Brian Wallace | GrowMap

Energy Demand: How Will We Keep Up?

Nearly every aspect of modern life puts an increased energy demand on the U.S. power grid.

Today, energy production across the country is at an all-time high. However, experts warn that it is not nearly enough to match future energy demand!

Small businesses cannot operate without electricity. Few have a mechanical cash register or even a calculator handy to check out customers if their POS system is down.

If your small business does manufacturing or requires power to provide services, work could stop unless you install a generator or have back-up battery-powered tools.

Every year, the US uses more and more energy to power increased industrial advancements and new inventions, such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Early data shows that in the next 25 years, power demand will be 50% higher than current levels.

It is clear that the future is electric, however, it is easier said than done to match its pace. Let’s explore how to keep up with energy demand below.

What Is Driving Rapidly Growing Energy Demand?

In 2023, the US power use was 4,049 terawatt hours. This energy is largely attributed to sectors like transportation and industrial, which use 37% and 35% of energy respectively.

Residential and commercial also use significant energy, powering homes, apartments, small businesses, offices, malls, restaurants, hospitals and more.

Based on current trends, the US will need over 5,000 terawatt hours by 2050 to keep up with the demand for power.

This energy demand is driven by a variety of factors that are only projected to increase in the coming years.

Businesses large and small are affected by fluctuations in power supply and demand, as many operations are dependent on electricity to function.

Failure to Meet Energy Demand Negatively Affects Small Businesses

Small businesses in particular are affected because of the financial uncertainty that many smaller organizations face.

First, overhead costs, particularly utility bills, may increase when the demand for power increases without proper access to resources.

This can be detrimental to growing businesses and can change the landscape of an annual budget and resource allocation.

However, artificial intelligence has quickly risen as a tool that can streamline operations to help increase profitability.

In fact, businesses that buy into AI technology have been found to be the fastest growing and the most efficient in their respective fields and are best prepared for the uncertainties of the future.

The U.S. is Dependent on Abundant Energy

The age of electricity has been roaring since the early 80s, taking the United States further into an energy dependent state and paving the way for many modern inventions that we now rely on.

The overall electrification of the United States ushered in the era of electric and hybrid vehicles, which have now become widely popular across the country.

Additionally, the rise of artificial intelligence has claimed a large portion of the country’s electricity usage, as each query and each construction of a new data center requires more power.

Each AI request requires about 8 watt-hours of energy, which is equivalent to an LED light bulb.

However, this is between 23 – 30 times more energy than a normal internet search requires, and new AI servers are being built each day.

In fact, at full capacity, the projected new total number of servers would consume 85.4 terawatt hours of electricity annually.

Aging Power Grids: 40-70 Years Old

The United States also has an aging power grid, with most parts between 40 and 70 years old.

From transmission lines, to substations to power transformers, these pieces are more likely to malfunction due to age and are also severely understaffed.

If the US fails to meet power demands, several systems that the population relies on will go down, slowing us down and causing major disruptions.

First, fuel can’t get pumped on demand, therefore, both public and private transportation systems would be affected.

Communication networks would also be shut down, as most of our current systems rely on electricity to run smoothly.

Many would miss the luxury of contacting loved ones or accessing information in a timely manner. Supply chains may also stall after too long without power.

The distribution of food, medicine and other vital products would not just slow, but could come to a full stop.

Even banking systems and other commerce tools would be disrupted, as point of sale kiosks or credit card scanners would not be operable.

Energy Demand Requires Upgrading Power Infrastructure

One of the best solutions to avoiding these issues is to upgrade the power infrastructure. However, there are several road blocks in the way of doing so.

The size of the US infrastructure system is massive, as the current electrical grid flows across 470,000 miles.

Increasing equipment prices and overall replacement costs have also limited the capabilities of fixing the grid on a large scale.

There are also long lead times for new equipment up to two years, all while new power systems are waiting to come online.

The grid is expanding faster than it is possible to update the systems, making it much harder to make any real improvements.

Solving the Energy Demand Crisis

Experts have suggested exploring alternative power sources to decrease the stress on the current system.

To do this, the US government aims to quadruple nuclear energy by 2050.

Doing this could speed up interconnection queues and instantly double America’s existing power plants.

Using US based suppliers to source necessary equipment could also improve lead times for areas of the grid that need updates the most.

Overall, a better infrastructure will lead to a better future for all, with more clean energy, fewer outages and economic growth.

How AI Agent Tech Stacks Accelerate Productivity

AI agents are quickly shaping the future of work, development, and decision making.

These AI-based software systems are capable of autonomously performing a huge range of tasks with the right prompting from a user, such as conducting research or managing a workflow.

