For your viewing pleasure GetYourBizSavvy, or should we say GetYourBizSexy has put together the 12 Sexiest Male Entrepreneurs.

What is the definition of Sexy? When we picked the Sexiest Entrepreneurs, we looked at a number of things. We first looked at the business behind the entrepreneur. We got an understanding of their business, what it was all about, whether it was unique, what their accomplishments were, what their story was. We wanted confident people, those with high spirit and motivation. It was extremely hard picking only 12 out all of the competitors, but it had to be done. We want to thank everyone for participating! You are all sexy.

Below is a list of the 12 Sexiest Male Entrepreneurs. They are in no specific order. Now you know the top 12, but who is the Sexiest? Who is #1? It is not up to GetYourBizSavvy to decide that. It is up to YOU! You can vote once each day, duplicates will not be counted. Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your co-workers, tell that random person you never talk to but always ride on the elevator with. Tell everyone! The entrepreneur with the most votes will be deemed The Sexiest Male Entrepreneur of 2010! Voting Ends Saturday at Midnight. You are allowed to vote once per day.

And once your done checking out these sexy guys, don’t miss out on the 20 Sexiest Female Entrepreneurs.

Zak Tanjeloff

Zak is the founder of DLP Mobile, a small NYC based mobile app development copmpany with over 80 apps in the Apple App Store. The company is expanding this summer across platforms and will be releasing between 5 and 6 more apps over the summer. Their first product, Near to Here, is a geolocated enabled tour guide . It layers wikipedia with your present location to alert you with information about landmarks as you pass them.

Gregorio Palomino

In 2007, Greg launched CRE8AD8, LLC(Create-A-Date), a National Event Marketing Agency headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was designed to help and damper economical challenges the nation faced in this time of strife. Greg has helped drive CRE8AD8 towards a profitable agency through networking, advertising campaigns and various volunteer efforts he has participated in. Greg oversees daily operations as CEO and President of CRE8AD8 and has been the driving force behind its growth. He volunteers for many organizations and believes in giving back to the community more than it gives to him.

Matt Goulart

Matt Goulart is the founder of webstarcontent.com a content creation company for websites or blogs. They provide content for some of the most popular websites on the internet. They, also manage clients with high demand and high traffic websites to generate revenue. This serial entrepreneur is always ready for a challenge.

Scott Stratten

Scott Stratten is the president of UnMarketing. Between being ranked one of the top influencer’s in the world on Twitter and getting over 60 million views of client videos, he’s spent way too much time online. Many says he offers some of the greatest advice on the internet. Smart is sexy.

Ryan Howard

From working in a rubber glove factory in New Hampshire to distribution at Wal-Mart to founding his own company, Mr. Howard is a great example of a young and sexy entrepreneur. He founded Practice Fusion in 2008, provides the only free, web-based electronic health record (EHR) systems for doctors at small and medium practices.

Tom Gerace

An entrepreneur at heart, Tom is the CEO and founder of Gather, the leading demand-driven media company. He is also the founder the Social Media Advertising Consortium (SMAC) a non-profit organization of social media, advertising and brand marketing executives who are working on the creation of standard language, buying units and measurement for social media engagement campaigns.

Jon West

The twenty-something co-founded 3tailer in 2005 while a senior at Appalachian State University. Years later the niche online retailer has grown into a multi-million dollar business. Jon resides in Uptown Charlotte, NC where he effortlessly exudes all things sexy on a daily basis.

Abe Taleb

Abe is the co-founder of TerraShift. TerraShift is an on-demand staffing company for social enterprises. The organization deploys teams of recent college grads to various social enterprises and nonprofits to do business planning and other capacity-building projects. He loves fashion and being socially responsible. He’s saving the world and lookin’ good while doing so.

George Burke

According to George, “there’s nothing sexier than a good book.” This entrepreneur brought the “netflix” concept to readers through the company he founded, BookSwim. The concept is simple. You sign up for one of four monthly subscription options. You then get the books, read them, and finally send them back when they’re finished.

Alexander Marten McDonnell

Alexander Marten McDonnell, launched his US made new invention, T.O.O.B. LLC® an immersive omni dome projection theater that allows a full range of visual experiences. The goal is to turn an advanced technological design into a home asset for watching movies, playing video games, and using as a large computer screen so people can open multiple pages at a time and enjoy video conferencing in an immersive environment. A portion of the proceeds go to lovecurescancer.com

Todd Greene

Todd Greene is the inventor and founder of HeadBlade, a company now celebrating 10 years in business. Before starting his head care company, Todd worked for a variety of blue-chip companies, along with upstarts including Paul Allen’s Starwave company that developed the original ESPN.com. HeadBlade promises to deliver a smoother and easier head shave.

Dolvett Quince

Dolvett founded Body Sculptor Fitness Studio, which has seen the likes of many celebrities. He has always enjoyed helping people. He’s also a professional model and actor.

