Although the United Nations and Social Enterprises are both interested in creating sustainable societies through resolving world crises by initiating change, they are still very different organizations in terms of size of operations. The extremely large size of the United Nations (due to the fact that it is an international organization for 193 member states) makes achieving their several goals extremely challenging. On the other hand, Social Enterprises are much smaller, and have a more focused goal: providing communities a way to alleviate from financial hardship through entrepreneurship and other business methods. Therefore, even if the United Nations were to be fully funded, Social Enterprises like the Arc Initiative are necessary in order to ensure that there is a platform for such changes to be made.

In order to initiate change in society, you must have people willing to initiate action. Specifically, the Arc Initiative at the Sauder School of Business has a goal of exchanging knowledge and business skills in order to provide people in third world countries the expertise they need to form their own local small businesses. Through internships and workshops, the Arc Initiative is able to provide a method that fuels the entrepreneurial spirit, giving a boost to the people who lacked the skills and resources before. Students from Sauder are sent to areas in South Africa, Ethiopia, Colombia and Rwanda, allowing them to become directly immersed within the communities they are trying to help improve by providing them a more specific understanding of the businesses and the problems their owners face.

“Non-profits that have donated money to Rwanda following the war but didn’t make a lasting impact”

– Arielle Uwonkunda.

While the United Nations and other big charities may be able to allocate large sums of money for third world countries, simply injecting funds is often unhelpful and may be easily misallocated for the people living within impoverished communities. However, the Arc Initiative gives developing entrepreneurs a method to learn how to create long-term economic success.

Sources and Further Reading:

http://news.ubc.ca/2014/06/30/upward-arc/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8LVa9pb-n8

http://www.sauder.ubc.ca/Global_Reach/ARC_Initiative/About_ARC

After reading this post by Stella on how marketing has changed, along with the cult-like influence by Youtube ‘beauty gurus’, I felt inspired to write about my own take on the Youtube beauty community.

For several years, I was a follower of many self-proclaimed “make up artists” like Michelle Phan. When one of my subscriptions recommended a D.I.Y. facial mask or a product, I would save money to purchase the product and try it for myself. It was an endless cycle, until my older sister told me to think more critically about the intentions and motivations of these Youtubers. Despite my insistence that “these girls are just like me, and they recommend that this really does work!” and that I was sure “they wouldn’t lie” since they would most likely have not been paid by the company, she was strong on her stance that I was being conned, along with the rest of the thousands of people subscribed to these girls. Then she said these words that have stuck by me since.

“You know they are most likely being sponsored, right? Companies are giving them free products because they’re cheaper than advertisements, but more effective.”

A few months later, these Youtubers were required to write disclaimers in the description boxes of the videos because of complaints. In videos, most gurus began to start announcing that the video was sponsored, or that they had been sent in the product they recommended. The backlash involving these gurus began to grow, with forums of former subscribers discussing which Youtubers to avoid in order to prevent being fooled.

Although marketing products through Youtubers is effective and a great, fast way to get your product/shop/brand out directly to consumers, there is always consequences of oversaturation. As a “guru”, you may begin to lose the trust of your audience, and losing authenticity is the quickest way to lose your audience on Youtube.

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Further Readings:

http://www.reddit.com/r/MakeupAddiction/comments/1weuz0/which_beauty_bloggersyoutubers_do_you_avoid/

https://blogs.ubc.ca/stellacho/2014/10/05/marketing-in-a-digital-age/

http://beyoungandshutup.com/2014/03/06/subversive-marketing-at-the-youtube-beauty-counter/

With all the lessons we have learned in Comm 101, I think one that will definitely leave an impression in my mind throughout my next 4/5 years at UBC will be the Sauder Alumni class, or class 18. For section 101, we had SIP, Naked Coconuts, and Tangoo visit our 8 AM class in order to teach us more on entrepreneurships and the difficulties behind creating a business.

As a graphic designer, Tangoo first caught my eye with their website design and Paul’s own little graphic t-shirt that he wore in class. I tried to download the app when class was over, but I really didn’t feel like giving up my Facebook information in order to access the rest of the app. I did, however, check out the Tangoo blog.

A post that caught my eye detailed intern Alice’s own Words of Wisdom. There she gives advice on reasons why and how to build your startup. She also details on her time at Tangoo and what she learned interning for the app.

Since being a part of MiniEnterprize’s team last year, I have learned a significant amount about entrepreneurship and have entertained the idea of being able to create my own business since I first learned that I could actually specialize in this subject. Although I am still unsure about whether I could create my own start up or not, I hope that one day I’ll be able to encounter something I’m so passionate about that I will be compelled to create a startup just to solve the issues that come with it (like microfinancing banks).

All in all, I will be eager to watch Tangoo’s episode on Dragon’s Den.

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Further Reading:

https://blog.tangoo.ca/words-of-wisdom-from-an-intern/

https://blog.tangoo.ca/

http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/episodes/

When I was a child, my parents would bring me to a small Chinese grocer in Vancouver on Saturdays in order to do some weekly shopping. They entertained me with Barbie lollipops – and I loved them so much that they eventually bought home cans. The lollipops came with stickers, and collectible cans that I still have lined up in the kitchen cupboard. One day, I remember going to the grocer and realizing that it was unusually empty. When I got home, my parents told me that the store was closing and something bigger was going to replace it. It was the only place that sold Barbie lollipops, and my little heart broke over the prospect of no more Barbie lollipops, ever. I saved the one I had in my pocket and to this day, I have it wrapped in its original condition.

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I stumbled across this article, mostly intrigued at first because the writer and I share the same name. Reading more into the article, I was touched by the content of the piece, written about a man and the business he grew up with and in.

Essentially, the article talks about Robert Low and the 55-year-old confectionary store that his family has operated over the years and how it has been impacted by the news that came from BC Housing. BC Housing, who owns the building the store runs in, has plans to renovate the location – which in turn will raise the rent to a price Low may not be able to afford.

Although it is easy to overlook small businesses’ like Low’s, they are exactly the shops that give a community a sense of uniqueness and most importantly, history. Low being pushed out of his shop draws parallels in my mind of the contrasting topic of startups and makes me think about the lifecycle of a business.

As a child, the small business in my life closing had broke my heart because it was a place that provided lots of memories of weekends spent with my mom and dad. For Robert, this small business means losing the place he grew up in – a business that has provided compassion and smiles that served the community’s needs.

P.S. – The lollipops aforementioned are so rare, it seems, that I can’t even find a photo of them or an eBay post that sells them.

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Sources:

http://www.vancouversun.com/Daphne+Bramham+beloved+small+business/10109625/story.html