Thanks to their ability to mimic human-like reasoning and observing skills, they can be trained to act as an assistant or thought partner by a human employee, and independently make decisions to achieve the employee’s goals.

AI agents are capable of improving productivity by quite a bit, and therefore expected to play a huge role in the workplaces of the future.

Let’s examine the AI agent tech stack in greater detail below.

Unpacking the AI Tech Stack

While the end user just sees a chat box and a long string of text, behind the scenes there is a carefully constructed tech stack that enables the AI agent to reason, act, and adapt according to the prompts they are fed.

A tech stack is a layered system of tools, and each tool plays a foundational role in making sure the AI agent is able to perform reliably.

Therefore it is essential for developers to understand what is powering their AI agents at each layer, and how they all work together to produce the desired outcomes.

The most critical layer of the tech stack is Data Collection and Integration. Before any action or reasoning can take place, the AI Agent will need to understand the world it is operating in.

The understanding is built off the back of mostly unstructured data. This data is the fuel for multiple use cases, including:

- - training AI models
  - powering a retrieval augmented generation (RAG) system
  - or enabling an agent to respond to live changes in the market

There are some specific tools that are geared to make this data collection and integration process more robust.

For example, Search API is able to surface relevant web content in real time.

Unlocker API is able to bypass anti-bot protections to make sure the AI agent can access public data sources as needed.

Once an agent has access to data, the next layer needed is agent hosting services.

This tool creates the digital environment where all the reasoning, decision making, and actions are able to take place.

In other words, these operating systems provide the infrastructure that turns static models consuming data into a dynamic, autonomous system.

These hosting platforms manage everything from orchestration to execution and make sure agents can interact with APIs successfully.

Developers are using a variety of tools – examples include LangGrap, which helps build multi-step agent workflows, and AWS, which offers infrastructure for managing agents at scale.

As agents become more autonomous, they will begin to require observability tools that help developers monitor performance and debug issues as they arise.

AI agents should not be designed as a black box; developers should always have a clear view into what is happening to make sure the agents are operating safely.

Frameworks are another tool used to maintain this visibility into an AI agent’s actions.

They define how agents are structured, how they reason, interact with tools, and collaborate with other agents.

In other words, frameworks give agents their structure and logic, while still relying on real-time data.

Memory is another very important layer in the tech stack.

Memory systems are responsible for allowing agents to retain context, build long term understanding of the problems they are asked to help with, and remember past conversations.

For example, if a worker is using an AI agent, it would be frustrating to have to feed it context about the workstream all over again each time the agent is used.

Memory systems also enable agents to learn and adapt, but requires high quality input in order to achieve this successfully.

AI Agents in Tech Stacks

There are a few other layers in the tech stack, including tool libraries, sandboxes, model serving, and storage.

Each plays their own important role in the success of an AI agent, but the most important layer is obvious: the initial data that it is fed.

AI agents are only able to reason, plan, and act only if they have access to the right data at the right time.

Without it, even the most advanced AI systems will quickly be unable to provide any relevant help.

The most valuable data source of all is the public web, so it’s important that an AI agent can access it at any time.

Source: Bright Data

The Remarkable Power of Data Warehouses in Healthcare

Data is the lifeblood of the modern world. But are data warehouses in healthcare being effectively used?

Data can help expedite decisions and drive innovation across every sector, and healthcare is no exception.

In fact, 30% of the world’s data volume is generated by the healthcare industry.

Every procedure or provided care results in the creation of important records such as:

- Diagnostics
- Medical records
- Filling prescriptions
- Home care reports

Every patient’s interaction with care facilities or hospital admissions is painstakingly recorded as well.

Why Don’t Healthcare Executives Trust Their Data?

However, 80% of healthcare executives don’t fully trust their organization’s data. This may be due to poor classification, storage, or collection.

They feel that they don’t yet have the resources to use it effectively. Let’s learn more about the power of data warehouses in healthcare below.

Healthcare organizations are already starting to brainstorm new ways to expand their use of data.

Artificial intelligence has been one method to improve their business model.

AI has proved useful to document billing codes, medical charts, and visit notes, and 54% of organizations have adopted this use case.

Other practices include automating insurance prior authorization and creating care plans and process notes.

While all of these uses for AI have been beneficial, there are some significant areas where AI falls short.

Where Does AI Fall Short?

Generative AI requires a lot of data to be fed to produce relevant content.

But many of these public large language models, such as ChatGPT, may violate HIPAA privacy laws.

AI has some wonderful applications, but the best data sources come from the healthcare organizations itself.

The proper use of data can result in significant improvements for patient health.

