Through times of political uncertainties, recessions, debts and government shut downs, it is ever more necessary to come up with contingency plans for businesses. The ability to work under pressure and pull through crisis has shown itself to be the most important skill any modern entrepreneur should have, differentiating those that can weather the storm and those that sink from it.

An example of that would be US car company General Motors which had its activities shut down due to the political riots in Cairo, where the company employed over 14,000 people. As well as home appliance company Electrolux that also chose to shut down all the operations at the region for the same reasons.

In cases where shutdown of production is necessary it is “easier”, in some sense, when the company is larger. Global firms tend to not only have contingency plans, being able to reallocate damages, but also the loss of a small part of the revenue doesn’t affect the picture as much as it would in a small business. In cases like this SIZE MATTERS!

When in crisis step one. DO NOT PANIC! Take a deep breath, and always make sure to have a plan forehand for these type of scenarios. According to Patrick Lord, managing director for global risk consultancy Control Risks in the Middle East,

“Unless you have that planning formula right from the start, then you are leaving yourself open to last-minute panic,”

From this we can conclude that to survive the storm entrepreneurs must follow one simple step:

1.PLAN BEFORE THE STORM – PREPARE

Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and Tumblr are some of the many social media networks that have incorporated advertisement into their websites as a way to collect revenue. Instagram   is not to fall behind in the “selling out” trend. The company announced its plans to add advertisements to the streaming of pictures of their users. If everything goes as accordingly  the app, which was recently bought by Facebook, will be pulling an estimate of 400 million dollars three to four years now.

Instagram has to be careful with the amount and quality of the advertisements being streamed to avoid public dissatisfaction. The idea is to provide  “beautiful, high-quality photos and videos from a handful of brands that are already great members of the Instagram community,”.

The photoapp will be enriched with swiftly placed ads into the feed. Companies including Burberry, Nike and Starbucks, were previously using the app to market their products will be able to buy ads and other companies will be able to extensively brand their goods and services through a new interface reaching a new demographic of consumers.

#instaadvertisement #hopeitworks #marketing

Suit and tie, briefcase and an office. When looking maybe a few decades back thats what an entrepreneur or any business person needed to succeed. Afterall, where to meet with coworkers, have meetings or basically get any type of work done if not in an office? However, as technology advances the only tools that are really necessary to be able to conduct tasks that previously were only done in a physical space are a computer and internet. It now possible from the comfort of a home office or a café, or from the convenience of an airport lounge to complete transactions, sign contracts, conduct online meetings and make important decision without moving a single step.

Under the various reasons why offices are no longer needed is the type of workers that are now entering the work field. Millenials are projected to dominate the workforce by 2020 they are the generation of connectivity, the generation that grew up with google and social media. What better to exemplify this type of worker then ourselves. In this exact moment I am using the internet to get my work done, I could be inside my room, in the library, at the beach or enjoying a meal at The Keg, but the point is I am connected and getting work done needless of a office or a cubicle.

In summary the need for an office may be considered quite Machiavellian. As long as we reach the end, in this sense, as long as the work is done, the means (being the place) is quite irrelevant.