Running a business in today’s world is risky and one must always be ready for some kickback. Especially with the volatility of the market every day. With the volatility comes rumors, and the latest rumor is that the recession is coming. The best time to prepare for a recession is when the business is still running. You will have the chance to make your choices playing offense instead of reacting to circumstances playing defense to make sure that your business survives. 
Because the recessions are unpredictable and can occur anytime without any prior notice, you will be learning the tips & tricks to get your business ready for recession. Currently, the yield curve is looking bearish, as in a bear market is coming. But judging from the current world situation, anything could happen.
Cash Reserve:
One of the very first signs of a recession is that invoice payments of the companies become slower and start demanding earlier payment from their clients. The flow of cash is disturbed and without that, the survival of the company during a recession is not possible.
The idea of cash flow and cash reserves are two different things so make sure not to confuse those two. Of course, a business can be profitable even when the cash flow is not good and you do not have any cash reserves, but you do not want to do that when the economy is not going great.
If you want your business to build a cash reserve, then the idea is simple but acting upon it is not that easy. Make sure to store enough money in your bank account for the times of recession. The longer period your cash reserve covers, the better. It depends upon your business how much you can cut and put aside. Coworking can definitely help you save money so you can put more aside. 
One disadvantage of putting money in a bank account is that the money just sits there without giving you any profit since you are not reinvesting that money. The money sitting there without being invested can hinder the growth of the company.
Payment and Invoice Management:
As mentioned earlier, during the recession your clients will take longer to pay and some may never pay because they went bankrupt. The times of recession are really hard and can impact your business even if you are stable. The best you can do is manage your invoice and collection more carefully.
Most of the clients may want an extension of terms, make sure that you check the credits of the client before you offer them a term. If they have been paying their other vendors on time then they might be worth giving an extension.
In the end, if you do not have any means to know the track the invoices then implement a system to do so so that you can collect the overdue invoices. 
Another reason for having a good invoice and tracking system is that you will get to know when the clients will change their methods of payments. The change in habits of payments can be used as a measurement for the indication of recession. If the clients have not been paying immediately then it means they are getting ready for downtimes.
New Costs:
The mistake most of the business owners make is that they do not give any attention to the new costs, probably because the business is good and the cash is flowing smoothly. When not given any attention, new costs can pile up and cause a problem. The worst-case scenario is that this pile of costs can pose a threat during a recession and maybe too late to go back. This is the reason you must not spend the money on something unnecessary. You can spend the money on things that can improve the business but be fair with the cash.
Financial Statements:
Keep track of the financial statements of a company is crucial and it is a good practice to be followed by good company owners, does not matter if the times are good or bad.
Keep the reports and accounts updated while reviewing them regularly so that there is not anything missing from the picture.

1. Profit and loss statement
2. Invoice aging report
3. Payables aging report
4. Cash flow statement
5. Balance sheet

The Client Base:
If you want to prepare your business for a recession that you will have to expand your client base. A wise man once said not to put all your eggs in one basket. Most of the businessmen make the mistake of keeping only a few clients and only concentrating on them. This can cause problems for you in the future if you do not diversify your client base because with the few clients that you have if they start to leave then you can go out of business. This happens very often when the recession hits.
To make sure that you survive, diversify your client base to fix the situation. If the cash reserve is more important, diversifying the client base can become the second priority. During peaceful times, if you diversify your client base then you can have the chance to try different techniques and strategies to get a better hold of the business. Diversifying your client base can make the recession times easier for you and increase the survival chances of your business.
Similar to the diversification of the clients, diversify the means through which you acquire your clientage. Do not depend on a single channel through which you get your channels, it can pose a threat to your business if that single mean of getting clients ceases to exist. Diversification of your channel for getting clients shall be on your list of priorities. If you prepare when the times are good then you will not have to worry much when the recession hits.
Come to Treehouse Society to cowork and ensure to meet others so you can diversify your client base and get creative on how to tackle your upcoming project!

With the help of technology, we now have access to much of the information that we could not reach out to before. One famous platform to emerge out as a way of having healthy and thoughtful discussions about various topics is the podcast. There are many places to stream podcasts from Apple’s Podcasts to PodOmatic and several others. Podcasts have also made it easier to openly discuss sex and related issues through technology. Here are the top 5 sex podcasts you need to listen to:

• My Dad Wrote a Porno

While the mainstream podcasts discuss sex in a predictable and boring manner, this one takes things to a humorous level. Three friends, Alice Levine, James Cooper, and Jamie Morton feature on the podcast and read a book called ‘Belinda Blinked’. This is an erotica book written by Morton’s father and the three have many comical interjections and comments to make that will keep you humored and informed. In fact, My Dad Wrote a Porno is even a favorite among celebrities too including Elijah Wood and Daisy Ridley.

