Friday Five: 5 Social Media Tips for Entrepreneurs

The U.S. economy has been disrupted in so many ways over the last four years. The greatest recession since the Depression derailed growth and caused a huge contraction in retail sales. Fewer dollars being spent had a ripple effect through the economy, as millions of jobs were lost and thousands of companies shut down. The current economic landscape may seem bleak, but there are opportunities to be found. In fact, more than half of Fortune 500 companies were started in recessions. When the economy is under pressure and unemployment is high, talented employees can be hired more easily. New companies are able to lease space and build products at lower cost. And the Federal Reserve's recent monetary easing policies

Our Silicon Valley neighbor and my ex-employer Yahoo! made waves this week when it announced plans to disallow remote work. Many corporate leaders like Virgin's Richard Branson and oDesk CEO Gary Swart were quick to criticize Yahoo's move, arguing that their employees are more productive when working from home (in contrast to Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who suggested the opposite). We at RingCentral think this debate is missing the point. Most businesses aren’t trying to decide IF they will allow telecommuting - they’re struggling with HOW they’ll maximize the productivity of their mobile workforces. Distributed workforces are a reality today. According to the Families and Work Institute, nearly two-thirds

RingCentral's VAR Team joined over 3,000 franchise professionals from many of the most iconic franchise brands at the IFA Annual Convention at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last week. RingCentral networked with current and prospective customers, attended the Taste of Franchising reception, co-hosted the Aftertaste Party, attended Condoleezza Rice’s keynote speech, and of course met Elvis. It was a great President’s weekend to spend networking in Vegas, and we enjoyed sharing the benefits of our franchise program with show attendees. Learn more about our franchise