Farewell...

I hate goodbye's but they always come along. This blog is actually 25% of my score in an entrepreneurship course, it's been hectic working on it but also fun at the same time. The course is over so it's time to leave a farewell message. A big thank you to everyone that has viewed this blog, you've helped me pass my course and I hope the information provided in this blog has helped you too. Once again, thank you.

Franchises

What is a Franchise all about?

• A Franchise is any business arrangement in which the owner of a trademark, tradename or copyright has licensed others to use it in selling  goods or services.
• A Franchisee (a purchaser of the franchise) is legally independent but economically dependent on the intergrated business system of the Franchisor. 
• A Franchisor is the seller of the franchise.

Advantages of Franchising

• Training and guidance: In most cases, the Franchisor offers a reasonable amount of training and guidance on how to run the business, success strategies and much more.
• Brand-name appeal: if the franchise has existed for a quite a long time, the name will make the business sell. Since people trust the name and its products, the business has a higher chance of being successful. 
• A proven track record: Since the business has been known over time and it has been successful, that means the franchise has a higher chance of succeeding.
• Financial assistance: Financial assistance is given to the Franchisee by the Franchisor such as capital to start  up the business or even continual financial assistance to run the business.

An example of a Franchise in America

Dunkin' Donuts is an example of a Franchise in America...

An example of a franchise in Nigeria

Kentucky fried chicken is an example of a franchise in Nigeria

The difference between Innovation and Creativity

CREATIVITY......

This is the generation of ideas that results in the improved efficiency or effectiveness of a system.

INNOVATION.....
This is the process by which entrepreneurs convert opportunities(ideas) into marketable products.

Here are some sources of innovation....

• Trends like dyeing the hair, putting more make-up.
• Unexpected occurrences like terrorist attacks.
• Incongruities like overnight package delivery.
• Process needs like free products.
• Industry and market changes for example health care industry changing to home health care.
• Demographic changes like retirement.
• Perceptual changes like exercise.
• Knowledge based concepts for example technology, robotics e.t.c.

There are also types of innovation:

• Invention: This is the creation of brand new ideas. Such concepts are revolutionary. For example; the invention of the light bulb by Thomas Edison.
• Extension: This is  expansion of an already product, service or process.This is a different application of a current idea. For example; McDonald's owned by Ray Kroc. 
• Duplication: This is the replication of an already existing idea. This is not the exact replication but adding a  touch to enhance the concept. For example; Wal-mart department stores.
• Synthesis: This is the combination of existing concepts into a new formulation.  For example FedEx.

Social Entrepreneurship

What is social entrepreneurship?

Social entrepreneurship is a new form of entrepreneurship that exhibits characteristics of nonprofits, governments, and businesses. It applies traditional (private sector) entrepreneurship's focus on innovation, risk taking, and large scale transformation to social problem solving. Social entrepreneurship starts with a sensed social opportunity which is later transformed t a business concept, afterwards, resources are gotten to execute the business's goals.


A Social Entrepreneur is an individual  who founds or leads an organization or idea engaged in social entrepreneurship. Social Entrepreneurs can also be called public entrepreneurs, civic entrepreneurs or social innovators. Arthur C.Brooks outlines some activiteis that characterize social entrepreneurs:

• Adoption of a mission to sustain and create and sustain social value (beyond personal value)
• Recognition and relentless pursuit of opportunities for social value
• Engagement in continuous innovation n learning
• Action beyond the limited resources at hand
• Heightened sense of accountability

To get examples of soocial entrepreneurs and the roles thay have played, check this link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_entrepreneurs

Guess who's made some billions...

We always hear about Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and other people who are famous for their money, these are some people who are also extremely rich but behind the scene...

                              Larry Ellison

  

      Larry Ellison who is an internet guru and the CEO of Oracle is now ranked the 3rd richest man in the States. At the age of 68, he has a net worth of about $16 billion as at September 2012. He has been ranked as the 6th richest billionaire in the world and has had a lot of achievements. Recently, he bought 98% of the Hawaii Island which costs about $500 million. He bought the 141-square mile island along with two resort hotels and a housing development from a fellow billionaire, David Murdock. He owns about $245 million all around the world.
      Larry spends his money on a lot of luxurious things. He owns mansions in various parts of the united states of America, and guess the fun part! He buys all the houses surrounding these mansions so that he doesn't get disturbed by nosy neighbors! Guess being filthy rich does pay off... He has a passion for yachts with his latest being the 'rising sun' with an estimated cost of about $200 million, designed by Jon Bannenberg with a tremendous length of 453 ft making it the 10th largest yacht!

