I’ve recently discovered a business blog that provides information about new marketing strategies, sales, and business techniques that has proven to be very interesting and insightful. Chris Brogan, who is the CEO of Human Business Works, provides his own insight on how to grow a business, and market efficiently and effectively. What I found particularly interesting is that he even offers weekly emails to provide his followers with news, advice, and inspiration. I find Chris Brogan’s blog to be interesting mainly because I plan on focusing on a career in marketing in the future and his blog post provide much needed guidance on how to interpret and analyze advertisements and marketing strategies. He is also very inspiring when it come to entrepreneurs and how they can follow their dreams. Brogan has several blog posts fully dedicated to building a presence in the business community, as well as taking the first steps in starting your own company. I believe this business blog is very important and inspirational to the business community, and also to anyone looking for guidance with their future business prospects.

Previously, I submitted a Blog post about how Twitter is becoming the next step in social media marketing by promoting companies and brands on the twitter feeds of its users. Christie’s Blog has a similar post about Instagram and their newly implemented business plan of including “magazine quality” ads on their app for all users to see. Christie argues that the ads will not be harmful to the population of Instagram users because people will still feel the need to upload pictures for their friends to see, regardless of the occasional advertisement. I would whole-heartedly agree with Christie’s point. Much like my analysis of Twitter’s implementation of advertisements, I believe people have become almost “addicted” to social media, to the point where it would take more than a Banana Republic ad to stop them from using the app. I believe that it was smart to “warn” users before actually implementing the ads because, unlike Twitter, it gives users a chance to come to the realization on their own that they will use social media with or without the ads.

I recently wrote a blog about Walmart starting their holiday deals early this year in order to increase their holiday revenue, but I did not consider the Walmart employees who would have to work extra hours during on of the busiest time of the year. In reply to Victor’s Blog, I would agree that it is unfortunate that 1 million Walmart employees have to work on Thanksgiving instead of being with their families, but as Victor said, they are provided with extra pay and a turkey dinner, and Walmart is ultimately a corporation and their goal is to generate profits. I don’t think Walmart can be blamed for their policies either, by trying to have their employees buy Walmart products. Though I am not familiar with the specific policy, I doubt Walmart “forces” employees to spend their income at Walmart. Ultimately, I would say that I agree with Victor that corporate social responsibility is important, but I would disagree with some of the criticism of Walmart mainly because in the end, they are just trying to do what’s best for the company, even if it means having people work a few extra hours.

Wild Fusion, a digital marketing firm in Nigeria, is currently a Google Adwords partner valued at $20-million, with revenues doubling year-on-year, but in the first 8 months of it’s development, the founder, Abasiama Idaresit, “didn’t make a dime.” It was finally a baby products retailer that gave him the initial $250 contract that started this successful African startup. The number of tech startups specifically in Africa is growing, as more people start to use the internet. Economic gains from the rising usage of internet across Africa are said be to strong, and expert say the new technology could help end the reliance on raw materials and help infrastructure inadequacies. I would agree that investors should start to look towards Africa for new businesses, especially in the tech sector, since innovative internet startups are likely to be the future of business. The obvious problem is the lack of available funding for tech startups in Africa, due to the high level of risk. I believe that investing in African tech startups is a risk worth taking because they not only offer new insights, innovation, and value to shareholders, but also help build infrastructure. Companies like Wild Fusion are the future of African business.

Picture: http://www.ventures-africa.com/tag/wild-fusion/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/african-and-mideast-business/african-tech-startups-held-back-by-lower-internet-penetration-scarcity-of-early-stage-capital/article15424220/

Picture: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/05/17/rob-ford-video-star-gawker_n_3290180.html

The Mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, has recently been involved in a highly publicized drug and alcohol scandal. Many of the businesses in Toronto are worried that the bad publicity and damaged image of the city will reflect poorly on their ability to bring in new investors and customers. For example, Bruce Poon-Tip, founder of the adventure travel company, G Adventures, has expressed his fear that Mayor Ford’s reputation is causing Toronto, as well as the entire nation, to look unstable.  Poon-Tip was introduced three times as being from the home of the “Crack Mayor” while on a speaking tour in Australia. Though some others in the business community argue that investors won’t be distracted by Mayor Ford’s erratic behaviour, I would agree with Poon-Tip in being weary of the effects of Ford’s damaging reputation. I believe that the smaller, local businesses will feel the impact of the bad publicity the most if tourism in Toronto decreases because of the negative coverage. Most of the bigger corporations and companies can still count on investors since there are greater profits to be made, but I don’t believe investors will be willing to fund small businesses in a city with a crack smoking mayor.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/torontos-business-community-gives-ford-a-thumbs-down/article15465346/

Nestle recently held the fifth edition of their Creating Shared Value Forum, hosted in Columbia this year. Nestle’s business model for CSV in Columbia included themes such as nutrition, as well as water and rural development. I share the belief with Nestle that “in order for a company to be successful over time and create value for their stockholders, it must also create value for society.” An example of Nestle’s Creating Shared Value Model is their work with milk and micro-finance. Nestle does not only collect the milk from the 35,000 dairy farmers in Columbia, but also trains thousands of farmers and provides them with micro-finace loans in order to help with their productivity. I believe that since the main idea behind creating shared value is recognizing and capitalizing on the connection between the competitiveness of a company and the health of the community they serve, Nestle has the ability to truly benefit both the Columbian community of dairy farmers, as well as grow their company and bring in more value to their shareholders. Though some critics say that companies only promote CSV to enhance their image to consumers, I believe companies like Nestle are revolutionizing business by creating synergies between themselves and the community

.

