Month: November 2012

Going through my daily (or may I say “late-night”-ly) internet browsing, I came across this particular business blog, Intuit. The writers of blog.intuit.com offer many different topics including marketing, business strategies and tips, social media, money, and many, many more. I clicked around the blog site and found the blog post “7 Ways to Cut Your Workplace Water Bills” quite interesting.

I found that this article ties in quite nicely with November 13’s Sustainability lecture in COMM101. Jan Fletcher describes seven tips to cut down water bill costs, which in turn will not only save money but also contribute to water conservation.

Here’s  a rundown on the seven ways Jan offers:

1. Discuss water use with new hires.
2. Take advantage of incentives for water-saving technology.
3. Tap water utilities for conservation ideas.
4. Trade greener grass for cash.
5. Calculate the cost of ongoing leaks.
6. Consider alternatives to water for cleaning tasks.
7. Join forces with others who support your efforts.

Reading the several ways that Jan Fletcher suggested made me think of even more ideas and expanding on the above seven ways, including reusing rainwater collected from the roof, and recycling old water from unused office mugs. What are other ways that you can think of? I find that Jan has compiled a very good list.

Regarding the blog in general, I definitely recommend to check it out, as the blog is intriguing to read, and has an array of different topics to appeal to any reader.

One major mistake by this once top aspirational brand and now they’re slipping down in sales.

Coach is experiencing downfalls in sales, and even Wall Street is “hedging its bets” on the company. What did they do wrong, you might ask? Luxury retail expert and president of Unity Marketing, Pam Danzinger states that Coach neglected their outlet stores and ultimately, “Coach overestimated how much its customers would spend, and priced its items too high“. This immediately made me think back to the article we had to read in COMM101 regarding Google and missing their expectations, due to releasing their third-quarter results early.

It shows that missing estimations are crucial. Coach now has to lower their pricing in order to appeal to consumers.

The decline in the popularity of Coach even shows out at the mall. Just a year ago, one would look left to right and see at least three Coach purses, but nowadays, it seems rare to see any bags from Coach. People have lost interest in the brand due to its high pricing and would rather buy other luxury products, like Michael Kors.

This definitely makes me wonder what the future will be like for this luxury brand, and whether or not they can revive their status. I’ll be following up on this issue for sure.

Original Article: Lutz, Ashley. “Coach Is Slipping Fast, And It Can All Be Traced To One Major Mistake.” Business Insider. 22 October 2012 Web. 17 November 2012. <http://www.businessinsider.com/coach-is-losing-its-value-2012-10>

I came about a Globe and Mail article that mentioned Save-On-Meats and immediately remembered the COMM101 lecture about “social entrepreneurship”.

The article explained the new breath of life into the neighbourhood of the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver; entrepreneurs and housing development were venturing into the declining area.

What really stood out from the article for me was “…[merchants] see opportunities to be enterprising because of cheaper leases, spruced-up buildings and, generally, a vibrant, youthful environment.” The word “opportunities” and social entrepreneurship goes hand in hand, and the fact that merchants, themselves, realize they see potential in such an area is brilliant. Together, the businesses who saw this opportunity have started to overcome the “outdated notions of a seedy area in decline”.

It also stated that in 2005, nearly 35% of the area on Hastings Street was an empty storefront, but the vacancy rate dropped to 13% by April 2012. This statistic reminded me that since there are more businesses in town, there’s more opportunities for people  in the area to become employed, resulting in more people off the streets and hopefully, on to a better life. I believe there’s definitely a new hope for the Downtown Eastside.

I’d love to visit Save-On-Meats and experience the place in person, and it’d be an extra treat to actually get to talk to the owner and hear about his stories and future goals.

Original Article: Jang, Brent. “Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is open for business.” The Globe and Mail. 13 November 2012 Web. 15 November 2012. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/vancouvers-downtown-eastside-is-open-for-business/article5265614/>

Recently, Sauder graduate, Tom Dobrzanski, now a producer, engineer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and keyboardist for The Zolas, came to speak to my COMM101 lecture. It was truly a treat to hear someone who was able to combine his passion for music and business, speak about how he began his career.

After listening to him speak, I was extremely intrigued to find out more about him, and how he started up. I’ve definitely heard of a few of the bands that he produced for, including Hey Ocean!, We are the City, and Said the Whale. Just started searching up their songs, including The Zolas, and I actually really like it!

Hearing him speak about how he started his studio (Vertical Studios), made me think about what I could do with the passions I love.

This opportunity of meeting so many influential people, including Tom Dobrzanski, made me realize the many advantages of coming to Sauder, and I will definitely try take advantage of a lot of these occasions.

Here are a few songs you can enjoy:

The Zolas, You’re Too Cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPF1qjkDOsY&feature=related

We Are The City, Astronomers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5GOIYj5giI

Said the Whale, Loveless: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oSyfW7Ci1E

I came about the personal financial blog, My Two Dollars, whilst in the search for a perfect external blog. I browsed through the site, and found a lot of the articles quite interesting, majority of the posts being about saving money. In particular, I found the post “Be Frugal, But Don’t Be A Cheap Bastard” engaging, thoughtful and just, different. The blogger, David, reminds us that “money can be replaced – life cannot. Don’t be a cheap bastard when it comes to the important stuff in life.”

And I completely agree with the main message he’s giving. This post made me think about the important things I’ve missed recently to save money, including the missed opportunities that have been presented to me the past 3 months of university. I have to remember that the fun and interactive components of university, that will benefit my experience, is also important of my university life.

I do realize that My Two Dollars isn’t exactly a ‘business’ blog – the posts are quite helpful in the sense that they give you tips for money-saving, but they’re also thought-provoking. Definitely check out the post “Be Frugal, But Don’t Be A Cheap Bastard”, it is certainly worth the read.

If you have read the blog post, I’d like to know your thoughts on whether it’s worth it to save money, or to splurge occasionally to spend time with those who are important in your life?