Archive for the ‘business’ Category

At one time or another every business owner has wondered why one business will be successful and prosper for years and another one will struggle just to survive. I am about to tell you the ONE secret that all successful business owners know and have kept secret all these years. This secret is so simple, yet so powerful that in the wrong hands… well, you get the picture.

But, before I tell you the secret that, if implemented, will guarantee that you will be a successful entrepreneur and without it, you will be relegated to the pile of “also rans”, I want to tell you a little story.

Recently, I was in an electronics store. This was not a local store, but a national chain. I have only shopped there a few times, and I do not know if I will ever shop there again. For Christmas, my children wanted me to hook up the internet in their room so they could use the internet at the same time that I was using mine. I have never installed a network and was going to go the wireless route because I have thought about buying a laptop.

I stopped an associate to ask him some questions about exactly what I needed to hook up the network. I had some items in my hand and asked him if that was all I needed. Without slowing down, he said about four words, “yea, that looks right.” After he walked away, still not convinced that I had everything I needed, I put the items back on the shelf and walked out of the store to go purchase them somewhere else.

When we got in our car to leave, the sales associate was standing outside the building smoking. That cigarette was more important than making a $150 sale.

This brings me back to “The First Rule Of Owning A Successful Business.”

Give The Customer What He Wants Or Needs.

Product. The customer is there because you have something that he wants or needs. As in the example above, I was ready to purchase the items necessary to network my computers and yet, I did not because I did not get what I needed, which was someone that would take the time to explain what I needed to do.

Great Value For A Great Price. As I have stated in an earlier article, price is not always the determining factor when a customer makes a purchase. However, he wants to believe he received a good value for the price that he paid.

Qualified Sales Staff. Again, as in the example above, I needed help and did not receive it. A customer wants to know that he is dealing with an honest, experienced, and fair sales person that is there to help him.

Items In Stock. Customers like to know that when they go to a store to purchase an item that should be there, the item will be there. There is nothing more frustrating than to go to a store looking for something and it is out of stock. Although items will run out of stock sometimes, if customers believe that this happens a lot, they will go elsewhere the next time.

If you follow these four items when dealing with a customer, even though problems will arise, you will be one of the successful entrepreneurs that people look at in the future and say, “Wow, he’s been here for a long time.” Because, you were willing to “Give The Customer What He Wants Or Needs.

Great men are born once in a while. Men are great not because they are born with some attribute of greatness but their deeds make them great and remarkable individuals in history. Such people thus are not born overnight it takes one’s whole lifetime to achieve that success and fame that one only dreamt of. The article throws light on some of the great men who brought revolution in the business world. Their achievements not just brought tremendous credit to their name but are largely beneficial to the multitude.

• The Tobacco Industrialist Washington Duke (1820-1905)- the personal life of this farmer from North Carolina was a sad story for both his wife and son died of the same disease. Adding to the disaster, his cotton crop too failed at the same time. Btu Duke did not let this stop himself from proceeding in life. His life was full of struggle he even became a prisoner of war during the Civil War. Finally the big break that changed his entire life came when he manufactured the popular product ‘tobacco’. The Union Army that was staying in the North Carolina had a great liking for tobacco. Duke’s manufactured tobacco which came to be known as ‘Pro Bono Publico’ was a brilliant sensation that won the heart of all the tobacco lovers very soon. Later Duke also manufactures cigarettes under the name of his company W. Duke, Sons and Company which too was a big hit.

• The inventor of the reaper Cyrus McCormick (1809-1884) has his own place in the B-world. McCormick was the son of a blacksmith who had influenced and helped the people of Shenandoah Valley with his exuberant skill in making agricultural devices. The father made the reaping machine that the son modified extremely and took it to places. The McCormick’s designed inventor was a huge success at his birth place and even when he went abroad. McCormick went to Chicago in 1847 where he opened a factory named the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company. The factory scaled new heights despite massive competition. McCormick’s device that he had invented and built drastically shrunk the labor and time required to produce grain. Where in 1830 it used to take 20 hours to harvest an acre of wheat, it took just one hour to do so in 1895…all thanks to the great mind behind it- McCormick.

• The industrialist Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) needs no introduction in the business market. He was a man who had strived hard against poverty during his childhood. He worked as a bobbin boy and as a telegrapher and also as a superintendent for the Pennsylvania Railroad. His petite savings that hye invested in oil, iron and steel during the Civil War fetched him a turning point in his life. in 1880 Carnegie had brought a lot of companies under the Carnegie Steel Company. By 1990 this company produced a fourth of all the steel in United States. Known to be one of the richest men of the world then, Carnegie believed that rich men act as trustees to their wealth and they must administer it in the favor of the public.

