Halloween is Big Business: 6.9 billion in Consumer Spending
Its a holiday that seven out of every ten Americans plan to celebrate this year and its expected to pull in 6.9 billion dollars in consumer spending. A recent survey conducted by the National Retail Federation shows that people are ready to celebrate Halloween in a big way.
Here’s a breakdown of the projected revenue:
I personally don’t plan on spending $72.31 (The expected average per person) but I will stop by a few costume parties. What is the max you would spend?
JMT
To find out more information on the survey, click the link below:
http://adage.com/article/news/halloween-spending-expected-scary-good/230071/
Consumer Backlash against Facebook and Netflix
In the last week, Facebook and Netflix announced controversial changes in there business strategy that have both companies experiencing backlash from some of there favorite people, the end-users.
Some consumers would say that the changes the two successful companies made were unnecessary, arrogant and lack real benefits to their customers…And they would be right.
Netflix gave its customers a short ‘heads-up’ notice this summer when they announced a rise in pricing for its video renting service that would start in September. Later that month, the leading video rental company immediately saw negative responses to there new business model and launched an emergency PR strategy to stop the bleeding from the self-inflected damage.
Netflix reported a $7.40 decline in their stock price and a severe drop in user-subscriptions that is said to be in the millions. And let’s not forget the rebirth of Blockbuster, who announced this week that they will start to offer live streaming and other home video rental services.
To make matters worse, CEO Reed Hastings sent all of his users an apologetic email that tried to atone for the poor communications and reasoning behind the company’s recent decision. The first line of Mr. Hastings email, “I messed up. I owe you an explanation.”
Click here to read the full NETFLIX letter
Facebook users frustration is more deep-rooted and has more to-do with privacy issues & purpose. Simply put, consumers want an explanation for the frequent tweaks and overhauls that forces them to study up on how their personal information is shared.
Over the years, the leading social activity application has developed a reputation for making unannounced, secretive changes to its web platform without passing it by its core audience. What started as a pleasant distraction for college students has turned into a social communication dependency. How else do you plan on interacting with your thousands of friends at one-time?
Disgruntled Facebook users hope that Google can answer this question with their new social networking platform called, Google +. We’ll just have to wait and see if the new platform is strong enough to give Facebook a real competitor. Something Zuckerberg and friends haven’t seen in years.
To read more about negative backlash , click on the link below:
http://adage.com/article/news/netflix-facebook-ignore-consumer-gripes-make/230032/
Just My Thoughts: For-Profit Colleges
There is a new scam going on at Wall Street and it doesn’t involve bad credit loans or foreclosures.
The big players have finally found a way to make millions of dollars off of education and the federal government is helping them.
How? For-Profit Institutions.
QUICK FACTS
- While students at for-profit schools make up only 10 percent of the college-going population, they consume almost a 25% of all federal financial aid.
- The majority of a for-profit school’s revenue comes from federal grants and loans.
- Critics of for-profit schools say such institutions use high-pressure sales tactics to recruit students, provide easy access to federal financial aid, load them with debt.
- For-profit colleges spend almost 25 percent of their total revenue on getting people to come to the college and only about 10 to 15 percent on instruction once the student is there.
Just My Thoughts: Nokia’s Fall from Grace
You can always tell when a company is headed for disaster. How you ask? When the company stops being proactive and looking for new ways to improve. Case & Point. Symbian, Nokia’s out-of-date software that has never been updated since the early 90′s.
The Finnish-based corporation recently announced to its investors, that the company is fighting to break-even and is expecting low sales for another disappointing year.
Nokia, for many years, was the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones. They controlled the mobile market, during the mid 1990′s and continued as a top performer in the industry all the way into early 2001.
Most of this success was due to Nokia’s low cost for manufacturing and their logistics network that placed phones all over the globe. As of today, Nokia is continuously losing its share of the smartphone market to its well-known competitors, Google and Apple Inc.
The root of Nokia’s problem is the out-dated Symbian software that is pre-installed and has never updated to a modern version. The pre-historic software lacks the simple user interaction and phone applications that consumers look for in smartphones.
Nokia Phones using Symbian Software
In February 2011, Nokia finally took steps needed to rectify this enormous problem by entering a profit-sharing agreement with Microsoft Corp. that would allow the company to abandon its Symbian operating system and make smartphones using Windows software on Nokia’s newest smartphones.
This alliance with Microsoft is not expected to payoff for at least a year and some experts are still not sure this will help the company. The partnership will greatly limit the company’s revenue capabilities, considering Nokia can only offer consumers and wireless carriers devices running on its old software platform.
So how to you make up for millions of dollars in lack of sales and bad management decisions? By cutting jobs.
Nokia announced it would shave $1 billion dollars from their bottom line by eliminating 7,000 jobs. Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia and former president of Microsoft’s Corp.’s business division, admits that the process hasn’t been easy. “A transition like this is difficult. It is the case that certain competitive forces, in particular Android, are really gaining momentum in certain regions.”
The company has 132,000 employees and plans on concentration all of there efforts on the last two remaining markets that they still have a leading position in. Europe & Asia.
Mr. Elop believes the key to resurrecting Nokia’s mobile division is by focusing on the key problems listed below:
- Inventory Control Issues
- Global logistics
- Marketing support
- Research & Development (Phones & Operating Software)
I believe it will take a miracle for Nokia to catch-up to its rivals. There is just too much ground to make up and the company still has not started to develop the next line of Nokia Phones that will be able to compete with Apple or Google.
