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FEBRUARY’S OTHER ROMANTIC HOLIDAY Legend claims that in 1288, St. Bridget approached St. Patrick with a unique problem. It was customary for men to propose to women, leavingmany women waiting impatiently for their men tomake a commitment. St. Patrick, ever the generous man, agreed to allowwomen one day every four years when they could propose to their beaus. Thus, leap day became known as “Bachelor’s Day”for many Europeans. Some legends claim that if the man refused, he would have to buy the woman silk or furs, whichmight have been reason enough for women to pop the question in the first place. Historians believe this leap day tradition inspired Sadie Hawkins dances in the U.S., during which girls are encouraged to ask boys to accompany them to the dance. THE DARK SIDE OF LEAP DAY Many people view leap day and leap years as bad omens. For example, many Greeks believe marrying during a leap year is bad luck, somuch so that USAToday predicts as many as 1 in 5 Greek couples avoidmarrying during those years. But the dark history of leap day may have more weight than old superstitions. The first arrest warrant during the dramatic and deadly saga of the SalemWitchTrials was issued on Feb. 29, 1692. The trails would end in May 1693, but by then, more than 200 people had been accused of witchcraft, 30 of those were tried in court, and 19 people were killed. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEAPLINGS! …UNLESS IT’S THE YEAR 3000 The odds of being born on a leap day are relatively good, at 1 in 1,461 chances. Every four years,“leaplings,”as they are affectionately called, enjoy
a“real”birthday along with the more than 4 million people who share a birthday with them. In Norway, one family celebrates three siblings who were all born on leap day. The Henriksen siblings, Heidi, born in 1960; Olav, born in 1964; and Leif-Martin, born 1968, share this birthday every four years. They were joined by the Utah-based Estes family in 2012, who are raising leaplings born in 2004, 2008, and 2012. And, despite how few birthdays leaplings get, some have even fewer. Leap day may appear to happen every four years, but that isn’t always the case. In general, leap year does not happen during years that are divisible by 100. The only exception is if the year is also divisible by 400. So, the years 1600 and 2000 had leap days, but the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 did not. Likewise, in the year 3000, for example, we won’t celebrate an extra day in February.
Luckily, 2020 will have this unique and special day. The question is, howwill you celebrate?
KEEP UPWITH THE BIG BUSINESSES 3 Tech Trends to Accelerate Your Company
focus on those more important face-to-face interactions with your customers.
The line between technologies that are beneficial for large businesses and those beneficial for small businesses continues to blur. While the latest software programs were once only available to large companies that could afford them, some of these programs have also become available and profitable for small businesses to use. In an age of increasing connectivity, these are a few tech trends that small businesses should watch out for. While it certainly shouldn’t replace every customer interaction, using AI software programs for small tasks — like email marketing, data entry, accounting, and some low-stress forms of customer service — is invaluable to small businesses. Delegating menial tasks to AI can free up time for you to COLLABORATIONWITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
INCREASED USE OF DATA ANALYTICS “Big data” is intimidating. For years, sifting through customer data and extracting valuable information that can be used to grow businesses was something that only the largest companies had the time, funds, and expertise to do. However, more programs that reduce the upfront investment and expertise necessary to contextualize customer data are popping up. If you can make use of your customers’ data, you can give them an experience with your business that they won’t find many other places. CONTINUED RELIANCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA Social media marketing remains an effective tool for attracting customers to your small business, even if the tools continue to
change. While marketing on Facebook and Instagram might seem like old news, marketing on trendier apps, like TikTok, Pinterest, or Snapchat, can still work to your business’s benefit. A recent study showed that 45% of consumers head to social media when they have a question about something — are you going to be there to answer it? Keeping up with the latest and greatest tech trends in small-business management can be exhausting, but in an age where technological advancement is accelerating faster than ever, it’s necessary for the survival of businesses of all shapes and sizes.
2 • www.TheSotoLawGroup.com
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