For example, diagnosis can be completed faster and earlier, clinical efficiency can be tracked, and personalized medical plans can be curated.

These all lead to better treatment effectiveness and higher quality of care.

New therapies can also be released to the market on a faster basis, expanding patient access to revolutionary care.

However, data use can be a double-edged sword; if used improperly, data can have disastrous effects.

Incomplete patient records can result in misdiagnosis, medication errors, and heighten the risk of lawsuits and missed revenue.

One of the main barriers to effective data use is the need to collect data from more than one source.

There are many different options, including census, clinical, reimbursement, staffing, financial, and marketing data.

It can be extremely time-consuming for employees to track down all of these different sources.

Estimates claim that large organizations use an average of 367 software tools to keep track of all of their patients’ information.

This can waste up to 29% of the workweek for knowledge employees to find the correct sources of data.

This extremely slow information collection process can lead to manual errors and wrong decisions, and even open the door to privacy breaches.

Data Warehouses in Healthcare

Data warehouses are an effective method to store relevant data in the same place, because they serve as a centralized repository.

However, building it from scratch for a specific organization can take a very long time, between 12-36 months.

It also can be extremely expensive to build in-house, and require a high amount of technical expertise.

Therefore, it may be more cost- and time- effective to outsource the data warehouse to a third party.

This removes the need for updating and maintaining over 30 vendor integrations independently.

Third party solutions are also able to offer structured models that are already pre built and offer trusted experts to provide guidance every step of the way.

Most of these data warehouses are also fully SOC2 and HIPAA compliant, so they are built to handle sensitive healthcare information.

Best of all, the implementation of these third party warehouses only takes 90 days, offering a lightning-fast turnaround.

Do You Have a Better Understanding of Data Warehouses in Healthcare Now?

Healthcare is one of the most important industries serving our society, and every citizen stands to benefit greatly from expedited and efficient care.

Better data collection methods are one of more reliable ways to ensure this improvement of care comes to pass.

Data warehouses are a promising example of these new methods.

They can ensure the wasted time and energy from collecting data from disparate sources is soon to be a relic of the past.

Healthcare organizations should make the investment into these third party data warehouses.

They are designed to make data collection and recall a simple and painless process.

Source: MegaData

Community Coworking: A Blueprint for the Future of Work

Traditional coworking spaces are struggling in the constantly shifting world of remote work.

More than 32.6 million Americans are expected to work remotely by 2025. But only 46% of coworking spaces are profitable.

Why is this discrepancy occurring?

Let’s explore some of the reasons behind the demise of the traditional coworking model.

And also look at how community coworking is emerging as a leading model for the future of work.

The Downfall of Traditional Coworking

Conventional coworking spaces suffer from a number of serious problems. First of all, each workstation costs between $200 and $700. This makes them extremely unaffordable.

Many remote workers find it very difficult to get started because of this pricing structure, especially small business owners and freelancers with little resources.

Furthermore, coworking spaces sometimes find their financial freedom restricted by high-risk real estate investments.

Due to their long leases and high overhead, typical coworking spaces find it difficult to adjust to changing market demands.

This can result in unstable finances and, in certain situations, closure. Apart from the cost issue, traditional coworking spaces are frequently isolating spaces.

These areas don’t promote real friendships in a culture where 58% of adults say they feel lonely.

Many people find it difficult to build meaningful relationships in these circumstances, even though they are surrounded by other remote workers.

It’s shocking to see that a sizable percentage of participants, such as 69% of WeWork users, find it difficult to form deep social bonds or friendships in these settings.

People who cowork have a sense of alienation and disconnection due to the fundamentally flawed absence of social engagement and community.

Furthermore, conventional coworking spaces don’t stand out from the competition or provide a variety of activities outside of work.

Almost half of coworking space users feel cut off from any sense of community due to the lack of social events.

A uniform ambiance where each coworking space feels the same is a result of the cookie-cutter approach taken by many of them.

Meaningful contacts and interdisciplinary collaboration are limited by this lack of diversity and innovation, which stifles creativity and collaboration.

The Shift Towards Community Coworking

A new paradigm, known as community coworking, is arising as a result of the drawbacks of traditional coworking.

There are some organizations spearheading this movement, which places an emphasis on accessibility, diversity, and involvement in the community.

These organizations set themselves apart by encouraging specialized communities and emphasizing interpersonal connections.

They arrange happy hours, coworking sessions, and communal lunches to foster a community where people may develop deep connections.

Also, they drastically lower operating costs by utilizing unused rooms in hotels, bars, and restaurants, unlike standard coworking spaces that are burdened by expensive real estate fees.