• Thomas Edison (1847-1931) perhaps is unknown to none and has his own coveted place in the history. Edison was the man who had about 1100 inventions in his name that have unbeatable use in the world today and then. The man who spent few hours in school, worked as a railroad newsboy was the first to start of a publication typeset and printed on a moving train. The other inventions added to his list are an electronic vote recorder in 1868, quadruplex telegraph in 1874, phonograph, light bulb and a Dictaphone to name a few. But many of these were mere improvements on what a team or so had manufactured and at times he helped others in creating devices. For instance the Dictaphone, working motion picture system that synchronized pictures with sound and the stock ticker were prepared by others under the help and guidance of Edison. He also formed a company that later became General Electric.

• Apart from these the glorious men like George Eastman, Henry Ford, Madam C.J Walker, Joseph Pulitzer and many others have made significant contributions that has greatly helped mankind every now and then

Companies buy wholesale products from wholesale retailers. Buying something wholesale can help a company get something for a certain price and then charge a customer a higher price. The company can then make a profit on the products they bought for wholesale.

Some of the many things that often are bought in wholesale are:

~Electronics: Best Buy may buy electronics from a company and then sell them to the customer at an escalated price.

~Automobiles: A company may buy a lot of automobiles from a wholesale distributer and then sell them to a customer for a lot more.

~Clothing: Clothing may be bought in wholesale and then put in stores, such as K-Mart.

~Food and Drink: Food and drink may be resold to customers, in the form on a restaurant or grocery store, for example.

~Footwear: Footlocker can buy loads of shoes for twenty dollars and sell them to the customer for fifty dollars. The extra money is the profit.

~Furniture: Furniture may be bought in wholesale from a factory warehouse and then they bring up the price and sell it to the customers.

~Jewelry: Jewelry stores get their jewelry from wholesale retailers.

~Toys: Toys may be bought in wholesale and then sold to companies such as Toys R Us.

~Cigarettes: A company, such as K-Mart buys cigarettes in wholesale and then sells them to you.

~Alcohol: Alcohol may be bought in wholesale and then sold to the customers.

How to Sell Wholesale Products

1) Find the right suppliers that are going to meet your needs.

2) Decide what products you want to sell. You may not want to limit yourself to just one area when you’re starting out.

3) Consider using product sourcing which allows you to compare suppliers, search for specific products among many wholesalers, and pick the amount of the right products you want to re-sell.

Be careful of “wholesale lists”. They are not great quality. They contain old and outdated information about companies most of the time. They sometimes have suppliers that are fraudulent. Check with the Better Business Bureau with any wholesale company before deciding to do business with them.

There are going to be laws in different states that you live in with regards to buying and selling wholesale products. Starting a wholesale business in Indiana, for example, you have to get registered as a business. There are sanitary laws with wholesale products, such as food, plumbing systems, and general maintenance. You will need to look into your own state laws in order to know what the specific laws are. When you sell wholesale products, you also need to be a registered business. You’ll need to keep things sanitary. You will need to repackage things appropriately.

Copyright (c) 2008 Drew Stevens PhD

It is incorrigible to find so many firms with worker inefficiencies and dissatisfaction. 58.5 billion dollars per annum is spent globally on training. This daunting figure sends a different message when broken down. 70% of most firms do not conduct training that helps them remain competitive. Typically during economic volatility the first line item cut is training. However, the most vital resource for all organizations is training.

Customer Service and sales are critically important to all organizations. The frequent pace of product development, client topography and product updates necessitate continual training. However, the size, cost and geographies of delivering training become cumbersome. Ironic, given our knowledge-required economy.

In recent research for this article our firm discovered that 90% of training programs conducted for corporations result only in a 90-120 day increase in productivity and, as a result, fewer than 20% of companies realize any sustainable productivity gain that lasts beyond 12 months. The rationale- training is treated as an event not as a process. To obtain long-range results and consistent progress, training must be conducted frequently. Additionally, our research with over 300 leading organizations denoted seven factors that infringe proper training.

Habits are not like Cigarettes – One cannot do Cold Turkey

A chronic misunderstanding about training is the issue of changing habits. Habits are formed from years of influences and behaviors. These behaviors have cultivated through many years of constant repetition. Enculturation is manifestation of behaviors both personally and professionally. Through years of progression the behaviors become our daily routine, or habits. It is weariful to believe that habits will change during a one or multi day training session.

