... it’s clear that mobile commerce is growing bigger and faster than social commerce. Why? Well, mobile-enhanced commerce has a clear value proposition that hits one of the core 4C’s of marketing (as shown above) – convenience.
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| Photo courtesy: ©Laurel Delaney 2012, "Steve Jobs" |
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| ©Laurel Delaney 2012 |
Read the entire article here.1. Online storage: Dropbox is the leading brand in this category, despite competing with heavyweights like Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive, Amazon Cloud Drive, Box.net and others.
2. Online sync: iCloud enables Apple users to easily sync their media across devices. So far music is the battleground in this category, although it will eventually extend to other types of media (like videos). iTunes Match allows iTunes users to sync their music collection across devices, using iCloud. Competitors include Google Music and Spotify.
3. Online notes: Evernote is the leading player in this niche; it really has no peers.
Can't you pinpoint almost everything that happened back to some technological breakthrough?" ~ S. ThrunRead: What's Next for Silicon Valley?
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| Photo courtesy: ©Laurel Delaney, "Barilla samples" |
Thank you to Barilla for the box of new product samples for WPO Chicago members. We will enjoy!Ready in just 60 seconds, so that even the busiest individual can enjoy a delicious Italian meal. Requires no refrigeration, so you can throw them into your bag on your way out the door. They're made with only high-quality 100% natural ingredients, and no preservatives.Best wishes for continued success to Barilla and thank you again for thinking of WPO Chicago!
We honor the fallen and remember them and their sacrifice with reverence and deep respect and hope that it translates into what we do for all veterans today.Learn more here.
Be a realistic optimist. When you are setting a goal, by all means engage in lots of positive thinking about how likely you are to achieve it. Believing in your ability to succeed is enormously helpful for creating and sustaining your motivation. But whatever you do, don't underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal. Most goals worth achieving require time, planning, effort, and persistence. Studies show that thinking things will come to you easily and effortlessly leaves you ill-prepared for the journey ahead, and significantly increases the odds of failure.And Dr. Halvorson should know a thing or two about how to succeed:
Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. is a motivational psychologist and author of the HBR Single Nine Things Successful People Do Differently and the book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals (Hudson Street Press, 2011). Her personal blog, The Science of Success, can be found at www.heidigranthalvorson.com. Follow her on Twitter @hghalvorson.
... the only real shifts they anticipated in what will be required of leaders are the ability to think truly globally, and the capacity to lead through continuous and substantive change.Will that be you?
I’ve been thinking about leaders lately, and how important good leaders are going to be over the next couple of years. As we start to come out of this recession, and to right our ship of state on a variety of levels, I’m noticing more than ever before how important it is for organizations to have strong and flexible leaders.Read about her Leading model here. One of her books can be found here.
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| Photo credit: ©Laurel Delaney 2012 |
We all know great design has a critical role to play in building a great brand. But how do we go about making that happen?The author of the article below speaks to three top designers about that very question.
... more than 46 million members in 25 countries and close to 5,000 employees worldwide, about 900 of them in its D.C. headquarters. Fueled by close to $1 billion in funding from VC firms and Amazon.com, LivingSocial has acquired nearly a dozen companies and launched offerings aimed at travelers and families.Find out how LivingSocial founder Tim O'Shaughnessy does it. A whole lot of lessons here.
One insight: "If you're not nervous about one or two decisions every day, you probably aren't trying hard enough."Illustration credit: LivingSocial
Some entrepreneurs and investors increasingly think "f-commerce" - meaning e-commerce on Facebook - is the answer. Start-ups such as BeachMint, Yardsellr, Oodle and Fab.com are coming up with novel ways to persuade Facebook users to not just connect with friends on the social network, but to shop as well.The question becomes: Facebook e-commerce: the next big thing? If so, are you ready? Better keep your finger to the pulse here with potential opportunities for your business.
He worries that unless there is a moral renaissance, recent lapses will lead to an increased regulatory burden.Read the entire article to find out what else is on Gary Hamel's great mind.
“Unlike Apple, most companies are long on accountants and short on artists. They are run by executives who know everything about cost and next to nothing about value,” he warns.
"Women go in [to business] having technical expertise but they don't have the managerial skills," she says. "To run a business, you need a lot of skills -- marketing, financial, (human resources). You may not, in fact, have all those skills."Read the entire article:
The conference encourages WPO members to share business strategies and experience with other successful women from all over the world, as well as learn from interactive seminars and speakers. Additionally, it will provide potential members who qualify a unique opportunity to experience the impact the WPO has on women business owners professionally, and personally.Learn more here.
Monocle is a premium media brand with magazine, web, broadcast and retail divisions. Focusing on global affairs, business, culture and design, Monocle's mission is to keep an eye on the world.To keep your business cool, relevant and an influencer in your industry, read up over at Monocle
Hungry for recognition and a better living, women in the developing world vie for business success.I hope it inspires all individuals to pursue their dream of starting a business. There's even a section on tips on how to start a business -- don't miss it!
In good times and bad, some companies succeed while others fail. Success is determined in large part by the particular mix of capabilities — the combination of processes, tools, knowledge, skills, human capital, and organizational forms — that companies deploy.Does your business have the capabilities required to keep moving forward in a highly profitable manner?
Two recent articles argue that brainstorming doesn't make people more creative. So how might we remake the brainstorming process, given what science tells us?Find out here.
