Scent Marketing

This week in ENTR200 we continue to address marketing as pertains to entrepreneurs. Most often overlooked, is the tie between an individual’s sense of smell and using this as a marketing tool. As poor student entrepreneurs, you have to use what your Mojo [see Muddy Waters video at bottom for "Got My Mojo Working"] dictates. View the video below and smell the coffee. Hank

Let the Good Times Roll

About this time in a semester, students need a cheering section to push them through to a successful end. So instead of my usual thought-provoking blog , today we’re featuring the Kings Firecrackers at a US Naval Academy performance. Enjoy-relax-get loose! Hank

For Today’s ENTR200 Class Re Marketing-Thanks BIL!

Comin’ Down The Pike: Clean Energy

Recently, Harry Reid, the “statesman” from Nevada and leader of the Senate, stated “Coal makes us sick….” See video below. Less than a week ago, Henry Waxman and Ed Markey released the details about their Clean Energy Bill (Waxman-Markey Bill) for “consideration.” Bound to be contentious for the stance taken over Cap and Trade, climate concerns, and how to tackle global warming [which I'm not convinced is the issue it's being made out to be], I’ve embedded a five page Scribd of the essence of the bill below the video for you to skim. Knowing which way the wind is blowing is central to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Wet your finger (your choice) and feel the hot air blow. Hank

Sustainability: New Horizons for Entrepreneurs

Valparaiso University (see announcement below) is jumping on the “Sustainability” band wagon by introducing an extension to their MBA Program. What’s being attempted via “sustainability,” is a tuning of environmental concerns with reduction of costs in a firm’s supply chain. Readers of this blog better get on board this freight train. Under recent government “incentives,” there is a humongous push that will put relentless pressure on energy costs, as well as much more than lip service paid to environmental concerns. This puts companies in a box so to speak, and “sustainability” is in line to become the new ISO standard of the future.

Local firms have already jumped on this bandwagon. Our local SIA plant [mentioned in the email below] is way ahead of the curve in this area. Browse their link for details. Frito-Lay’s Modesto, California plant recently was highlighted in an insert into this month’s National Geographic which was very interesting reading. One of the more interesting aspects of Frito-Lay’s sustainability efforts is the capture of moisture given off in the cooking of potatoes for chips. Potatoes are 80% water. Through unique recovery technology, Frito-Lay in essence is using the potatoes to wash themselves.

ISO 14001, mentioned in the announcement below, is the international specification for an environmental management system. You’d better know about it, what’s going on in related energy areas [cap and trade for instance], and how to position your entrepreneurial skill set accordingly. Hank

Dear Prospective
Student:

Valparaiso Universitys Graduate Business School is introducing
its new MBA PLUS program.  Beginning fall 09, VU is offering a Center of
Excellence in Sustainability.  The designation will be available to students who
are willing to spend an additional semester, after completing the standard MBA
requirements, to focus on topics, case studies and field projects in
Sustainability.  VUs MBA program was selected by the United Nations in the fall
of 2008 to be a member in the UNs Matchmaker program. The program matches
selected universities to be part of an environmental audit of businesses
submitting a voluntary report encompassing its environmental impact, social
responsibilities initiatives, and labor practices throughout its supply
chain.

Students study new technologies and innovations that improve our
environment while also increasing the bottom line.  Companies such as Subaru,
Interface, Inc. and Nucor Steel are converting waste into profits and pushing
sustainability down the supply chain.  Our students learn from what has been
accomplished and apply these (and new techniques) to real companies hoping to
attain similar successes.

The January, 2009 issue of Industry Weekly
estimates 5 million new jobs in the alternative energy field in the next ten
years.  Twelve hundred US CEOs will require the implementation of ISO 14001
standard to their entire supply chain in addition to their own companies,
according to the January, 2009 issue of Mechanical Engineering Journal.  The
Journal of Commerce reports in their January, 2009 edition that Wal-Mart will
require its global supply chain to develop and implement Sustainability
standards.

Green has moved from tree-hugging to business.  Maintaining
the sustainability of our planet will require new business strategies that clean
our current practices while strengthen the health of our economy.  Our challenge
will be to teach the entrepreneurial skills necessary to grow this new market
and ensure its success by combining strong business principles with our Values
Based Leadership.

The program is taught by business consultants,
engineers, legal professionals, and academic researchers.

Topics
include:
New Technologies
Managing Sustainability
ISO 14001
Global
Reporting Initiative
EPA
Governments Role
Kyoto Conference
Market
Forces
CO2 Credits
Case Studies
GRI Auditing
Field Projects with
Real Companies

Classes begin August 24!  Don’t miss this opportunity to
advance your career!

For admission requirements, call me at (219)
465-7952 or go to

http://www.valpo.edu/mba/admissions.php to fill out your application
today!