The Triumph of Community Coworking

By combining social networking, workspace solutions, and community building in a fluid manner, this idea of community coworking redefines the coworking experience.

This is how modern organizations perform better than their predecessors:

Real Connections:

By facilitating real connections between members, they foster a sense of belonging that is distinct from the surface-level interactions found on popular social media platforms.

Members can meet like-minded people, exchange stories, and work together on projects through carefully planned events and activities.

Affordability:

Provides affordable coworking alternatives without sacrificing quality, with monthly memberships beginning at just $30.

Through the elimination of costly leases and other expenses, they are able to distribute the savings to its members, expanding the accessibility of coworking to a wider demographic.

Diverse Communities:

Ensures inclusivity and diversity by serving a broad range of demographics, from entrepreneurs and creatives of color and cuisine enthusiasts.

By welcoming people from all origins and viewpoints, they create a lively, welcoming community where everyone is treated with respect and value.

Empowering Community Organizers:

Works with community organizers to give them a platform to make money off of their projects and support their communities.

Community organizers may offer workshops, cultural celebrations, or networking events and still make meaningful experiences for their members and earn extra revenue sources.

Conclusion

By emphasizing interpersonal relationships, accessibility, and community empowerment, the idea of community coworking essentially personifies the true core of coworking.

It is critical to adopt innovative coworking models like this in order to build satisfying and long-lasting coworking environments, as remote work continues to transform the professional landscape.

Source: Tavern Community

Building a Quality Survey for Your Business Decisions

Business decisions are usually based on the use of cold, hard data. Without data, these decisions will be made of mere fluff, while lacking the support, stability, and reliability to make the correct call.

The best way to collect data from the right sources is surveys, where the target audience for a decision can share their thoughts and produce quantifiable evidence for a business’ needs.

A high quality survey needs to be carefully planned out, in order to extract the best possible insights to further a business’ needs.

How to Conduct a Survey

There are four main components of designing a quantitative survey. The first stage is to plan and scope out the defining questions that the survey is meant to answer- in other words, the main end goal of the survey.

Then, the survey will need to be authored in a way that presents a clear path for survey respondents to make.

This includes programming the survey and designing questions that build upon each other.

Then comes the execution and fielding of the survey, by distributing it out to willing participants.

Finally comes the analysis and reporting of the results in a digestible way.

Planning and Scoping Stage: “the Five Ws”

In the first planning and scoping stage, there are five main questions that the survey must be designed to answer, classified under the umbrella term “the five Ws”.

- WHY is the research objective of the survey, and is the overall core information that the business is trying to uncover.
- WHAT defines what questions need to be asked, and this can be done by creating a survey outline.
- WHO helps the business determine a respondent profile.
- WHEN is all about creating a survey timeline that details when the survey should launch and close.
- Finally, WHERE refers to where people could take the survey, including the formatting for computers and mobile devices.

In the second stage of the survey creation process, the survey will need to be authored by creating an outline and writing great questions that will drive optimal survey results.

How to Craft Great Survey Questions

These questions will need to be both understandable and objective. It is important to stray from asking leading questions that are designed to influence the participant’s answer.

Loaded questions are also to be avoided, so that it is not assumed what a participant’s stance will be.

For example, instead of asking how often a participant drinks certain brands of soda, it would be better to lead with asking if the participant drinks soda, and if they answer yes, then asking which brands they drink on a daily basis.

Double-barrel questions are also to be avoided. This is when two questions are asked at once, which can be confusing for a participant.

Executing a Survey

Once the survey’s questions are written, the next step is to prepare it for the execution stage.

First it must be tested to ensure that the survey works and looks the way that it’s supposed to.

Next the survey must be launched and responses will begin to be collected.

Once a reasonable amount of responses have been received, as determined by any quotas, this raw data can be converted to actionable information.

It can be exported to Excel or other analysis tools that can help convert the data into a more digestible form.

The overall goal of releasing a survey is to collect data that help drive a future business decision.

It is important to transform this data into a cleaner, more visual representation so that the main insights can be communicated easier.

Line, bar, and pie charts are all common methods of visualizing data. Line charts are helpful for tracking a value over time.

Bar charts help compare specific values. Pie charts help to break down a whole into separate components, which can help determine specific demographics to focus a business’ efforts on.

In Conclusion

Surveys are a critical part of a business’ ability to connect with their consumers and target market.

Releasing one takes a lot of preparation and planning from start to finish. It is very important to ask the right questions that target exactly what the company is trying to determine.

However, the payoff for all this preparation is steep- businesses can ultimately create visual representations of their insights and drive better strategies for their company moving forward.

