Stephanie Fan's Blog

There can be a variety of definitions of an entrepreneur but typically it can be defined as “one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise”.

The first person that popped into my mind was none other than Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of the commonly-used, social networking site Facebook.

Joseph Schumpeter, an Austrian economist, strongly emphasizes that the main focus of entrepreneurship is innovation.  This is clearly demonstrated as no other social network was able to provide as convenient of an access in connecting with your friends and family.

Four main requirements for Entrepreneurial venture:

1. Amount of Wealth Creation
– In 2007, Microsoft bought a 1.6% stake in Facebook for approximately $240 million.

2. Speed of Wealth Creation
– In one year’s time, Facebook was already able to generate $12.7 million in venture capital.

3.Risk
– Zuckerberg was absent for many of classes in order to create Facebook and eventually dropped out of Harvard.

4.Innovation
– Facebook is still continually expanding.  Mark Zuckerberg had replied saying that the site is still “work in progress”.

Thus, Mark Zuckerberg is an ideal example of a successful, multi-billion entrepreneur.

http://www.quickmba.com/entre/definition/

http://www.entrepreneur.com/growyourbusiness/radicalsandvisionaries/article197850.html

What’s the most creative excuse you’ve heard for skipping out on work?  Have you tried “my mother was being chased by a crazed chicken“? Or “a cow broke into my house so now I have to wait for the insurance man“?  These employees are making up these ridiculous to avoid having to go to work.  Why?  Because their job does not satisfy them!

More and more companies are beginning to realize that the traditional centralized business structure is no longer useful in increasing productivity.  Businesses now are becoming more decentralized meaning that they empower their employees so that they have more flexibility and are given the opportunity to make decisions. With more freedom to handle their own situations, employees become more interested in the creativity and flexibility their job provides, which then increases overall job satisfaction.

For example, the online shoe company Zappos has their office decorated with bright, artistic images, giving the company a very vibrant and lively work atmosphere.  The customer service employees at Zappos are not as restricted as typical call centers are as well.  They do not need to follow a set rule of guidelines as to what information needs to be obtained before proceeding to help the customer, but rather, their goal is to remain cheerful and helpful in order to provide excellent customer satisfaction.

Will Andrew, the new president of Trimark Sportswear Group, notices the connection and thus hosts various morale-boosting events from Halloween party to a “biggest loser” boot camp.  As well as giving his employees more decision-making power, he is trying to improve communication from top down as well as bottom up so that the company will be more decentralized.

However, this strategy will vary depending on whether your company focuses on production (e.g. assembly line) where innovation (e.g. software company) is not needed.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/managing/on-the-job/employees-get-creative-when-calling-in-sick/article1787970/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/business-categories/human-resources/capitalizing-on-culture/a-new-company-culture-from-the-top-down-and-the-bottom-up/article1790572/

The introduction of Television along with cable has definitely marked a huge milestone in technological advancements, however, are we ready to move on from this wonderful innovation?

Now, companies are beginning to offer an alternate way of viewing television: Internet TV.  Currently in Canada, Netflix is the most popular Internet television provider and costs only $8 per month to view.  Netflix is amazingly convenient because it can be accessed from a smart phone to an iPad, to video game consoles like Xbox 360.

Analysing this situation, media analysts have suggested that the demand for cable Television will drop and that the popularity for Internet TV will increase.  However, this forecast is incorrect.  Other than the fact that it is extremely difficult to make future assumptions since external factors may also vary the outcome, forecasts are meant to show the different possibilities or probabilities of the potential outcomes.  For example, a weather forecast will announce that there is a 30% chance of rain the next day.  Therefore, there is 70% chance that it will not rain as well.

