Cisco Systems announced today in a CEO John Chambers press release that they will be shutting down their consumer products division and laying off workers. The most popular product in the division is the Flip Video Camera. Current owners of the video recorders will be supported for the time-being along with the software that provides quick uploading of video to the Internet, FlipShare. The company admits in the release that it has disappointed shareholders by experimenting in the home electronics area.

AOL Purchases TechCrunch

AOL is trying to regain some of its influence online with the purchase of a number of assets this week including Techcrunch.com. TechCrunch is one of the more popular blogs online covering technology news and company announcements. The company, headquartered in San Francisco, was purchased for $40 million and will continue to operate as a separate entity. The announcement was made at TechCrunch’s conference TechCrunch Disrupt.

Seven Tips to Make the Time to Build Your Business

1) Clearly layout on paper what is most important for your business by what makes the most money for your business. Then focus on those items over other items that might take more time but do not produce results. This is the 80/20 rule that we have all heard about.

2) With the remaining items that did not make the top 20% most important items, you will have to decide if you should minimize the times, delegate the items, or delete them all together. If you determine that a task is important but not worth the time that you spend on it, look for outsourcing services that can handle the task at a reduced wage.