Cal Poly online business startup Haberdash aims to help users pick a wardrobe - San Luis Obispo Tribune

Mike Viheula is working on a project that combines online clothing shopping with social networking. The company’s logo is something like this.

Since winning San Luis Obispo’s first ever Cal Poly Startup Weekend in late January, the Haberdash team and its founder, Mike Viheula of Paso Robles, have been working to get their intuitive “fashion DNA” online application up and running.

More than a month has passed since the Haberdash team beat 11 others at the startup event, where the team developed a program that would help people pick a wardrobe.

In the meantime, Viheula and his team have learned how meticulous starting an online business can be.

More than 80 participants on 12 teams presented their prototypes at the three-day January gathering, which is planned as an annual event, according to Cal Poly officials.

A panel of four judges — faculty and local business executives — critiqued teams on customer validation, business models and execution. Mentors worked during the weekend to coach teams and guide them through problems.

As the winner, the Haberdash team will have the opportunity to continue to refine its product through the Kauffman Foundation’s FastTrac program, thanks to a donation by the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Viheula and his team, four of whom are freshmen engineering majors at Cal Poly, have run into many of the obstacles new companies face.

Examples include locating funds, balancing schedules and working out the quirks on the technical side of things, but Haberdash hopes to have the private data it needs to run by the end of April.

Haberdash, which will be developed into an online, iPhone and Android application, can initially be understood by its slogan, “Discover your fashion DNA,” but most may need a further explanation.

“In the presentation, I described it as solving the same problem for your wardrobe as Pandora solves for music,” Viheula said, referring to the online music-streaming service.

Pandora picks music for its users by starting with a single song or artist as a style reference, then fine tunes the selections.

Haberdash’s functionality as a digital wardrobe is largely based around Pandora’s structure.

By feeding off user-provided data, the team’s own “intelligence apparel algorithm” will be able to suggest which styles of clothing best suit individual users.

It is an industry with unlimited growth potential because a large percentage of shopping is done online these days, Viheula said.

Although women’s apparel will remain the dominant demographic of the industry, Haberdash will market its product to 18-to-40-year-olds who are computer savvy.

Last month, a marketing opportunity presented itself in which Viheula — founder of Viheula Winery in Paso Robles — spent several days in New York City meeting with investors, designers and fashion bloggers.

Although the winery is not this entrepreneur’s first priority (he has sold it to his parents), he admits that it was, and will continue to be, a great way of getting his foot in the door to the fashion community.

Since his trip to New York, Viheula has been working on an executive summary that he hopes will attract investors.

The summary includes: what the Haberdash product is, who its competitors are, what the market opportunity is, who is leading the team, how much money it is seeking and how the team would be using that money.

Viheula said his startup would probably seek between $300,000 to more than $1 million from investors.

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Cottonwood Heights helps its businesses on the Web - Salt Lake Tribune

By Steven Oberbeck

The Salt Lake Tribune

First published Mar 05 2012 06:47PM
Updated Mar 5, 2012 06:47PM Cottonwood Heights is out to give its business community a helping hand.

The city is offering the companies that operate within city limits the opportunity to have their businesses featured on the community’s website, as well as on its Facebook and Twitter pages.

"We value our businesses and want to make every effort to help them succeed," said Mayor Kelvyn H. Cullimore Jr. "And we think that offering that kind of exposure will go a long way toward helping our businesses better market themselves."

The city started sending out notices about its new program in January, along with its monthly business license renewal mailing. Invitations will continue to go out the rest of this year.

"Our program has a lot of potential," said Stephanie Archibald, the city’s public relations specialist, who along with Shelly Hanson, a city administrative assistant, came up with the idea several months ago while having lunch in a local restaurant. The program is offered free of charge.

Archibald said she and Hanson started talking about the state of the economy and how it would be a shame if the restaurant went out of business because of the tough times. "We just started brain storming about what we could do to help."

And it wasn’t long before their thoughts turned to the city’s website and its social networking pages.