These analysts have failed to provide accurate forecasts and this is further proven by looking at the disadvantages of Internet television.  Although sources like Netflix are able to offer movies at such low prices, they are not able to offer the most current shows that the audience wants to view.  As well, the picture quality is simply incomparable with the cable Television.  Therefore, although Internet TV may have a decent amount of supporters, it is not enough to threaten the existence of cable and satellite TV.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/personal-tech/hugh-thompson/will-internet-tv-change-the-way-we-watch-television/article1782864/

A Canadian company, Ziptrek Ecotours, had adopted Costa Rica’s usage of zip lines as a tourist attraction to use in North America and has proven to be quite successful.  Now however, they have chosen to expand their business and have targetted Queenstown in New Zealand to be their market for zip lining.

Queenstown was an optimal location because the tourism industry is very large there and interest in extreme sports is really high.  However, some of the challenges that Ziptrek Ecotours faced was that they had a difficult time seeking government approval for zip lining could potentially cause environmental concerns.  This also brings up the topic regarding business ethics where whenever we make a decision, we should always consider whether this is the right thing to do or not.

Regardless, after persisting for a few years, the company managed to progress with their project, opening on Decemeber 2009.  During this time, Ziptrek Ecotours had spent “low millions” of dollars of which there was also a 25% added cost later.  Taking a closer look at the company on an organizational level, we understand that Operations had a huge part in making all of this happen.  The Marketing department may perhaps had suggest expanding into the New Zealand market and Accounting may have determined an approximate budget for the project however it is Operations that pieces everything together and implements the strategy.  Hence, it is evident that Operations had done a great job in bringing a sport as daring as zip lining into Queenstown, New Zealand.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/start/location/zipline-firm-makes-beeline-for-new-zealand/article1765701/

For those who are familiar with Financial Accounting, there are three main types of financial statements: balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statements.  These documents are meant to help you develop an idea of how your company is doing and whether it’s headed toward the right direction.

Let’s focus on the balance sheet.  A balance sheet is like a picture.  It defines the financial position of a company at a specific point in time and lists out the assets, liabilities and the owner’s equity.  Certain assets are debatable like intangible assets.  Intangible assets are difficult to match a dollar value to therefore cannot be recorded in the books unless it is proven by a transaction.   For example, a company’s brand name would be considered as an intangible asset.  As well, another figure that cannot be properly recorded by an accountant but should be put into consideration is “sweat equity – the idea that business owners shouldn’t pay themselves a salary while they’re building a business”.  It is important to understand that this is not a smart business decision because you are only masking your problems and not solving them.  This will eventually lead you to Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  Therefore we should always be cautious with the decisions we are making.

Although the balance sheet gives us a clear picture of how a company is doing, it will not clearly profile the entire company without examining the other two, equally-important financial statements.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/business-categories/financial-management/the-sweat-equity-myth/article1738472/

Most people would not list mathematics as their top, favourite subject however it plays a crucial role in the business world.  In a business, both the marketing and the accounting sectors are interconnected.  Marketing is vital as they need to develop a plan of how to promote a certain product or service however they depend on the Accounting department to provide numbers and budgets as to outline the restrictions for the implementation.  One without the other will not function.

Now, focusing on the Accounting sector, there are two separate branches: Financial Accounting, Management Accounting.  Financial Accounting is more based on recording the past while Management Accounting focuses on the internal process of the company and is produced for managers.

Certain businesses, especially when they have just started, do not realize the importance of accounting and that it could be very beneficial to seek professional advice from certified Accountants.  Mario Costa, a partner in Shpak & Co., would agree that although accounting software is readily available, “[they are] not going to tell you, ‘Oh you have a problem over here.’ It just processes the numbers”.

Another excellent example would be Andrew Wasson, the owner of Creative Guitar Studio.  Mr. Wasson admits to using accounting software however he does pay occasional visits to his accountant for the past 18 years which shows to be very effective as his business has started to expand internationally.  Thus, although I would agree that I am no fan of numbers, they are definitely a very useful tool in the business world.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/business-categories/financial-management/a-crunch-too-far-when-to-call-an-accountant/article1769391/

Ever get tired of seeing your hard-earned money sitting in the bank with a very low interest rate that might you perhaps a cent a day if you’re lucky?  Then you should learn to invest!