Voting has ended. Check out who was voted the Sexiest!

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For your viewing pleasure GetYourBizSavvy or should we say GetYourBizSexy has put together the 20 Sexiest Female Entrepreneurs.

What is the definition of Sexy? When we picked the Sexiest Entrepreneurs, we looked at a number of things. We looked beyond just looks. We first looked at the business behind the entrepreneur. We got an understanding of their business, what it was all about, whether it was unique, what their accomplishments were, what their story was. We wanted confident people, those with high spirit and motivation. It was extremely hard picking only 20 out all of the competitors, but it had to be done. We want to thank everyone for participating! You are all sexy!

Below is a list of the 20 Sexiest Female Entrepreneurs. The entrepreneur’s picture corresponds with the name and description above it. They are in no specific order. Now you know the top 20, but who is the Sexiest? Who is #1? It is not up to GetYourBizSavvy to decide that. It is up to YOU! You can vote once each day, duplicates will not be counted. Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your co-workers, tell that random person you never talk to but always ride on the elevator with. Tell everyone! The entrepreneur with the most votes will be deemed The Sexiest Female Entrepreneur of 2010! Voting Ends Saturday at Midnight. You are allowed to vote once per day.

And after your done checking out these sexy ladies, check out the Sexiest Male Entrepreneurs.

Jill Donenfeld

We can all agree that being able to cook is sexy, but Jill takes sexy in the kitchen a step further as she prepares food for the whole week. Jill started The Dish’s Dish, a weekly home chef service, in 2006. She knows people are busy and believes they can still eat healthy. She accommodates to each individual’s taste, allowing them to decide on any type of cuisine. Once the customer knows what they want, Jill sends a trained chef or Culinista, as she calls it, over to get busy. Oh and we forgot to mention that the Culinista does the shopping to . This awesome idea started while Jill was still in college. A sexy bonus point to Jill for turning the other cheek to the corporate world.

Polina Raygorodskaya

Polina is a bit of a jaw dropper, but other magazines like Stuff and FHM already know that because they have featured her in each magazine. The Russian native is one of the United States top models, but that’s not what makes her so sexy. She graduated from Babson, the number one ranked business school for entrepreneurship, and she started Polina Fashion. Her company offers event coordination and beauty and fashion public relations services. She was featured in BusinessWeek’s “America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs 2007”. This sexy entrepreneur actually put modeling on hold to start her business.

Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary

Dr. Chaudhary is saving lives, seriously. She invented a powerful system to manage chronic neurological disorders—such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and migraine headache. She also is the CEO and co-founder of Envision Health—a revolutionary company that integrates ancient wisdom and modern technology in the fields of medicine and sustainable building design. In addition to these fantastic traits, she serves as an advisor, on the board of directors of a neurological disease research firm, and a medical director. If that isn’t a sexy resume, then someone tell us what is?

Shannon Dye

Creating something that solves a problem is almost always a winner. That is exactly what Camelflage does, the company Shannon founded less than a year ago. The problem is “cameltoe”, an issue many women are confronted with. Shannon dealt with the problem during yoga class and instead of complaining and blogging about it, she decided to invent an undergarment that would say goodbye to “cameltoe”. Shannon could possibly be the newest hero for women. Shannon is excited and eager to pursue her entrepreneurial journey.

Larena Patrick

Actor, Producer, Director, and Entrepreneur. She recently started Glorious Goodies, a gluten and dairy free homemade baked goods business. Her intolerance to gluten and dairy a few years ago changed the way she ate. And worst of all, she had to stay away from most sweets and pastries. Larena was not going to miss out on enjoying dessert, so along came Glorious Goodies. Larena is a newfound entrepreneur and loving every minute of it.

Melissa Gonzalez

Wall Street executive turned entrepreneur. Melissa, former co-host of Latin Beat on BET, is now helping fashion designers build their brands in New York City and beyond. She also appears regularly on her sites: rspopshop.com and homemadebffs.com. As if she’s not busy enough, she even produces films. Her next film, “The End” will be premeiring in June at the Brooklyn International Film Festival.

Cyan Banister

Cyan is CEO and Founder of Zivity, a social network much different than Facebook. She combined her love for art, photography and connecting with people and poured it all into Zivity. Cyan has entrepreneurship in her blood. She didn’t have a business background, but had goals, dedication and determination Zivity is exploding in popularity. Users pay for a monthly subscription, vote on models, connect with models and submit their own photos with the opportunity to make cash. What makes Cyan really sexy is that her journey helps other people along theirs. By the way, Cyan does some modeling on Zivity as well, so she’s not shy at all.

Beth Andrus

Beth believes, “anyone can run their own business, as long as they have the right information and attitude.” She started her entrepreneurial career with a t-shirt business, which she sold after a few years. Thereafter she began an organic plant food for potted plants business. Beth doesn’t keep her success secrets to herself either, which is a pretty sexy quality. She wrote The Essential Business Handbook to help people starting a business and also writes on her blog minibizbuzz.com to offer small business advice.

