Wednesday 30 January 2013

Marketing at its best

When are Apple and Samsung not in the news? The battle for market share and thus leadership has been hotly contested for a while. Apple with its wide range of products that succinctly synchronize with one another, have had competitors chasing Apples dust for a while, to the point that they were the must have device. Samsung have slowly been opening the door, catching up on the innovation and first mover advantage of Apple and now is in sight to make a serious play in the market share battle of the phone. For all Business studies students, this is a must read.

Tuesday 29 January 2013

Whats your passion?

I have always been passionate about teaching, which has ultimately led me to set up my own business through my experiences in the classroom. When teaching finance, some of my students would suddenly panic as soon as the word finance was mentioned. This prompted me to create Fortune and Venture and now I am following a dream of mine which was always to own my own business. There is an idea in everybody, but you need passion and determination to succeed. This is true of anything. To be come really good at something, you have to be prepared to work hard. If you happen to like what you are doing, things become much easier. A great story about a 14 year old who didn't like his mothers cooking and decided he could do a better job. Read the article to find out what happened next. Article

Who encourages you?

There are lots of motivational videos out there but this is simply awesome. If you like it, share it.. Kid President.

You can't divide by zero

Just come across this teacher using rap as a way of teaching his daughter and class about math. A memorable way and much kudos to him. I am sure in your lifetime, you can think of ways that you have been taught and the knowledge and experience has stuck with you ever since.You can't divide by zero.

Monday 21 January 2013

Winners and Losers

Entrepreneurship is a gamble. You win some and you lose some. Generally the gamble however is well thought out and sometimes, you just get it wrong. Lance Armstrong has recently been in the news for all the wrong reasons. In his time, he was viewed as a great cyclist , a survivor of cancer and an inspiration for a lot of people. He raised a lot of money for charity, and although he was tagged as a cheat by some, it was denied and his persona and public profile was of doing great things as opposed to cheating on his bike. Recently he finally admitted to cheating and his world has come crashing down around him. In recent posts, I mentioned that every Action has a Reaction and therefore a Consequence. Outside of Lance Armstrong's world, others have won and lost. Other cyclists will win because they may get the sponsorship deals, cycling should become a cleaner sport and therefore the more talented actually win the races. Drug testing companies also win because more money is spent on making things right. However there are losers and one was an Entrepreneur who bought 10 000 videos about Lance Armstrong. Since the revelations, he cannot sell them and has therefore been left holding the stock and not being able to redeem his investment. However you have to laugh in some ways because where there is an Action, there is a Reaction and in this case an Australian Library decided to put a spin on how they lent out their videos by moving the video from the non fiction section into the fiction section. Winners and Losers

Game Over

When Atari first came out, it was groundbreaking. I remember my first Atari, I had Pacman, tennis, fishing and a robot game. If memory serves me right, the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 were also in the market place. By being the innovator, I would have thought that they would have market advantage and held the market place to ransom. Atari is now in trouble and filing for bankruptcy. It makes me wonder, how were  they first movers in the market place and now they are more or less out for the count. Where did they go wrong? Was it the difference in games, poor management, wrong strategy, ego in the board room, lack of investment? The list goes on. If the late Steve Jobs had been a part of Atari, would it be the market leader? Lots to think about and a great business example when examining strategy.Atari

Monday 14 January 2013

Swatch and Diamonds

Just like VW owns Skoda, Seat, Audi, Porsche and Bugatti, there are many other large businesses that own a stable of brands that allow them to sell their products to a wide range of customers and therefore ensure that market share, sales and all markets are represented by that particular company. Swatch is about to joins those ranks by adding a high end watch company to their stable. Can you think of any other companies that have done this? See Swatch article.

Statistics are fact but can often be easily interpreted.

Everyday we are subjected to statistics. If numbers are presented, the facts must be true, or are they? Read this article to see how the actual statistic regarding Facebook can be misleading. Facebook article.

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Customer Service at its best.

This is where customer service is at its best. You cannot but help give Kudos to Lego for this. A young boy saved all his money from Christmas and bought himself a Lego toy. Against his Dads advise and better judgement, he took his new toy to the local supermarket, but unfortunately lost some of the pieces for it. Distraught, his father urged him to write a letter to see if Lego would replace the lost pieces. Read the letter and Lego's response.

To all those doubters!

Like most Entrepreneurs, they may have come across their fair share of doubters. It is easy to  believe everything you hear and stop before you even start. Some ideas, agreed are misguided, however if you believe in your idea and follow it through with all your might, then good things should happen. Belief, tenacity, research and determination will see your idea succeed. See how this Entrepreneur turned the tables on his doubters.

Monday 7 January 2013

All in the wrist

Bracelets on our wrist will provide better feedback and improve our experience at Disney. Whatever next?  A great article for those studying business and ICT with regards Customer service, market research and innovations and application in technology. Read Disney

Can you talk?

In the current market place, competition for jobs are extremely high and with the worldwide recession, things are only going to get more difficult. When candidates apply for positions they generally send in a resume which gets them to the next round of the interview process. It is a given that these candidates are qualified as in most cases the criteria for the application will be a minimum qualification. Once in the interview, it is down to the candidate to persuade the potential employer that they are the person for the job. Soft skills or the ability to talk and build a rapport are paramount in business. Potential employees should be well read in terms of the wider world but more importantly be able to build relationships and rapport. Read Why Soft Skills are Important 

You have got the qualifications. And?

We are often told that it is all about the piece of paper that you earn, telling potential employers etc what level of education that you have studied to and so on. The reality is that the piece of paper (qualifications) is only just a part of the process to getting hired. The world out there is brutally competitive and with the worldwide recession, there is now even more choice for potential employers to pick from. This ultimately means that qualifications are not enough. it also means that employees should take note of the type of company that would match their own outlook and personality. Culture is not only a buzzword in a text book, but reality. Some companies want people to simply follow instructions, be Yes men and get on with it. Others want you to question, think out the box and push the envelope. Now you have considered the type of organisation that you want to work in, be honest with yourself and have a look at the organizations that best fit you and what you stand for. This also helps your preparation for interviews and when you are applying for positions. Read article.

Wednesday 2 January 2013

iPhone with a catch

Firstly Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays..... May 2013 be an exciting and positive year for all.

I was looking through various stories and I thought that this story was a brilliant one. A boy asked his mother for an iPhone for Christmas. On Christmas day when he opened his present, he also got a list of conditions that went with the phone. Read article for conditions.