTINUOUS CANDIDATES / • noun. Millennials always “on the lookout for the next gig and a leadership…

BRYCE GOLDMAN AND James Brennan know a thing or two about what it takes to look good. The co-founders of Kopari Beauty, a San Diego–based skin care product maker, have been using direct mail for years because, even though it is more expensive than email, it has unbeatable stopping power. “It’s about catching their eye,” Brennan says. Kopari’s mail pieces, he adds, “are looking to make conversions and sales, but it’s just as important to make impressions.” They’ve gotten pretty good at both: The company gets a response rate of 2.5 to 3 percent on its 25,000-piece, twosided color mailings, triple the national average of the standard email campaign. Direct mail, one of the most maligned marketing practices, is having a moment. It is used in 57 percent of marketing campaigns, up 7…

BOB CHESNER HAD A sneaking suspicion he might be paying too much for his retirement plan. The partners at his 25-employee law firm had picked their plan 15 years ago, long before technology-driven retirement platforms started to drive down costs. And when Chesner, chief operating officer of Austin-based Giordani, Swanger, Ripp & Phillips, started to dig into the details, he was shocked. Between administration, custodial, and management fees, the old plan cost participants a whopping 2.17 percent of assets each year. The good news: The technological change that’s sweeping through the investment-management industry is dramatically increasing competition for small-company retirement plans. Old stalwarts and newcomers alike are actively competing for retirement plans offered by companies with even just a few workers. That helped Chesner find one charging just 0.58 percent…