FIVERR.....YOUR ULTIMATE FREELANCING PLATFORM....

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Fiverr To Announce Second Quarter 2020 Results on August 5, 2020

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fiverr International Ltd. (NYSE: FVRR), the company that is changing how the world works together, today announced it will release second quarter 2020 financial results for the period ended June 30, 2020 before the market opens on Wednesday, August 5, 2020. On that day management will hold a conference call and webcast at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss the Company’s business and financial results. Prior to its conference call, Fiverr will issue a press release and post a shareholder letter to its website at https://investors.fiverr.com/.

Second Quarter Conference Call and Webcast Details

What: Fiverr’s Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results Conference Call

When: August 5, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. ET

Dial In: To access the call via telephone please dial +1 (866) 360-3590, or +1 (412) 317-5278 for callers outside the United States and reference “Fiverr”

Webcast: A live and archived webcast of the conference call will be accessible from the investor relations section of the Company’s website at https://investors.fiverr.com

Audio Replay: A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available until Wednesday, August 12, 20202, and can be accessed by dialing +1 (877) 344-7529, or +1 (412) 317-0088 for callers outside the United States and entering the access code 10145989

About Fiverr

Fiverr's, https://track.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=95200&nci=7416,  mission is to change how the world works together. The Fiverr platform connects businesses of all sizes with skilled freelancers offering digital services in more than 300 categories, across 8 verticals including graphic design, digital marketing, programming, video and animation. In the twelve months ended March 31, 2020, 2.5 million customers bought a wide range of services from freelancers across more than 160 countries. We invite you to visit us at fiverr.com, read our blog and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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How to Deal With Stress in Four Easy Steps

I’m dating myself here, but I remember having to write some of my essays in high school on a typewriter. Then computers came along and changed everything. They promised to make our lives easier. All one has to do is look around to see that computers have changed every aspect of our lives from how we communicate, to how we shop, study, work and even train. Unfortunately, the one thing they have failed to do is reduce our stress.

In fact, they have made our lives more stressful.

Our uber-connected world has made competition fierce. Computers, smartphones and the Internet have helped to level the playing field for people working in countries that were considered third world nations just 40 years ago. One visit to Fiverr.com and you’ll have your pick of virtual assistants, graphic designers, and web designers offering their services for very affordable prices. That’s where I found my web guy, and he’s been with me for years now.

2020 has taken stress to a whole level. We’ve had the coronavirus, its lockdown, the bankruptcies, the protests, and as it’s an election year, Trump. As November approaches tensions. As far as I can see, it seems to be less of Trump-Biden election and more of a Trump-No-Trump election. Whether he stays in office or not, I have no doubt stress levels will run high on both sides.

How should we deal with it?

I’m not a wellness coach myself, but as I’m a productivity consultant (and previously a life coach), I have spent a lot of time helping people deal with stress as it’s an absolute productivity killer.

Experience has show me that there are four easy ways to deal with stress.

Sports are your friend

Stress increases the level of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol in our body, also know as “fight or flight” hormones. These have been hard-wired into our brains to protect us from immediate bodily hard and in times of danger. In our world, rarely do need to such hormones so in order to restore our body and mind to a calmer state we need a way of regulating these hormones. That’s where sports come in.

Sports release a whole host of chemicals and hormones into our blood stream that help us manage stress and boost happiness. Consistent vigorous exercise also allows for better sleep (naturally) and a better body. If all that’s not enough, just seeing your weight drop will do wonders for our self-esteem.

2. A good night’s sleep

Ryan Hurst, co-founder of GMB fitness, sleeps almost 10 hours a night. He’s not the only one. According to CNBC, Lebron James sometimes does the same and on those days he doesn’t get enough rest, he’ll try to sneak in a nap during the day.

A lack of sleep on the other hand is a significant cause of stress, just ask any mother of a new-born child. We aren’t machines. We have limits. We need a good night’s sleep to deal with the strains of life. One man in his forties told me he averaged four hours a night for more than 20 years. When I mentioned that to a sleep expert, he replied “He’s digging himself an early grave.”

How can we ensure we get a good night’s sleep? Here are a few tips. First, turn off all screens 30 minutes before going to bed. Reading a good book for just ten minutes before your head hits the pillow will do wonders for your sleep. Avoid caffeine late at night and take a bath before you get into bed will help.

3. Surround yourself with the right people

In my first book, iSucceed, I dedicate a chapter to people because I have seen firsthand the effects of what I like to call “the-birds-of-a-feather phenomenon.” Essentially, we tend to act like, talk like, even think like the people around us. There’s an expression that we would do well to remember when it comes to stress and it’s this – misery loves company. That’s why you see the same bunch of people going to bars to drink away their sorrow night after night. If you’re going to reduce stress, you need to fight fire with fire, or in this case, positivity.

Your mission is simple. Find people who aren’t stressed and spend more time with them. You’ll be surprised at the effect your support group will have on you.

4. Develop winning habits

Habits are those automatic actions we take day in and day out. Unfortunately, not all habits are created equal. There are habits that help us, and those that hinder us. It’s the latter ones we need to beware of as they are causing us stress without us even noticing. James Clear, in his excellent book, Atomic Habits, does a great job breaking habits down as well as how to establish winning ones. For those who don’t have the time to go through it, here’s my Cliff Notes.