Olympia LePoint

Rocket scientist, Olympia, is the founder of Olympia’s End Mathaphobia Now, a program geared to promote Math Literacy in America. Olympia LePoint founded this national program after she realized that the U.S. will be a third world country in 50 years if we fail to harness math literacy. Olympia travels around the country to lead, probe, entertain and speak about the mathematical and scientific approach to change our U.S. future.

Tanya Huang

“Boldly break stereotypes and transform conventions.” That’s the philosophy of Tanya, the fashion entrepreneur and former software engineer. She’s bold and wanted to do something that was never done before. Knot Theory, Tanya’s company, sells neckties. Nothing special right? Wrong! These neckties are totally unique, trendy and sexy. She is currently looking for some hip individuals to accompany her along Knot Theory’s tie movement.

Taylor Spellman

Men often have a problem designing the interior of the place they live. Well have no fear, Taylor’s here. She deems herself “the only interior decorator that caters strictly to men.” She has helped men all over Manhattan better their apartment. Bachelors must love this service and probably take the credit too when they are trying to schmooze with the ladies. Taylor refuses to let you live in a home that is not sexy. The expanding company, August Black, is now in New York, Connecticut and Washington.

Shivani Siroya

What isn’t sexy about social responsibility? Shivani is the CEO and founder of InVenture Fund, “a p2p online micro-venture capital fund that connects investors to socially responsible business owners in under-served communities.” InVenture Fund promotes growth in places that most of the World don’t believe in. Shivani gets investors involved as they connect with each other. What happens to the profit from the business? It gets reinvested in the community. Shivani is someone who is really making a difference in the World.

Cynthia Lou

Cynthia is the founder of Lou Studios, Inc, a web design boutique, and The Superheroes Corporation, a company dedicated to helping entrepreneurs be the Superheroes of their lives through business, marketing, and mindset coaching. Cynthia hosts “Start Your Damn Business Already!”, a weekly show about getting off your butt and taking the action required to uncover your Super Powers and use them to create the business and lifestyle of your dreams. This sexy entrepreneur is pretty persuading.

Carol Craig

Carol likes to go fast and meet challenges head on. She was the first woman aviator in her US Navy P-3 Orion squadron, and has turned her one-person computer engineering consultancy into a nation-wide multi-million dollar business. Her Cuban heritage has given her passion for her work and some skills on the dance floor. A self-proclaimed accidental entrepreneur and unconventional CEO, Carol Craig has never taken a business class but has learned how to make heads turn.

Check out Craig Technologies

Heather Campbell

She was one of the lucky college graduates to enter the job market during the so-called “economic downfall”. Instead of a job offer, she took an unpaid internship with Cascade AIDS Project and thereafter worked in a museum. Heather’s sexiness could finally shine after she was brought on to the team at Blue lake Children’s Publishing. Her and two other co-founders are working hard to grow the small company. Heather’s positive attitude and excitement offer a promising future for the young entrepreneur.

Lisa Concepcion Giassa

16 years as an entrepreneur in public relations has taught Lisa a lot about business. She is now using her skills in her latest venture, Jalapeño Shopper, an online jewelry and accessories boutique. Our question is whether she named the business after herself. What?! Sorry Lisa, but you’re hot! The website will be live in June.

Elizabeth Fournier

aka The Green Reaper. Elizabeth is the owner of Cornerstone Funeral Services in Oregon. She is spreading her passion for green burial or natural burial. When she’s not on mortician duty, she’s educating and advocating the importance of green burials. A sexy mortician? Now that is definitely not something you see everyday. Being in her sexy presence might knock you dead, but don’t worry, she can take care of you .

Brenda Watson

She founded ReNew Life over 15 years ago–and since has been an inspiration to many people, both in her business style as well as her devotion to natural health. This digestive care expert is also a New York Times best-selling author. For more than 20 years, Brenda Watson has dedicated her career to helping people achieve vibrant, lasting health through improved digestive function. Brenda in fact turned her own health issues into a multi-million business that she’s passionate about. That passion has led to her totaltransformation into the vibrant, sexy woman that she is today. Those who know her say she just gets younger looking year by year.

Carol Roth

What Carol does is simple, she offers business advice to entrepreneurs. She succeeds because she does it well, something that is not as simple for most. She has “helped her clients raise more than $1 billion in capital, complete hundreds of millions of dollars in mergers and acquisitions, secure high-profile licensing and partnership deals, create online and other direct dialogues with customers and more.” In essence, Carol does not mess around in a business meeting.