Statistics prove that cigarette smoking through cold turkey miserably fails. So why think that training is any different. It is inconceivable to change behaviors and attitudes in a day. You can draw attention to the issues simply not change them.

Solution: The best methodology for changing behaviors is to influence them. First, use one day to draw attention to issues. Create awareness and provide some simple measures that allow workers to be mindful of the issues. Utilize technologies that continually enforce learning to make it stick. Then create opportunities for continued development. These include focus groups, shadowing, interviewing clients and suppliers. Finally, continual classroom training is pragmatic. Today’s employee craves new learning opportunities and monthly or quarterly learning especially in a knowledge economy is paramount to organizational success.

Learn Me or Else

Many learners attend seminars and corporate events under incorrect pretext. A recent survey illustrates that 65% of most participants believe, training is punishment for past experience. Typically training participants believe they are wasting time, are an example and do not want to attend. Learners walk into a session and proclaim, “Learn Me”. Facilitators are in a quandary to prove their worth and tend to focus on proving learning to these participants. This environment is not advantageous for learning. It represents hostility. Illicit learners create a poor learning environment.

Solution: Communication is the exemplar to promote a positive learning experience. Participants must understand the rationale for learning. Each participant must work with management to determine personal and organizational learning objectives and ensure congruency with both. The method of success begins with a positive- ensure follow up with participants after each session. Training must never be seen as a penalty for performance.

Modalities of Learning

We work in a multigenerational, multi-gendered and multicultural workforce. There is more integration of personalities and styles then ever before. This potpourri of talent requires changes in learning accommodation. Today’s learner desires 1) to be involved in the learning process, they like interaction and adverse to simple lecture and 2) desire different modalities of learning. The proliferation of consumer electronics, the Internet and personal computing allows learners to devour content wherever, however and whenever they desire. As such the clich?”different strokes for different folks” is relevant.

Solution: Create learning according to age and style preference. Many millennial learners admire the iPod and iTunes approach. They enjoy audio and can listen at their leisure. Generation X and Baby Boomers appreciate a classroom approach but desire more interaction rather than lecture. These learners crave “real time” practicum to enhance their learning. The concept of blended learner carries importance. Providing mixed modalities of learning creates new learning pathways and involves all in the process. Additionally, blended learner has a higher return on the training investment.

Concern on Productivity Decrease

Time constraints constantly infringe on learning. One day or even a full week of learning takes much productivity away from the work-team. The most imperative areas such as sales and customer service find it increasingly difficult to partake in a day or more of training. And, if training does occur, managers feel more pressure to make up for lost time.

Solution: The simple solution for all is to divide training into smaller segments of two to four hour increments. Many facilitators will balk at this concept for monetary issues however, this is the best approach for productivity gains. Less time is used during the day and learners coming straight from a course instantly apply relevant materials. This approach is more conducive for today’s competitive pressures.

Real world practicum

Too many courses and too many facilitators pull content “off the shelf”. This is especially true in public seminars when participants come from a myriad of organizations. Participants today desire real world practicum to apply to “their” business or department. They want immediate replies for today’s pressing needs.

Solution: Facilitators must be encouraged to survey participants to better understand learner objectives. The more personal the approach, the more value client’s gain from the satisfaction of meeting objectives. Additionally it is imperative to set aside education time to work on real issues. Establish actors or have learners establish roles to work on true issues that require interaction and processing.

And on the first day… there was Hiring and Orientation Over 25 years of research and development in this field points to the issue of proper hiring. Far too many capital expenditures are allocated repairing issues. Productivity decrease, morale, turnover, sales attrition are issues that all begin with worker attitude. Vast amounts of training dollars are spent trying to redirect attitude and behavior. Mentioned previously, this does not redeem itself in one training program. Further, employees do not change if ills exist within organizational culture.

Solution: Hire correctly the first time. Create Talent Acquisition Profiles to understand generational mix and attitudes. Conduct an analysis of your best people and hire those that emulate these behaviors. Hiring if conducted correctly is a proactive process rather than reactive.

Accountability

The worst travesty for any training program is a sheer lack of accountability. There are countless anecdotes of participants sent into training for hours and days at a time, returning to work no better than before training. Workers return to past habits having forgotten educational practicum. This illustrates a complete disregard for the return on investment.