                                      Paul Allen

Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft corporations, along with Bill Gates is a 59 yr old achiever from Mercer Island, WA. As the co-founder of Microsoft Corporations, he has a net worth of about $22 billion. he loves to spend his money on various luxurious things. Take, for example, buying your own football team and basketball team, that's what Paul did. He owns the  Seattle Seahawks of the National Football Team(NFL) and the Portland Trial Blazers of the National Basketball Association(NBA). What a bizarre way to spend money! With all of this wealth, we don't expect him to wait at the airport, he has a private jet to take him all around the world and was specially designed for him. He also has not only a yacht but a mega yacht called 'the octupus' with a length of 414 ft, constructed in 2003 and believed to be the largest at that time. Just like Larry Ellison, Paul Ellen doesn't like being disturbed by nosy neighbors ;)., he has a $120million estate which has seven mansions in it, one for him, one for his mother and the others, just so he doesn't have to deal with neighbors.



                              Sultan of Brunei

The present Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkaih, has the biggest palace on earth. His networth is not estimated but we know for sure that he is a billionaire! The palace has an estimated landmass of 2.1 million square feet! Wow right! Its ceiling is made up of gold, in other words, its gold domed  and it has about 1788 rooms, making it bigger than the Vatican! The dinning room can seat about 5000 people, what a way to spend money.

To know more about these people, you could watch the videoclip 'The fabulous life of the filthy rich billionaires' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt89AYksS5k

Great minds

Top 25 entrepreneurs under 25yrs....
 Did you know that 3 Nigerian girls appeared on the under 25 list of top 25 entrepreneurs including Ubong Attah, 23yrs, Deborah and Jessica Umunnabuike.

Ubong Attah

Ubong Attah describes herself as a serial entrepreneur. She ran a tutoring business in high school, taught herself Web design in college, then started a Web design firm her senior year called Studio10Fourteen, which she says is profitable and continues to operate. Ubong recently sold another business, an online jewelry shop, for around $55,000. She is in Dallas.

She was recently diagnosed with systemic lupus (also called erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease which, among other discomforts, forces the patient to avoid exposure to the sun), but rather than allow this to deter her, she turned her attention to starting a home-based business. Her new company, Prolete Medical Billing, makes use of her health-information management degree from Saint Louis University in St. Louis and her experience doing administrative work for her mother’s two home health agencies. Ubong who graduated just last year expects Prolete to have revenues of around $4 million in 2008. Her degree is in Health Information Management.

"I am a new college graduate aspiring to do big things and make things happen. I hope to start my own concierge service, web design company, and photography studio".

Deborah

Umunnabuike and Jessica Umunnabuike

"I’m looking to learn how to create a more socially responsible business," says Deborah Umunnabuike, a political science major at the University of Chicago and co-founder of Avant Gaudy, an online vintage clothing shop she started with her sister, Jessica, an undergraduate at Hofstra University, in the summer of 2005. They are based in Chicago.The daughters of Nigerian immigrants started the three-employee business because they were passionate about clothes and saw a growing demand among their peers for vintage clothing. And they soon realized that there was a growing demand abroad as well, specifically in parts of Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia, based on analyzing Web traffic to their site, almost 26,000 visitors from more than 30 countries. The sisters recruited Hong Kong native Vincent Choi to bring a global perspective to the business and better reach shoppers in Asia.

Deborah says running the business has made her want to become a serial entrepreneur, but until she graduates in 2009, she will continue to run it conservatively. She is also involved with the Forte Foundation, a group dedicated to creating young women business leaders, and is interested in continuing community work in the spirit of Avant Gaudy’s DIY/Smashup Chicago, a daylong networking and trade-show event she organized in 2006 for craftspeople and entrepreneurs

Intrapreneurship........the new entrepreneurship

Intrapreneurship is also called social entrepreneurship. It refers to employee initiatives in organizations to do something new, without being told to do so. Its also the process of profitability and creating innovation within an organization setting. For example, if an employee brings up a new business strategie for its company, it becomes an intrapreneur, he or she didnt start up thier business from the start but as a branch of an existing company.

Who created the playstation?

The father of Playstation

Ken Kutagari, the former CEO and chairman of Sony is the man who gave Sony the idea of the playstation. He bought his daughter a nintendo game and noticed that the sound quality of the game is poor. He then thought that if a separate chip was used for the sound, the game console will be better. H e gave the idea to Sony which they didn't really go with but with his support from the CEO at that time, they finally accepted the creation and that is one of the best game consoles in the world right now with the play station 3 being it's most recent development.