Check out carolroth.com

Jenn Allen

Jenn’s a search technology geek, artist and musician. She is the CEO and founder of Rtist.com, a free, real-time, no-commission online marketplace and social meeting place for artists, art lovers and everyone else who enjoys immersion in a positive, humanistic art experience. Artists and art lovers are free to buy, sell, make conversation, chat, critique, ask questions, make recommendations, discuss art and artists, list shows/events, identify favorite artists, art buyers and art enthusiasts; and search for art by artist, rating, price, keyword and tags such as medium, color and texture. Rtist.com – basically a utopia for artists.

Voting has ended. Check out who was voted the Sexiest!

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This is the fifth in a series of interviews with Etsy entrepreneurs.

Karen is part of the ever growing community of handmade artisans who are making a real living on Etsy. Not only is Karen a shop owner, but her husband and daughter are also shop owners with her son working behind the scenes as an important part of the team. Karen and her family have been selling on Etsy since October 2007, and have been Full Time Etsy Sellers since July 2009. The family calls Livingston, TX, their home, but they have a house near Rolla, Missouri and still manage to spend as much time as they can traveling in their other home, a 40 foot RV. The kids are homeschooled, and always have been. They love being homeschooled and all the great opportunities that they have been given!!! In this interview, learn how Karen and her family began with one Etsy shop that has now grown into four Etsy shops.

What brought you to become an Etsy shop owner?

A friend knew we were selling jewelry at local craft shows and she suggested we try Etsy. This was 2 1/2 years ago and we had not heard of it at that point. We took a look and thought it was a good fit for our product, and it was very accessible, meaning, at that point we did not have any on line blogging, social networking or any on line selling experience. I had experience buying on line from Amazon and had a PayPal account. That was it. But, even with only that, we found that it was easy to set up our shop on Etsy. We even had our first sale on that very first day!

How do you market your business?

I utilize social networking, blogging, promotions on our site, handing out freebies at craft shows, word of mouth.

How has social networking helped your business?

Social networking has helped in two ways. First, we use it to stay connected with other shop keepers. It is great for sharing information and also to have a sense of community. Second, it helps us to promote our sales and new offerings to both existing and prospective customers.

What have you found works best for your store?

We use Twitter and Facebook. I have a personal and a fan page on Facebook, with the Fan page linked to Twitter. I usually list each new creation on our fan page and then it goes to Twitter automatically. I have over 5000 followers on Twitter and I try to spend some time every day chatting, retweeting good quotes, and mentioning some of new/sale items. I retweet other’s sales and neat handmade creations too. Both, Twitter and FB definitely drive traffic, AND sales. Night before last, I posted some new red earrings on Flickr and then tweeted about them with a link to the Flickr pic. I immediately got a tweet asking how much they were. I tweeted back the price and she went and bought them. It was her first Etsy transaction. Yoohoo!

What is your favorite part of being an Etsy store owner?
It allows our family to work together, to have a creative outlet, and educational experience for the kids (they are homeschooled). Being a part of Etsy means that we are a part of a worldwide community of artisans. That’s fabulous!

What are some of the ways that you find Etsy helps in your success as a store owner?

When we stared on Etsy, we hadn’t know about it before a few weeks prior and when we would mention to friends or customers at a craft show that we had an “Etsy Shop” they would ask about it as they didn’t know what that was. NOW, and for about the past 8 months, when we say we have an “Etsy Shop” the response is,”Oh cool! I will check you out there” or “My Mom has an Etsy shop too”. And, I have seen Etsy shops in mainstream magazines like Woman’s Day, Reader’s Digest and Ready Made. They are branding “handmade” in a whole new way. It’s no longer cutsie, country craft stuff, but cutting edge artisan made creations.

What advice would you give new Etsians just starting out?

Make something that you love, something that you really believe in and the rest is just hard work.

How did you come up with your shop name?

We are an un-common family…so it’s a play on that.

How do you brand yourself to make your shop unique?

We offer unique and colorful interpretations of traditional chainmaille.

Do you feel a sense of community among the Etsy shop owners?
Absolutely! And, we belong to several teams where we have many very good friends and a great support group.

How do you connect with your buyers?

We hand sew envelopes, hand sign the invoice, include a thank-you gift or gift wrap…and well, you will have to buy something to see what else!

For more information on Karen and her family’s Etsy shops visit:

http://unkamengifts.etsy.com/ – Sells unique and colorful chainmaille
jewelry and modern jewelry.

http://unkamensupplies.etsy.com/ – Quality hand crafted supplies for jewelry.

http://favmoongirl.etsy.com/ – Sells funky chainmaille and unique creations.

http://unkamenkeychains.etsy.com/ – Sells KEYCHAINS and Accessories

Their main website at http://unkamengifts.com/

Follow Karen on Twitter: http://twitter.com/unkamengifts

Become a Facebook Fan at http://www.facebook.com/pages/UnkamenGifts/269222395062

Julie Barnes is the author is this post. Julie is excited to be living in Generation E – the age of the Entrepreneur. As a writer, she enjoys writing about all aspects of the entrepreneur journey. She enjoys interviewing entrepreneurs whose experience and wisdom can inspire others to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron and lovable dog Hank. You can visit her site at www.julieabarnes.com. Follow Julie on Twitter at @JulieBarnesKS. Become a Facebook friend at Julie Barnes.