Solution: Stop the narcissism. Hold individuals accountable to ALL training program essentials. If there is a new methodology have participants repeat it daily, if a new workflow have them use it, if a new moniker have them state it. The only mechanism for success is the establishment of new habits. What gets remembered gets repeated and it is imperative for individuals to constantly repeat new processes to change old habits.

The road to success begins with change. Training reduces productivity and increases cost, yet the true measurement is the degree of change. If participants are held to accountable and proper measurements applied, organizations can justify the value and return on training investment. However, if some of the issues mentioned above are taken for granted then training is no more then triage for ongoing issues that forever exist creating productivity decrease and expense.

Sometimes things start out in the most surprising ways. Take the watch company of Casio for example. If you were asked to guess what the first product that was made by Casio, you may think it was the calculator or some other type of electronic product. You would be wrong. The Casio Company was started 1946 by Tadao Kashio. Understand that this was in Japan following World War II. The financial situation was dire in Japan at the time to say the least. When Mr. Kashio began his company, he was a fabrication engineer hoping to catch a big break.

His big break showed up in a very unique way. Tadao Kashio developed a product called the yubiwa pipe. Its design allowed it to be worn on the finger. It was used to hold a cigarette, allowing the smoker to smoke the cigarette to the filter, all while still being able to use both hands. In the impoverished Japan of the times, cigarettes were a hot commodity and the product was an overwhelming success. The yubiwa pipe is a far cry from the calculators and watches that were to follow, but it did start the company down the road to success.

Since it is obvious that Mr. Kashio was an inventive sort of man, it only took a little while for him to decide to explore different products. At the business show in Ginza, Japan in 1949, he discovered electronic calculators. With the proceeds from the sale of the yubiwa pipes, Mr. Kashio and his brothers began to experiment with making their own calculators. At the time, most calculators were run by the use of gears. With diligence and hard work, the Casio Company came out with the first calculator to use solenoids. The new type of calculator went on sale in 1954. This calculator also was the first to have the 10 digit keypad and had only one display window as opposed to the competitors’ that had three.

As you well know, calculators weren’t the only product manufactured by Casio. After the release of the Model 14-A calculator, many more products were designed and released to the general public. The same year as the release of the 14-A, the company also became the Casio Computer Co., Inc. This is about the time when watches from Casio first made their mark on the watch industry. Casio has been well known for the huge variety and innovation of their watches almost since the beginning of production. They were one of the first watch companies to manufacture the now famous quartz crystal watches. The quartz watches produced by Casio were available in both digital and analog styles. It is possible that the most well remembered watch produced by this company was the calculator watch. For those of you who don’t remember, it featured all of the amazing time keeping capabilities of the regular Casio watches, with an added feature. It had a tiny calculator complete with miniature keypad built into the watch. During its hey day it was the bane of math teachers everywhere and the savior of every math deficient student.

Considering the calculator watch was so much fun, Casio continued to raise the bar. This company was also the first to design and produce a watch that could provide its owner with some interesting details. One such watch could display the time of many different time zones at the touch of a button. Others were equipped to give weather details like the temperature and barometric pressure. Mountain climbers of ages past particularly were fond of the version that came with a gauge to indicate the altitude. While other watch makers were stuck on the same old, same old, Casio consistently offered new and exciting variations on the classic wristwatch.

With the true gadget geeks of the world in mind, Casio came up with a watch just for them. It is the Wave Ceptors line of watches. They really outdid themselves with this one. These watches are equipped to receive radio signals that enable the watch to keep accurate time. They also are able to tell the time in different time zones, the user can set alarms and timers. This line of watches also came with an incredibly extensive user manual to provide all of the necessary instructions to the owner.

From the yubiwa pipe to the finest calculators and watches in the world, the Casio has come a long way from its humble beginnings. They continue to challenge themselves and their competitors to new higher peaks and offer the best products electronics can build.

Information regarding import/export and business to business (B2B) required by global sourcing agencies are available on internet. Dealing with business to business for your import and export needs in China is like discovering Eldorado for the simple reason that business to business (B2B) provides for a saving to the tune of 5% over phone and E-mails. Business to business negotiations succeed when mutual understanding occupies the center stage. Import/export through business to business transactions has grown at a breakneck speed to this extent, thanks to consolidation triggered by global sourcing.

In fact, there are no dearth’s of products that occupy B2B market and include all conceivable agriculture to food products to cigarette, etc. Manufacturing companies involved in direct B2B or business to business dealings in global sourcing include reputable names like Joyance Enterprise, to name; it is no wonder, business to business has drawn appeal over global sourcing, import and export operators. A large number of countries are entering into business to business transactions with China import/export market.