"We realized that the website was already set up, along with its Twitter and Facebook pages, and that we could use them to help businesses get their names out into the public," Archibald said. "One of the big pluses was that it wouldn’t cost anything."

The city also will use the Facebook and Twitter pages to inform residents about available special promotions or discounts.

So far about 50 of the 1,400 or so businesses operating in Cottonwood Heights have signed up. "Given that the program has been available only for a short time, we think that is a pretty good response," Archibald said.

Jerry Rose, the owner of Hillside Floral, was among the first to take advantage of the program.

"I though it was a great idea. And while I can’t say that it had a big, immediate impact on our business — our volume didn’t double overnight or anything like that — in the long run I’m sure it will be a positive for the city’s business community."

steve@sltrib.com

Twitter: @OberbeckBiz

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Bismarck-Mandan businesses facing increased competition - Bismarck Tribune

An influx of new businesses has increased competition for employees, space and work in Bismarck-Mandan.

Bismarck started seeing major business growth, especially in companies related to the oil field, in the second half of 2011, said Brian Ritter, the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association’s director of business development.

“I have people stopping in a couple times a week that have just driven in from somewhere,” said Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce President Kelvin Hullet.

Entrepreneurs are coming to Bismarck-Mandan to explore the business opportunities opening up in North Dakota. The influx is putting a strain on the available workforce, housing and hotels.

“This is different than anything I’ve seen in my time here,” Ritter said.

Companies are fighting one another for talent. The retail sector has had to work hard to find employees.

“We’ve seen growth in blue collar businesses and growth in white collar businesses,” Ritter said.

“It’s been across the board,” Hullet said.

Hullet predicts the increase in the number of businesses is just getting under way and expects it to really ramp up in the next one to two years.

The biggest challenge when companies, whether new or existing, look to expand has been finding employees.

Frac Decon Services, an industrial cleanup company, moved to Bismarck in June 2011, primarily for oil business.

“It was so hard to find qualified, quality labor at realistic prices,” owner Chris Griffin said.

Griffin said competition has more than tripled for business in the oil field in just the last year. To increase his client base, he is expanding into residential work, doing ventilation inspection and cleaning.

Daymarck, a medical coding company for home health care, moved into the Civic Square building at 521 E. Main Ave. in October.

“It took a little while as an outsider to get connected with the right people,” said owner Nick Dobrzelecki.

The business has grown dramatically but it has been hard finding coders. There are only two home care certified coders in North Dakota, Dobrzelecki said. With the increase in business, he needs to hire about 40 this year.

“Every day is a challenge and it’s because we have so much business here,” Dobrzelecki said.

Businesses are either having to get more creative in their recruitment efforts, like helping find housing or adding more to benefits, or they are paying more, Ritter said.

The wage scale has not changed drastically, but it has increased in last the 12 to 18 months, Hullet said.

“It’s definitely put pressure on the labor force that’s already here,” Ritter said. “Even before the oil and gas activity hit Bismarck-Mandan, we were a growing market.”

There has been an influx of workers from outside the area, which has offset some of the problem. But with an already minimal unemployment rate, finding workers is harder than before.

Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson, an engineering firm, has been in North Dakota for 75 years. As more firms come into Bismarck-Mandan, KLJ has been looking for employees nationally as well as locally, said Cory Finneman, corporate planner.

“Because of the national economy being down, we’re able to capitalize on the expertise out there looking for employment,” Finneman said.

KLJ has seen more competition for business as well.

“There are just more people at the table now when proposals are made,” Finneman said.

Finneman said the company sees it as an opportunity. The firm has added more services to stay competitive. Finneman said the good client relations the company has built from being in the state longer helps as well.

Space is another problem. KLJ is spread out in three different facilities, but is looking to combine some of those into one building. In some cases, people are building rather than renting or remodeling what they have, Hullet said.