Below is a chart from a study conducted by Craig Prichard, Marek Korczynski, & Michael Elmes. It goes back to preindustrialization and explains the role music had in the work place. Pretty interesting stuff.

Their study proves that music has been used in the work place for a long time. So we know that people listen to music at work, but what exactly do they listen to?

We asked entrepreneurs what they listen to when they want to get their blood flowing. Here is what we got:

Beth Andrus of minibizbuzz.com

“I listen most often to Aya, Soustice, Lisa Shaw and other artists that have a combo electronica/R&B/house style. It’s upbeat without making me nuts, especially since I do a lot of writing for my blog, etc.”

Felicia Chinelo of chinelodesigns.com

“Music motivates me primarily because because being a graphic designer is tedious. Working in front of a bright screen all day can drive a person crazy. Music relieves my boredom when I am working on a long project, so that I can focus on getting the job done. “

Felicia enjoys The Desperado Soundtrack

Logan Lindabury of Talk to Logan

“I listen to any type of music that makes me feel good but that also makes me dance in my chair, literally. A good beat, coupled with good lyrics, makes for a great song. Songs that fit this mold tend to be very inspirational for me.

Logan’s Playlist

Usher – Oh My Gosh
Sam Adams – Frat Star
Kris Allen – Live Like We’re Drying
Pitbull – Shut It Down
Jamie Foxx – Winner
Kardinal Offishall – Body Bounce
Taylor Swift – I’m Only Me When I’m With you”

Jordan Harbinger of The Art of Charm

“I’ve got a pretty hardcore workday playlist consisting mainly of Deadmau5, Kaskade and other house/dance tracks sans vocals. Helps keep me focused and drowns out distractions from others in the office. Sometimes we fill the office with the music if we’re all really in the zone.”

Frank Hurtte of River Heights Consulting

“It’s gotta be T-Bone Walker. There is something about the shuffle blues that drives my thinking.”

Katrina Razavi of Marriage.com

Music is a great way to get in the zone. I personally like to listen to:

Hip Hop (Jay-Z, Kanye West, Notorious BIG, Tupac)
They help me stay on the grind and keep up the hustling spirit!

Electronic (MIA, Santogold, MGMT)
The beats keep me motivated, they’re fast-paced, and unique/original. A great inspiration for any business person

R&B (Alicia Keys, Keri Hilson, Mariah Carey, Rihanna)
When I need to calm down the tone and get in the zone, these artists take it down a notch, great to listen to when you’re totally stressed.

House (Armin van Buren, Tiesto, David Guetta, Deep Dish)
When I need to work fast-paced and think quick these artists set the tempo since their music is fun and dynamic just like an entrepreneurs work environment.

You gotta mix all of them up, thats why I like to use Pandora to customize playlists and just keep the music going.

Anthony Adams of THC, The Hangover Cure

“Despite being a suburban white guy with no rhythm, I really like 90s rap while I work.
So anything from The Notorious BIG, Dre, Tupac, etc. Anything involving getting money and hustling. Its a great mindset to have and rap helps me get in it.”

Jay L. Clark of Lonewolf Communications

“As an entrepreneur that works out of the house, I need music to keep me motivated and engaged with what I have to get done. I listen to high energy alternative rock. Nothing like a good shot of Green Day, Rise Against or Alkaline Trio to provide a boost you can’t get from Starbucks!”

I think we found an alternative to coffee folks!

Susan M. Baker of Escape Hatcher

“Music is always that ingredient that just reinvigorates and re-energizes me. If I’m in a slump or having trouble pushing past a particular project I’m working on, I just turn on the tunes! I particularly love Michael Buble’s version of “Feeling Good” – this is, as I call it, the entrepreneurial anthem…and a good show tune works too! The Glee soundtrack is good for this. Occasionally I’ll mix it up with some rock or top 40 pop.”

Matt Griffin of BakersEdge.com

“My playlist is pretty strategic, depending on the day/nights work. For ultra productive time, when I need to just get my hands dirty and grind away on tasks at hand I opt for current “re-imagined folk” sounds like Regina Spector, Eisley, Beck, and Kate Nash. These are typically female, soothing sounds. When its time to think big and just generate new ideas, I tend to swing over to the heavier stuff – including some new classics like Pearl Jam, and System of a Down/Scars on Hollywood, and the old Megadeth catalog. The correct playlist and tone is critical for me. If my work soundtrack is off, I find myself drifting away from the task at hand.