There are definitely many ways of investing your money but they are generally serve the one of the two purposes: to transfer wealth across time or  to share a risk.  An example would be mutual funds.  Mutual funds are defined as “professionally managed type of collective investment schemes that pools money from many investors and invests typically in investment securities (stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, other mutual funds, other securities, and/or commodities such as precious metals)” that are managed by fund managers.

This source of investment has been proven to have their highs and lows.  According to September’s figures, Canadian investors tried redeeming $150 million worth of mutual funds defying “the month’s reputation for being the weakest on average for investing”.

Personally, I would prefer to invest in more physical assets like land and houses however, at the same time, I am not a very high risk taker.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_fund

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/funds-and-etfs/funds/mutual-fund-redemptions-rise-on-strong-september/article1742286/

Who doesn’t love gold?  Gold has always been fairly strong in the market and so I definitely agree on investing in this.  Currently, it’s priced at $1,300 US an ounce and is expected to keep crawling up.

David Parkinson describes in his article the 3 F’s (Fear, Facts, Flaws) when investing in the different paths of gold.  A strength of the bullion funds is that they can be bought or sold easily however the downside is that the fund or fund provider can go under and there goes your money and gold!  Gold certificates, on the other hand, is nice because you won’t be charged any taxes and storage or insurance fees for your gold but if the banks fail, then you may not be able to redeem the money written on the paper.  Physical gold bars and coins feel a lot more reliable since you are in possession of them however storing the gold can be very risky and expensive.  Another alternative are gold futures and it’s quite safe because if you are able to sell it before the contract expires, you’ll never have to deal with the actual delivery of the gold.  Unfortunately, investors like your mother and father would not be able to participate.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/the-fears-facts-and-flaws-of-buying-gold/article1735855/

Facebook is a social networking website that started in February 2004, winning the hearts of over 500 million active users who are continually using this site.  Initially created by Mark Zuckerberg and his Harvard roommates, Facebook became a huge success and is definitely recognized globally.  So what made Facebook so popular?

Facebook was not the first social network service introduced.  In fact, there were plenty of similar websites before like MySpace, Hi5, Nexopia, Twitter and Friendster however, Facebook did an exceptional job in positioning itself into the consumer’s mind.  Unlike the other websites,  Facebook managed to maintain popular because on top of their points of parity with others, they were able to find valuable points of differences to set them aside from their compeition.

Many several networking websites offer services like adding your friends, uploading photos, posting messages to let your knows how you’re doing.  However, Facebook proved to a more effective and convenient source that compiled all these useful benefits.  Facebook was different in the sense that it encouraged users to supply real information so if an old high school classmate was ever to search for you, it would be easy.  As well, sharing recents pictures is very simple with an unlimited amount you can upload.  Along with many games and applications you can choose to download, Facebook allows the creation of pages, interest groups and events that you may choose to like or join.

Being the leading social networking service, businesses will definitely not miss out on their opportunity to engage their consumers through this.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/business-categories/web-strategy/facebook-is-about-interaction-its-not-about-sales/article1733173/

Are you a dog owner who is sick of constantly picking up after your dog and having to throw out his “unwanted business” afterwards?  Or are you someone who hates pets, especially when dogs rid of their feces on your neatly-mowed lawn and an irresponsible owner simply leaves it sitting there?  Then the solution for you is move to Massachusetts park!

Jay Lindsay describes in her article “The bright side of poop” how Matthew Mazzotta successfully complete his project of funding for a street lantern in Cambridge park that is attached to two steel tanks used to convert dog poop into energy.

Strengths of this implemented idea is that the originally useless waste is now used for a beneficial purpose so more people are willing to pick up the poop with the biodegradable bags supplied nearby and drop it into the tank.  However, a weakness is that the concentrated area of dog manure would cause a pungent odor, ruining the natural beauty of the park.  As well, the citizens of the community may feel threatened or worried about the environmental safety of the beautiful area in case there was a design malfunction and a spillage occurs.  At the same time, this project is  a great start for a more eco-friendly strategy in producing energy, providing plenty of opportunities for expansion in this field!