http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com Learn How to Start a Business Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:10:27 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc Copyright © 2010 The Entrepreneur School Blog erik.rostad@gmail.com erik.rostad@gmail.com posts 1440 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/tes_blog_sm.jpg http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com 144 144 Learn How to Start a Business erik.rostad@gmail.com no no http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/ups-press-release-mentions-us-1848 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/ups-press-release-mentions-us-1848#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 18:10:35 +0000 Jim Beach http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/?p=1848 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/ups-press-release-mentions-us-1848/feed 0 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/whats-a-baidu-and-is-there-a-remedy-for-it-1815 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/whats-a-baidu-and-is-there-a-remedy-for-it-1815#comments Fri, 14 May 2010 02:32:12 +0000 Jim Beach http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/?p=1815 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/whats-a-baidu-and-is-there-a-remedy-for-it-1815/feed 0 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/the-patent-forecast-1248 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/the-patent-forecast-1248#comments Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:48:43 +0000 Erik Rostad http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/?p=1248 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/the-patent-forecast-1248/feed 0 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/chinese-entrepreneurship-1244 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/chinese-entrepreneurship-1244#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:28:31 +0000 Erik Rostad http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/?p=1244 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/chinese-entrepreneurship-1244/feed 1 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/google-china-and-the-entrepreneur-1120 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/google-china-and-the-entrepreneur-1120#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:08:11 +0000 Erik Rostad http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/?p=1120 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/google-china-and-the-entrepreneur-1120/feed 0 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/g-o-d-ltd-866 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/g-o-d-ltd-866#comments Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:36:49 +0000 Erik Rostad http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/?p=866 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/g-o-d-ltd-866/feed 1 4:10 [caption id="attachment_868" align="alignright" width="350" caption="Starbucks in Hong Kong - Photo by WiNG"][/caption]Last week in Hong Kong, I had the opportunity to hear Mr. Douglas Young, ... [caption id="attachment_868" align="alignright" width="350" caption="Starbucks in Hong Kong - Photo by WiNG"][/caption]Last week in Hong Kong, I had the opportunity to hear Mr. Douglas Young, founder and CEO of G.O.D. Ltd speak about his business.  G.O.D. stands for Goods of Desire and the company sells an array of products through 5 retail locations around Hong Kong.  Their website describes their retail presence purpose: "We do not always present to our customers with what they want, we prefer to surprise them with something desirable that he or she has not even imagined before." G.O.D. has three distinguishing factors that hit you immediately: Controversy, Surprise & Hong Kong Culture. Take the name itself.  Not many companies have taken the name of the almighty as their moniker.  G.O.D. has also released a line of clothing with an English slogan that phonetically sounds like a very bad word in the language of Hong Kong, Cantonese.  As their website explains, the name is also a play on sound: "G.O.D. is the phonetic sound of the Cantonese slang "to live better," because to live better is a basic human desire in Hong Kong, Asia, and the world." The other distinguishing factor of G.O.D. is the company's obsession with Hong Kong culture.  When you walk into their retail stores, everything about the store screams Hong Kong, from the products, to the photography, to the employees all wearing Mao-inspired uniforms. Mr. Young also had a hand in designing what is perhaps one of the most famous Starbucks locations in the world (see photo above).  Starbucks approached Mr. Young with an idea to slightly alter the look of one of their locations to fit the Hong Kong lifestyle.  Mr. Young took one look at their ideas and decided to start from scratch.  What he came up with was a copy of a 1950's Hong Kong tea shop.  The design shocked the Starbucks employees in charge of the project, but eventually, the design made it all the way to Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz who approved it himself.  What resulted was an incredibly unique Starbucks location that made the Hong Kongers proud of their heritage.  I had a chance to visit the Starbucks and was amazed at the number of people taking photos and giving tours of the location. Mr. Young himself is an avid photographer of all things passing.  In a city with few qualms about tearing down a historic building for a new skyscraper, Mr. Young has used his camera to capture parts of the Hong Kong lifestyle that are fading each day. So what does all of this have to do with Entrepreneurship?  Here are three lessons I took away from Mr. Young: Mr. Young emphatically states that a large part of a product or service's intrigue is when it is closely tied with the country of origin.  Take Burberry, Ralph Lauren, and Armani.  Mr. Young has seen countless Hong Kong companies adopt styles and attributes from other countries and/or companies as a way to increase sales.  But in return, the companies lose a part of their heritage.  Mr. Young encourages staying true to yourself and your city/country of origin and reflect what is real.  It doesn't have to be pretty. Another lesson is that originality has a role in buying behavior.  Louis Vuitton sells an enormous quantity of handbags but very few pieces of apparel.  That is because they are known as innovators in the handbag market but just another average apparel company.  