My playlist is certainly not universal..and I have been told enough to invest in a good pair of wireless headphones….”

There you have it. Ten entrepreneurs and what they listen to. Pretty wide variety huh? Stay tuned for next weeks Music at Work article. And check out last weeks Music at Work article if you missed it.

Craig Prichard, Marek Korczynski, & Michael Elmes. (2007). Music at Work: An Introduction. Group & Organization Management, 32(1), 4-21. Retrieved May 24, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 1206884181).

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Robert Stringfellow started Megadata Technology while on active duty in the US Army. Megadata Technology provides rapid, trusted deliverables that secure information for their clients. In this interview, learn how Robert took Megadata Technology to a SBA 8(a) certified business that landed him in the Clinton and Bush Whitehouses.

What brought you to start Megadata?

Megadata Technology (MDT) was originally start as a sole- proprietorship while on active duty at the White House Communication Agency (WHCA) in September 1999, and later grew into a limited liability corporation (LLC) in 2005. My thoughts for MDT were always to be a business that I could leave as a legacy for my family.

What services does Megadata provide?

MDT provides services and solution such as Information Assurance, IT Security Audit/ Regulatory Compliance, Rapid Security Assessments, Information Technology, Telecommunication, and Program/Acquisition Management Support.

Are your services for all size businesses?

Yes.

What are some areas that small businesses overlook when protecting their data?

Availability of the data, specifically denial-of-service and loss of data processing capabilities due to natural disaster or intentional human actions, and Integrity of the data in which you grant access based on a need-to-know basis, separation of duties, and rotation of duties as it relates to their information systems.

Your background includes working with the IT departments in the Clinton and Bush White Houses, and US Army? How did you secure contracts with the government?

My background at the above mention locations was to protect the physical (analog) form of data. All of our government contracts were secure first through well nurtured relationships, and second through the use of our SBA 8(a) certification.

You are a veteran. Thank you for your service. How has your military background helped you as an entrepreneur?

My military background helps me to be a leader, a team builder, and to ultimately maintain a clear focused vision. Also, it has taught me to assess every situation independently and to assign risk factors if necessary. And last, to take responsibility and seek self-improvement for mishaps that may happen along the way.

Is there anything you would like to add?

Every individual needs to take responsibility for his information/data, whether it is in the physical (analog) or digital format.

For more information on Robert Stringfellow and Megadata Technology visit www.megadatatechnology.net

Julie Barnes is the author is this post. Julie is excited to be living in Generation E – the age of the Entrepreneur. As a writer, she enjoys writing about all aspects of the entrepreneur journey. She enjoys interviewing entrepreneurs whose experience and wisdom can inspire others to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron and lovable dog Hank. You can visit her site at www.julieabarnes.com. Follow Julie on Twitter at @JulieBarnesKS. Become a Facebook friend at Julie Barnes.

This article is part of the Can You Believe It’s a Business Series. Check out our previous articles in the series: World POG Federation, Chia Pets, & Silly Bandz

I don’t know how many people know this, but the making of the Slinky was a mistake. I know, sorry people. We all thought thousands of hours were spent thinking up of a way to make a toy go down stairs, go back and forth in your hands and make a cool noise while doing it. But, according to About.com, “In 1943, Richard James was a naval engineer trying to develop a meter designed to monitor horsepower on naval battleships. Richard was working with tension springs when one of the springs fell to the ground. He saw how the spring kept moving after it hit the ground and an idea for a toy was born,” (Bellis). Pretty fascinating huh? James did actually spend 2 years working on the Slinky though before the final product was ready. His wife was the one who thought of the catchy name Slinky, which means sleek or sinuous in Swedish.

After perfecting the toy that boys and girls would love, the Slinky made its mark in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1945. The following year at the American Toy Fair, Slinky really took off and 400 were sold “during the 90 minute Gimbel demonstration” (Bellis). Gimbel was the department store in Philadelphia that Slinky was first sold at.

It only took Richard and Betty James a $500 investment to begin the Slinky empire. And by the way, “over a quarter billion Slinkys have been sold worldwide,” (Bellis). Betty James took over the company after Richard went a little crazy and really took Slinky to the next level. She introduced an extended line of Slinky’s. Below is a Slinky commercial from the 1960s.

“Everyone wants a slinky. You want to get a slinky.”

Wait everyone wants a slinky? I want a slinky? Oh boy, I better get a slinky!

What a catchy commercial! And they were sending the message that everyone wanted one and needed to have one.

Here’s the scoop. Slinky started because something interesting happened. Something happened that could have meant nothing and would have meant nothing to many people. In essence, keep your eyes open for opportunities. You never know where they are going to pop up or in this case, keep moving after it hits the ground. Richard James could have said “Yeah whatever” and continued working to develop that meter thing, but instead he seized the next big thing that was right in front of him.

