Boone & Kurtz Contemporary Business Weekly Updates » Starting Your Own Business: The Entrepreneurship Alternative (p180)

Surfer’s calendar site gives back

Brahm Canzer — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 10:05:39 +0000

Description: Custom calendar site CalendarLink.org raises funds and spreads awareness for the California Surf Life Saving Association.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 12/22/2010

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/12/22/n_cc_tides_of_giving.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

How is this business socially responsible?
Who are the target customers?
What makes this business service unique?
Describe the product strategy and how the Internet allows for customization to match local customer needs.

Getting the message out on Facebook

Brahm Canzer — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 10:04:24 +0000

Description: Small businesses are leveraging their profiles on Facebook to boost their business by keeping in close contact with customers.

Source: Reuters.com – video report

Date: 12/21/2010

Link: http://www.reuters.com/news/video/story?videoId=170540599&videoChannel=6

Questions for discussion:

How does Facebook allow small businesses to better serve their target customers?
How does Facebook differentiate itself on the Internet?

Three Reason’s Facebook’s Revenue Surge Is Even Better Than It Looks

Brahm Canzer — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 10:02:42 +0000

Description: If TIME Magazine didn’t tell you already, 2010 was the year of Facebook, but not just because its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, had a newsworthy year, no matter how you slice it.

Source: BNET.com

Date: 12/17/2010

Link: http://www.bnet.com/blog/new-media/three-reason-8217s-facebook-8217s-revenue-surge-is-even-better-than-it-looks/6874?tag=mantle_skin;content

Questions for discussion:

Summarize the opinions expressed in this interview.
Do you think the Facebook phenomena and dominance in social media will endure?
How else can Facebook generate revenue other than the ways it does so, currently?

Gen Y: Here’s Why You Should Never Get a Real Job

Brahm Canzer — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:02:53 +0000

Gen Y: Here’s Why You Should Never Get a Real Job

Description: A frightening number of young entrepreneurs are writing books these days, and many of them are heavy on cheer leading (îif I can do it, so can you!î) and far too light on reality checks.

Source: BNET.com

Date: 12/06/2010

Cat ñTags: 2, Starting Your Own Business: The Entrepreneurship Alternative (p180)

Link: http://www.bnet.com/blog/entrepreneurs/gen-y-heres-why-you-should-never-get-a-real-job/1456?promo=857&tag=nl.e857

Questions for discussion: Summarize the opinions expressed in this interview. Do you agree with any of them? What advice do you think young entrepreneurs should follow?

Description: A frightening number of young entrepreneurs are writing books these days, and many of them are heavy on cheer leading (îif I can do it, so can you!î) and far too light on reality check.

Source: BNET.com

Date: 12/06/2010

Link: http://www.bnet.com/blog/entrepreneurs/gen-y-heres-why-you-should-never-get-a-real-job/1456?promo=857&tag=nl.e857

Questions for discussion:

Summarize the opinions expressed in this interview.
Do you agree with any of them?
What advice do you think young entrepreneurs should follow?

Start a small biz with $500

Brahm Canzer — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 10:04:07 +0000

Description: Tweezerman founder Dal LaMagna says his company grew by being frugal with money and keeping stakeholders interests at heart.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 11/11/2010

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2010/11/11/sbiz_tweezerman_dal_lamagna_500_dollars.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

Explain the global success of this game?
What does its success suggest about consumer behavior?
What need does this product satisfy for consumers?
How do you explain the appeal of Monopoly in this age of electronic gadgetry?

Turning Customers Into Creators

Brahm Canzer — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 10:02:38 +0000

Description: A FEW young women are gathered around a conference table dotted with bottles of colorful vitamin drinks, iPod cables and slender laptops. A whiteboard with lime-green writing almost swallows a wall in the room.

Source: NYTimes.com

Date: 10/23/2010

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/business/24ping.html?ref=business

Questions for discussion:

How is this sort of research superior to other forms of research into investigating customer behaviors?
Do you think the participants are being truly honest in their feedback?
Are there any drawbacks to this method of interacting with customers?

A day with Stan Lee at Comic Con

Brahm Canzer — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 10:05:00 +0000

Description: The comics legend is still going strong, and still spends entire days promoting his new products and meeting his fans.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 10/15/2010

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/10/15/n_cmr_stan_lee_comiccon.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

How important is Stan Lee as a leader for his company and industry?
Why do you suppose there is such reverence for the man?
How do you explain the longevity of this industry?
Who is the target audience?
What is the “product” they are buying?
What do you think of the new products mentioned in the video clip?

Small business is still hiring

Brahm Canzer — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 10:05:33 +0000

Description: ‘Help Wanted’ signs are popping up all over, but small business owners say they still feel the impact of the financial downturn.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 10/08/2010

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2010/10/08/n_help_wanted.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

Summarize the current state of affairs at the small businesses that were profiled in the report.
What does this information suggest to you about the economy in general?
Why is the employment situation at small business so worthwhile knowing?

Startup Lessons Learned From a 20-Year-Old CEO

Brahm Canzer — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 10:03:02 +0000

Description: Meet Jessica Mah: The 20-year-old chief executive who’s on startup No. 3. She’s the CEO of InDinero, a Website that lets small businesses automatically track their finances with no data entry required. Barely a month after finishing the Silicon Valley startup incubator program Y Combinator, she scored $1 million in seed funding. Next on her to-do list: Find more paying customers, keep the 5,000 existing ones happy enough so they’ll tell their friends, and — per the advice of her Y Combinator adviser Paul Graham — not “screw things up.”

Source: BNET.com

Date: 10/04/2010

Link: http://www.bnet.com/article/startup-lessons-learned-from-a-20-year-old-ceo/471602?promo=857&tag=nl.e857

Questions for discussion:

What did you learn about entrepreneurship by reading this interview with Jessica Mah?
Does she fit the typical profile of an entrepreneur?
What did you learn about starting up a business?
After reading this interview, do you feel more motivated to consider starting up your own business?

Burger joint’s social media recipe

Brahm Canzer — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 10:05:25 +0000

Description: 4Food uses social networks like Twitter and Foursquare in lieu of traditional marketing to let customers share their own burger creations.

Source: CNNMoney.com – video report

Date: 09/16/2010

Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2010/09/15/t_4food_burger_donut_twitter.cnnmoney/

Questions for discussion:

What do you think of the use of social marketing, as demonstrated by this small business?
Do you think social media works better for small businesses than it can for big?
Would you use social media to promote this business as expected by the owners?
Why do you suppose so many people have responded to this promotional strategy?
How can this small business encourage more compliance by customers and response by receivers of social media messaging?