Esther: Welcome to the BusinessMakers Overtime Show heard here and online at theBusinessMakers.com. I'm Esther Steinfeld -

Katie: And I'm Katie Laird.

Esther: And we're actually sitting here in SmashBurger. We love SmashBurger, we are starving.

Katie: We love it!

Esther: We decided to do the show from here today.

Katie: Exactly. So SmashBurger as you might imagine by the name is actually a place where you get burgers that have been smashed to seal in the natural flavor.

Esther: They just throw ‘em on the grill.

Katie: It's phenomenal. (Laughter)

Esther: So, today we're gonna be giving you some business news as always in Chapter 1. We're gonna tell you a little bit about some crazy stuff that's going on. In Chapter 2, we're actually gonna have a wonder interview with Nina Friedman. She is Yenta Girl. She basically is a matchmaker. A real live matchmaker.

Katie: A real actual matchmaker. (Laughter)

Esther: Yep. She's gonna explain to you how she actually makes money being a matchmaker. Yes, I love it!

Katie: And then in Chapter 3, we're gonna take a look at some American brands that gone overseas. So American brands in foreign lands. Taking a look at what we think to be a US brand that's changed and also how American brands fare elsewhere in the world, so pretty cool stuff.

Esther: Yeah. So what's going on in business world.

Katie: I feel like I always start with news that either makes me really happy or makes me really sad because apparently it's all about me, so I'm gonna do it again Esther. (Laughter)

Esther: Awesome, do it.

Katie: Okay. This is a sad one, so I don't know if you're as crazy a fan about those Mac ads, the "Get a Mac" ads, do you know those?

Esther: Yeah, mm-hmm.

Katie: Basically -

Esther: With Justin Long.

Katie: Justin Long and John Hodgman who, you know, John is a PC and then Justin is a Mac, and then they banter back and forth and hilarity ensues. Well apparently, these lovely, amazing ads are going out.

Esther: Yep.

Katie: Apple, after four years and 66 commercial spots, they are going - they're gone.

Esther: Yeah.

Katie: They're leaving us and I'm really not emotional, but in my heart I feel very emotional about it. (Laughter)

Esther: You know, I think Apple looked at it and said, "Alright, these worked. Moving on."

Katie: Yes, next.

Esther: You know, they really did work. I think it was a very successful campaign.

Katie: Absolutely, and I mean four years running, like that's pretty impressive.

Esther: Yep.

Katie: And so I really, really hope that there's gonna be like one final, like the crown jewel of all the Get a Mac ads where like the PC somehow magically turns into a Mac and then rainbow and glitter happen somehow.

Esther: Comes out of its USB port.

Katie: Exactly. So Steve Jobs, make it happen! (Laughter)

Esther: Yeah.

Katie: Now if you are, for old-time sake, really wanna watch that entire collection, you can do so by visiting the Apple site at Apple.com/getamac/ads and wipe away those tears while you're watching. But at least they're still here for posterity.

Esther: So sad. Maybe he'll go back to acting in movies.

Katie: Exactly. (Laughter) I'm sure they're hoping that. (Laughter)

Esther: Yeah. (Laughter)

Katie: Imagine that. (Laughter)

Esther: Ahhh, ohhh.

Katie: So, and on slightly less amusing and warm and fuzzy news, in our next news bit from CNN.com we actually get a look at a creative, if not highly legal and I'm sorry, hugely obnoxious -

Esther: ‘Cause there's some very, very, very smart criminals.

Katie: - obnoxious way that some inmates in Florida are spreading their, I don't know, entrepreneurial wings. Like is that even appropriate to say?

Esther: I mean they're using they got I guess.

Katie: I guess. (Laughter) So, there's a story on CNN that's talking about a prison guard named Officer Mike Linmark that was conducting just a regular ol' cell contraband search, and I never thought we'd say that on the show. (Laughter) When this officer didn't find any drugs, didn't find any hand fashioned shanks or weaponry, but instead he discovered piles and piles of paper under an inmate's bed. And he got widely suspicious when the inmate started flipping out, not wanting to look at it, trying to hide them. And so the officer brings them to his commanding officer and it turns out that basically they were these giant piles of tax forms with instructions on how to fill out the forms with various social security numbers and birthdates. Basically showing this, like, ongoing -

Esther: Oh my gosh.

