Mike Jesky

Sometimes you have to burn the boats when you make a major business decision. 

From there, you can change tactics and constantly change behavior to accomplish the mission at hand.

This weekend, I’m taking part in “Walk MS” at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown.

You can donate safely and securely online through the National MS Society. Just click here.

I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in October 2008. That first MS attack came out of the blue with no warning; it left me numb from the chest down, unable to feel any sensation and limping from weakness in my leg. Luckily, through hard work, dedication and the support of my wife and family I was able to overcome the initial attack and regain 90 percent of my functions. Today, my symptoms are more manageable and under control, but MS can be diabolical and come back at any time.

I’ve registered for Walk MS because I want to do something for all the people who have been diagnosed - and because I want to do everything to prevent more people from learning what it means to live with this disease. Today, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, and with a diagnosis occurring most frequently between the ages of 20 and 50, many individuals face a lifetime filled with unpredictability.

Why We Fight MS

Having multiple sclerosis means that you may not be able to walk when you wake up. Or that you may suddenly have impaired vision. Or that your memory will fail you for no apparent reason. The symptoms of MS are different, and devastating, for everyone - the only certainty is that it will affect yet another person every hour of every day.

Why You Should Sponsor Me

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society will use funds collected from Walk MS to not only support research for a cure tomorrow, but also to provide programs which address the needs of people living with MS today. Because we choose to walk for those who sometimes can’t, because we choose to donate to the MS Walk, we are getting closer to the hour when no one will have to hear the words, “You have MS.”

What’s your town’s rate of self employment?

Orlando clocks in at 4.675 while San Francisco comes in at an amazing 9.3%.

With many companies cutting their workforce, self employment and entrepreneurship are really taking off.

Recovery from the Great Recession continues for some fields.

Part of the Valley’s stable employment base of “meds and eds,” Lehigh Valley Health Network grew beyond 10,000 employees in 2011, reports the Morning Call.

Social media can be used in so many vastly differing ways… from stirring revolutionary social unrest to keeping people better informed about the latest advancements in health care.

Consumers are definitely using social media - Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn - when determining where to shop and with whom to do business.

As a business owner or manager, you simply must be paying attention to this growing trend.

Like it or not, the conversation about your business is already happening all over the web. You simply cannot afford to sit this conversation out.

If you wonder how many people really bother scanning those QR codes, Comscore reports that 14 million people did in June 2011 alone!

And 36 percent had household incomes above $100,000. Playing the averages, they were mainly male, young to middle age, and upper income… but 40% were female, so that’s still a big audience.

Is your company on the QR code train yet?

Everybody likes to socialize, but you don’t want to mix business with pleasure.

Thus arose LinkedIn, the social network for business.

Although you use Facebook for friends and family, you should use LinkedIn for keeping in touch with business associates, prospects, clients and others related to work.

LinkedIn helps draw a line between business and home. After all, you don’t want to share your poolside photos with your business associates.

Today, they announced that LinkedIn is experiencing tremendous growth and, wait for it, even making a profit as more users choose to pay for premium features and advertisers take notice of the network aimed at business.

LinkedIn now has 115.8 million members, up 61% from Q2 2010. Unique visitors are up 83% to 81.8 million per month, while pageviews jumped 80% to 7.1 billion.

As the months go by, more and more Lehigh Valley corporate executives should have professional assistance with setting up their LinkedIn profile to ensure it is thorough, accurate, professional and communicates a proper message to visitors.

If you don’t know where to start, my firm can assist you with setting up a LinkedIn account for your Lehigh Valley business. We also set up Twitter, YouTube and Facebook business pages.

Here are some common LinkedIn profile mistakes:

• No professional profile photo (first appearances count)
• Squeezed or stretched profile photo
• Missing biographical information
• Outdated material
• Typographic mistakes

It can be easy to forget, but you need to remember to keep your website’s name properly renewed.

It can happen to the best of us…even Disney, which recently let their multimillion-user Club Penguin website registration expire, leaving the site inaccessible.

Common problems I’ve seen over the years come down to a variety of simple issues: * Some clients don’t have any idea who or where their domain name is registered with. They just trusted their original web designer that things would work forever. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. * The domain name was registered using an old email address that no longer exists. This makes renewals difficult, especially at the last minute, since you can’t prove your identity to the registrar. * The credit card on file has expired. This is a certainty, as your web site ages.

Don’t let your web address expire. Have a professional check it out now and avoid future headache and downtime.