Tubular Transport and Logistics moved into the Northern Plains Commerce Centre in August last year. The company did not face the same problems with workforce, but looked all over North Dakota trying to find a place to locate.

“Considering that it was in an area that we’ve never been to, it felt very easy in the scheme of things,” said Alex Nicholas, vice president of operations. “The biggest challenge is finding the right spot.”

The commerce center’s proximity to the railway was perfect for the transport company, which supplies pipe to the oil fields.

The oil and gas industry also has done more than provide work and business opportunities for North Dakotans. Increased publicity due to the oil boom has businesses that would not have considered the state before now looking here.

“I think it goes beyond oil,” Hullet said. “When you look at North Dakota, we are one of the few places that has a strong economy.”

Ritter believes higher education also is going to play a bigger role in Bismarck-Mandan. With the University of Mary, Bismarck State College and United Tribes Technical College nearby, the schools will be able to train more students to help alleviate tight labor markets.

Reach reporter Jessica Holdman at 250-8261or jessica.holdman@bismarcktribune.com.

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Bismarck-Mandan businesses facing increased competition - Bismarck Tribune

An influx of new businesses has increased competition for employees, space and work in Bismarck-Mandan.

Bismarck started seeing major business growth, especially in companies related to the oil field, in the second half of 2011, said Brian Ritter, the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association’s director of business development.

“I have people stopping in a couple times a week that have just driven in from somewhere,” said Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce President Kelvin Hullet.

Entrepreneurs are coming to Bismarck-Mandan to explore the business opportunities opening up in North Dakota. The influx is putting a strain on the available workforce, housing and hotels.

“This is different than anything I’ve seen in my time here,” Ritter said.

Companies are fighting one another for talent. The retail sector has had to work hard to find employees.

“We’ve seen growth in blue collar businesses and growth in white collar businesses,” Ritter said.

“It’s been across the board,” Hullet said.

Hullet predicts the increase in the number of businesses is just getting under way and expects it to really ramp up in the next one to two years.

The biggest challenge when companies, whether new or existing, look to expand has been finding employees.

Frac Decon Services, an industrial cleanup company, moved to Bismarck in June 2011, primarily for oil business.

“It was so hard to find qualified, quality labor at realistic prices,” owner Chris Griffin said.

Griffin said competition has more than tripled for business in the oil field in just the last year. To increase his client base, he is expanding into residential work, doing ventilation inspection and cleaning.

Daymarck, a medical coding company for home health care, moved into the Civic Square building at 521 E. Main Ave. in October.

“It took a little while as an outsider to get connected with the right people,” said owner Nick Dobrzelecki.

The business has grown dramatically but it has been hard finding coders. There are only two home care certified coders in North Dakota, Dobrzelecki said. With the increase in business, he needs to hire about 40 this year.

“Every day is a challenge and it’s because we have so much business here,” Dobrzelecki said.

Businesses are either having to get more creative in their recruitment efforts, like helping find housing or adding more to benefits, or they are paying more, Ritter said.

The wage scale has not changed drastically, but it has increased in last the 12 to 18 months, Hullet said.

“It’s definitely put pressure on the labor force that’s already here,” Ritter said. “Even before the oil and gas activity hit Bismarck-Mandan, we were a growing market.”

There has been an influx of workers from outside the area, which has offset some of the problem. But with an already minimal unemployment rate, finding workers is harder than before.

Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson, an engineering firm, has been in North Dakota for 75 years. As more firms come into Bismarck-Mandan, KLJ has been looking for employees nationally as well as locally, said Cory Finneman, corporate planner.

“Because of the national economy being down, we’re able to capitalize on the expertise out there looking for employment,” Finneman said.

KLJ has seen more competition for business as well.

“There are just more people at the table now when proposals are made,” Finneman said.

Finneman said the company sees it as an opportunity. The firm has added more services to stay competitive. Finneman said the good client relations the company has built from being in the state longer helps as well.

