Seth’s Blog

When I searched business blogs online, the Top 50 Business blogs popped up. I selected the first one, Seth’s Blog, and glanced through it.

Seth’s style is quite interesting and easy to follow (just like his profile picture). In one of his posts, Organizing For Growth, he uses the example of a house painter to analyze how different operations can make a business become more efficient. I was amazed by the way he used to make an easy house painting work into a growing organization and brand.

His idea may sound ridiculous, but it is mind blowing. It is true that a business doesn’t have to operate the same way as everybody else does. Actually, it might be better for an entrepreneur to try something different. As he mentioned in the post, there are some things like “cash flow”, “demand enhancement”, “increasing ability to keep your promises by investing in a pipeline of talent”, etc. The most important thing is to know what you want to do.

Dream big. Be creative. Try hard. Ask for help. Go for it! “An entrepreneur creates something when there is nothing.” – What It Means to Be an Entrepreneur Now

” If  the United Nations was fully funded why would we need the Arc or social enterprise”?

I think there is always a need for social enterprise because the United Nations will never be fully funded. They need to consider and solve problems from all the areas including economical development, environmental issues, peacekeeping, human rights, etc. They will never have enough funds to solve these problems. We can’t expect them to put helping with poverty as their first task.

On the other hand, the Arc or social enterprise’s object is to help people in poor areas by giving them knowledge, capital, and mental support, so that they can do something they want, for example, running a business. It is infeasible for the United Nations to do these things. There is a difference between government and non-government organizations. If the United Nations’ job is to “save the world”, the social enterprise’s job is to “help the world”. If the United Nations do things due to responsibility, the social enterprise does things due to the willingness of helping others. The United Nations don’t earn profits by themselves, but social enterprises do.

In conclusion, I think we need the Arc or social enterprise to create a better world.

Online shopping sees 30% rise between midnight and 6am, study says

Alfred Nelson-Holmquist’s Blog

Michelle Liao’s Response

I want to talk about Alfred’s blog “Evaluating When Consumers Make Their Choices”.

The original article talks about how people do more online shopping nowadays, especially during midnight. It really catches my attention because there is an event happening on China’s biggest online shopping website – Taobao. In recent years, most online retailers will offer great discounts on November 11, which is known as “Singles’ Day” in China. (The number “1” looks like a stick. In China, single people are called “bare sticks”.) This year, some products even come with globally free shipping. This is a brilliant idea that satisfies the huge amount of overseas Chinese students’ needs. As a result, the sells on that day will increase dramatically.

The biggest online shopping website in China – Taobao

The separation of tablets does increase the percentage of people doing Internet shopping. My mother is a good example. I actually like that because it is a more convenient way of doing shopping, especially when the shopping malls are far away.

Alfred thinks that physical stores should extend opening hours to satisfy customers’ needs and compete with online stores. However, Michelle Liao, who also comments on Alfred’s blog, thinks that these stores should “take advantage of the online channel” instead. I agree with Michelle’s point of view.

http://blog.ycombinator.com/startup-school-2014-recap-and-videos

Screenshot from http://blog.ycombinator.com/startup-school-2014-recap-and-videos

I just love to talk about entrepreneurship.

This is one of the required reading materials for COMM 101 Class 14. It makes me think about entrepreneurship and myself.

As I mentioned before, I always want to have my own jewelry business in the future. In other words, I see myself as a future entrepreneur. However, after I watching article and reading this article, I started considering,” Am I suitable for being an entrepreneur?”

As what Ron Conway said, good entrepreneurs are born with strong work ethic, ambition, aggressiveness, toughness, curiosity and intelligence. I would say now I just satisfy half of the characteristics. He also suggests that an entrepreneur must put his/her business or product on top of everything. Jewelry business is really something that I really want to do, but I’m not sure if I can weight it more than everything else. Love and family, or happiness and health are the most important things for me. Moreover, what I think is a more traditional type of business. I’ve never thought about creating something. I feel like I’m lacking in entrepreneurship.

One of my best friends used to tell me,” You are not suitable for being an entrepreneur by yourself. You are too innocent for the world, so you need a partner like me.” I would definitely need a partner to start our business. At the same time, I know what I should work for now. Let’s see if I can make it. 🙂

What It Means to Be an Entrepreneur Now

I think to be an entrepreneur is to open your own company with certain skills, relationship and money. In the video “What It Means to Be an Entrepreneur Now” from entrepreneur.com, it states that “An entrepreneur creates something when there is nothing.” This is what I’ve never thought about, and I think it is an excellent explanation for an entrepreneur.

Another interesting point in the video is when Amy talks about her childhood assignment about finding out what her grandfather did for living. Her mother told her that her grandfather was an entrepreneur and had done lots of things. She couldn’t understand the meaning of being an entrepreneur, so she just drew a cowboy instead. Both my parents work for themselves since I was in primary school. I couldn’t understand what their jobs were either, so I said my father was a cook, and my mother was a teacher.

Now I know what an entrepreneur is. However, I don’t know if I can state them as “entrepreneurs”. They didn’t invent anything. They just used the knowledge they had to do business. I want to have my own jewelry business in the future, but it’s not something new. Can I say that I want to be an entrepreneur? I’m confused.

