After our class based on social enterprise and hearing all the details about Grameen Bank, I gained (slightly) some hope that together, with good intentions, we could rid poverty in this world very quickly and “sustainably”.

Waves of memories from Disneyland flooded my mind as I read Angelica’s post on how Walt Disney was a true entrepreneur. I can’t believe I didn’t think about Walt Disney earlier; great choice Angelica! For our group business project, we are doing a company that falls under the entertainment industry, so Angelica’s arguments felt so natural. It is true, Walt Disney faced some great risks, especially emerging during one of the worst financial situations history has ever seen. To this day, my grandpa does not appreciate anyone talking about the Great Depression.

With such innovation, Walt Disney definitely paved the road for countless of other entertainment companies. Walt Disney eventually captured an audience varying from children to seniors with his re-creations of many tales, many taken from The Brother’s Grimm.

This multi-million dollar corporation did not end up like any other corporation. Disney now provides an entrepreneurial skill building and funding program for “who otherwise would not have access to these types of tools and resources”, as quoted from the video.

This is a successful corporation AND has virtue! You don’t see that everyday..!

Disney logo taken from toxel.com

Click here to go to Angelica Cabrera’s Blog

Click Here to watch the Disney Entrepreneur Center video

After reading the class readings for today, the only business that was going through my mind was The Body Shop. With their endless choices of fragrances, body butters, bath products, and even a mens line of shaving supplies, The Body Shop has definitely defined itself as an entrepreneurship. The founder, Anita Roddick, formed The Body Shop for customers looking for products that were contributing to the world’s sustainability. Sustainability is not the only global issue that Anita was advocating for, The Body Shop also employees thousands of low income individuals in impoverished countries and runs campaigns for various issues such as child abuse, and AIDS awareness. With all this well-doing for this world, comes a price to customers. The Body Shop prices are clearly beatable, especially with knock offs available in any supermarket. Anita took a very big risk in developing products with costs being a low priority. Even with their high prices, The Body Shop spread around the world quickly, and profits were high. Anita definitely lead the way to a new way of production; employing those who need it the most. The Body Shop has built its reputation, thus gaining loyal customers.

I used to work for the Body Shop as a stock boy, so I learnt a lot about this lady. If you want to learn more about her, watch this interview with her:

In response to this blogger’s post on Continental and Southwest airlines announcing on flight wi-fi, I have no doubt that I will be their number one customer. All along I thought that because of airline’s strict “no cellular usage for the duration of flights” policy always being observed, wireless technology was incompatible with flights. Clearly that bridge has been crossed (if there was even a bridge to begin with…) and even better that these relatively small airlines initiated this service. These two airlines clearly have another point of difference along with their low prices and fairly comfortable seats. From personal experience, I’ll always remember taking Southwest to Denver while feverish, and it was still one of the best flights I have ever been on. If Continental and Southwest find success in this new service, all other airline’s marketing divisions will be ready with a more innovative idea to target the same customer demographic that would be attracted to having access to internet on flights. Businessmen, Teens, Moms shopping online for christmas presents, it seems like everyone would be attracted to such innovation. Evidently, IT importance has leaked into the airline market.

Bayneii’s Blog:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/bayneii/

Picture taken from Southwest Airlines website:

http://www.southwest.com/wifi/