Lessons Learned:
Don’t take anything for granted.
Be on your toes, keep your eyes open for opportunities
You might have to give something good up to go after something great.

Bellis, M. (n.d.). History of the slinky toy. Retrieved from http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/slinky.htm

PLEASE TWEET, STUMBLE, DIGG, AND OF COURSE FACEBOOK THIS!

Alex Monroe is the author of this post. He is the flavorful and passionate founder of GetYourBizSavvy.com. He thrives off of the best noun in the dictionary: entrepreneur. He also guarantees no BS at this revolutionizing place called GetYourBizSavvy.com

Here is someone who believes anything is possible. Here is someone who knows that his peers and the people around him are capable of achieving whatever they want. Here is someone who really makes you feel awesome about being you. Kemy Joseph has had life changing experiences and is now changing the lives of others. This documentary introduces you to someone who is changes the world.

“During Kemy Joseph’s last months at the University of Miami, he led the largest clothing drive in the school’s history, went to Haiti twice, camped out for ten days to raise fund for Haiti, started a band, founded U R Awesome Inc and graduated with honors. He is a social activist known for wearing signs and giving out free hugs, high fives, and peaceful pounds. He is a passionate young man who is striving to change the world with positivity. He is Mr. Awesome.”

Mr. Awesome from Ryan Davenport on Vimeo.

An interview with Kemy Joseph is coming your way very soon.

The Sexiest Male and Female Entrepreneurs of 2010

Do you think you have what it takes?

Do you know someone that you think has what it takes?

Continue Reading

With the recent environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, once again we are reminded how delicate and precious our environment is to our long term survival as humans and our planet. How can we reduce our carbon footprint? As entrepreneurs and business owners we can start making the changes that we want to see happen in the world. Changes like – Only print when absolutely necessary. Do we really need to print that 30 page document when we could read it digitally on our computer? Using video conferencing for the next meeting instead of traveling to a meeting location. This saves time, money, and resources when we’re not traveling all over the place to do a “face-to-face” meeting. These are just a few examples of small changes we can make. To find out more ways to green our businesses, I sat out to interview some entrepreneurs that are making small changes that are having a big impact on their business.

Jonathan Nowling, Owner of Rock Hill Lavender, seller of handmade Lavender products www.rockhilllavender.com said, “To go green for our business, we have reduced the amount of time our lights are on, try to purchase from green companies, and try to keep our packaging material down to the minimal.”

Laura Vatalaro, Owner of LV Graphics Studio, a creative design solution for print & web www.lvgraphicsstudio.com said, “I take steps everyday to ensure that my business is a green business. I have a page on my website that gives detailed information about the steps I have taken as a business owner to “green” my business including: Offsetting energy usage by utilizing 100% wind powered electricity to power the studio. Electronic invoicing and bookkeeping to reduce paper waste. Encouraging payment by PayPal to reduce paper waste and offset the energy needed for mail transit. Utilizing local printers whenever possible to offset the energy needed for shipping. In-house printing is done on FSC certified post-consumable papers when printing is necessary. All lighting in the studio is either natural or from Energy Star rated compact fluorescent light bulbs to reduce energy usage. All computers in the studio met Energy Star requirements, are equipped with low energy LED screens and are made of recycled materials. Design work from the studio is delivered to clients electronically and revisions are done via email or over the phone whenever possible to reduce paper waste.”

Priscilla Walker, President and CEO of Your Dependable VA, a virtual assistance company www.yourdependableva.com said, “I have been doing this for years and have been quite successful. We do the following things: Have a no-print policy for emails and/or print on both sides of the paper. Increased our thermostat one degree higher in the summer and decrease it one degree lower in the winter. Work from home to reduce the company’s overhead costs. With a standard office, there are several expensive costs such as facility, landscaping, and lease management. Not to mention the property taxes and other operational expenses. Use web conferencing to save time, costs (travel, phone) and valuable energy. Use a laptop as oppose to a desktop. Laptops tend to use up to 70% less energy than desktops. And when we’re not using that laptop, put it in sleep mode. Dump the Styrofoam cups and use our own coffee mug.”

How can you make a difference?

Here are some great resources I found:

Greenscoll www.greenscroll.org According to their website, Greenscoll is a non-profit organization created to fight climate change in the real world, on the battlefield of the virtual one. Recognizing the growing environmental footprint of the Internet and the infrastructure involved in running it, Greenscroll’s mission is to power the Internet by green renewable energy and help save the Earth. Greenscoll helps you make your website environmentally friendly. On your behalf, Greenscroll pumps green energy into the grid to power your website and hence the Internet.

Tree Neutral www.treeneutral.com According to their website, Tree Neutral has a commitment to the future of our forests. Tree Neutral works with individuals and companies that want to offset the number of trees they consume by taking proactive steps such as planting trees in direct proportion to the number of trees they use, recycling, converting to electronic records and other methods of tree consumption reduction. Did you know that a 500 sheet ream of paper uses 6% of a tree?