The reality of web marketing is that almost all of it happens on platforms that are owned by others. Platform owners, such as Facebook or Google, have provided environments where some things are easy to do, some things are much harder to do, and some things simply can't be done. Even tougher for marketers is that these systems are constantly changing ...Read: Your Marketing Can Keep Pace with Facebook and Google
... selected as the International Franchise Association’s (IFA) Entrepreneur of the Year for 2009, becoming not only the youngest recipient of this impressive award, but also only the second female recipient. In 2011, Shelly and BrightStar were featured on the hit CBS series “Undercover Boss.” She was also recognized by the Women Presidents Organization and American Express Open as #1 in their Top 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Led Organizations in 2011, moving up from #2 in 2010. Read more ... here.
Still, a flair for technology won't be enough to stand out amidst the stupefying ad clutter. To grab attention, some ad executives expect to see more comedy in the mix while others foresee an uptick in raunchier promotions, peppered with f-bombs.Find out about all the advertising predictions in 2012 here.
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| ©Laurel Delaney 2011, "First snow in Chicago 2011" |
Small-business owners don’t care what’s cool. They care about what’s practical and what seems obvious—and that’s not always what gets buzz.If it is, have a look at:
Start-up Nation examines the lessons of the country's adversity-driven culture, which flattens hierarchy and elevates informality -- all backed up by government policies focused on innovation. In a world where economies as diverse as Ireland, Singapore and Dubai have tried to re-create the "Israel effect," there are entrepreneurial lessons well worth noting.Go here to find out how Israel has beaten the odds to become a major player in the global business world, especially in the technology space and a main contributor to global culture. After you read the book, see how you might develop the next generation of corporate leaders or put those within your business who question authority to work!
Rosabeth Moss Kanter will convince you that the goal of winning is not losing two times in a row. In her view, success and failure are not events, they are self-fulfilling tendencies. "Confidence is the sweet spot between arrogance and despair--consisting of positive expectations for favorable outcomes."Meanwhile, learn what another entrepreneur thinks of the book and how it rang true to him as he rides out his own firm's recent acquisition of a troubled firm and what he did to turn things around.
Recent IDC cloud research shows that worldwide revenue from public IT cloud services exceeded $16 billion in 2009 and is forecast to reach $55.5 billion in 2014, representing a compound annual growth rate of 27.4%.Learn everything you need to know about cloud computing to bring your business up to speed -- from new business models to the biggest cloud opportunities to how organizations can keep up with new architectural paradigms and offer more flexibility with less customization and more integration -- it's all here.
Women Presidents have shown they can adjust to the changing economic climate. Results from the surveyed membership indicate 82% of multi-million dollar business owners have positive outlooks and experienced company growth in 2011, according to the annual economic survey by the Women Presidents' Organization (WPO), the premier peer advisory organization for women entrepreneurs. Despite the economic downturn, 42% of these CEOs and presidents were able to give their employees raises while, 49% maintained current employee salaries.Other interesting facts surveyed by WPO:
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| (L) Samuel Kaymen and (R) Gary Hirshberg |
FINAL CALL! Click here to register. Private affair: For WPO members and prospective members only.
1. The strategy that Gary Hirshberg put into action that led to Stonyfield’s growth from its infancy as a seven-cow organic farming school to its current $370 million in annual sales.
2. How Stonyfield has parlayed its social media platforms and marketing initiatives into successful and authentic communication with consumers.
3. How Stonyfield has challenged the myth that social or environmental missions conflict with the company's financial objectives and instead created a "win-win-win-win-win-win-win" business model in which all stakeholders (employees, investors, customers, consumers, suppliers, farmers and shareholders and even the cows) all win.
1. The strategy that Gary Hirshberg put into action that led to Stonyfield’s growth from its infancy as a seven-cow organic farming school to its current $370 million in annual sales.Click here to register. Private affair: For WPO members and prospective members only. Only a few seats left!
2. How Stonyfield has parlayed its social media platforms and marketing initiatives into successful and authentic communication with consumers.
3. How Stonyfield has challenged the myth that social or environmental missions conflict with the company's financial objectives and instead created a "win-win-win-win-win-win-win" business model in which all stakeholders (employees, investors, customers, consumers, suppliers, farmers and shareholders and even the cows) all win.
So what can people do to increase their happiness? Their answer is surprisingly simple: spend your time wisely. Careful though.You will be surprised to learn how people spend their time.
Although happiness is clearly relevant for individuals, businesses should also pay attention. Building a workforce of highly qualified, hard-working, and loyal employees is an essential aspect of staying competitive in today's global markets. Therefore, being concerned about employee happiness is not just a moral thing to do, but it makes smart business sense as well.Read the entire article along with discovering the five time-spending happiness principles here.
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| Nanjing, China |
When a company reaches several million dollars in annual revenues, its need for at least a part-time chief financial officer instead of a bookkeeper or a part-time chief technology officer in lieu of a web technician becomes undeniable, Fowler said.Something to think about and seriously consider.
"By the time you get to $5 million, your financial systems will have to be pretty sophisticated for you to grow your company," he said.
"However, once most companies hit the approximately $15 million mark and they see a growing revenue stream, they want full-time employees at the C-level," Holland said.Read more: "Growing firms seek part-time execs"
... companies are proving that, if a business has strategic growth drivers in place from the very beginning, it will have the opportunity to grow, no matter what the economic climate. A fundamental piece to this puzzle is ensuring that the business model that you create and develop enables value creation and the possibility for creating a successful business, not just a successful product line.
... if you want to stay at the top of your game and work smoothly with your younger colleagues, you have to embrace change.
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