G.O.D. Ltd tries to surprise their clients, not give them what market research says they want. A final lesson is that a little bit of controversy may be a good thing for your new company.  Mr. Young is one part cultural crusader, another part nostalgic keeper, and a third part artist.  He's been in trouble with the law and has had numerous critics all because of some of the products he has released.  But that notoriety has also led to the opportunity of working with some of the top companies from around the world on designing Hong Kong inspi Entrepreneurship Stories, General Thoughts, International erik.rostad@gmail.com no no http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/chinas-population-843 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/chinas-population-843#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:35:55 +0000 Erik Rostad http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/?p=843 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/chinas-population-843/feed 1 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/venture-capital-increases-in-india-827 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/venture-capital-increases-in-india-827#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:52:14 +0000 Erik Rostad http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/?p=827 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/venture-capital-increases-in-india-827/feed 0 1:35 The average amount of funding for India's new ventures varied between US$2.5 - $5 million in the last 18 months.  This differs sharply with amounts ... The average amount of funding for India's new ventures varied between US$2.5 - $5 million in the last 18 months.  This differs sharply with amounts funded before the economic downturn (US$1.5 - $2 million).  These estimates come from the Indian Venture Capital Association (IVCA). The Times of India has predicted an even higher average amount by the middle of 2010. The biggest reason for this increase is that venture capitalists are becoming more discriminating in their choice of businesses to fund.  In the economic downturn, only top-notch business plans are being considered.  These businesses are usually in the IT sector and require more start-up funds that other industries. Angel investing and early-stage funding deals have decreased in number as they do not meet the financial needs of the IT start-ups. Estimates are that VC deals in India reached as high as $600 million from January - September of 2009.  That is higher than the $500 million during a similar pre-downturn period. The number of deals is also down during this same period to 150 compared to 250+ before. In related news, Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy recently started a new Venture Capital firm in India with an emphasis on funding businesses in nutrition, education, and basic healthcare. International, Venture Capital erik.rostad@gmail.com no no http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/guanxi-807 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/guanxi-807#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:07:56 +0000 Erik Rostad http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/?p=807 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/guanxi-807/feed 1 1:08 I am in Hong Kong and just finished attending the 10th Annual Hong Kong Forum.  It is a chance for all of the Hong Kong ... I am in Hong Kong and just finished attending the 10th Annual Hong Kong Forum.  It is a chance for all of the Hong Kong Associations from around the world to get together and learn from one another.  HK Associations have the role of being ambassadors to their respective cities to promote Hong Kong and connect businesses. One topic that came up during the forum was "Guanxi."  Guanxi is what is referred to as the necessary relationships for doing business within China.  Very little can be accomplished in business in China without the right relationships. What I found was interesting was that one of the speakers had a different take on Guanxi than what I have heard in the past.  This particular speaker made the following statement: "The key to Guanxi is performance.  Always keep your promise." He went on to say that he didn't particularly like spending time with businesspeople for the purpose of concentrating on relationships.  The key was doing what you say you will do.  A solid reputation can have just as much of a role as spending hours building relationships. General Thoughts, International erik.rostad@gmail.com no no http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/hong-kong-or-china-first-793 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/hong-kong-or-china-first-793#comments Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:51:16 +0000 Erik Rostad http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/?p=793 http://blog.theentrepreneurschool.com/hong-kong-or-china-first-793/feed 2 2:00 What market should you enter first for your product or service?  Hong Kong or China?  Well, take a look at the following products/stores below to ... What market should you enter first for your product or service?  Hong Kong or China?  Well, take a look at the following products/stores below to see where they started out: Apple's iPhone 3GS Hong Kong Launch - July '09 China Launch - Nov '09 Zara Hong Kong Launch - May '04 China Launch - Jan '08 Coke Zero Hong Kong Launch - March '07 China Launch - February '08 Godiva Chocolate Hong Kong Launch - 1998 China Launch - September '09 These examples all point to a Hong Kong release and then a later entrance into China.  And even though China has the large population, it might be a good idea to enter Hong Kong first. Hong Kong has huge cachet within China as a fashion center.  A product released and successful in Hong Kong will give the product a huge boost in the mainland market.  It's like the cool kid in school getting the newest sneakers. Hong Kong is also an easier country to enter at this point of time.  By connecting with a Hong Kong partner, you can not only sell your product in Hong Kong but also have a partner who knows the larger Chinese market. According to Deloitte in Hong Kong, China is expected to have the following levels of growth in the consumer expenditure during the next 4 years: 2009 - 7.8% 2010 - 11.3% 2011 - 13.6% 2012 - 15% 2013 - 16.1% Now would be a good time to enter Hong Kong to begin to prepare your way for the rapidly expanding Chinese market. International erik.rostad@gmail.com no no