Monthly Archives: November 2012

The possibility to fuze your passion with what you learn in Sauder was exemplified by Tom Dobrzanski during his presentation in class. Tom owns Vertical Studios and uses his businesses skills for artist management and tour booking as well as just managing the whole studio.

Currently this Vancouver based recording studio has recorded well known artists such as Said the Whale, Hey Ocean!, and We Are The City. The recording studio has been growing in popularity that it is expanding into a larger industrial-residence space.

Tom discussed not only the background of his company but also how he initially funded the company, which is basically the main aspect of starting a business. It was interesting to learn how a sad story ended up funding his now very successful business. (this really does enforce the cliche “every cloud has a silver lining”!). He also talked about how he was always very passionate about music and how great it was to be working in the music industry while still applying what he learned in Sauder.

His presentation really enforced the idea that it is possible to work and still do what you are passionate about. And isn’t that what’s important anyways?

The Insider is a blog that touches on a range of business issues that have been present in BC. I came across the blog and found an article by Tony Wanless on the need for the reinvention of businesses.

Wanless describes how businesses have been operating in the same manner because of inertia: what has been done to get things done is still used to get things done. However, as the world becomes more social, the way businesses are operated must also learn to adapt to a more social environment. What needs to be done, as stated by Wanless, is to focus more on employee skills and emotions in order to make businesses more “human”.

This post was interesting in the fact that it highlights the needs for businesses to be adaptable to its environment and that sticking to “intertia” is not what’s going to keep a business successful. It is interesting to think that how adaptable businesses are to changes is a potential determinant on a particular business’s success. It is a useful concept to understand as, due to technology, the world keeps changing quite quickly.

Save on Meats is a social enterprise located in the downtown Eastside of Vancouver. This restaurant serves meat dishes while also providing jobs to people who need them. Mark Brand is the owner of this meat butchery/cafe. This social entrepreneur recognized the problems of homelessness in the Vancouver Eastside area and decided to use entrepreneurial principles to make a social change. Save on Meats currently provides 65 jobs to employees who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to find one due to reasons such as addictions, or mental disabilities.

This is just one example of the many social enterprises out there that are very successful. It shows that you can still run a well functioning business while also making a social change in the community. Brand marketing is done through presentations or through television specials but Brand only allows them to go through if his social message is presented. This shows strategic planning as well as resourcefulness which are both important in maintaining a social enterprise.

Save on Meats have attracted many potential business partners such as Arlene Dickinson from the tv show Dragon’s Den which could help expand its potential and overcome some financial and consultive hurdles.

More on Save on Meats: http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/11/12/save-on-meats-subject-of-cbcs-big-decision/

Janice Cheam recently came to our class to discuss her company, Energy Aware. Energy Aware focuses on becoming more environmentally aware by focusing on living more sustainably through the use of less scare ressources. More people are becoming aware of the direct impact we are having on the planet and are trying to lessen this impact. Energy Aware’s PowerTab is a useful product for such as it displays how much energy is being consumed at that moment.

As she was explaining how she started out, I realized that a really important factor about starting a business is having commitment to your idea and what it stands for. Janice was talking about how it took her a long time to find investors, not because they didn’t believe she would be a success but because she needed the right evidence to show she would be a success. Not only did I learn that the start up of a company cannot be rushed but it also requires a lot of patience and almost faith to know that the hard work will pay off, which, in Janice’s case it definitely did.

In response to Katie Chow’s post on the question of importance of Twitter for businesses, I agree with her on how it can be valuable to a company. Using this social media site to extend information to the public is an easy (not to mention free) way to market it’s company as well as to allow customers feel like they know what is happening with the company. This communication between company and customers  generates a sense of relationship in which customers can feel more loyal to a company if they know the company is also trying to keep in touch with it’s customers. On the other hand, companies must also be careful of the information that they do post. Unprofessional posts about what is happening for lunch or what not may hinder the brand’s reputation.

In this day and age, most companies do use social media platforms to reach out to its target market as the world become more and more electronic dependant andTwitter is a great way to rely information. However, it must be used responsibly (like with most things).