Description: Alex Stone and his wife, Marissa McDaniel, both work full time. They have two dogs that they miss during the day, and often have trouble getting home to feed them. “Pets are like children and need to be on a schedule,” Mr. Stone said. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Mar 19, 2014 Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/20/business/smallbusiness/start-ups-try-to-grab-a-piece-of-the-55-billion-a-year-pet-industry.html?ref=smallbusiness Questions for… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Part 2 Starting and Growing Your Business
What to Expect From Starbucks’s New Booze Menu
Description: First, Starbucks (SBUX) wanted you in its cafes for lunch and the afternoon, so it spruced up its food offerings and started serving cold “Refreshers” and testing sodas. Now it wants you there in the evening, too, and it’s bringing out the booze. Source: Businessweek.com Date: Mar 20, 2014 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-20/what-to-expect-from-starbucks-new-booze-menu#r=nav-f-story Questions for discussion: Do… Read more »
Bob Marley inspires son’s coffee startup
Description: Reggae legend Bob Marley’s son Rohan co-founded Marley Coffee, a brand dedicated to sustainable farming and social entrepreneurship. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Mar 14, 2014 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/smallbusiness/2014/03/14/marley-coffee-rohan-jamaica-bob-marley-son.cnnmoney/index.html Questions for Discussions: What is the basic argument for introducing this latest brand of coffee into the marketplace. Do you think there is a saturation… Read more »
This Is the Real Reason Sbarro Is in Bankruptcy
Description: The reason Sbarro is having a rougher time than other, more solvent purveyors of not-good food goes to the root of its business: You eat Sbarro not because you want Sbarro, but because it is the food that is available at the moment you want some food. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Mar 13, 2014 Link:… Read more »
GoPro Goes Big as a Hybrid Media Company/Videocam Maker
Description: A few days after Thanksgiving, a friend tagged James Kenison in a Facebook (FB) post that he couldn’t forget: It was a photo of a deer stranded on frozen Albert Lea Lake, in southeastern Minnesota. Source: Businessweek.com Date: Mar 13, 2014 Link: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-13/gopro-nears-ipo-as-hybrid-media-company-videocam-maker#r=hp-sf Questions for discussion: How is GoPro able to become a new… Read more »
How Medium stands apart from its competitors
Description: Ev Williams, Twitter co-founder and creator of Medium, discusses why the publishing platform has gained popularity in the blogging community. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Mar 04, 2014 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/magazines/fortune/2014/03/07/fevwilliamsmedium.fortune/index.html Questions for Discussions: Describe the Medium business model. How is it similar to other online platforms and yet unique? Why would writers volunteer… Read more »
What I Learned (the Hard Way) About Outsourcing
Description: Many businesses outsource work to other countries. But outsourcing can be scary. How do you know you’re not going to be ripped off, with a job that will return half-baked or not at all? Source: NYTimes.com Date: Mar 04, 2014 Link: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/04/what-i-learned-the-hard-way-about-outsourcing/?ref=smallbusiness Questions for Discussions: What are the lessons learned about outsourcing, as reported… Read more »
Who will occupy RadioShack’s retail desert?
Description: The electronics chain announced that it will close 1,100 stores. Who will fill all that space? Think burritos. Source: Fortune.com Date: Mar 05, 2014 Link: http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2014/03/05/who-will-occupy-radioshacks-retail-desert/ Questions for Discussions: Why did RadioShack business decline so dramatically? Is there a new business strategy they should consider? What sort of business is likely to fill the… Read more »
Netflix’s Reed Hastings: The man to watch
Description: With 44-million subscribers and counting, Netflix is changing the way we watch TV and movies. The man with the remote? Co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings. Source: CNNMoney.com – video report Date: Feb 21, 2014 Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2014/02/21/n-netflix-ceo-reed-hastings-business-of-being.cnnmoney/index.html Questions for Discussions: Identify the key decisions taken by management that either boosted or hurt Netflix growth? What… Read more »
World’s Most Admired Companies
Description: Atop our annual ranking: innovators, disrupters, and companies that overcome adversity. (And a familiar No. 1.) Source: Fortune.com Date: Feb 28, 2014 Link: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/most-admired/2014/snapshots/670.html?iid=SF_F_River Questions for Discussions: What are the characteristics shared by many of these companies? How important are the firms’ management and products when making this evaluation?
