So here it is, the blog post that officially completes the requirement for this assignment in Comm 101. It’s a bittersweet moment you could call it; I no longer must worry about getting it all done on time, yet this commences part of the reason why I chose UBC to begin with. Weird feelings about a course eh?

See, this course, to myself at least, has almost defined Sauder. It is one of the things that sets us apart from all other business schools, and has really emphasized the difference between UBC and high school. Let me elaborate…

I first heard about this course when I attended miniEnterprize. Jeff gave a speech, and he mentioned this course. No textbook, no final, just pure business discussion. It captivated me; nothing in high school was ever like that. And when I looked at other schools, none of them offered anything even remotely comparable. It’s a wonderful thing, despite all the hard work. After being in this course, I have a basic understanding of the different aspects of business, and it gives me a head start on figuring out what I am passionate about. If I was anywhere else, I would have only one year to decide, and knowing me, that is no where enough time.

So thank you guys for giving all of us this wonderful opportunity. And this isn’t meant as a suck up blog to get good marks, I truly mean this. You have given all of us the opportunity to get a head start on discovering our passion. Thank You.

Image from Google

The new hot topic of the business world: life management. No, not when you go to talks about how to organize your time, or handy apps that remind you when to go pick up your kids. Full out, everything managed for you. It is simply an angel in your pocket.

According to this Economist blog, the new website Personal.com manages everything in your life, from what type of oil your car uses, to how many frequent flier miles you have accumulated. It is now old fashioned to keep track of all these things seperately, and to be honest, why hasn’t someone come up with this earlier? It makes managing your life sooo much easier.

The only drawback I can see is the possibility for companies to intrude into your life, to “pull a Facebook”. With every possible aspect of your life online, companies can come in and find out how to target you specifically. Or possibly even identity thieves could come on, and better figure out how to take advantage of you. If the website manages to prevent these things from happening, this website idea is golden.

Entrepreneurship has moved away from buildings, and into cyberspace. The entrepreneurs of tomorrow are now building websites, creating MIS systems that are completely user based, and changing the way we live our lives. Maybe Sauder should offer website creation courses, seeing how it is the business of today, and even bigger business of tomorrow.

Images from Google

When asked to look for an example of an entrepreneur, my first thought was of someone not from our time period.Yet he still manages to affect our every day lives, and will continue to do so for the rest of time.

He is Henry Ford, the entrepreneur that revolutionized the motor industry, and brought cars to what they are today. Ford meets every requirement given of an entrepreneur:

Wealth Creation: the model T was a raving success, and Henry Ford enjoyed substantial profits through his creations.

Speed of Wealth: Ford experienced these profits immediately, and they continued to rise as cars became more readily available.

Risk: He revolutionized the auto industry. If starting a company during this time, in that industry, is not risky, please tell me what is.

Innovation: The man created mass production. He created the family car. His company continues to innovate and lead in the industry, and has been voted countless times as the greatest car manufacturer of all time. Henry Ford was a man of innovation, and he created a company in this same image.

If it wasn’t for the entrepreneurship of Henry Ford, who knows what our life would be like now. A single man managed to make the lives of every single other person to live so much easier. Could this not make him the greatest entrepreneur to ever live?

Images from Google.

Now this blog is going to be biased, guaranteed. I’m an American car man, always have been, always will be. And if you aren’t, well, you should probably at least respect them for what they’ve done.

The news reports are beginning to say the same thing. Detroit is back. Businessweek.com says that ‘Carmakers Are a Recovery Bright Spot’. The Big 3 have moved away from large-sized vehicles and into the production of smaller, fuel-efficient cars, giving them an advantage over the European fascination with the V-6 engine. Not only will this lead to a rise in popularity of these companies again, but the American economy will boom. New jobs will open up, more money will come in to the North American economy, and everything will work out. At least that is what Chrysler is trying to market. 

This is an old video, but watch Eminem’s sponsorship of Detroit in a Chrysler ad. In this video, Chrysler takes a new form of marketing: instead of covering up their problems, they are blatently stating the issues, and showing that their history will resolve any and all problems in the future. It is actually very compelling to watch, a much better done ad then any I have seen for a motor company.

Detroit’s back people, they proved again that the American Auto industry is one of the toughest, if not the toughest, in the world.

Images from Google.