Entrepreneurship is something that I’ve always felt compelled to do – maybe open up a nice restaurant franchise, eh? Yet, like or unlike many others, I haven’t been able to find that “Aha!” inspirational moment that always coincides with a success story. In reading Comm101 Section 105 student Khaled Shawwash’s post on a 7-year old entrepreneur who wants to open a restaurant himself, I learnt that there are some exemplary entrepreneurs out there. This boy makes $100 per day selling baked goods, and in total agreement with Khaled’s statement, “relative to how much I made when I was 7, he’s pretty damn successful”. Whether he ultimately succeeds in opening his dream restaurant or not, I admire his ambition.

Feeling down about my entrepreneurial future, I found solace in an article about Ottawa’s Bridgehead coffee chain. It was started by an entrepreneur, Tracey Clark, who purchased Bridgehead trading Co. back in 2000 and differentiated from all the other coffee houses by being the first in Canada to serve fair-trade coffee. 

She came across the idea of serving fair-trade coffee back in its infancy while on a Nicaraguan backpacking trip in 1987. Now, Tracey was nowhere near 7 when she came across her “Aha!” moment and she has found mountains of success in branching Bridgehead to over 13 locations across Ottawa.

After Tracey’s story, I feel much less discouraged about entrepreneurship. Maybe my “Aha!” moment will come soon. After all, Comm101 has taught me that entrepreneurs come in all ages, some even start their businesses without the desire to be an entrepreneur or even feel like they are one after becoming one. So for now, I’ll just be keeping an eye out for things to make a buck on.

Image: http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/115/report-on-business/small-business/article15393419.ece/ALTERNATES/w620/bridgehead-filter.jpg

Articles: In China, Dell Clings Tightly to the Waning PC, IBM: PCS ARE YESTERDAY’S TECHNOLOGY. CHINA: SURE, BUT GIVE US MILLIONS MORE.

After continuous retreating in the declining PC market these past few years, Dell has finally found itself cornered. Just a few weeks ago Michael Dell’s once mighty corporation that pioneered virtual integration was bailed out of the public market by private equity group Silver Lake Partners and now both have turned to Chinese markets to help the company get back on its feet. The reason for this refocus is due to China’s new title as the world’s largest PC market. Despite the large disadvantage of not being first to market, Mr. Dell recently announced in Beijing that Dell would open 2,000 new retail outlets in China – an effort to steal market share from Beijing’s own Lenovo, which currently sells 1 of every 3 computers in China.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlBK_ceg2lo

However, I believe that in order for Dell to be successful on this venture, all PC manufacturers including Lenovo, Acer, and HP need to ramp up their marketing tactics to change the average Chinese consumer’s mind about what a PC is. We in the west perceive our technologies as obsolete just after a few years whereas the average Chinese consumer expects to keep theirs for much longer. Therefore, since 90-95% of people in cities already own a PC, their perception of obsolescence must be changed to instead want “the latest and greatest” in order to keep this new PC market booming. Of course this wastefulness is going to be bad for the environment though, right?

Would you just look at Mr. Dell’s determination…

Image: <http://images.bwbx.io/cms/2013-11-07/tech_dell46__01__630x420.jpg>

Articles: Performance Reviews: Why Bother?, Zappos Gets It Right – Again. How a Performance Appraisal Process Should Work

There’s a reason why 95 out of 100 employees are unsatisfied with their company’s work evaluation system. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that the practice of annually rounding up the workforce and grading their workplace skills out of 5 no longer adds value to the company and should be discontinued. I would entirely agree with this suggestion as, after several classes on HR in Comm101, I now understand the concept and importance of organizational culture. The typical annual performance review merely comes across as a generic grading strategy similar to schooling. The fact that it only occurs once a year doesn’t help in bettering the company as a whole as “managers should address issues when they arise, not six or eight months later.”

Compare that to a company like organizational culture-rich Zappos which, instead of evaluating their employees on generic work skills like punctuality or how well they accomplish tasks, actually reviews their employees on how well they fulfil Zappos’ 10 core values. Such a method ensures that the company is comprised of a workforce suitable for its aims. As markets expand and competition increases, I believe it is imperative for companies to shift from treating the employee as just “another guy at the office” to instilling him within an actual work community built around the company’s core values. After all, organizational culture is also reflected in the way the public perceives the company.

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Articles: Barrick Gold Corp to raise more than US$3-billion in share sale, shelve Pascua-Lama mine, Gourmet burger chain relishes a global rollout, starting in Canada

Controversy and construction problems of a gold-mine in Chile are largely responsible for Barrick’s debt.

We always hear news of a big company announcing its IPO but rarely does a secondary equity offering make the news headlines… unless of course you’re the world’s largest gold producer! Drowning in $15.4 billion of debt, Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. has announced plans to sell more of its equity in an attempt to raise $3 billion dollars to repay some of that debt.

You can expect to see one of these in your neighbourhood pretty soon if all goes well for Relish.

Meanwhile, a booming franchise from New Brunswick called Relish Gourmet Burgers plans to expand from its current 5 locations to 54 locations across Canada in just two years with the help of a Dubai investment firm. However, the owner’s expression of his desire to go global seems pretty far-fetched to me at this point. This story reminded me a lot of Potbelly sandwiches which itself had recently undergone its IPO to raise funds for mass expansion. But surely opening dozens of stores in a few years requires a substantial raising of capital; so I’m left wondering if we’ll be seeing Relish Gourmet Burgers ringing the Wall Street bell in the near future too.

The two stories are a good reminder to me of how vital financial markets (especially the stock market) are to all businesses. It is a great institution through which indebted companies can find salvation through equity offerings and it is also where companies like Relish can find the means –and optimism– to go big.

Images: <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-CypQzbtC1Q0/UYt1pZbqtZI/AAAAAAAAKXE/zNzdMg1Exlw/AntiBarrick-GOLD.jpg> <http://s3-media2.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/FkOCX3LkEpPT2AZI7HEucA/l.jpg>