2023 Critical Tax Deadlines for Your Business [Infographic]

The tax schedule presents a fresh set of challenges for accountants and managers, as they navigate the intricacies of tax deadlines and compliance.

While tax season is often met with trepidation, understanding the important deadlines can help businesses operate smoothly.

This summary provides a comprehensive overview of the 2023 tax deadlines schedule, highlighting key dates and shedding light on specific tax forms to assist businesses in effectively managing their tax obligations.

Important Tax Deadlines

The tax year kicks off with a crucial deadline on January 31st, by which businesses must complete and submit employment and contracting forms such as the W-2 and W-3.

These forms play a pivotal role in reporting wages, salaries, and other compensation paid to employees, as well as providing the necessary information for Social Security and income tax withholding.

Moving forward, February 28th marks two significant tax deadlines. Firstly, businesses engaged in real estate and property transactions must file Form 1099s.

This form reports various types of income, including rental income, and is crucial for compliance with tax regulations.

Secondly, Form 1099-DIV, due on the same date, is for reporting dividends and distributions received by individuals, partnerships, corporations, and other entities.

Delaware Deadlines

Throughout the tax schedule, it is important to recognize the influence of Delaware tax law, as many businesses choose to incorporate in this state.

One key tax deadline related to Delaware is March 1st, when franchise annual reports and taxes are due.

It is crucial for businesses operating in Delaware to adhere to this deadline, as failure to comply may result in penalties and legal complications.

April 18th holds immense significance as Tax Day, the deadline for filing federal income tax returns.

Additionally, it marks the due date for Quarter 1 estimated tax payments.

Estimated tax payments are made by individuals and businesses to prepay their tax liabilities and avoid any potential underpayment penalties.

For businesses with foreign ownership exceeding 10%, May 31st becomes a critical date.

This is the deadline for filing Form BE-12, which collects information on the financial and operating activities of U.S. businesses with foreign investment.

The form aims to track the impact of foreign investment on the U.S. economy and plays a role in maintaining accurate economic statistics.

Deadlines After Tax Day

Continuing into June, June 1st is the due date for Delaware’s limited liability corporation (LLC) franchise annual fee.

LLCs operating in Delaware are required to pay this fee to maintain their legal status and good standing with the state.

Moreover, June 15th marks the deadline for Quarter 2 estimated tax payments.

Businesses and individuals are required to estimate their tax liabilities and make the corresponding payments to the IRS, ensuring that their tax obligations are met throughout the year.

As the year progresses, September 15th becomes a significant date for Quarter 3 estimated tax payments.

This deadline serves as another opportunity for businesses to fulfill their tax obligations and avoid penalties for underpayment.

October 16th, following the completion of the regular tax filing season, represents the due date for extended returns for both C-corporations and LLCs.

These extended returns provide businesses with additional time to accurately report their financial information and meet their tax obligations.

Lastly, December 16th signifies the deadline for Quarter 4 estimated tax payments.

By making these payments, businesses can ensure that their tax liabilities are fully addressed for the final quarter of the year.

In Conclusion

While managing tax payments can be daunting, it is essential to maintain ethical business practices and avoid penalties.

Understanding the various tax deadlines throughout the year enables businesses to plan and allocate resources effectively.

By adhering to the outlined tax schedule and seeking professional guidance if necessary, businesses can navigate the complexities of tax compliance and allocate more time and energy to their core operations.

2023 Tax Deadlines Infographic

How the Employee Retention Credit Can Help Your Business

Employee retention credit (ERC) can be very beneficial to employers. ERC is a refundable federal tax credit that is designed to encourage employers to keep employees on payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is additionally not considered a loan that needs repayment.

Employee Retention Credit Criteria

ERC is currently available for the 2020 and 2021 tax years. The 2020 ERC is 50% of the wages paid up to $10,000 per employee for the period between March 12, 2020 and December 31, 2020 with the amount capped at $5,000 per employee.

The 2021 ERC is 70% of the wages paid up to $10,000 per employee per quarter for three quarters of 2021 with the amount limited between $21,000 and $28,000 per employee.

Only a company that opened after February 16, 2020 with less than $1,000,000 in revenue can file for the fourth quarter of 2021 as a recovery startup business.

If your business suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic and you are considered a recovery startup business, you could receive between $26,000 and $33,000 of tax credit per employee.

The ERC is designed to help businesses recover from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, make up lost revenue, and keep employees while continuing business operations.

Although the ERC program officially ended in 2021, you can still receive funds. Not all businesses qualify for ERC, but several of the ones that do don’t realize it.

How Your Business Can Qualify

Your business can qualify for ERC if you experienced a decrease in revenue due to COVID-19, such as a significant decline in gross receipts during 2020 or general decline in gross receipts during 2021.