In my mind, its time to wave the White flag. Nokia is a sinking ship. It’s struggling to break-even, and the company has no other product extensions or lines to atone for the mobile sector. It’s only a matter of time.
Every CEO should constantly look at his or her business model to see if it can be tweaked. Especially if the business model has been successful in the past. Don’t become stagnant. Stay fresh and on top of your game.
JMT
Just My Thoughts: Fishing for Customers
It takes a lot of patience and understanding to become a great fisherman. There are certain techniques and rules to follow in order to score a big catch.
Unfortunately for me, I had to learn the hard way.
My first couple of fishing trips were a disaster because I had no knowledge on how to fish. I remember fishing for hours and coming up empty handed.
Some of my basic mistakes:
- Not securing the bait on properly
- Fishing by too many people
- Not buying the right equipment
(Fishing Bobbers, Tools, Weights, Bait, etc.) - And other common mistakes.
As I got older, I started asking around for advice. I use to visit the local bait shop before heading out to talk strategy with the clerk or other fishermen. The results drastically changed. I went from coming up empty-handed after hours of fishing to catching a few small prospects.
(Most of them were too small to brag about.)
The point is that I had to learn from my failures. I had to analyze what worked and compare it with what didn’t. Over time, this process would produce a large database of successful techniques and strategies that work.
This information would be viewed as “priceless” to someone who is fishing for the first time. Not only would they probably perform better, but they would also save tons of time in frustration and bad approaches.
The same can be said about business. There are certain techniques and strategies that make some people successful and some bad approaches that will leave you empty-handed.
That’s why experience is so important in the business arena.
- Learn from bad marketing campaigns
- Learn from unsuccessful sales meetings
- Learn how to master Cold Calling
- Learn how to execute a marketing plan.
Yes, it takes time and it takes patience, but the knowledge you will obtain over the years will be worth it.
- Just My Thoughts
Just My Thoughts: Fulfillment in Life
What’s your purpose in life?
It’s a simple question to answer, but for many of my peers, it was difficult to come up with a list of accomplishments that would bring them personal fulfillment.
I was only asked to name 2 personal goals, but i decided to take it a step further. So I sat down for about 30 minutes in a quite room and wrote down 10 personal goals that I felt would bring me personal fulfillment in life.
Here’s a couple of them:
1. To have a successful career.
2. To maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit.
3. To create generational wealth for my family.
4. To be a good father to my kids and devoted husband to my wife.
Mixergy.com: Interview with Paul Graham, Co-Founder of Y Combinator
Andrew Warner is the founder of Mixergy.com, a online resource guide for ambitious, entrepreneurs. Last year, he sat down with one of the Co-Founders of Y-Combinator.com, Paul Graham.
Y Combinator does seed funding for startup companies. Seed funding is the earliest stage of venture funding. It pays for your expenses while you’re still getting things started.
Paul and his team make small investments (rarely more than $20,000) in return for small stakes in the companies they fund (usually 2-10%). They’ve helped more than 172 companies with seed funding and expert advice on how to successfully launch a company.
In this interview, he discusses the different characteristics that help entrepreneurs stand out from other companies seeking financial help.
I chose this interview to share because I was recently looking up information on seed funding. As I started reading more about the company, I realized that Y Combinator is an excellent resource for entrepreneurs in the early stages of development.
Check it out:
http://mixergy.com/y-combinator-paul-graham/
Mixergy.com: Interview with Jeffrey Taylor, Founder of Monster.com
Andrew Warner is the founder of Mixergy.com, a online resource guide for ambitious, entrepreneurs. He recently sat down with the Founder of Monster.com, Jeffrey Taylor.
Jeff, who recently turned 50, has a very young spirit. In the interview with Andrew, he talks about the risks with starting a company and using profits from his advertising agency to fund his monster idea. The highlight of the interview has to be when Andrew questions if Jeff sold the company prematurely.
Jeff’s response, “Eat Dinner when Dinner is Served.” Very funny, but true.
This was a great interview to watch.
Click the link below to watch the interview:
http://mixergy.com/jeff-taylor-monster-interview/
Google set to acquire Groupon for 6 Billion Dollars?
The deal is worth $5.3 billion with an additional $700 million earnout based on performance.The average Groupon deal offers 50 to 90 % off retail goods and services, from restaurant certificates to skydiving lessons. It has grown beyond local stores to work with retailers like Gap, which offered a nationwide deal this summer.
(Gap sold 440,000 units and generated $11 million in revenue from advertising deal with Groupon)
Groupon’s success has helped turn the company into a cash-generating machine, signing up more than 12 million registered users and reaping more than $350 million in estimated annual revenue.
Mashable.com recently posted 2 article’s about Google’s new acquisition and the penalties the company may face due to complaints filed by competitors and regulators.
Click the links below to read more about Google & Groupon:
Just My Thoughts: Wrong Advice
“Don’t follow any advice, no matter how good, until you feel as deeply in your spirit as you think in your mind that the counsel is wise.”
- Unknown
There’s a time in life when you have to decide when to listen to the advice of your friends and when to go with your gut.
There’s nothing wrong with advice from your peers, but the wrong advice could cost you lots of money, and more important, Time.
(See Just My Thoughts: Time Management)
When you’re asking a specific question that relates to a business or organization, make sure the person your asking the question to has a decent amount of knowledge in the subject area. (In other words, make sure they’ve done their homework. )
There’s nothing worse than listening to someone who has no idea what they are talking about. (This applies to Family and Friends.)
I’ve seen too many friends with creative ideas let someone else discourage them from their goal. Believe in yourself and accomplish your goals in life.
- Just My Thoughts