Space is another problem. KLJ is spread out in three different facilities, but is looking to combine some of those into one building. In some cases, people are building rather than renting or remodeling what they have, Hullet said.

Tubular Transport and Logistics moved into the Northern Plains Commerce Centre in August last year. The company did not face the same problems with workforce, but looked all over North Dakota trying to find a place to locate.

“Considering that it was in an area that we’ve never been to, it felt very easy in the scheme of things,” said Alex Nicholas, vice president of operations. “The biggest challenge is finding the right spot.”

The commerce center’s proximity to the railway was perfect for the transport company, which supplies pipe to the oil fields.

The oil and gas industry also has done more than provide work and business opportunities for North Dakotans. Increased publicity due to the oil boom has businesses that would not have considered the state before now looking here.

“I think it goes beyond oil,” Hullet said. “When you look at North Dakota, we are one of the few places that has a strong economy.”

Ritter believes higher education also is going to play a bigger role in Bismarck-Mandan. With the University of Mary, Bismarck State College and United Tribes Technical College nearby, the schools will be able to train more students to help alleviate tight labor markets.

Reach reporter Jessica Holdman at 250-8261or jessica.holdman@bismarcktribune.com.

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Canada: A good business neighbor - South Bend Tribune

On Monday our community had the opportunity to host Roy Norton, the consul general of Canada. Norton kicked off his Indiana tour by meeting in South Bend with local business and community leaders about why Canada is important to Indiana and St. Joseph County. While here, Norton also met with a Canadian company considering a South Bend location.

Several months ago we hosted a similar gathering with the Consulate General of Israel and have been working on similar partnership opportunities with local companies interested in doing business in other parts of the world.

Canadian consulates general are similar to Canadian embassies but are located in major cities, not capital cities, of foreign countries. Canadian consulates general offer a full range of diplomatic and consular services. The senior officer at a Canadian Consulate General is the consul general.

Norton is based in Detroit and represents Canada in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. The Canadian Consulate General, which he heads, promotes Canadian interests -- trade, investment, the environment, culture and academic relations being among the principal ones. The office also provides consular, passport, visa and immigration services.

We often forget about the important relationship that exists between the U.S. and Canada. Canada has been an important friend, ally and customer of the U.S. for some time. Canada has a stable economy, solid financial ratings, a history of budget surpluses, and some of the lowest payroll and corporate taxes of all of the G7 nations. (France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States, Canada). It recently was ranked as the best G7 country to do business with.

Canada is the top trading partner for the United States, with imports and exports totaling close to $600 billion in 2011. China, Mexico, Japan and Germany round out the top five, with Canada some $90 billion more than second place China. Almost $1.6 billion in merchandise trade crosses the Canada-U.S. border every day. Our country does 10 times as much business with Canada as it does with China.

Canada is the largest foreign market for U.S. goods and services. Millions of U.S. jobs depend on Canadian imports from the U.S. In Indiana, 160,000 jobs are dependent on trade with Canada, and in the 2nd Congressional District, 22,000 jobs. Canadian companies also employ 12,000 people in Indiana and 1,300 in the 2nd District. Automobiles and auto parts make up the largest sector of traded products.

Canada is by a wide margin the No. 1 supplier of imported energy to the United States -- meaning energy in all forms including oil, petroleum products, natural gas, electricity and uranium. Canada is the single largest source of oil imports to the United States, a bigger source than Saudi Arabia. In 2011, the U.S. imported an average 2.1 million barrels per day from Canada, and about 1.1 million per day from Saudi Arabia.

Canada expects to see $160 billion in private sector investment in energy in the coming years, which could support as many as 340,000 jobs in the U.S. and 7,600 in Indiana. In addition, the Keystone pipeline could lead to an additional 20,000 jobs in the U.S. The capacity exists for energy independence in North America.

As we seek business opportunities for our region and state, our friends to the north in Canada present some exciting opportunities.

Jeff Rea is president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County.