-Global Sourcing to Import and Export

Made-in-China products assume a significant place in the global sourcing circles, thanks to its calculated import/export thrust in the post WTO era. For example, toys and electronic goods are exported over the globe through global sourcing, fundamentally due to the burgeoning manufacturing and B2B. Chinese manufacturing companies take active participation in B2B or business to business in an effort to reach out to the global sourcing community, a fact all new entrants to import/export with China can benefit from. The crux of the matter is, by importing from Chinese B2B or business to business or via global sourcing, one may hope to start off in business.

-Import and Export Scenario of China

Chinese import and export operators, upgrade their infrastructures and skills of their labor force by constantly imparting on-job training. Next, import and export demands stringent adherences to environmental and human rights regime, a point Chinese business to business (B2B) community has imbibed to the core. Also, the initial reluctance to adapting to e-commerce is now wading away with implementation of security, stronger legacy system, rightful standards and more than that, willingness of business partners to go ahead with business to business (B2B) and global sourcing over the internet. The proof of pudding is here: Chinese import/export companies have made it big by choosing to go online for business to business (B2B) and global sourcing realizing the virtues like simplification and automation of import/export formalities as the process of global sourcing.

Thirty-three years ago Mort Arken retired from the U.S Navy after serving on the U.S.S Enterprise in the Pacific. Six months immediately after, he bought five SNJ-2 Navy fighters; today he owns six of the eleven in existence.

According to the Columbia Encyclopedia (sixth edition 2001), skywriting is an advertising medium in which aircraft spell out trade names and sales slogans in the sky by means of the controlled emission of thick smoke. The technique was first developed in 1922 by J.C. Savage, pioneer English aviator.

Skywriting is a single plane twisting and turning at an altitude of about 10,000 feet emitting a biodegradable trail of vapour to form spectacular letters and symbols in the sky. A single skywriting letter is 2,400 feet tall, i.e. the size of two Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other (Skytypers 2002). It is a spectacular form of mass advertising, and it is great for grand openings, new products, major sporting events, anniversaries, etc.

According to Kathy Prentice, columnist for Media Life, sky-written ads date back to the 1930s when Pepsi put its message up among the clouds from coast to coast. Today aerial companies are offering features like reproductions of logos, elaborate graphics and typed messages in addition to the traditional smoky looped letters (Skytypers).

The Columbia Encyclopedia describes skytyping as a more modern form of skywriting which involves the use of five to seven planes. They fly rigidly parallel and equidistant courses as nearly in perfect unison as possible. The message to be written is arranged on a master control panel and as the planes fly abreast electronic signals cause the smoke-emission mechanism in each plane to release puffs of smoke accordingly.

Skytyping messages unfold like dot matrix printing across the sky. Air messages are targeted at sports events and concerts, beaches and commuter traffic or can be aimed at a general audience (K. Prentice). “Skywriting is perfect for short messages or logos,” says Mort Aken. “…But for longer words, the answer is skytyping.” Mort describes skytyping more practically thus: “A special transmitter on the lead plane sends information to receivers on each of the other aircraft. Smoke puffs out in a pattern read from a perforated tape. The tape looks like a little player piano roll. Whenever there’s a hole the appropriate airplane releases a puff of smoke.”

Creative material varies with the type of skywriting and is usually provided by the advertiser. The aerial company can, however, provide creative advice; branding is the primary goal of skywriting. Skytypers also have been used for product promotions and sampling, etc. Skytyping also allows for painting the fleet of the aircraft with the client’s logo and putting the logo on the pilots’ suits. Advertisers in the U.S are almost always national companies. Another plus for writing one’s client across the sky is the media attention it commands. It is very difficult for crowds not to stop and watch once the writing begins, says Greg Stinis of Skytypers Inc. This feature therefore makes skywriting part of a media mix, combined with broadcast.

There is no doubt that skytyping is an excellent way to get consumers to notice you. Some of the benefits of skytyping include: (a) it stands you out in the every day clutter; (b) your aerial billboards are brought to the crowds; (c) you do not bother about artwork and construction time delays as in conventional billboards; (d) curiosity compels anyone to read messages on the giant aerial billboards; (e) it is the world’s largest billboard created in the open.