Your business can also qualify if you are operating as an organization in the U.S. (regardless of size). This includes nonprofits, colleges, universities, real estate, industrial, construction, retail, and hospitality.

Another way your business can be considered is if you experienced a full or partial suspension from government authorities that limited business hours, or:

- Suspended operations either partially or completely
- Shut down your supply chain or vendors
- Stopped the delivery of important goods or materials
- Reduced offered services
- Limited the workforce in a way that led to the suspension of operations
- Closed specific divisions or departments
- Stopped visitations to client job sites
- Reduced operations via social distancing
- Slowed work that could not be completed from home.

If government orders limited travel and group meetings, resulting in reduced operations and a “more than nominal impact” on business operations (defined as an impact of 10% or more per quarter), you may qualify for ERC in that quarter.

For any quarter you had a full or partial suspension that lasted for at least two weeks due to government interference, you may still have a chance to qualify for ERC in that quarter.

To be considered a recovery startup business in the third or fourth quarter of 2021, your business should have opened on or after February 16, 2020.

Additionally, your annual gross receipts should not exceed $1 million for the 2020 and 2021 tax years.

You must have more than one W2 employee as well (not including owner-operators or family members).

It is very important to remember that getting ERC requires qualifying wages.

This means the wages taken into account include cash payments and a part of employer provided health care costs.

Businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans may still be eligible for ERC.

Credit amounts are calculated based on whether an employer had more or less than 100 or 500 average full-time employees in 2019.

If an employer had less than the target number, credit will be based on wages paid to all employees whether they worked or not during the calendar quarter.

If the employer had more than the target number, credit will be contingent on wages paid to employees who did not work during the calendar quarter.

In 2023, many businesses are claiming ERC by amending their tax filings as it takes between four to ten months on average for the IRS to process ERC claims and mail checks.

In Conclusion

Don’t worry if you already received PPP loans during the pandemic as there is still time to find out if your business is eligible for employee retention credit.

A Look at Commercial Real Estate Trends

No investment market is easy to understand, but real estate can be uniquely volatile.

It is then important to develop a strong understanding of the market before investment.

This can be challenging, especially following all the drastic changes that were seen post-COVID.

The first change worth discussing is the rise of remote work. Let’s dive in to understanding more about commercial real estate trends below.

How the Pandemic Shifted Commercial Real Estate Trends

Remote work, while certainly utilized before COVID, was not even close to as popular as it is today.

While some investors and analysts theorized people would return to office spaces entirely, this has not held true.

In San Francisco, for example, office vacancies have gone up nearly 10% from pre-pandemic to now.

Changes like these have started to drastically change the value of properties across America.

All in all, employees are spending 25-35% less time in the office now than before the pandemic.

This has made the home office an increasingly more popular concept while physical buildings are left vacant.

In some areas, landlords have even started to convert what was previously office space into residential space.

Unique solutions have to be made in the market, but regardless these commercial office spaces are diminishing.

What Sectors of Real Estate are Improving

Looking at what is in demand, three forms of real estate show themselves. Data centers, industrial real estate, and housing are all in consistent demand today.

Industrial and residential space is needed to keep up with the growing population.

Residential spaces can be made quite effectively but industrial spaces tend to take up more land than is desirable.

Data centers on the other hand are representative of the power technology has today.

There is more data being stored on the internet every day. And it needs to be held somewhere.

It seems this will be a trend that will continue for a long time.

Of course, data storage can be made more efficient, but not to the extent of not needing more storage.

To get into the real estate market as a whole – a lot of market uncertainty occurring currently, with a down-slope seemingly occurring.

Yet the U.S real estate market is generally considered quite safe with good returns.

America consistently outperforms other regions at 10.4% per year, for example.

Rising Interest Rates

Yet, again, things are trending downwards. Interest rates, for example, are rising to correct the market.

It seems that cheap investments and money within real estate is becoming harder and harder to come by.

Real estate loans are also crashing down upon investors and owners. In the next four years over $450 billion in loans are coming to term.

The real estate market is worth over $21 trillion, but billions in loans is still a massive amount.

Naturally, there is a lot of variance from industry to industry.

Earlier it was mentioned that residential real estate was popular, but more specifically multifamily rentals are popular.

It isn’t nearly as realistic as it used to be for a family to buy their own home. Many, in response, have turned to rentals.

Building apartment complexes that can fit entire families, then, is a lucrative option.

Single family rentals are also popular, and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

New York is a region that is seeing particularly volatile shifts.

While some real estate is being bought out, luxury brands like Gucci for example are using a lot of retail space.

