The cost of college is higher than ever, making it important to pick a major that will be valuable in the long run, with a high likelihood of post-graduation employment and a decent expected salary.

Financial education company Bankrate recently determined the most valuable college majors based on the most recent data from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Using weighted data, the August 2019 study determined the employment and unemployment rates and incomes for graduates for their first year out of college across 162 majors. (Each of the majors included in the study employed at least 15,000 people.) It also considered the number of college graduates who held an advanced degree.

On a drizzly Tuesday afternoon in San Francisco, people are filtering into a small conference room appointed with a whiteboard and subdued black-and-white photography. As the seats fill up around the long white table, a woman dressed mostly in red, with sparkly silver nail polish, invites everyone to her upcoming ukulele performance. A man in a blue plaid shirt passes around a container of heavily iced hot cross buns. A woman in a green turtleneck chitchats about the presidential power struggles in Venezuela. They’re here to talk about technology—a scene that should be entirely unremarkable in a city filled with small white conference rooms where people are doing exactly the same.

Image: Richard Caro (center) with some of his Longevity Explorers CHRISTIE HEMM KLOK

Babson alumni graduate and do some amazing things. But, what we, and many of them, know to be true is that it was the experiences they had here that had the biggest impact on their success out there.

PayScale agrees.

Image: http://entrepreneurship.babson.edu

Entrepreneurs often see managing their businesses as transactional, and rightfully so. Every cent and every minute you invest should matter. Learning which of your investments have the highest rate of return can help you manage your time and money even more effectively, whether it's prioritizing more valuable clients or committing to advertising strategies that yield the highest number of new leads per month. But the most important and most rewarding investment an entrepreneur can make isn’t a client or a marketing strategy. It's your team of employees. Spending more time and money on your workforce will help your organization thrive in ways impossible to anyone neglecting their team. Here are some essential steps toward making that a reality.

Image: Anna Johansson 

Atlas Research released its “Impact Through Innovation” report highlighting how it has helped government improve health care and address urgent health challenges through new technology, agile innovation and evidence-based solutions.

The report covers Atlas’ health innovation impacts in 2018 — its 10-year anniversary — and the strategic roles it plays for two cabinet-level departments: Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services.

The economic impact of the University of South Florida’s innovation efforts have grown at a rapid pace, increasing by more than 45% over the last three years to $582 million annually, according to a new analysis by the Washington Economics Group.

The Miami-based consulting firm reports the upward trajectory of the USF innovation enterprise continues to support and strengthen the economic development strategy of the Tampa Bay region and Florida’s growing economy. While the new analysis focuses solely on innovation, the USF System’s overall annual economic impact is measured at $4.4 billion. 

Kenton Lee was traveling through Nairobi when he had, as he says jokingly, “the only idea I’ve ever had.” He saw an orphan girl’s shoes that were way too small; someone had cut off the front so her toes could stick through. “Right there, I thought, Wouldn’t it be nice if there were shoes that could grow?” Then he went home to Boise, Idaho, developed a shoe that expands five sizes, and founded the nonprofit Because International -- which today, 12 years later, has distributed more than 250,000 pairs worldwide.

Image: Image credit: Viktor Koen - https://www.entrepreneur.com

Warren Buffett, the CEO of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) , is arguably the greatest investor of our generation . Sporting approximately $10,000 in seed capital back in the 1950s, the Oracle of Omaha, as he's now known, has grown his net worth to nearly $80 billion, as of this past weekend.

Buffett's secret to success has always been the simplicity of his investing strategy . Buffett and his team at Berkshire Hathaway tend to focus their research on just a few sectors of the market, with a clear focus on businesses that sport clear-cut competitive advantages. When Buffett finds a business he likes, he tends to buy into it for the long haul. Both Wells Fargo  and Coca-Cola , for example, have been staples of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio for 30 and 31 respective years.

The payoff is real. Organizations across sectors from banking to pharmaceuticals, from energy to the public sector, are realizing the immense value that agility can bring: faster, higher-quality decision making, better-quality products, faster delivery, and stronger employee engagement.