Jeff Rea

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3M sees opportunity as libraries ramp up e-books - Duluth News Tribune

ST. PAUL — Millions of Americans now own Kindles, Nooks and other e-readers. And libraries are taking notice, expanding their collections of e-books they can loan to patrons.

That trend has 3M’s attention. The company has a long history of serving

libraries. And 3M sees a big business opportunity in helping libraries build, manage and lend their collections of electronic books, Minnesota Public Radio reports.

The St. Paul Public Library next month will begin a formal trial of 3M’s “Cloud Library” system, along with 10 other major public libraries around the country.

For the past month, Stephanie Harr of St. Paul has been a volunteer tester of the 3M system. She reads a lot of books while getting her caffeine kick at the Swede Hollow Cafe on St. Paul’s East Side. All she needs to get a book from the St. Paul library is her iPad and an Internet connection.

“So, this one is available. I just hit the check-out button. That little blue bar shows it’s downloading into my device,” Harr said. “So, when that’s done, I can read it.”

Harr has had an e-reader for about two years and is glad to see the library expand its e-book collection.

“As a dedicated library user, I wasn’t used to paying for books. So, as soon as the library started having e-books, I was on board right away.”

Harr says she prefers the sign-up process and book browsing features of the 3M system to a competing service the library had used last spring. But she said otherwise the two services are pretty much the same.

From a business standpoint, 3M is behind. The company has been serving libraries for more than 40 years, providing them with devices and software to check out physical books and protect them from theft. But an Ohio company called Overdrive already provides e-book services to 18,000 libraries in 21 countries.

Still, 3M sees an opening.

“Being a company with a strong technology history, we have an opportunity to really come in and innovate and create the best platform for libraries to lend e-books to a community,” said Tom Mercer, who is leading the marketing efforts for 3M’s Cloud Library service. At this time, e-books are just a small part of library collections. But Mercer said those collections will grow, and libraries will need help managing them.

“We see a very large opportunity as libraries shift their spending from physical material to digital material,” he said. “By about 2015, a third of all books sold will be digital in the United States.”

With the 3M Cloud Library service, library patrons can read e-books on many portable devices including 3M-branded e-readers that libraries can loan to patrons.

But OverDrive has a head start, and company spokesman David Burleigh said it’s growing fast. “We had about 35 million checkouts through the system thorough all our libraries in the network last year, which was up from about 15 million the year before,” Burleigh said.

Overdrive won’t comment on 3M’s intentions, but Burleigh said there’s good reason to be bullish about the business opportunities to help libraries with e-book collections.

In Minnesota, most public libraries will stock e-books by mid-June, according to state librarian Nancy Walton.

The St. Paul Public Library started its e-book collection last April and now has about 4,500 e-books to lend.

Digital library manager John Larson expects e-books eventually will account for 10 percent to 20 percent of the St. Paul’s book lending. There are advantages for both patrons and libraries, he said. E-books can’t be damaged or lost. And patrons don’t have to worry about returning them. “You don’t have to worry about any overdue fines. It just automatically disappears at the end of the loan period,” Larson said. “And you don’t have to come to the library to pick them up. It just comes straight to you. … If it’s available, you can check it out on the spot.”

But that convenience may be offset by the refusal of some publishers to license their e-books to libraries. Still, there seems little doubt there will be strong demand from libraries for e-reader technology. Market analysts at Forrester Research estimate that about 70 million Americans will be using some kind of e-reader by 2016.

Tags: news

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Asian bosses see Europe crisis as opportunity - Chicago Tribune

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Asian business leaders see the euro zone debt crisis throwing up more opportunities for investment than their North American counterparts do, a poll showed this week.

Over three-quarters of Asian executives said they saw potential to invest in European businesses and 45 percent were making plans to do so in 2012, the survey of 800 business leaders in North America, Asia and the Middle East showed.

North American executives are less optimistic about Europe's future and only 7 percent have made such plans. In the Middle East, 14 percent of executives had fixed investment plans for Europe.