• Dipsea

If you are in search of something more literary and classy, you should really go to Dipsea for satiating your desire. This podcast mainly serves as an audiobook that has stories to pick from based on your sexual preferences, gender, and mood. If you want to listen to an intimate story in any situation to connect with your desires, you will find a story to match any time.

• Polyamory Weekly

Monogamy is just not for everyone. This is why Minx offers you polyamory, an alternative to conventional love affairs. It is a podcast full of useful and informative insights with a hint of warmth. Minx is a practitioner of polyamory which makes the podcasts even more special as the experience-based alternatives and solutions simply sound much more joyous and wise. Minx will teach you how to maintain a healthy, trustworthy and honest relationship with your different partners if you want to leave a lifestyle different from what you have been taught for years.

• Probably True

One of the best recommendations for sex podcasts is the award-winning Probably True. This is the place that brings the sexual experiences and stories from the LGBTQ lives and caters to people who identify through the community. The special thing about Probably True is how it relates erotic, awkward and humorous in the same fashion that will make you feel less lonely.

• Food 4 Thot

And if you are looking for something that has it all: Food 4 Thot. There is nothing like the multi-racial collaboration of queer icons that discuss everything you can think of. From poetry to dominating in the bed and holistic lifestyle and feature literary guests like Alexander Chee and Angel Nafils.

These 5 podcasts are hit among the listeners this year because of how much of intimate life they encompass with honesty. They also cater to diverse groups of people from different racial backgrounds with varying sexual preferences. 

Judging from statements published by the McKinsey Global Fashion Index, the fashion industry has tremendously increased at 5.5 percent yearly within the last decade. Also, in the year 2016, it was estimated to be worth roughly $2.4 trillion.
However, sales growth reduced by the end of 2016 and reports revealed that apparel companies have been carrying out innovations internally in a bid to reshape the fashion industry like shortening the whole fashion cycle
Moving away from the fashion front, robotics and artificial intelligence have found their way into the factory of retailers as well as warehouses to boost efficiency and productivity.
There are email marketing tools that clothing retailers can make use of as they provide personalized messaging that targets specific segments like regular shoppers or shoppers that are inactive.
AI Apps Used In The Fashion Industry
Some of the applications making waves in the fashion and retailing scene include:

• Affinity

This is a mobile app that makes use of both machine learning and human user input. It is used in suggesting diverse looks for a person’s style, body shape, fit, etc.

To begin using it, users swiftly take a survey that asks them questions like they should rate some fashion items by tapping on either a heart or X symbol.
According to the company behind the app, this process aids in teaching algorithms the personal style preferences of users, and the data is transferred to the fashion search and recommendation tool of the app.

• Finery

It is a wardrobe app that first of all, asks users for their email address as well as permission to swiftly access email receipts of all fashion purchases. The app has been said to be able to determine the exact apparel that is in the wardrobe of the user.

• Hook

This is a search engine that is being marketed to consumers, and the company claims it can help in keeping tracking of universal fashion trends, collect data points of customers and discover similar looking items from diverse retailers.
This app claims that it makes use of deep learning algorithms to give retailers the benefit of not just collecting but also analyzing customer data points, certain keywords, web navigation patterns, shopping cart price points, and their likes as well.

• Stylumia

This is a market intelligence app that attempts to accurately predict fashion trends with the aid of deep learning and artificial intelligence technologies.
Based on the website of the company, its application can take unstructured computer vision, normal language processing as well as behavior data and convert them into fashion insights.
The application is targeted directly at apparel manufacturers, clothing manufacturers, brands, retailers, lifestyle and fashion influencers who can prospectively make use of the insights to make decisions that are informed about the fashion trend in the future.
Conclusion
Fashion retail now makes use of a diverse variety of artificial intelligence technology right from computer vision down to robotics. But that is not the end of the story as of 2019. Since the technology is still new, they all still demand inputs from each shopper or operators of enterprises.