Much has been written about agile operating models: the vision, organization structure, tools, methodologies, and rhythms that comprise the agile “body.” However, many organizations still struggle with developing the people who will power this body and deliver better results.

In the last few years crowdfunding platforms have raised billions of dollars worldwide, so it’s no surprise that social enterprises, not for profits and changemakers are turning to crowdfunding to raise money for their initiative or cause. But what makes a campaign successful?

I used to hate the expression "elevator pitch." It just drove me crazy. But now that everybody's using it all over the world, I officially give up and am going to go with it.

The metaphor developed out of the hypothetical that you are literally in an elevator with one minute or less to say who you are and what you do. What would you say? I want you to keep in mind that this is not a sales pitch; it is a creative and succinct way to generate interest in the listener.

Who doesn’t dream about leaving the daily grind and becoming an entrepreneur? While some people are truly cut out to become self-made, they might not even realize it. Even the most ambitious people sometimes question their ability to break out from their cubicle. Although becoming self-made usually doesn’t happen overnight, there are signs that indicate budding entrepreneurs are headed in the right direction:

As many readers familiar with win-win negotiations know, power moves are deemed counterproductive when it comes to enhancing mutual value. Examples of power displays include “take it or leave it” tactics, threatening to go with a competitor or making an unreasonable offer. But what about silence?

On the afternoon of Aug. 19, the sky over São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, went dark. A cold front combined with ash from forest fires in the Amazon rainforest and formed ominous clouds that blocked out the sun. Photos of the blackened sky began to pop on Twitter, and soon the world was paying attention to the blazes rampaging across the forest called “the lungs of the world.” Many blame President Jair Bolsonaro’s rhetoric as the central factor in the crisis. Less obvious are the ways the conflagration stems from years of slashing government budgets for the environment and dismantling support for indigenous and traditional subsistence communities.

Despite their much-maligned reputation, Mondays aren’t so bad after all. In fact, a new survey from staffing firm Accountemps found that nearly 30% of workers say it’s their most productive day of the workweek.

Whether you’re rolling into the office excited for a new week or dragging a bit from a busy weekend, there are ways you can get more done next Monday—and during those that follow.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A)(NYSE:BRK-B) CEO Warren Buffett is arguably the greatest investor of our generation. Sporting seed capital totaling $10,000 in the mid-1950s, Buffett has invested his way into a $79 billion net worth as of today.

Yet, what's most interesting about Buffett's investing style is that it doesn't involve any fancy charting technology or quantitative analysis. Rather, the Oracle of Omaha chooses to focus his research on a couple of sectors -- financials, information technology, and consumer staples -- then purchases companies he believes have competitive advantages over the long run. Buffett and his team then hang on for a long period of time and reap the rewards. With Berkshire Hathaway's book value gaining 1,091,899% between 1965 and 2018, it's pretty evident that Buffett knows what he's doing.

When you think of the next hub for minority entrepreneurship, Cincinnati is probably not the first destination that comes to mind. But for those who are unfamiliar, the Cincinnati metropolitan area is the fastest-growing economic power in the Midwestern United States. 

Needless to say, business is booming. Especially if you’re Black.

In fact, The Queen City as it’s sometimes known ranks number 42 in the first-ever Surge Cities Index released and put together by Inc. magazine and Startup Genome. 

Image: https://www.essence.com

There's a widespread stereotype that living in the suburbs is boring. But that's not always the case. The best suburbs offer access to parks and cultural activities, good job prospects, and top restaurants — in addition to low crime rates and well-regarded public schools.

GoBankingRates, a website that conducts finance-based studies, recently determined the best suburb in each US state based on major metropolitan statistical areas (MSA).

Starting a new business is fraught with challenges, and none of us has the bandwidth to kill them all. As an advisor to business owners, and an occasional angel investor, my job is to separate the actual challenges from the common misconceptions that distract many promising entrepreneurs while building the leadership team required for your solution, marketing, and finance success.

Image: https://blog.startupprofessionals.com