Though sales at ticketed events and crowd estimates at parade and other public events may be used, Wayne Mansfield of Aviad, a company specializing in a different type of skywriting, opines that “it is not a measured medium. However, it is very impactful.” For him it would be very difficult for everyone on a beach of 1.2 million people not to notice an aerial advertisement.

In the U.S entertainment (especially movie premieres) does well on the medium. Also, automotive manufacturers, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, Internet, travel, packaged goods including candy and personal care items such as suntan lotion, etc. actively patronize aerial billboards. Not left out are public service announcements as well as sponsored reproductions of works of art in the U.S. Stinis attests to the fact that his company advertised Wonder Bra and the manufacturer called to stop the campaign because they were totally sold out.”

As regards cost to an advertiser, campaigns could be based on the number of showings per location in addition to number of locations. Weather and availability may also determine the lead time. Pricing may also be determined by flight while other cost factors could include the number of letters and flights. Skytyping can also be bought in bulk or cluster of messages that are distributed over a period of time over selected events.

Clients who are already in the sky in the U.S for example, include Cadillac, Buick, MGM, Universal Studios, Budweiser, Lycos, Tootsie Rolls, Pepsi, Dunkin Donuts, Heineken, Japan Airlines, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Aqua Fresh Toothpaste, Toyota, Disneyland, General Foods, The History Channel and the U.S Postal Service. In 1999, NicoDerm CQ- Nicorette Skytypers were a major component of SmithKline Beecham’s Nico Tour ’99, a smoking session cessation campaign. Mort Arken was thrilled that his World War Two airplanes were once more being used to fight an important battle, i.e. against the health hazards related to cigarette smoking.

Mort Arken used his computerized skytyping method to spell out stop-smoking messages like “LEAVE SMOKING TO US- GET NICODERM CQ or NICORETTE.” Writing clients in the sky is already a technique in Europe, Japan and South Africa. Skytyping is literally 1,000 times larger than a roadside billboard, and it is custom placed over your specific demographic area or desired event that will give you maximum awareness.

Whereas there are several retired Nigerian pilots who are unsung, in the U.S Skytyper pilots are heroes who sign autographs for young fans at airports, etc. The skytyper pilots draw big crowds wherever they operate and serve as ambassadors to millions of consumers annually by skytyping promotional messages in the sky. The skytypers travel to air shows all over the U.S and Canada, demonstrating their precision flying and skytyping abilities to millions of people each year.

This is first a challenge to our outdoor advertising sector and then other stakeholders in the Nigerian advertising industry; let us have more creative, vibrant and exciting out-of-home media. The various stakeholders should go to the drawing board on this even as I challenge the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) to spend time studying their counterparts in South Africa; there, out-of-home is simply a wonder to behold!

This is the age of technology. Resist it and you are dead. With our current economic climate, most businesses are into dilemma of how to improve more their offered goods and services. In other words, business industry is evolving into a highly capital intensive and complicated industry. To gain competitive edge over competitors, it needs to invest more capital. Big players captures large market share and small players only get the remaining piece of pie. With larger capital investment, a firm has the capacity to make innovations, adopt modern technology and come-up with full-blast marketing. Such huge capital is unavoidable for growth and how will it affect the name of the game for small companies? What if a firm only has limited capital? Does it still have the chance to cope-up with the tight competition? My answer is definitely YES!

Everyone in the business industry have chances of competing equally. It is just a matter of how much a firm is willing to invest in order to adopt innovations. But most businesses especially small players have difficulty of raising capital. Applying for a loan is the most common practice but considering high interest rates, a firm will ended up with much bigger liabilities. Are there more ways on how to raise capital funds except for a loan application? Yes, there is. Instead of a loan, a firm can try to venture into other fast-liquidated business lines.

I am a small entrepreneur running a small internet shop in our town. With the presence of various big internet cafes nearby, it is impossible for me to capture a bigger share of the market for I can’t even afford to buy additional equipments to improve our services. I also don’t want to engage into loans for I’m sure, with high interest rates, it will only give me difficulty of paying back. So what I did is utilized all my possible resources in order to raise capital. Aside from the internet cafe, I resorted to introduce other business line that will easily give me a fast returns like selling cigarettes and candies. The income I earned from these was used as additional capital in my main business. I resorted in offering complimentary service. I bought a printer and started to offer printing services. I also tried investing on prepaid loads and electronics loads for cell phones. Starting with very minimal capital, I was able to manage well my investment cycle until it grows bigger. The money I am earning from this loading business is again used as new capital in my internet cafe.