New York more than any other region is seeing issues with their office spaces.

Commercial property prices as a whole have dropped 13% from the 2022 peak. This rate is even higher with a potential to climb for office spaces.

Unsurprisingly this is due in very large part to the post-pandemic high of a 47% office vacancy rate.

There has been a rebound, but some question if this will hold. It seems remote work has changed work in New York forever.

It’s changes like these, alongside other select issues, that could drop New York commercial commercial real estate up to 16%.

Conclusion

Real estate today is in a weird place. The pandemic created conditions that were never before seen, and the effects remain today.

Old reliable commercial real estate spaces have become far less reliable as others have boomed.

The need for housing and industrial space is undeniable, while the desire for data centers has similarly boomed.

Real estate has been a tricky investment for a long time. There’s a lot of room for gains and growth as the market changes.

Today though, with awareness, one can at least start to look at the right places.

Source: ChessRealtors.com

How Generative AI is Changing the Marketing Industry

As the business sector continues to grow, so do marketing tactics. New types of marketing tactics allow businesses to stay ahead of the curve and gain a leg up against the competition.

One new type of technology that businesses are developing in their marketing tactics is Generative AI.

Generative AI gives businesses a competitive advantage by helping them produce new content for marketing.

It is a sector that is continuing to grow as businesses and marketing develop. In fact, since 2000, there has been a 14x increase in generativeAI startups.

This shows the potential that AI has and continues to have in assisting businesses in growing their marketing reach toward customers.

What is Generative AI?

Generative AI works by feeding a machine algorithm old content. This old content is then produced into iterations with new content.

Some examples of content that Generative AI can produce include simulations, videos, photos, and more.

The new content can help a business transform and grow its marketing into something new and engaging.

Generative AI’s goal is to teach machine learning systems new ways to artificially think. In turn, the goal is that these systems can create new marketing content.

There are numerous ways that businesses are using Generative AI in their marketing tactics.

Some businesses use Generative AI to solve old problems.

Generative AI allows businesses to create new solutions to old problems – thus furthering their marketing.

Numerous different industries engage in Generative AI use. Some industries that have adopted Generative AI into their marketing include legal/ professional services, financial services, and high-tech/ telecom industries.

Other industries include healthcare, retail and consumer goods, and automotive/ assembly industries.

There is a wide variety of industries adapting Generative AI into their marketing, showing its versatility.

The wide use of industries adapting Generative AI into their marketing sectors also shows the growing use of it throughout the business world.

Generative AI use has grown so much that its use has nearly doubled in the past five years.

How Generative AI Can Help Your Marketing

Generative AI is used in many different ways to assist businesses with their marketing.

The most popular use of Generative AI is for email marketing where it is used for nearly 87% of all business marketing tactics.

Besides that, Generative AI is used in market lead scoring and customer service routing, accounting for nearly 83% of marketing tactics.

Generative AI is also used in marketing via fraud detection (64%), cross-selling, and upselling (63%), as well as for service chatbots.

Not only does Generative AI assist businesses with their marketing, but it also assists their growth and productivity.

In fact, Generative AI can help businesses increase their productivity by nearly 40%.

There are a growing number of new AI startups which are creating new generative marketing AI tools and henceforth new opportunities for businesses.

Some examples of these new AI startups include ChatGPT, Make-A-Video, DALL-E, BARD, and NOVA.

The tools that these AI startups create allow businesses to continue to grow and reach more customers.

For example, NOVA is shown to boost marketing results by nearly 60%-170% for businesses.

This shows how Generative AI is successful at helping boost companies’ marketing strategies.

The Future of Generative AI

It is important to note that AI is still a relatively new technology. Generative AI, therefore, is still being adapted into business models.

However, it is allowing businesses and marketing to grow at new paces. Generative AI, according to experts, is creating endless new possibilities for businesses.

For example, it is creating new opportunities for businesses to market and brand to consumers.

Looking toward the future, the possibilities of Generative AI are only continuing to increase.

For example, there is a convergence of IoT and AI. Specifically, 19% of C-suite executives are “focused on harnessing the benefits of AoIT.

This shows the growing use of Generative AI in businesses, specifically in the C-suite.

Moreso, there is a greater reliance on AI marketing automation.

Specifically, 22% of marketers have reported using marketing automation and AI to personalize communication with consumers.

For example, businesses have used AI to personalize emails, offers, and ads to increase marketing and revenue.

Finally, AI is creating more accessibility for small businesses.

In fact, 31% of small businesses have attested to adopting AI tools as opposed to enterprise brands to assist with their marketing.

In Summary

Generative AI is continuing to forge its way through the tech and business world, creating new marketing opportunities which increase business revenue and productivity.