There have been so many talks and debates on all the things that deep learning can make possible. It can execute tasks that humans do in:

• Homes
• Offices
• Warehouses, and;
• Factories

Although Technology, as we know it, has continued to evolve, terms like artificial intelligence, deep learning, and machine learning still sound relatively new to some people.
What Is Deep Learning?
On a general note, the artificial learning field is basically when machines can execute tasks that normally demand human intelligence. It entails machine learning; where machines learn by experience and train skills without the involvement of humans.
However, deep learning is a subset of machine learning, and it is where artificial neural networks and algorithms that are inspired by the human brain learn from a huge volume of data.
Just like how humans learn from experience, a deep learning algorithm also executes repetitive tasks and tweaks it a little to enhance its outcome. The neural network of deep learning has diverse layers that allow learning to occur
Any issue that demands thoughts to figure out is an issue that deep learning can take on to solve. The algorithms of deep learning demand tons of data to learn from. This growth in data creation is among the reasons that deep learning abilities have grown.
Also, deep learning has been able to benefit from the powerful computing power that is made available today. Nonetheless, deep learning enables machines to resolve difficult problems even when a data set is being used.

Deep Learning Transformation
Deep Learning can transform machine learning in the tasks it carries out and resolves. The more deep learning algorithms learn, the better they make machine learning perform.
We are in a time when machines can easily learn how to solve difficult issues without the intervention of humans. Deep Learning can be used in different ways in a bid to transform machine learning. They are:

• Virtual assistants

It does not matter if it is Siri, Cortana, or the prominent Alexa. Virtual assistants of online service providers make use of deep learning in a bid to adults to understand your language and speech when you interact with all these assistants.

• Translations

Similarly, deep learning algorithms can instantly translate between different languages. It can be really helpful and powerful for travelers, people in government and those who are into business

• The vision for driverless drones and autonomous cars

It is only through deep learning algorithms that an autonomous vehicle will have an understanding of the realities of the road and how to react to each of them even if it is a stop sign, a ball or another car.
The more data being sent to a deep learning algorithm, the better it can act like humans in its information processing.

• Facial Recognition

It is being utilized for facial recognition not only for the sake of security but for tagging people on Facebook posts, and who knows when we will be able to pay for products in stores by making use of our faces.
To Sum It Up
​With all these areas where deep learning can be used, we can see how it will successfully transform machine learning as well. 
Once a deep learning algorithm solves problems and is being used for daily engagements, machine learning can as well learn the tasks and be used as well. 

The concept of artificial intelligence is no longer referred to as a distant reality. AI is here, and it is doing a great job in transforming how businesses function.
Specifically, it is shifting gradually into the field of human resources and changing now the HR team execute their duties like:

• Recruiting
• Training, and;
• Managing staff

Companies are built by humans. Therefore, human resources can never be eliminated or ignored due to its vitality for hiring, retention, and the total health and efficiency of the company.
Similar to how texts transformed how businesses interact with one another plus their consumers, AI is stepping up to change how the human resource department functions.
​Most people think that artificial intelligence is here to replace staff in some sort of futuristic Utopia, well, it has the prospects, but that is surely not what is happening or going to happen anytime soon.
Uses Of Artificial Intelligence For Human Resources
Artificial intelligence has proven to have diverse use cases in different fields, and now we will be looking at its use case in human resources. AI can be used in:

• Recruiting process

With the aid of artificial intelligence recruiters, those who are interested in the job can engage in a chat with the AI personality to submit their documents, resume, answer some basic questions and pass the preliminary test.
When every one of these functions is assigned to an artificial intelligence system, recruiters can easily save time in shortlist its candidates.
This implies that the company can easily draw applications from a very wide pool without the extra labor of determining which ten out of five hundred will be called for an interview.

• Staff Retention

A very controversial usage of artificial intelligence down at the workplace is the possibility that it can be used in gathering and analyzing data and this data may or may not signify that staff might be leaving the company.
Even though it is invasive, artificial intelligence bots can be used to go through the search history of staff, messages, documents, etc. All these are done just to have an idea of the staff may want to quit.

• Training

Data makes suggestions that the average business actively spends a minimum of one thousand dollars for each staff to learn the latest skills and digest more knowledge about the industry.
Artificial Intelligence will be capable of helping with this through the help of facilitation courses that will guide the staff through the new materials.
Also, the AI system will be able to create assessments tailored to the person in question.

• Repetitive tasks

Some of the HR staff are responsible for performing basic and repetitive tasks such as the filling of forms or reacting to inquiries concerning the policies of the company.
While these tasks may seem vital, they can also be responsible for the consumption of valuable time. With AI, the tasks will be performed, and the HR department will focus on other tasks to save money.
To Sum It Up
AI is not here to replace our staff. Instead, it is here to take off some of the work's weight from our shoulders.
Advancements in AI will continually transform the way the HR department operates from recruiting to onboarding to managing company's policies and expectations. 