"Our research highlights that Asian businesses have the right business fundamentals and, more important, the right mentality to take advantage of the changing landscape," said Mark Malloch Brown, the chairman of FTI Consulting in Europe.

The global business advisory firm carried out the survey from Jan 9 to 16.

Over 70 percent of Asian executives believe their European competitors are struggling and said EU goods are now cheaper.

Despite increasing trade tensions, the volume of trade and investments between China and the 27 countries in the EU has risen steadily in recent years. Foreign direct investment by EU firms in China stood at 4.9 billion euros in 2010, while Chinese firms invested 900 million euros in the EU.

FTI said there were several areas where foreign companies could take advantage of "distressed assets at fire-sale prices" in Europe.

Banks and governments may be able to offer opportunities.

"Many banks have postponed action in the hope that an economic upturn would make it easier to sell assets," the report said. "But their previous hesitation may now force banks to offload these assets into a buyer's market."

European governments are also looking for a way to close budget gaps and could sell assets as one option - giving brave foreign buyers an opportunity to gain a hold in a mature global market with 500 million consumers.

(Reporting By Eric Holmberg; editing by Luke Baker/Anna Willard)

View the original article here

Asian bosses see Europe crisis as opportunity - Chicago Tribune

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Asian business leaders see the euro zone debt crisis throwing up more opportunities for investment than their North American counterparts do, a poll showed this week.

Over three-quarters of Asian executives said they saw potential to invest in European businesses and 45 percent were making plans to do so in 2012, the survey of 800 business leaders in North America, Asia and the Middle East showed.

North American executives are less optimistic about Europe's future and only 7 percent have made such plans. In the Middle East, 14 percent of executives had fixed investment plans for Europe.

"Our research highlights that Asian businesses have the right business fundamentals and, more important, the right mentality to take advantage of the changing landscape," said Mark Malloch Brown, the chairman of FTI Consulting in Europe.

The global business advisory firm carried out the survey from Jan 9 to 16.

Over 70 percent of Asian executives believe their European competitors are struggling and said EU goods are now cheaper.

Despite increasing trade tensions, the volume of trade and investments between China and the 27 countries in the EU has risen steadily in recent years. Foreign direct investment by EU firms in China stood at 4.9 billion euros in 2010, while Chinese firms invested 900 million euros in the EU.

FTI said there were several areas where foreign companies could take advantage of "distressed assets at fire-sale prices" in Europe.

Banks and governments may be able to offer opportunities.

"Many banks have postponed action in the hope that an economic upturn would make it easier to sell assets," the report said. "But their previous hesitation may now force banks to offload these assets into a buyer's market."

European governments are also looking for a way to close budget gaps and could sell assets as one option - giving brave foreign buyers an opportunity to gain a hold in a mature global market with 500 million consumers.

(Reporting By Eric Holmberg; editing by Luke Baker/Anna Willard)

View the original article here

Asian bosses see Europe crisis as opportunity - Chicago Tribune

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Asian business leaders see the euro zone debt crisis throwing up more opportunities for investment than their North American counterparts do, a poll showed this week.

Over three-quarters of Asian executives said they saw potential to invest in European businesses and 45 percent were making plans to do so in 2012, the survey of 800 business leaders in North America, Asia and the Middle East showed.

North American executives are less optimistic about Europe's future and only 7 percent have made such plans. In the Middle East, 14 percent of executives had fixed investment plans for Europe.

"Our research highlights that Asian businesses have the right business fundamentals and, more important, the right mentality to take advantage of the changing landscape," said Mark Malloch Brown, the chairman of FTI Consulting in Europe.

The global business advisory firm carried out the survey from Jan 9 to 16.

Over 70 percent of Asian executives believe their European competitors are struggling and said EU goods are now cheaper.

Despite increasing trade tensions, the volume of trade and investments between China and the 27 countries in the EU has risen steadily in recent years. Foreign direct investment by EU firms in China stood at 4.9 billion euros in 2010, while Chinese firms invested 900 million euros in the EU.

