Posts Tagged: Business


2
Mar 08

Thoughts On Traditional Business

Running your own business is probably one of the best things you can do in your life, in my opinion. I have learnt so many new things, almost all of them will be used again during my life time. However, there are just somethings I could do without, things that I just have to question.

  • The Need For Documentation
    Paperwork is something that really wastes time. Whether it be from my side, a supplier’s side or a client’s side. I am fine with financial documentation, but the need for legal documentation really irritates my soul. I know it’s there to protect (certain) parties, but I want to be able to trust people and want them to trust me. What happened to the days when a man’s word was worth its weight in gold?
  • The Need For Greed
    Everyone starts a business to make money, that is a fact. However, I’ve become so passionate about what I do that sometimes the money doesn’t mean much, I just want to do an amazing job. It’s not about charging for every hour or every bit of work, it’s about being great at what you’re doing.
  • Co-opetition / Collaboration / Co-creation
    To traditional business men and women, this would be poorly translated into out-sourcing. I think that the more companies work together to achieve one common goal, the end result will be far greater. You will all get your money, but more importantly the industry you’re in will have just had the bar raised, a new standard set.

I’ve enjoyed learning all the functions and foundations of traditional business, but I think it’s time that mindsets are shifted. In order to take advantage of a new era, I think some traditional business functions need to change.


16
Aug 07

PowerPoint: 10-20-30 Rule

Almost two years ago, Guy Kawasaki, a well known Venture Capitalist, created the 10-20-30 Rule for presentations. Recently, I have been creating quite a few proposals and presentations. It makes for a good guideline when creating proposals and presenting them.

Above is a video on the 10-20-30 rule. If you can’t see it, watch it here.


17
Jul 07

Mark Zuckerburg And Facebook Don’t Matter

In June 2006, Business 2.0 released an article called “10 people who don’t matter“. In this list of 10 people who don’t matter, Mark Zuckerburg is listed. Here is the reason:

Mark Zuckerberg
Founder, Facebook
In entrepreneurship, timing is everything. So we’ll give Zuckerberg credit for launching his online social directory for college students just as the social-networking craze was getting underway. He also built it right, quickly making Facebook one of the most popular social-networking sites on the Net. But there’s also something to be said for knowing when to take the money and run. Last spring, Facebook reportedly turned down a $750 million buyout offer, holding out instead for as much as $2 billion. Bad move. After selling itself to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox for $580 million last year, MySpace is now the Web’s second most popular website. Facebook is growing too – but given that MySpace has quickly grown into the industry’s 80-million-user gorilla, it’s hard to imagine who would pay billions for an also-ran.

It’s funny how a few months later Yahoo wanted to buy Facebook for $1 Billion because of its projected ad revenue. In 12 months Facebook saw a 89% increase in users. Now people are curious to know who will buy Facebook.

In 12 months Mark Zuckerburg has flipped the coin. He never mattered, now he does. I admire him and applaud him. He had a vision and a mission, he never sold when everyone else was and now he controls the fastest growing social network.