Julie Barnes is the author is this post. Julie is excited to be living in Generation E – the age of the Entrepreneur. As a writer, she enjoys writing about all aspects of the entrepreneur journey. She enjoys interviewing entrepreneurs whose experience and wisdom can inspire others to follow their entrepreneurial dreams. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron and lovable dog Hank. You can visit her site at www.julieabarnes.com. Follow Julie on Twitter at @JulieBarnesKS. Become a Facebook friend at Julie Barnes.

Music seems to do things to people and often in a good way.

A study conducted by Florida State University researchers showed the results fast-paced music, slow music, and no music at all had on three groups of students productivity. The students who listened to the fast-paced music had an “increased adrenaline and the largest increase in productivity.” The students that listened to the slow music proved to be calmer, but showed a decrease in productivity. The researchers also found the fast-paced music to be a distraction in the workplace, while slow music lowered anxiety. The group of students that did not listen to music showed more productivity than those that listened to slow music, but less than those that listened to fast-paced music (Feldman, 1991).

This interesting study definitely proved some serious results to those who believe any type of music during work is a distraction. So, we dug and found some secondary research, but we really wanted to know for ourselves what people thought about music in the workplace. And let’s just say that in this study, the productivity of the person was determined by their taste in music. Obviously if someone likes slow music and does not enjoy fast-paced music, than they are going to be more productive listening to the slow music.

The question is, what exactly are people listening to at work? We asked over a hundred entrepreneurs what they thought. But this is just a sneak peak. Each week will feature a group of entrepreneurs and their playlist during work hours and their reason for pumping the volume on the job.

To get you started, we’ll let you in on what the GetYourBizSavvy team listens to.

Alex Monroe

All I can say is that music pumps me up. And when I say pumps me up, I mean freakin’ pumps me up! Many of you already know that I do an occasional fist pump. I consider myself to be a pretty phenomenal dancer, but this isn’t about dancing, it’s about working. I seriously need music on when I am writing. Otherwise, there is no flow. Music puts me in the zone and takes my writing to another level. The passion really comes out when I am writing and jamming to music. I often do work in the library, and don’t worry, I wear headphones.

Some people need silence and I’m sure many of you are wondering why I do work in the library if I am not there for the silence. I like the atmosphere. I like the whole working from home deal, but I don’t like really being home and doing work. There are too many distractions. So, while I am easily distracted by things, oddly enough music does the opposite for me. It puts me in my groove.

So brace yourself for my playlist. It often changes, but this is what I have been head bopping, I mean working to lately:

Hip Hop

Cooler than me – Mike Posner
Beggin’ – Madcon
Shut it down – Pitbull and Akon
Infinity – Sonny Shotz
Be Different – Sonny Shotz

Always Some House/Electro music

Infinity – Josh Guru Project
Like a G6 – Far East Movement
Lamour Toujours DJ Doboy Ultimate Remix – Gigi D Agostino
Destination (Michael Mind Edit) – Darius & Finlay
Axel F. (New Remix) – Captain Hollywood

Lots of Sam Adams
Driving Me Crazy
Tabs Open
Comin’ Up
Coast to Coast

I have all these running on my Grooveshark Playlist. I add and delete, but these have been really consistent for the past few weeks. The only songs not available on YouTube are the ones by Sonny Shotz.

I will admit that I have an interesting and unique taste in music, but that’s what gets me going. If anyone out there enjoys this mix as much as me, get at me!

Julie Barnes

I love music. I listen to pretty much everything except country. I was stuck listening to that growing up. I am a huge fan of Sirius radio.

My favorite channels are:
Octane – They play hard rock like Ozzy, Red, Godsmack, Disturbed
Backspin – They play oldschool rap like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog
The Joint – They play reggae – Bob Marley is a favorite
The Strobe – They play classic disco
Jam On – They play Jam music like Dave Matthews, Fish,and Govt Mule.

I would say to get in my creative zone – Octane.
Some hard playing loud in the background gets the creative juices flowing.

Arianna Garofalo

When I’m writing or working on a project, I like to listen to my favorite songs that make me happy. They span across years and genres, but all have a special meaning to me. Being happy while I work helps keep me motivated and pushes me to work harder.

My Playlist

Peace Frog – The Doors
Are You Experienced? – Jimi Hendrix
Shakedown Street – The Grateful Dead
Fluffhead – Phish
Myriad Harbor – The New Pornographers
Fidelity – Regina Spektor
Mexico – Moe
Ramble On – Led Zeppelin
I am the Walrus – The Beatles
Foundations – Kate Nash

Stay tuned (no pun intended) for next weeks Music At Work Article.

Feldman, Stuart. 1991. “MUSIC AFFECTS PRODUCTIVITY.” Management Review 80, no. 7: 6. Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed May 17, 2010).