Picture: http://www.modernghana.com/news/439427/1/call-for-entries-open-for-2014-nestl-prize-in-crea.html

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/debating-development-2013-creating-shared-value-forum-2013-10-29?pagenumber=1

IKEA announced recently that they have purchased a 46-megawatt wind farm in Pincher Creek, Alberta, that they believe will generate twice the total energy consumption of its stores across Canada. IKEA’s Canadian president has said that IKEA is able to, “support the transition to a low-carbon future, reduce our energy and operating costs and pass those benefits on to our customers by continuing to offer high quality home furnishings at low prices,” which I find hard to believe. Though IKEA is not releasing the dollar amount of the deal, typically clean energy is more expensive and complicated to utilize, and if IKEA plans on expanding their eco-friendly image and using renewable energy in all their stores, their costs will most likely go up, thus causing prices of their goods to increase. According to the article, IKEA is planning on investing $2.1 billion CDN in renewable energy projects over the next few years. IKEA’s environmental responsibility will surely improve their image, especially since large corporations are typically seen as destroying the environment, and it will prove to be very beneficial to the planet, but there is no way that this eco-freindly initiative will lower costs and keep prices down for consumers.

Picture: http://jy-s.com/2009/06/04/ikea-says-no-to-plastic-bags/

http://www.bnn.ca/News/2013/11/14/IKEA-eyes-low-carbon-future-with-Alberta-wind-energy-project.aspx

Apple is planning on releasing two new models of iPhones in the second half of next year with bigger screens and curved glass edges. These new models would be Apple’s largest models to date and could even have screens as big as Samsung’s 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 3. I believe Apple is feeling the pressure since Samsung became their biggest competitors in the smartphone market. Consumers are looking for affordability as well as new features and Samsung can offer both, whereas Apple has never been focused on creating low cost products. With Samsung’s many different models at varying prices, I believe Apple is trying to almost mimic this business plan, especially with their release of the iPhone 5C and the news of iPhones with bigger screens. I do think that Samsung has been successful with their business plan, but if Apple starts to follow in their footsteps, they could lose the customer segment that they have catered to from the beginning. I believe that if Apple goes in the direction of creating a product that so obviously competes with Samsung’s smartphones, they better do their research and create the best product on the market at an affordable price. Otherwise why would anyone switch from Samsung to Apple?

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/11/11/apple-inc-iphone-curved-big-screen/?__lsa=2723-e69c

Picture: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229898

Walmart recently announced that they will be offering their Thanksgiving deals two hours earlier this year, as well as offering deals as early as the morning of Thanksgiving for online shoppers. Because holiday sales make up approximately 40 percent of annual revenues for retailers, with an expected increase of 3.9 percent this year, it is very important that Walmart capitalize on the holiday season effectively and promote their low prices and holiday deals as early as possible. I believe it was the right decision for Walmart to begin offering holiday deals early this year because research has shown that people are beginning their holiday shopping earlier and earlier over the past few years. Walmart can also afford to reduce their prices on goods to a ridiculously low amount because they have so much supplier power. They have the ability to buy their products for less which means they can sell for less, hence causing people to prefer shopping at Walmart for low cost Christmas gifts over other retailers. Walmart most likely won’t lose revenue for lowering their prices for the holidays earlier than last year because consumers will respond to the price change and take advantage of it as soon as possible.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us-business/wal-mart-boosts-thanksgiving-deals-as-holiday-competition-heats-up/article15395647/

Picture: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2013/10/08/first-trial-stemming-from-madoff-fraud-underway/

The accountant who was responsible for some of Bernie Madoff’s richest clients was indicted on charges regarding the fact that he falsified account statement and trading records. It was suggested by US attorney Preet Bharara that Paul Konigsberg “threw aside his ethical duties as an accountant in favour of his role as a false bookkeeper.” Konigsberg  was apparently very vital to Madoff’s fraud, mainly due to the fact that he was in charge of over 300 client accounts. He backdated trades and revised statements, among other things, which allowed Madoff to conceal his fraud. I find it odd that now that it has come to light and is such a big issue in the public eye, how Konigsberg can still argue that he was only a “victim” of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. He was one of the main accountanting execs at the time, and from what I know, accountants require a certain amount of information about the dealings of the company. Obviously Konigsberg was getting a piece of the action and didn’t mind stepping out of the boundaries of fair and honest accounting to get it. He was the only non-family member to hold an ownership interest in Madoff’s investment business, which was most likely the motivation behind his accounting fraud.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/09/26/konigsberg-madoff-ponzi/2877643/