Jeremy Stickland's Blog

The entrepreneurship Comm 101 class where we listened to guest lecturer Janice, the CEO of Energy Aware, present her company was my favorite Comm 101 class so far. Janice explained to us how she came up with her idea of an energy use monitor in a specialized fourth year business class and how she has turned it into a multi-million dollar business. The part of the lecture that sparked my interest the most was her next steps after she came up with the idea. I’ve always been very interested in having my own company and being my own boss but I have been clueless as where to start and what to expect. It comforted me to hear her say that she had no idea what she was doing at first either and then to see her successfully operating her business several years down the road. When she talked about taking risks when first out of university because you have nothing to lose, it really stuck with me. Thanks to those words of advice, I now plan to take risks especially when I first graduate in hopes of one day having my own successful company like Janice.

http://www.energy-aware.com

SOLEfood Urban Farm is a Social Enterprise based in Vancouver founded by Michael Ableman. SOLEfood focuses on a new concept called urban farming. Urban farming is exactly what it sounds like, farming in the city. The firm rents unused and cheap, sometimes even free, areas for their farms and plant them in boxes. Once their crop is harvested, it is sold to local restaurants and at local farmers markets. This urban farmer can consider himself a social entrepreneur because he employs and trains 21 individuals from the Downtown Eastside who have had issues finding work otherwise

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The message these social entrepreneurs are sending is truly exceptional they have turned a budding industry into an idea that can help the community. I find when I see such a qualified individual using his knowledge and experience to help others it provides hope for the world. Michael Ableman more specifically, provides hope for Vancouver and people struggling on the Downtown Eastside. Social Entrepreneurship is the glue that provides Michael Ableman with the opportunity to assist the people struggling to find jobs and resurrect their lives.

http://thetyee.ca/News/2012/07/09/Solefood-Rising/

http://1sole.wordpress.com/about-solefood/about/

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/earthmatters/land-awards-celebrate-sustainability-and-innovation

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www.bikramyogavancouver.com

Papa Murphy’s Pizza, a pizza restaurant chain originally from the United States, is attempting expansion into Western Canada. They currently have 15 restaurants open in Canada and none further east than Alberta. The reason that franchisees believe that this company will succeed in a market already rich with competitors is the point of difference that the company has. This restaurant creates fresh pizza that is made in front of your eyes. The main difference however is that they do not cook the pizza, they give you the pizza so that you can take it home, put it in the freezer, and cook it when you please. The chain intends to expand in the west before they take on the challenge of Eastern Canada.

This company has a very interesting point of difference that if marketed well, could be very successful. To expand throughout Canada this company will need to be able to compete with other large pizza chains that have already established themselves in the market. With the point of difference that this company has I see them having no issue with continued expansion in Canada.

http://www.papamurphys.com/Home

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/10/01/trying-to-take-a-bigger-bite-of-the-pizza-pie/

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http://blog.al.com/businessnews/2010/06/take-and-bake_pizza_chain_on_t.html

It seems as though after three to four years of deep recession things are starting to look brighter again in Britain. Employment rates are, in fact, rising very quickly but on the contrary GDP still seem to be stuck in a major lull. The combination of high employment rates yet, an out of control inflation rate and an economy that has been predicted to shrink is quite unusual. Often times growing employment goes hand in hand with a growing economy. Although Britain is not in the clear by any means, things are looking much brighter for their economy.

The promise that the British economy is showing could turn out to be beneficial for the European Economic Crisis, which we discussed in the finance class. With the employment rate showing promise like it has it can only be a matter if time before the economy follows suit and begins an upward trend once again. Once the economy rebounds I think that it will have a beneficial affect on the whole European Union because England, a European powerhouse, will have economic strength and power once again. This additional money that can be put towards bailouts and aid across the European Union aiding struggling countries such as Greece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttuXQWV_dtQ

http://www.economist.com/node/21563766

A dispute between Chinese and Japanese officials over several tiny Islands roughly 370 kilometers off the coast of China has sparked outrage throughout China. The Chinese feel that these islands belong to them and that it was unfair that the Japanese purchased them without negotiation. Consequently many of the Chinese have begun to riot. This dispute is potentially dangerous, economically speaking, for both countries. In recent years, China has developed into Japan’s biggest trading partner along with hosting many Japanese manufacturing factories. Companies such as Panasonic and Toyota have had factories and dealerships set on fire. Honda and Toyota have also shut down plants in China recently due to fear of this happening again. If the tension escalates Japan must find other ways to aid their economy.

A small conflict like this one could affect much more than just these two countries. The argument between these two countries could easily have an effect on the global economy. If Japanese companies such as Toyota and Honda are unable to produce cars in China you can expect for a price hike in Japanese products especially automobiles and electronics. If Japanese car prices rise consumers could be looking for alternate companies to purchase from, such as North American brands Ford or GM. An argument over something as small as a few islands in the middle of nowhere can go a long way in effecting the world’s economy.

http://www.economist.com/node/21563316

http://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2012/09/anti-japan-protests?spc=scode&spv=xm&ah=9d7f7ab945510a56fa6d37c30b6f1709

Seattle-based, multi-billion dollar coffee chain, Starbucks, states that they purchase the most Fairtrade coffee beans in North America.  Fairtrade coffee beans are marked with a stamp of approval per say that guarantees farmers in developing countries, where the majority of coffee beans are grown, a prime market value. This is in place because the beans could easily be purchased for ridiculously cheap prices from poor farmers in these regions.

Claims from Oxfam, a development charity, states that the company is in fact underpaying Ethiopian coffee farmers by $90 million a year, however. Analyst Douglas Holt at the Said Business School at Oxford University considers Starbucks to be just as unethical as Nike, a company famous for their sweatshops in impoverished Asian countries. Starbucks claims they make up for this loss by using a system called CAFE (Coffee and Farmer Equity) which provides benefits for farmers in other ways such as microfinance loans (loans given to a small businesses that do not have a bank available) and technical support as an alternative to buying fair-trade beans. The company also declares that they do not use the Fairtrade beans in all places because they disagree with their approach in certain countries and feel CAFE is a better alternative.

Starbucks could be trying to find a way around the issue of buying fair-trade coffee beans with their CAFE program and at the same time saving their organization a substantial amount of money. If Starbucks proved to be robbing Ethiopian farmers of this much money it could have a large impact on their revenues worldwide because the consumer will not want to buy beans from a company that has poor ethics such as the previously mentioned.

http://www.economist.com/node/8355026

Loving UBC and Sauder so far!

I am Jeremy, a first year student in Sauder!