Chocolate Makers Enjoy Sweet Taste of Success

Laurie Thompson studied confectionery techniques through Humber College to prepare for taking over Chelsea Chocolates. (Laurie Valentine)

From Music Fan to Music Mogul

Sari Delmar, left, and her team meet biweekly for formal meetings, if not group hugs. (Dylan Leeder)

As we concluded in class, an entrepreneur must be super passionate about his/her business. I like chocolate, so I can imagine the sweet taste of success from Mrs. Thompson (Chocolate makers enjoy sweet taste of success). I also like music. I’m doing some recording for my drums recently. It is a brand new thing for me, and I strongly agree with Ms. Delmar’s word, “Sometimes you just have to go blindly. Hard work is really only the secret tip I can relay. If you know what your passion is, let it lead you there. Just start. Go.” (From music fan to music mogul)

I love jewelry, so I always want to start my own jewelry business. However, when shared the idea with a student in Wally’s Den at Spark, his question hit me, “Why don’t you now?” I suddenly noticed that although I have this idea, but I don’t have a plan for it. I’ve thought about studying jewelry in summer or after I graduate, but really, why don’t I start now?

I was amazed by how Ms. Delmar had started working and had her own business idea at such a young age. It’s never too early to take action for your goal. I still feel very uncertain because the lack of knowledge, not only on jewelry, but also on business. However, that’s why I’m here in Sauder, isn’t it? I think I really should start. I want the sweet taste of success.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Unilateral+park+declared+Tsilhqot+includes+Prosperity+mine/10192766/story.html

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/There+will+pipeline/10122968/story.html

Mineral industry is an industry which has a very close relationship with land. In Canada, the industry will definitely be influenced by First Nations because of the concerns on land, environment and natural resources. In the article, Taseko Mine Ltd.’s mining project is restrained by the First Nations’ tribal park.

Which is more important, money or culture? As the native inhabitants, First Nations have the right to protect their land. However, if the company gives up the mine, it means giving up 1.1 billion. As we can see from the article, the chance for Taseko starting mining is very little.

It’s not only the problem between First Nations and others, but also a problem between environment and industry. The article about pipeline illustrates the similar problem.

We can see that an industry about natural resources, such as logging, mining, fossil oil, will always face restrictions from the environmental departments, or the native people. Companies need to think and plan carefully before they start working, or that could cause a huge loss on company’s profit. In addition, these restrictions sometime will force the company to give up the chance of earning money. It is a very important factor that the companies should put into consideration when they’re making the business plan.

Gender Equality in Business

I’ve read my classmate Stella Cho’s blog – Gender Equality in Business, and I want to talk about it.

Stella talks about gender inequality in business. I agree with it. My mother is a businesswoman. She’s also a straightforward woman. She hates the “latent rules” about genders in business. Luckily, we are in Shanghai, which is a province known for “stronger women, gentler men” in China. However, there are still lots of gender inequalities that my mother needs to face.

I really appreciate Emma Watson’s speech mentioned in Stella’s blog. The same as her, I also notice gender problems as I grow up. I don’t understand why men think strong women are less attractive? Why women have to show their sexy bodies or expressions to get attention from men? Why women usually say something flattering to men to get the business they want? That’s not right.

At the same time, I want to talk about some other problems.

Emma states that general equality is also men’s issue, “Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong.”

Do you know in China, at least the situation I know, there are many girls teasing boys in primary schools? The opposite situation also happen, as well as the bullying among the same gender. Both genders require equality! Each single person requires equality! I think that is a even more difficult goal to achieve.

link to Emma Waston’s speech: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too

http://colombiareports.co/colombia-emeralds-generating-fear-revenue/

Treasures are usually dangerous. Many people have heard “blood diamond”, but how about “green war”?

As one of the most valuable gems in the world, the demand for emerald is huge. Someone(I couldn’t find the name) even states that “Emerald is not a luxury. It is a necessity.” However, as you can imagine, the conflict is also enormous.

Colombian emerald mines are famous for their high quality and beautiful colour. People fighting for the mines all the time, even by using paramilitaries. Expect for companies with the mining right, drug traders also want to get some profit from emerald trade. The black market appears. My father told me that, “A jewelry trader may not trade drug, but a drug trader must trade jewelry.” That’s why in the article, local people thinks that emerald gets more fear than revenue for them.

Jewelry trades are mostly uncontrollable because their price depend on personal preference. If you don’t like it, that’s just a stone. If you like it, in some cases, people would like to pay whatever to get the jewelry they want. That is different from most trades in the world; and that’s why there are conflicts caused by jewelry all the time around the world.

I love jewels, and I want to get into the jewelry business. That’s just so captivating.

http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/tata-success-story-is-based-on-humanity-philanthropy-and-ethics/41766592

We’ve talked about Tata in class, so I found interested when I met this article about Tata’s business ethics. This article written by Peter Casey, the founder chairman of Claddagh Resources illustrates how Tata grew bigger and bigger from a small family business by following the idea of improving people’s lives.

I’m not familiar with Tata or India. I know it is a country with huge population and gap of wealth. I think it would be a good thing if a company in India actually think of Indian people and do things for them. And it really does a good job on extending to other areas. (Is that because the company is so successful, or is that because there aren’t so many competitors in India?)

My mother told me that we should help others or do philanthropy after we earn enough money. I want to have my own business in the future, but I think I would not have extra money to help others since myself might have a hard time running a business. After I read Tata’s story, I wonder how do they achieve both business and moral success? Is there a way to do philanthropy along with the business? Or there’s another question, do we have to do that? Tata helped people and the society because of religious believes, but many huge companies are also doing fine and win reputation as long as they don’t break the rules. This is a moral question.

One thing I don’t understand is that, Casey said that Tata has “a different way for capitalism to succeed”. What is Tata’s way? How can that be capitalism? I’m confused.

I wish some classmates from India can share their views of Tata with me.