As you get older, you will realize that life skills are not as clear cut and obvious as they may seem. You will realize that there is truly no handbook for adult life.
It just happens that somehow, you just know that you should have some money coming in, and you should be going for job interviews. There are life skills that are necessary that we were not taught in school
While education tried in giving us the sensibility to see both right and wrong things, understand the world we are occupying and even gave us the confidence to live in a society that keeps throwing difficulties at us.
However, when you take a look at life, you will find out that the majority of the critical learning we have were not gathered in school but by experienced that life threw at us.
Some of the life skills that are necessary for you to have include:

• Communication

Communication goes a long way in our world today. It has a major role to play in our jobs, family, business, relationship, and life in general. Communication can either break or make your life.
In our digital age, so many of us have lost our communication skills, and we truly need it back. It is a vital aspect of our life that will be used wherever we go.

• Personal Finance Management

In life, all we are interested in most times is simply to graduate in flying colors and land ourselves in exquisite places that our careers can take us to. However, when it comes to personal finance, it is a different ball game
Most people have no idea what personal finance management is, and that is why people tend to spend on unnecessary things. An intriguing skill we should groom is knowing how to earn better, what budgeting entails and also how to save.

• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills

Thinking critically and solving issues is a life skill everyone should have or invest in. The world, as we know it, has turned into a complex platform and the difficulties we tend to face lots of critical thinking, creative resolutions, and abilities to solve problems.

• Strong Belief

While the schools we have all been in tried its best to promote cooperation and competition, we also need a strong belief in ourselves for us actually to go places. Without this belief, anyone can walk all over you
It is a basic life skill because there may come a time when you are all you have got and the belief in yourself, your dreams and aspiration will be what will take you so far when no one else believes in you.

• Flexibility 

If you are unable to be flexible in life, you will end up being irritable. It is this flexibility that makes a human to win hearts. Even in the companies that we have today, they keep on searching for those who can easily adapt to any situation they find themselves in.
Being flexible is a life skill that is needed in a bid to thrive in our ever-changing ecosystem.
To Sum It Up
Life does not adhere to only what we were taught in school or taught by our families. It is a complex world, and that is why it is vital to at least have two or more of the life skills mentioned here that will help you in your path.

Supreme is a streetwear brand that has a cult-like following of up to 13 million dedication consumers on Instagram. The interesting question is how did Supreme reach this outstanding status? The founder of the brand, James Jebbia, started the brand in April of 1994. At first, it was merely a skateboarding shop located in New York. Now, people line up as soon as the new products are announced to be in stores to buy Supreme apparel and accessories. It is almost mind-boggling that people would go out of their way to spend their nights on the street and a high amount of fortune on a brand that has fairly simple designs compared to other high-end brands. 
Is it about Fashion?
The first thing that comes to mind is the place of Supreme in regards to fashion. Someone who might not have seen the designs might conclude that it has stunning and gorgeous pieces that are irresistible to the point of hype. However, Supreme offers almost identical clothing, footwear and accessories with slight variations in every collection. It can be stated that Supreme is not so much about staying in fashion as much as it is about following a certain trend. In the words of the business owner, Jebbia, “We don’t want to get stuck with stud nobody wants.”
The Streetwear Hype
Streetwear culture has significantly grown in the past few years to a point that everyone feels like they must own at least two products from famous brands like Nike, Adidas or Supreme, etc. However, Supreme remains the leading choice among people of all age groups. Whether it is fashion bloggers on Instagram or young teenagers learning about the hype, Supreme is popular among all equally. 
Other factors that might have played a role in the growth of the business are the association of hip-hop artists and rappers with the brand. We have all seen Drake and Kanye dressed in Supreme in Paparazzi pictures. This kind of celebrity association simply stresses the consumers’ minds that they must own similar objects to look trendy and fit in.
The Individual Representation
Another important thing that can be credited for Supreme’s huge success is the focus of consumers on authenticity and representation. Fashion has remained a personal statement for centuries. Wearing Supreme, similarly states a person’s association with the streetwear culture along with their relationship with the brand and what it stands for.
From a Startup to Huge Success
It is quite easy to interpret, given the reasons, the reason for the Supreme to be a huge and successful business. The products re-sell for up to 1200% more for their original retail price because of the popularity and demand. The owner of the Supreme startup, Jebbia, has the net worth of $400 million now. It is safe to assume that the numbers will continue to grow because, despite the transition of generational values, the place that Supreme has earned in the heart of consumers keeps expanding with every new collection.

