Monthly Archives: October 2014

What is more important ? Generating clean and sustainable energy for Industries? or protecting the ancestral fishing grounds of the First Nations people? This dilemma of weighing the demands of businesses to that of the aboriginal people is one that has sparked of a range of debates, and has done so once again in the case of the BC Hydo’s hydroelectric project. The dam they propose to build will encroach upon, and flood 83 kilometres of Peace River Valley; an area that has since long ago been used by the First Nations people for fishing and ceremonial purposes.

As per BC Law businesses are obligated to “consult” and “accommodate” First Nations on any land or resource issues that will affect them(1). Businesses therefore have to convince the aboriginals on letting them build on their land. Giving them a share in the revenues or sharing profits isn’t enough. Such an approach might work in a developing country where the percentage of poor is quite high, but in a developed nation such as Canada, you need a bargaining chip other than money. All the First Nations want is the business community to appreciate and respect the love they possess for their ancestral land, and businesses need to understand that. You want to convince them don’t bully, rather listen to them.

Yes, a hyrdo power project will have economic benefits and it will create employment, but it also creates a large opportunity cost of ignoring the rights of an integral community. Businesses need to Co-exist. They cant always use their monetary strength and size to lure opinion in their favour. There is more than one river in BC! therefore rather than wasting resources in fighting court cases they are most likely to loose, they should go find alternatives to their ideas.

Works Cited:

(1) http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/topic.page?id=8CF98F756A984198AFD80AEA0E472F05

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/First+Nation+chiefs+stage+Site+showdown/10215965/story.html

The second I saw the title ” Why the rich stay rich” my attention immediately focussed onto this article. Who doesn’t want to know, what the rich do so different that makes them better from the rest? The article I read offers an insight into this very question.

The key to becoming a successful entrepreneur is having the courage and ability to take risks. Risks that could make or break your career. I don’t know about you, but from what Ive seen in movies, one of the primary ways people double/triple their money is by going and investing in the stock market. Don’t get me wrong, Im not saying the rich don’t do that, they do, but what they do different is that they invest in places people would usually be discouraged to invest in. For example real estate, paintings, or cars. The problem with these investments is that there not very liquid, and they take time to generate profits, and people usually aren’t patient enough to wait. But no one becomes a millionaire in one night, you’ve got to go through the gruel. Another key investment prospect for the rich is by buying of other businesses. This may seem a very risky option, but if you want to make it big, you’ve got to dream big !

The point is the successful businessman invest in areas a common man wouldn’t. So you’ve got to do something different to make more money !

Mahesh Nandwani’s blog on the importance of a business having a Unique Selling Point, I found quite interesting, and thought why not comment on it ! The first thing an entrepreneur thinks about when he starts of is- What am I selling ? What makes my business unique? However even though its the first question that comes to his mind, I feel the answer to this question is never truly found.

The reason I say this is, a lot of the time people believe , something as broad or vague as ” Our business gets the product to the customer on time” is a USP. A USP as Mahesh points out is something that “differentiates” the product from the competition. Getting the product to the customer on time isn’t revolutionary different. Pizza Hut and Dominoes are just as fast as getting Pizza to the customer, it doesn’t make them Unique, it just means there efficient. To be unique, you have to have something the competition doesn’t have. Apple is Unique because it provided the world with computers and products they had never seen before. The USP is something that needs to revolutionise the game, just like Steve Jobs did.

Any business whose Value Proposition is something that will benefit the customer, and has never been seen before will work! As Mahesh emphasizes business just need to conduct research to find it.