by adrianchilders on January 23, 2012
There was a great post everyone was talking about in the New York Times this weekend that highlighted why the U.S. is loosing manufacturing jobs to Asian countries by the boatload. It turns out low labor costs are only a small reason of why American companies choose to manufacture products overseas instead of the United States.
The post focused on Apple, an iconic American brand known around the world and Foxconn, a manufacturing powerhouse that employs over 1 million people worldwide and actually makes the devices for companies such as Apple, Amazon, Dell, HP, Motorola and several others. Even though many executives that work for American Read More
by adrianchilders on January 16, 2012
As services such as Pandora, Spotify, Rdio, Rhapsody and other alternatives to listen to our favorite music continue to become more popular it seems the days of radio as we know it are numbered. We still listen to broadcast radio because our cars aren’t connected to the internet yet, but over the next few years we will begin to see this as a built in feature. There is a real business opportunity to create an online radio station that streams local news and music 24 hours a day. Websites streaming content can focus at the local level and would require the same music licenses that radio stations purchase.
Many local radio stations already offer a live stream through Clear Channel’s, I Heart Radio. Since most of us listen to Read More
by adrianchilders on January 9, 2012
It seems at every business conference or event, specifically those focused on startups or tech you always meet two types of people, the “business guy” and the “tech guy”. The business guy may be the person who goes out and gets funding for the company and markets the business to customers or users. The tech guy, as the name implies is the guy with the technical skills who actually creates the product, which in many cases nowadays can be entirely online.
The “business people” of the world may have been able to get by in the past without knowing HTML, CSS, JavaScript or any other basic computer/programming languages, but we live in 2012 where one of the Read More
by Adrian Childers on December 25, 2011
2011 has come and gone, Christmas gifts have been unwrapped and we’re officially six days away from a new year. Below is a list of the best companies, organizations and people of 2011 that are making the world a better place…. and a couple that make it a worse one. Thankfully there is much more good than evil!
Best Companies
Virgin Galactic
Virgin Galactic makes the list for keeping the dream of being an astronaut alive. As NASA launched their last space shuttle in 2011, Virgin Galactic is just gearing up and has already booked 430 people to travel into space beginning early 2012. The now privatized space industry is several times Read More
by Claudia Rodriguez on December 12, 2011
Robert Kiyosaki says if you want to be rich, you need to own a large business and you need to build a strong network. Franchises are one example of a large business. For those that don’t have an extra million dollars lying around to invest though there is network marketing, a business model that has been called a personal franchise. If you are serious about becoming a successful entrepreneur and are willing to learn, the network marketing business model may be of interest.
The information age which began in the late 1980’s has changed the way we buy and sell products which has been beneficial to the network marketing industry. Network marketing is an often misunderstood industry and many even have a Read More
by Adrian Childers on December 5, 2011
As I look over my girlfriend, Ijtsuri Viveros’s power point slides the night before she presents her thesis about the relationship foreign direct investment has on child labor in developing countries, I can’t help but think about the two things every third world country needs before they are able pull themselves out of poverty.
The first is access to capital, whether it come in the form of loans or investors who provide the capital in exchange for partial ownership in the business. Not much ever gets done without money. The reason this is a cultural change is because those with the money and power (dictators in some cases) in these developing countries need to learn Read More
by Adrian Childers on November 20, 2011
On 12 October, 2011 much to the dismay of the remaining protections in the country and a few special interests groups, the United States signed new trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Columbia. Ironically the country that preaches the most about free and uninhibited trade is also the same country with the fewest trade agreements when compared to countries around the world. In a desperate effort to reduce unemployment however, the U.S. is looking to create partnerships with counterparts overseas, and government officials at the local, state and federal level want to create jobs by helping businesses increase sales to customers abroad.
For business owners and managers interested in exporting there are several resources available to answer frequently asked questions about doing business overseas. The first place to look is your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC) which are located across all fifty states and Read More
by Adrian Childers on November 6, 2011
Although the situation is getting better, it’s no secret Mexico has been plagued by violence that rivals some of the worst wars going on in the Middle East. It’s become normal to read or hear about several deaths in a single day. The losing war on drugs only became more prevalent when the federal government decided to fight the cartels head on. It’s a war funded by the demand for drugs in the United States and fought in large part with weapons that are sold and exported into Mexico illegally, even from the carelessness of our own government agencies through operations such as fast and furious.
Cities and entire countries all face their own challenges and while the situation in Mexico appears dire now there is hope to turn the country around. For those optimistic about Mexico’s future there are also investment opportunities if you’re willing to take on some risk. Mexico has for years attracted millions of Read More
by Adrian Childers on October 23, 2011
“When I was your age I used to walk 10 miles barefoot, uphill, both ways in the snow”
Sound familiar? You may have heard this from your Dad, Grandfather or even Great Grandfather. It’s the age old argument generations prior to the current, make about how much harder they used to work and how lazy kids are these days.
To date, I’m not aware of anyone of the millennial generation aka Gen Y arguing in contrast that we are lazy. The reason you ask? It’s because most millennials don’t know and don’t care about any generation prior to our own and believe the world and everything good began at around 1980. The shouts that we are lazy, don’t want to work and just want to spend our parents hard earned cash have grown, particularly from Jason Calacanis, who broke the last straw in this video in which he points to Read More
by Adrian Childers on October 16, 2011
Occupy Wall Street is in full swing and it appears the “99%” in the U.S. have inspired people oversees to occupy their own cities. If you’re following the protests on cable TV, you’re either getting your news from the Marxists, Ed Schultzs’s of the world or the “deregulate everything, environment hating, don’t tax the poor billionaire job creators”, Sean Hannity type folks. While both sides feel very passionate about their positions, their ill attempt of reporting and overdose of personal opinions isn’t important. If you’re interested, rather in how we got into this mess in the first place and how we’re going to get ourselves out…. Keep reading.
Lots of people are outraged and for a good reason. When you are struggling to put food on your family’s table you have a right to be angry. Protesters are criticized for not having a clear message or so called list of demands, but when you’re Read More
