DRAW MORE YOUNG PEOPLE TO CRAFT INDUSTRY CALL BY PM.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 (Bernama) — Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today urged handicraft entrepreneurs to help expose more young people to the great potential the industry holds for them. The prime minister said that besides developing the art, they would also be offering jobs to the many unemployed graduates. ‘I believe that by being exposed to the industry, the young people will be drawn to the sector because of the great potential it holds for them. Then, they should be provided with suitable training. ‘Introduce them to the grand masters in the field. I am convinced there exist many people out there who may not have paper qualifications but are highly skilled to train our young people,’ he said when launching National Craft Day 2008, here. Abdullah said he was convinced that with a more organised marketing strategy, the country”s craft products could penetrate the international market more extensively.
How entrepreneurs create hot spots.
‘Are you crazy?’
That was his wife”s withering assessment of the spot he had chosen to open his first store, Jamie Wilke recalls, and she probably had every reason to question her husband”s sanity. Oconomowoc was a faded resort village in central Wisconsin. Many of the stores in its shabby downtown sported ‘Going Out of Business’ signs. That”s where Wilke was determined to open a furniture store. Understandably, his wife was worried. Was there a single soul eager to buy his wares in Oconomowoc? Would he go broke?
Hardly. Wilke”s store, Jamie Wilke Interiors, opened fall 2000, and from the start the place was jammed with customers. Oconomowoc lies in the heart of the state”s Lake District, and as it turned out, lakefront development was booming. The region”s newcomers - young urbanites and wealthy retirees - were eager to outfit their second homes with his edgy, sophisticated pieces.
South Africa: BEE Group May Reject Vodacom Deal.
A CONSORTIUM shortlisted for part of Vodacom”s R7,5bn empowerment stake is meeting today to debate pulling out of the deal completely.
The consortium reads like a black Who”s Who of the hi-tech industry, spanning technicians, entrepreneurs, lawyers and regulators. But its head, Nkenke Kekana, says they object to being forced to work with three other groups, including a cast of political characters, and may quit rather than bid for a stake split between too many players with too little experience to enhance the business.
New Luxury Motor Coach Resort Offers Many Unique Features, Including Designer Golf Course.
RED LODGE, MT - March 24, 2008: Real estate entrepreneur Jeanne Rizzotto has a penchant for unusual projects, and creating the Of Course RV Resort LLC, the first of many motor coach resorts in the nation to include a designer golf course, is her most unusual endeavor to date. Located just north of the historic mountain town of Red Lodge and an hour away from Billings, Montana”s largest city, the first in a series of resorts is scheduled to open in fall 2008.
The 190-acre resort will feature a private nine-hole golf course with many lakes designed by Robert Trent Jones II, the world-renowned golf design firm. ‘I begged,’ Rizzotto laughed. ‘And when the firm”s CEO, John Strawn, visited and saw the vision in full, the firm was in.’
Other unique aspects of the resort include proposed locations on Navajo land.
Many people think it is no big deal to neglect accounts receivable until bills are collectible. This is bad cash flow policy. Here are seven excellent tips for handling accounts receivable:
(1) Check the financial health of a new customer before offering them credit. One way of doing this is by using a rating service, such as Dun & Bradstreet (1-800-234-3867).
(2) Ask a new customer for five business references and don”t neglect to call them.
(3) Don”t offer too generous discounts, such as 3% for payment in 10 days. A better rate is 1.5% cash discount. It costs you less.
(4) Charge a ‘late fee’ of 2% per month to customers who pay late and charge back customers who take discounts after the discount periods.
(5) Follow up on late payers with phone calls and letters. These may seem a bit extreme, but the first letter should go out the very day the amount is one day late! After 30 days late, start this sequence:
– send out a letter from your attorney –turn over the account to a collection agency –use a collection attorney
(6) Don”t send out new merchandise if bills remain unpaid. Remember that bad debts hurt your bottom line! Be vigilant and try to get at least periodic payments from slow payers.
(7) Instruct your bank to automatically deposit ‘returned checks.’ Ask your bank if they offer Return Item box service. If they do, then use it to redeposit your check and charge back the bank return item free to your customer.
These seven steps are tough and unrelenting, but they may make the difference between a positive cash flow month and a sluggish month for your business. It may seem a bit hypocritical to demand swift and exacting payment, and then do what we suggest next. But just remind yourself, all (almost) is fair in love and war and business.
Part 1 of an uncut interview with H.E. Paul Kagame of Rwanda at the Legatum Pioneers of Prosperity Awards in Kigali, November 30th. The “Entrepreneur President” , as he has been dubbed, speaks of small business, competition, poverty, prosperity and his personal path from military strategist to become Africa’s leading statesman.
James is king tin can man.
At just seven years of age, James Williamson is already showing promise as an entrepreneur. James will spend the next six weeks collecting cans to sell to a can recycling depot in Inverell and donate the money to Royal Brisbane Hospital?s backbone and spinal clinic.
The youngest of seven children, James was born with Spina bifida, a condition that occurs in the first 21 days of pregnancy whereby one or more vertebrae do not close completely around the spinal cord. This leaves a gap or split, which causes damage to the nervous system. At two days old James had corrective surgery but his parents were told that he?d never walk. James has defied all odds.
?The doctors said he?d never walk but we got him running,? James? parents Pauline and John, of Pinkett, said.
?We take each day as it comes at the moment he is going really well, but he could have a growth spurt and put everything out of whack.