Nine Essential Lessons for Business Owners from Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett, CEO of the massive conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, is widely known as the “Oracle of Omaha” for his ability to seemingly predict the future of the stock market and publicly traded companies.

However, in addition to knowing how to invest wisely and choose winning investments, Buffett also has lots of wisdom for business owners as well.

Buffett as Business Owner

Of course, Buffett made his billions investing in the stock market, but as CEO of a massive conglomerate, he also has what it takes to run a successful business — many times over.

Through Berkshire Hathaway, he owns many well-known businesses, including Geico, DQ, Heinz, See’s Candy, and more.

In fact, Buffett and Berkshire own more than 65 companies spread across virtually every sector, spanning:

- Financial services
- Consumer businesses
- Energy
- Healthcare
- Technology

Types of Companies Buffett Invests In

Nearly half of the portfolio consists of financial services companies.

But with hundreds of billions of dollars invested, that still leaves lots of room for other types of companies.

Part of Buffett’s selection process includes an assessment of company management.

In fact, he’s been known to invest in companies because of how much he respects the management.

One notable example is a furniture store in Omaha that was run by “Mrs. B.”

Buffett bought a majority interest in Nebraska Furniture Mart decades ago for $60 million in a handshake deal.

In fact, he stated in one of Berkshire’s annual letters a few years ago that he would “rather wrestle grizzlies than compete with Mrs. B.,” a nice tribute to one of the best business owners he ever knew.

The Best Buffett Quotes for Business Owners

Given the importance Buffett places on management, it would do business owners well to listen to his advice.

Here are some of his best quotes on business management for new and would-be entrepreneurs.

“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

First, let’s start with advice for anyone who’s thinking about starting a business.

On one hand, anyone can look back and see the long-lasting effect someone’s vision had that inspired them to plant a tree.

However, successful business owners can also look forward at the big picture they hope to see in the future.

What significant impact do you want your business to have in the future? And what will it take to get there?

“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.”

This quote is also for anyone thinking about starting a business. Anyone can have an idea, and many people have great ideas.

However, not everyone knows enough to develop their own good ideas. It’s risky to take on a project or business in an area you know nothing about.

Thus, those who are thinking about starting a business would do well to focus on what they know.

In some cases, business owners might need to do their homework to decide whether an idea is worth developing into a business.

“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.”

Many business owners are so excited and passionate about what they do that they get carried away, and people start wondering whether they’re splitting their focus too much.

This quote suggests the importance of focusing on a few things rather than indulging every wild idea that comes to mind.

“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”

This quote takes more of an explanation that most of the others on this list. Essentially, Buffett is saying that things might look great up to a certain point.

As a result, some business owners may be tempted to take on too much debt with the expectation that a wave will come rolling in, flooding them with profits.

However, if the tide goes out instead of a wave coming in, the business — and its owner — will be totally exposed, and that’s just not a good thing.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

Successful business owners spend years building up a reputation for themselves, but a single comment or action can ruin everything in the blink of an eye.

Thus, entrepreneurs would do well to weigh every decision they make every step of the way.

In today’s digital world, nothing is ever truly deleted, so something you did 10+ years ago may come back to haunt you after you’ve started a successful business.

As a result, it’s always advisable to think before you act.

“Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre.”

This bit of advice is for entrepreneurs whose businesses are in every stage. If you’re preparing to start a business, it’s always a good idea to think about the long term.

Many businesses enjoy a boom period in the beginning because they cater to a brief period of hype.

However, when it comes to running the marathon of business ownership, they fail because they were thinking in the short term rather than the long term.

The best businesses stand the test of time because they were built to last.

On the other hand, the worst businesses may sprout up for a short time but then fade away when whatever hyped-up situation they were profiting on disappears.

“Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business.”

This quote is a natural progression of the last one, and it also addresses businesses at all stages.

If you’re starting a business, you’ll want to think carefully about what you’re offering.

Premium brands that don’t deliver something special simply won’t last.

They may enjoy success briefly due to hype around their brand name, but they won’t stand the test of time.

“If you get to my age in life and nobody thinks well of you, I don’t care how big your bank account is. Your life is a disaster.”

“Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars.”

These last two quotes go together. Buffett often speaks about self-improvement, but part of that process is your character and reputation.

Even the most successful entrepreneur might want to do some soul-searching if either of these quotes causes them concern.

Learning from Warren Buffett

Given that Buffett is one of the world’s most successful investors, it’s no surprise that people come from around the world to attend Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meetings in Omaha, Nebraska.

Of course, investors have been learning from him for many years, but as you can see, there’s plenty for entrepreneurs to learn as well.