Dutch Bros. Franchisee Kristen Von Tersch. Credit: Parker Fitzgerald for Forbes For those who want to be entrepreneurs but don’t have a big idea, franchising offers a color-by-number opportunity. The dream is that if you buy the right franchise and run it well, you can be your own boss and make a fortune. The reality, of course, is a little more complicated, and depends on what franchise you buy, how much you pay for it, and where you set up shop.

Credit: Pexels While the recent trend toward open offices is often explained as necessary to inspire collaboration, research is showing that the benefits of open office design for collaboration are typically offset by myriad distractions and possibly even health concerns.

Janet Yellen after a news conference last week. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg Mortgage rates fell for the second week, averaging 3.54 percent, down from 3.60 percent. A year ago at this time, a 30-year, fixed-rate home loan was 4.0 percent, according to Freddie Mac.   That’s not far from a historic low. Home loans haven’t been this cheap in three years.

Shutterstock At least once every year, I develop an unforgiving cough and congestion so bad I have trouble hearing. Each time, as I burrow under my favorite blanket and clutch onto Sudafed and Mucinex for dear life, I wonder: Why again? And why always when I have fun weekend plans? It doesn’t take me long to realize—I’m burnt out. True to form, I’ve agreed to too many responsibilities and side gigs on top of my full-time job, and my body is not happy.

In a rapidly digitizing world, having tech skills — especially coding — can be your ticket to better personal and professional opportunities. Here, two self-taught coders explain why millennials, or really anyone, should learn how to code. It changed their lives for the better, and it can do the same for you. stocksnap.io Technology is everywhere Thousands of companies across industries are relying on technology to power their business operations.

When you’re looking for an idea for a business, there is never a shortage of people eager to impart their ideas. In fact, as soon as entrepreneurs announce we’re pursuing an entrepreneurial endeavor, friends come out of the woodwork to offer perspective, parents insist on weighing in, and we’re deluged with unsolicited offers from investors and business consultants and marketers.

This is Mentoring Moments (#31), a series of WOW-you-need-to-know-these stories from successful women of multiple generations. Mentoring Moments is now a podcast. Andrea Guendelman, Co-Founder BeVisible Latinx. Photo Credit Marco Vera When Andrea Guendelman doesn’t see something that she and the rest of the world should be seeing, she fixes it.

Shutterstock Trying to compare intelligence and gender doesn’t typically yield much in the way of productive discussion, but sometimes research comes along that makes opening this particular can of worms worth it. Decades of research show unequivocally that men and women are equal in general intelligence (IQ), but that isn’t the case when it comes to emotional intelligence (EQ).

Shutterstock When clients with stalled searches first contact me, they often see the cause as something beyond their control. They tell me “I’m too old (or young),” “I’m overqualified (or underqualified),” “there are no jobs,” “I’ve sent in countless applications with no response,” or “I don’t have enough (or the right) experience.

Photo: Pixabay/Unsplash Most of the small business and solo professionals I know don’t have an assistant. Whether they are an independent consultant, coach, professional speaker, writer, or even a startup CEO, they consider an administrative assistant a waste of money. Why spend on an admin when I know how to use a computer and can do it myself? Venture capitalist Mark Suster, 0n his blog Both Sides of the Table, made a compelling case for the value of an admin.