FTI said there were several areas where foreign companies could take advantage of "distressed assets at fire-sale prices" in Europe.

Banks and governments may be able to offer opportunities.

"Many banks have postponed action in the hope that an economic upturn would make it easier to sell assets," the report said. "But their previous hesitation may now force banks to offload these assets into a buyer's market."

European governments are also looking for a way to close budget gaps and could sell assets as one option - giving brave foreign buyers an opportunity to gain a hold in a mature global market with 500 million consumers.

(Reporting By Eric Holmberg; editing by Luke Baker/Anna Willard)

View the original article here

Social media presents business opportunities - Journal Tribune

Published: Thursday, December 22, 2011 12:06 PM ESTThe business world and the political world are being revolutionized by the use of social media, which is changing the way we market and purchase – as well as vote.

Many of us use social media sites, such as Facebook and Myspace, now. The growing use of these connections is changing not only the way we communicate, but also the things we value in our lives, such as the tradeoff between privacy and our ability to reach and share news and information about ourselves with others.

Because members of the “Y” generation – 18 to 28-year-olds – receive most of their news online, hard copy newspaper subscriptions have dropped dramatically. For those of us who still like to hold reading material in our hands, this is a problem, if it reduces our options.

Social media has made substantial inroads into the way we do business, and even the way we spend our leisure time, with blogs and micro-blogs, social networking sites, virtual game worlds, dating sites and mobile commerce.

The Internet Retailer magazine’s December 2011 issue shows how e-retailers of all sizes have grown online sales in the social media field. One of the Top 500 retailers, launched in 2007, already has Web-based sales of $423 million. That is indicative of the growth of Web-based selling. Midsized e-retailers in the second 500 list grow even faster each year. It is interesting to note that some of the e-retailers launched in 2010 had Web-based sales of more than $8 million in their first year. While some e-retailers do little or no business, others can run from $80,000 in the first year, up to over $1 billion in sales a year, for a company that started a little more than 10 years ago.

In this down-turned economy, people who have lost jobs, but have good ideas, can explore how setting up an e-business might work for them. The trick is to find a need not being met, and try to offer it through a social media outlet. Growth potential is excellent for businesses in this field.

We are living through a period of revolution in communications, as we change from a print-based society to a digital one. E-commerce is taking place on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google and LinkedIn, and many other smaller sites. A number of startup e-retailers have grown at no or very low advertising costs, by using Internet sites. Most store or office-based businesses now have websites, too, so potential customers can contact them, see where they are located, or place orders.

Businesses and individuals who want to connect to friends are not the only ones using social media. Politicians have discovered how to reach people, raise money, and influence voting, through the Web. In the political world, President Barack Obama undoubtedly helped his campaign through the effective use of social media in 2008. Obama used YouTube and other websites for free advertising, greatly helping his campaign. U.S. News and World Report, in November 2008, reported that Obama was “the first occupant of the White House to have won a presidential election on the Web.”

This year, the Obama campaign is again heavily committed to its Web-based efforts, coupling these with numerous visits to college campuses, in order to attract younger voters for support in the 2012 election. Other candidates are not shy about e-campaigns, either. And both the national Democratic and Republican committees send almost daily e-mails to voters and donors on their mailing lists.

Another example of how social media has affected political change has been the set of uprisings known as the Arab Spring. Middle East dictator regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya were toppled by their own countries’ citizens. Protesters were able to reach each other by “tweeting” information on where and how to meet. People used cell phones to photograph events, break news and galvanize other citizens to support their cause.

In America, we can use the Web to provide more open data from government, so that the public can easily see what is happening in city and state government – and at a low cost.

I still prefer a newspaper and a book in my hands when I read, but we all need to learn to take advantage of some of the information available to us on the Web.

— Bernard Featherman is a business columnist for the Journal Tribune and former president of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce.

 

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