The way artificial learning is utilized is what differentiates it from every other thing. When you make use of the data you can collect, you will be in an appropriate position to construct products that customers will care about.
With artificial intelligence, it is evident that our world is changing and we will be looking at why product managers need to make use of this technology.
Why Product Managers Need AI
Some of the reasons why product managers will need to make use of artificial intelligence include:

• Human interactions

In a bid to nurture longevity, product managers will have to do their best not to lose touch with their consumers. Since humans interact with diverse products every day, product managers will have no choice but to stand out.
A chatbot will be a convenient tool as it helps in answering questions swiftly. However, the human alternative should never be underestimated. Users will always remember you for how easy it was to work with an actual human.

• Data

Machine learning is capable of taking every pressure off data analysis as it instantly gathers the data of customers and feeds it into the product managers' database.
Have it in mind that the bigger the product manager gets, the most likely for his or her data to get broader and longer. The product manager will be able to make use of the additional information s/he collects.
S/He can then click through diverse rates, page time, search history, and preferences of products. All these are used to know what users spend time on, and it aids in showing them that your option is the best thing they need.

• Aids in knowing users better

The more a product manager knows about and understands his/her users, the better s/he will be at offering them products that they can easily relate to.
Additionally, machine learning can go a long way in helping the product manager to fine-tune his product offerings to meet the needs of the users.

• An understanding of cause and effect

Artificial Intelligence provides a prediction that the product manager can make use of as it gives users alternatives to select from actively.
According to what they select, the manager can adjust the product so that the users can see how the manager resolves issues better than other competitors.
What Product Managers Need To Know
For the product manager, he or she should be aware that there are diverse advancements in technology that are making their way into various fields. The basic thing to do is not to fight them but accept them.
Furthermore, artificial intelligence is not here to replace anyone but to improve what businesses do. It is just an avenue to make jobs more productive and effective. If the product manager wants to get the most out of AI, he or she will have to collect data continually.
To Wrap It Up
Artificial Intelligence keeps on growing at a very fast pace, and it seems like, with every passing month, a new technological product is introduced.
If you want your product to stand out, then AI is your best bet for a more productive business.

In 2018, we all came across many hashtags and long posts about net neutrality and how to stop it from being repealed. Social media was concerned with the privacy factor that would be implied as a result. However, a lot of us lacked proper information about net neutrality and why the hype around the topic was created. 
Understanding Net Neutrality
​With the obvious advancement in technology, the government has now the responsibility or control to regulate content. On the other hand, net neutrality means that online traffic will be treated the same by internet service providers without censoring any content. This means that just like any other utility considered important for survival, freedom, and privacy for the internet would be equally provided without challenging its premises.
On the other hand, FCC ruled out that belief by stating that net neutrality is not so much a public utility. Besides affecting online business transactions, repealing net neutrality also impacts the use of the internet by the general public.
Net Neutrality Affects Privacy
The use of technology and the internet has always come with the promise of privacy to some extent for the users. However, repealing the net neutrality can also take away privacy. During the time of Obama’s presidency, net neutrality was a given factor that meant that users were not vulnerable to threats like hinging on privacy rights.
However, there is not a provision applied called Title II which called for compliance with consumers’ privacy rules. Naturally, this means that the privacy of users is compromised under the Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Any of the internet service providers that you use can easily control the content that you will access. Moreover, they can even record your activity by saving which websites you access and how often do you use them.
Along with this, since the ISPs will be charging per package instead of a one-off bill that you have to pay, you might have to opt for a package that mentions adult content specifically. This simply means that users can be generalized into categories including ‘porn users’. This control is not limited to adult content but political affiliations too. 

An internet service provider can decide to charge differently for liberal or conservative content. This can leave the users vulnerable to being identified or affiliated with a certain political stance. In other words, to some extent, net neutrality can certainly interfere with the privacy of the users.
The Final Verdict
While many people including activists believe that the ISPs should not be given this power over the users’ activity on the net, others don’t find it to be an abomination of rights. Business owners believe that the use of technology offers many alternatives. If one ISP tampers, the others might not and increase the business for the alternative. This is simply a matter of business for everyone. You can definitely learn more about internet service providers meddle with the content and to which extent in order to ensure a provider that is less interfering.