The business environment is constantly changing and entrepreneurs need to be prepared. Although the business world is becoming more globalized, there also is a push for small local businesses and face-to-face interactions. While emails, texts, chats and video conferences are necessary to do business, in-person interactions can make a difference. According to a study by psychologist and professor at National University of Singapore Richard Arvey, 77 percent of people still believe in the value of offsite meetings.

Although in-person meetings help make a connection, another barrier in the past has been that business payment systems were simply not mobile enough to be used outside of the office environment. This meant that you could make a sale in person, but you couldn't close the deal right then and there. Your clients either had to give their credit card information over the phone or arrange an alternative payment method. That gives enough time for the deal to fall apart.

Fortunately, with the various apps and software systems available today, you can carry everything you need to complete the sale from start to finish. Consider the following mobile payment options:

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Check out this post-MAGIC news from The Joester Loria group.

In a deal brokered by The Joester Loria group, PepsiCo has partnered with Body Rags for the Pepsi and Mountain Dew Licenses. Rounding out PepsiCo’s T-shirt program, Body Rags will offer designs for the Upstairs, Specialty and Ecommerce channels of distribution.

Tapped for their creative expertise and retail relationships, PepsiCo is excited for the freshness that Body Rags brings to both the Pepsi and Mt. Dew program. With creative development fully underway, retail placement is expected as early as March 2015.

I Dream of Jeannie, the beloved-classic American television sitcom featuring Barbara Eden as a genie locked up in a bottle and astronaut Major Nelson, is celebrating 50 years since its first release to American households.  The ensuing comedy is TV history and Sony Pictures Consumer Products is celebrating this iconic TV series this year with a program that is truly magical.

Read more: Celebrating 50 years of "Jeannie"

New York City focused its spotlights on toys, games and youth entertainment products last week when the 112^th North American International Toy Fair – the largest toy marketplace ever held in the Western Hemisphere – opened its doors to nearly 25,000 global play professionals. Owned and operated by the U.S. Toy Industry Association (TIA) in partnership with the Canadian Toy Association (CTA), Toy Fair 2015 grew in size and scope, boasting a record-breaking 421,300 net square feet of exhibit space filled with hundreds of thousands of brand-new, skill-building and cutting-edge toys and games.

Toy Fair sizzled despite frigid temperatures and snowstorms across the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard. Buyers, exhibitors, entertainment executives, members of the press, and trade guests from across the U.S. and 91 countries made it to Manhattan for the international toy and game extravaganza, which took place from February 14-17 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Due to a new cross-border affiliation agreement between TIA and CTA, Toy Fair was for the first time hosted in partnership with CTA, serving as a single North American marketplace event to provide U.S., Canadian and global attendees with more targeted business development opportunities, greater efficiency, and added cost-savings.

Read more: Wrapping up Toy Fair

The past year has been inundated with retail breaches including Target, Home Depot and most recently, Chick-fil-A. The Georgia-based fast food company investigated a credit card breach in early 2015, focusing on the point-of-sale (POS) network at some of its restaurants. The breach is thought to have occurred between December 2013 and September 2014. Brian Krebs, an Internet blogger who specializes in banking security, reported that one financial institution claimed that the common thread among approximately 9,000 of its affected customers were purchases at Chick-fil-A restaurants. So what can retailers learn from these types of attacks?

It is important to stress that security breaches of this nature can be caused by a variety of issues - newly discovered software flaws, lax security from a service provider, insider fraud, weak network security and countless other avenues. There is also the possibility that the data which had been compromised did not originate from Chick-fil-A at all. Theft can occur at numerous places along the payment chain. For example, it may be necessary to examine the bank where the electronic transactions were processed.

In one sense, it does not matter how the breach occurred. The fact that credit cards at a major corporation had once again been stolen highlights the threat that all quick serve restaurants and retailers of every size are facing from data thieves. Businesses interested in keeping their networks and data secure should start with simple security measures that can effectively mitigate the growing problem that hackers represent. While nothing is fool proof, the following suggestions could have prevented most (if not all) of the breaches that have garnered so much attention in the past 12 months:

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According to a recent study from the Pew Research Group, 81 percent of American adults are using Facebook, making it the world's most popular social network. Though LinkedIn and Pinterest among other networks are gaining popularity in different age and demographic groups, 52 percent of people now use two or more platforms—a 10 percent increase from 2013.

So what do these numbers mean for companies seeking to boost business? Quite a lot, especially if you think of each network as a distinct marketing channel. Here are some strategies to get the word out and boost business:

Read more: 4 Ways to Boost E-commerce With Social Networking

Retailers today are looking for more sophisticated ways to understand customers’ buying behavior and are increasingly turning toward big data and analytics to deliver a deeper level of insight. Access to these tools is now topping retailers’ “must-have” lists, regardless of the channels by which they sell.

Analytics makes it possible for retailers to see the choices consumers make as they move through a store. For example: they pause at one display, but not at another; they choose one aisle to walk down and ignore the next; they pick up products but don’t buy whereas they pull the trigger on others. Further, analytics allows e-tailers to track criteria such as click-through rates, site navigation, repeat visits, purchases and abandoned shopping carts.

With more traditional e-commerce retailers opening brick-and-mortar storefront such as Warby Parker, BaubleBar and Zappos and the continual growth of online shopping, retail analytics will become even more important in more clearly defining ROI in the future. According to a TechCrunch survey, 78 percent of consumers prefer to shop in-store and spend six times more in-store than online.

Read more on the RM Blog.

The Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE and Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. (Southern) are proud to announce the honorees of the 2015 Tribute Dinner—Ted Baseler, President and CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, and Chef Juan Mari Arzak, acclaimed pioneer of Basque cuisine. Baseler and Arzak will be honored on February 21 during the Festival’s annual Tribute Dinner hosted by José Andrés and Master of Ceremonies Harold McGee presented by Bank of America, part of The New York Times Dinner Series, at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel. The award recognizes their extraordinary contributions to the wine and culinary industries.

Getty Images photo from 2014 Tribute Dinner provided by Bullfrog + Baum

Read more: South Beach Wine & Food Festival announce the honorees of the 2015 Tribute Dinner