Katie: I mean I think it's like a decade long, all over the country not just in this prison, this scam that inmates have been doing, trying to bilk the government out of over a million dollars.

Esther: And they do it by using these defuncter made up businesses as places of work and then they have this like master cheat sheet with all the salary information. And they don't use W2s, they actually use a different form, the 4852 Form which is the form you use if your employer hasn't given you the W2.

Katie: Because that place has gone out of business or it's just -

Esther: Yeah.

Katie: - it's just no longer around.

Esther: Right.

Katie: So they're trying to kind of curtail this. And so the formula's really specific that these cheat sheets were showing the inmates. So basically, it's helping them keep the refunds to under $5,000.00 per claim because basically that's not gonna throw up as many red flags with the IRS, which means that the IRS is gonna be like, "Alright, good enough. Send ‘em a check."

Esther: And you know what's really crazy, some of the prisoners who were homeless prior to entering prison, sold their social security number to the ringleaders for honey buns. Honey buns are a pastry -

Katie: That's not a prison joke. (Laughter)

Esther: No, that's not a prison joke. Honey buns are a pastry that inmates can buy in prison at the commissary -

Katie: Okay.

Esther: - and they sold -

Katie: So an exchange for honey buns.

Esther: It's like selling your soul to the devil.

Katie: In exchange for honey buns, they gave away their social security number.

Esther: Yep.

Katie: That is in sane.

Esther: That's sad.

Katie: That is so insane. So, CNN reports that over $14 million in fraudulent refunds were issued to prisoners in 2004 alone -

Esther: Wow.

Katie: - according to a testimony before a House subcommittee five years ago. But that same year, the IRS blocked over $53 million in false claims from prisoners that year.

Esther: Oh.

Katie: I mean this is enormous! Like this is so, so big.

Esther: I cannot believe how smart these criminals.

Katie: Exactly! Exactly!

Esther: Amazing!

Katie: Exactly!

Esther: Geniuses'!

Katie: And the kicker is that prisoners are still doing this, even prisoners that have been caught. Like they continue doing this and even though the IRS is aware.

Esther: It's ridiculous, they're already in jail.

Katie: But the IRS is still issuing the refund checks. So the only way that the prisoners are not benefitting it -

Esther: ‘Cause it's automatic.

Katie: It's - yeah. I mean they just keep going. So now the jail officials are having to intercept them to make sure that this doesn't keep going.

Esther: Wow.

Katie: It's absolutely crazy.

Esther: That is insane.

Katie: I mean like we are all about the creative small business entrepreneurial spirit, but I'm sorry, I'm not down with this. (Laughter)

Esther: Yeah I know.

Katie: I saw what my tax return is and it ain't that. It's not $5,000.00.

Esther: It ain't that special.

Katie: Nah. (Laughter)

Esther: So there's another business that had been long admired for its ingenuity and creativity and that's Crocs.

Katie: Crocs.

Esther: Crocs were a major company, they went public. I mean they were a big, major company that really turned out, was kind of a fad.

Katie: I - ahhhhh.

Esther: And it's sad. I mean unless you're Mario Batali or a doctor, you're probably not wearing these shoes anymore.

Katie: See, I don't know. Crocs are the most comfortable, like gardening -

Esther: I know people who are still wearing them -

Katie: - summer shoe.

Esther: - but they definitely aren't like trendy.

Katie: No.

Esther: No one's wearing them like, as a fashion statement anymore.

Katie: No. No, no, no. It's just like it's - yeah, the utility of them. (Laughter)

Esther: Yeah. So Crocs kind of wants to stage this comeback.

Katie: Ah.

Esther: What they're doing is launching this line of strappy heels.

Katie: Pahhh! Wait, wait, wait, wait. Strappy heels.

Esther: Yes. Strappy heels from Crocs. Heels, casual leather loafers -

Katie: Leather?