Step 1: Analyze your daily habits

Step 2: Determine which are hindering you (eating too much)

Step 3: Take small actions that help lessen the strength they have on you (i.e. Trick your mind into thinking it’s eating the same amount of food by simply using smaller plates)

Step 4: Celebrate the victories (when you lose five pounds, buy yourself a new exercise shirt)

Step 5: Be patient (developing winning habits takes time)

—

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03

Coronavirus: House passes PPP extension bill giving small businesses more time to apply for lifeline

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WASHINGTON – Small businesses struggling to weather the coronavirus crisis will have several more weeks to take advantage of a popular federal loan program that's already distributed $500 billion to keep Main Streets alive.

The House Wednesday followed the Senate's lead Tuesday and voted to extend the Paycheck Protection Program through Aug. 8. Created earlier this year as part of the CARES Act to help the nation respond to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, PPP expired Tuesday.

The program has about $130 billion left to spend although lawmakers and the Trump administration are in talks to tweak the PPP to reach hard-hit businesses such as restaurants and hotels that have had trouble making use of the financial help.

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Passage of the extension came on the same day that House lawmakers were taking the Small Business Administration to task for another program designed to rescue mom-and-pop firms following the social distance guidelines instituted after the coronavirus landed on U.S. shores.

But as the COVID-19 pandemic began shuttering the economy this spring, thousands of small businesses seeking rescue under the federal Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program ran into a wall: few answers on their status; periods where applications weren't accepted; shifting regulations; hours waiting on hold.

Then without warning, the Small Business Administration in trying to make its pool of money go further cut the maximum EIDL loan from $2 million to $150,000 – a change many applicants never learned about until they received their money.

"Throughout the process, SBA showed a lack of understanding of the challenges facing small businesses related to COVID-19," House Small Business Committee Chair Nydia M. Velázquez, D-N.Y., said during a hearing on the program Wednesday.

Her concerns, directed at SBA Associate Administrator James Rivera as he sat in the hearing room, were echoed by Republicans and Democrats on the committee who shared stories of constituent dissatisfaction.

Florida Republican Ross Spano criticized the agency for consistently poor communication.

"In my district, I got literally hundreds of calls with respect to the frustration business owners were having getting information, and not having questions answered, not knowing about the status of their applications," he told Rivera. "We can do better and we have to frankly."

Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., who sponsored the PPP extension bill the House passed Wednesday, described the management of the EIDl program  as "absolutely terrible."

"I've got a lot of businesses in my district who, if this were the kind of customer service level they had provided, would be out of business three months ago," she told Rivera. "I've got folks in my district who applied and heard crickets for a month. No response from the EIDL program."

Rivera acknowledged the criticisms.

© Brendan Smialowski, AFP/Getty Images Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y. chairs the House Small Business Committee.

"The last three months, it's been a tough road obviously," he said. "We clearly understand we have to do a better job communicating."

But he also said the stumbles were due to hiccups associated with an unprecedented ramp-up to meet the pandemic's fallout from an agency traditionally processing a much smaller volume of aid. The SBA staff handling disaster loans mushroomed from about 1,000 to more than 7,000, and the applications have already totaled 8 million, he said.

Tweaks to the program by Congress and a shortfall of funds at one point contributed to delays, he said.

Scrutiny over EIDL has been overshadowed by the larger and more prominent Paycheck Protection Program which has provided nearly $520 billion in forgivable loans to small firms during the coronavirus crisis. After initial bumps, the PPP has been largely viewed as a success. 

There still remain accessibility hurdles however, according to Fiverr.com, a business consultant firm. A survey it conducted found that 11% of business owners said they had applied for the PPP loan, but had yet to receive the funds, while another 17% said they tried to apply but found the process too complicated to complete. 

Unlike the PPP, a brand new program that provides up to $10 million through private lenders mainly to keep workers on the payroll, loans under the already existing EIDL are processed solely by the SBA and can be used for a wider array of business expenses.

Gallery

EIDL has disbursed about $130 billion in grants and (mostly) loans and has another $200 billion available through mid-December, Rivera said. Loan eligibility is often tied to a business' credit score and is supposed to provide six months of working capital.

About 80 percent of loan requests are below 150,000 with the average award at $61,000, Rivera said. And the average time to process a loan has dropped from 41 days to less than a week.

After Congress expanded EIDL eligibility to include agricultural firms, SBA stopped accepting loan applications from non-farm businesses for at least two weeks. Rivera said the agency needed time to "retool" its processing system since it had not processed agriculture-related loans in decades.

That did not satisfy Velázquez.

"Do you realize how many borrowers were calling our offices crying out because they needed assistance but the (on-line) portal was shut down for them," she told him.

The decision to cap the loans at $150,000 did not sit well with several members either.

"While this is likely to ensure the maximum number of businesses receive some sort of funding during this crisis, my constituents are rightfully upset," Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn, told Rivera. "They feel they are being cheated out of what they were promised by our government."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: House passes PPP extension bill giving small businesses more time to apply for lifeline