Cindy A. Tuholski, MBA Alumnus
Assistant Director,
Graduate
Programs in Management
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso, Indiana
46383

Telephone: (219) 465-7952
Fax: (219) 464-5789
Email: Cindy.Tuholski@valpo.edu

I Didn’t Know This? Those dyslexic 35% more likely in US to start a business

“It has long been known that dyslexics are drawn to running their own businesses, where they can get around their weaknesses in reading and writing and play on their strengths. But a new study of entrepreneurs in the United States suggests that dyslexia is much more common among small-business owners than even the experts had thought. The report, compiled by Julie Logan, a professor of entrepreneurship at the Cass Business School in London, found that more than a third of the entrepreneurs she had surveyed — 35 percent — identified themselves as dyslexic. The study also concluded that dyslexics were more likely than nondyslexics to delegate authority, to excel in oral communication and problem solving and were twice as likely to own two or more businesses. “We found that dyslexics who succeed had overcome an awful lot in their lives by developing compensatory skills,” Professor Logan said in an interview. “If you tell your friends and acquaintances that you plan to start a business, you’ll hear over and over, ‘It won’t work. It can’t be done.’ But dyslexics are extraordinarily creative about maneuvering their way around problems.” The study was based on a survey of 139 business owners in a wide range of fields across the United States. Professor Logan called the number who said they were dyslexic “staggering,” and said it was significantly higher than the 20 percent of British entrepreneurs who said they were dyslexic in a poll she conducted in 2001.” From here: Hank

How I Made My Millions

Embedded below is a 45:20 CNBC video of how 10 “ordinary” people made their millions. Most interesting and thanks to Nathalie, coordinator of Purdue’s Entrepreneurship Certificate Program for sending me the link. Hank (PS: Go Hulu!)

Have A Happy Friday: And Don’t Play Like ….

Recently the ASU women’s basketball team was getting stomped by UConn. During half time’s motivational speech, Arizona State’s coach Charli Turner Thorne, screamed the below at her players. I suggest you think of other ways to motivate your team. Hank

FileHippo: You Will Wish You Knew About It Long Ago

I am often asked by students, relatives, and others where is a “good” place to find “free” software. Like many of you, I have my favorite and that is www.filehippo.com. I’t kinda like Google – a clean, uncluttered interface with understandable categories. Downloads are also very fast. Did I mention, no advertising, pop ups, or other distractions?

It has some great programs that many computer users have never heard of, one of which is Crap Cleaner (CCleaner). It does just what it says – cleans the crap left over from internet use from your computer. I use it about once a week to keep our computer zippy. If you install it – it wants to install the Yahoo toolbar by default. Just unclick the option. Another great program that I use on a daily basis that my BIL should learn/use is IrfanView. It is a great free program to manipulate graphics. No, it’s not PhotoShop, but it’s good for quick and dirty resizing etc. I highly recommend it. Lastly, I use VLC Media Player as it will play just about any media format out there without additional codecs etc. Just works!

But the most powerful aspect of FileHippo is in the upper right-hand corner of their home page – their Free Update checker. This is an exe file (resides only on your desktop) that checks all the apps that FileHippo has against those you have on your computer, and informs you of any updates available. You can download and install as many or as few as you desire. Works for me. Hank

Solar For Hank: Not

This past Tuesday I wrote a blog on the cost of a home wind generating system to provide very optimistically 20% of our power needs. The system cost about $14,000 and had a payback of 23.33 years using extremely generous assumptions. Many comments involved solar and the advantages it offers. Does solar work any better for me? You’re not going to like this either.

To start with, out latitude receives on an average 4.21 hours of sunshine of sufficient intensity to “drive” a solar array. So unless I spec an enormous battery-based system, I’m not even going to come close to “replacing” our utility company. Let’s put that aside for the time being. The installed cost of solar panels runs between $7 to $9 per watt; let’s say $8 for sake of our calculations herein. [Note these numbers are jumping all over the place as incentives are changing by the second with each word out of politician's collective mouths! But getting down to "show me the money" is difficult.] So to produce 2kw, the same as the wind generator, for but 4+ hours per day, would cost roughly $8/W X 2000W [2KW] = $16,000. This is not that far from $14,000 for a wind-based system which may be surprising. To store the energy required to supply 2KW 24/7, would require a 12KW system (2KW/4 hours X 24 hours) at a cost of $8/W X 12,000 watts =$96,000, and this DOES NOT include battery costs. So to supply a mere 20% of our expected load of 10KW, we’re talking in excess of $100 grand. Multiply this by 5 for a solar-based system to supply our electrical requirements 95% of the time and you can see we’re talking real bucks now.

The “holes” in the data presented above are that (1) Solar panels are based on technology, and this technology follows typical cost curves and will be driven down as more pioneers start installing panels, and (2) Politicians talk all the time about incentives. Taking real advantage of these incentives can require a lawyer working full time for you to keep up with this evolving area. I see opportunity here for entrepreneurs. There is a 3/11/09 7 minute 13 second video below on solar basics. Hank