Esther: - and peep-toe sling-backs. This is part of a very ambitious bid for the company to grow quickly and just only have this one product. And it sold well amongst kids, it sold well amongst adults who wanted to be comfortable, and then there were those little crock decals you could plug in.

Katie: The jibbitz. Remember the jibbitz?

Esther: Yeah, the jibbitz.

Katie: We talked about these before. (Laughter)

Esther: That's right, the jibbitz. We did talk about that. And that is - now who's buying these shoes anymore. They're hideous.

Katie: Yeah. I mean I think you hit it on the head. It's nurses, it's doctors, it's kitchen workers, and it's my four-year-old ‘cause she really loves Crocs. (Laughter)

Esther: Exactly. Well as they said, they wanted people to get past the, "They're ugly, but comfortable clogs," in thinking about their company.

Katie: Interesting. Now are they still gonna be comfortable? Like maybe they're not as ugly, but it seems like that's sort of - that's like their positioning -

Esther: I don't think it's possible. It's like an oxymoron, comfortable heels.

Katie: Yeah, I uuuuuh!

Esther: I mean, they're not gonna be comfortable like Crocs are comfortable.

Katie: Exactly. I just can't see it. Interesting.

Esther: We'll have to monitor that and see what happens.

Katie: Exactly. Maybe we need to do some investigative reporting. (Laughter)

Esther: Yeah. We'll have to have the CEO on the show.

Katie: Yay! (Laughter)

Esther: Awesome. Well I guess that wraps up - oh! No it doesn't wrap up our Segment 1. We have a really awesome new segment that we're gonna do.

Katie: This is brilliant.

Esther: Okay, and it's actually interactive with you.

Katie: With you, get ready.

Esther: So, we're gonna do this new segment and it's called "Annoying Business Jargon".

Katie: (Laughter) And there's a lot of it out there.

Esther: There's so much annoying stuff that people say in the office. A drill-down and just - circle the wagons and all these annoying phrases that people say.

Katie: And my favorite that I actually say constantly at the end of the day -

Esther: Oh yeah.

Katie: - I say that all the time.

Esther: That's a really bad one.

Katie: I think it should be on our list of things not to say.

Esther: Incentivize.

Katie: Incentivize.

Esther: I mean -

Katie: Synergy also on the ban terms on The BusinessMakers Show.

Esther: Yeah. No synergy allow.

Katie: (Laughter)

Esther: Well, what we're gonna do for our first kickoff segment. Basically every week I'm gonna ask Katie one or she's gonna ask me to try to figure out what this word is -

Katie: Ooooooo!

Esther: t - this synergistic word. And this week, we want you to tell us what the word is.

Katie: Ahhh!

Esther: So the first person to go onto our Facebook page, Facebook.com/overtimeshow and tell us what this word means, this annoying business jargon word is going to win a very special prize.

Katie: Beep, beep, beep. Yaaaay.

Esther: So be the first one and we will let you know what the prize is.

Katie: (Laughter) That's awesome, okay.

Esther: So what's the word?

Katie: Alright. So our very, very first inaugural annoying business jargon phrase is SITCOM.

Esther: SITCOM, hmm.

Katie: So, and we're not -

Esther: I mean you're not talking about like situation comedies.

Katie: No, this isn't Will and Grace, it's not Friends. The word is SITCOM. So now if you have any idea or even a remote guess, again jump onto Facebook.com/overtimeshow and tell us what it is. What does it mean?

Esther: I don't know! Actually I do know.

Katie: And don't Google it, don't cheat, ‘cause we'll know. (Laughter)

Esther: Oh, everyone Googles things. You can Google it.

Katie: Oh c'mon. Try using that stuff between your ears, you know. (Laughter)

Esther: Well now that wraps up our business week in review.

Katie: Yes. So make sure you stick around for a very love-filled and exciting Chapter 2 with Yenta Girl, our very own Nina Friedman as she talks about the very unique industry that she is really rockin' and rollin' these days.

Esther: Awesome. You're listening to The BusinessMakers Overtime Show heard here and online at theBusinessMakers.com. I'm Esther Steinfield -

Katie: And I'm Katie Laird.

Esther: And we'll see you in Chapter 2.